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THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 13, 1997
8A
STRICTLY BUSINESS
Financial blind
spots for
women
CHARLES ROSS
Your
Personal
Finance
For many men, their net worth
is their primary measure of suc
cess, so they give their financial
affairs top priority. But women
often are not as tuned-in to the
financial game. While it’s true
that more and more women are
investing wisely, financial plan
ners report that it is rare for a
woman to know what she is
worth. Blind spots like that are
dangerous for a woman,
whether she is married or single.
If you are single, your financial
plans had better go beyond plan
ning to marry a rich man. If you
are married now, you must face
the possibility that you could be
single again in the future,
through divorce or the death of
your husband. The only way to
know for certain that you will be
taken care of is to have the
resources to fend for yourself no
matter what happens.
Determining total assets
It’s often easier for single
women who control all of their
own assets to know their worth.
But it can be difficult for mar-
; ried women to know where they
' stand. For they must get the
information from their hus
bands.
Wives should tally up every
thing you and yoim spouse own
that has worth, your “tangible
assets.” A rough estimate is fine,
or you may call in an appraiser
if you own particularly valuable
items. Next, add up intangible
assets such as life insurance,
bank accounts, ERAs, stocks and
so on. Checking yom’ tax returns
can turn up investments you’ve
overlooked.
Finally, include assets related
to past and present employment
of both you and your spouse
including benefits like 401K
plans, pension plans and retire
ment funds. The sum of all these
equals your total assets.
Assets that are overiooked
One place you may forget to
look when figuring your net
worth is employee benefits. One
such asset is a defined-benefit
pension, a guaranteed monthly
retirement stipend built up dur
ing your working years. If you or
your spouse have such a pension
at work, the benefits depart
ment can calculate its current
value.
Also, check on pension funds
you might be entitled to from
previous jobs. 'Then add in any
other work-related savings plans
such as 401Ks or profit-sharing
plans. If you are married, federal
law protects your right to have
access to your spouse’s pension.
In the event of a divorce, you
may want to sign away this
right in trade for some other
asset. But before making this
choice, know the full value of the
pension. It may be a lot bigger
than you imagine.
Liabilities are the part of
financial planning you may not
enjoy. But you can't determine
your net worth without knowing
your total liabilities, so give
them equal effort.
Subcontractor sued for V.I. discrimination
By Hope Reeves
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
CHRISTIANSTED, U.S.
Virgin Islands — A government
investigator is calling for stiff
sanctions against a Hess Oil
Virgin Islands Corp. subcontrac
tor who allegedly discriminated
against local workers.
Bernadin Bailey, a former
Virgin Islands Labor
Department official, went before
a legislative committee last
week and detailed his investiga
tion of hiring practices by Brown
and Root Industrial Services
Corp., based in Houston, Texas.
Bailey, who completed his
investigation in December short
ly before retiring, told the terri
tory’s Committee on Labor and
Veterans Affairs that Brown and
Root discriminated against
Virgin Islanders by importing
hundreds of workers from the
United States to fill temporary
jobs at the Hess oil refinery. The
refinery is a unit of the
Woodbridge, N.J.-based
Amerada Hess Corp.
Brown and Root officials have
declined to comment on the
investigation, saying they had
not reviewed the report. The
company said it plans to testify
before the committee on
Wednesday.
“The seriousness of the
charges warrant another inves
tigation,” said Bailey.
“Restitution needs to be taken
care of and penalties need to be
assessed.”
Senators and labor unions
received dozens of complaints
between May and October from
local job applicants who said
they were qualified to work on
the refinery’s gasoline processor
called the “Cat Cracker,” but
were passed over by Brown and
Root for no apparent reason.
Among other things, Bailey
)
said he found that of the 1,051 t
employees hired to work on the 1
Cat Cracker between May and
October, non-residents far out
numbered residents. And non
residents were paid higher
wages than residents for the
same positions.
Bailey said Brown and Root
violated the U.S. Civil Rights
Act of 1964 and encouraged the
U.S. government to join the
investigation.
Feeding presidents and Panthers
PHOTO/OALVIN FERGUSON
David Cook and Frances Kay Culbreth, partners in Americana Concessions & Catering, are regulars at Ericsson Stadium
By John Minter
THE CHARLOTTE POST
David Cook and his partner
Frances Culbreth get to all the
major events - Carolina
Panther football games, races
at Charlotte Motor Speedway,
golf and tennis tournaments
on Hilton Head Island.
They were even in
Washington for the inaugural
weekend gala.
The two run Americana
Concessions & Catering
Group, a food service company
whose reputation makes them
one of the few African
American businesses of its
kind regularly seen at upscale
events.
During inaugural weekend,
Americana was set up on the
American Kitchen area where
some 38 food vendors doled
out American cuisine.
Americana served barbecue
and ribs, sweet potato pie and
Grandma’s lemonade.
“We sold out of sweet potato
pie again,” said Culbreth, a
1980 Bennett College and for
mer West Charlotte High
School graduate. She’s assis
tant general manager of the
business.
“Again” refers to the 1992
inaugural, when Americana
served soft shell crab and
Calabash and Carolina
shrimp, along with the famous
sweet potato pie.
Inaugurals aren’t
Americana’s main business.
They also have 14 vending
slots at Ericsson Stadium, two
JJR Backyard BBQ booths
and 12 lemonade and pretzel
carts. JJR stands for Jerry
Jerome Richardson, owner of
the Panthers.
Americana is a third party
contractor hired by Volume
Services, which has the overall
food service contract at the
stadium.
Before the stadium opened,
Americana was hired to pro
vide food services to the hun
dreds of workers who built the
$178 million facility. They
served grilled chicken at the
Family Circle Tennis
Tournaunent on Hilton Head
and fried chicken and barbe
cue at the Speedway.
“We signed with (the
Speedway) last year,” said
Cook, Americana’s general
manager. “It took us five years
to get in there.”
They even worked at the
Atlanta Olympics, managing
the Sara Lee Food Pavilion at
Centennial Park.
During the 1994 NCAA
men’s basketball Final Four
here, they handled food at the
Tent of Champions at South
Park Mall and was a presence
on the Street of Champions in
downtown Charlotte.
Cook said Americana’s motto
is “We Serve People,
Presidents and Pros.”
“We consider ourselves a
company, not a minority com
pany,” Cook said, admitting
potential clients are some
times surprised, if not
shocked, to realize he is
African American.
“1 went to a meeting in New
York and when I showed up
they had to adjourn the meet
ing for 15 minutes to compose
themselves,” he said.
But, by working hard over
the past eight years, Cook and
Culbreth have achieved the
success which allows them to
compete equally and often win
choice business contracts.
The two met at the Outlet
Marketplace Mall near
Carowinds. He was into mer
chandising and she was man
aging the mall for Crosland-
Erwin.
Culbreth majored in special
education and reading at
Bennett College, but entered
the business world alter teach
ing for a couple of years.
Cook, who has a law degree
from N.C. Central University,
intended to work with ath
letes. He’d lettered in football
and golf at Olympic High
School.
“The reason we hit it off so
well is we were both dreamers
and had a lot of initiative,”
Cook said. “I haven’t met
many dreamers.”
See CATERERS on page 9A
Hidden
investment
charges
By Omar Dillard
SPECIAL TO THE POST
There’s a sign in a saloon in
Anchorage, Alaska, that says,
“We cheat the other guy and
pass the savings on to you.” In
other words, there’s no such
thing as a free lunch. Whether
it's you or another person, some
body has to pay the cost.
Tiy to recall the last time you
bought a major appliance or
automobile. Do you know, or did
you ask, the salesperson's com
mission? How did the dealer get
paid, or the manufacturer who
produced it, or the suppliers who
furnished the materials? The list
can go on and on.
Each of these links in the
chain is entitled to reasonable
compensation for the goods and
services provided to supply you
with a final product. From that
compensation, they pay for
materials and labor and have
some profit left for the business.
That’s the American way;
Nothing operates for free.
If you understand that, then
you’ll agree that there’s no such
thing as an investment that
costs you nothing. Everything
has a price tag.
Unfortunately, investors often
believe there’s no cost to an
investment. A typical example of
this situation is a mutual fund
that promises no cost to pur
chase. That means the fund is
offered directly to investors
without the commission — and
service — of an investment rep
resentative. Cautious investors,
beware: No commission is not
the same as no cost.
The cost of purchasing a mutu
al fund with no commission is in
the fund’s expenses, which you
pay as long as you own the fund.
This cost is figured and reported
as a percentage of the value of
the fund. It is generally
described as the “ratio of expens
es to average net assets.” You
can find it in the condensed
financial information of every
mutual fund’s prospectus or
annual report,
Omar Dillard is an investment
representative at Edward Jones
in Charlotte.
BUSINESS BRIEFS
Donald E. Robinson has been
named manager of
NationsBank’s telephone bank
ing center in Wichita, Kansas.
Robinson, a senior vice presi
dent and former telephone
banking center executive in
Charlotte, will relocate to
Wichita to manage the regional
center, which will eventually
employ 600 associates.
“NationsBank is fortunate to
have Donald leading the efforts
of this growing telephone bank
ing center,” said Rick Parsons,
president of NationsBank
Direct Banking. “He has done
an outstanding job in Charlotte
and we are eager to share his
experience and knowledge with
our new team in Wichita.”
• Dawn Roberson has been
promoted to assistant vice presi
dent at First Citizens Bank in
Charlotte.
Roberson, a Monroe native,
earned her bachelor’s degree
from Pfeiffer College. She lives
in Monroe and is involved with
Punches
Girl Scouts
and Mineral
Springs
United
Methodist
Church.
• Crystal
Punches has
been selected
to present a
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workshop at the African-
American Women on Tour
Conference in Dallas, Texas.
Punches, who lives in
Charlotte, will present
“Personal Marketing Skills for
the ‘90s: Promoting Your
Uniqueness.” She is a senior
training consultant for Excel
Training and Development.