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Achievers ..........................................8
From ACHIEVERS, page 8
of Certified Public Accountants Board
The NCACPA recently appointed TRP Sumner’s KELLY PURYEAR, CPA, CGMA, was recently appointed to its board of directors.
The organization aims to “enhance the accounting profession and the community it serves through advocacy, connections, education, and resources. The NCACPA regularly interacts with various political groups, financial organizations and regulators who shape state and national accounting standards,” a press release said.
For almost 40 years, Puryear has worked with TRP, now TRP Sumner. In his role, Puryear guides the firm’s overall strategy as well as its dayto-day operations. The Fayetteville location has a staff of nearly 50, and the Dunn location of TRP Sumner has a staff of 25.
Puryear’s career began with PricewaterhouseCoopers, LLP in Winston-Salem, and he joined the company’s Fayetteville office in 1982.
Puryear has experience in a variety of industries to include the construction industry, health care industry, as well as significant experience working with government contractors. He offers expertise to small businesses in the areas of tax planning, financial reporting and management advisory services.
“The firm is extremely proud of Kelly who has provided guidance for growth and direction contributing to the achievements of TRP Sumner, one of the top 500 CPA firms in the nation,” said Jason Poole, a partner at TRP Sumner. “As the firm has attained many accomplishments over the years, we have also seen the same for our clients—serving and advising them.” Poole also noted, “Kelly’s role as a NCACPA Board Member will help continue the proud legacy that TRP Sumner has in serving our profession as many other firm leaders have done so before. Kelly’s efforts on the NCACPA Board will also help guide future endeavors for them.”
Puryear
FCEDC welcomes Hasty to
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team, moves Hightower to new position
The Fayetteville Cumberland Economic Development Corporation announced on May 17 that longtime journalist KIM HASTY will join its team as the director of communications.
MAARJA HIGHTOWER will move into the position of director of marketing.
“We are excited to grow our talented team,” said FCEDC President and CEO Robert Van Geons. “Our staff is dedicated to effectively communicating the positive momentum our community is building. We are grateful for the opportunity to continue to promote Fayetteville-Cumberland County as a premier business location.”
“I’m proud to join a team that has exhibited proven success in fostering a sense of pride and unity in our community,” Hasty said. “I am grateful to have had the privilege of sharing the good stories of our community for many years, and I look forward to continuing to tell those stories in this exciting new
capacity.” After her graduation from UNC Chapel Hill, Hasty began a career with The Fayetteville Observer in the sports department, before becoming a lifestyle columnist and editor of Sunday Life magazine. She then served as the director of university relations at Methodist University in 2018 and the editor of Cityview Magazine in 2020. Hasty has also been the recipient of numerous awards from the North Carolina Press Association for her writing. Hightower became the director of communications for FCEDC in 2021, but has spearheaded communications and marketing initiatives for national and global organizations for over 18 years, making her a fitting candidate for the marketing position. She holds a Bachelor of Science degree in contemporary media and journalism from the University of South Dakota and a Master of Business Administration degree in leadership and organizational theory from Hasty the University of South Florida.
Hightower
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On the rise
IT JOBS IN FAYETTEVILLE CONTINUE TO INCREASE
The North Carolina Technology Association released its updated monthly snapshot of available IT positions in the state. These positions are broken down by top listings, MSA, job type, skills, and certifications.
NC TECH’s Tech Talent Trends Alert is released at the later half of every month with a rolling thirteen-month chart of IT job openings to help track trends in the industry.
“Once again, IT job openings continue the trend of record setting numbers; although August through October of 2021 were fairly flat, job openings have been on an upward trajectory ever since,” says Andrea Fleming, Director of Talent + Workforce for NC TECH. “With almost 18,000 tech openings, the Raleigh MSA has now surpassed the Charlotte/Concord/Gastonia MSA as the top region in the state for the first time.”
IJEAB/FREEPIK.COM Across the state, IT job openings are on the rise. North Carolina saw a 59 percent increase in April 2022 from April 2021, and Fayetteville saw a 62 percent increase.
Fayetteville saw a 62 percent increase in April 2022 with 1,595 jobs. North Carolina also saw a 59 percent increase from April 2021 at 33,342 to 53,290 in April 2022.
The top 10 job titles statewide for April include senior software engineer, software engineer, project manager, data engineer, devops engineer, software developer, senior data engineer, java developer, network engineer, and software engineer II.
The top 10 hirers in the state for those positions include Deloitte, General Dynamics Information Technology, Oracle, PricewarterhouseCoopers, Bank of America, Microsoft, Accenture, Wells Fargo, KMPG, and Ernst & Young.
The Tech Talent Trends Alert is produced using Gartner’s TalentNeuron, a leading supplier of real-time business intelligence solutions for the talent marketplace.
>> Staff Report
bizfayetteville.com
Life-saving impact
LOCAL AMBULANCES TO HAVE WHOLE BLOOD AVAILABLE ON AMBULANCES
Cape Fear Valley Health is among the first hospital-based EMS in North Carolina to now carry whole blood on its ground ambulances, making blood transfusions for trauma patients more accessible.
“We’re grateful for the work that our Mobile Integrated health care teams do. They continue to grow the services we provide for this community, which is what Cape Fear Valley Health is about,” said Michael Nagowski, CEO of Cape Fear Valley Health. “It’s about growth to meet the needs of our community. And when we talk about growth, it’s not just more emergency room visits or primary care visits, it’s about elevating the quality of the care we provide. This program centered around blood (on our ambulances) is the perfect example of this.”
With the availability of blood on ambulances, patients suffering from
Michael Nagowski CEO, Cape Fear Valley Health
The hospital system’s new service will offer the life-saving capability for paramedics to give trauma victims blood transfusions.
traumatic injuries with significant blood loss now have a greater chance of survival. This capability allows paramedics to perform blood transfusions after traumatic events.
“This will save lives and at the end of the day, that’s what healthcare is all about. If you’ve not had an opportunity to give blood, this is the most unique time to do that. Our Blood Center at Cape Fear Valley Medical Center is open until 5pm daily. It is critical that blood donations continue because our trauma program depends on your donations,” Nagowski added.
A ceremonial kickoff for the use of whole blood by Cape Fear Valley ambulances was held on May 16 on the helipad at the Cape Fear Valley Medical Center.
Savvy siblings
ALEX AND VANCE TOWNSEND FOLLOW THEIR FATHER’S FOOTSTEPS IN REAL ESTATE SERVICES COMPANY
Townsend Real Estate was founded in 1983 by Jimmy Townsend with the goal of serving the greater Fayetteville area by providing professional real estate services to anyone buying, selling, or renting a home. Today, Jimmy serves as the owner and president of Townsend Real Estate.
“Our dad started the business and it was him, one agent, one staff member in a different office,” stated Vice President Vance Townsend. “It kinda just grew from that over the years and moved into our office now a couple years after that and started working in residential real estate. Several years later we opened up the rental department in the same building as well as, now operating the commercial department.”
As of now Townsend Real Estate has roughly 40 agents, five staff members working in the office, and 11 staff members working in property management.
With the company growing in different areas of real estate throughout the years, Vance and Alex Townsend, who is also Jimmy’s son, purchased the company’s commercial branch formerly known as Nimocks Ciccone & Townsend Commercial Real Estate.
Vance started working for the company 17 years ago. Alex joined the company ten years ago.
“With switching to Townsend Commercial, I think we have really opened up and [we’re] sending that message that our dad started when he built the company that we provide communication and we’re there when people need us,” Alex Townsend shared.
Since its inception, the agency has seen the market go up and down, especially in the last few years due to the COVID-19 pandemic. However, it looks like things may be on the upswing.
“The market’s been super strong. It’s definitely a strong seller’s market with two to three weeks supply. However, it’s been challenging for buyers – but to keep up with that we have been doing alot of training with our agents, to help them navigate this,” stated Vance.
The training is a key part of Townsend Real Estate’s success as it helps agents who are new to the company to learn the tricks of the trade as they gain experience in the industry.
Three times a week, the agents have face-to-face meetings. One is their sales meeting, for them to learn the newest trends in real estate, what’s happening, what conversations are needing to be had, and how others can help. The meeting also creates an opportunity for veteran agents to speak about their experience and lessons learned.
This intentional model for coaching and discussion has proven to be successful for Townsend Real Estate.
Although the impact of these meetings is seen across the board, one particular area that is advancing and thriving significantly in the company is the rental department.
“A lot of rental places are going up because inventory is down,” said Alex Townsend. “The idea of adding the rental department was for when the market shifts to becoming a buyer’s market, the sellers can use their properties in the rental department until the market shifts back to a seller’s market.”
About a year before COVID-19, the company had 1,100 rental properties with some of them being involuntary rentals.
“Many of these homes become in-
PHOTOS PROVIDED BY ANTHONY WOOTEN/LRP MEDIA Through the years, Townsend Real Estate has been a well-known firm in the region. Jimmy Townsend founded the company in 1983 and is now joined in the venture by his sons, Vance and Alex.
voluntary rentals, because people aren’t about to sell their house because they haven’t owned their house long enough. Now we have 500 landlords with more than half not wanting to be landlords in the first place,” added Alex. “Now the market has gotten better, and now there's this mass exodus of people that are putting their homes up for sale with the majority being sold to our sales department.”
As interest rates are climbing again, the middle of last year coming at 2.5 to 3 percent to now being over 5 percent, the company is starting to see more rentals come across in their inventory in the past month alone.
Other trends currently in the market include the ongoing high demand for residential properties from prospective home buyers, which is keeping the seller’s market extremely strong. However, there is doubt that people will move and decide to stay put, which will keep the inventory low.
“For individuals who do sell their house, [they] are going to have great success because there is less inventory. If someone can afford a $450,000 or $500,000 house, they have to decide if that is something they want to do, especially with a 5.5 percent [interest rate] added on to it,” added Vance.
Despite some of the road bumps in the market for buyers, Townsend Real Estate has been able to stay strong. According to the Townsend Real Estate website, as of April 2022 the company has sold 438 listings, added 616 listings, has 288 homes on the market, and spent an average of 40 days with the homes on the market.
Outside of the office and selling homes, Townsend Real Estate invests a portion of their time within the community.
The company has been involved in many events with the Greater Fayetteville Chamber in the past.
Jimmy and Vance have previously served on the board of directors for the Cape Fear Valley Health Foundation. Vance previously served as the president of Highland Country Club and as the previous president of the local board of directors for the March of Dimes. Vance also has served on the Fayetteville Technical Community College board of directors; Alex serves on the Founders Council at Methodist University for the class of 2024.
When looking toward the future of business, Vance and Alex both stated that they believe that the business will continue to be known as a strong real estate company while continuing to make a mark in the community.
“We’re excited about bringing on the commercial department and helping that grow and fit into what we’re doing with the residential and rental side of the business,” added Vance.
Although the Townsends desire to see more growth in the company, there are no current plans in the works to expand office space. However, that has not stopped the company from working in other regions.
“We have our company and agents from other areas that have joined us to help broaden our reach of where we can sell. We have merged with Raleigh’s MLS and Moore County’s as well,” Vance said. “People move all over the country. Whether that move starts in Fayetteville or starts elsewhere, we can help make that connection.”
Townsend Real Estate has connections in Cumberland, Moore, Harnett, Robeson, Hoke, parts of Lee Counties, and Raleigh.
