Golden LEAF Board Spotlight: Barry Dodson

Golden LEAF Board Spotlight: Barry Dodson

Golden LEAF Board Spotlight: Barry Dodson

Name: Barry Dodson
City of Residence: Stoneville, NC
County of Residence: Rockingham
Employment: Partner, Dodson Shelton & Nelson, PA Certified Public Accountants
Appointed by: President Pro Tempore of the Senate
Golden LEAF Board Leadership Roles: Board Chair (2016-2017); Board Vice Chair (2015); Audit Committee Chair (2014-2015, 2020)
Appointment date: December 1, 2013 

What are other activities or leadership roles do you provide for the community?

For 30 years, I served as a trustee for Annie Penn Hospital and Moses Cone Health System. I served as a bank director for 20 years, with FNB Southeast, NewBridge Bank, and Yadkin Bank. I also served a three-year term on the North Carolina Lottery Commission as well as the NC Hospital Association Board. Within my local community in Rockingham County, I am active in economic development in downtown Madison. We have renovated 18 storefronts in downtown Madison and brought 23 new tenants to the area.

What is your connection to rural, tobacco-dependent or economically distressed areas?

I grew up in Stokes County, North Carolina. My parents were tobacco farmers, and I am the youngest of ten children raised on a small farm in Sandy Ridge. After attending High Point College, my wife and I settled down in Rockingham County where I have been a small business owner and business developer. Throughout my 45+ years as a practicing CPA, I have served numerous agricultural clients, including tobacco warehouses, equipment dealers and farm supply outlets across the state.

How does your personal and/or professional life complement Golden LEAF’s mission and priorities?

As a CPA in rural North Carolina, I am committed to serving my clients and helping them make strong financial decisions. I regularly encourage my clients to look to our rural areas to grow their businesses and to take advantage of the talented labor markets in these communities across the state. In my personal life, I partner with my development team to purchase and renovate downtown buildings that have been vacated. We strive to do our part to bring economic development to the rural community and to revitalize our historic downtown.

What are you most excited about seeing happen in economic development in rural NC in the next 5-10 years?

Rural North Carolina has great potential for economic development. We have access to international airports, a growing highway system, expanding railways and ports, and incredible infrastructure; therefore, we have great potential for large-scale companies to set roots in our state. North Carolina also has a highly educated population that provides an attractive workforce for businesses. The world-renowned research and healthcare facilities as well as educational institutions in our state regularly enhance economic opportunities for our residents and future businesses.

What do you want people to know about the Golden LEAF Foundation?

Golden LEAF Foundation has the ability to make even more of an impact on our state in the coming years. I am excited about the Foundation expanding its current scholarship program to provide resources for more NC students to attend college. To me our partnership with NC State and others to build the Plant Sciences Facility in Raleigh shows how Golden LEAF is helping to make generational changes for the betterment of all of us.

Golden LEAF Foundation has an excellent governing board and a strong leadership team. I am very proud to be a part of it.

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