BUSINESS FOCUS
Briefs
First Community adopts
Remote Capture technology
First Community Bank has extended the banking
day for its customers. Using Remote Capture technol
ogy, the bank is now able to eliminate the traditional 2
p jn. cutoff for processing deposits and loan payments.
Remote Capture allows the bank to transmit images of
customer deposits and loan payments to the operations
center electronically so the customer can receive same
day credit on the transaction. Deposits are now
processed through the close of business on the day that
they are received (with the exception of Saturday,
which is considered a "banking day" and not a "busi
ness day").
Joe W. Carroll, senior vice president, said, "First
Community Bank already has the most convenient
banking hours in Winston-Salem. The 'no 2 pju. cut
off' will extend that convenience even further, making
banking with us more practical for our customers. They
will not have to rash to get to the bank to meet the tra
ditional 2 p.m. cutoff. Anything deposited on a given
day will be processed on that day. This is another way
First Community Bank puts our customers first."
With the addition of two recently opened offices,
one at Oliver's Crossing; the other at the River Ridge
shopping center, First Community Bank has more loca
tions than ever.
Tesh joins Wake Forest staff
Michael Tesh has joined Wake Forest University as
assistant vice president for human resources.
Tesh's background includes serving recently as vice
Tesh
president for human resources at
Misys Healthcare in Raleigh. In
addition, he has served as vice
president for human resources at
PanAmSat Inc. in Connecticut
and held a series of human
resources leadership positions at
Nortel Networks in a number of
locations, including Raleigh,
Toronto and Rochester, N.Y.
Tesh's responsibilities at
Wake Forest include formulat
ing, implementing and coordi
nating the human resources strat
egy, policies and programs in employment, employee
relations, compensation and benefits, organization
design and development, and learning systems.
Tesh received a Bachelor of Arts degree at Stetson
University and a Master of Business Administration
degree at Campbell University.
Small business week observed
ATLANTA - Saying that small businesses are
the lifeblood of cities and towns across the country,
President Bush proclaimed April 22 - April 28 as
Small Business Week.
In observance of the celebration, the U.S.
Department of Housing and Urban Development
announced that in the Atlanta Region that the 2006
goals for Small Businesses and Women-Owned
Small Businesses had a significant increase in
HUD's Procurement Activity.
HUD's Regional Director Bob Young celebrates
the increase among small businesses in the Atlanta
Region. The Small Business Administration (SBA)
Goals for Small Businesses were at 45 percent, how
ever, HUD's Small Business Goals Achievement
was 70.6 percent in -20(16. SBA Goals for Women
Owned Small Business was 20 percent while HUD's
Small Business Goals Achievement for Women
Owned Small Business was 21 .4 percent.
Regional Director Young declared, "HUD is
excited and committed to continuing the pro-growth
economic policies that encourage enterprise and
make America the best place in the world to do busi
ness". HUD wilJ.continue to promote small and dis
advantage businesses through its many outreach
activities that are being planned throughout the
Region to increase more participation of small busi
nesses in HUD contract and procurement opportuni
ties.
HUD is the nation's housing agency committed
to increasing homeownership, particularly among
minorities: creating affordable housing opportuni
ties for low-income Americans; and supporting the
homeless, elderly, people with disabilities and peo
ple living with AIDS.
Many apply for'Martin Luther
King Commission director's job
LITTLE ROCK (AP) - Applicants for the job
of executive director of the Arkansas Martin Luther
King Jr. Commission came to 106 people as of the
March deadline, commission officials say.
Tracy Steele, a Democratic state senator from
North Little Rock, resigned from the executive
director's post Nov. 17 to pursue business interests.
Steele had headed the commission since 1994.
The commission, a state agehcy created by the
state Legislature in 1993, works to improve rela
tions among racial and ethnic groups and to devel
op an appreciation of different cultures.
Steele, who stepped down after surviving
attempts to oust him from the job. said recently that
he is disappointed the commission hasn't hired a
permanent executive director yet.
He says the commission's summer youth and
community programs are coming up, as are prepa
rations for the 50th anniversary of the integration
of Central High School in Little Rock.
Commission co-chairman Odies Wilson of
Little Rock says he shares Steele's concerns and
wants the commission to be open and fair in hiring
a director. He says the group hasn't moved quicker
to hire a director partly because of commission
infighting and confusion over who the commission
members are.
CDC to honor esteemed group
SPECIAL TO THE CHRONICLE
The UJIMA CDC will have its 2nd
Annual Community Builder Awards
event on Friday, May 1 1, at the Winston
Salem State University Anderson
Conference Center.
The awards were established to recog
nize individuals who make outstanding
contributions to the community through
their professions and civic engagement.
Several people will be honored at the
event. The Business Achievement Award
will be presented to Simpson O. Brown,
Jr., president and CEO of TriStone
Community Bank.
The Corporate Achievement Award
recipient will be Donna E. Oldham, sen
File Photo
Dell's Donna Oldham will be honored.
ior communications manager for Dell
Inc. The Excellence in Education Award
will be presented to James Rousseau III a
retired vice president of community reto
tions and development at Forsyth
Technical Community College. Rousseau
is also chair of the Housing Authority of
Winston-Salem's Board of
Commissioners. <
The Career Achievement Award will
be presented to Capt. Shirese Adams, of
the Winston-Salem Fire Departm/nt. She
made local history when she b?fcame the
first African-American woman to obtain
the rank of captain. The UJIMA
Community Development Corporation'is
the vision of the Rev. Dr. John Mendez.
See CDC on A5
UNCG named among
best bargain schools
SPECIAL TO THE CHRONICLE
The Princeton R^Vj/ew has again ranked UNCG as one of the nation's best values for an undergradu
ate education. >
UNCG is included in the new edition of Princeton Review's "America's Best Value Colleges," which
went on sale last week.
UNCG was also included in
the Review's "Best 361
Colleges." The schools were
chosen for their excellence
academics, generous finan
cial aid packages and/or rel
atively low costs of atten
dance.
UNCG has been ranked
in the survey for several
years, according to Dr.
Cindy Farris, associate
provost for enrollment serv
ices.
Cost for attending
UNCG in 2006-07, includ
ing tuition, fees, room,
board and books, is slightly
more than $10,000. In addi
tion to UNCG, other North
Carolina schools included in
the "America's Best Value
Colleges" are Appalachian
State University, Davidson
College, East Carolina
University, Guilford
College, N.C. State
University, St. Andrews
Presbyterian College, UNC
Asheville, UNC Pembroke
and UNC Wilmington. The
list is available at
www.PrincetonReview.com.
"UNCG continues to be
an exceptional value for our
students and their families,"
said Farris. "It is gratifying
to have The Princeton
Review once again includes
the university among the
best value institutions in the
country. This ranking is
based on a combination of
the quality of the academic
experience provided to our
students and of tuition
costs."
For the 2007 rankings,
Princeton Review surveyed
data from administrators at
650 colleges to arrive at the
list of 165 institutions, which included 90 public and 75 private colleges and universities. A total of 30
factors were examined across four major categories: academics, tuition, financial aid and student borrow
ing.
Princeton Review, a New York City-based company, is best known for its test preparation courses,
education services and books. It first published its "Best Colleges" guide in 1992, offering rankings in a
variety of categories based on student ratings.
Williams
is new
EWC
president
SPECIAL TO THE CHRONICLE
Claudette H. Williams,
Ed.D, an eminent educator
and outstanding academic
leader will become the 28th
president of Edward Waters
College, effective June 1.
Edward Waters College is
a fully accredited private, his
torical- . .
i y
black
college.
It is the
oldest
private
institu
tion of
higher
educa
tion in
the
Williams
state of Florida. The school
was founded in 1866 specifi
cally to educate newly freed
slaves
Williams was elected last
week by the EWC Board of
Trustees. The appointment
concludes a search launched
in March 2006 involving con
sultation with an -executive
search agency, representatives
from the offices of Mayor
John Peyton and Governor Jeb
Bush, faculty, staff, and alum
ni. Dr. Williams was selected
from a pool of 52 applicants.
Dr. Williams serves at
Bennett College as executive
vice president. She also served
as chair of the department of
educational leadership at
Clark Atlanta University. She
has over 26 years of success
ful experience in higher edu
cation as an administrator and
academician, having served as
a leader for the re-affirmation
of accreditation at two histori
cally black institutions of
higher education.
"We are extremely excit
ed and elated about our newly
elected president. She is a tal
ented, resourceful leader for
See Williams on A5
Study: State benefits greatly from beer industry
SPECIAL TO THE CHRONICLE
RALEIGH - America's
beer industry, made up of brew
ers. beer importers, beer distrib
utors. brewer suppliers, and
retailers, directly and indirectly
contributes $3.84 billion annual
ly to North Carolina's economy
according to a new economic
impact study commissioned by
the National Beer Wholesalers
Association (NBWA) and the
Beer Institute.
The industry's economic
impact includes 37,013 jobs -
paying $1.08 billion in wages -
as well as $830 million in feder
al, state, and local taxes.
According to the study, the
direct and indirect output of
brewers, importers, beer distrib
utors, and retailers into North
Carolina's economy is $3.84 bil
lion each year.
The beer industry directly
employs 21 ,352 people in North
Carolina, paying them $522 mil
lion in wages. Large and small/
brewers and beer importer^
employ 787 people in Nor/h
Carolina, and North Carolina's
70 beer distributors employ
approximately 2,773 people.
Beer is a key driver of prof
itability for the 15<$>I2 licensed
retailers in North Carolina,
according to TDLinx, a service
of The Nielsen Company and
the recognized leader in location
information management. Beer
sales help support roughly
17,791 jobs at these retailers,
which include supermarkets,
convenience stores, restaurants,
bars, stadiums and other outlets.
"This study shows that more
than ever, America's brewers
play a pivotal role in promoting
strong and robust economic
growth throughout our country,"
said August A. Busch IV, presi
dent and chief executive officer,
Anheuser-Busch Companies,
Inc., and chairman of the Beer
Institute. "Brewers in North
Carolina and all SO states have
been supporting the economy in
their communities for genera
tions, creating jobs for their
neighbors, tax revenue for pub
lic services, and promoting alco
hol awareness responsibility ini
tiatives for retailers, schools,
and families."
Nationally, the beer indus
try directly and indirectly con
tributes nearly $190 billion
annually to the U.S. economy
and provides more than 1 .7 mil
lion jobs. The production of
beer helps support other seg
ments of the economy as well.
For example, the study showed
more than $4 billion in econom
ic contributions for the agricul
tural sector, including malting
barley ($537.8 million), hops
($280.7 million), brewers rice
($222.9 million), and brewers
corn ($58.4 million).
The complete Beer Industry
Economic Impact study, includ
ing a state-by-state and congres
sional district breakdown of eco
nomic contributions, is available
at the Beer Serves America Web
site,
www.beerservesamerica.org.