Governor Proclaims Rural Week

Rural Week

2025

By The Governor Of The State Of North Carolina

A Proclamation

Whereas, the state of North Carolina comprises 100 counties, 78 of which are rural, encompassing 3.7 million rural residents; 84 percent of North Carolina municipalities have fewer than 10,000 residents; and 58 percent of North Carolina municipalities have fewer than 2,500 residents;

Whereas, opportunities to stabilize and transform rural health, expand accessible, affordable high-speed broadband, revitalize water and wastewater infrastructure, and invest in stronger entrepreneurship and small-business development systems are essential to our great state's national and global economic competitiveness and to the future health and well-being of our state's rural residents; and

Whereas, our rural communities deserve the opportunity and support to educate their children, live better and healthier lives, launch their small business dreams, and live in safe, supportive, and welcoming communities; and

Whereas, a strong rural workforce and innovative spirit has historically been the economic catalyst that has driven our state's growth and will be necessary to build more vibrant, thriving, and equitable state and local economies in the future; and

Whereas, today and every day we recognize, celebrate, and honor the resilience, beauty, hospitality, and endless treasures that resonate throughout all of rural North Carolina and that is embodied in the people who call it home;

Now, Therefore, I, Josh Stein, Governor of the State of North Carolina, do hereby proclaim March 25-26, 2025, as “Rural Week” in North Carolina, and commend its observance to all citizens.

In Witness Whereof, I have hereunto set my hand and affixed the Great Seal of the State of North Carolina at the Capitol in Raleigh this twenty-fifth day of February in the year of our Lord two thousand and twenty-fifth and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and forty-ninth.