Posted March 18, 2024
Granville County has selected Joseph Stallings to serve as the next Economic Development Director. Stallings joins Granville County following thirteen years leading economic development efforts for the North Carolina Railroad Company, the Town of Garner in Wake County, NC and the Town of Benson in Johnston County, NC.
Stallings most recently served as the Director of Economic Development for the North Carolina Railroad Company in Raleigh. In his nearly two years with the NC Railroad, Stallings facilitated statewide and local economic development efforts in partnership with the North Carolina Department of Commerce, the Economic Development Partnership of North Carolina as well as municipal and county governments to recruit and expand existing industries in North Carolina. Stallings also oversaw the planning and implementation for the NC Railroad’s Build Ready Sites program, ensuring that locations along existing railroad infrastructure were ready to welcome new or expanding industries by reducing red-tape and development delays with local regulatory and permitting agencies. Stallings worked with partners across North Carolina to ensure that all areas with existing rail infrastructure were prepared to handle industry expansion.
Before his time with the NC Railroad, Stallings served as the Economic Development Director for the Town of Garner from 2015-2022. In addition to managing all major economic development recruitment and expansion efforts, Stallings also oversaw Garner’s downtown development efforts and small business development program. He also oversaw the operations of the non-profit Garner Economic Development Corporation to ensure a like-minded approach with the non-profit board, the Town of Garner, and Wake County. Stallings developed Garner’s first economic development strategic plan and worked with local property owners to market developable land that could attract desirable employers to Garner resulting in the recruitment of the largest industrial investment in Garner’s history. Preceding his time in Garner, Stallings began his local government career as the Economic Development and Media Coordinator for the Town of Benson from 2011-2015. In Benson, he negotiated recruitment and retention incentive packages, led Benson’s media efforts, and implemented Benson’s Main Street North Carolina program. Stallings also ran local business development incentives programs including the town’s façade improvement grants and revolving loan funds for local business start-ups.
“I am excited and honored to have been selected as Granville County’s next Economic Development Director,” said Stallings. “Granville is an exciting place to continue my career and take the many lessons I have learned about smart and sustainable economic development on the local and statewide level. My time in rural and suburban but growing towns like Garner and Benson has prepared me for this role. I plan to work with local and regional partners to ensure that Granville County is positioned to compete as a preferred destination for top employers now and for decades to come. It’s an exciting opportunity to come to Granville in this moment and build off the work that has been happening here for so long.”
Stallings is a graduate of the Master of Public Administration program at Appalachian State University in Boone, NC. He also received a bachelor’s degree in political science with a concentration in Town, City, and County Management with a minor in Regional Planning at Appalachian State. During his professional career, Stallings has continued to pursue professional development educational opportunities and has graduated from the Municipal and County Administration and Local Government Federal Credit Union Fellows program at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Government. Stallings is also a graduate of the Rural Economic Development Institute at the North Carolina Rural Center in Raleigh and received certification from Oklahoma University Economic Development Institute. A native of Hickory, NC, Stallings currently resides in Garner with his wife Ashley and his son Liam.