BUSINESS FOCUS
Briefs
Golden State buys
new Dallas headquarters
Golden State Mutual Life Insurance Company
has purchased the historic Sun Belt Bank building in
Dallas, Texas to replace the offices it has leased for
several years. After considerable renovation. Golden
State Mutual will officially move in on Saturday,
Oct. 25.
The date is significant to Golden State Mutual,
since it coincides with the founding of the company
83 years ago. Back in 2005, the anniversary of the
company was officially proclaimed "Golden State
Mutual Life Insurance Company Day," by former
Dallas Mayor Laura Miller.
The Sun Belt Bank building once housed the first
minority-owned bank in the southern section of
Dallas.
Golden State Mutual Life Insurance Company
was founded in Los Angeles in 1925 by George A.
Beavers, Jr., William Nickerson, Jr. and Norman O.
Houston. The company helps people by providing
funds for life's major events, such as college educa
tion, retirement, disability and final expenses through
Life Insurance. Golden State Mutual Life expanded
its services to founder Nickerson's native state of
Texas, opening an office in Dallas in 1944, Houston
in 1945 and later to Tyler and Beaumont.
"We take pride in being a property owner in the
Dallas Community, which we have been serving for
64 years," says Larkin Teasley, chairman and presi
dent of Golden State Mutual Life. "It reinforces our
commitment to being an integral part of the commu
nity which we serve."
Metlife to host UL job fair
Tjje Winston-Salem Urban League will host a job
fair Wednesday, Oct. 15, where representatives from
MetLife will be on hand to discuss employment
opportunities for Financial Services Representative
positions.
The fair will be from 10 a.m. - 12 noon at the
Urban League, 201 W. Fifth St. MetLife is looking
for qualified applicants, especially those with cus
tomer service or sales experience.
All applicants must submit their resumes in
advance of this recruitment fair. The Urban League's
computer lab js open Mondays through Thursdays
for those who need a way to update their resumes.
Applicants should e-mail or fax their resume no later
than tomorrow, Oct. 10, to aborders@wsurban.org or
336-722-5713.
Andrea Speer named
McDonald's ambassador
Andrea "Nikki" Speer has been named a
"McDonald's Five-Star Employee Ambassador."
Siwr an pioht-vp.ar
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McDonald's employee,
works at the Advance
McDonald's at 117 NC
Hwy 801 North.
The McDonald's
Five-Star Employee
Ambassador initiative
honors folks who exem
plify the characteristics
of five-star spirit and
service: ' Teamwork,
Community
Involvement, Work
Ethic, Leadership and
Lovin' the Golden
"""" W Arches. Speer was
selected from hundreds
of nominees from North and South Carolina restau
rants to receive the Five-Star Employee Ambassador
recognition.
Employees are chosen based on the star qualities
and dedication that makes them a true Ambassador to
their co-workers, customers and community and are
recognized through cash awards, radio advertising
and promotional materials at their restaurants.
Chick-fil-A gives scholarships
Chick-fil-A has awarded its national Leadership
Scholarship to Tariq Larkin from Greensboro, Taleah
Howard from Germantown and Ivy Davis from
Winston-Salem.
Larkin is the 33rd scholarship student from
Chick-fil-A franchised operator Ed Ayers at the free
standing Chick-fil-A restaurant at Wendover. Larkin
is using the $1 jOOO scholarship to study international
business at Clark Atlanta University.
Howard is the ninth scholarship student from the
free-standing Chick-fil-A restaurant at Stanleyville,
which is operated by Ross Parrish. Howard is using
the $1,000 scholarship to study accounting at North
Carolina Agricultural & Technical State University.
Davis is the 18th scholarship student from the
free-standing Chick-fil-A restaurant at Hanes Mall
Boulevard, which is operated by Todd Perkins. Davis
is using the $1 ,000 scholarship to study fashion mer
chandise at North Carolina Agricultural & Technical
State University.
Historically a strong advocate of higher educa
tion, Chick-fU-A founder Truett Cathy regularly sup
ported the educational goals of team members since
opening his first restaurant in Atlanta more than 60
years ago. He formalized the effort in 1973, estab
lishing the chain's Leadership Scholarship program.
Since that time, the chain has awarded scholar
ships totaling more than $2,202,000 in North
Carolina and more than $24 million nationwide.
Each $1,000 scholarship helps support the higher
education goals of restaurant employees who have
attended some 2,500 institutions across the country.
I $
Charlotte banking legend says
Sen. Obama best for economy
CHRONICLE STAFF REPORT
Democratic Presidential
Nominee Sen. Barack Obama got
a huge endorsement from the
business world this week when
the former chairman and CEO of
Bank of America sang the sena
tor's praises in an op-ed piece in
The Charlotte Observer.
Hugh McColl Jr., a longtime
resident of the Queen City, said
he is usually silent on political
issues but felt compelled to speak
out.
- "I've seldom offered my
opinion in writing and never sub
mitted a piece such as this. The
condition of our country compels
me," he said.
McColl says Obama is best to
guide the nation out of its current
economic doldrums.
"The economic disarray
threatening our community and
nation poses critical challenges
but also presents opportunity," he
wrote. "We can observe the pres
idential candidates in the crucible
of crisis. Only one of them
demonstrates the needed intel
lect, fortitude and temperament.
That is why I have decided to
publicly support Barack Obama."
A veteran of the U.S. Marine
Corps, McColl says he knows the
qualities that make a strong,
effective leader.
"I see them in Obama: a sharp
KRT PHOTO BY TODD SUMLIN /CHARLOTTE OBSERVER
Former Bank of America chief Hugh McColl.
intellect, stiff spine and steady
hand," he wrote. "Obama's eco
nomic plans will restore market
confidence and provide a blue
print for a better future. His prag
matic, intelligent economic plan
will stop our financial slide and
restore the expansion and confi
dence tie knew in the 1990s.
Obama's tax relief plans for
small businesses and the middle
class should provide much-need
ed economic stimulus."
He says that Obama will also
invest in the American work
force, making it even stronger
and knowledgeable.
"We could not have built
Bank of America into the leader
it has become without a highly
educated workforce. Obama pro
poses to invest in education to
ensure we remain the most pro
ductive and efficient in the
world. We must take these steps
to stay globally competitive. I
greatly respect all that John
McCain has done for our nation.
But it is Barack Obama whom we
need now."
Earn Dough with Dough
Photo courtesy of Eric Mower and Assocutes/Bojangles
Travis Squire, a Winston-Salem Bojangles employee, competes Monday in the chain's Master
Biscuit Maker Challenge in Charlotte, where Squire was one of six Bojangles employees from
North and South Carolina and Georgia vying for the title. Yesenia Vela of Gainsville, Ga., was
awarded the coveted Master Biscuit Maker Champion Trophy and a $1 jOOO prize. Squire and
the other finalists got a trophy along with $250 each.
N.C. reaches settlement with mortgage giant
Countrywide allegedly used deceptive practices
I CHRONICLE STAFF REPORT
North Carolina is one of 10
states that have reached an
agreement with beleaguered
mortgage lender Countrywide
Financial Corp.
Under the terms of the deal.
Countrywide will provide
approximately $8 billion in
home loan and foreclosure
relief to as many as 397,000
homeowners across the coun
try, including more than 5,000
in North Carolina.
Attorney General Roy Cooper announced the
deal agreement on Monday. All parties -includ
ing Bank of America, which bought Countrywide
in July - agreed on the deal last Friday.
"Thnn?anH? r?f Nnrth
Carolinians who are struggling
to pay their mortgages and keep
their homes will get relief
thanks to this agreement,"
Cooper said. "Other mortgage
.companies need to step up to
the plate with similar plans to
help homeowners facing fore
closure."
The settlement resolves alle
gations that Countrywide used
unfair and deceptive tactics in
making and servicing home
loans, which resulted in homeowners stuck with
unfair loans they couldn't afford. Countrywide is
See Settlement on All
American
Dream
becomes
Nightmare
Eric
Ellison
Guest
Columnist
This is the first of a series of
columns that will be submitted
by members of the Winston
Salem Bar Association.
Members will offer their legal
expertise on a variety of topics.
The Chronicle has been
most gracious in offering a
monthly column to the
Winston-Salem Bar
Association to address various
legal issues that are relevant to
our community.
The Winston-Salem Bar
Association is comprised of
African-American Bar
Members who practice law in
Forsyth County. Our organiza
tion was founded in 1981 to
serve as a support network for
African-American attorneys
and as a platform for greater
community service. The mis
sion of African-American
attorneys is considerably dif
ferent from what it was in
1981, or for that matter, 1954
(Brown v. Board of Edu.),
however, there is still a need
for African- American attorneys
to serve ouf community in a
greater capacity as a collective
unit. We look forward to meet
ing that mission.
As the first writer from our
organization and a practicing
real estate attorney, I would
like to address the whirlwind of
recent developments in our
housing and mortgage market.
The past few years have shown
a record number of foreclo
sures in the United States. That
record holds true in Forsyth
County. Although we have not
experienced the intense fore
closure pain as states like
California, Nevada and
Michigan, North Carolina has
shouldered more than its fair
share of citizens losing their
homes. And as financial and
other crises usually do, the
impacts of the foreclosure epi
demic has targeted the African
American community at a
greater rate. *
The causes and perpetrators
of the foreclosure crisis are far
and many. Culprit # 1 is the
exotic loans many people
obtained between 2002 and
2006. These loans typically had
a lower teaser interest rate that
usually shot up after a year or
two. Many people chose inter
est only loans, which did noth
ing to reduce their principal
balance or build equity. Further
exasperating the problem were
the relaxed approval regula
tions many bank and mortgage
brokers utilized. "No Doc"
loans and other questionable
loan approval methods were
used to approve citizens who
See Ellison on A14
Trailblazer Lee tells his story in memoir
CHRONICLE STAFF REPORT
The chairman of the N.C.
State Board of Education has had
an extraordinary, barrier-break
ing life. Now Howard N. Lee is
sharing his story in the pages of
his autobiography, "The Courage
to Lead: One Man's Journey in
Public Service,'* slated for
release Oct. 18 by Cotton Patch
Press.
Lee first made history on
May 6, 1969, when he was elect
ed the first black mayor of
Chapel Hill. No African
American in the South had ever
been elected mayor of a a pre
dominately white town before.
He served three terms.
Lee made the history books
again in 1977, when then-Gov.
Jim Hunt appointed him as secre
tary of the Department of Natural
Resources and Community
Development, making Lee the
first black member of a gover
File Photo
Howard Lee
nor 's cabinet in the South.
In 1990, Lee began his 13
year stint in the N.C. Senate, rep
f
resenting Orange County. During
his tenure, he chaired several
powerful committees, including
education, transportation and
appropriations. He became chair
of the State Board of Education
four years ago, after leaving the
Senate.
In his book, Lee talks about
how he achieved such success
But the book goes beyond just his
life as a public official.
Bom in Georgia, Lee grew up
on a sharecropper's farm. He had
just earned his degree from Fort
Valley State College in Georgia
when he was drafted. He served
two years in the United States
Army, spending more than one
year in Korea.
Graduate school at the
University of North Carolina
brought him to Chapel Hill in the
mid- 1 960s. One of just two black
students in the School of Social
Work, he earned a master's
degree in 1966.
An educator at heart, as
mayor of Chapel Hill, Lee served
as an administrator at Duke
University and on the faculty at
North Carolina Central
University. From 1982-1991. he
was a member of the faculty at
the School of Social Work.
He has recently released sev
eral inspirational writings,
including "I Am A Teacher",
"Twelve Strategies for Leaders"
and "The Black Man's Journey."
Howard and his wife. Lillian,
a retired public school teacher,
live in Chapel Hill and are the
proud parents of three grown
children and two granddaughters.
Lee will talk about his amaz
ing life and sign copies of his
book in Greensboro Oct. 16 at
the Barnes A Noble in Friendly
Shopping Center, 3102 Northline
Ave., at 7 pm.