Dollywood East
Roanoke Electric Co-op key partner
in new, N.C. entertainment complex
By Steven Johnson
Editor’s note: This article is reprinted courtesy of “Electric Co-op
Today,” published by the National Rural Electric Cooperative
Association. Some information also supplied by Angela Perez of
Roanoke Electric.
hen it comes to rolling out the red carpet,
Roanoke Electric Co-op is going to have a
larger one than most. That’s because the coop
is a key component in construction of a
$129 million project to lure celebrities, dignitaries
and thousands of tourists to Roanoke Rapids, N.C.,
located in the northeastern part of the state near the Virginia
border.
Randy Parton, brother of music and movie star Dolly
Parton, is spearheading construction of the Carolina
Crossroads Music and Entertainment District on about 800
acres served by Rich-Square-based
Roanoke Electric Co-op.
Upon completion, the endeavor
should rival music-oriented
attractions and theme parks
such as Dollywood, Dolly
Parton’s Tennessee resort,
and Branson, Mo., and give
an economic lift to an area
best known for tobacco and
textiles.
“It’s the biggest thing
we’ve ever had here,”
said Curtis Wynn,
executive vice
president and
chief executive
officer of
Roanoke Electric. “It’s going to be a huge opportunity for
our system to grow.”
A study by a research center at the University of North
Carolina estimated the entertainment district will generate
12,000 jobs, add $500 million to the regional economy and
boost incomes by $204.7 million in the next 5 years.
Initial construction began in November, when workers
broke ground on the 35,000-square-foot, 1,500-seat Randy
Parton Theater, with an eye toward a spring 2007 opening.
The Nov. 11 kickoff, which included Dolly Parton and a host
of country music stars, brought an estimated 10,000 onlookers
to the site.
“The economic impact of this project is staggering, and
will be felt for generations to come,” said Jack Runion, chairman
of North Carolina’s Northeast Partnership Inc., the
group that was instrumental in attracting Parton to the area.
“This is an amazing venture that’s getting strong support
from all sides. We’re proud to have played a part in putting it
all together.”
Developer George Ragsdale, who is working with Parton,
predicted the venture “will turn this area into the foremost
entertainment destination on the eastern corridor.”
Wynn said the co-op will provide electricity to the entertainment
district, and also has assumed a key role as a liaison
between contractors and the project.
“They want to involve as many local parties with construction
as possible,” he said. “Our role is to interface with contractors and developers that come in as
work proceeds.”
That responsibility is likely to
include co-op-led training classes and
information distribution about particular
aspects of the development, he said.
Roanoke Electric’s infrastructure
should be adequate to power the first
phase of the entertainment district, but
construction of an additional substation
is likely as the project grows, Wynn said.
Randy Parton’s team selected the site
after working with North Carolina’s
Northeast Partnership, a 16-county
economic development organization.
“Our territory is transforming from a
rural agricultural area to more of a service
and tourism environment, so this fits
right in with that,” Wynn said.
Other businesses are likely to locate
near the district, with plans on board for
some hotels and restaurants to accommodate
the tourist load, Wynn said.
“We’re positioning ourselves to work
both on the electricity and economic
development sides,” he said. “This will
be very significant for us.”
Lori Medlin, executive director of
the Halifax County Tourism Development
Authority, said the development
should boost the growing tourism
industry. “Roanoke Rapids and Halifax
County are halfway between New York
and Florida and we want this to be a
destination, a reason for people to
spend several days enjoying themselves
with a focus on music and family entertainment.”
An additional study by Economic
Research Associates of New York and
Washington, D.C., verified that the
entertainment district should attract the
level of visitors required to make the
area a major travel destination for the
region and the state.
“Where today passers-by see green
fields and pine trees, I see the beginning
of a great transformation of our community,”
said Roanoke Rapids Mayor
Drewery Beale, a key player in formulating
the plan that attracted the project.
“I see economic opportunity and excitement
like we’ve never seen before. This
is a new beginning for us.”
The process leading to selection of
Roanoke Rapids for The Randy Parton
Theater took place during several
months. “We drove a lot of miles, visited
many beautiful communities, and
met a lot of great people in North
Carolina’s Northeast Region,” Randy
Parton said. “The pull of the Roanoke
Rapids area, with its strong leadership,
friendly and warm community and
Interstate 95 travelers made for the perfect
combination for this project.”
The Nov. 11 groundbreaking took
place less than 5 months after Randy
Parton inked a deal with the City of
Roanoke Rapids, Roanoke Rapids
Entertainment One and Blanchard &
Calhoun Commercial to locate his theater
in Roanoke Rapids.
Randy Parton has performed with
country music greats including Tanya
Tucker, Lorrie Morgan, Ronnie Milsap,
Merle Haggard and George Jones. His
“big break” came when Jean Shepard,
the grand lady of the Grand Ole Opry,
asked him to join her band. A successful
singer, songwriter and musician, he
began writing and performing shows at
Dollywood.
Roanoke Electric Co-op CEO Wynn honored
for work with small & minority contractors
Curtis Wynn, CEO of Roanoke Electric Cooperative, was
recently honored with an Innovation Award at a Glaxo-
SmithKline (GSK) Supplier Diversity Awards Luncheon in
Philadelphia. Wynn was recognized for leading GSK’s
efforts to help themselves and other corporations and government
agencies seeking to grant contracts to small,
minority and women-owned businesses.
This “linking” project, known as the Triangle Area Buyer
Supplier Network, which is located in the Durham and
Research Triangle areas, gives GSK easy access to diverse
suppliers who are seeking an opportunity to bid on and
compete for construction-related contracts. As a developer
and proponent of the Network, Wynn has had the opportunity
to work with some of the most progressive-thinking,
supplier diversity professionals in the business. “Given the
right opportunities, these smaller companies bring unique
values and skills to the table,” he said.
Typically, the businesses that Wynn is trying to help land
contracts go unnoticed in the
market. “They often aren’t
afforded the chance to let
these large corporations
know that they have valuable
services to offer. That’s where
our Network comes in.”
The Network, using Roanoke’s procurement software
program, provides a gateway through which qualified,
diverse suppliers can easily gain access to constructionrelated
contract opportunities designated specifically for
them to bid on.
“It’s a win-win situation,” said Wynn. “The big company
or agency gets a larger, more diverse pool of contractors
(which ultimately provides them with lower costs) and the
smaller diverse suppliers get a chance to grow their businesses
through increased opportunities from companies
that are traditionally beyond their reach.”
