Winston-Salem: We got Dell because we're smarter
My colleague, business reporter Nate DeGraff, brought to my attention that the Winston-Salem Chamber of Commerce is boasting on their web site that Dell Computer picked their city for its new plant because...wait for it...they have "Really Smart People."
Go to www.winstonsalem.com and you'll be directed to a page on a site called reallysmartpeople.org. There you can watch a video about entrepreneurs in Winston-Salem that presumably have academic abilities commensurate with the name of the web site. It poses the question, "Why did Dell choose Winston-Salem? Really Smart People."
Now Inside Scoop is not suggesting that people in Winston-Salem aren't smart -- several of the people featured in the video were wearing white lab coats. But the page does come awfully close to suggesting that Greensboro, High Point and Guilford County lost out on the deal because we're not as smart.
That's unpossible.
To set the record straight, Inside Scoop consulted the latest data from the U.S. Census Bureau for the two counties:
| County | % with high school diploma | % with 4-year degree |
| Forsyth | 82% | 28.7% |
| Guilford | 83% | 30.3% |
Comments (4)
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Well, as a Winston-Salemer/ite/whatever I'd like to think that we're more smart and less stupider than the madding crowd over there in Guilford.
I guess it was our superior intellect that enabled us to figure out that a +$30 million bribe might sway the vote.
Posted on January 14, 2005 11:35 AM
More evidence that refutes that claim.
Guilford County: John Kerry
Forsyth County: Geworge W. Bush
Posted on January 15, 2005 12:42 PM
Greensboro may be better educated; but are we smarter?
There is something about this place that is not quite just right. A friend told me a story about a former governor that refused to spend the night in Greensboro, preferring to travel even at late or early hours rather that sleeping here.
Posted on January 16, 2005 11:25 AM
The Dell officials did not want to relocate their management to Guilford County because of the school board. If you move to High Point, you don't even know which High School your child will attend. Makes for a real incentive to move here eh?
Imagine the upper management and their spouses with a realtor looking for a home in Greensboro. One says, "Show me the schools and let me make a visit." The realtor says, "well, you'll have to play a lottery...."
Posted on January 16, 2005 2:26 PM