I learned from my father, in the dark moments of the Great Depression, a lesson in basic economics which has guided my management of the State's money to this day.
Whenever I would go down to the little store my father ran in Lincoln County to get a soft drink, my father would tell me we had to sell roughly three loaves of bread to make up for what that drink cost. My father explained that the drink cost five cents and we made two cents on each loaf of bread. I learned then to equate the benefits of something with its cost.
Before becoming State Treasurer in 1977, I served as Deputy Treasurer for 16 years, second in command to the late Edwin Gill, an able and innovative leader who was one of North Carolina's most devoted public servants. Before that, I was a tax auditor in the North Carolina Department of Revenue, and later a staff adviser to the N.C. Tax Study Commission, which laid the foundation for improving this State's business climate.
There are two important achievements of my tenure as Treasurer of which I am proud. The first is our ability in North Carolina to maintain the Triple-A credit rating which was obtained during the leadership of my predecessor in 1960. We talk much about the importance of North Carolina's maintaining its Triple-A credit rating and it is a very significant thing for our taxpayers. It translates directly in the savings of millions of dollars for them each year.
North Carolina's retention of its Triple-A credit rating, even during difficult times when the State faced major budget crises, is a singular fiscal achievement and one that we should always safeguard. North Carolina is one of only four states which have a Triple-A credit rating. Nine local government units in North Carolina also have a Triple-A credit rating and this is the highest number of any state, representing 25 percent of all Triple-A credit rated local governments in the nation.
Second, I am proud of the modernization techniques we have employed in the Treasurer's Office over the years. Our office has been at the leading edge of putting new technology to work, beginning with electronic deposits and continuing with the advanced use of computers to take advantage of every opportunity for increased efficiency. Our office has one of the most important jobs in all of North Carolina State government, yet we do that job with a small workforce-and we do the job well.
The North Carolina Treasurer's Office has one of the most aggressive Escheat and Unclaimed Property programs in the nation. Through this program thousands of citizens are found and notified each year of unclaimed property which belongs to them. In 1993, some 2,300 students received loans to attend public institutions of higher learning, from the $6.7 million in interest earnings from the Escheat and Unclaimed Property funds.
The State budget has increased from $3 billion to nearly $17 billion during my tenure as State Treasurer. During the same time the State workforce has grown from 158,000 to 218,000. And the total trust funds under management by the Treasurer have grown from $3.6 billion in 1976 to nearly $31 billion in 1994. By the end of this century the State's trust funds are projected to comprise a $50 billion portfolio.
Personal
I was born May 6, 1929, in Lincoln County, and have been married 42 years to the former Frankie Wilder of Johnston County. We have two daughters and one son. I graduated from the University of North Carolina in 1951 with a degree in accounting and became a Certified Public Accountant in 1955.
I have served as president of the National Association of State Auditors, Comptrollers and Treasurers; president of the Raleigh Rotary Club; chairman of the Wake County Salvation Army Advisory Board; member of the North Carolina Association of Certified Public Accountants; member of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board; member of the North Carolina Art Society; member of the John Motley Morehead Memorial Commission; president of the Raleigh Executive's Club; deacon, elder, treasurer and clerk of the Westminster Presbyterian Church; and long have been active in the Democratic party.
The Treasurer serves as an ex-officio member of the Council of State; Chairman, Local Government Commission; Chairman, Tax Review Board; Chairman, State Banking Commission; Chairman, Board of Trustees, Teachers' and State Employees Retirement System; Chairman, Board of Trustees, Local Governmental Employees' Retirement System; Chairman, Firemen's and Rescue Workers' Pension Fund; Member, State Board of Education; Member, State Board of Community Colleges; Member, Capital Planning Commission; Member, North Carolina Housing Commission; Member, North Carolina Global TransPark Authority.
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