Greater Fayetteville Business Journal - March 10, 2023 Issue

Daphne Sanitz, a Veteran entrepreneur, has made quite the name for herself through her work of “preserving what most throw away” here in Fayetteville. Sanitz has developed eight properties in downtown Fayetteville including the building at 108 Person St. which now hosts the popular restaurant CIRCA 1800.

Sanitz spoke with the Greater Fayetteville Business Journal about her latest project, the Kress Lofts on Maxwell St.

Sanitz first began the steps to renovating the Kress building in 2017.

PHOTO PROVIDED BY: DARDEN JENKINS

An artist's rendering of the fully renovated Kress Lofts building. Daphne Sanitz has developed eight historic properties in Downtown Fayetteville.

Building trust with Truist

BANKING PROFESSIONAL PATRICK “PAT” NOBLES REFLECTS ON HIS 33 YEARS IN THE BANKING INDUSTRY AND THE IMPACT OF TRUIST BANK IN THE AREA

Now serving as Market President for Truist Bank for Cumberland, Sampson and Robeson counties, Pat Nobles began his career in finance in savings and loan with East Coast Federal in 1990. Since then, he has stayed onboard and seen his former starting company through one acquisition by Southern National Bank in 1993, and two mergers, the first with BB&T in 1995, and later with SunTrust Bank in 2019. Now known as Truist Bank, those acquisitions have led to Truist holding a majority of the financial market. The Greater Fayetteville Business Journal spoke with Nobles about his experiences with the changes, and the customer and employee retention practices that are keeping long-time clients on board with Truist.

GFBJ: You've been with these different institutions throughout a number of big acquisitions, what is one thing about yourself that you think helped stay on through those changes?

NOBLES: I just have a belief that if you work hard, and are patient and treat people well, then you will be successful and you'll get the opportunities to advance throughout your career. And that formula has worked very well for me, and just having a strong work ethic that my parents instilled in me years ago. Good things come to those who wait so to speak. It’s what my mother taught me and that's worked out very well for me over the years..

GFBJ: What made you want to work in banking and finances?

NOBLES: I was just fascinated with the economy, and the money and banking system and finance, and it was just a really good stable career choice. It just kind of fit into my needs.

I went to college at Appalachian State and they have an excellent business school. I took some entry level econ classes, and I just really liked the curriculum for banking and finance and that's what I ended up majoring in and I was lucky enough to get a job out of college and it just really suited me.

GFBJ: What has kept you in the banking field for more than three decades?

NOBLES: You really are helping people in a really positive way. People have to have their health, it is important, but their financial health is also very important and you get to help individuals achieve their hopes and dreams, as well as business owners, and then the business owners in kind are employing a lot of people that are able to realize their dreams, so you're really doing a lot for the community at large when you're in banking as a career. So it just has appealed to me, it's been rewarding, both personally and professionally.

GFBJ: Over the course of your career, is there any experience or highlight that has stuck with you?

NOBLES: You know, there have been a lot of moments, a lot of deals, so to speak, that were really fun to work on, and were kind of, I won't call crowning achievements, but really made for some successful moments. But sometimes it's the little things, seeing someone in a branch that's in need and you're able to go help them. I've formed a lot of great friendships through my work as a banker, and just going through the moments with these families, watching them start their business and grow their business and watching that accelerate. I'd say the most rewarding thing is probably when we see we're able to help a business owner grow and then the next generation of their family comes into that business and we get the opportunity to work with them again, and help them evolve as well. I think that's been really touching to me to be able to see that generational success in the lives of a business owner, and being able to help them through all the cycles of their business from the early stages to the growth to where it's kind of sustainable and ready to pass on.

GFBJ: Serving as Market President for Cumberland, Sampson and Robeson Counties, how have you kind of seen the banking needs of these different areas change throughout the years?

NOBLES: Well, I think a lot of the basic needs are still the same, people

Patrick "Pat" Nobles

Market President, Truist Bank for Cumberland, Sampson and Robeson counties

Age: 54

Location: Fayetteville NC

Family:

I am married and my wife Dianna and I have two adult sons, Gregory and Jacob

Favorite Music: Hard Rock

Hobbies: Golf, reading, and attending sport events with family

Favorite tropical fruit: Bananas need to, first and foremost, meet their daily needs. What it costs to run a household, what it costs to run a business and bankers fulfill those needs. We help facilitate every business owner's needs, to be able to transact, how they get paid and how they dispersed payments.

And what I would say is, the average business owner has probably had to find ways to attract and retain a good workforce, good talent, and there's probably a business banker, trying to help them figure out ways to do that.

GFBJ: Truist Bank has acquired a number of smaller more local banks, how have you managed to retain customer loyalty after that change?

NOBLES: We're really big on meeting community needs. We think that we can create a very positive impact on a large scale for the community at large. We want to be there for our clients, no matter how they interact with us whether it's in person or digital, but very distinct in differentiated services. We go beyond being deeply committed to people. I don't want to leave out our teammates, our employees are very, very important, and we want them to be taken care of. If we do that, we think the clients will be taken care of and the community will be taken care of as well. We want to continue to be a strong corporate citizen and support the community in a very deep and meaningful way.

PHOTO COURTESY OF PAT NOBLES

4424 Bragg Blvd, Fayetteville, NC 28303 910-240-9697

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Marty Cayton martyc@bizfayetteville.com

EDITOR

Faith Hatton faithh@bizfayetteville.com

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Stephanie Meador stephaniem@bizfayetteville.com

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Charity Brandsma

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Samantha Lowe samanthal@bizfayetteville.com

ACCOUNTING

Priscilla Nelson billing@bizfayetteville.com

The Greater Fayetteville Business Journal is published twice a month throughout Fayetteville and the Cumberland County region. News related to the region’s business sector is posted daily at bizfayetteville.com.

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© Copyright 2023 Greater Fayetteville Business Journal

CORRECTION:

Hodges Advertising Associates, a marketing firm in Fayetteville was left out of our recently published 2023 Book on Business. We have since added them to the now refreshed “Marketing Firms” list published in this issue.

Learning our her-story

CELEBRATE WOMEN LIVING, LEARNING AND SHARING OUR STORIES

Happy Women’s History month everyone! In honor of International Women’s Day on March 8, here are a few of my favorite women from around the world who have left their mark throughout history.

Khutulun “Princess of 10,000 horses” (1260-1306)

The great granddaughter of Genghis Khan, Khutulun was born as the Khan’s Mongol Empire was beginning to dissolve.

The only girl out of 15 children, not only was Khutulun skilled at riding and archery, she was also quite the skilled wrestler. When it came time for her to marry, she insisted she would only marry someone who could beat her at wrestling, (we love a queen who sets a standard). If the man lost, he would owe her 100 horses. Khutulun was undefeated, and while the question of whether she actually had 10,000 horses, or if it was used as shorthand to describe a large amount is up for question, she had a pretty solid monopoly on a major mode of transportation at the time. (We love a sister who builds her own wealth.) Eventually she did decide to settle down, (we support a queen making her own choices). but there are no solid records on who it was.

The Soviet Night Witches AKA: Russia’s 588th Night Bomber Aviation Regiment (1942-1945)

Teamwork is important, and when you’re given bare-bones tools to fight Nazis during World War II, you adapt, overcome, and get to work.

Nicknamed “Nachthexen,” or “night witches” by the enemy due to the sound they made as they glided in to drop their bombs, the all female squadron led by Marina Raskova totaled 1,200 women ranging from ages 17-26. These women were met with an unprepared military that didn’t have the gear or the airpower to supply them. Being given outdated Polikarpov Po-2 biplanes, (1920s crop-dusters) only able to carry two bombs at a time, and none of the

luxuries their male regiments were given, (parachutes, radar, guns and radios, all useless on a battlefield, right)? These women were sent out in teams of two. Over the course of their three year run, this group completed 30,000 missions in total and only lost 30 pilots. This group fought against every odd stacked against them, and succeeded only to have a lackluster ending. The regiment was disbanded six months after the end of WWII, and they were excluded from the Victory Day Parade held in Moscow on June 24, 1945.

Malala Yousafzai (1997 - Present)

A more contemporary choice. Born in Pakistan in 1997, Yousafzai was just 10 years old in 2007 when the Taliban took over her home in the Swat Valley, stripping women of not only their right to an education, but their freedom to watch TV, leave the house and even dance. Malala became an outspoken opponent to the Taliban rule as early as 2009 starting a blog anonymously on the Urdu language site of the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC). She wrote about life in the Swat Valley under Taliban rule, and about her desire to go to school under the pen name “Gul

Makai,” she described being forced to stay at home, and she questioned the motives of the Taliban.

Her activism resulted in a nomination for the International Children’s Peace Prize in 2011, she was also awarded Pakistan’s National Youth Peace Prize that same year.

On October 9, 2012 Malala was shot by the Taliban at point blank range, and would go on to survive and continue her work after relocating to Birmingham, England.

Now Malala is a graduate of Oxford University, a published author, has spoken in front of the United Nations, and is the youngest person to ever receive a Nobel Peace Prize, being awarded the honor when she was 17-years old.

These are just a few (severely condensed) stories of historical women who have left an impact on me. As we celebrate Women’s History Month, now is the time to find women in your community you want to learn from and hear their stories, learn about your neighbors and be a positive mark in someone else’s story.

This Women’s History Month, make a concentrated effort to learn the stories about the women leaders, educators, healers, mothers, and other trailblazing women in your community.

Power Breakfast sells out

THE

GFBJ HOSTED

The first Power Breakfast of the new year was held on Feb. 28 at the Cape Fear Botanical Gardens and the event was completely sold out with more than 300 people in attendance.

Economic Strategist Ted Abernathy delivered a fantastic presentation which offered insights into our rapidly evolving economy.

Though it is impossible to sum up all of the data Abernathy broke down in his 40 minute talk in just a few sentences, here are the key takeaways from Abernathy’s presentation:

• Demographic realities: With the declining population causing labor flow issues, the competition for employees has been intensified. The byproduct of that is there will be a push to try to automate as much as

A

FULL HOUSE FOR THE FIRST POWER BREAKFAST OF 2023

possible as fast as possible. To account for the labor shortage, it will be necessary for the United States to deal with immigration reform as well as learn to value older employees and work towards retention of current employees.

• Data analytics: Predictive analytics can help you determine what your future looks like, but what you do as a community determines what happens. With data and evaluations about a business easily available to all consumers, this determines competitiveness.

• Globalization: In America, our economy and lives are impacted by people around the world, by the actions of countries and individuals. Abernathy asserts that friends and allies are

important and we need to figure out who America’s are and stay close to them in times of transformation.

• Renormalizing economy: For 60 years or so Americans operated under the assumption that the market solved everything, but now they’re starting to think in terms of “we need to subsidize chip manufacturers. We need to help make sure that we’re staying prominent in certain industries. That’s a big shift,” remarked Abernathy.

The Greater Fayetteville Business Journal team is happy to host such enriching events which bring the community together. We look forward to seeing you all again at the next Power Breakfast during the second quarter.

PHOTO PROVIDED BY: GFBJ

Economic Strategist Ted Abernathy (pictured right) delivered a presentation offering economic insights to a sold out venue at Cape Fear Botanical Gardens (left).

PHOTO PROVIDED BY: GFBJ

Fayetteville Cumberland County Economic Development Corporation President and CEO Robert Van Geons introduces Ted Abernathy to guests. GFBJ partnered with the FCEDC to bring Abernathy to Fayetteville.

The past several years have involved a lot of paperwork, planning and foundation repairs. Even the smallest technicalities have to be sorted out in order for a project such as this to succeed.

Sanitz shared that there are multiple incentives that someone renovating a dilapidated historic property can utilize in their toolbox to make the project more affordable. These include historic tax credits, opportunity zone incentives and new market credits.

Sanitz explained further that banks don’t lend money out for projects such as these, so it’s important to get creative with the resources you have available.

Darden Jenkins, expert in community redevelopment, serves as development specialist of the Kress Lofts redevelopment project. Jenkins shared that he first met Sanitz in 2016, and after being a long-time admirer of her work, he joined her on this project in July of last year.

“My role with her now is essentially to get the incentives that she’s got coming. Primarily, what she’s doing on this project is we’re syndicating the tax credits…So that’s really my role is getting that tax credit money in for her project… the tax credits represent 40 to 45 percent of the cost of the renovation and you sell the tax credits, corporations take the credit against their taxes and then you get the money,” explained Jenkins.

Sanitz identified some of the foundational issues that have to be addressed before the construction of individual units can really begin.

“So basically, the Kress building

was pretty much broken in half… And what they do to repair it is they drill these long holes in the ground, some of them are really deep, like 60-80 feet, and they put what looks like an auger all the way into the base rock of the earth to support the rear of that building so it doesn't sink in more,” said Sanitz.

There are creative ways to preserve the original materials and designs of a building while redesigning it as an updated, functional space.

“And then you can patch up the brick work. But on this particular project, the original historic brick doesn't exist. So we’re having to take some interior brick, because the walls are thick. We're using the interior brick to put on the outside of the building and patch it and then we're rebuilding the interior brick with new brick,” Sanitz added.

There will be 12 units in the newly renovated building. Sanitz shared that she hopes to have the construction complete by the end of the year.

Sanitz shared that when they’re completed guests who enter these condos will feel “like you’re walking into a painting.”

Sanitz is very excited about the unique designs of the units.

“So there’s lots of really neat things about that building that are going to make those condos very unique in that they’re going to be two storeys, very high ceilings, big industrial windows, spiral staircases. catwalks, open floor plans…”

This is not Sanitz’s first time designing housing units downtown, but she said these new spaces will be even more spectacular than the ones she has created in the past.

“The Kress Lofts are going to be like a whole nother level of ‘Wow, I can’t believe you live here.’”

Once completed, the 12 units will be available for rent. Sanitz predicts the monthly rates will be comparable to other housing options located downtown, and the rate will vary a bit depending on the different units and what they specifically offer.

Sanitz won’t be finished with her downtown efforts following the completion of the Kress Project. She shared that her next renovation will be the Lawyers Building. She has a couple of different ideas for that, and with Sanitz’s track record it is sure to be another standout staple in the downtown area.

PHOTO PROVIDED BY: DARDEN JENKINS

Artist's rendering of what the renovated units will look like after they are developed.

PHOTO PROVIDED BY: DARDEN JENKINS

A historic image of the building at 108 Person St. side by side with the current building which houses downtown restaurant CIRCA 1800.

“ The Kress Lofts are going to be like a whole nother level of ‘Wow, I can’t believe you live here.’”

— Daphne Sanitz

ACHIEVERS

Coldwell Banker Advantage wins Chairman’s Club and President’s Club Awards from Anywhere Leads

Coldwell Banker Advantage in Fayetteville has been named a Chairman’s Club and President’s Club Award winner by Anywhere Leads for its outstanding performance during the past year.

Anywhere Leads is an organization within Anywhere Real Estate Inc., the largest full-service residential real estate services company in the United States, focused on delivering highquality leads to its affiliated brokers and agents in the Anywhere Leads Network.

These annual awards honor the top 1 percent of Brokers and top 5 percent of Brokers, respectively, nationwide across the Anywhere Leads Network.

“We continue to build on our strengths and value the support that Anywhere Leads provides to our company. Our Relocation Director, LINDSEY BACKEY, deserves a great deal of credit for the direction and success of our relocation department. This distinction reinforces our commitment to provide top-notch service to our customers every day. We are honored,” President of Coldwell Banker Advantage’s Sandhills Region LISA GEDDIE shared in a press release.

Award criteria is based on rigorous scoring and success in a variety of performance metrics throughout the year, which are designed to support the goals of the clients and customers of Anywhere Leads.

“Coldwell Banker Advantage joins an exclusive group of Brokers recognized as a leader in our Network,” said Rich DeNicola, Senior Vice President, Operations in a press release. “This award celebrates the work, commitment and adaptability from the Coldwell Banker Advantage team in 2022.

City of Fayetteville names new budget and evaluation director

The City of Fayetteville has hired financial leader KIMBERLY LEONARD to be the next Budget and Evaluation Department Director. Her new role includes developing, communicating and administering the City’s annual

bizfayetteville.com

What are you and your peers achieving? Have you reached a new goal? Have you acquired another business? Maybe your business has a new hire you would like to highlight.

a spotlight on your accomplishments.

To nominate someone for GFBJ’s Achievers section, email editor@bizfayetteville.com with the subject line “Achiever.”

operating budget and capital improvement program. She began her new role on Feb. 20.

“Kimberly’s credentials, knowledge and experience will make her a welcomed addition and value added to our team,” said City Manager Doug Hewett in a press release. “Improvements she has made at prior stops during her career demonstrates her leadership ability and innovative ways to seek to enhance processes.”

Leonard has over 30 years of experience as a managerial and financial leader. She is coming to the City from Pender County, where she served as the budget manager. There, she assisted departments with budgeting techniques, developed systems for processing and collecting FEMA grant information and increased budget accuracy leading to less amendments.

Leonard is also an adjunct professor at University of North Carolina at Wilmington teaching in the Master of Public Administration program.

“I am honored to be joining such stellar city leadership and budget staff in working to achieve the next level of excellence,” said Leonard in a press release. “The City of Fayetteville’s budget team is and will continue to be committed to providing fiscally responsible management, accountability and transparency.”

Prior to her time at Pender County, Leonard worked for Windham and Henderson as a certified public accountant, Worsley Operating Company as an account and human resources manager and Southeastern Nephrology Associates as chief financial officer.

Leonard has both a Master of Public Administration focusing on governmental administration and Bachelor of

Science in Accountancy from UNCW.

She is a North Carolina certified public accountant, certified local government budget officer and certified local government financial officer.

Marri Fryar named Fayetteville VA executive director

MRS. MARRI “NICKI” FRYAR has been named the Executive Director of the Fayetteville NC VA Coastal Health Care System by the Secretary of Veterans Affairs effective March 12. Fryar previously served as the health care system’s interim director since September 25, 2022.

As executive director, she provides strategic leadership and oversight for more than 2,500 employees, 89,000 Veterans, at 15 locations in 19 counties in southeast North Carolina, with an overall operating budget of more than $760 million.

Before joining Fayetteville NC VA Coastal Health Care System as the interim director, Mrs. Fryar was the Associate Director of Patient Care Services and Chief Nurse Executive at the Durham VA Health Care System since January 2019 and served as the acting for this role since January 2018. Fryar also served as the Interim Executive Director for Durham VA Health Care System from October 2021 to May 2022.

Mrs. Fryar has served in various VA leadership roles: Associate Chief Nurse for Performance Improvement and Research and the Nurse Manager for numerous clinical settings, including cardiovascular and electrophysiology laboratories, interventional radiology, and critical care.

She is a native of North Carolina and holds a Bachelor of Science in

Nursing from North Carolina Central University and a Master of Business Administration, and a Master of Health Administration from Pfeiffer University. She is a 2021 graduate of the Federal Executive Institute. Mrs. Fryar is a board-certified Nurse Executive through the American Nurses Credentialing Center. She is a member of the American College of Healthcare Executives and the American Organization of Nurse Leaders.

Charleston Group Attorney appointed to White House Office of Public Engagement

The Charleston Group, one of the largest minority-owned law firms in the southeastern United States, is pleased to announce that President Biden has appointed one of its attorneys, former Columbia, SC Mayor STEVE BENJAMIN, as Senior Advisor and Director of the Office of Public Engagement.

The White House Office of Public Engagement works at the local, state, and national levels to ensure a diverse set of leaders and perspectives have the opportunity to inform the President's policies in an inclusive, transparent and responsible way.

“Steve has his finger on the pulse of America. He has a keen understanding of government's role in strengthening communities and businesses," said R. Jonathan Charleston, the Firm’s Managing Principal in a press release. “We are honored to have had Steve as a member of our Firm and excited for his new opportunity to serve the American people.”

Mayor Benjamin added his excitement in a press release stating: “I am honored to have President Biden's confidence and look forward to assisting him in executing his bold agenda for America as Senior Advisor and Director of the Office of Public Engagement.”

Mayor Benjamin joined the Firm in 2020 and co-chairs the Firm's extensive Public Finance and Affordable Housing Practices. His experience with bonds and other revenue-based obligations used by local governments helped drive the growth of the Firm's public finance practice.

For 10 years, Mayor Benjamin served as the mayor of Columbia, South Carolina, leading the city through a tremendous period of growth. He also served as Executive Chairman of Municipal Bonds for America. In 2019, Mayor Benjamin

Greater Fayetteville Business Journal wants to hear from you and your business to shine

Geddie

Leonard

Fryar

Benjamin Backey

completed his term as the U.S. Conference of Mayors’ 76th President.

The Charleston Group has one of the most experienced Public Finance practices of any minority-owned firm in the country. The Firm’s lawyers have extensive experience serving issuers as bond and disclosure counsel and as underwriters’ counsel to investment banks, with offices in Columbia, SC, Fayetteville NC and Washington, D.C.

Seymour assumes responsibility as Fort Bragg Garrison’s command sergeant major

Command Sgt. Maj. GREGORY SEYMOUR assumed responsibility as Fort Bragg’s Garrison senior non-commissioned officer, Feb. 24 at the Main Post Chapel.

Having served on Fort Bragg most of his career, Seymour joins the Garrison Command team after serving as the operations sergeant major for the 82nd Airborne Division Artillery. Other assignments include cannon crewmember, ammunition team chief, gunner, and howitzer section chief with 1st Battalion, 319th Airborne

Field Artillery Regiment, 82nd Airborne Division; Chief of Firing Battery/ Platoon Sergeant and First Sergeant, 1st Battalion, 319th Airborne Field Artillery Regiment, 82nd Airborne Division; First Sergeant, and Operations Sergeant Major, 6th Battalion, 37th Field Artillery Regiment at Camp Casey, Korea.

“I’m excited for the next chapter,” Seymour shared in a press release. “The past few days I’ve met some of the amazing service members who have since taken the uniform off but continue [to] serve selflessly for this great organization. I feel like this is the holy grail for me. This is the crown jewel – the centerpiece of this power projection platform that we call the center of the universe. And what makes the center of the universe great? The people. This is a phenomenal team who works hard, around the clock, every day to help meet the needs of our service members and their Families, veterans and retirees. As your command sergeant major, I will continue to be approachable, available,

and authentic.”

The assumption of responsibility ceremony is rich in symbolism and heritage within the military. It reinforces the role of the noncommissioned officer in the Army, highlighting his or her role as a bridge between the commander and the formation's enlisted Soldiers.

“As the Fort Bragg Garrison looks to the future – a future with a new name and a new focus, I cannot think of anyone better than CSM Seymour,” said Col. John Wilcox, Fort Bragg garrison commander, in a press release. “Together we will set the standards of the garrison team to be part of the installation of the future – one that is ready, relevant, and resilient; and above all one that is innovative. Though I cannot guarantee this ride will be any better than one of the C-130s that fly over Sicily Drop Zone, I can promise you that whatever challenges we face, no matter the condition or the problem, I will be right there by your side. Welcome to the Garrison, Command Sergeant Major.”

Virginia Jones named Finalist for 2023 Women In

DSO Leadership Award for Business Excellence

Women in DSO®, in partnership with Overjet, is proud to present the 2023 Women in DSO Leadership Award to recognize excellence in clinical and administrative DSO leadership. Chief Executive Officer at Village Family Dental/ Valleygate Dental Surgery Centers VIRGINIA JONES based in Fayetteville is one of five finalists being recognized for business excellence.

Back for its second year, the Women in DSO Leadership Award is a program to recognize excellence in clinical and administrative DSO leadership. According to the organization's website, “As leaders, these powerful women have made a marked difference across our industry, creating new pathways for others to follow.”

Finalists were notified in early February that they had been chosen, the winners were announced and celebrated at the Empower and Grow conference on March 8-10, in Las Vegas.

Seymour

Jones

Small town plans big changes

THE TOWN OF AUTRYVILLE NC IS MAKING STRIDES TO EXPAND AND IMPROVE ITS DOWNTOWN BUSINESSES, RESIDENTIAL AREAS AND AMENITIES

Located just beyond the border of Cumberland County and right at the entrance of Sampson County, the Town of Autryville is a small community located right off of Highway 24. Home to 167 residents, town leaders are working on building and expanding the local businesses and living spaces offered to residents.

Led by Mayor Grayson Spell, an Autryville native who had his start after being elected to the Board of Commissioners in 2019, the town has been focusing on attracting new businesses into the area that the people need and rely on.

“There were just a lot of people kind of aggravated that the town had gotten stagnant. The town board was trying to do some things that the people really didn't like,” said Spell. “So, I ran for Commissioner, got elected and when I got elected, we brought on a lot of new board members. So, we started out with kind of a clean slate, and we brought in the mantra that ‘We were elected by the people, we work for the people.’”

After being elected as Mayor in 2021, Spell said one of the primary goals of town leadership was to clean up and reopen some of the vacant properties located in the downtown area located on W Williams St.

“Just like any downtown, we have a lot of vacant buildings and so we're working really hard with stakeholders in town to buy those buildings, fix them up and put businesses on them and that's been really successful so far,” said Spell. “One of our stakeholders has bought a lot of property downtown with the intent of revitalizing and putting new businesses in those buildings or tearing down and building new buildings.”

Recently, the town has seen the result of those efforts in the growth of the downtown area with four new businesses opening since 2019, including a florist, a country store, ice cream and coffee shop and a beauty salon.

Spell said the want for new businesses has led to the decision to not have zoning ordinances, and annexing property into the town provides plenty of room for growth.

“We don't have a zoning ordinance

in Autryville, and that’s been a point of pride for the town. When you buy a piece of land and you want to build a building or you want to build a housing development or something, I will make it as easy on you as I possibly can. Because, for me, there's nothing but benefits, you know, more tax money for the town. More people in the town have more money to spend on the businesses,” said Spell. Spell himself has had experience in his family’s business, Terry Spell Mechanical Service Inc. Working alongside his father Terry, Grayson takes what he’s learned and uses it to help local business owners and form business friendly policies.

“I work for my dad full time building traffic signals, and so we deal a lot with developers who are trying to appease different cities and the state and everything. And I see all day long, how much cities tend to beat up developers and try and shake them down for every dollar that they can, so we go totally the opposite with that,” said Spell.

Residential developers are already at work in the area with plans to add 66 new homes already in motion.

Thanks to the Honeycutt family, a longtime resident family of Autryville that owns hundreds of acres of land surrounding the town, those projects are already being developed. The Honeycutt family has been in the area since 1962 and has gradually been selling property previously used for cattle farming.

“We've always wanted to develop and do some things around there to help the town survive and grow, and also as an exit strategy for us,” said Broker, Developer and Landowner Wayne Honeycutt.

According to Honeycutt, the first phase of residential development has been completed which included 54 residential lots. Now, a new housing development is underway for phase two, which will include 35 additional lots in a new housing community named Horseshoe Ridge, which will be located off of Horseshoe Road. Lower land costs, and easier accessibility thanks to Highway 24 are two of the reasons Honeycutt decided to turn the land into residential lots.

“That's what kind of spurred us to go ahead and get started and get it going. The first phase of it, the 54 lots were highly successful. The builders had a takedown schedule over maybe a two year- two-and-a-halfyear period to take those lots down and literally build it out in probably less than 18 months. Took them all down build them out and sold them, just because the demand was so high,” said Honeycutt. “Hopefully this next section will be as successful but we're in it for the long haul. We're going to get the lots developed.”

Honeycutt also shared that their commercial property is also being looked at to bring a major commercial retailer to their property along Highway 24, but a deal has not been finalized.

As more deals begin to come through and more property becomes developed, the goals for the town remain simple: Bring in more gas stations and grow the population to 300 people to attract a nice restaurant to the area.

While growth is still the primary goal, Mayor Spell said that balance and maintaining the small-town charm residents are accustomed to is still key.

“You want it to be a tight knit community where you don't have a lot of crime and stuff like that. But we have to grow a little bit to be able to maintain that and we've always been what I kind of call the Goldilocks zone,” said Spell.

PHOTO PROVIDED BY: GFBJ

The Honeycutt family is working on commercial and residential development on their properties. The second phase of residential lots are in development and talks are taking place to potentially bring a commercial retailer to the area.

PHOTO PROVIDED BY: GFBJ Wild Magnolia Florist, located downtown, is one of the three most recent businesses to open their doors in Autryville.

New medical school

METHODIST UNIVERSITY AND CAPE FEAR VALLEY HEALTH PARTNERED TOGETHER TO ANNOUNCE EARLY PLANS FOR A NEW MEDICAL SCHOOL

Methodist University and Cape Fear Valley Hospital announced that they have partnered to create the Methodist University medical school, to be located in a new facility at Cape Fear Valley Medical Center. The state-ofthe-art medical school will combine the expertise and resources of both institutions to provide students with unparalleled educational and clinical experiences.

This partnership and school will be transformative to the Fayetteville/ Cumberland County region and have a mission that focuses on providing better medical care for rural and underserved populations and diversifying the MD workforce.

Additional details were shared at a press conference held on Monday Feb. 27. Methodist University President Stanley T. Wearden and Cape Fear Valley Health CEO Mike

Nagowski were featured as speakers.

“A medical school will be a tremendous asset to Fayetteville, Cumberland County and the region. It will attract new health care professionals and new areas of medical specialization. It will improve the quality of health for people in this region. And it will attract new businesses, all ancillary businesses to health sciences and medical health. It will bring in new taxpayers, new homebuyers, new individuals to buy the goods and services in this region. It will elevate the economic well being of this region,” remarked Wearden during the press conference.

Wearden also shared data collected from a study done by Cape Fear Valley Health Systems commission which estimated that in the first 10 years alone, a new medical school will add $750 million to the regional economy.

“Number one in our mind is population health…Wherever there are academic medical centers, partnering with universities to produce physicians and clinicians, the overall health of the population continues to

bizfayetteville.com

improve,” added Nagowski during the press conference.

Classes are set to begin in July 2026. They aim to start with 80 students per year with the intention to grow to 120 students per year.

Partnership for technology

EMERGING TECHNOLOGY INSTITUTE TO HOST

FEDERAL TECHNOLOGY EXPERIMENTATION EVENT

The United States Special Operations Command (USSOCOM) has partnered with the Emerging Technology Institute to bring their third annual Technical Experimentation (TE) event to Red Springs, NC for the second year in a row.

The upcoming event is one out of four hosted by USSOCOM every year, and will have a focus on Information Advantage/Dominance.

Founder and President of ETI James Freeman said he is glad to have the event return after being chosen to host last year by a recommendation by the Fort Bragg USASOC Science and Technology Department.

“This is like the Super Bowl of tests and experiments. Let's say if I have a small company, or my big company and I am trying to get in front of special operations command. There's several ways to do that. But this is one mechanism to be in front

of all special operations command, which also puts you in front of the Air Force, the Army, the Marines, and so on, so on,” shared Freeman. “It pairs whatever companies get selected, usually it's about 60, with the government commands and their equipment technology or whatever it may be, gets evaluated, tested and evaluated over a five day timeframe.”

The solicitation is open online for potential companies to be selected to attend to pitch their products, and Freeman is encouraging all businesses from North Carolina to apply after having few to represent the state last year.

“Last year, we only had one or two North Carolina companies and I was very disappointed because I worked

very hard promoting it,” said Freeman “North Carolina has so many smart people in it, we have so many talented small businesses. We have great people that have great ideas, and they're kicking butt,” said Freeman. “Instead of having two out of 60, we should have 40 at 60, so you can tell the government when they come down here, ‘Look at how many of these businesses are actually from the state.’”

While registration to attend the event itself is not open yet, businesses can begin the application process to be featured by finding the forms online at www.sam.gov.

The 2023 Red Springs TE will be taking place from June 5-9 on the ETI campus at 16824 NC 211 in Red Springs.

Anyone with questions or concerns can contact James Freeman via email at jamesf@eticommunity.com

The Emerging Technology Institute has patterned with the United States Special Operations Command to bring the Technology Experimentation event to Red Springs, NC for the second year in a row.

PHOTO PROVIDED BY: GFBJ

L to R: Michael Nagowski, CEO of Cape Fear Valley Health, Alicia Marks, chairwoman of the Cape Fear Valley Board, Dr. Rakesh Gupta, chair of the Methodist University Board of Trustees and Methodist University President Stanley T. Wearden were cited as playing key roles in the development of the new medical school.

Grants in action

UNDERSTANDING GOVERNMENT PROGRAMMING AND HOW YOU CAN HELP THEM HELP YOU

Fayetteville’s Economic & Community Development Department recently conducted four public meetings at various locations throughout the city to compile resident feedback on the Annual HUD Grant Action Plan.

Resident insight and input will assist with designing the programs and services offered with the Community Development Block Grant funds that the City will receive on behalf of low and moderate-income residents.

In addition to CDBG funds, the plan also describes how the City intends to use HOME Investment Partnership and Housing Opportunities for Persons with AIDS funds for the 2023 program year. Input will be compiled and submitted to the Fayetteville Redevelopment Commission, the Fayetteville City Council, and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.

These grants total up to over $3 million received on an annual basis.

“It’s a really good opportunity to educate the public on these really cool programs that our department oversees,” shared Economic & Community Development Director Chris Cauley when asked about the benefit of these public meetings.

The process to alert people to these funding opportunities began in November with a series of stakeholder meetings and efforts to engage nonprofits and teach them how to apply for the grants. Grant applications were then opened mid-November and remained open until the end of January.

Once the application window is closed, Cauley explained that Economic & Community Development Department staff evaluate the applications based on their understanding of the City Council’s goals and the merits of the application, and how well the organization applying fits the grant criteria. Then it comes time to sit down and divvy up the estimated funds to as many nonprofits as possible.

“Now the funding for nonprofits is kind of limited even though we talked about that big, big number of almost three and a half million dollars,” stated Cauley. “The grants we give out to nonprofits are only about $250,000, and that’s due to HUD rules. So a lot of that money

goes for social services and to help with job training things, kind of what we think of as soft costs. And then the rest of the money goes into really physical improvements. And so we fund some partner agencies like Fayetteville Urban Ministry and Habitat to help low income homeowners with repairs to their roof or their heating and air system or plumbing. And then we also fund small business programs to help businesses that are looking to grow and hire people.”

As they reevaluate their plan each year, there is plenty of room for growth and improvement.

“We have some pretty cool new things this year. One is I’m training one of our team members now to work with nonprofits on capacity building, so that we can build stronger nonprofits in our community. And so he’ll kind of lead nonprofits and boards through how to have a stronger board of directors and how to raise money and financial reporting requirements and all the legal stuff that goes into being a nonprofit because we’ve got a lot of really well intended, good hearted folks out there that don’t necessarily have the business and technical skills to be successful, and so we’re going to invest money in trying to get them those resources,” added Cauley.

The 2023-2024 Annual Action Plan can be viewed online on the City of Fayetteville’s website www. fayettevillenc.gov on the Economic & Community Development page under the “What’s Happening” tab.

Residents that did not have the opportunity to attend a public meeting can submit written comments to EconCommDev@FayettevilleNC. gov until March 19.

After the window for public comments has passed, Cauley shared

that all of the collected information then gets gathered up and it goes to the citizen advisory board, which is called the Fayetteville Redevelopment Commission.

After this, the third step is to go to the City Council and have a public hearing. This three stage process allows for ample time for feedback and revisions to shape the plan.

“HUD wants to make sure that the community has an educated opinion about what we’re doing and also that they be involved and informed about how we’re spending these monies to better the community,” shared Cauley.

In addition to these plans, Cauley shared that there are additional courses of action being proposed to use other funding to increase affordable housing options in particular.

“The voters passed a $12 million housing bond. And so on top of that, 12 million that we now have available, we also have about $4 million from the American Rescue Plan, another seven or $8 million in federal grants and then some state money, and it totals up to about $25 million that we have available right now. And so, what I'm currently doing is, our team is meeting with nonprofits and for profit developers and folks who, build affordable housing, whether they are building single family or apartment complexes, and we’re talking to them about how they can partner with the city and what the city is able to do with those funds.”

“We’re really looking at doing more of that repair and rehab to try to keep people in their homes longer, and to increase our housing quality across the community, and then build new apartments and build new single family homes for first time homebuyers. And then we're also working to

do like down payment assistance.”

“I think about what I really enjoy about Fayetteville and there’s a lot of really nice restaurants and I really love the arts and going to the theater and anything. A lot of folks in those jobs, they contribute to the character of the community, but they don't make a ton of money. And they need to live in the community that they work in,” said Cauley.

With that dilemma in mind, Cauley explained the thinking behind some of the proposed plans of action that aim to enable community members to afford to live in the place they contribute so much to.

“When we look at, how can a couple making $35,000 each a year with a kid be able to afford their first house and we're able to put down payment assistance programs in place where they've still got to go get a loan from a bank, but we can help give them a loan for down payment assistance for up to $20,000 so that they can buy their first home,” explained Cauley.

“Those are really cool programs that help the community out overall because those homeowners become more stable, they’ve become more financially secure. And so we’re looking at a lot of programs like that, but homeownership is not for everybody either. And so we really need to subsidize apartment complexes so that they can charge lower rents because rent keeps increasing more and more and more each year,” added Cauley.

It’s always reassuring to know that people in charge have the best interest of community members in mind. The development and implementation of these programs is sure to make Fayetteville an even greater place to live and do business.

PHOTO PROVIDED BY: FCEDC

The Fayetteville Economic & Community Development Department is looking for public feedback on how best to spend funds to meet low income housing needs.

Helping

Fayetteville Businesses Weather the Storm

As Fayetteville’s utility provider, PWC provides special support for our business and industrial customers:

• During storms, extended outages or other emergencies, we keep in contact with you to address your specific needs. Be sure to provide, or update, your contact information (before a storm hits) through the Storm Central/Business Continuity link at faypwc.com.

• You can also sign up for Electric Outage Notifications through PWC’s Online Account Manager to receive notifications 24/7my.faypwc.com. We’ll let you know when there’s an outage that affects your business location (especially helpful when it occurs after hours).

Customer Focused. Community Strong.

Reader’s Guide

BizLeads is a collection of information gathered from greater Fayetteville courthouses, state government offices and information websites. The listings are intended to help the business community find new customers and stay on top of happenings with current customers, vendors and competitors.

New Corporations lists firms from the Greater Fayetteville Business Journal region that were recently incorporated in the State of North Carolina.

HARNETT COUNTY

Lucas Welding Service LLC

5135 Mar vin Dr

Spring lake

Agent: Anna Marie

Lucas

Car Box Auto Repair

LLC

500 S Clinton Ave

Dunn

Agent: David E

Garcia-Williams

KCB Notar y Signing Services LLC

645 Highgrove Drive

Spring Lake

Agent: Kimberly Baldwin

For ty-Eight Commonwealth LLC

48 Commonwealth Court

Cameron

Agent: Rachel Ann Jensen

Growan LLC

143 Bellini Drive

Angier

Agent: NAHIR BELEN GALLARDO

Blue Dog

Enviromental Inc.

1008 S. Clinton Avenue

Dunn

Agent: Lucia C Turlington

Bearded Marine Lawn Care LLC

104 Cardona Cr t

Fuquay-Varina

Agent: Michael C Wenzel

LXLM Horizon Properties LLC

22 Lion Lane

Cameron

Agent: Christopher Jerome Daniels

Sandhills Naturals LLC

225 Laurel Brook Court

Fuquay-Varina

Agent: Susan Scarbrough-Chipman

Rodney Freeman LLC

608 N Park Ave

Dunn

Agent: Rodney Freeman

Thir ty and Two CPR LLC

148 West Church Street

Angier

Agent: Javette Chapman

GOODFELLAS SMOKE LLC

166 N RALEIGH ST

Angier

Agent: IMAD SHIBLI

Pathfinder Development LLC

320 Fairfax Dr Sanford

Agent: Ryley Raney Phillips

Flowmaxx Plumbing LLC

1930 Guy Road

Angier

Agent: Timothy Aaron Taylor

Fatima's Cleaning Service L.L.C.

88 Bison Lane

Lillington Agent: Fatima

AgargarSanchez

Buena V ida Homes LLC

249 New Castle Lane

BIZ LEADS

Spring Lake Agent: Jaime E. Soto

RT TECU CONSTRUCTION LLC

8105 HOWARD COUNTRY DR

W illow Spring Agent: ROLANDO TECU

LOPEZ

PURPLETON MEADOW LLC

7607 COOL SPRINGS ROAD

Broadway Agent: KAREN JUNE

HARRIS

Yellow Jacket Auto Spa LLC

92 Progress Drive Fuquay Varina Agent: Michael C Liles

W illpower investment LLC

572 Mason Hill Lane

Lillington Agent: Casandra Williamson

Beam Homes LLC

121 Jess Lane

Dunn Agent: Odette San Juan-Beam

SELENA CAR WASH LLC

11993 NC-27 W

Broadway Agent: JOSE JUAN

MANUEL CANDELARIO

F ifth Day Flight LLC

20 Bur t St #15

Buies Creek Agent: Jared Hopkins

Prestige Earthworks LLC

237 countr y folks

ln

Bones & Sons Limited LLC

1251 Hillmon Grove Rd.

Cameron

Agent: Cameron Lister

Armstrong

Fenris Enterprises LLC

460 Kinnis Creek Dr

Angier

Agent: Michael James Semko

Mensel Management Solutions LLC

42 Woodcroft Dr.

Angier

Agent: Lucy Menjivar

J&B LANDSCAPING AND TREE SERVICES LLC

1395 T ilghman rd

Dunn

Agent: Joshua Satterfield

Triangle Treat Co. LLC

42 Tanawha Court

Spring Lake

Agent: Alyssa Schuberth

Lucknow Landscaping LLC

21 Hunters Point Court

Angier

Agent: Joshua James

Thompson

Haile Industries LLC

237 Basket Oak Dr Bunnlevel Agent: Micke Desta

Haile

Front Street Coffee LLC

3183 US 421 N.

Lillington

Agent: Ann C Milton

Luxe Brand Collection LLC

243 Laurel Drive

Spring Lake

Agent: Jennifer Lynn Ruhl

AR Home Investments LLC

1839 Ponderosa Trl

Cameron

Agent: April Ridenhour

South3r nBaddi3LLC

211 far mhouse ct

Sanford

Agent: Diamond Lakia Thompson

Salvation Roofing and Remodeling LLC

1224 Crawford Rd.

Coats

Agent: Charles Dixon Levorse

Old School Plumber LLC

2613 Hillmon Grove Road

Cameron

Agent: Jeffrey Fletcher

BROTHERS CABLE LLC

248 B J NORRIS

LN Coats

Agent: JOSE LAZO

Morales & Morales Construction LLC

606 S KING AVE Dunn

Agent: ELMER LEONEL MORALES VELAZQUEZ

CLICK MUSCLE MARKETING LLC

85 MT MITCHELL PL

Cameron

JE2 Trucking LLC

199 W Blackman Rd

Dunn

Agent: Emily Smith

Streamview Construction Solutions LLC

25 hunting wood drive

Angier

Agent: Devyn Z Read

Americas 13th LLC

343 McDuffie Rd

Cameron

Agent: Michael Hogue

Cobb Cosmetics LLC

374 Kensington Dr

Spring Lake

Agent: LaToya Shanie Cobb

Matty Contreras Photography Co LLC

480 Seawell Rosser Rd

# 354

Olivia

Agent: Matilde

Angelica Contreras

Sharon Brown LLC

203 W inding Ridge

Sanford

Agent: Sharon Louise Brown

MAZE REMODELING LLC

670 TRUELOVE RD

Holly Spring

Agent: Fernando Collazo Flores

McKay's Logistics LLC

183 W Lillington St

Angier

Tripl3 J LLC

480 Seawell Rosser Rd

#478

Olivia

Agent: LuaTrina Y Brown

All Over The Place LLC

147 Basket Oak Dr

Bunnlevel

Agent: Tracey L McLean

GAA DRYWALL LLC

58 MEADOW CREEK

LN

Fuquay Varina

Agent: ANGEL AURELIO ALVARADO AGUIRRE

Execute Archer y LLC

64 Jared Drive

Fuquay Varina

Agent: Magan

Renee-Burks Poole

Couronne F inancial Services LLC

176 Castlerock Dr Sanford

Agent: Christopher

Eugene Clack Jr.

Kutikles By A Goddess

LLC

901 S 8th Street # 2402

Lillington

Agent: RayQuane D Forte

Attraction MUA & Photography LLC

108 Castle Wood

Sanford

Agent: Brandice Farrar

CHL Transport LLC

10 W Leon Ln Dunn

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Holly Springs Agent: Justin Robert Schelling

Ker ns Realty LLC

242 Cr ystal Spring Drive

Sanford Agent: Brandel Lamar

Kerns

East Coast Movers LLC

218 Topsail Dr

Angier Agent: Ambar Lluberes

Royal Renovations LLC

62 Emerald Lane

Broadway

Agent: Carolyn Sue

Lester

JRW Accounting Services LLC

78 Climbing Arch Court

Lillington

Agent: James Wilson Jr

Agent: MICHAEL CHIJIOKE

FIND ANY INDIVIDUAL TO HELP ORGANIZATION

20 Blake Street

Lillington

Agent: Trina Eady

Blinging with Beautiful Gems 4-13 L.L.C.

94 Buck Road

Lillington

Agent: LaTonya Rebecca Owens

Agent: Amber McKay

Crowned Blessings Wreaths LLC

20 Crownview Lane Dunn

Agent: Annamarie

Gennell Morgan

Mid-State Healthcare

PLLC

76 Heatherwood Dr

Lillington

Agent: Michele Hicks

BlackSunSolar Company

190 Bay Street

Fuquay-Varina

Agent: Paul Kimberlee Avery

Cielo Azul LLC

104 beale st Dunn

Agent: Andrea Leigh Gomez

Regiis Plus LLC

118 Old Head Way

By Kate Griffin

Pickleball on the rise

THE INDOOR OUTDOOR SPORT PICKLEBALL IS SEEING A RISE IN POPULARITY IN THE FAYETTEVILLE AREA

In typical North Carolina fashion, the temperature outside is rising early, and nobody wants to stay inside with such beautiful weather! Fayetteville has found a new way to spend warmer days, in the form of a sport called pickleball. Pickleball is a versatile, social sport with an addictive play style and a high skill ceiling, so it is no wonder pickleball’s player count has skyrocketed, according to recent data. North Carolina takes a particular interest in pickleball, and Fayetteville is not exempt to the growing interest. With local court and player counts steadily rising every year, one can’t help but wonder why.

What even is pickleball? Pickleball was a sport created in 1965 by a group of vacationers on Bainbridge Island, near the Seattle area looking for something to play.

“You can think about pickleball as a cross between ping pong, tennis, and badminton. You play on a court that resembles a tennis court, it’s about a third of the size of a tennis court and you’re playing with a plastic paddle and ball like a wiffle ball,” shared Brandon Mackie, cofounder of Pickleheads and avid player. The game is very beginner friendly, with wins being accessible for even the newest of players.

“Typically playing as doubles, so four people out on the court and it plays very similarly to tennis, you serve, the strategy is to get up to the net as quickly as possible because that’s where you have the greatest advantage, you need pretty quick hands because both teams will try and rush the net. And hit volleys you know it's just like tennis, if you hit the ball out you lose, if you hit it past your opponents you win. But the scoring is more like ping pong or badminton, where you only win points on your serve and you play to eleven.”

On a local level, pickleball continues to attract a crowd. Pickleheads records North Carolina has 417 pickleball courts, ranking it among the top five states with the most courts in America. There are multiple places to play in Fayetteville, including

the G.B. Myers Recreation Center, Massey Hill Recreation Center, and pickleball courts in Eastover and

because they always keep on coming back!”

Between the social aspect and how easy it is to get the hang of, it’s no wonder that pickleball is an increasingly popular sport in America. Pickleball currently ranks as one of the most popular sports in America, with 36.5 million active participants of the sport estimated. “Even since we published that report, new data has come out, growth has absolutely skyrocketed in the last year, one report said we were at 36 and a half million players, the sport has grown ten times in the last year, and another report said the numbers have grown 85 percent in the last year,” said Mackie. “Depending on which numbers you believe, there are more pickleball players now than folks that play tennis, golf, or basketball which is pretty unbelievable.”

ers had experienced rowing in college and there’s a concept in rowing called a pickle boat and a pickle boat is just a mismatch of different rowers from different teams that all end up on one boat together, and that’s kind of what pickleball is, it’s just a mismatch of different pieces of sports equipment from different sports, so that’s a fact some people don’t know.”

Pickleball isn’t as physically intense as its similar counterparts, ensuring hours of active game time without leaving the player totally exhausted.

“Another great thing about the sport is that it’s relatively easy on the body,” said Mackie. “Because the court is smaller there’s less court to run around and cover, and because the advantage of the game is to be up at the net, there’s less movement to hit the ball out of the air.”

The senior age demographic made up the majority of pickleball players for a long time. This wide age range for players lends itself to the sport’s popularity.

“What’s interesting about that is that’s changing, the young segment, the 18-24 segment is the fastest growing segment of pickleball,” said Mackie. “The average age of pickleball players dropped below forty for the first time ever last year.”

Rowan Park. A total of 14 courts are scattered around Fayetteville, Hope Mills, Eastover and Southern Pines.

“I just think it’s a great sport for all ages,” Monique Gilbert, pickleball organizer at the G.B. Myers Recreation center said. “I’ve seen people come in and do something for exercise and it’s almost like an addiction

The sport is played on an indoor or outdoor court with a net, a ball, and a paddle. The lack of a pickle sparks intrigue. “So, the biggest [question] is, ‘where did the pickle come from?’ and that’s a story of great controversy. Some people say it was named after the founder’s dog, who was named Pickles, but if you go back into history books, you’ll see the dog came after the sport actually so that couldn’t be true,” informed Mackie. “What they say is, the found-

Casual players looking to have fun and diehard athletes of all ages can all find where they fit in on the pickleball court. Encouraging socializing and communication, coupled with a beginner friendly learning curve, pickleball is a great activity to get the whole family outdoors. Mackie shares, “The biggest thing is that anybody out there, they’re gonna have fun. My friends, my grandparents, it doesn’t matter who you go out with, they’ll immediately connect with the sport, get a feel for it and it’s always fun. No one’s ever so good or so bad where you don’t have a good time. I’ve never found a sport quite like that before.”

For more facts, statistics, and general insider knowledge, the Pickleheads’ website www.pickleheads.com is your one stop shop for pickleball data, resources, court locations and game finding.

PHOTO PROVIDED BY: PICKELHEADS

The sport is played on an indoor or outdoor court with a net, a ball, and a paddle.

PHOTO PROVIDED BY: PICKLEHEADS Brandon Mackie, co-founder of Pickleheads is an avid player of the sport, and advocates for more players year round.

“ The biggest thing is that anybody out there, they’re gonna have fun.”

Brandon

Mackie Pickleheads Cofounder