Lawrence E. Pope Economic Development Award

During the Kernersville Chamber of Commerce’s 2022 Awards Banquet, Mayor Dawn Morgan was awarded the Lawrence E. Pope Economic Development Award.
During the banquet, emcee Damien Marotz shared that the award is presented periodically to recognize a business or individual who has been instrumental in the economic development of the community.
“It is in the nature of a lifetime achievement award, as recipients are chosen for the significant and long-term impact they have had on the economic growth and stability of Kernersville,” he shared, adding that the award was established in 2010 in honor of Lawrence E. Pope, founder of Pope Companies.
Pope Companies received the Chamber Economic Development Award in 2012.
Without first giving her name, Marotz began describing Morgan as the award recipient.
“Serving the community is ‘just what she does,’” he said. “If you ask her why, she will say, ‘I love this place. I raised my family here. It’s home.’”
Marotz shared that what Morgan has created in Kernersville is immeasurable – the relationships, the positive environment and the best community in the world.
Upon hearing her name, Morgan said she was very surprised and honored.
“This award is not given every year, and is designed to recognize lifetime achievement, so being recognized by the Chamber of Commerce with this award is really exciting,” she said. “I’ve worked with many others in our town over the years with the goal of making Kernersville a business-friendly community while continuing to be a great place to live. It’s a team effort, and I’ve really enjoyed being part of the team for the past 25 years. The Chamber of Commerce and the business community, the aldermen, the Planning Board members, and the Town staff all have worked together to improve Kernersville.”
With the Town and the community, Morgan said they have created jobs through companies such as Amazon, FedEx Ground, Triad Business Park, Novant Health Kernersville Medical Center, the VA Health Care Center, the expansion of John-Deere Kernersville, and the expansion of Grass America.
“We’ve built on our historical strengths in logistics and manufacturing, and expanded the choices for healthcare. In addition, there are more restaurants, grocery stores, and places to live and shop in Kernersville. The economic success is a result of a team effort and many years of planning for infrastructure, including water, sewer and roads,” she explained. “Infrastructure planning is really important and attracts new businesses and helps existing businesses. I am proud that long-time Kernersville businesses have been able to start here, and then grow.”
Morgan noted one example, Lihmil, a wholesale florist that outgrew its location, but was able to stay in Kernersville and build a new, larger facility because Kernersville was able to work with them to extend the water and sewer lines to serve their business in their new location.
“Economic development in Kernersville is continuing. Piedmont Commerce Center, currently under construction, is planned to have 1.5 million square feet of space that will provide additional opportunities for businesses to locate in Kernersville,” she shared. “Public safety is also critically important. A fundamental building block for a community is for people to feel safe in their homes and businesses. We’ve worked hard on public safety, improving technology in our police department, to help fight crime. We’ve opened a new fire station on Hwy 66 and increased our capabilities, becoming heavy rescue certified and improving our state ISO Rating, which is a measure of preparedness and responsiveness to a fire emergency.”
She continued.
“We’ve entered into agreements with Colfax Fire and Beeson Crossroads Volunteer Fire departments. We’ve built a new Public Services building. We’ve made plans for additional park improvements, and we are going to break ground soon on a new recreation center at Ivey Redmon Park,” she said. “Being a community that values public safety, has an attractive downtown, nice parks and outstanding community events all help our town to keep that ‘small town atmosphere’ that is so important, even with the economic growth we’ve experienced.”
Reflecting on her time as mayor, Morgan said one of the most memorable and heartwarming experiences was working to get a hospital in our community. She added that to do so, a state agency has to grant a Certificate of Need (CON).
“There was a public hearing, and the speakers were very moving about their observations about the need for a hospital. The late John Owensby was an advocate for the hospital locating here, and I remember talking with him about it frequently,” she shared. “I also remember looking through old issues of the Kernersville News and finding an article about Kernersville residents in the late 1930s going to Raleigh to voice their support for a hospital in our community. It did not happen then, but over time the need for a hospital in our community increased.”
Prior to becoming mayor, as an alderman, Morgan said she advocated for the hospital, and was honored as mayor to represent Kernersville residents for the groundbreaking and ribbon cutting of Novant Health Kernersville Medical Center.
“An expansion of the Kernersville hospital is scheduled to be completed this spring, and I am so excited about the maternity and childbirth services, the cardiac cath lab, and the other new services,” she said.
Morgan graduated from the University of Virginia with a Bachelor of Arts in English. She also has a Master of Business Administration from the University of Texas at Austin and is an attorney, graduating with highest honors from Wake Forest University School of Law.
Morgan shared that she and her husband Eric recently celebrated their 30th wedding anniversary, and are parents to three children.
“Eric and I moved to Kernersville from Winston-Salem in 1994. I volunteered with the Kernersville Chamber of Commerce, greeting people and writing out nametags for the Business After Hours events. I was appointed to serve on the Kernersville Planning Board in February 1997, and also was involved in the Vision 2020 Plan and the Infrastructure Committee,” she shared. “I became really interested in land use planning, planning for roads, and setting a course for the future of the community. In 2001, I was elected to the Board of Aldermen. I was appointed mayor in February 2008 to serve the unexpired term of Curtis Swisher, who had been elected mayor but resigned to become the town manager. I ran for mayor in 2009, and have been re-elected since then.”
Morgan has also written a newspaper column for the Kernersville News for the past 20 years, discussing community issues and special events.
“As mayor, I’ve enjoyed working with great people at Kernersville churches, civic organizations, and non-profits. Volunteers are the heart of Kernersville and they do so much for others and make our town a better place to live,” she said. “It is an honor to serve the community, and it is wonderful to have worked with so many great people over the years. I am humbled to be recognized with the Lawrence Pope Economic Development Award.”