A New Hope With a New Industry

Over the past 26 years in Lenoir and Caldwell County, Paul Bowman has witnessed a transformation.

An economy once tied directly to the furniture industry struggled for years with one of the highest unemployment rates in North Carolina after manufacturing jobs moved elsewhere.

Paul, whose parents grew up in Lenoir, was laid off not once, but twice from manufacturing jobs in the area.

“Just a little more than a year ago it looked like the job market was all but drying up and no new industry would come to the area,” says Paul. “I was looking at a two-hour commute each way to find a job.”

Then came Google’s announcement that it would build a $600 million data center in Lenoir and Caldwell County and with it came a new belief that manufacturing was not the only industry for this can-do community. Paul had been interested in electronics since he was just a boy and Google’s presence in the community reinvigorated his old desires.

“We are witnessing the Google announcement jumpstart this community, as more and more 21st century businesses are taking a second look at us,” says Paul. “Folks are going to school to learn the skills needed so they can compete for these new high-tech jobs. Enthusiastic competition fueled by new industry, that’s something we haven’t seen in awhile.”

For Paul, wife, Tonya, four children and 11 pets, Lenoir is home and while it may have been easier to find a job elsewhere, they never considered leaving. After hearing Google’s announcement, Paul decided to return to school and enrolled in Caldwell Community College & Technical Institute’s inaugural IT Institute where he found the work challenging, but excelled to the top of his class. He has joined Google’s Lenoir Data Center team as a Data Technician Assistant.