VGCC vice president joins board of NC IDEA

Jun. 15—HENDERSON — The vice president of workforce and community engagement at Vance Granville Community College, Jerry Edmonds, was recently elected a director of NC IDEA along with two other people.

NC IDEA is an independent private foundation committed to empowering North Carolinians to achieve their entrepreneurial potential.

Edmonds has been a part of the foundation for seven years. He began working with NC IDEA's CEO, Thom Ruhe, and his team with grants.

Edmonds said he joined the foundation because he wants to advance entrepreneurship in rural communities in North Carolina, and so do they.

"I hope to continue the important work of NC IDEA and continue to have a voice that speaks for rural North Carolina entrepreneurs," he said. "Oftentimes the larger metropolitan areas attract the venture capital and resources that are necessary for entrepreneurs to survive and thrive. At times, the smaller rural communities don't get their seat at the table."

He is a firm believer that entrepreneurship is a path to economic development.

Before Vance Granville Community College he served as dean of workforce and economic development and Small Business Center director at Halifax Community College in Weldon, North Carolina.

He also has held executive leadership positions within Johnson & Johnson and IBM.

Edmonds is a member of the Henderson chapter of Rotary International and a Rotary Paul Harris Fellow. He also serves on the Maria Parham Duke Lifepoint trustee board, the Lakeland Cultural Arts Center,the Working Landscapes board and on the Kerr-Tar Council of Governments.

He recently launched Willow Creek Tennis Retreat LLC and the Edmonds Tennis and Education Foundation.