References

“Kim, As State Superintendent for the Public Schools of North Carolina, I am pleased to have the opportunity to say thank you" for your dedicated service to education in North Carolina, and for demonstrating outstanding leadership toward making Phoenix Academy a school where students can grow and achieve academic success. I wish I could be with you in person to celebrate your contributions and service to education.

I also commend you for your leadership in bringing Positive Behavior Intervention and Support (PBIS) to Phoenix Academy and North Carolina, which establishes and reinforces clear behavior expectations toward ensuring caring and safe communities for learning.”

-June St. Clair Atkinson – former Superintendent NC Department of Public Instruction

“It was a pleasure working together Paul in his role on the Charter School Advisory Council. He worked tenaciously to automate and streamline the application process, working closely with policy makers on the SBE and leadership at DPI. He understands the big picture of the process as well as the minutia of each detail.”

- Bill Harrison, Former Chairman – North Carolina State Board of Education

“I had the privilege of being the Chairman of the State Board of Education at the point when Charter Schools started ramping up on the education landscape in North Carolina, and awarded Kim and Paul their charter in 1999 when they converted from a private school. 

They have been at the tip of the spear from the beginning by bringing PBIS into Public Education, being a pioneer of integrated web based curriculum, being the first charter IB candidate school in the state and creating a hybrid industry specific University, College, Corporate partnership career track programs. They exemplify the goal of charter schools, to be an incubator for new ideas and Innovation in Education.”

- Phil Kirk, Former Chairman – NC State Board of Education & Department of Commerce

“In my many years of public service as a Mayor, State Senator and Chairman of the State Board of Education, I have a vast knowledge of governance and education policy. I have known Paul for many years and am impressed with his knowledge and experience in these areas, and his devotion to educational choice and equity in education, which is why I was pleased to have him serve on my Board at the Howard N. Lee Institute for equity and opportunity in Education.”

- The Honorable Senator Howard Lee, Former Chairman – North Carolina Board of Education

“Paul Norcross played an important role in securing the passage of SB-8, which eliminated the cap of 100 schools in North Carolina. This was the first step in real reform and was critical to the process of getting us going in the right direction. He worked closely with the legislature and was instrumental in its passage.”

- The Honorable Richard Stevens, Esq, Former NC Senator  – North Carolina Senate

“I’d like to thank this great leader. The charter school movement took a whole lot of heat when it was initiated. Some saw that as hurting the traditional public school system. Those who had the courage to start this school up with five kids were seen as kind of renegades. When in fact, they weren’t renegades, they were visionaries. And these visionaries are continuing to make a difference for hundreds upon hundreds of kids in Guilford County. And it take visionaries like this to stick their neck out against the status quo.”

- Pat McCrory – Former Governor of North Carolina

“I am happy to extend my sincerest congratulations to you on receiving the Order of the Long Leaf Pine. This is a tremendous honor, and you should take great pride in this distinguished award. Your selection is a tribute to the many years of service you have given to North Carolina. Your career truly reflects the highest standard of integrity, and I thank you for your commitment to public service.”

- US Senator Tom Tillis

“Paul ventured to Macau in 2005 when the project was first coming out of the ground. He aggressively pursued the business and was awarded the loose FF&E installation of the 6th largest building in the world, competing with established competitors with decades of experience in the region. Over the course of the project he was always there and filled any void we had in a market that was virtually brand new with very little infrastructure to serve our needs. 

He was responsible for developing the systems and implementing the rollout and ongoing operations for the: Mail Services, Outbound Logistics for soiled laundry, Inbound Logistics for clean laundry, off site Receiving, Storage and Distribution of all company owned retail outlets, All receiving and dock operations for the Integrated Resort including food, high value merchandise and all other goods, installation for several of the public areas and retail outlets. On opening night even 20 men to receive and deliver luggage to the rooms with thousands of VIP guests from all corners of the world. He never turned down a request and no matter how difficult the challenge he always found a solution and never said “no”. 

All of this in a high intensity environment dealing with many cultures and personalities from Nepalese dock workers to Australian senior executives. Depending upon the occasion he would be in a Tuxedo, tailored suit of blue jeans and work boots. Whatever the need, he was there and on the job.”

- Tim Nauss, Former Senior Executive – The Venetian Macao

“My first day on the job as COO of a major global entertainment company in Macau (China), I was bombarded with issues surrounding our Supply Management Department, which controlled all sourcing, procurement, warehousing, inventory control and distribution. I sent a facebook message to Paul who was in North Carolina, he was halfway around the world to meet me three days later. He brought his team in and worked tirelessly with them, our management, frontline staff and other service providers. 

In a matter of months he was responsible for consolidating multiple warehouses into a single location, integrated new IT systems, developed and implemented Policies and Procedures, Process Flow, Job Descriptions with full training and completely redefined the feel and atmosphere of the department and how it interacted with other departments within the organization. We were so impressed with Paul and his company that we extended the agreement and modified the scope to cover a complete Lean Management Program, whereby his team evaluated every contract held by the multi-billion dollar, came up with recommendations and renegotiated with our suppliers. The annual savings was well into the millions of US Dollars.”

- Nicholas Naples, Former CEO – Melco Crown Entertainment