Mark your calendars and plan to join the Greater Fayetteville Business Journal at the Cape Fear Botanical Garden on Dec. 5 from 7:30 a.m. to 9:30 a.m. for the last Power Breakfast of 2024.

The next Power Breakfast features Fayetteville's Most Intriguing People of 2024. We'll hear from a panel of experts about a range of topics such as new business recruitment, investment growth from our giving, our military economy and helping our neighbors in WNC.
“Our final Power Breakfast of the year will be an opportunity to hear from leaders in our community who are running organizations with a wide reach of impact. While these organizations may seem to have very straightforward goals and missions, you’d be surprised at the impact they have in areas you might not think they would be connected with. We plan to speak with them about past, current and future projects that may be coming to our community, and encourage everyone to come out to learn more about these amazing leaders who usually stay out of the spotlight,” shared Greater Fayetteville Business Journal Editor Faith Hatton.

THE FOUR PANELISTS FOR THE DEC. 5 POWER BREAKFAST ARE:

SCOTT DORNEY
Executive Director, North Carolina Military Business Center 

Scott Dorney has served as the Executive Director of the North Carolina Military Business Center (NCMBC) since Dec. 1, 2004. The NCMBC grows the defense economy by expanding federal contracting and supporting retention of transitioning military personnel and recruitment of defense contractors to North Carolina.

Prior to joining the NCMBC in 2004, Dorney served six years as the Chief Officer for Support Services for the City of Fayetteville. In this capacity, he directed Human Resources and had management responsibility for other departments, including Risk Management and Information Technology. Prior to joining the City of Fayetteville, Dorney served nearly 22 years on active duty as a commissioned officer in the United States Army.

Dorney currently serves as a Governor-appointed member of the North Carolina Board of Science, Technology and Innovation. He previously served on boards of the USO of North Carolina, the North Carolina Defense Business Association and the North Carolina Sustainable Energy Association, as Chair of the Cumberland County Business and Education Partnership and as President of the Fayetteville Area Society for Human Resource Management.

PHIL HARRIS, JR.
Executive Director, Sandhills Chapter of the American Red Cross

Phil Harris, Jr. currently serves as Executive Director of the Sandhills Chapter of the American Red Cross serving 10 counties: (Cumberland, Harnett, Lee, Hoke, Sampson, Bladen, Moore, Richmond, Scotland and Robeson Counties) along with two offices on Fort Liberty. He is a lifelong resident of Fayetteville,
NC. Harris Jr. is a graduate of Wake Forest University. He joined the Red Cross in August 2013 after spending 30 years in the banking industry. He has been active in numerous civic and charitable organizations over the years.

MARY HOLMES
President/CEO, Cumberland Community Foundation, Inc.

Mary Moorman Holmes is President/CEO of Cumberland Community Foundation, a community-focused resource for donors and nonprofits of wide ranging capacities. Since 1997, CCF has grown from $4 million in endowed assets to $141 million. The community foundation focuses on raising unrestricted endowments to build community wealth and the capacity to meet changing needs. CCF also promotes designated endowments that support the missions of specific charitable organizations, small or large.

In 2021, Business North Carolina identified Holmes as one of the state's 100 most influential leaders in the inaugural Power List 100. She is the 2024 recipient of the Mary Mildred Sullivan Award, presented by the Algernon Sydney Sullivan Foundation and awarded by Methodist University. She has presented at national conferences for Council on Foundations and Advancement Network (AdNet) on endowment building, donor stewardship, partnering with nonprofit organizations to build sustainable revenue and giving days.

ROBERT VAN GEONS
President/CEO, Fayetteville Cumberland County Economic Development Corporation

Robert Van Geons has been President and CEO of FCEDC since January of 2017. With the support of local leaders, in five years, he and his team have announced more than 5,000 new jobs and $1.6 billion in new investment. With 20 years of experience, Van Geons has assisted companies from a variety of industries, successfully completing projects with businesses from across the US and more than a dozen countries, resulting in over $3.5 billion of announcements and more than 11,000 jobs.

Van Geons received his Master of Science in Economic Development from the University of Southern Mississippi and completed his Bachelor of Arts at Catawba College. He has also earned his Certification in City/County Management from the University of North Carolina School of Government, is a graduate of the University of Oklahoma’s Economic Development Institute and is a Certified Economic Developer (CEcD). He is a member of IEDC's Board of Directors, a 4X Business NC Power List honoree, NCEDA's 2022 Innovator of the Year, and was previously recognized as one of the "Top 50 Economic Developers in North America" (Economix 2017).

Tickets are on sale now at fayettevillepowerbreakfast.com.
Join us as we hear from leaders in our community who have made a significant impact in 2024.