Entrepreneurship has a long history in Watauga County. Joe Furman, CEC team leader, explained that the geography of the land forced people to be creative and self sufficient. "This used to be an isolated, inaccessible part of the country," he mused. "So residents had to create ways to make a living to stay here. That's what our students are doing—they come to school here and want to stay too."

That entrepreneurial spirit helped the CEC leadership team complete the certification process. "We were already doing it, so this was just a natural next step," said Joe. "We knew we could learn and share ideas, and doing this further emphasized our desire to sustain that entrepreneurial culture."

Going through the process helped bring to light the benefits of many leaders working together. "We all figured out that if we operate in a silo it just doesn't work," said Jason Triplett, market president of Wachovia/Wells Fargo and a team member. "But when we partner we spur all of us on, and we use all our strengths. The result is more awareness of how we value entrepreneurs and more passion for this in the community."

"As vice-chair of the Watauga EDC, and a member of the Watauga Committee of 100, Jason has been involved since the beginning of the process. As Market President for Wachovia/ Wells Fargo, he works with businesses of all sizes every day. He is very enthusiastic about helping businesses, helping the community, and partnering with the university," noted Joe.

Bryan Toney, director of the ASU Center for Entrepreneurship, was another important team member that contributed from the beginning. "Bryan is responsible for developing and continuing the ‘Start Your Own Business' workshops. He also started other community outreach efforts by the ASU Center for Entrepreneurship, which we believe will continue to expand," Joe explained.

Don Wood, director of the Appalachian Enterprise Center, is another integral team member, working with entrepreneurs on a daily basis. He is an accredited executive associate with the Institute for Independent Business.

"We love our community," Don said. "This process showed us that there are many things we want to keep and certain things we want to change—it's a valuable process."