I had a very productive Office Hours this week.
Allan Cassavant from CV Builders: Allan is continuing to make progress on the possible project to develop a retirement community in Morrisville, and he is no looking at land in the Town Center Plan. I am very excited about the prospect of developing a project in the Town Center and look forward to this continuing to develop.
Next step is he has to decide which land he could purchase and also meet staff to discuss the options. This could be a major project with the next phase being retail, shops, etc, that would tie well with the residential community.
Jeff Williams, CEO, Clinipace: I met with Jeff Williams, the CEO of Clinipace, a biotech in Morrisville, that has grown to 600 employees worldwide and 60 in Morrisville. Jeff plans to expand in Morrisville and did indicate to me that he believes that our region is falling behind in our competitiveness to sustain and nurture a biotech cluster. We lack capital, along with lagging behind on commercialization of technologies from the unviersity system. Unlike Boston and other biotech centers, the Triangle does not have a central biotech community, which fosters networking and and a sense of community.
Jeff would like to work with me to grow the cluster in Morrisville and also join our mentoring network for the Hotties program
Sheyeenne Kramer and Youth Entrepreneurship camps: I am excited to get the Youth Entrepreneurship Camps, launched in Morrisville this week. I will be posting details on this camp, to be held at the World in Motion, by her company, Triangle Solutions Alliance.
Immigration Issue: Once again, I had a meeting with an Indian American citizen, dealing with immigration issues. In this case, his brother has lost his Indian Passport and the Indian Embassy will not accept his documentation to issue a new passport . I have contacted the Embassy and will be meeting the Indian Ambassador or her staff in DC this coming week to see if we can help resolve the issue.
Saleem Husseni, Youth Empowered Solutions:
My day ended with inspiration when I met Saleem from Morrisville, who is a Board member of Youth Empowered Solutions, an organization, which is offering youth the tools and communication skills to affect policy in areas like obesity and tobacco prevention. He and I are going to work together to see if we can leverage our youth entrepreneurship programs or perhaps, get more Morrisville Youth involved. I may be hosting a tennis exhibition to help out with this great cause! It is amazing how much work the organization is doing to inspire the next generation and I am looking forward to attending their celebration in July.
Overall, a good day off Office Hours and I look forward to continuing to do these meetings.