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Franklin Southampton Economic Development Inc. found the person it wanted to help lead its efforts to market the area in the goal of economic growth.

The organization hired R. Lauren Rodil to be its new marketing and existing business manager.

“We are very pleased to add Lauren Rodil to our team, and I believe she will be an excellent marketing and existing business manager,” FSEDI President and CEO Karl T. Heck said. “Ms. Rodil comes to FSEDI with substantial experience in graphic design and marketing, and we look forward to her helping us continue to grow Franklin Southampton’s brand and name recognition as an excellent place to do business and grow. 

“Our area is continuing to see business expansion and growth, and a strong marketing component to FSEDI operations is critical to maintain and expand our business base,” he added.

Rodil noted being quite pleased to join FSEDI’s trio of other employees to complete its four-person team.

“I’m super excited to be able to work with them since they work with the community,” she said. “It’s something that I’ve been wanting to get into.”

Rodil resides in nearby Gates, North Carolina, where she’s lived since childhood, and she has been a frequent visitor of Franklin for most of her life.

“I did grow up in Gates, so I’m fairly familiar with this area. Especially with the geocaching, it helped me become even more familiar,” she said. “My dad actually works out here at IP, so I get a lot of news from here even when I wasn’t visiting.”

She explained that this time in her life is about giving back to the community, being a part of it, knowing what is going on in it and being a part of the events that FSEDI helps facilitate within it.

“So I’m really excited for that and the fact that I get to do what my generation does best which is be on social media —  that’s definitely a bonus,” she said.

Heck said, “Lauren’s experience and dedication to helping our region grow and prosper is a valuable asset that made her our choice for the marketing and existing business manager position. We look forward to having more people and business owners get to know her in her new role.”

The marketing and existing business manager position was previously held by Ashley Covington, but Rodil noted that her own responsibilities are actually a little different from those that had belonged to Covington. 

“They’re a little pared down,” Rodil said. “So I will be focusing on marketing the events, FSEDI, (the Franklin Business Center) and the tourism. I will be sharing the events, trying to get the community more involved and gather all of their information and market them and the businesses that are coming here.”

Previous positions Rodil has held have given her experience in talking with people, especially customers, she said.

“I have done some limited social media advertising before for clients of my own for freelance, so I think those helped prepare me and make me more aware of some of the stuff that is needed to do my job,” she said.

Rodil has been on the job with FSEDI for a month now, and the orientation process that new hires often go through to ease them into a position was rather brief for her.

“My first day was June 5th, and they tried to ease me into it,” she said. “It was funny, they tried to be gentle with me, but then like the third day, it’s like, ‘No we can’t. Go into the deep end, you can do it!’”

She said, “It’s super exciting to be here, and I’m enjoying it so far.”