Eric Church, a rising Nashville hitmaker born in North Carolina, joins Durham resident and jazz and classical star Branford Marsalis on Friday at the Raleigh Convention Center for the gala presentation, followed immediately by the inaugural ball with Tres Chicas and Chatham County Line. Tickets for both are $200, and proceeds from all four events go to their host, the long-standing, long-serving Junior League of Raleigh. For more information, see www.ncgovernorsball.org. —Grayson Currin

RALEIGH, N.C. - Governor-elect Bev Perdue rounded out her cabinet and named her final four secretaries.

They include newcomer Kenneth Lay who will lead the department of revenue. He left the finance industry, most recently Bank of America in Charlotte.

Britt Cobb will oversee the department of administration. He is the only Easley cabinet holdover.

Former Brevard and Shelby city manager Dee Freeman becomes the new secretary of environment and natural resources. Perhaps the person inheriting the most problems is Lanier Cansler. He'll lead the department of health and human services.

He served as a deputy secretary in the department when mental health reforms passed in 2001 and supports the changes.

"I believe in the concept of community capacity, the implementation of it has been a real problem. We'll focus on addressing that and do the things we need to do," said Cansler.

Governor-elect Bev Perdue's appointment of Gene Conti as secretary of transportation -- long rumored but not made public until her news conference this morning -- is part of a distinct effort to signal that things will be different at the Department of Transportation. It may be an end to the ride that let members of the N.C. Board of Transportation channel highway projects to their home towns.

Conti is a former assistant secretary at the U.S. Department of Transportation and also was chief deputy secretary at the N.C. Department of Transportation for two years early in the Easley administration. More recently he has been vice chair of the N.C. Global TransPark Authority. He also holds a PhD in anthropology from Duke University.

What makes this appointment interesting is that Perdue ignored the advice of Senate President Pro Tem Marc Basnight, who publicly called for the appointment of DOT board member Lanny Wilson of Wilmington, who has raised money for politicians including Perdue, to be secretary of transportation. And she also chose not to appoint state Sen. Clark Jenkins, D-Edgecombe, who was among those whose names were bandied about for the job. This is one good way to declare her independence from the Senate, where she was a member and over which she has presided the past eight years.

More significant to me is Perdue's call for a dramatic change in the way the N.C. Board of Transportation operates. She wants to make it strictly a long-range planning board and take it out of the business of making regular decisions on highway and other transportation projects. It will require some statutory changes to accomplish this, but Perdue plans to issue an executive order next Monday starting this process and to make it clear to appointees that decisions belong with Conti and the department's professional staff. She'll also require board members to sign a tough new ethics policy.

If Perdue can manage this, and fight off any uproar that develops in the legislature because of unhappiness over ending the longtime connection between contributing money and landing a board of transportation appointment that enables board members to steer transportation projects where they like, she will have made a real contribution to ending the pay-to-play tradition in Raleigh.

Who: Governor-elect Bev Perdue and appointees

What:  Announcement of cabinet secretaries and leadership appointees 

Where: Department of Administration Building, Press Conference Room, 1st floor
116 W. West Jones St., Raleigh

When: Tuesday, January 6, 3:00 p.m.

Who: Governor-elect Bev Perdue and appointees

What: Announcement of cabinet secretaries and leadership appointees 

Where: Department of Administration Building, Press Conference Room, 1st floor
116 W. West Jones St., Raleigh

When: Monday, January 5, 11:30 a.m.

Who: Governor-elect Bev Perdue and appointees

What: Announcement of cabinet secretaries and leadership appointees 

Where: Administration Building, Press Conference Room, 1st floor
116 West Jones St., Raleigh

When: Friday, January 2, 2 p.m.

By Jaclyn Asztalos, NBC17

RALEIGH, N.C. - More technology is coming to the classroom and the Joint Legislative Commission is assuring that the change will happen.

Leaders in North Caroline spoke to more than 200 educators and business leaders about how curriculum in schools must be combined with the use of computers and online programs.

Governor-Elect Bev Perdue talked about how this integration will effect education, the job market and the overall future of the economy.

"I believe North Carolina must continue our goal in providing global access to global markets. It's good for our economy, its good for our kids. There should be no academic barrier for any kid in our state to take advantage of remedial recovery course or academic technology and science course," Perdue said.

Perdue also said that technology in the classroom is part of the "life long learning" concept that she has promoted through the years.

Photo by Stephen C. Fehr, Stateline.org

Governor-elect Bev Perdue will hold an economic roundtable with area business and economic leaders at UNC Charlotte on Tuesday, November 25, the first in a series of issue-oriented roundtables.

Chaired by Charlotte Bobcats owner Bob Johnson, Duke Energy CEO Jim Rogers, Bank of America executive Cathy Bessant, and UNC Charlotte Chancellor Dr. Phil Dubois, the format will include an overview of current national, state and local economic conditions followed by a roundtable discussion with Governor-elect Perdue.  The session will be moderated by Ferrel Guillory, director of UNC Chapel Hill’s Program on Public Life.

WHO:           Governor-elect Bev Perdue and Charlotte-area business leaders

WHAT:          Economic Roundtable

WHEN:          Tuesday, November 25  10:00 a.m.

WHERE:       UNC-Charlotte Harris Alumni Center

WHO:           Governor-elect Bev Perdue and members of the biotech industry

WHAT:          Roundtable discussion

WHEN:          Monday, November 24  1:00 p.m.

WHERE:       NC Biotech Center

15 T.W. Alexander Drive

Research Triangle Park, NC 27709-3547

Board of Directors Room

As part of her transition effort, Governor-elect Perdue will seek feedback and recommendations from a series of transition advisory groups with initial day-long sessions convening between November 19th and November 25th.

The meetings will be staffed and run by professional facilitators from the N.C. Small Business Technology Development Center. The groups will be asked to review materials and presentations from the state’s cabinet agencies, discuss missions and programs, and provide feedback and recommendations that will be delivered to Governor-elect Perdue.

The meetings are open to the public; anyone interested in participating should contact the transition office at 919-715-1540 or visit bevperdue.com. Locations and dates are subject to change.

Each group is expected to provide diverse input rather than reach a single group consensus. While some groups may schedule follow-up meetings as necessary, final recommendations will be submitted to Governor-elect Perdue’s transition team by December 8.

Governor-elect Perdue is also soliciting citizen input through a suggestion box on her website at www.bevperdue.com.  Additionally, she will participate in issue-oriented discussions throughout the state during the transition period.

“These advisory groups will provide valuable feedback to Governor-elect Perdue and are a tool to open up government to North Carolina’s citizens,” said Perdue’s Communications Director David Kochman.

Transition Advisory Groups include: