MEDIA ADVISORY

January 14, 2003

Industrial Extension Service Opens County-Based Office

(from IES News) A ribbon-cutting ceremony for the opening of IES’s newest office in Williamston to serve Martin and Bertie counties celebrates the first IES office partially supported by county enconomic development funds. Shown are (l to r): Stan Crowe, Chairman of the Martin County Economic Development Corp.; former N.C. Rep. Gene Rogers; former Gov. James B. Hunt, Jr.; Teresa Helmlinger, Assistant Vice Chancellor, Extension and Engagement, and Executive Director, IES; and Dr. Stephen Jones, Vice Chancellor, Extension and Engagement, N.C. State University. (Photo: Ruthann Cage)

North Carolina State University’s Industrial Extension Service (IES) will celebrate the grand opening of their first county-funded extension office in Williamston on Friday, January 17, at 11:30 a.m. with a ribbon-cutting ceremony.  The festivities will be held at the North Carolina Telecenter within the Northeast Technology and Business Center on U.S. Highway 13/17/64 in Williamston.  Former governor Jim Hunt, representatives from NC State and business leaders from Martin and Bertie counties are expected to attend.

The Williamston office is unique because its funding comes from NC State and local economic development funds.  The center was begun as a pilot program set up to study the impact of the services of a manufacturing specialist on a limited geographic area. 

Created in 1955 by the College of Engineering at NC State, IES is the oldest service of its kind in the nation.  IES provides expertise in lean manufacturing, quality initiatives and energy savings through education, training and technical assistance.  For more information about IES, see www.ies.ncsu.edu.

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Media contacts: 

Jane E. Albright, 919-515-4380
Linda E. Rudd, 919-515-3848, linda_rudd@ncsu.edu