PEMBROKE — As he plans to retire Monday as the chief executive officer of the Carolina Commerce and Technology Center, Tony Normand has some advice for Robesonians.

“Stop trying to tell people what is wrong with Robeson County and tell them what is right,’’ he said. “This is a good place to work, live and raise a family.”

COMtech, located just outside Pembroke on N.C. 711, is the vision of Normand, a retired military man and business owner, who in the late 1990s began touting the idea of a Robeson County business park that would become the home of technology-focused business, industry, education, training and business incubation. He envisioned partnerships between The University of North Carolina at Pembroke, Robeson Community College, Public Schools of Robeson County, the Robeson County Board of Commissioners and the Lumbee River Electric Corporation, as the catalyst for the development of the center that would provide support services to businesses doing business in Robeson and surrounding counties.

In his vision, the center would provide the necessities so that long-term workforce development could take place. There would be a positive economic impact throughout the region, he said.

“Our mission is jobs,” Normand said during a recent interview. “You can’t cure social and economic ills if a guy can’t make money.”

From the beginning of the center’s development, it was not unusual to see the CEO out in the fields helping to clear trees and brush, dig ditches, or watch over the installation of the park’s infrastructure.

“I enjoyed working in the field,” Normand said. “I grew up doing construction work. This was a relief from doing office work.”

Normand said that the whole COMtech site today includes about 800 acres.

“We try for logical use of the land,” he said. “We control where the growth will be. We are very security minded.”

Normand says that today there are 52 owned/leased units within the park. They include medical offices, a day care, a high-end restaurant, a construction company, university and community college facilities — such as the Thomas Family Center for Entrepreneurship and UNCP’s Biotechnology and Training Center — and the headquarters of the Lumber River Council of Governments.

Normand said that all of the businesses located at COMtech receive services that include 24-hour security, washing of windows, the cleaning of parking lots, and garbage pickup.

COMtech was incorporated as a nonprofit in July 2000 and began operating in January 2001. Normand said that the first structure on the site —the COMtech Building, which houses office space and meeting facilities — was moved into in mid-2003. Growth has been steady ever since.

“The businesses here have invested about $102 million,” he said. “That has led to the employment of between 1,200 and 1,300 workers.”

Normand also said that in January there will be an announcement of about $8.5 million more being invested at COMtech.

Although the center is now moving forward, Normand and others say that it was not easy in the beginning to get all county communities on board the plan. Robeson County “politics” had to be overcome.

“I never did anything like this,” Normand said. “I learned from the enormous amount of difficulties I encountered.”

Ronnie Hunt, chairman of COMtech’s 12-member board of directors, recalls what Normand faced, a fragmented county quick to get into turf fights.

“He is an amazing man. He was able to pull the whole Robeson County community together. I don’t think anyone else could have done it,” said. “He overcame Robeson County politics.”

Hunt was among those who had to be convinced.

“When Tony first came to see me in the late 90s and told me his vision for an all high-tech park, I told him it couldn’t be done,” Hunt said. “It was amazing to me, but he did it. He put in timeless hours seven days a week. He believes with his whole heart in what he is doing.”

Jane Smith, a realtor from Lumberton and current member of COMtech’s board of directors, also was slow to accept Normand’s vision.

“When I first heard about it, I thought it could never happen. It was just a pipe dream,” Smith said. “But after I gave it some consideration, I thought there was nothing we could lose by trying it.

“Tony has done a wonderful job,” she said. “It’s an amazing vision. We owe him a lot for putting this all together. I don’t think this would have ever happened if it wasn’t for him.”

Noah Woods, chairman of the Robeson County Board of Commissioners, also contends that if Normand had not pushed his vision for the center, it never would have become a reality.

“If there was no vision, that land would still be wild,” Woods said. “This (development) of COMtech reminds me of back in the ‘50s when Research Triangle Park (in Raleigh) got its start. Of course this is on a smaller scale, but RTP had to start out small.”

Greg Cummings, Robeson County’s economic development director, said that Normand took a piece of property and “created a miracle.”

“He created a miniature Research Triangle Park,” Cummings said. “It’s one of the strong marketing tools we use when clients are considering locating a business in the county.”

County Commissioner Roger Oxendine also praised Normand for his efforts to improve the county’s business climate and boost the region’s economy.

“Tony was really a godsend to COMtech,” Oxendine said. “He is always willing to go the extra mile to make things work. I don’t know if he can be replaced.”

Although Normand has been able to develop a successful park, the process has not been a cakewalk. During the park’s infancy there were those who objected to it being located in Pembroke. The park, opponents argued, would better benefit industry if it was located directly on an interstate, near Lumberton, the county seat, which already had much of the infrastructure that would be needed.

“There were a lot of rumblings in the business community at that time about such a large facility being built where no infrastructure exists,” said Lumberton businessman Bo Biggs. “But everybody on governing boards throughout the county voted in favor of the Pembroke site.”

Supporters of COMtech argue that the park is a countywide entity, and is not aligned with any one municipality. They also say that while businesses agree that being located directly on an interstate is important, businesses also say that it is only commercial establishments that need flashing neon signs to be visible from the interstate.

Normand was busy late last week getting his successor, Nick Arena, a former general manager of Acme Electric in Lumberton, up to date on COMtech operations.

“It’s going to be a smooth transition,” Normand said. “Nick is the right man for the job.”

Arena, who has been teaching courses at UNCP’s School of Business, said he is looking forward to following in Normand’s footsteps.

“I think Tony has done a fantastic job,” he said. “That’s why I decided I’d like to work for COMtech.”

Normand said he will miss COMtech, but is looking forward to his semi-retirement. His plans call for living on a farm he bought in Huntsville, Ark., and spending some time in Washington, D.C., where he will serve as a consultant to Science Applications International.

“I most enjoy working with business managers and leaders,” he said. “That is something I can do to really help people.”

During a reception for him last month before a county Board of Commissioners meeting, Normand told the gathering of friends and business acquaintances that the success of COMtech is the result of many people working together, not just one person.

“I’m going to miss this,” he said. “I’ve lived in seven countries and nine states, but I’ve never felt as much at home as I do here.”