RALEIGH, N.C. – Governor Josh Stein, Lieutenant Governor Rachel Hunt and Superintendent of Public Instruction Mo Green joined more than 600 policymakers and advocates this week at the 2025 Rural Summit to share their plans for strengthening rural North Carolina.
The NC Rural Center hosts the annual summit and during the gathering recognized legislative and community advocates for their work in infrastructure, health, education and workforce, and business and economic development.
Legislative Advocates of the Year
Senator Dan Blue Jr. was born in Lumberton and earned degrees from North Carolina Central University and Duke University School of Law. He is managing partner of the law firm Blue LLP in Raleigh, where he practices with his two sons and a daughter-in-law. He first was elected to the state House of Representatives in 1980 and was elected Speaker of the House twice during his 22 years in the chamber. He returned to the House in 2006 and now serves in the North Carolina Senate, representing Wake County, where he served as Senate Democratic Leader from 2014 until 2024. Senator Blue has received dozens of national and state awards and served two terms as president of the National Conference of State Legislature. During his career, he has helped meet the needs of the North Carolina small business community and provided capital access opportunities. His efforts were crucial to building out microlending initiatives decades ago that continue today at the Rural Center.
Senator Kevin Corbin is a Macon County native and a graduate of Appalachian State University who has gone on to own two successful insurance agencies, including The Corbin Agency. Senator Corbin was first elected to the General Assembly in 2016 and served as House Majority Deputy Whip. Since being elected to the state Senate in 2020, he has chaired multiple committees. He also has served both on the Appalachian State University Board of Trustees and as chairman of the Macon County School Board, the Macon County Board of Commissioners, and Region A Council of Government. Senator Corbin was instrumental in the passage of the Medicaid Expansion bill that brought health care coverage to more than 600,000 people in North Carolina in just over a year.
Representative Jake Johnson was born and raised on a farm in Saluda in Western North Carolina, earning a bachelor’s degree in political science and a minor in economics from the University of North Carolina at Charlotte. At 22, Representative Johnson was sworn into office on the Polk County Board of Commissioners as one of the youngest elected officials in North Carolina history. Within a year, he became chairman of the board, overseeing key accomplishments such as reducing Polk County’s unemployment rate and improving the local school system. He serves on several local and state advisory boards, including the Department of Transportation Advisory Board, the Mental Health Regional Advisory Board, and the Juvenile Crime Prevention Board.
Community Advocates of the Year
The mission of the Association of Mexicans in North Carolina is to foster the appreciation, understanding and prosperity of the Mexican and Latino community, through education, advocacy, culture, leadership, health and binational programs. The association has helped connect many new rural residents to their communities through their work, particularly around education.
Erna Bright Jr. has over 40 years of service in the telecommunications industry in northeastern North Carolina. In 2022, he used his vast knowledge of the industry and industry standards to serve the residents of his community and his county in achieving full fiber deployment. Bright has been a valuable asset to the Rural Center’s Collaborative Broadband Initiative. He has volunteered considerable time traveling throughout Gates County, meeting with fiber crews in the field, verifying service to homes, and providing reports to the Gate County Board of Commissioners. Fully understanding the need for connectivity, he has consistently gone above and beyond to make an impact.
Gig East is a technology hub based in Wilson that helps connect the Research Triangle and Eastern North Carolina, encourages entrepreneurial and community success, and explores next generation technology.
David Jackson was honored for his work as the president and CEO of the Boone Chamber of Commerce. In addition to his advocacy for local business, Jackson has become a strong voice for improving access to affordable childcare, and since the devastation of Hurricane Helene, he has been a strong champion of recovery for his community. In the first weeks after Helene, Jackson was a critical source of information for those outside of Western North Carolina. Many of them relied on his regular dispatches to let them know what was happening on the ground as Boone recovered from the storm.
Jeff Lee serves as the chair of the Macon County Broadband Committee, where he leads the development and administration of broadband grant programs aimed at improving digital access within the county. In 2018, Lee founded the Little T Broadband Services non-profit organization to advocate for and support the expansion of rural broadband in Western North Carolina. This initiative has been pivotal in bridging the digital divide and fostering growth in underserved areas.
Dr. Althea Riddick retired as university registrar and associate vice chancellor of continuing education for her alma mater Elizabeth City State University. After decades of service in the field of higher education, she served her community as a commissioner and later chair of the Gates County Board of Commissioners. Her main motivations around broadband and connectivity in Gates County came after the pandemic, when she heard stories about school children completing assignments on school buses with hotspots because they lacked transportation to the library.
Canton Mayor Zeb Smathers is a tireless champion of rural Western North Carolina. Since 2021, Mayor Smathers has led his community through devastating floods that destroyed half of his town, the closure of the town’s largest employer and the subsequent loss of over 1,000 jobs, and most recently damage from Hurricane Helene. Through it all, he’s remained steadfast and committed to finding solutions and working with anyone willing to lend a hand to keep his town moving forward.
Teresa Strom is the executive director of the Hot Springs Health Program serving Madison County, one of the areas hit hardest by Hurricane Helene. Like many organizations, Hot Springs Health has continued to carry out its mission of providing primary care to its neighbors even while dealing with damage to its own facilities.
Leonard Winchester, a former teacher and school administrator, has dedicated over 42 years of service to the Swain County community. Since 2017, he has led the Swain County Broadband Committee, securing nearly $8.5 million in federal and state grants to improve broadband access. Winchester’s leadership has also been crucial in identifying internet service gaps and strengthening partnerships with organizations like the Southwestern Commission, the NC Rural Center, and state Department of Information Technology.
The summit also hosted Chris Estes, co-executive director of the Aspen Institute Community Services Group, who shared the group’s Thrive Rural Framework. Senator Sydney Batch and Representative Robert Reeves participated in a discussion about their legislative priorities. The summit closed with a panel on local finances moderated by Jeff Tiberii of WUNC and featuring Jeff Poley with the North Carolina Department of State Treasurer, Denise Canada of the North Carolina Association of County Commissioners and Erica Anderson of the Land of Sky Regional Council.
More than 60 sponsors supported this year’s summit.
Presenting Sponsor: First Citizens Bank
Gold Event Sponsor: The Community Foundation of Western North Carolina
Silver Event Sponsors: NC Community Colleges Foundation, North Carolina’s Electric Cooperatives, Institute for Emerging Issues
Bronze Event Sponsors: Duke Energy, First National Bank
About NC Rural Center
Since 1987, the NC Rural Center has worked to improve the quality of life for the state’s rural people and places. Our mission is to develop, promote, and implement sound economic strategies to improve the quality of life of rural North Carolinians. We serve the state’s 78 rural counties, with a special focus on individuals with low to moderate incomes and communities with limited resources. We operate with the core belief that our rural communities have inherent cultural value and are vital to the overall economic health of our state. We recognize that the changing landscape of rural North Carolina brings with it significant challenges, but we also believe in the resiliency of our state’s rural people and their dedicated stewardship of the communities they call home.