The Greater Fayetteville Business Journal’s quarterly Power Breakfast is just around the corner with new faces to the area taking stage on the panel.
On June 7, the fast growing, popular event will take place at the Cape Fear Botanical Gardens from 7:30-9:30 a.m.
The theme of the upcoming event, ‘A New View,’ will focus on the perspective of Fayetteville by new leaders to our region. Attention will also gravitate towards each leader’s background and plans for the future in their respective industries.
“I love the community. I love the attributes of our community and the uniqueness of our area,” said Greater Fayetteville Business Journal Publisher Marty Cayton. “I also love the business climate as well, it’s a great economy and I just think Fayetteville has so much going for it.”
The concept for this quarter’s Power Breakfast stems from the hope of being some “nuggets” of insight that citizens of Fayetteville have
overlooked or forgotten about or need to be reminded of.
“I thought it would be different to get a view from someone coming from out of state in a pretty significant role and their objective opinion on Fayetteville in all aspects,” Cayton added.
Some of the aspects will include why they chose to come to Fayetteville, their firsthand experience with being in the area, why they believe this is a great place, what challenges they believe the area faces, and more.
This panel will consist of PWC CEO/General Manager Elaina Ball, Fayetteville State University Chancellor Darrell T. Allison, and Fayetteville Woodpeckers General Manager Steve Pelle.

THE SPEAKERS:

Elaina Ball, a West Texas native, is the first female CEO in the 115-year history of the Fayetteville Public Works Commission in North Carolina. In her role she oversees PWC’s Electric, Water, and Wastewater Systems with an annual budget of over $400 million.
Prior to joining PWC, Ball served at El Paso Electric in Texas as the senior vice-president in operations and administration roles.

Ball earned her Bachelor of Science degree in chemical engineering from the University of Texas at Austin. She is married with two children.

Darrell T. Allison, a North Carolina native, is the 12 chief executive officer and chancellor of Fayetteville State University.
Prior to becoming the chancellor at FSU, he served as the vice-president for governmental affairs and state teams at the American Federation for Children. While there Allison worked to expand educational opportunities for disadvantaged students nationwide.
Allison holds a Juris Doctor degree from UNC-Chapel Hill and a bachelor’s degree from North Carolina Central University. He is married to La Nica and they have two daughters.
 

Steve Pelle, a native of San Diego, joined the Astros organization in October of 2021. He serves as the General Manager and team leader of the Woodpeckers Organization.
Prior to joining the Astros, Steve worked for the Inland Empire 66ers for 11 seasons as the Director of Groups Sales, Director of Marketing, Director of Corporate Sales and Assistant General Manager.
Steve received his bachelor's degree in Sport Management from Peru State University. Outside of Segra Stadium, Steve enjoys tennis, karaoke, good wine, cruising (on a boat) and hanging with his Wife Jessica and 4 dogs Rue, Radar, Inky and Dexter.

Like Power Breakfasts in the past, the flow of events will be similar.
The event will begin with attendees having the opportunity to network with one another and learn about new endeavors in different fields and connect with each other.
After the networking, the speakers will be introduced. Then, in a panel discussion format, the speakers will answer a variety of relevant questions regarding their perspective of the Fayetteville area. The audience will also get the opportunity to participate and ask questions.

“I hope this happens at every Power Breakfast, but I hope those in the audience are able to take away information and then take action on it,” Cayton explained. “I also hope that our presenters and speakers get the same benefit as well from the questions that the audience brings up so relationships can be forged and grow. By doing this, I hope those that have been in Fayetteville maybe their whole life hear a new perspective that they may have missed before.”

With the beginning stages of summer starting to settle in, the event is still expected to be full.

“We’re going to be battling summer and vacations, but one of the reasons why we wanted to go with the Botanical Gardens was because it was a bit of change,” stated Cayton.
As the event is moved to a new venue, capacity will be higher, allowing more tickets for those interested in attending.
When reflecting on the importance of the Power Breakfast and the need being met by this event, Cayton describes the feeling of thankfulness.

“I’m thankful for the people that believe in what we’re doing and thankful for the team members we have working with the Greater Fayetteville Business Journal that support us and are here helping this come together,” said Cayton. “I am also thankful for the speakers and panel participants that are devoting their time to this.”
Tickets are in high demand for the event, and they are on sale now. Prospective attendees can purchase individual tickets or tickets for a table.

Tickets are available to purchase individually or as a table. Get yours today at www.fayettevillepowerbreakfast.com.