BUSINESS FOCUS
Briefs
Biscuit makers honored for skills
Area residents did well in the recent Biscuitville
Inc. Biscuit Bake-Off.
Ken Underwood, operator of the Battleground
Avenue location in Greensboro, won the title of
"Company -Wide Management Champion for 2008."
Wendy Davis, a crew member at the Rockingham
location, won the Company- Wide Crew
Championship.
'"Hie Biscuitmaker Bake-Off was developed as a
way to recognize and honor our biscuit makers and to
improve our biscuit quality and consistency company
wide," stated Connie Bennett, director of operations.
Made-from-scratch biscuits are what Biscuitville
does best and the Bake-Off is a part of the continual
focus on ensuring customers get the best biscuits pos
sible. One crew member and one management mem
ber is selected from each of its restaurants and then
compete in four district competitions. The winners of
each of our four district competitions then go on to
compete in the company- wide competition. Each
competitor is judged on individual biscuit-making
procedures, speed, biscuit color, texture, size and
overall appearance. Winners of the district and com
pany-wide competitions are awarded cash and prize
packages, which are delivered to the winners by our
Back-Off Prize Patrol.
Biscuitville Inc. is based in Greensboro.
Registration open for Women's
Entrepreneur Conference
The Nussbaum Center for Entrepreneurship,
Commission on the Status of Women, and
Greensboro .Chamber of Commerce will host the
Women's Entrepreneur Conference on Saturday,
Sept. 13 at the Elliott University Center on the
University of North Carolina at Greensboro campus.
The theme for the conference is "Equipping
Women Entrepreneurs to Thrive in the 21st
Century". Attendees will be able to attend up to four
educational workshops and develop their business
skills in a variety of areas. The cost of the workshop
is $25 and exhibitor space is available.
In addition, there will be four interactive work
shops for 30 high school girls entitled. Young Divas
Making Millions. The girls will participate in work
shops on product development, business planning,
and marketing. The cost of the workshop for high
school girls is $15.
Attendees may register online at
www jiussbaumcfe .com.
Leadership Winston-Salem
has new board members
Leadership Winston-Salem has 12 new members
of its Board of Directors.0
Chairing the Board of Directors is David P.
Barksdale; the Vice Chair is Robert S. Parker;
Secretary is Kathy Goliszek;
Treasurer is H. Greg Bray, a
new board member; and the
immediate past Chair is Chris
Leak.
In addition to Bray, newly
appointed board members are
Ronnie Abemathy, Assistant
Police Chief with the Winston
Salem Police Department; Eric
Aft, Vice President for
Community Planning &
Investment with the United
Abernathy
Way of Forsyth County; Alison Ashe-Card. an attor
ney with Womble Carlyle Sandridge & Rice; John
Bost, President of Master Counsel & Associates, Inc.
and Mayor of Clemmons; Shari Covitz, Vice
President for Institutional Advancement for Forsyth
Technical Community College and Executive
Director of the Foundation; Raymond Gatland, Senior
Vice President, Treasury Services for Wachovia
Bank; Donna Hamilton, Counsel with the Wake
Forest University Legal Department; Harold Holmes,
Assistant Vice President & Dean of Student Services
for Wake Forest University; Cheryl Joyner, Senior
Vice President & Manager of Client Communications
for* BB&T; Peter Juran, an attorney with Blanco
Tackabery; and Dr. Ernie Wade, President & Lead
Consultant for Dr. Ernie Wade & Associates. All new
board members are alumni of Leadership Winston
Salem, a a community leadership program.
Indian tech company
coming to Wake County
HCL America Inc., a wholly-owned subsidiary of
India's leading global information technology services
firm HCL Technologies, will open a facility in Wake
County.
The company will invest $3.2 million and hire 513
employees during the next five years, thanks in part to
a state Job Development Investment Grant.
The North Carolina facility will be HCL's first
delivery center in North America. Wages for the 513
new positions will average $46,660, not including
benefits.
HCL America was established in 1989 and is head
quartered in Sunnyvale, Calif. The company has
approximately 3,000 Employees working at various
customer locations in 15 states, including 33 in North
Carolina. These employees provide application devel
opment and maintenance, IT infrastructure manage
ment, English and Spanish help desk support, storage
design and other consulting services for United States
customers.
For more information about HCL America and
employment opportunities with the company, visit:
wwwiicltech.com. <
Winner has a thousand
reasons to love M&F
CHRONICLE STAFF REPORT
A Fayetteville woman has
pocketed a $1,000 prize in a
Mechanics & Farmers Bank con
test that was held to celebrate the
banks 100th anniversary.
Quanesha Robinson received
her check last week in Durham,
where M&F was founded in
August 1908 and is still headquar
tered today. She was one of 120
semi-finalists. Beginning in
August 2007, each month 10 win
ners were selected to receive a
$100 prize from their local M&F
branch in Durham, Raleigh,
Greensboro, Winston-Salem or
Charlotte, which made them eligi
ble for the grand prize.
The bank provided drop boxes
at every company branch for entry
form submissions. Participants
could also mail-in the forms. The
bank not only encouraged their
customers to participate, but the
whole community.
M&F President and CEO Kim
D. Saunders presented the winner's
check along with Bank Board
Chairman James Stewart, Board
Member Aaron Spaulding.
Adding to the excitement, the
winner's name was drawn by
Audrey Cox, the reigning 2008
Miss Black North Carolina.
"This event today ends the offi
cial Centennial celebration which
began in February 2007 with the
Founders Day celebration. It was
the kick-off, and we've been cele
Photo by David Webb/M&F
Winner Quanesha Robinson, center, holds her winning entry as she is
flanked by Aaron Spaulding, left, Audrey Cox, Kim Saunders and
James Stewart.
brating ever since," said Saunders.
"We will continue to look for ways
to celebrate our history and build
on our rich legacy in the future."
Robinson had much praise for
M&F.
"It feels great to be a winner,"
exclaimed Robinson. "I plan to
open a savings account with
Mechanics and Farmers Bank. I
love the bank, its services and the
people who work there. They give
great customer service!"
So, where does M&F Bank go
from here?
"We have a grand vision, just
like our founding fathers had a
grand vision," Saunders said. "We
hope that they are looking down
upon us and they are pleased with
the progress that we have made
over this century. We have taken
their initial $10,000 investment
and today, due to the work of
many, many individuals, share
holders, customers, associates and
directors, we now represent more
than $250 million in assets. So we
have significantly grown their ini
tial investment to a bank that is the
largest minority-owned bank in the
state of North Carolina; and that is
located in all five major cities."
O
New Bridge Bank Photo
Winston -
Salem/F orsyth
County Schools'
Teacher of the
Year Amy Maxey,
center, has
claimed another
honor. New
Bridge Bank has
named her its
Outstanding
Teacher of the
Month for August,
an honor that
came with a
$1 ,000 prize. Also
pictured is New
Bridge Bank
President and
CEO Pressley
Ridgill, right , and
West Forsyth High
School Principal
W. Kurt Telford,
Maxey's boss.
Honoring Excellence
Tom.
10 me } i j ]
Order of / y r/^ /
I ?
3,
.Dotkn I
Newbridge
HANK
Young Republicans taking
author Weaver on N.C. tour
CHRONICLE STAFF REPORT
Conservative motivational speaker Mason Weaver will
give several speeches in North Carolina beginning this
week.
Weaver - author of "It's OK to Leave the Plantation:
The New Underground Railroad" and a frequent guest on
the Christian television show, "700 Club" - is being
brought to the state by the North Carolina Federation of
Young Republicans.
The grassroots organization
for Republicans between 1 8 and
40 years old, will sponsor
appearances by Weaver in
Charlotte, Asheville and
Jacksonville. He will also make
stops along the way to support
local Republican candidates
and promote his most recent
book, "Polishing the Diamond
in the Rough."
"We are bringing Mason
here to mobilize black voters
and youth voters in North
Carolina in a new way. He
brings a fresh and well-articu
lated perspective - one that is
very much opposed to liberal
Mason Weaver
thinking," said Kim Cotten, state chairman for the Young
Republicans. "This is a critical time to mobilize conserva
tives. With over 1.8 million blacks or African Americans
and more than 2.8 million young adults, these are key pop
ulations to reach out to in this election."
Weaver rose from tragedy to triumph. He was a young
Navy sailor when 2,800 pounds of steel and iron plates fell
on him while on duty in San Diego. The Navy classified
him disabled and discharged him. He went to college and
established a background in business and the public sector.
He once worked for the U.S. Department of Energy,
where he negotiated multi-million dollar government con
tracts with major contractors such as General Dynamics
and General Electric.
He formed his own private consulting company in 1980,
which led to a lucrative career as a motivational speaker
and wealth building workshop leader.
Faith Hill
IAAP
elects new
leaders
CHRONICLE STAFF REPORT
The Winston-Salem
Chapter of the International
Association of Administrative
Professionals (IAAP) recently
elected new members to its
Board of Directors for the
2008-2009 term.
IAAP has about 700 chap
ters and 40,000 members and
affiliates throughout the
world. It is the world's largest
association for administrative '
support staff.
Faith Hill was elected
president of the local chapter,
while Wanda Ervin is the new
president-elect. Robin Shamel
is vice president; Sherry
Waycaster is the secretary; the
treasurer is Emily Long; the
certification/education direc
tor is Debra Gibson; Jo A.
Peay is membership director;
Joan Roggenkamp is program
director; Patty Atwood is the
new student chapter director;
and Sue Matney is publica
tions director.
-IAAP is made up of mem
bers from many different
backgrounds, 0 including
administrative professionals,
secretaries, executive/ admin
istrative assistants, informa
tion specialists and other
office support personnel.
The local chapter meets at
5:45 p.m. on the second
Tuesday "of each month at the
offices of Womble Carlyle
Sandridge & Rice, 1 W 4th St.
The meeting cost is $12 per
person and includes dinner
and the program.
,
For registration informa
tion, call Patricia Shelton at
336-480-2101.
Salem part of deal to offer
degrees in Randolph County
CHRONICLE STAFF REPORT
Salem College, Pfeiffer University,
Greensboro College and Randolph
Community (jjollege have signed a let
ter of agreement to form the new
University Center of Randolph
County. 9
Through the partnership, the four
institutions will offer courses on the
campus of Randolph Community
College that will enable students in
particular disciplines to complete bac
calaureate degrees. Students will be
able to take courses beginning this
fall, with each of the four institutions
specializing in a particular area of
study.
Salem will offer two courses in
business administration through its
Fleer School for Adult Education; the
courses will be taught at the Randolph
Community College location by Ed
Hartgrove, a member of Salem's busi
ness and economics faculty.
Pending approval by the Southern
Association of Colleges and Schools
(SACS), the courses taught by
Greensboro, Pfeiffer and Randolph
Community will ultimately lead to
baccalaureate degree-granting pro
grams in business, criminal justice and
education.
Ultimate responsibility for the new
University Center will be shared by
the presidents' council, consisting of
the president of each of the participat
ing institutions, while a coordinating
council will oversee all course offer
ings and other administrative duties.