As September comes to a close, I want to take a moment to reflect on the first anniversary of Hurricane Helene.

Western North Carolina has spent the last twelve months rebuilding communities, fortifying infrastructure, reopening grocery stores, rebuilding bridges and roads, and much more. Earlier this month, a 26-mile stretch of the Blue Ridge Parkway reopened in time for the popular leaf season. Tourists have started coming back and many communities are hoping for a much-needed return to normalcy.

Out of the disaster, we saw the best in people as they came together to help and support one another. Inspired by that, members of our team jumped into action and assisted in ways they could, from partnering with the Land of Sky Regional Council and the High Country Council of Governments to launch an interactive map of Wi-Fi hotspot locations in the region, to hosting trauma-informed recovery support webinars. Incredible progress has been made in the region, but there is still a long way to go.

Our 2025-2027 Emerging Issues Forum series has provided an opportunity for us to utilize this platform to highlight the resilience of Western North Carolina. It’s no secret that restoring power was a significant and immediate task in the recovery process after the waters receded. Several conversations at our 2025 forum recognized the incredible people who jumped into action, like our linemen and other first responders, while also acknowledging the ongoing impact of storms on infrastructure in other North Carolina communities. It’s a theme that we plan to continue throughout the remaining forums in this series: water and housing.

Please join us as we continue these critical conversations. Save the date for the 2026 Emerging Issues Forum: Future Forward Water, which will take place simultaneously on Feb. 25, 2026, in Morehead City, Winston-Salem and Asheville. Registration for this first-of-its-kind forum will open in November. Stay tuned for more information!