BUSINESS FOCUS
Briefs
Belk Foundation gives grant
to Saint Augustine's College
The Belk Foundation awarded a $100,000 grant
to Saint Augustine's College in Raleigh for a new
career center to be located on its campus at Goold
Hall, which is also the student union.
The Belk Career Centers is part of a larger $3.4
million renovation project at Goold Hall. Through
the state-of-the-art Belk Career Center, students
will receive increased access to face-to-face career
services. The expanded offerings will include
career development workshops, individual resume
and cover letter critiques and practice interview
sessions.
"The Belk Foundation is pleased to announce
this grant to help fund a new career center for Saint
Augustine's, "said Paul Wyche, trustee of The Belk
Foundation. "We believe the new center will be a
tremendous asset to the students by providing sup
port and help as they plan their transition from col
lege to careers and jobs in today's competitive
workplace."
"The services and workshops offered through
the new Belk Career Center will give our students
and the community members who take advantage
of these programs a competitive edge in the busi
ness world," said Dianne Boardley Suber, president
of Saint Augustine's College. "The College is
excited to embark on this renovation project, and
we thank the Belk Foundation for its contribution."
The project is slated to be completed by spring
2008.
Truliant's Padgett takes home
Mark of Excellence Award
Clyde Padgett, who serves on the board of direc
tors at Truliant Federal Credit Union, won the presti
gious Mark of Excellence Award at the 73rd annual
meeting of the
North
Carolina
Credit Union
League
(NCCUL)
held in June.
Padgett
received the
award, one of
the highest
honors
bestowed to
credit union
people in
North
Carolina, in a
special awards
ceremony.
The Mark
Clyde Padgett with his aJSZ"" ?f E*cellence
Award was
established as
a means of recognizing * sustained leadership.
Eligibility is limited to past recipients of the Ronald
J. Hutchins Credit Union Volunteer Person of the
Year Award with 25 or more years of service in the
credit union industry. A committee made up of
statewide credit union leaders selected Padgett to
receive the award.
Padgett has been a member of the credit union for
52 years, and has served on the board of directors
since 1984. He served as Truliant's chairman from
1986 until 2003, presiding over dramatic growth and
developing several innovative plans and processes
for the credit union.
Padgett has been very active in the credit union
movement on the state and national level. He has
served as a director of the Carolinas Credit Union
Foundation, as well as participated in many commit
tees for the NCCUL and the Credit Union National
Association. He is also active in the Winston-Salem
community, serving in a variety of roles for organiza
tions such as the Chamber of Commerce, United Way
and the Arts Council.
Pressley Ridgill is new
NewBridge Bancorp leader
Pressley A. Ridgill is the new Chief Executive
Officer of NewBridge Bancorp, the Board of
Directors announced last week. He replaces Robert
F. Lowe, who retired as CEO on June 30. Ridgill
has held the title of president of NewBridge
Bancorp and president and CEO of NewBridge
Bank since 2007. He now becomes president and
CEO of NewBridge Bancorp. Lowe will remain
Chairman of both NewBridge Bancorp and
NewBridge Bank.
Barry Z. Dodson, vice chairman of the board
and lead independent director, said, "Pressley
Ridgill has demonstrated outstanding leadership
with the successful merger of the two legacy banks
in 2007 and is well suited to lead a more stream
lined, customer-focused organization toward future
earnings growth. He is a proven industry leader
and a highly experienced and respected operating
executive who played a major role in the strategy
and implementation of the merger. Pressley will
continue to strengthen and build our culture based
on employee teamwork, customer relationships and
operational efficiency to generate additional share
holder value."
A native of Manning, S.C., Ridgill earned a
Master of Accountancy degree and Bachelor of
Science in Business Administration degree from
the University of South Carolina. Additionally, he
graduated from a three-year advanced banking pro
gram through the Graduate School of Banking of
the South at Louisiana State University. |
Stackhouse picked to lead Legal Aid
The Hampton alumnae
has a long history with
the agency
CHRONICLE STAFF REPORT
The Winston-Salem office of
Legal Aid of North Carolina
(LANC) has a new managing
attorney.
Yvette Stackhouse was
appointed to the position last
week, after serving as the
agency's interim managing attor
ney since October 2007 .
In her new position,
Stackhouse will manage all
aspects of the LANC law practice
in the Winston-Salem area and
supervise a staff of 26-member
staff, including 12 attorneys and
? i
nine paralegals.
LANC is a statewide nonprof
it law firm that provides free
legal services in civil matters to
eligible, low-income residents. It
serves all 100 of North
Carolina's counties through 24
geographically located offices
across the state. The LANC
Winston-Salem Office serves
Forsyth, Davie, Iredell, Surry,
Stokes and Yadkin counties.
Stackhouse is already making
plans to enhance the agency's
mission and community educa
tion efforts.
"I want our office to be an
intricate part of the Winston
Salem community by providing
more community education to
our low-income residents about
legal issues concerning their
rights," Stackhouse said.
A 1980 graduate of Hampton
Yvette Stackhouse
University, Stackhouse received
her law degree from the T.C.
Williams School of Law at the
University of Richmond in 1993.
She began her work with LANC
as a law clerk. After working off
and on for the law firm for sever
al years, she became a staff attor
ney in 2000. In 2004.
Stackhouse became a supervising
attorney for the public benefits
unit of the Winston-Salem office.
Stackhouse is a member of
the NC Academy of Trial
Lawyers, NC Bar Association,
Forsyth County Bar Association
and the Winston-Salem Bar
Association. She is also a board
member of Experiment in Self
Reliance (ESR), a local nonprofit
agency that helps low-income
citizens receive jobs and perma
nent housing. In addition, she is
a member ?f the 2007 class of
Leadership Winston-Salem.
FTCC Image
The new Northwest Forsyth Center will open next week.
FTCC to open new
job training building
CHRONICLE STAFF REPORT
Tomorrow's public safety officers
are expected to be trained at a new
facility that Forsyth Technical
Community College will open next
week in King.
The Northwest Forsyth Center,
which is at 3 1 1 1 Big Oaks
Unve in lung, will nouse
training programs for
police, fire and emergency
rescue techni
cians .beginning in the fall.
The building will also
offer classes in general
education, certified nurs
ing assistance and indus
trial technology.
A nbbon-cutting is
_ i _ a. i r r ? j T..1. . to
siaieu lor rnuay, juiy 10.
U.S. Sen. Richard Burr is
expected to give the featured address.
As the name suggests, the two
story, 40,000 sq. ft. brick and block
building is tucked in the northwest cor
ner of Forsyth County. It was designed
by the local architectural firm of Erfoy,
Brake, Appleyard Associates and sits
on 52 acres, enough space to accom
modate additional classroom buildings
in the future. The design and construc
tion costs amounted to $7.7 million,
which were financed with state bond
funds.
Among the state-of-the-art facilities
is a suite of four furnished rooms that
will be used to simulate crime scenes.
The living room, bedroom, bathroom
and kitchen will also be used by fire
and rescue students learning to safely
transport victims and patients.
Another feature is an Emei^ency
Medical Science lab into which an
ambulance can be driven. A wireless
camera will project the actions of the
students in the ambulance onto a large
screen. Basic Law Enforcement stu
dents, as well as officers in the field,
will have use of a soft room, with its
floor and walls covered with
mats, tor such classes as
weapons training, and a
weight room, for physical
strength training.
"It's a modern design that
will accommodate expan
sion," said Ken Jarvis,
Manager of Facilities and
Construction for Forsyth
Tech. "It will be possible fo
Burr
add onto the wings ot the
i :i j: ??
Duuuing.
A new fire training center
is also planned for the site in the near
future. Jarvis said the master plan for
the college calls for one or two addi
tional buildings at a later time.
When it opens to students in
August, the Northwest Forsyth Center
will provide space for Forsyth Tech's
Public Service Technologies programs
including Basic Law Enforcement,
Criminal Justice, Emergency Medical
Science, Emergency Preparedness, and
Fire Protection. General Education,
Certified Nursing Assistance and
Industrial System Technology pro
grams will also be housed in the center.
The ribbon-cutting ceremony will
provide invited guests with the oppor
tunity to tour the building. An open
house for the general public will be
held at a later date.
Help arrives
for aspiring
businessowners
t
WSSU will use grant to jump start
small businesses
SPECIAL TO THE CHRONICLE
Winston-Salem State University (WSSU) has received a
$50,000 DataMax Foundation matching grant to stimulate
regional economic development by providing free entrepre
neurship and credit counseling for any area resident planning to
start or who currently owns a small-business.
Through WSSU's two new Centers for Entrepreneurship
(AJhfc.) and
Excellence in
Financial
Services
(CEFS) the
grant funds
will be fulJy
invested in
the communi
ty, and
matched with
another
$50,000 of in
kind contribu
tion by
WSSU pro
fessors, stu
dents, and
professional
staff. Most of
the contribu
tion will be
provided in
the form of
faculty
expertise in
delivering
financial lit
eracy programs and entrepreneurship support, along with stu
dent and staff assistance in facilitating and mentoring partici
pants. The service will be available to any Forsyth County res
ident according to Dr. Notis Pagiavlas, WSSU associate profes
sor of marketing and coordinator of the grant.
"The project requires an infrastructure with long-term via
bility to match the typical timeline of entrepreneurial creation
and incubation," Pagiavlas noted. "The DataMax funds will be
used to prepare and maintain a home base facility for outreach
activities in downtown Winston-Salem, where access and sup
port are primarily and urgently needed."
Later, in the same location or nearby, fully operational turn
key incubators will be available to program participants with
the highest potential for success and impact in the region. The
CFE, the CEFS, the Small Business Technology Development
Center (SBTDC), and the S.G. Atkins Community
Development Corporation (CDC) at WSSU will collaborate in
designing and delivering a series of educational programs that
See Businesses on A9
U.S. Chamber expresses excitement about new SB A leader
? ? ? 1 ? ... ? ? . . - f
CHRONICLE STAFF REPORT
The U.S. Chamber of Commerce last week
welcomed President George W.
Bush's nomination of Sandy K. Baruah (Bah
roo-ah) as Administrator of the Small Business
Administration (SBA).
"The President's quick action to nominate
such a qualified leader to head the SBA illus
trates his dedication to small businesses across
the country," stud the U.S. Chamber's President
and CEO Tom Donohue. "Sandy's knowledge
is deep and his dedication is strong when it
comes to supporting America's small business
es. We hope the Senate will act just as expedi
tiously in confirming this appointment."
Baruah, an Indian American, was previously
nominated by President Bush - and confirmed
by the Senate - as the Assistant Secretary of
Commerce for Economic Development. In that
role, Baruah led and managed the U.S.
Department of Commerce's Economic
Development Administration, the domestic eco
nomic development arm of the Commerce
Department. The mission of EDA is to lead the
NAI.EO Education*] Pima Prtoto
Sandy K. Baruah speaks a t a convention.
federal economic development agenda by pro
moting innovation and competitiveness, prepar
ing American regions for growth and success in
the worldwide economy. EDA's annual invest
ment budget for fiscal year 2006 is over $200
million and tne bureau nas an investment portio
lio under active management of $1.5 billion. In
addition to its headquarters in Washington, D.C.,
EDA has six regional offices across the nation
with 175 professional employees.
He has served the Bush Administration since
2001. Prior to joining President Bush's team at
the Commerce Department, he spent seven years
with Portland, Oregon-based corporate manage
ment consulting firm Performance Consulting
Group.' As a business consultant, he worked on
engagements with clients such as Walt Disney
World, Intel, Key Bank, Citizens Bank and oth
ers.
"Like the President, Sandy understands that
small businesses are the backbone of the
American economy," Donohue said. "While
small businesses are out on the front lines in
fighting off an economic downturn, it's impor
tant they have a leader in Washington who
understands their challenges.''
The U.S. Chamber is the world's largest busi
ness federation representing more than 3 million
businesses and organizations of every size, sec
tor. and region.