Dell being in the Triad has validated our message that the Piedmont Triad is an excellent place to do business.

Tom has been a very effective advocate for the redistribution of resources for business startups. I would certainly say that many of us who are traditional practitioners of economic development become too narrowly focused on business recruitment when in fact the lion's share of jobs are generated through existing industry expansions and new business.

This project has unfolded just as we hoped it would. The traditional economic impacts have been substantial - including things such as investment and employment numbers.

We are delighted that the Piedmont Triad proposal was selected for this grant. The WIRED grant gives us both the financial and technical resources to develop an integrated strategy to restore the Piedmont Triad's global economic competitiveness.

It gives us the resources we desperately need ... to develop global competitiveness at the regional level.

The long-term ability to provide water is an incredibly important asset and infrastructure requirement to attracting new companies to the Piedmont region. As a long-term solution to water-capacity needs, I think the Randleman Reservoir will be tremendously important.