Western North Carolina

The Lord was reminding me about all the

adventures that led up to us being here in Western North Carolina.

Some of them had to do with being involved with politics in Hawaii.

So please be in prayer for us because I'd like to continue to be active.

We were looking around.

I'm originally from Western North Carolina.

So I'm familiar with the state, but we didn't want to be in the Western parks.

We didn't want the snow.

It was Camp Catawba.

And it was for juvenile delinquent boys.

And it was in Western North Carolina.

And the camp was closed and abandoned.

Beshear won it, whatever.

That is a red district, Western North Carolina.

Mark Meadows' former seat in Western North Carolina.

They have a candidate, Democrats have a candidate, Jamie Ager, who is, I don't know if he's winning, but he's certainly putting up a good fight.

There are seats outside of, I mean, we had the head of the House Democratic Super PAC on our YouTube show last week, a couple weeks ago, and he said- Fly out day.

Beshear won it, whatever.

That is a red district, Western North Carolina.

Mark Meadows' former seat in Western North Carolina.

They have a candidate, Democrats have a candidate, Jamie Ager, who is, I don't know if he's winning, but he's certainly putting up a good fight.

There are seats outside of, I mean, we had the head of the House Democratic Super PAC on our YouTube show last week, a couple weeks ago, and he said- Fly out day.

This year, it is 135 years young.

We were founded at the foothills of the Appalachian Mountains in western North Carolina.

We serve about just under 2,500 students, predominantly undergraduate, about two-thirds undergraduate enrollment, one-third graduate students.

We are a professionally focused university.

That is our job.

And so when people criticize us for not being relevant, We have to take a good hard look at what we do in our classrooms and on our campuses to make sure that we are aligned because when companies can't find folks to fill jobs, it's easy to point the finger at higher ed.

But if we can say, no, we worked with you to build this program or this curriculum, We started a hospitality program because we saw the huge need for hospitality graduates in Western North Carolina.

We are doing things that are workforce aligned.

Yeah, I mean that Any win is a dream come true, but winning here would be definitely special having a lot of people around that I care about.

And it's also really special too because we all know what Western North Carolina has been through from Hurricane Helene, even here in the upstate and elsewhere across South Carolina.

So this tournament being in Asheville is a huge economic driver.

They told us they're looking at upwards of $10 million in direct spending.

The PGA Tour is back in Western North Carolina for the first time in over 80 years.

The Biltmore Championship Asheville officially teed off today.

And joining us now, and it's certainly an exciting time, and it's wonderful that Kyle McCurry can join us as he is the public relations person for Explore Asheville.

So PGA Tour coming back with Biltmore Championship Asheville is a really nice cap on a great golf legacy.

So for us, it's not only 80 years, but it's also a way for Biltmore and Explore Asheville to partner and bring an event to this area that we haven't seen in some time.

And this is not the only major golf event that's going to take place in Western North Carolina over the next few weeks, in fact, right?

Right.

That's Skyview that I just mentioned, for sure.

Bashir won it, whatever.

But That is a red district, Western North Carolina.

Mark Meadows' former seat in Western North Carolina.

They have a candidate, Democrats have a candidate, Jamie Ager, who is, I don't know if he's winning, but he's certainly putting up a good fight.

There are seats outside of, I mean, we had the head of the House Democratic Super PAC on our YouTube show last week, a couple weeks ago, and he said- Fly out day.