Raleigh Receives High Accolades in 2008

Raleigh, NC, January 22, 2009 --(PR.com)-- Ken Atkins, executive director for Wake County Economic Development (WCED) (www.raleigh-wake.org), has announced that Raleigh and North Carolina were honored with numerous national accolades in 2008. Together, Raleigh and North Carolina ranked number one in eight categories, in the top five of 14 other rankings and in the top 10 of eight additional categories.

The # 1 rankings for Raleigh and North Carolina in 2008 were:

• Most Political City (Raleigh, NC), Men's Health, October 2008
• Best City for Doing Business (Raleigh-Cary, NC), Inc.com, July 2008
• Pro-Business State (North Carolina), Pollina.com, June 2008
• Best Place to Live in the U.S. (Raleigh, NC), msnbc, June 2008
• Best Place for Young Adults (Raleigh, NC), Bizjournals, May 2008
• Best Place for Business and Careers (Raleigh, NC), Forbes.com, March 2008
• The Best American City for Singles (Raleigh, NC), Every Day with Rachael Ray, January 2008
• Healthiest City for Men (Raleigh, NC), Men's Health, January 2008

Several companies invested in the Wake County in 2008, bringing in more than $426 million and generating more than 3,500 jobs. Among some of the companies bringing business to the area are: HCL America Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of HCL Technologies Ltd., India’s leading global information technology services firm; Patheon, a global provider of drug development and manufacturing services to the international pharmaceutical industry; Medis medical imaging systems, Inc., a provider of software for the quantification of cardiovascular images and images of the brain; and Network Appliance, Inc., a leader in advanced network storage solutions.

For a complete list of accolades that Wake County received in 2008, visit www.raleigh-wake.org.

“Raleigh is an incredible community to live and work, and these accolades indicate that the Triangle is among the nation’s best places to live, start a business, raise a family and earn a world-class education,” said Atkins. “We are honored that Raleigh has been recognized by so many different publications and look forward to continuing that trend in 2009.”

About Wake County Economic Development:
Wake County Economic Development (WCED), a program of the Greater Raleigh Chamber of Commerce, is the primary economic development organization for Wake County and its 12 municipalities. WCED hosts clients evaluating Wake County for possible facility locations each year and facilitates dozens of corporate expansions, resulting in new jobs and capital investment for Raleigh and Wake County. Services available to companies that are considering relocating or expanding in Wake County include economic and demographic research, site and building inventory searches, visitation itineraries, community tours, corporate executive and employee briefings, employee relocation assistance, and post-relocation services. In both 2002 and 2003, Site Selection magazine recognized WCED as one of the top ten economic development organizations in the United States. For more information about WCED, please visit www.raleigh-wake.org.

Patty Briguglio
MMI Associates, Inc.
(919) 233-6600
patty@mmimarketing.com
PR Firms Raleigh, NC

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