GREENSBORO, N.C. — North Carolina gained the third most people in the country last year, behind Texas and Florida, according to the U.S. Census Bureau’s population estimate. While some moved to the state for the first time, many traveled back to their hometowns like Greensboro. 

Many cities are working to bring talent back to their area, and Action Greensboro was awarded a global title for its efforts. 

Action Greensboro, through the Chamber of Commerce, helps connect public-private partnerships and relationships. 

One of its programs is the Boomerang Greensboro Campaign.

Cecelia Thompson packs a "boom box" for a potential "boomerang," or a returning Greensboro native. (Spectrum News 1/Sydney McCoy)

“This idea of a boomerang — people who grew up in our group in the Greensboro community, who left, who gained experience and perspective and moved back,” Cecelia Thompson, the executive director of Action Greensboro, said. 

Thompson said the idea of a "boomerang" started around 2019, when the city began seeing Greensboro natives migrate home from other cities, and launched into operation in 2021. 

“We provide what we call a concierge service to those people, helping them find a job, helping them find a Realtor, or maybe a school or a daycare,” Thompson said. “Really, anything that they are looking for.”  

Whether the reason for moving back to Greensboro is work, family or fun, prospects who reach out to learn more about the Boomerang Greensboro campaign are sent “boom boxes” by the “connectors.” The boxes are filled with items and information comparing Greensboro to other large cities, including hotspots of Greensboro natives like Miami, Denver or Boston. 

“Our signature sauce, per se, is our willingness to have a conversation with people and to tailor what their needs are to what Greensboro can offer to them,” Thompson said. “In a 30-minute phone call, we can really better understand what they're looking for and how we can support them in making their transition back to Greensboro.” 

Jeff Fusaiotti, who grew up in Greensboro but moved away to Charlotte to pursue a career in banking, is considered a boomerang. After hearing about the program around a year ago, he knew it was his chance to move home. 

“I'd never heard of it before, and they were explaining how the program aims to attract folks that are from the area to come back home with different opportunities. And so I said, ‘Wow, that sounds amazing. I've never heard of that,'” Fusaiotti said. 

Fusaiotti always knew he wanted to move back one day, but he didn’t know if he would be able to find a job in Greensboro. The Boomerang Greensboro program helped connect him to First Bank in downtown Greensboro, where he is now the chief audit executive. 

Jeff Fusaiotti plays tennis in Greensboro. (Spectrum News 1/Sydney McCoy)

“First Bank really checked both of those boxes for me. They are a bank, but they are focused on culture in a way I just haven't seen before,” Fusaiotti said. 

Not only does he now live a few doors down from his parents, his kids attend the same high school he did and Fusaiotti gets to enjoy hobbies again like tennis or his nonprofit Hands For Hearts. 

“My good friend and I lost our best friend who went to Page High School with us, tragically, and we wanted to do something to honor his memory. So we started a fundraising organization geared towards raising money and awareness for children born with heart defects, known as congenital heart conditions,” Fusaiotti  said. 

The Greensboro native says his nonprofit is on its fourth year of funding a pediatric fellowship at Duke Children’s Hospital and being in Greensboro allows him more hands-on funding opportunities. 

“I am very fortunate and blessed that Greensboro has such a great community program that reaches out to folks like me who want to come back to our hometown,” Fusaiotti  said. 

The Boomerang Greensboro Initiative was named the Best Communications Strategy in Economic Development in the World at the 2024 City Nation Place Awards in London last month. It won against tough competitors including Moldova, Copenhagen, Estonia and Michigan. 

“We all have different assets in our communities. And it's really about how can we creatively communicate them, to what many people would call our customers,” Thompson said. “And those are the kinds of people that we want to come to Greensboro to live, come to Greensboro to invest or to grow their families. And so it was just really thrilling to be among leaders from all over the world.”  

Boomerang Greensboro has created strong working relationships with companies including Honda Jet and First Bank. The program has already helped around 90 families move back to the area and has fielded around 200 inquiries.