ACHIEVERS

Alexander "Sandy" Stewart selected as next Sandhills Community College President

Sandhills Community College will have a new leader starting in July of 2023.

The Sandhills Community College Board of Trustees has announced the appointment of ALEXANDER “SANDY” STEWART, PH.D., as its new President, the third in the college’s history.

Stewart is a Moore County native who has been assistant commissioner of agricultural services at the N.C. Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services since 2018. He holds masters and doctoral degrees in crop science from N.C. State University.

Stewart previously directed the state agriculture department’s research stations division, which is responsible for managing 18 agriculture research facilities in partnership with N.C. State and N.C. A&T State universities. He has also been a faculty member as an extension tobacco specialist at N.C. State and as an extension cotton specialist at Louisiana State University and has managed crop research in the private sector.

Stewart is an elder at Union Presbyterian Church and lives near Carthage on his family’s working farm of nearly 250 years. He previously served on Sandhills’ Board of Trustees.

The search committee shared the following statement in an online post announcing the new President:

“It is with a great sense of optimism and with gratitude to the Sandhills Community College Board of Trustees Presidential Search Committee, the State Board of Community Colleges, and the North Carolina Community College System that SCC announces the new President of Sandhills Community College!

Dr. Alexander “Sandy” Stewart will assume the mantle as President on July 1, 2023, filling the role with the same sense of purpose and commitment that Dr. Dempsey – and Dr. Stone before him – provided to this College and this community for almost six decades.

Finding our third president has been an arduous challenge these last five months, but our Trustees, led by George Little and Larry Caddell, have successfully navigated another outstanding presidential search—a testimony to the steadfast leadership

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.

Greater Fayetteville Business Journal wants to hear from you and your business to shine a spotlight on your accomplishments. To nominate someone for GFBJ’s Achievers section, email editor@bizfayetteville.com with the subject line “Achiever.” that has guided this institution for over four of its six decades.

We know that Dr. Stewart will be excited to get out into the community and meet everyone. Stay-tuned for Dr. Stewart’s first formal and social functions on campus.”

Ronnie Glover named Vice President and Market Manager at Beasley Media Group Fayetteville

Beasley Media Group has announced RONNIE GLOVER as the new Vice President and Market Manager of the company’s Fayetteville radio cluster. Glover began his new position on Monday, May 8, 2023.

“I am ecstatic to join Beasley Media Group,” said Glover in a press release.

“They are committed to the local communities they serve in a myriad of cross-platforms.

I look forward to joining my talented teammates in Fayetteville to further our resolve and dedication to being leaders in the community.”

Glover more recently served as the Market Manager at Alpha Media, Inc.’s KAAN-FM/AM, KKWK-FM and KMRN-AM in Bethany/Cameron, Missouri. Previously, he has held management positions throughout his career, including Local/Digital Sales Manager at KWESTM (Midland/Odesa, Texas), Market Manager/Chief Revenue Officer at KIXS-FM, KLUB-FM, KQVT-FM and KTXN-FM (Victoria, Texas), and General Sales Manager/Director of Sales at Clear Channel’s Norfolk, Virginia and Nashville radio markets.

“We are thrilled to welcome Ronnie to the Beasley Fayetteville family,” said Kevin Rich, Beasley Media Group Vice President of Operations in a press release. “His strong team building and leadership skills, combined with his contagious positive energy, made him the perfect choice to lead our Fayetteville team.”

Lynnie Guzman promoted to Sales and Marketing Director for Holmes Security Systems

Holmes Security Systems has announced the promotion of LYNNIE GUZMAN to the position of Sales and Marketing Director. Lynnie will now lead the company’s sales and marketing efforts.

“I am honored to take on the expanded responsibility of overseeing the sales operations as the Sales and Marketing Director for Holmes Security Systems. Becoming a team member at this family-owned and operated company has been rewarding and a refreshing reminder of why supporting locally owned businesses matters,” said Guzman in a press release. “I look forward to working alongside the team as we continue to bring innovative life safety & security solutions to our residential and commercial clients while providing the exceptional service we have been known for since 1908.”

Lynnie joined the Holmes team in February 2021 and has held the role of Marketing Director during that time. She has been responsible for developing and executing the company’s marketing strategy, which included growing the company’s social media and digital presence for both the Fayetteville and Wilmington offices.

“Lynnie is a highly skilled and experienced sales and marketing professional,” said President of

Holmes Security Systems Stephen Wheeler in a press release. “She has a proven track record of sales success in previous roles and quickly became an asset to our team and community. Luke Wheeler, our Vice President, and I look forward to working with her as we continue growing our business across Eastern North Carolina.

Former North Carolina State Legislator John Szoka appointed CEO of national clean energy advocacy organization

The Conservative Energy Network (CEN), a coalition of 24 state-based conservative clean energy organizations, has named JOHN SZOKA as its new CEO. The position has been vacant since founder and former CEO Mark Pischea passed away in July 2022. After an extensive nationwide search, CEN is excited to move forward under Szoka’s leadership. He assumed his new role on May 16.

“I am proud of the work I did to advance clean energy in North Carolina during my time as a State Representative and I am thrilled to be able to continue advocating for conservative energy solutions as CEO of CEN,” said Szoka in a press release.

“Thanks to incredible advances in technology, alternative energy sources are more affordable and effective than ever, driving economic growth and reducing costs while also reducing emissions. National, state, and local policies need to keep up with marketplace innovation. A market-led approach ensures that ratepayers are getting reliable and cost effective solutions to energy generation.”

Szoka became an advocate for clean energy during his ten years of service in the North Carolina Legislature where he served as Chairman of the House Energy and Public Utilities Committee. During his legislative career he sponsored major pieces of legislation that modernized North Carolina’s energy policy to take full advantage of the benefits of low cost clean energy solutions that protect

From ACHIEVERS, page 8 ratepayers. In 2017 he sponsored HB589 which saved ratepayers over $350M in energy costs by 2021.

“We considered many incredibly accomplished candidates in our search for a new CEO,” said Michael Hartley, chairman of the CEO Selection Committee and CEN board member in a press release.

“John Szoka impressed us as a leader who is not only well-versed in clean energy policy, but is an individual whose strength of character reflects our organization’s culture and values. We are proud of everything we have built at CEN and trust that John’s experience and visionary leadership will guide us to further growth and success.”

Szoka’s professional background also includes 20 years of military service in the United States Army. An Infantry officer, he retired from active duty in 1996 with the rank of Lieutenant Colonel and went on to own several successful small businesses. With engineering degrees from the U.S. Military Academy at

West Point and the University of Texas at Austin, Szoka appreciates a data-driven approach to clean energy policy.

FirstHealth earns distinction for Cardiovascular & Thoracic Surgery

FirstHealth of the Carolinas has earned a distinguished three-star rating from The Society of Thoracic Surgeons (STS) for its patient care and outcomes in isolated coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) procedures.

The three-star rating places FirstHealth’s Cardiovascular & Thoracic Surgery program among the elite for heart bypass surgery in the United States and Canada.

The STS star rating is calculated using a combination of quality measures for specific procedures performed by an STS Adult Cardiac Surgery Database participant.

Peter Ellman, M.D., FACS, senior cardiovascular and thoracic surgeon at FirstHealth, said the three-star rating reflects the hard work of the program’s staff.

“I could not be prouder of our team,” Ellman said in a press release. “This distinction comes as a result of years of dedication and hard work. It also speaks to the legacy of the program started by Dr. John Krahnert in 1992 when the bar was set for the highest level of heart care. When Mickey Foster took over as CEO in 2019, he set this as one of the goals for the program. I think it’s a great example of how sometimes you need to verbalize a goal to really focus your efforts to get there.”

The STS National Database includes four components: the Adult Cardiac Surgery Database (ACSD), the Congenital Heart Surgery Data- base (CHSD), the General Thoracic Surgery Database (GTSD) and the mechanical circulatory support database (Intermacs). The STS ACSD houses approximately 6.9 million surgical records and gathers information from more than 3,800 participating physicians, including surgeons and anesthesiologists from more than 90 percent of groups that perform heart surgery in the U.S. STS public reporting online enables STS ACSD participants to voluntarily report to each other and the public their heart surgery scores and star ratings.

“We always say that we provide world class heart care for the people of the Sandhills, and it is heartening to know that the objective data supports that claim,” Ellman said in a press release. “Moreover, this distinction is based on three years of data for every patient who has had coronary artery bypass grafting in our program, reflecting consistent excellence over a long period of time. This only happens when you have an incredible team that works together with all pistons firing to provide the best possible care for the patients in our area and beyond.”