Briefs
Local woman racks up
during shoe shopping spree
Winston-Salem's Cheryl Hall recently won the
chance to grab as many pairs of free shoes as she
could hold in eighty-seven seconds.
Hall won the spree by entering a Rack Room
Shoes' drawing in mid-November. After her shop
ping extravaganza, which took place at the Rack
Room store in Hanes Mall, she walked away with
boots and pi^es, totaling $600.
"She had a really good time," said Jeff Cherry of
Rack Room Shoes. "She was such an outgoing and
enjoyable person it was no wonder that her co-work
ers wanted to come along to cheer her on. She
ended up grabbing all boots, both Anne Klein and
Nine West."
The promotion was part of Rack Rooms'
Anniversary Celebration. The Charlotte-based chain
is a member of the Deichmann Shoe Company of
Europe, which is the largest privately owned shoe
retailer in the world.
Rack Room Shoes operates more than 340 stores
in 24 states, primarily in the Mid- Atlantic, upper
Midwest, Southeast and Southwestern states. It was
clear that Hall is a frequent Rack Room customer.
According to Jan Mauldin, Rack Room Shoes
. director of marketing, "It was evident that Ms. Hall
knew the "open stock" store layout. She knew exact
ly the boots she wanted: Nine West and Anne Klein.
We have 15,000 pairs of shoes. It is great fun espe
cially near the holiday. Winners keep a few pair of
shoes and give some away."
UPS employee receives honor
* e
Jerry Whittington was recently inducted into
UPS's Circle of Honor program, which recognizes
drivers who have attained 25 years or more of acci
dent-free driving.
Whittington works out of the UPS facility locat
ed at 199 Park Plaza Dr., Winston Salem, and
presently provides service in the Lexington area.
Whittington and his wife, Brenda, live in
Lexington. They have two children: Shannon and
Lisa.
UPS has long enjoyed an outstanding reputation
for safety in the transportation industry. UPS drivers
log over two billion miles a year on U.S. roads and
average less than one accident per million miles
driven.
NC Banks to hold
spring parade for troops
%?
As a part of the ongoing effort to spotlight North
Carolina as "the nation's most military-friendly
state," North Carolina's banks will present a Salute
to Our Troops on Saturday, April 26, beginning at 10
a.m. * v
It will kickoff with a parade down the state's
main street - Fayetteville Street - in Raleigh.
Approximately 10,000
participants, including troops
from all of the state's military
bases, military bands, drill
teams and honor guards, and
bands from state universities,
colleges, and high schools
will march in front of a huge
crowd proceeding north on
Fayetteville Street around the
Capitol Building. Following
Krebs tne parade, mere will oe
many attractions, including
an open demonstration of
equipment utilized by the modern military.
Entertainment and other events will be announced at
a later date.
Van Krebs has joined the North Carolina
Bankers Association Foundation to lead this project
over the coming months. "While the initial and most
visible intent of the event is to show the troops in
North Carolina how much we appreciate what they
do and the sacrifices that they (and their families)
make, another driving motivation is to create a way
for people and industries to leave a legacy at each
branch and installation," he said. That legacy will be
in the form of contributions for scholarships and
family aid for children of military personnel who
have been lost or wounded in the Middle East. Other
innovativ& ideas related to military personnel in our
state will be considered.
Krispy Kreme CEO resigns
CHARLOTTE (AP) - Krispy Kreme
Doughnuts Inc. chief executive Daiyl Brewster has
resigned amid a sputtering turnaround effort.
The Winston-Salem-based company said
Monday that Brewster left his position for personal
reasons but will stay with the company until the end
of January.The board of directors has elected James
Morgan to replace him.
Brewster was named CEO in March 2006 to help
lead Krispy Kreme through a turnaround, but the
company has continued to struggle. In December,
the company said its quarterly sales tumbled and it
expected more franchised store closures ahead.
Morgan, 60, has been a Krispy Kreme director
since 200Q, and he was elected chairman of the
board in 2005. In the past, he has worked for or been
in charge of various entities, including investment
firm Covenant Capital LLC, Interstate/Johnson
Lane and Wachovia Securities Inc.
Krispy Kremehas been hurt over the past couple
of years by allegations of misconduct by former
management, healthier eating trends, bankruptcy fil
ings by several of its franchisees and competition
from larger rival Dunkin' Donuts.
NCCU Photos
NCCU School of Business graduate Francisco Cuyar raises a fist in celebration.
Malveaux tells Eagles to soar
SPECIAL TO THE CHRONICLE
DURHAM - Economist and
Bennett College President Julianne
^lal veaux asked the assembled
audience at North Carolina Central
University's 110th
Commencement Exercises on Dec.
15, "What hurdles must you clear
today?" v
According to Dr. Malveaux,
greatness is the sum of your
accomplishments plus the obsta
cles that were overcome in attain
ing those milestones.
The obstacle that is of the
greatest concern to Malveaux and
to many among the capacity crowd
at NCCU's McLendon
McDougald Gymnasium is the
pervasive racism in American
society. Malveaux held her audi
ence's rapt attention with her pas
sionate and wide-sweeping indict
ment beginning with the judicial
system's treatment of black ath
letes like' Michael Vick and Barry
Bonds. '*
Malveaux argued that the
United States could no longer
afford to "put people on the
r
Dr. Julianne Malveaux speaks to a capacity crowd. -
periphery." Referring to
America's failure to ke^p up with
China, ? India, and Eastern Europe
in the education of engineers,
MalVeaux said, "We can't afford to
sideline one American brain. Otfr
nation is in crisis!"
It was clear that Malveaux
speech resonated with many of th
503 graduates.
"Clearing, hurdles is somethin
See NCCU on A
Squeezable
Bride
~ ~ FPS Photo
Just before Christmas,
Jennifer and Doy Nichols tied
the knot in the Charmin
Rest rooms in New York City's
Times Square. Jennifer is
wearing an intricately
detailed dress that was hand
made using Charmin Ultra
Soft and Charmin Ultra
Strong toilet paper. The
Lexington, Ky. couple won a
contest sponsored by
Charmin. Along with the wed
ding ceremony, the couple
received all expense paid air
line flights, hotel, and a hon
eymoon package at the world
class spa Destination Kohler
in Kohler, Wise.
Business
world is
Hammer's
new hustle
BY MICHAEL LIEDTK.E
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
SAN FRANCISCO - MC
Hammer hasn't topped the
music charts since the early
1990s, but the former rap star
says he has another hit in him
? only this time around he'll
pr&duce it as a Silicon Valley
entrepreneur.
Hammer, whose real name
is Stanley Burrell, is choreo
graphing a new career as co
founder, and chief strategy
officer nf Menlo Park-based
com.
The!
Web si><
sched
uled to
debut in
m i d -
January,
will try
t o
upstage
YouTube
and MC Hammer
become
the Internet's hub for sharing
and watching dance videos.
Dance Jam then hopes to make
money by grabbing a piece of
the rapidly growing Internet
advertising market, which is
expected to rake in $27.5 bil
lion in 2008, according to
eMarketer.
If the business pans out,
DanceJam could help
Hammer compensate for los
ing his fortune when he went
bankrupt in 1996 with nearly
$14 million in debts.
The bankruptcy was a
sobering comedown for
Hammer, who parlayed the
popularity of his once-ubiqui
tous song, "U Can't Touch
This" to become a pop icon
in the early 1990s. Besides
s becoming a fixture on "MTV,
e Hammer appeared on kids'
lunch boxes and even had his
8 own action figure.
Although Hammer isn't
6 churning out best-selling .'??
records any longer, everyone
still seems to know his name.
Even children born after his
downfall are familiar with his
music because "U Can't
Touch This" still gets played
in TV shows and movies.
But Hammer's involve
ment in DanceJam has more
to do with his technological
savvy, than his celebrity, said
Ron Conway, a longtime
Silicon Valley investor who is
part of a small group that pro
vided DanceJam with $1 mil
lion in startup funds.
"I expect him to integrate
all his knowledge into this
Web site", said Conway, who
befriended Hammer at a base
ball game seven years ago and
has been tutoring him in the
ways of technology ever
since. "He is the lightning rod
for this whole thing."
Hammer, 45, started pok
ing around Silicon Valley
^jihile he was still selling mil
lions of records. He often
hung out at computer makers
like Silicon Graphics Inc. and
- ? ? See Hammer on A6
State tweaks travel guide to boost tourism
SPECIAL TO THE CHRONICLE
The state is hoping that its new 2008
North Carolina Travel Guide will help
increase tourism dollars.
The free guide is available by by calling 1
800- VISIT NC (847-4862) or via the web at,
www.visitnc.com.The new guide includes a
special pull-out map of the state and informa
tion on activities that can be shared by the
entire family, grand-kids to grandparents.
Produced by the N.C. Department of
Commerce's Division of Tourism, Film and
Sports Development, the guide includes
information on more than 6S0 attractions and
nearly 4,000 accommodations.
There is an online guide as well at
www.visitnc.com. Vistitors should click on
"view online travel guide" on the left-hand
side of the main page and a virtual guide that
features7 video clips of North Carolina travel
experiences.
"North Carolina's outstanding array of
natural and cultural attractions is captured in
Stock Phfrto
Grandfather Mountain is one of the state 's
hottest attractions.
thfr 2008 Travel Guide," said Gov. Mike
Easley. "Whether you and your family enjoy
hiking in the mountains, playing golf?in the
Piedmont or surf fishing on the coast, you
will find something for everyone here in our
state, as well as hospitable North Carolinians
who delight in sharing our heritage with visi
tors."
This year's guide has been redesigned to
highlight the most popular experiences visi
tors to the state seek - things like family
reunion vacations, adventures in the great
outdoors, nightlife, life-long learning vaca
tions, "-food and wine hoLspots, potorsports
and the state's many fine arts and cultural
activities.
The 2008 North Carolina Travel Guide's
cover highlights the village of Ocracoke, at
the southern-tip of the Outer Banks.
Ocracoke's Lifeguard Beach was named
America's Best Beach this year by "Dr..
Beach," the noted beach expert Dr. Stephen
Leatherman.