Careers
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Briefs
Beatty, Rabon nominated
for N.C. Utilities Commission
Gov. Mike Easley has nominated Bryan E. Beatty
of Raleigh and Susan Rabon of Holly Springs for
appointments to the North Carolina Utilities
Commission. State law requires the confirmation of
the appointment by the General Assembly.
Beatty has served as secretary of the state
Department of Crime Control and Public Safety since
January 2001, where he oversees North Carolina's
primary law enforcement and emergency response
agencies and coordinates the state's homeland securi
ty preparedness. Prior to his appointment as secre
tary, Beatty served as director of the State Bureau of
Investigation from October 1999 to January 2001.
Rabon was a partner with a corporate law firm in
Wilmington before going to work for the state
Department of Justice in 1991 as special counsel
when Easley was attorney general. In 1994 she
became chief of staff in the Department of Justice,
where ihe oversaw day-to-day operations. Rabon is
currently-Senior Assistant for Administration in the
Office of the Governor.
The Utilities Commission regulates the rates and
services* of all public utilities in North Carolina
including electric, telephone (including payphone
service and shared tenant service), natural gas. water,
wastewater, water resale, household goods trans
portation, buses, brokers and ferryboats. The com
mission is the oldest regulatory body in state govern
ment. It has seven members, each serving an eight
year term. The governor appoints all the members,
who must be confirmed by the General Assembly.
Diversity touted at conference
attended by local administrator
A North Carolina Agricultural and "Technical
State University senior development officer recently
participated in the Council for the Advancement and
Support of Education (CASE) minority institute
designed to Enhance diversity
in the profession *
Martina Chavis of the
Division of Development and
University Relations recently
attended the CASE Minority
Advancement Institute in
Arlington, Va. CASE believes
one of the key ways, to
enhance diversity in the pro
fession. is to create more
?? diverse leaders, bor the past
am three years, the organization
has conducted the Minority
Advancement Institute. This year, Chavis was invited
to participate in this specialized professional three
day conference which focused oa management, lead
ership, and mentoring of 20 professionals of diverse
backgrounds in the field of Advancement.
r The program invites professionals that have the
potential to rise to the ranks of senior management in
advancement. Case studies and small group exercises
are combined with lectures and discussion sessions.
Each participant is assigned a professional mentor as
part of the program. ~
Chavis has served as a senior development officer
at N.C. A&T for the past six years and is a graduate
of Hampton University.
it
Nationwide signs CIAA Deal
Nationwide has signed an agreement to become
the "Official Insurance Provider" of the Central
Intercollegiate Athletic Association (CIAA). This is a
multi-year agreement that irtcludes Nationwide serv
ing as presenting sponsor of the CIAA Football
Champi.onship Game, sponsorship of the CIAA
Men's Tournament Most Valuable Player Trophy and
as a Corporate Sponsor of all 16 CIAA Conference
Championships.
Under the terms of the agreement. Nationwide
will receive exclusive branding opportunities includ
ing signage, and on-field/on-court promotions. In
addition. Nationwide will support the CIAA
Scholarship Fund each year for the multi-year agree
ment, participate in the CIAA Tournament Fan
Experience, and hold on-site job fairs on all CIAA
school campuses to focus on career opportunities at
Nationwide. - ' .
Event planner starts firm
Linda Pierce Ilsley of Clemmpns has established
X.PI Events, a company that provides full service des
tination management services including teambuild
ing activities, tours, ground
transportation, themed events,
event branding and entertain
ment. The firm has offices in
both Clemmons and Raleigh.
Ilsley, a Certified Meeting
Planner, has more than 20
years of experience in the hos
pitality industry and previous
ly served as vice -president of
Destination Management
Services fon Sterling Events. Usley
She is a former president of
Meeting Planners International's Carol inas Chapter,
cunrently serves on its International Marketing and
Brand Strategies Advisory Committee and has
received the organization's Legacy Award and
Supplier of the Year honor.
"Our goal at -LPI Events is to be the bridge
between our client and the destination city, ensuring
that events and meetings take place flawlessly from
start to finish," Ilsley said. ^
Jones
will get
national
accolades
CHRONICLE SI All REPORT
Dr. Elva J. Janes, the chairperson of
the Computer Science Department at
Winston-Salem State University, will be
one of five African-American leaders .
honored next month by the Information
Technology Senior Management Forum
(ITSMF) "
The only national organization dedi
cated exclusively to cultivating executive
talent among African-American IT pro
fessionals, ITSMF will honor Jones at its
5th Annual Gala Awards in Irving, Texas
on Feb. 13. She will be among a group of
other distinguished honorees. The others
are Monte Ford, SVP and CIO, American
Airlines: Dr. Randal Pinkett. Chairman
and CEO of BCT
Partners and the
winner of "The"
Apprentice" reality
show; Dr. Cheick
Modibo Diarra.
Africa Chairman
Middle East &
Africa for Microsoft
Corporation; and
James D. Cook, VP
Jones Data Center
Transformation at
Hewlett Packard.
ITSMF says that all of the horiorees
have/ made "extraostWiary contributions
to the advancement of Information
Technology while continuously demon
strating proactive leadership in advancing
diversity."
A native of Louisburg, N.C., Dr. Jones
? is a proud alumna of Winston-Salem
State. As a WSSU student, she comple
mented her education by landing a job at
the school's . Data Processing Center.
After graduating with honors, she accept
ed a position with the university as the
first computer programmer, eventually
advancing to assistant director of the Data
Processing Center. Her love of teaching
was born when she volunteered to teach a '
class in programming during her lunch.,
hour without compensation. This effort
was the first of many that would lead to
unprecedented educational strides in
computer science, education for the uni
versity'.
Jones continued to work at WSSU as
she earned her master's degrge. She
developed a concentration in computer
science at WSSU. This concentration
was later expanded to become the bache
lor of science degree in computer science.
Jones took a leave to earn a second mas
ters of science in operations research and
a Ph.D. in industrial engineering and
computer studies from North-Carolina
State University. She returned to her
WSSU faculty post in the Department of
Mathematics and Computer Science, and
resumed efforts to build the computer sci
ence program and establish a post-bac
calaureate Certificate in Computer
Programming. Today, the Department of
Computer Science is a vital part of the
globally competitive educational oppor
tunities at Winston-Salem State
University.
Trans-Atlantic Gfft
? PRNcwsFotoAVebster University- Saint Louis Campus
Benjamin Akande, dean of the School of Business & Technology at Webster University
in St. Louis, presents Timdthy Olagbemiro, vice chancellor of Bowen University in
I wo, Nigeria, with more than 500 business, computer and math books for the Bowen
University library. 7V- "
Grants available to local teachers
CHRONICLE STAFF REPORT
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Teachers working in the Winston
Salenv/Forsyth County School system are
being encouraged to apply for grants that
help them better educate and engage their
students.
The Winston-Salem Foundation is taking
applications for the Sam and Anne B6oke
TeadTitif Awards for K-12th grade teachers.
6pan'ts for Up to $1,500 are available.
QrJfnts are awarded in support of innovative
and results-oriented educational experiences
for teachers, which improve their reaching
ability and enhance the subject or content
being taught in the classroom. The grants are
available for an individual classroom teacher
or a team of teachers.
Grant applications are due by Feb. 23. A
panel of professional educators will review
each application, and award decisions will
be made in mid-March, with subsequent
^salification of applicants in April,
The grants are awarded through the Sam
and Anne Booke Famjly Trust and adminis
tered by the Foundation. The trust was estab
lished in 1989 to improve the quality of life
in Winston-Salem and?For"syth County. *
For more information and/or to apply,
visit www.wsfoundation.org/grant-seek
ersltypes-of-grantslteacher-grantsl or con
tact Sandra. Pishel-Booth at (336) 725-2382
or sfishelbooth? wsfoundation .org .
Accreditation body honors Holmes
CHRONICLE STAFF REPORT
Wake Forest University's
Harold R\ Holmes has been
honored by the Commission
on Colleges of the Southern
Association of Colleges and
Schools (SACS), the regional
body for the accreditation of
degree-granting higher educa
tion institutions.
Holmes, the university's
associate vice president apd
dean pf student "services,
received. the SACS'
Meritorious Service Award
during its 1 1 3th annual confer
ence in San Antonio, Texas in
early December.
Holmes has served the
commission in myriad ways
over the years, including by
participating in 30 reaffirma
tion visits to colleges and uni
versities throughout the SACS
region, which includes the
Carolinas, Georgia, Florida,
Virginia, Texas and five other
states.
Harold Holmes
Meritorious Service
Awards are presented to those
in higher education who have
demonstrated extraordinary
commitment to and under
standing of accreditation
"processes, who are respected
by their peers for their integri
ty and the meritorious quality
.of their service, and who are
recognized as models of com-.*
peiency, creativity and accom
plishment.
"Volunteerism is the key to
self- regulation," saijd Phillip
C. Stone, chair of the commis
sion "Self-regulation would
be completely ineffective
without volunteers like Mr.
Holmes, who has committed
his time and dedicated himself
to sustaining the quality of the
self-regulatory process."
Holmes joined Wake
Forest in 1987. He holds a
Bachelor of Science degree in
business management from
Hampton University and a
Master of Business
Administration degree from
Fordham .University. He also
completed the College
Management Program at
Carnegie Mellon University
and the Management
Development Program at
Harvard University.
N.C. lawyers helping homeowners
v
NCBA providing training
to members to provide free assistance
CHRONICLE STAFF REPORT ' ' ;
Members of the North Carolina Bar
Association are stepping up to the plate to
volunteer their time and expertise to help
North Carolinians facing foreclosure.
In the last several weeks, the
Association has held thre.e continuing legal
education training programs (in Cary,
Wilmington and Charlotte) to-train mem
bers on how to help residents.
"With our final training program that
occurred recently in Charlotte, we have
trained approximately 450 attorneys and
paralegals to handle- Red Flag Reviews,"
said Robert Allen, chair of the NCBA Real
Property Section. "Additional training has
also been provided regarding the negotia
tion and representation in foreclosure
actions."
The training was provided free of
charge by the NCBA Foundation to partic
ipants who agreed to handle two "Red
Flag" foreclosure (those that are nearing
foreclosure) reviews at no cost. The train
ing program was developed in conjunction
with the State Home Foreclosure
Prevention Project of the N.C. Office of
the Commissioner of Banks (NCCOB).
The state program has become a national
model.
The NCBA Real Property Section, the
NCBA Foundation Pro Bono Project and
Legal Aid of North Carolina are working
with the state banking commission on this
effort, which "addresses three specific com
ponents of the foreclosure process: Red
Flag Reviews, negotiation of loan modifi
cations and foreclosure representation.
NCBA says that the urgent need for
volunteer participation is enormous
because the Office of the Commissioner of
Banks cannot handle the onslaught of fore
closure-related matters.
"With the number of homeowners
needing assistance, we need 'all hands on
deck' to help make us avoid needless fore
closures." said Mark Pearce. deputy com
missioner of banks. "The North Carolina
Bar Association has Wen an invaluable
partner in recruiting capable volunteers to
pitch in on this project."
In the first month following the incep
tion of the Foreclosure Prevention Project,
the Office of the Governor reported, some
1 .000 homeowners have asked the
NCCOB for assistance.
Subprime lenders, who are now
required to provide .45 days written notice
before filing foreclosure proceedings, have
filed more than 7.000 subprime pre-fore
closure notices.
Additional information regarding the
Foreclosure Prevention Project is accessi
ble via the Weh site of the N.C.
Commissioner of Banks , at
www.ncforeclosurehelp.org . ? -