Business North Carolina September 2020

BY GEORGE: HICKORY’S FIRST FAMILY OF FOOD CASINO COMMOTION • A QUEST FOR 2 MILLION DEGREES • ASHEVILLE TACKLES REPARATIONS

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Charlotte’s Sherrills forge a key role in N.C. construction, establishing their steel business among the state’s largest private companies.

SEPTEMBER 2020 Price: $3.95 businessnc.com

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High Point PR exec Robert Brown has spent his life moving the needle on important civil rights issues and other social changes.

COVER STORY

STEELFAB

14 NC TREND

N.C. pushes post-high school credentials; Hometown hero promotes rural communities; Tanjo augments reality; Asheville paves the way for reparations; Casino causes commotion.

70 TOWN SQUARE

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Three generations of Sherrills have crafted steel trusses and other products, sparking expansion beyond their Piedmont roots.

BY MICHAEL J. SOLENDER

With a vibrant downtown, art scene and big-box retailers, Garner sets itself apart as more than just a bedroom community.

+ SPONSO RED SECTIONS 28 CATAWBA COUNTY ROUND TABLE

Catawba County leaders discuss the area’s economic development efforts and its impact on the regional and statewide economy.

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62 HEART & CANCER CARE

CO V E R P H O TO B Y P E T E R TAY L O R

In today’s new normal, flexibility in adult education is critical.

September 2020, Vol. 40, No. 9 (ISSN 0279-4276). Business North Carolina is published monthly by Business North Carolina at 1230 West Morehead Street, Suite 308 Charlotte, NC 28208.

Telephone: 704-523-6987. Fax: 704-523-4211. All contents copyright © by Old North State Magazines LLC. Subscription rate: 1 year, $30. For change of address, send mailing label and allow six to eight weeks. Periodicals postage paid at Charlotte, NC, and additional offices. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to Business North Carolina, 1230 West Morehead Street, Suite 308 Charlotte, NC 28208 or email circulation@businessnc.com.

Chevrolets, Cheerwine, turkey legs and solar panels are some of the products powering the state’s biggest closely held enterprises.

FOOD FIGHT

Hospital cardiac and cancer centers navigate safely amid virus concerns.

66 CONTINUING EDUCATION

TOP 125 PRIVATE COMPANIES

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The George family has built a thriving business that mixes supplying hundreds of grocery stores with its own unconventional retail chain.

BY DAVID MILDENBERG

Start your day with business news from across the state, direct to your inbox.

SIGN UP AT BUSINESSNC.COM/DAILY-DIGEST. S E P T E M B E R

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UPFRONT

David Mildenberg

FED SPEAK

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ix months into this horrible pandemic, North Carolina has lost relatively fewer jobs than the national average, though the labor participation rate — the percentage of people working or seeking work — has declined more rapidly.

Those two observations interest Tom Barkin, who has as much insight into our state’s economic status as anyone. The Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond president didn’t get the memo suggesting that top Fed officials speak mysteriously about arcane issues. Without being flip, he cuts to the chase on Main Street concerns.

After 30 years at consultancy McKinsey & Co., he took the Fed post in January 2018.

For two years, he met with business and civic leaders across the Richmond Fed’s five-state region, including about a dozen North Carolina cities. The Fed’s nine-member board includes Charlotte CEOs Gene Woods of Atrium Health and Tom Nelson of National Gypsum. SteelFab’s Glenn Sherrill Jr. — one of the guys on our cover this month — chairs a smaller district board.

The pandemic has curtailed Barkin’s visits, but our interview suggested he’s stayed attuned to the contradictions of this unprecedented period. COVID-19 has caused the worst economic upheaval in generations and has lingered longer than he expected back in April.

The number of people with jobs in North Carolina declined 7.4% over the last year, compared with an 8.6% decrease nationally.

The state benefits from a strong manufacturing sector, which has outperformed the service sector, he says.

Meanwhile, residential real estate sales are sizzling, and for companies selling products and services for homes, “business is actually booming right now,” he says.

Barkin, 59, thinks the strength of the Charlotte and Raleigh metro areas is bolstering North Carolina’s economy — and will continue to do so.

He questions the conventional wisdom that offices are outdated and everyone will be working from home. Many people expected air travel to collapse after the 9/11 terrorist attacks. “Two years later, everyone was flying again,” he says. Most commercial real estate executives “have been through a lot of cycles, so they’re not overly stressing.”

The downturn has exposed a significant chasm in job skills, he says. Many N.C.

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VOLUME 40, NO. 9 PUBLISHER

Ben Kinney

manufacturing, construction and technology employers say they can’t find enough workers, even as unemployment tops 7.5%. Most joblessness comes from the hospitality industry and personal contact jobs, he says, and many may not be easily or quickly retrained for the available work.

Moreover, they may not want to do so, hoping that the economy will rebound quickly with a virus vaccine or therapy so they can return to their old jobs, he says.

bkinney@businessnc.com EDITOR

David Mildenberg

dmildenberg@businessnc.com MANAGING EDITOR

Taylor Wanbaugh

twanbaugh@businessnc.com ASSOCIATE EDITOR

Cathy Martin

cmartin@businessnc.com SENIOR CONTRIBUTING EDITOR

Edward Martin

emartin@businessnc.com SPECIAL PROJECTS EDITOR

Alyssa Pressler

apressler@businessnc.com CONTRIBUTING WRITERS

Dan Barkin, Megan Bird, Vanessa Infanzon, Shannon Cuthrell, Emily Holler, Michael Solender CREATIVE MANAGER

Peggy Knaack

pknaack@businessnc.com ART DIRECTOR

Ralph Voltz

CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHERS

Tom Barkin Barkin also notes the traditional savings rate of 7% to 8% has more than tripled to 26% during the crisis. That money will likely get spent once people are convinced that the public health danger is mostly over, providing a positive economic boost, he expects. Then again, interest in mass events like football games may have peaked.

Meanwhile, Barkin is focusing the Fed on researching critical problems including racial disparities and the travails of North Carolina’s rural towns, many of which have disportionately large Black populations. A key problem is the fate of rural hospitals, whose financial issues have worsened during the crisis. “You don’t only bring quality health care, but you bring doctors and nurses and other professionals who help build the community and provide role models for kids who would otherwise never meet a doctor or think of becoming one.”

Barkin says his job puts him “in the room making policy. That’s not something I was able to do in my former life. And that’s a great privilege.”

Peter Taylor

MARKETING COORDINATOR

Jennifer Ware

jware@businessnc.com AUDIENCE DEVELOPMENT SPECIALIST

Scott Leonard

sleonard@businessnc.com

ADVERTISING SALES ACCOUNT MANAGERS

Sue Graf, western N.C. 704-523-4350 • sgraf@businessnc.com

Melanie Weaver Lynch, eastern N.C. 919-855-9380 • mweaver@businessnc.com CIRCULATION: 818-286-3106 EDITORIAL: 704-523-6987 FOR REPRINTS: CIRCULATION@BUSINESSNC.COM

BUSINESSNC.COM OWNERS JACK ANDREWS, FRANK DANIELS JR., FRANK DANIELS III, LEE DIRKS, DAVID WORONOFF PUBLISHED BY OLD NORTH STATE MAGAZINES LLC DAVID WORONOFF PRESIDENT JIM DODSON EDITORIAL DIRECTOR ANDIE ROSE CREATIVE DIRECTOR

Contact David Mildenberg at dmildenberg@businessnc.com.

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BNC ONLINE

We love getting feedback from our readers.

Here’s a sampling of what you had to say about Business North Carolina on social media last month.

Mike Hawkins

@MHCommissioner Thank you @BusinessNC for letting me talk about North Carolina small business in their August issue! WNC meeting on this topic yesterday, organized by @AVLChamber @LandofSkyRC

Jason Cox

@jasoncoxnc @BusinessNC story that also anecdotally reveals how horribly counterproductive efforts to restrict visas, including for university students from abroad, are.

Sig Hutchinson Congratulations! to my good friend Willy Stewart for this well deserved article in Business North Carolina! “[Willy] is passionate about his work and enjoys life to the fullest,” says John Kane, chairman and CEO of Raleigh-based Kane Realty.

Willy Stewart engineers an admirable success story Simon Griffiths Willy’s wheels are always spinning! Nice story.

Brandon Ives Congrats on the article and cheers to success Willy Stewart!

Tommy Faulkner Nice article Willy. No question you have created success for yourself and others during your career! I wish you continued success in all that you do!

Lisa Valentino Success indeed, Willy! Congratulations!!

Willy Stewart engineers an admirable success story Crisis communications

Mike Hawkins

Frank Werner Keep up the great work. Congratulations!

Mark Tosczak

@MHCommissioner

@marktzk

Psst — I don’t want too many people to know this because I don’t want someone to steal @PresLeatherwood away from us — but Laura Leatherwood rocks!

None of us want the hard times we’re having now. But if you need a little hope, this @BusinessNC column from @NCState #economist Michael Walden shows us some of the silver lining.

Good things can come from bad times, says N.C. State economist

Podcast: Blue Ridge Community College president talks about importance of continuing education

Perry Safran

Claudia Pitt

@PerrySafran

Excellent, and earned. Stayed on course, and learned and shared those life lessons that mean the most ... our congratulations,

Proud to be part of the Lowe’s Companies Inc. family! Great article in Business North Carolina on Marvin Ellison’s leadership.

Read these stories and more at

businessnc.com.

Sign up to receive our free Daily Digest newsletter at businessnc.com/daily-digest/.

FOLLOW US Business North Carolina @BusinessNC Business North Carolina @businessnorthcarolina

Check out Business North Carolina’s weekly podcast at

businessnc.com/ podcast/.

Willy Stewart engineers an admirable success story

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Lowe’s fresh look

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THE BEST WAY TO JUMP START YOUR BUSINESS DAY. Daily Digest is a must read for anyone who wants to have an insider’s understanding of North Carolina business. Subscribe to the Daily Digest and get all of the latest business news from all around North Carolina straight to your inbox‌ for free!

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ROBERT J. BROWN HIGH POINT NATIVE ROBERT BROWN HAS SPENT HIS LIFE MOVING THE NEEDLE ON IMPORTANT CIVIL RIGHTS ISSUES AND OTHER SOCIAL CHANGES.

BY VANESSA INFANZON

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Black officers promoted in the military.

Brown, 85, stays active with his firm and chairs the High Point University board of trustees, where he’s served for 17 years. He also enjoys gardening and reading. His comments are edited for length and clarity.

PHOTOS COURTESY OF ROBERT J. BROWN

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obert J. Brown’s story reads like a wild adventure.

Risky meetings, chance partnerships and gutsy business decisions moved him in front of leaders such as Martin Luther King Jr., Nelson Mandela, Robert Kennedy and Richard Nixon.

Brown’s grandparents raised him in High Point. He credits his grandmother, Miss Nellie Brown, for guiding him through decisions with sayings such as, “You can find good anywhere and do good everywhere.” His late wife, Sallie Walker Brown, whom he met in church when he was 5, proved another strong influence throughout their 48-year marriage.

Brown joined the High Point Police Department as an officer in 1956. He moved to New York City to work for the Federal Bureau of Narcotics. In 1961, he and his wife returned to High Point to open B&C Associates, a public relations firm that he still leads. It was one year after four Black college students staged a sit-in at a segregated F.W. Woolworth lunch counter in neighboring Greensboro, prompting similar protests across the South.

His initial work included helping local businesses address civil rights issues and other social changes. His success locally prompted him to think on a national scale. A cold-call sales pitch landed a contract with Woolworth’s public relations firm.

His ability to solve problems later earned him work with a couple of dozen major corporations, including Coca-Cola, General Motors and Michelin.

In his book, You Can’t Go Wrong Doing Right: How a Child of Poverty Rose to the White House and Helped Change the World, published in 2019, Brown chronicles his involvement with the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, Richard Nixon’s presidential campaign and visits to South Africa. He explains how the Nixon administration, where he served as a special assistant for four years, created the Office of Minority Business Enterprise, promoted increased aid to historically Black colleges and universities, and grew the number of

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▲ After helping Richard Nixon win 15% of the Black vote in 1968, Brown served as a special assistant to the president.

Dr. King was a magnificent human being. I became a member of Dr. King’s board and his executive committee. I traveled with him and raised a lot of money for him and opened a lot of doors.

PHOTOS COURTESY OF ROBERT J. BROWN

From the time I was growing up, until [my grandmother, Nellie Brown] died, she said, “Bobby, always do the right thing.” To say [her words] made an impact would be an understatement.

[They] helped me shape my life in terms of what I wanted to be. I always wanted to be like my grandmother, who had a third-grade

education, whose father was a slave in eastern North Carolina.

I just wanted to be like her because she was giving, and she was lifting up everybody.

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▲ A lifetime of business, civil rights and political activities connected Brown to presidents, CEOs and South African freedom fighter Nelson Mandela.

We started the whole Minority Business Enterprise program. What we were trying to accomplish is to give Blacks an equal chance at the starting gate in business, because before that, Blacks were having much difficulty with getting any contracts out of the government or key jobs.

One night I’m in a [South African] hotel room, and I get a call: “[President of South Africa Pieter Willem Botha] asked me to call you to let you know that he is granting you permission to go inside Pollsmoor Prison to see Mr. Mandela, if you want to do that.” I was blown away. Nobody had seen Mandela except his immediate family, and then only twice a year for 15-minute intervals.

I said, “You know I’m a Democrat,” and [Richard Nixon’s campaign staff] said, “Well, we don’t care anything about that. What we want are your contacts and your skills, and all of that.”

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[Nelson Mandela] said, “Bob, you know South Africa is a great country with great resources. The only thing necessary for South Africa to be one of the great countries of the world is for the good white people and the good Black people to get together, and

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we can have one of the greatest countries on the face of the earth, Bob.” I told [Botha] I thought he had a beautiful country, but there were so many things that needed to be changed and needed to be done.

to all the people, whether you be Black, white, blue or green. Our government has a constitution, and in it, we’re supposed to be living by that. We’re supposed to be living by what’s right for everybody, no matter what your religion or race is. That’s where we need to be, and that’s what we’re still working on.

“I’m of the opinion, like everybody else, you need to release Mr. Mandela, because he’s a great man, and he loves this country just like you love it.” Then [Botha] went off on me. He started shaking his head, and a little bit of juice came out of both sides of his mouth, and he’s halfway screaming at me. He said, “Mr. Brown! Mr. Brown!

I offered that man his freedom. He wouldn’t take it.”

Well, we should never forget. No agency, but particularly the police and law enforcement agencies, should never forget that we have to have continued vigilance on every part of what we do on a day-to-day basis. In many instances, we’ve got to live by what all of us, or most of us, were taught growing up. You’ve got to treat everybody right. I mean, you can be tough, and many times I was a very tough police officer and federal agent, but I never took advantage of anybody.

“Mr. President, you may have offered him his freedom, but you offered it to him with conditions. Mr. Mandela will not come out of jail with conditions. You can let him out of jail, and you can have one of the greatest countries here on earth. You have brilliant people.

You have very great resources. You’ve got to do something different.”

(Mandela was released in 1990 after 27 years in prison.)

We haven’t made the kind of progress that I thought we could or should be making in the business arena. I think there needs to be interaction all over the place between top Blacks and top whites in America.

I think many of us in our organizations went to sleep on a lot of things. Everybody was beginning to think that everything is alright, but what you have to have is complete vigilance all the time.

You have to understand the rules of the game and what’s happening

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I love High Point. It’s where I was born and raised. There are a lot of great people here. There are a lot of things that I’ve helped to do to make this the kind of place where everybody would want to live. We still have our challenges from time to time, but it’s a great place to live. ■

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Tactics to Help Strengthen Your Organization in Trying Times Keep Resilient and Carry On! This is the sixth in a series of informative monthly articles for North Carolina businesses from PNC in partnership with BUSINESS NORTH CAROLINA magazine.

There are some surprisingly easy tactics businesses can use to strengthen their resiliency, including faster and more secure payment processes.

Many of us still use checks in our personal transactions as well as our business activities. In fact, 42% of business-tobusiness payments are still made by check.[1] However, the use of checks can be a problem under crisis conditions, with so many working remotely and much of the economy disrupted. There are alternatives your business can employ to make sure that payments are as fast and secure as they need to be while increasing payment efficiency and reducing the cost of processing payments at the same time.

The RTP® network from The Clearing House, the first new payment system in 40 years, is a real-time payments platform that all federally insured U.S. depository institutions are eligible to use for payments innovation.

What sets RTP apart from other payment systems is that it delivers payments 24 hours a day, 7 days a week along with enhanced communication capability. The credit transfer limit on the RTP network is currently $100,000.[2] Let’s say you need to secure cleaning services from a new vendor and they’re asking for a payment upfront and won’t perform services until they receive the funds. If you use RTP, you’ll get an immediate confirmation that the money was received at the vendor’s bank.

ACH is a good option for getting money to critical vendors, employees or contractors quickly when you don’t need the immediacy and communication of RTP. Transactions are typically posted within 24 hours.

Wires are available during business hours and don’t have a dollar limit. You can make these payments via your bank’s online portal or API for file transmissions.

A card program can be very effective for paying vendors who accept credit cards. When you’re making online purchases that you need immediately, cards can enable you to make that payment. They also provide some working capital options because you don’t need to pay your card issuer immediately.

The Zelle® Network is a powerful payment network that uses aliases such as a mobile number or email address for the consumer. Many use this for person to person payments.

Businesses can use Zelle to pay individuals as well. For example insurance companies are one of the largest users of Zelle to pay insurance claims.

Zelle can be used in a business-toconsumer context. So if you need to get money to an employee or to an individual contractor quickly, Zelle can help.

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Managing the receipt of checks is critical. If you’re not able to receive payments and not able to process receipts, your company could experience additional strain around cash flow in today’s economic situation.

If your company is using a bank lockbox today, that is probably continuing as normal. There’s a lot of resiliency and consistency built in when you use a lockbox service from your financial institution. For instance, PNC has nine sites and the ability to shift processing from site to site.

If your company is still receiving checks in your office, and perhaps having someone pick them up for processing, consider mobile remote deposit. Once you’ve downloaded the app, you can capture and deposit items, moving them into the clearing process. You also have the option of using a scanner to capture those items as well.

Alternatives to the receipt of checks. Are critical customers still paying by check? Your customers could issue payments via RTP, ACH, wire and/or card. If your company doesn’t accept card, you might want to review how a card program can accelerate cash flow into your organization.

If you are still receiving checks in the office, you might want to consider setting up a lockbox so the checks can go directly to your financial institution and be posted as quickly as possible.

Online bill presentment and payment is another option that provides easy uploading or direct transmission of billing data and access to data for cash application.

Reports. If you are still receiving paper reports from your financial institution, consider changing your reporting to an

electronic version that you can access through your online banking portal. Because chances are that paper report is being mailed to an office that someone’s not going into. eSignature capabilities are being offered by banks to facilitate signing critical documents. Many of these require mobile numbers or email addresses to be available through your financial portal. Be sure your information within your financial portal is updated. If critical documents need to be signed or you need to open up a new account or change a service while you’re not in the office, you will be able to take advantage of eSignature capabilities.

Considerations for Facilitating Smoother Operations during Challenging Times • Enable RTP (real-time payment) capabilities so that

your company has a contingency plan in place and can get payment acknowledgements and reports online.

• Make sure that you've turned on ACH with your financial institution so you can make critical payments at the last minute.

• Download a mobile banking app for you and your critical employees. Even when power is interrupted, you may be able to complete transactions through your mobile phone.

• Use mobile remote deposit to post check payments to your company’s account rather than relying on physical equipment which you may not be able to access.

• Set up an eLockbox service to post payments to your receivables system without human intervention.

Reach out to your banker to make sure you have necessary apps in place to help you weather the current storm and prepare for the future.

Regional Presidents: Weston Andress, Western Carolinas: (704) 643-5581 Jim Hansen, Eastern Carolinas: (919) 835-0135 Or visit pnc.com/en/corporate-and-institutional.html [1] https://www.afponline.org/ideas-inspiration/topics/articles/Details/survey-check-use-drops-to-a-new-low-for-b2b-payments [2] https://www.theclearinghouse.org/payment-systems/rtp/institution Zelle and the Zelle-related marks are wholly owned by Early Warning Services, LLC and are used herein under license. RTP is a registered trademark of The Clearing House Payments Company, LLC. S E P T E M B E R

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First take: Education

■ RURAL COMMUNITIES ■ CASINO Page 16

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■ TRACKING TECH Page 20

■ REPARATIONS Page 22

■ STATEWIDE Page 24

MATTER OF DEGREE KEEPING PACE WITH A CHANGING ECONOMY REQUIRES CONSTANT SKILL UPGRADES. NORTH CAROLINA IS PUSHING TO SPARK MORE TRAINING FOR EMPLOYABLE SKILLS.

BY DAN BARKIN

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orth Carolina has a big goal to get 2 million of its residents between 25 and 44 a high-quality credential after high school by 2030. Something like a welding certificate or a certificate in accounting. Two-thirds of all jobs require a post-high school credential, and employers have been struggling to fill skilled positions.

It is a goal developed and promoted by an organization called myFutureNC, which succeeded in making it state policy.

Original estimates, with normal growth, had North Carolina on track for 1.6 million by 2030. Updated estimates, pre-COVID-19, bumped it to 1.7 million. It’s not clear yet how much the pandemic will chill enrollment. Let’s just say North Carolina needs an extra 300,000 to 400,000 people getting certificates and two- and four-year degrees over the next decade.

It will take a lot of playing well together. Education in North Carolina is siloed: 115 K-12 districts, 58 community colleges and 16 UNC universities. There is no education czar over all of them.

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That’s where myFutureNC came in several years ago, recognizing the different agendas. The organization grew out of collaboration between MC Belk Pilon, president of the John M. Belk Endowment, and former UNC System President Margaret Spellings. This evolved into a commission that held statewide meetings, recruited a wide array of subject-matter experts, created a vast set of reports, and unveiled its 2 million-by-2030 goal in February 2019. It also hired Cecilia Holden as president and CEO. Holden has deep experience in business and state government. She spent nine years running tech support in an IBM division, worked as a lobbyist for the N.C. State Board of Education, and served as chief of staff at the state’s Department of Commerce.

The immediate task was to find a place to start. Holden’s group has developed data profiles for each of the state’s 100 counties, with three things they can work on right away.

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The FAFSA frenzy For example: the hard-to-pronounce FAFSA, the Free Application for Federal Student Aid. Most seniors who fill it out go to college. Some 64% of N.C. seniors completed it in 2019. Tennessee was at 80%, and that’s the myFutureNC goal. So if your county’s rate is in the 40s, that’s a good place to target your efforts.

The pandemic hit during FAFSA season, and Holden saw the numbers trending down, year over year.

“You can sit back, and you can talk about an audaCecilia Holden cious goal,” Holden says. “But until you actually start taking action, then you’re not going to be able to chip away at it. So we dove in at the last minute and said we’re going to take action.”

With the College Foundation of North Carolina and other partners, myFutureNC launched a campaign to bring attention to FAFSA. Vance County had businesses donating iPads for drawings to award them to students who finished the FAFSA. Greene County did a similar giveaway with gift cards. The governor signed a proclamation declaring June FAFSA Frenzy Month.

All over the state, stories started popping up on TV and in the county papers about FAFSA and the new FAFSAFrenzyNC.com website, which hosted Zoom sessions on how to fill out the forms.

MyFutureNC will play a key role in keeping all the players focused on 2 million. Much of the work will be done by the community colleges.

Automating the process One big challenge is keeping students on track. The pipeline to credentials is leaky. Students drop out, often close to completion.

Wake Technical Community College came up with a tool to help. Bryan Ryan and Kai Wang, two college officials, had several questions: How many students are within striking distance of a credential, such as one semester away, and what do they lack? They also wanted to know which students had enough classes to apply for a certificate or other credential but didn’t know it.

Community colleges have hundreds of programs. Students take a wide variety of core classes and electives. Answering these questions manually would require dozens of employees reviewing transcripts.

Wang automated the process with Excel and some programming.

He started with a couple of thousand full-time student records, then scaled up to all 30,000 students taking some kind of college credit. Then he expanded to dropouts. His typical message: You are one or two classes away from a credential, here are the missing classes, come on back.

The program, called Finish First NC, has helped boost Wake Tech’s graduation rate about 10 percentage points. “A huge improvement,” Wang says. The program found students who had completed 11,000 certificates requiring 12 to 18 credit hours, who had never applied for them, probably because they didn’t know they were entitled.

At the same time Wang was developing Finish First at Wake Tech, Wilson Community College’s Andrew Walker used the school’s SAS software to do the same thing. His mandate when he was hired, in the words of Wilson President Tim Wright, was: “Go hunt out data that you think is interesting and see where it leads.”

Since 2016, Wilson has awarded 2,394 credentials — degrees, diplomas, certificates — and 741 resulted from Walker’s work.

A new level of urgency So all over the community college system, while myFutureNC was raising awareness of the need for more credentials, people like Wang, Ryan and Walker were working to make that happen. In Roxboro, Piedmont Community College was one of the 35 schools adopting Wang’s Finish First software.

“The low-hanging fruit was to look at our own data,” Piedmont President Pamela Gibson Senegal says. She has also been working to enroll public-housing residents in a certified production technician program. The college is crucial to economic development. Person County officials have been readying a 1,300-acre megasite — one of seven in the state — for a big employer, maybe the semiconductor plant of their dreams.

Getting more people credentials has always been important, she says, but myFutureNC has “certainly given us a new level of urgency.”

Getting an extra 300,000 to 400,000 North Carolinians certificates isn’t enough. Once someone has gained the first credential, the job isn’t done. “We want to go back to that employer and say, ‘OK, this person has been working for you for three years,’” Senegal says. “‘What’s the next professional growth area that you want for them?’”

Do they want to keep these newly credentialed folks in lowlevel positions? No, she says. “We want them to keep stacking credentials that eventually add up to a degree so that they can continue to improve their income.”

If the state hits the 2 million goal in 2030, “We’ll have a party,” she adds, “but certainly, that’s not the end of the story.” ■

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Rural communities

RESILIENCY REQUIRED A NEW DIRECTOR OF THE GOVERNOR’S RURAL INITIATIVE TACKLES PRESSING NEEDS MADE MORE DIFFICULT BY THE PANDEMIC.

BY MEGAN BIRD

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Mary Penny Kelley

the recession of 2007-09, Jason Gray, a senior fellow for research and policy at the NC Rural Center, told North Carolina Health News. Now, unemployment rates in many rural counties are increasing, while other parts of the state are seeing a quicker economic rebound, he notes.

Kelley says that among the most vulnerable to the coronavirus are Native American tribes, whose members tend to experience race-based health disparities and greater economic need. The loss of community caused by the need for social distancing is also a big concern among the tribes. The state’s Lumbee Tribe had to cancel its famous Homecoming Event, a 51-year tradition that attracts tribe members from across the U.S. According to Kelley, the Lumbee and Haliwa-Saponi tribes are hurting more financially than those that have federal recognition such as the Cherokee.

Among the more pressing concerns is internet access

PHOTO COURTESY OF MARY PENNY KELLEY

ometown Strong, a partnership between state and local governments to support the economies and health outcomes of rural communities, has expanded to the 80 North Carolina counties that have a population density of 250 per square mile or less.

Launched in early 2018 by Gov. Roy Cooper, the program’s purpose is to improve the quality of life for North Carolina’s 2.2 million rural residents. Projects include Downtown Strong, which developed plans for 24 rural communities to revitalize their downtown areas, and Homework Help, which brought high-speed internet to nine library systems in 14 rural counties.

In June, Mary Penny Kelley was promoted to executive director of the group, succeeding Pryor Gibson, who now serves as assistant secretary of the N.C. Division of Employment Security. She had previously worked as director of operations and rural engagement for Hometown Strong, continuing a lengthy career in state government. Previous posts include senior adviser for policy and innovation for the N.C. Department of Environmental Quality and other executive roles for its predecessor, the N.C. Department of Environment and Natural Resources. A graduate of Tulane University School of Law, she is a native of Nash County.

Kelley takes charge of Hometown Strong during a difficult time. While the urban-rural divide has been a longstanding problem in North Carolina, COVID-19 has exacerbated inequalities in health care and education. According to the N.C. Rural Center, many of the 80 counties were already lagging behind urban areas in median household incomes and health ratings before the pandemic.

While the coronavirus is more prevalent in North Carolina’s urban regions, many rural counties have more cases per capita and will likely bear the brunt of economic consequences. “Rural economies tend to be weaker and less diverse,” Kelley says. “In rural areas, it’s tougher to switch between industries. A lot of jobs like manufacturing, running a mill and agriculture have to be done in person.”

When the spreading coronavirus prompted Cooper to issue orders to close nonessential businesses in March, the state’s rural counties were just reaching full recovery from

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now that many aspects of life, including health care and some jobs, have shifted online. About 15% of the state’s rural residents do not have Wi-Fi connections, including 190,000 households with children in K-12 schools.

As counties consider remote education in the fall, Hometown Strong plans to increase broadband access with a new

program called Student Connect.

Kelley is also working on programs to boost retraining and skill development to prepare workers in renewable energy and other growth industries.

Most of the funding for these initiatives is coming from the federal CARES Act through the N.C. Pandemic Recovery Office, which coordinates more

Counties projected to lose population between 2015 and 2035

source: N.C. Office of State Budget and Management

than $6 billion to allocate to state and local governments, nonprofits and private organizations. About $170 million will go to rural counties, which must provide 25% to towns and submit monthly reports detailing the use of the funds.

Kelley is optimistic about rural counties and tribes recovering. “Rural areas are very thrifty, and they’re going to come through [the pandemic] because of that. These communities are resilient and tight-knit.”

Though many issues due to the pandemic are new, Kelley notes that N.C. rural residents are accustomed to creative emergency management after many years of hurricanes and other natural disasters.

“Sometimes people think rural areas are lacking,” she says. “But we’re proud of where we’re from.” ■

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Casino

MOUNTAIN CLIMBING YEARS OF DREAMING ABOUT A CASINO MAY PAY OFF FOR THE CATAWBA INDIAN NATION. BUT THE GOVERNOR’S ASSENT REMAINS A DICEY SITUATION.

BY EDWARD MARTIN

S

ome like the odds for a new $300 million casino that promises to light up Cleveland County’s economy.

“That horse has left the barn,” says an exultant Kings Mountain Mayor Scott Neisler, whose town stands to gain millions in economic development from the Catawba Indian Nation-sponsored project, which broke ground in July.

Catawba Chief Bill Harris calls it a step “toward more prosperity, increased opportunities and a renewed bond between the Catawba Nation” and North Carolina.

Site preparation is underway on an 18-acre tract on Interstate 85, six miles from the South Carolina state line. But a few more hands need to be played before the casino starts producing the expected economic impact of more than $370 million annually.

The Catawbas' plans call for the full monty of gaming at a nearly two-acre structure hosting more than 50 table games,

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▲ The Catawba Indian Nation broke ground on a casino, shown in this rendering, despite opposition from the Cherokee tribe and the lack of an agreement with the governor.

1,800 video gaming machines, a 900-seat restaurant and other features. It would be a big economic boost for the tribe, which has a 1,000-acre reservation in York County, S.C., that includes fewer than 500 households, many of which have incomes below the poverty line. Its project partners include Greenville, S.C., investor Wallace Cheves, a 25-year veteran of casino and internet-gaming deals, and Buffalo, N.Y.-based Delaware North, a privately held, $3 billion food service and hospitality business.

Stacked against them is the potential opposition of Gov. Roy Cooper, who must approve a pivotal compact. He spoke out against the casino during his 2016 gubernatorial campaign, and spokesman Ford Porter says Cooper and the Catawbas have not negotiated terms of the types of gaming permitted at the casino or the state’s share of proceeds.

Meanwhile, the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians, which

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Closest Native American casinos to Charlotte Proposed Catawba Nation casino, Kings Mountain

35 miles

Harrah’s Cherokee Casino Resort, Cherokee

165

Harrah’s Cherokee Valley Resort, Murphy

223

Wind Creek Casino, Wetumpka, Ala.

413

Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino, Tampa, Fla.

578

PHOTO BY AYSHA BEGUM

source: 500nations.com

operates thriving casinos in Cherokee and Murphy, in partnership with Caesars Entertainment's Harrah's brand, are engaging in modern-day warfare against the Catawbas. The Cherokees are suing in federal court to block the Catawba project, arguing the site is on their historical land and should have gone to another tribe. They are also flooding mailboxes in North Carolina with direct-mail pieces attacking the project, citing past controversies involving Cheves, who has given about $500,000 to political campaigns affiliated with President Donald Trump and other Republican politicians over the last two years.

Neisler, Harris and other proponents insist that the massive profits of the Harrah’s Cherokee casinos allow that tribe to buttress cultural education such as the Cherokee language, improve health care and ease poverty. Cherokee profits are split, half to tribal government, half to its roughly 13,000 members, who often receive payouts topping $10,000 annually.

Such largess has made gambling attractive to scores of Native American tribes. More than 450 American Indian-controlled casinos operate across the U.S., though there are no full-scale operations in North Carolina’s neighboring states of South Carolina, Tennessee and Virginia. The casinos nationally employ more than 700,000 people and generate more than $37 billion annually.

The Catawbas have tried twice to operate gaming businesses limited to bingo, but they eventually shut down both efforts, the last in 2017. Harris blames low profit margins, low stakes and limited excitement compared with the Las Vegas-style, “Class III” gambling portrayed on countless movies and TV shows.

Both Carolinas also have started state lotteries that siphoned potential customers away from the bingo parlors, he says.

Under federal law, tribal gaming “compacts” must be ham-

mered out between tribes and the governor in whose state they operate, if games go beyond Class II — bingo. “Compacts cover areas including the level of gaming and the state’s financial share,” Porter says.

Cooper would then have to submit the compact for approval to the federal Bureau of Indian Affairs in Washington, D.C. One of his predecessors, Gov. Jim Hunt, in the 1990s refused to sign the Cherokee compact. Federal courts eventually cleared the way for the Cherokees to open their first casino in 1997.

The Catawbas filed a casino application in 2013 with the bureau, which didn’t act on the request. So last year, U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina sponsored a bill that bypassed the agency and called for the federal government to acquire 17 acres dedicated for a casino to be held in trust for the Catawbas. Graham’s N.C. peers, Richard Burr and Thom Tillis, supported the measure. Though the bill didn’t pass, the bureau approved the Catawbas' application in March.

That prompted a quick response from the Cherokees, who sued in April to block the deal in the U.S. District Court in Washington, D.C. Because of the pending litigation, Cooper hasn’t met with the Catawbas or signed the Class III contract, Porter says.

The casino will “right a historical wrong and create a brighter future for all of us,” Harris says. The Cherokees don’t agree, knowing that the new casino will be much more accessible to the 4 million people who live in the nearby Charlotte and Greenville-Spartanburg, S.C., metro areas. While Cherokee and Murphy are in lightly populated parts of western North Carolina, both are less than a three-hour drive from Atlanta.

Kings Mountain, population about 11,000, may have the most to gain. Neisler says the casino would employ about 4,000 people, drawing from a wide radius. That’s nearly double the total membership of the Catawba Nation.

The city is also banking on the casino and related development to bolster its joint venture project that provides natural gas and electricity to local businesses and consumers. The gaspowered plant puts about $2 million a year in the city’s general fund and offers lower rates than Duke Energy, the region’s dominant electric and gas utility.

“The casino could mean, for the next 20 years or so, our rates are going to be pretty flat, which is a great economic boost,” Neisler says. “We’re going to provide power, utilities and infrastructure not only for the casino but all the ancillary things that come with it, such as restaurants and shopping. In the next five years, it will double our electric sales.”

The city’s 3% tourism tax generates about $150,000 a year, which the mayor expects to reach $500,000.

Neisler is confident the casino will open next summer. While the Catawba chief, Harris, has floated the idea of joining forces with the Cherokee, the chances of a peace treaty seem unlikely given the ill feelings that linger from centuries past.

In a statement, Cherokee Principal Chief Richard Sneed emphasizes his tribe’s view that the Catawbas are encroaching on their land. “No ribbon-cutting will change those facts or stop the courts from putting an end to this charade.” ■

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Tracking tech

TRUTH TELLER A CARRBORO COMPANY USES ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE TO INTERPRET CONSUMER BEHAVIOR AND SOLVE COMPLEX PROBLEMS.

H

ow many beers have you consumed in the last seven days? Depending on your drinking habits, recall skills or state of mind, it’s likely that you’ll forget or maybe lie. Even in focus groups, a participant often answers one way, but their grocery receipts paint a different story, along with a weeklong buildup of beer cans in their trash.

Richard Boyd views this scenario as an opportunity for his Carrboro-based artificial intelligence company, Tanjo, which uses virtual simulations and machine learning to improve market research and help organizations spot redundancies in their internal processes.

Human fallibility is a major consideration in transforming human knowledge to AI and vice versa. While the real “me” might lie about drinking habits, a digital “mini-me” embedded in an in-

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Richard Boyd's 3D simulation skills have aided famous films and video games. Now he's building a machine learning company.

teractive simulation might tell the truth.

Boyd has spent 30 years building virtual reality and augmented reality technology for entertainment, military and education applications. He was part of the management team at 3D software developer Virtus, which developed video games for Tom Clancy’s Red Storm Entertainment, Michael Crichton’s Timeline Computer Entertainment and iRock with Ozzy Osbourne. In 2001, he cofounded 3Dsolve with Virtus founder David Smith, and the duo applied their knowledge for gaming to education, health care and defense applications. Examples included helping determine the best way to learn algebra, run a McDonald’s restaurant and improve operating-room procedures. Defense giant Lockheed Martin bought 3Dsolve in 2007.

Boyd first recognized the rapid evolution of AI in a 2009 visit to

PHOTO COURTESY OF RICHARD BOYD

BY SHANNON CUTHRELL

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a Microsoft research lab that was creating a sensor-based motiontracking program to recognize speech, gestures and movements.

“It took more than 224,000 hours of [central processing unit] time to train that system [in 2009],” he says. “Today, we can teach a car to drive with less than 100 hours of video footage.”

In 2013, federal budget cutting pushed Lockheed Martin to focus on its core defense business and jettison commercial efforts.

Boyd left to start Tanjo, a company focused on the emerging field of AI and machine learning.

His first product was partly inspired by a Lockheed Martin project that involved digitizing records from the Library of Congress, the Smithsonian and other sources and making them accessible to K-12 teachers. Lockheed developed a learning registry to interpret records already tagged by humans, then tag the remaining content and categorize it accordingly. Boyd mulled applying this idea to organizing internal resources and information within colleges, banks, government agencies, insurance providers and beyond.

Tanjo’s Enterprise Brain analyzes an organization’s processes to identify redundant areas that waste time and money. This “hovering AI assistant” scours everything it can and opens doors to previously unrecognized resources, Boyd explains. “We call it the new scientific method: Instead of humans having to analyze problems and bring their own expertise to bear on studying them, you dump all the information into the machine brain and then say, ‘Come up with every hypothesis that you think might be useful.’”

For instance, a professor creating a 3D printing course might learn through Enterprise Brain that a university system already hosts many similar courses.

It would direct the instructor to colleagues who’ve taught such material and gather relevant content for the course. A smoking cessation study at an insurance company might use the system to identify a leading expert working on another team within the same organization.

Tanjo's Enterprise Brain clients include Research Triangle Institute, Blue Cross and Blue Shield of N.C., other insurers and banks, and the 58 institutions in the North Carolina Community College System. Boyd is a board member at Wake Technical Community College, the state’s biggest community college.

The company’s other flagship product is Tanjo Animated Personas, a software-as-a-service program that simulates potential customers’ response to a product or a message. The platform uses anonymized demographic and customer data to depict human responses as they view and interpret materials.

“If you want to understand people, look at what they do with

their money and their attention,” Boyd says. “Focus groups and surveys didn’t predict Donald Trump and Brexit, but what did was Google Search data and Amazon purchase data. That’s who people really are.”

Companies pay a flat fee to create a mock customer base and host them in an AI focus group where they can read the news, listen to a podcast or watch YouTube videos featuring the client’s product. Boyd synthesizes data from the U.S. Census Bureau, market researcher Nielsen, public-health surveys and other sources to create a model of the 126 million U.S. households and what behaviors they might share.

From studying the different ways to buy chicken in North Carolina to achieving better wellness for insurance customers, the personas work in many ways, including in Boyd’s personal life. When his father died in 2017, Boyd gathered personal letters and military records to create a digital rendition of him. “It’s oddly comforting to go and see him and hear what he thinks about what’s going on,” Boyd says. “There’s a synthetic version of him that’s still with me.”

Tanjo is based in downtown Carrboro with fewer than 10 team members. It was bootstrapped by the founders until June 2014, when Franklin-based tax-software developer Drake Enterprises invested $2.5 million. Boyd isn't seeking more capital.

Now, he is pursuing more government customers as agencies partner with private firms during the coronavirus pandemic. Tanjo recently teamed up with several companies to create a readiness score for each of the state’s 100 counties to help make more data-driven health care decisions.

The company is also working with Chapel Hill-based nonprofit Digital Health Institute for Transformation on a Community Health Utility Grid, which interprets data to identify ways to improve health outcomes for underserved areas in North Carolina.

Boyd is passionate about AI but emphasizes that a human-machine balance is paramount to a healthy future. “That’s the central problem of the century,” Boyd says. At Wake Tech, he advises students to avoid certain occupations likely to be decimated by AI in coming years. An example is radiology, or reading X-rays, which he says machines can do better than humans. “[A business must have] the right balance of human effort and human attention and machine effort and machine attention to optimize the outcome. Whether it’s better health, better education, better governance of a city or better sales for a product, we have to figure out what that balance is.” ■

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Reparations

APOLOGIES AND PLEDGES

▲ About 20 artists created a mural in downtown Asheville that City Councilwoman Sheneika Smith says celebrates "our collective movement toward addressing systemic issues locally."

BY EMILY HOLLER

A

l Whitesides is an Asheville native, a Buncombe County commissioner and a retiree after more than 40 years in banking. He is also a veteran civil rights activist and a Black man who grew up in a segregated society.

“Asheville is a pretty progressive town, but you still have some things come up that remind you of the past in the way people interact with each other,” he says. “I can be out, and people will come up and say, ‘Commissioner, you’re the smartest Black man I’ve ever met’ and think that’s a compliment.”

On Aug. 4, he and the three other commissioners approved a resolution in Buncombe County designed to close racial disparities. The 4-3 vote followed a unanimous decision by Asheville City Council on July 14 to establish a reparations plan for the community. The actions, which included an apology for participating in and sanctioning slavery, attracted national publicity as the first municipal government in the South and among few in the nation to explicitly favor reparations

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for Black residents, according to national media reports.

The proposal entails reallocating city funds into programs aimed at closing the wealth gap between Black and white residents in the community of about 93,000 people. It didn’t mention directly paying its Black residents, which is how reparations are often defined. Councilman Keith Young, who spearheaded the effort and is one of two Black council members in Asheville, called that an intentional, strategic decision.

“We never ruled out any tangible things of what reparations should be, we just didn’t mention it; we left that door wide open for future conversation,” says Young, who works as a clerk for the N.C. court system. “What we have done is acknowledge that there is a problem — so it is acknowledged, it is on record — and we have also acknowledged that we must try to fix it.”

While Young has received both praise and criticism for the plan, he says highlighting practices and policies that institutions can enact

PHOTO BY REGGIE TIDWELL, CURVE THEORY COURTESY OF ASHEVILLE AREA ARTS COUNCIL

ASHEVILLE’S POLITICIANS ATTRACT NATIONAL ATTENTION WITH PLEDGES TO BOOST PROSPECTS OF THE AREA’S BLACK POPULATION.

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will advance the fight for racial justice more than direct payments.

“We’ve made it — in its simplest form — something that you can build around,” Young says. “You can build other resolutions around it, other ordinances around it; it’s something that’s going to be perpetual.”

National polls routinely show a majority of Americans oppose reparations, which would cost trillions of dollars to bring the average net worth of Black families to equal those of white ones. Another key objection is that non-Black families whose ancestors emigrated to the U.S. after the abolition of slavery in 1865 shouldn’t bear such a burden. But Robert Thomas, the community liaison for Asheville’s Racial Justice Coalition, says what happened after 1865 is critical. “Any time that I present on reparations, I don’t even really use slavery as the basis. I use everything after that,” he says.

ASHEVILLE’S VIEW ON REPARATIONS ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■

Apologizes for “enslavement of Black people” Apologizes for segregation, other discriminatory practices Apologizes for urban renewal Calls on other groups to extend apologies, address racist structures Calls on state, federal governments to provide money for reparations Directs city manager to lead development of recommendations to boost Black wealth, economic mobility Favors new commission to recommend how to repair damage from systemic racism Directs city manager to give biannual update on progress source: Asheville city resolution

While Black people only make up about 12% of Asheville’s population and 6% of Buncombe’s, the city shares the same story as Charlotte, Durham and other more integrated N.C. cities where Black neighborhoods were uprooted by urban renewal in the 1960s and ’70s. As new road networks were added in those years, many residents were forced out of their homes and into public housing with an unfulfilled pledge that they could eventually rebuild in their former areas, Thomas says.

“That is what completely destroyed our economic floor here,” he says. “All the way into minor things, such as implicit biases and what comes into play when a Black person goes into a bank and tries to receive a loan.”

About a quarter of Asheville’s Black households live in poverty.

While median income overall is $42,000, it’s $30,000 for Black families, according to U.S. Census data. The statistics don’t include the adjacent town of Biltmore Forest, where fewer than 3% of the 1,500 residents are nonwhite, and the median income tops $140,000.

Asheville native DeWayne Barton says urban renewal continues to affect the cities’ historically Black neighborhoods. He founded and runs Hood Huggers International, which offers local history tours.

“We show them that it’s the same thing, and it’s in a different name, or in a different wig with high heels on,” Barton says. “There’s another highway expansion that’s about to come through here that’s going to affect the same neighborhoods as urban renewal, so nothing

has changed.”

Barton notes that past policies to uplift the Black community have had little success. He favors an “infrastructure” that connects resources like schools and other institutions to change the culture of the Black businesses.

“Know that everybody has a role to make this hustle happen,” Barton says. “It’s going to take blood, policy and resources.”

Asked to discuss the reparations plan, the Asheville Area Chamber of Commerce provided a statement noting that a key goal of its “community visioning process,” called AVL Greater, is shared prosperity.

“We’ve operationalized that focus through our new program on economic mobility for people of color,” according to the statement. “The Inclusive Hiring Partners initiative [announced Aug. 5] is the result of a long-term, collaborative effort to address racial disparities in our workforce.”

The initiative focuses on mentorship, skills and training, and employment with the goal of providing better, more equal employment opportunities for people of color in Asheville.

Racial disparities are “not something that can be remedied overnight, but we’ve got to start,” Whitesides says. “We just can’t keep talking about it. To be honest with you, I’m tired of seeing us pass the 800-pound gorilla that is racism down generation after generation.”

Whitesides hopes the county’s five-year plan creates a foundation for action by future commissioners. “To survive in America, I have to know how it is to survive being Black in a white society, let’s face it,” he adds. “When you’re white in America, you make all the rules; you don’t really give a care about what people of color are going through.

When you hear that, you can’t dodge that.”

As Asheville navigates its new plan, local politicians are “doing their part to pass on the torch to a different generation to hopefully make life a little bit better, a little bit fairer and more equitable,” Young says. “So hopefully, we’ll be able to walk along the same path as our white brothers and sisters here.” ■

A DIFFICULT PAST IN 1860, AN ESTIMATED 1,913 PEOPLE WERE ENSLAVED IN BUNCOMBE COUNTY. TOTAL POPULATION WAS 12,654.

BETWEEN 1877 AND 1950, MORE THAN 4,084 BLACK PEOPLE WERE LYNCHED IN THE SOUTH, INCLUDING THREE IN BUNCOMBE. PUBLIC SCHOOLS IN BUNCOMBE WEREN’T INTEGRATED UNTIL 1966.

FORTY-ONE PERCENT OF BLACK PEOPLE IN BUNCOMBE OWN THEIR HOMES, VERSUS 65% OF WHITE PEOPLE. BLACK PEOPLE OWN LESS THAN 2% OF THE BUSINESSES, BUT MAKE UP 6.3% OF THE POPULATION. source: Buncombe County resolution

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Statewide

CONE AND THE CAVALIERS GREENSBORO’S HEALTH CARE LEADER AND BIGGEST EMPLOYER SIGNS A DEAL WITH A LARGE VIRGINIA SYSTEM.

BY DAVID MILDENBERG

N

early 70 years after an inheritance from the Cone textile family provided capital for a 310-bed hospital in Greensboro, the Gate City’s dominant health care system plans to merge with a Virginia hospital and insurance group.

Since Moses H. Cone Memorial Hospital opened in 1953, it has ranked among the state’s most innovative providers. It opened the first intensive-care unit in the early 1960s and opened the initial free-standing hospital for women in 1990. It merged with the much older Wesley Long Hospital in 1997.

In early August, Cone Health’s 12-member board agreed to merge the system with Norfolk, Va.-based Sentara Healthcare in a transaction requiring federal and state regulatory approval.

Cone is North Carolina’s sixth-biggest health care system with $2.2 billion in 2019 revenue and 13,000 employees. Sentara has annual patient revenue of more than $6.5 billion and employs 30,000. Its Optima Health Plan insurance group has annual revenue topping $2 billion and 858,000 members in North Carolina, Ohio and Virginia. Sentara operates one N.C. hospital — Albemarle Medical Center in Elizabeth City.

Cone picked Sentara as the best option because of its commitment to high-quality, affordable health care; similar culture; and expanding insurance subsidiary, says CEO Terry Akin, who is slated to remain Cone’s leader.

“We didn’t take the ‘sell to the highest bidder’ approach,” he says. “We took the ‘let’s serve our community the best’ approach.” Cone serves a five-county area, though it is best known for its Greensboro operation.

No financial details were released by Cone or Sentara, though hospital leaders said Cone won’t be receiving a large infusion of cash.

Kern told the Norfolk Virginian-Pilot newspaper that “If either one of us could have bought out the other, that would have just depleted resources … that could have just resulted in debt or in financing.”

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It’s a different approach than the sale of Asheville’s hospital system in 2019 or New Hanover County’s effort involving Wilmington’s regional medical center. HCA Healthcare, the largest U.S. hospital operator, paid $1.5 billion for Asheville’s not-for-profit Mission Health. More than $1 billion has gone to the Dogwood Health Trust community foundation.

Winston-Salem-based Novant Health is expected to take control of New Hanover Regional Medical Center next year after a national auction process. Final approvals are pending from local officials and regulators. Novant has pledged about $2 billion to go to New Hanover County, the hospital’s owner, while agreeing to invest $2.5 billion in capital projects over many years.

Cone’s board spent about 18 months privately considering potential governance changes. Public input was largely limited to the system’s board.

Akin says the two organizations have “a strong shared philosophy that we have to partner with people and not just treat them when they are sick. That is far and away the most costeffective approach. It’s in the DNA of both organizations.”

Sentara’s Optima Health expects to expand significantly in North Carolina, Akin says. “Cone Health is among the highest-quality health care organizations in the nation, and we are financially strong. With the right partner, we can build on what we’ve created and do even more for those we are privileged to serve.”

Charlotte-based Atrium Health had a management services agreement with Cone since 2012 that ended in January. Akin was an Atrium employee under that arrangement.

Atrium is creating a partnership with Winston-Salem-based Wake Forest Baptist Health, which competes in the Triad with Cone. Wake Forest University, which is affiliated with Wake Forest Baptist, is expanding its medical school in Charlotte in a pending arrangement with Atrium.

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Statewide

TRIAD GREENSBORO Guilford College tapped Carol Moore as interim president, succeeding Jane Fernandes, who has been president since 2014. Moore is former president of Columbia College in South Carolina.

TRIANGLE ROXBORO Roxboro Savings Bank named Pamela Senegal to its board of directors.

She has been president of Piedmont Community College since 2017.

Spreedly, a payments-software technology company, hired Jillian Munro as chief technology officer and Randy Guard as chief marketing officer. Munro has been the N.C. site lead at Fidelity Investments in Durham, while Guard headed marketing at SAS in Cary.

YANCEYVILLE Caswell County Economic Development is opening a coworking office called CoSquare in a 9,000-square-foot renovated drugstore. The space will open by fall.

WINSTON-SALEM

Service Trade, which develops software to help HVAC and electrical companies with scheduling and tracking, raised about $30 million from investment firms Bull City Venture Partners of Durham and Frontier Growth of Charlotte. It previously raised $4.1 million.

DURHAM

EncepHeal Therapeutics was awarded a National Institutes of Health grant that could reach $3.3 million to create a drug compound fighting the addictive properties of cocaine.

PHOTO COURTESY OF PIEDMONT COMMUNITY COLLEGE

Cambridge, Mass.-based biotechnology company Beam Therapeutics plans an $83 million, 201-job manufacturing plant with an annual average salary of $102,654. The state is offering as much as $4.3 million in incentives over 12 years if Beam meets hiring targets.

HIGH POINT Congdon Yards, a multiuse campus for entrepreneurs next to the Truist Point baseball stadium, completed its campus by acquiring the Stickley Furniture Building for $3.85 million. The Congdon family has invested $30 million to create the campus as part of an initiative to develop downtown.

A former Macy’s department store at Northgate Mall will become a Duke Health medical office building. The Northgate Medical Office Building will be a three-story, 184,000-square-foot property. Duke University purchased the site three years ago for $4.5 million.

Longfellow Real Estate Partners agreed to pay $138 million for full ownership of Durham.

ID, a two-tower downtown office complex. The site includes two office buildings and an eight-story parking deck, totaling 330,369 square feet of office and retail space. Bain Capital had been a co-owner.

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RALEIGH

CHAPEL HILL

Vontier, a transportation company being spun off by Everett, Wash.-based Fortive, plans 100 jobs at its new headquarters here. The new company was announced in April and will be publicly traded. A launch date has not been announced.

Synchrono Group, a digital startup that offers “insurance as a service,” raised $2.6 million from 16 funders.

The Raleigh firm hopes to raise an additional $587,000.

The N.C. State Fair planned for October is canceled due to COVID-19.

The Willow Creek North Ridge apartment complex is expected to more than double in the next two years.

Owners Willow Creek Partners of Reston, Va., filed a rezoning request this month to add 900 units to the existing 600.

Jonathan Pruitt, the top finance officer at UNC Chapel Hill since 2018, is moving to the UNC System, where he will be chief operating officer, reporting to new President Peter Hans. Pruitt previously worked at the system for 11 years before moving to the campus position.

Cincinnati’s Fifth Third Bank announced two new branches here and in Wake Forest, which comes after a recent announcement for a bank branch in Raleigh as well. More than 20 locations are planned for the region.

HOLLY SPRINGS Dallas-based ClubCorp closed on the sale and long-term leaseback of Devils Ridge Golf Club here for $4 million.

The buyer is a limited-liability corporation that shares an address with New York hedge fund Sculptor Capital.

ROLESVILLE Charlotte developer Hopper Communities will develop 465 single-family and townhomes here over the next six years. The project will take place on 91 acres and will be built in two phases.

Construction is set to begin next year.

YOUNGSVILLE CARY After raising an additional $1.78 billion from investors, Epic Games is now valued at $17.3 billion. Investors in the latest round include Sony, Carolina Panthers’ owner David Tepper, KKR and Smash Ventures.

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CaptiveAire Systems announced 47 furloughed employees would be permanently laid off due to Gov. Roy Cooper’s decision to extend Phase 2 of the state’s COVID-19 reopening plan. In April, the company furloughed 107 employees after its largest customer base, the restaurant industry, was hit with closures for several weeks.

EAST GOLDSBORO Goldsboro Milling, the parent company of Maxwell Foods, is closing its hog production operations by mid-2021, citing low prices and the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic for causing unsustainable losses. The North Carolina Pork Council said it will work to assist 150 N.C. contract farms find new outlets.

WHITSETT Prepac Manufacturing, based in Vancouver, British Columbia, is opening an East Coast factory here, creating 201 jobs. The furniture company will invest $27.1 million in the 260,000-square-foot factory.

BRUNSWICK COUNTY Bald Head Island Ltd. and East West Partners plan a $565 million development consisting of single-family homes, apartments, townhomes, duplexes and some commercial space here. Project Indigo is expected to progress over the next 10 to 15 years.

ROCKY MOUNT The Golden LEAF Foundation's board of directors announced $11 million in funding for 19 N.C. projects with the goal of supporting job creation, leadership development, agriculture, workforce development and disaster recovery. Recipients included Mount Olive Family Medicine Center in Wayne County, N.C. State University and three workforce-training projects benefiting Brunswick, Jackson, Macon, Martin and Swain counties.

PHOTO COURTESY WILLOW CREEK PROPERTIES LLC

NC TREND

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PHOTOS COURTESY OF WILMINGTON INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT, FLYILM.COM, ATRIUM HEALTH, MISSION HEALTH, TRYON RESORT

Wilmington International Airport is receiving $21.1 million from the Federal Aviation Administration for a terminal expansion. The new grant will pay for a third phase of the project, which includes four new gates, expanded concessions and a TSA checkpoint.

ASHEVILLE Innsbruck Mall has been sold to an Ingles Markets affiliate for $8.3 million, according to county deed records. While ground-level storefronts are occupied, much of the building has remained empty for years. A hotel is expected to be build next to the 213,000-square-foot mall.

A 50-acre waterfront development for active seniors began construction and is set to be completed by 2022. The $100 million project will include 124 apartments and 60 villas in its first phase of construction, followed by 24 more villas in a second phase.

Fintech company AvidXchange says 14 investors participated in an offering that resulted in $119 million, with $7 million being paid in sales commission. AvidXchange, which makes software to automate payment systems, is building new offices near downtown and adding jobs.

CHARLOTTE

Property-management company Fulcrum announced plans for a 45-unit condo building in the South End neighborhood. It is expected to open in late 2021. The units will start at $300,000.

GASTONIA GNT USA, a natural food-coloring company, is building a $30 million foodprocessing center. The facility is anticipated to create 40 jobs. GNT will purchase 49.24 acres for the project.

CHARLOTTE Atrium Health reported an operating loss of $36 million during the first half of the year as net patient revenue declined 9% due to suspension of elective surgeries. The system benefited from $300 million in federal stimulus funds, which helped sustain care and avert layoffs during the pandemic.

Fintech firm Retirement Clearinghouse is planning a $4.1 million expansion of its headquarters here, a move that will bring 300 jobs to the area over five years.

The state is providing more than $4.3 million in incentives.

Telecommunications company Segra named Jason Campbell as chief operating officer. He was previously chief operations officer of Lightower Fiber Networks / Crown Castle Fiber.

Health club chain Life Time Fitness furloughed 721 employees in North Carolina, citing state COVID-19 restrictions that prevent it from reopening. The chain has three centers here and four near Raleigh.

Mission Health is relocating several of its rural cancer services here, despite opposition from local officials who say the health care system should be investing in smaller communities. A group of former Mission physicians formed a business to serve the areas including Brevard, Franklin, Marion and Spruce Pine.

MILL SPRING Tryon Resort and International Equestrian Center received four water quality violation notices from the N.C. Department of Environmental Quality. The violations could result in tens of thousands of dollars of fines related to deposits entering a tributary of White Oak Creek.

Carowinds, one of the Carolinas’ largest tourist attractions with more than 4,000 full-time and part-time employees, will remain closed through the remainder of this year because of the pandemic.

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COLLABORATION IS KEY Local businesses, government entities and economic development organizations work together to drive economic growth in Catawba County.

County leaders met virtually to discuss the area’s economic development efforts and the impact on the regional and statewide economy.

PANELISTS

Scott Millar

Randy Isenhower

Dr. Bernhard Deutsch

president, Catawba County Economic

chair, Catawba County Board of

vice president and general manager,

Development Commission

Commissioners

Corning Optical Fiber and Cable

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WHAT ARE SOME NEW ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT PROJECTS IN THE WORKS?

a critical and essential business initiative.

Much like we did successfully with the data centers about 10 years ago, we’re jumping ahead of the curve and trying to support critical and essential business opportunities in pharma, life sciences, biomedical devices, and even food supplies and other things that have been determined to be a problem during this epidemic.

which has brought a lot of our partners together to collaborate to continue this success.

One thing Scott talked about was the critical industries. He mentioned manufacturing. Even though we’ve had challenges in our traditional areas of textiles and furniture, about 28% of our workforce is still in manufacturing, which is higher than the national average. And we’ve expanded traditional manufacturing to [include everything from] fiber optics to automobile components, and I think that can continue to add to the supply chain as needed for these critical and essential industries.

MILLAR: We’ve always been a leader in the state’s manufacturing sector here in Catawba County, with the number of people employed in manufacturing here much higher than most other areas across the country. We’ve had some pretty good activity in recent years and in recent months, particularly. Recently, there was an announcement that a new 500-acre, mixed-use development has been listed by CBRE, the world’s largest real estate firm, in Conover. That opens up another avenue for development for us.

We’ve got the well-established Trivium Corporate Center, which is a partnership between the city of Hickory and Catawba County. That’s been very successful. Corning was the first tenant in that new business park. Since then, we’ve announced [new tenants such as] a Japanese company and a German pharmaceutical company. Most recently, we announced that an Atlanta-based developer was going to build a 200,000-square-foot spec building that’s expandable to 350,000 square feet.

One of the things that [will result from the COVID-19] epidemic is reshoring and onshoring. We’ve been quick acting. The local commissioners and municipalities are looking at and supporting

ISENHOWER: What Scott has mentioned is part of our long-term strategic plan. We’re probably about 18 months into it. We’ve highlighted eight specific areas to concentrate on, which is part of not only economic development but education, increasing our quality of life and housing. And that’s one of the challenges we have: our workforce development and our cultural scene to bring the workforce in.

A term you’ll hear a lot in Catawba County is collaboration. Scott touched on that with Trivium Corporate Center, which is a collaboration between the tenants, the landowners that sold it to us, the county and the city. In addition, and working with other municipalities, we’ve developed four spec buildings. It has landed about 1,000 jobs and I think close to $80 million in investments.

We’re working with our municipalities, and they have done a lot in their downtown development. … This is all part of a long-term strategic plan,

Stephen P. Shuford

Leah Beth Hubbard

Rod Harkleroad

vice chairman, Shurtape

special assistant for strategic initiatives,

CEO, Frye Regional Medical Center

WHAT ARE SOME INDUSTRY TRENDS YOU’VE SEEN RECENTLY, AND HOW HAS YOUR ORGANIZATION BEEN AFFECTED BY THE PANDEMIC? SHUFORD: Coming into the COVID-19 environment, we were obviously approaching very low unemployment, and Shurtape was struggling to hire the right talent and keep people on board.

We struggled with turnover. We’re an evolving, expanding company so this presented significant challenges for us.

There’s been tons of collaboration within Catawba County on this issue of talent supply. The county commission, the EDC and private businesses have been focused on addressing it, and I think we’re absolutely hammering on the

Lenoir-Rhyne University

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right nails. I feel pretty optimistic with respect to the direction that we’re headed as a county.

Randy mentioned our efforts to attract young talent through community amenities that we’re investing in as a county together with its various municipalities. I think this sort of investment is spot on in terms of the kinds of things companies like Shurtape need to support long-term talent recruitment and pipeline development. We at Shurtape feel that we have great partners in the county, the EDC and other community stakeholders who have been laser-focused on bending the talent-supply curve in our favor.

Now, COVID-19 has distorted everything in our business, and I think it’s done so for virtually every business in the county, state and country. It’s created massive distortions in demand, with certain products rocketing in terms of demand and others plummeting. It’s disrupted supply chains, and it’s distorted the labor market even further. What’s interesting is we’ve observed that — despite the fact that unemployment has skyrocketed — we still struggle with keeping our various positions staffed. As a result, we have struggled to keep up with demand in many parts of our business. One theory that seems to have validity is that, with the federal unemployment supplement, unemployment benefits have grown to the point where companies like Shurtape have found it difficult to compete with the government in terms of hourly compensation.

HUBBARD: At Lenoir-Rhyne, partner-

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ships and collaboration are what we have built our strategic planning on, and our goal before COVID-19 — and even now more so with COVID-19 — was to share all of the partnerships that we have in our community to grow and to give our students an opportunity that most rural colleges and towns can’t provide.

There’s a commission within the city of Hickory called University City Commission that focuses on how to get our students and businesses engaged, how to promote those businesses to our students, and how businesses can get engaged with our students and do things on our campus.

One of the cool things about a college town is having a college in your community that offers a ton of free resources. We did a class during the summer where we hit on different things from literature to public health to diversity. We had over 800 people subscribed to this free class within our community.

Having that asset to the community is a great thing. But we want to do more. We don’t want to just offer what has always been offered, but really work with our community partners to ensure that we’re growing with our community, and we’re engaging in the right way. So Scott sat in on our strategic planning sessions to make sure that we are looking at the correct majors and programs of studies. … We want to educate our community from the time they’re born until they pass to ensure that we are always growing as a community, and our community members can stay engaged.

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Throughout COVID-19, internships were a big issue within higher ed because we couldn’t send students into the workforce. And an internship via Zoom is extremely difficult. … But a lot of folks actually stepped up and said, “You know what, I’ll take on [an intern], and we are going to go virtual, and I actually need their help.” So it’s been a good mix.

Here at Lenoir-Rhyne, we’ve been really fortunate that we haven’t had to furlough anyone. … We actually have the second-highest enrollment scheduled for this fall. So that’s exciting. We are planning for students to be on campus, and we’ll be doing hybrid classes. ... Our students are eager to be back. They love this environment. And if our community can recruit and show these younger folks what an exciting place we have, then it’s great.

WHAT IS YOUR RELATIONSHIP WITH CATAWBA COUNTY, AND WHY IS THAT COLLABORATION IMPORTANT? DEUTSCH: We’ve had a wonderful relationship with the county and the cities here for almost 40 years now. In 1981, we built the first fiber-cable factory in Hickory. It’s still on McDonald Parkway, and it is one of the largest optical fiber-cable factories in the world. We’ve expanded our Catawba County presence recently: We built a new factory in Newton about two years ago, and we were the anchor tenant at the Trivium Corporate Center and make cable there as well. That partnership has been very fruitful for us.

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The main reason we’re here is the flexible workforce. And I know that COVID-19 does have some challenges with that. I also like the education system. We value the collaboration with Lenoir-Rhyne University and the Catawba Valley Community College with the recent addition of the Workforce Development Innovation Center. They’re growing great things for manufacturers like us.

On the business side, we’ve been deemed essential during the COVID-19 restrictions, so we were able to keep our plants running. We have five factories in North Carolina, and we stayed open. … We see a mega trend in bandwidth demand, and then the COVID-19 situation intensified [the need for bandwidth] because of telework, telemedicine and distance learning. This all would not be possible without the optical fiber that Corning invented. … The demand has been strong.

The advent of 5G will be another demand driver. … Machine learning will become the next wave leveraging 5G. The Hickory cable facility is a testbed for 5G for Verizon, a 5G test center in the middle of Hickory. So there’s a need to up the ante right now in education in terms of technology.

ROD, YOU BECAME CEO OF FRYE REGIONAL MEDICAL CENTER IN JUNE AMID THE PANDEMIC. WHAT HAS YOUR EXPERIENCE BEEN LIKE? HARKLEROAD: The one thing that amazed me is the community has two great hospitals that have over 600 beds and take care of patients. They’re seeing over 100,000 ER visits. One thing that surprised me was the infrastructure for health care in this market. On staff here, we have over 288 positions. The ability to take care of higher acuity patients sometimes gets more difficult when you

get into smaller markets. … It’s pretty amazing how both hospitals have the ability to deliver good care and keep stuff at home and at a high level. Our Duke partnership, as we move forward, will really be a bigger deal because what you will see is academic medicine shifting into the market even more.

I think that COVID-19 has made hospitals stronger in a way, because our ability to be more focused on our cleanliness, our ability to screen patients, to collaborate for care across the region is really amazing. I think that’s better in the long run.

COVID-19 has been a little bit of restraint from a staffing standpoint.

I think when you look at this region, we’ve got some great partnerships with Lenoir-Rhyne and our community colleges, and they have an ability to grow new nurses for the future. I think there’s so many opportunities there, because health care is growing. When you keep

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more patients in the market, you need more staff to take care of them. So I think there’s a lot of excitement around the opportunities here.

HOW HAVE YOU BEEN ABLE TO COLLABORATE WITHIN THE COUNTY WITH DIFFERENT ORGANIZATIONS? ISENHOWER: We have eight municipalities, three school systems, 12 local governments. That is an opportunity for a lot of conflict. But we work together very well. I was interviewed by some publication a while ago, and they said, “Give me two words for Catawba County.” I said, “Resilience and collaboration.” They said, “We’ve heard that before.” So I think part of it is through the challenging times we’ve had, we’ve learned we have to work together. I think it’s the heritage, I think it’s strong manufacturing. A lot of the families such as the Shufords, who really helped grow this county, learned to work together and really got involved in communities. They’ve started a lot of these long-standing industries, were very involved in the philanthropic part and in community efforts. I think that’s a lot of what’s ingrained in us.

WHAT ARE SOME THINGS THAT ATTRACT PEOPLE AND BUSINESSES TO CATAWBA COUNTY? HUBBARD: There are not many places where you can be on a lake and go on a hike in the outdoors then hit the local brewery and have a great local meal all in the same day. If you’re an entrepreneur and you want to open a storefront shop or you want to try out a new gadget, this is a great hub. ... I moved here from a big city to raise my family, because I knew I could land a great job and my kids would be well-educated and we could still enjoy the amenities that a big city has.

SHUFORD: I think Catawba County offers significant opportunities from a career standpoint. It’s symbiotic. That’s

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Catawba County and its municipalities consistently rank high in national lists and publications.

source: catawbaedc.org

what makes it attractive to businesses and therefore makes it attractive to talent. As we all know, manufacturing is a big part of Catawba County, and those jobs tend to be well-paying with a lot of opportunity and great benefits. … It’s companies like Corning and Shurtape and many others that make this a wonderful place to live and work.

Because of all the opportunity, it attracts a talented workforce who want to also enjoy our amenities and the friendliness of our citizens. It’s absolutely a great place to live and work.

DEUTSCH: I would not say Hickory is a small town — it’s the right-sized town. I think it has the right location at the right size. I think the revitalization will help and get more young talent to live and grow and create business here. We are regionally diverse. We have other facilities in Winston-Salem, Charlotte and Wilmington in N.C. So you can take a job depending on where you are and your desired lifestyle, which is another advantage that Corning has.

HARKLEROAD: I’ve only been here for two months. So if you ask me, people are friendly. They get along well, and they’ve welcomed me. I agree it’s not

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a small town, and you have everything that you really want here. But it has that feeling where people want to talk to you. They want to smile at you, they engage you. And so for me and my family, I would say that you’re right.

It’s not small, but it has the small-town feeling when it comes to the friendliness of the people.

MILLAR: There are many reasons why this place markets so well. When we recruited the pharmaceutical company, it was really Charlotte competing against Denver, Colo., for the project.

The lady who was making the decision lived in Bend, Ore. And so she was trying to decide where she should locate this facility. Charlotte ended up winning, but because we’re Charlotte’s great Northwest, we had mountain biking trails that the city of Hickory has put into place, we’ve got Lenoir-Rhyne, we’ve got access to Asheville and Appalachian State University in Boone and Winston-Salem and Greensboro and Charlotte. Certainly we have what we think is the most compelling package for those opportunities, and within Catawba you have all these neat liveability centers developing as well. ■

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LEGAL LAWYERS ON THE MOVE

LAWYERS ON THE MOVE A listing of new hires, promotions and other accolades from some of the state’s top law firms.

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LEGAL LAWYERS ON THE MOVE

Jeffrey R. Wolfe Jeff Wolfe has joined the Schell Bray corporate group and will focus his practice on entity formation, raising capital, daily contract needs, and strategic exits.

Jeff will split his time between the firm’s offices in Greensboro and Chapel Hill and its newly opened Winston-Salem location. A graduate of Wake Forest University School of Law, Jeff practiced for eight years in the Triangle and four years in the Triad before joining Schell Bray.

1500 Renaissance Plaza | 230 North Elm Street | Greensboro, NC 27401 | SCHELLBRAY.COM

Sarah Privette Sarah is experienced in all aspects of family law including custody, child support, equitable distribution, domestic violence, alienation of affection and criminal conversation, post-separation support, alimony and specializes in complex custody cases. Sarah previously focused her practice on the intersection of family law and immigration issues. Sarah is an avid sports fan and traveler having attended her last year of law school in London while living overseas.

221 Glenwood Avenue | Raleigh, NC 27603 | 919-833-1040 | MTLAW.NET

Holly King Holly has focused her practice exclusively on family law, and has experience representing clients in a wide variety of complex family law matters, including divorce and separation, child support, child custody, alimony, property division, and domestic violence. Holly has served on the Wake County Bar Association’s Fee Dispute Resolution Committee. Holly spends her spare time competing with her two horses, and is a nationally ranked equestrian, participating in competitions across the country.

221 Glenwood Avenue | Raleigh, NC 27603 | 919-833-1040 | MTLAW.NET

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BONDS of STEEL Three generations of Sherrills have crafted steel trusses and other products, sparking expansion beyond their Piedmont roots.

By Michael J. Solender Photos by Peter Taylor

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support his family. He was a mechanical wizard who, at age 12, took apart and reassembled car engines. Sherrill left his textiles job after a year to join the maintenance department at Southern Engineering in Charlotte, at the time the Southeast’s largest steel fabricator.

He soon learned to build stairs and handrails and became a shop foreman, a job he held for six years. When World War II broke out, company employees were exempt from service as their work supported the war effort. But in 1942, a patriotic spirit prompted Sherrill to join the Navy.

Upon his return in 1946, Sherrill teamed with a pair of residential builders to form a steel-fabrication business in Salisbury. The business had a successful first year, so Sherrill wanted his shopworkers to share in an annual bonus pool, a notion not held by his partners.

Upset at the inability to reward those workers, he quit and formed Steel Fabrication Service in Charlotte in 1955. Five years after he fashioned the first railings in his barn-turned-workshop, SteelFab was incorporated.

Integrity, industriousness and the “golden rule” approach to relationships with customers, vendors and employees formed SteelFab’s core values. “Our culture was started by my grandfather and certainly followed and continued on by my father (Ron, chairman emeritus) and uncles (Don, vice chairman, and Phillip),” says Glenn Sherrill, who became CEO in 2017. “The philosophy is one that has helped us a great deal and is quite simple: Treat people how you want to be treated, with respect and integrity.”

All in the family J. Glenn Sherrill’s three sons played significant roles in expanding the business. Ron, the eldest, started at

PHOTO COURTESY OF COMCAST

S

teelFab, a low-profile family business based in a nondescript area of west Mecklenburg County, may have had more to do with building Charlotte than any other enterprise. Literally.

Sixty-five years after J. Glenn Sherrill, the Depression-era son of a sharecropper and mill worker who founded the company, SteelFab is one of the nation’s largest fabricators of structural steel and a favored construction partner for commercial developers, institutions and corporations. It ranks No. 18 among the state’s largest private companies, according to Business North Carolina’s Top 125 list.

Nearly two dozen of Charlotte’s most prominent downtown structures are built from tons of the company’s fabricated steel beams and framing. The NASCAR Hall of Fame, Ally Charlotte Center, Bank of America Stadium, Barings’ 300 South Tryon tower, 1 Bank of America Center and Hearst Tower are among the company’s signature projects.

Nationally, SteelFab’s portfolio includes projects as diverse as Washington, D.C.’s National Museum of African American History and Culture, Atlanta’s Georgia Aquarium and Daytona International Speedway’s expansion. Its largest financial payday was Philadelphia’s 60-story Comcast Technology Center, which is held up by 20,000 tons of steel. Southern Co.’s Plant Vogtle nuclear site in Georgia has the record for the most steel: 25,000 tons, or 50 million pounds.

Now employing about 1,300 workers, SteelFab managed projects in 27 states across America last year. The journey began with modest origins in Mount Holly, a Gaston County town abutting the Catawba River.

Hardscrabble rural life during the 1930s led Sherrill to leave school after the eighth grade for mill work to help

SteelFab’s biggest project dollar-wise involved 20,000 tons of steel at the 60-story Comcast Technology Center .

It opened in Philadelphia in 2018.

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“The philosophy ... is quite simple: Treat people how you want to be treated, with respect and integrity.”

– Glenn Sherrill

the company in a summer job at age 15. He returned after earning an engineering degree at N.C. State University to work in operations and sales, eventually succeeding his dad as CEO in 1980. Ron’s younger brothers Don, also an N.C. State graduate, and Phillip, a Western Carolina University alum, spent their careers working for the family business.

The North Carolina Business Hall of Fame, a project of Junior Achievement and the N.C. Chamber, is including Ron and Don in its 2020 class later this year.

While the scope of its work has mushroomed over the years, SteelFab’s services have long fallen into three main buckets. First, it acquires steel from Nucor and other large manufacturers on behalf of construction clients. Then, SteelFab staffers work with various architects and engineers to design and fabricate steel beams and other products that become the “bones” of structures. This is the most “value added” part of the business, the piece where it can set itself apart. Finally, SteelFab works with subcontractors that install the steel to erect structures.

By the late ’80s, the business was selling more work than it could fabricate in its Charlotte operations, so it built a plant in Florence, S.C. The site was chosen partly because of its proximity to Nucor Steel’s Darlington, S.C., plant, which helped make skilled labor available in that area. The template for expansion was born by positioning operating divisions close to customers and seeding them with local managers who hold some equity. The strategy has fueled the company’s success.

“My grandfather believed strongly in profit sharing,”

Glenn Sherrill says. “He felt local management should have an ownership share of the business they were running. With [Charlotte Miscellaneous Steel] and Florence, we created Subchapter S corporations. Management teams hired to run these business units received some equity.”

Through the decades that followed, SteelFab established seven regional S corporations in which the top managers typically hold 10% to 15% of the equity, with the balance controlled by SteelFab and the Sherrills.

The company’s footprint extends from the Southeast to the West Coast. Last year, the company acquired a majority interest in L&M Fabrication in Tangent, Ore., providing capacity to serve West Coast clients such as Google, Microsoft and Facebook. The tech giants are building data centers to meet the insatiable demand for more bandwidth.

A third generation of family members now leads the company. Glenn led the company’s Atlanta division from 1996 to 2003 and formally took the CEO and chairman’s reins in 2017. His younger brother, Stuart, serves as president of SteelFab Alabama, and their cousin, Craig Sherrill, is executive vice president of SteelFab South Carolina.

Though family-run businesses can be fraught with conflict, SteelFab has continued to grow because members have a culture of mutual respect and capitalize on each other’s talents. “We have solid working and personal relationships,” says Glenn Sherrill, who notes the greatest difficulty family members face is turning away from shop talk when outside work.

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▲ Key staffers at the Charlotte plant include supervisor Henry Duncan, left, and Russell Barngrover, executive vice president.

The senior nonfamily executive is Marsh Spencer, the president and chief operating officer. Ronnie Sherrill hired Spencer in 1997 as executive vice president after he had worked for Metromont, a Greenville, S.C.-based precast concrete company that is also family-owned. Spencer was promoted to his current posts in 2017. “He’s got a battery that never slows down,” Glenn Sherrill says. “Not only is he a great sales guy and a great relationship guy, but he understands all the complexities of steel construction.”

With various industry welding and safety certifications, scheduling, relationships with steel mills and other vendors, Glenn Sherrill says, “There is a lot to know in this business, and [Spencer is] an expert.”

While SteelFab’s fortunes have been tied to the strong economic growth in the Southeast over the last several decades, the company didn’t escape the economic downturn of 2008. “It began as our best year ever,” Glenn Sherrill says. “We had a wonderful backlog with some large government contracts. But

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between October and Christmas, 26 jobs in Charlotte alone [were] canceled.”

Executives took pay cuts, and the company was forced to reduce staff. Revenues dipped 60% over the next two years, yet the company came surging back.

“We scrutinized all of our spending, even down to pencils, paper and truck tires. We found more waste than we realized. Ultimately, the downturn made us a stronger company.”

Today’s global pandemic presents different challenges, though it’s not been as bleak as Glenn Sherrill expected at the onset. The company imposed a hiring freeze but hasn’t reduced staff.

“I thought in mid-March, order entries would fall off a cliff,” Glenn Sherrill says. “Beams dropped $25 a ton, plate and [tube steel] dropped $40 a ton in April. They went back up in May, so material pricing basically remained flat. What we’ve seen that’s surprised us, however, is an acceleration in the purchasing for data centers given the huge demand for e-retailers like Amazon. We’ve had some jobs put on hold, but they’re coming back.”

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▲ SteelFab’s plant near Charlotte Douglas International Airport is among seven U.S. sites that turn out structural steel products.

SteelFab University Renowned for building infrastructures for some of the nation’s largest skyscrapers, SteelFab doesn’t try to impress with its own headquarters building. The unassuming two-story Carolina brick structure is in a lightly developed area on the west side of Charlotte Douglas International Airport, about 16 miles from J. Glenn Sherrill’s birthplace in Mount Holly. Staying out of the limelight is the family’s style.

“Charlotte has been a very good place for us to do business,” Glenn Sherrill says. Efforts to give back to the community, particularly as one of west Charlotte’s larger employers, have included a long partnership with West Blvd Ministries. The Christian-based nonprofit provides a variety of programs to assist residents in the mostly lower-income neighborhoods.

In 2014, the company started SteelFab University, an apprenticeship for area high school students interested in learning about manufacturing careers. “We start with high school freshmen working over the summer,” says Victoria Cross, SteelFab’s vice president of human resources and safety. “Each apprentice works with a mentor developing marketable skills, not just in steel fabrication, but life skills as well. After three years and successful program completion, students have the opportunity to take full-time positions.”

The next chapter Steelfab’s success has attracted periodic private equity interest, but the company hasn’t seriously entertained prospects. Likewise, a public offering isn’t going to happen, according to Glenn Sherrill. “We’re very conserva-

tive in what we retain in earnings every year, and we have enough capital without public markets to do what we want to do.”

Transitioning SteelFab to a fourth generation of Sherrill-family ownership is already on the minds of Glenn and Stuart Sherrill. “Nothing would make me happier than for my two sons (ages 14 and 17) to come work for the family business,” Glenn Sherrill says. “Stuart feels the same way about his two children. (They are 10 and 17.)

Yet, if they don’t want to go work in the business, we need to prepare for that too.”

Earlier this year, the family formed a governing board to offer guidance, oversight and strategy and chose Charlotte investment banker Erskine Bowles to join the effort.

“It took me a long time to get comfortable with bringing on an outside director,” Glenn Sherrill says, “But we’re not going to be around forever, and a true governing board is needed to hold our seven company presidents accountable.”

Bowles, the former UNC System president and chief of staff to President Bill Clinton, has been a longtime family friend and mentor to the Sherrills. A former director of Facebook and other giant companies, he lends an experienced voice as SteelFab considers acquisitions, capital expenditures and market expansion.

“The most remarkable thing to me about SteelFab is the innate goodness of the people at the firm,” Bowles says. “I’ve never known people who are simply plain good to the bone like this family is. When I talked with customers, suppliers and vendors, all of them spoke of how the Sherrill family put them first in every single engagement. The chance to work with them is not only a joy but an honor.” ■ S E P T E M B E R

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SPONSORED BY

Building Better Businesses For Nearly 30 Years

Since 1993, the principals of Ridgemont Equity Partners have invested over $5 billion in 154 companies. Ridgemont is the largest private equity firm in North Carolina and among the largest in the Southeast. The firm was named to Inc.’s inaugural list of “Top 50 Founder-Friendly Private Equity Firms,” which recognized Ridgemont for a track record of building leading middle market companies alongside entrepreneurs.

For the second year in a row, we are pleased to sponsor Business North Carolina’s “Top 125 Private Companies” list and wish to congratulate the honorees! For more information on Ridgemont’s team and investment strategy, visit www.ridgemontep.com.

BUILDING FOUNDATIONS

• Supporting perpetual recruiting and talent development • Building-out the technology and systems infrastructure

IGNITING GROWTH

“

We back management teams.

These are not just financial relationships – these partnerships require complete alignment in vision for the future of the business and mutual

trust in each other’s

capabilities. From the first 100-day plan, to geographic

”

and product expansion, to investments in technology; and, most importantly, alignment in the culture

of the business and investments in the employee base.

• Investing in promising new business lines and sales initiatives • Pursuing strategic acquisitions

FOSTERING A UNIQUE CULTURE • Respecting the company’s legacy • Challenging the next generation to evolve

S P O N S O R E D

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SPONSORED BY

Chevrolets, Cheerwine, turkey legs and solar panels are some of the products powering the state’s biggest closely held enterprises.

By Alyssa Pressler, Taylor Wanbaugh and David Mildenberg

W

elcome to Business North Carolina’s annual list of the state’s largest privately held companies. For more than 30 years, similar lists have showcased the hometown businesses that sustain North Carolina’s economy, often with little or no fanfare.

Most of the information on the list comes directly from the companies. For a second consecutive year, the list also includes our best estimates for revenues and employment at some businesses that didn’t want to share the basics. It took many phone calls and emails to compile what is an unparalleled look at North Carolina’s privatecompany universe.

This year’s list is based on 2019 revenue. Hence, it reflects the

$1 billion or more in

revenue (latest fiscal year) 1. Hendrick Automotive Charlotte Automotive dealerships 2019 Rank: 1 CEO: Rick Hendrick Employees: 10,600

pre-COVID-19 environment that virtually everyone hopes will return as soon as possible. The most notable newcomer is Cary-based Epic Games, which ranks No. 3 after enjoying explosive growth because of the popularity of its Fortnite video game.

Private equity-controlled companies whose operations are based in North Carolina are eligible for the list. An example is newcomer Segra, a Charlotte-based telecommunications provider owned by a large Swedish investment group. It bought High Point-based North State Telecommunications this year.

But the list is mostly companies owned by families that have operated in North Carolina for decades, if not generations. To say they are the backbone of the Tar Heel economy is an understatement.

University of Michigan. Automotive News ranked Hendrick Automotive as the fifth-largest U.S. dealership group and No. 1 based on body shop revenue. It operates 95 dealerships.

2. American Tire Distributors Huntersville Tire distribution service 2019 Rank: 2 CEO: Stuart Schuette Employees: 4,700 (estimated)

3. Epic Games Cary

Hendrick has a new leadership structure, with founder and Chairman Rick Hendrick assuming the role of CEO after the Jan. 1 retirement of Edward Brown III. Brown had held the post since 2011. Greg Gach, who has been affiliated with the business since 1984, was named president. Gach has a bachelor’s degree from Miami University in Ohio and a law degree from the

Video game company 2019 Rank: N/A CEO: Tim Sweeney Employees: 2,200 (estimated)

4. Belk Charlotte Department store chain 2019 Rank: 3 CEO: Lisa Harper Employees: 24,000 (estimated)

5. Transportation Insight Hickory Logistics consultant 2019 Rank: 5 CEO: Reynolds Faulkner Employees: 1,460

6. SAS Institute Cary Software development 2019 Rank: 4 CEO: James Goodnight Employees: 13,939

7. Alex Lee Hickory Wholesale and retail grocer 2019 Rank: 6 CEO: Brian George Employees: 13,700

8. Parkdale Gastonia Textile company 2019 Rank: 7 CEO: Anderson Warlick Employees: 5,000 (estimated) S E P T E M B E R

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$500 million to

9. Flow Automotive

$999 million

Winston-Salem Automotive dealerships 2019 Rank: 8 CEO: Don Flow Employees: 1,800 (estimated)

15. Market America Greensboro Product brokerage and digital marketer 2019 Rank: 16 CEO: JR Ridinger Employees: 805

10. Pike Mount Airy Construction and engineering services for electric utilities 2019 Rank: 10 CEO: J. Eric Pike Employees: 8,300

16. Variety Wholesalers Henderson

Pike is a construction, engineering and technical service company that is a leader in restoring utility operations after hurricanes and major storms. In October, the company created the Pike Telecom Division, a combination of telecommunications engineering group UC Synergetic and a newly formed fiber and telecom construction group.

New York-based Court Square Capital Partners is Pike’s main owner.

Discount retailer 2019 Rank: 22 CEO: Art Pope Employees: 8,000 (estimated)

17. Goldsboro Milling Goldsboro Grain, poultry and pork production 2019 Rank: 15 CEO: H.G. Maxwell III Employees: 800 (estimated)

18. SteelFab

11. Leith Cars

Charlotte

Raleigh Automotive dealerships 2019 Rank: 14 CEO: Danny Williams Employees: 1,800 (estimated)

12. Form Technologies

Steel fabricator 2019 Rank: 18 CEO: R. Glenn Sherrill Jr. Employees: 1,288

19. CTE Charlotte

Charlotte Manufacturer of metal components 2019 Rank: 12 CEO: Mike Grunza Employees: 10,000 (estimated)

13. Prestage Farms

Dealer of construction and industrial equipment 2019 Rank: 17 CEO: Ed Weisiger Jr. Employees: 1,500 (estimated)

20. Concord Hospitality Enterprises Raleigh

Clinton Pork and poultry production 2019 Rank: 25 CEO: Bill Prestage Employees: 2,900

Hotel management and development 2019 Rank: 19 CEO: Mark Laport Employees: 6,014

14. National Gypsum

Charlotte Wholesale insurance distributor 2019 Rank: 11 CEO: Scott Purviance Employees: 4,000 (estimated)

22. Window World North Wilkesboro Window installation service 2019 Rank: 29 CEO: Tammy Whitworth Employees: 1,000 (estimated)

23. Charlotte Pipe & Foundry Charlotte Pipe manufacturer and supplier 2019 Rank: 24 CEO: Roddey Dowd Jr. Employees: 1,500 (estimated)

24. Barnhill Contracting Rocky Mount General contractor 2019 Rank: 26 CEO: Robert Barnhill Employees: 1,020

25. ACN Concord Telecommunications service provider 2019 Rank: 21 CEO: Greg Provenzano Employees: 1,100 (estimated)

26. Gregory Poole Equipment Raleigh Dealer of construction and other equipment 2019 Rank: 27 CEO: J. Gregory Poole III Employees: 1,300 (estimated)

The hotel developer ended 2019 with 120 hotels in the U.S. and Canada, many of them with Marriott, Hilton, Hyatt, Choice and IHG brands. The company is developing the world’s tallest modular hotel, a 26-story inn near N O R T H

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Convenience-store supplier 2019 Rank: 33 CEO: Sherwin Herring Employees: 217

PHOTO COURTESY OF MARRIOTT

Goldsboro

Manufacturer of wallboard products 2019 Rank: 9 CEO: Thomas Nelson Employees: 2,500 (estimated)

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21. AmWINS Group

27. Southco Distributing

Charlotte

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Pennsylvania Station in New York City with a frame constructed in Poland. It is expected to open this fall. Alleghany Capital bought a majority stake in 2018.

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CAROLINA HANDLING Your Trusted Material Handling Partner

the meeting and convention industry l

We did not win Business North Carolina’s “Top 125 Private Companies for 2020” alone. Far from it. We would like to thank our associates for their dedication and hard work, along with our customers for their continued support and trust. This award is truly a team effort—and we are grateful.

For more than 50 years, Carolina Handling has helped companies drive productivity and reduce costs throughout their warehouse operations. Our material handling solutions are not only proven, they’re customized—ready to fit any size operation.

What we do, we do well. Yes, we’re known for providing excellent forklift service as a Raymond Corporation Dealer of Distinction for 29 consecutive years, and for that we are proud.

Service is the backbone of our operations; however, we provide our customers with a complete one-stop material handling partner and supplier that offers expert service, consultation, parts and equipment, warehouse products and solutions,

technician training and more. From fleet service to racking to telematics to lighting to fleet reporting, we know how to maximize warehouse operations, minimize downtime and promote efficiencies.

If you need equipment to run your operations, you can get it from Carolina Handling—along with expert tips and guidance on how to get the most out of it. We believe that the more information you have on your assets, the better. And with our revolutionary suite of warehouse optimization tools, you can take control of your operations and reduce costs.

Hardworking, tough-as-nails Raymond forklifts and equipment. Expert, proven service. Cost-saving warehouse optimization solutions. This is how Carolina Handling is improving warehouse operations throughout the Southeast—and it’s how we can help improve yours.

Corporate Office 4835 Sirona Drive, Suite 100 Charlotte, NC 28273 704-357-6273

carolinahandling.com

Carolina Handling is the exclusive Raymond Sales & Service Center for North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, and Alabama S P O N S O R E D

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28. Sampson-Bladen Oil Co.

33. Vannoy Construction

Clinton

Jefferson

Distributor of petroleum products 2019 Rank: 28 CEO: Haddon Clark III Employees: 1,000 (estimated)

General contractor 2019 Rank: 45 CEO: Eddie Vannoy Employees: 331

29. Shurtape Technologies

34. CaptiveAire Systems

Hickory

Raleigh

Manufacturer of adhesive tape, consumer goods and office supplies 2019 Rank: 30 CEO: Vuk Trivanovic Employees: 1,600

Manufacturer of kitchen-ventilation equipment 2019 Rank: 39 CEO: Bob Luddy Employees: 1,400

35. National Coatings & Supplies Raleigh Paint distributor for collision-repair shops 2019 Rank: 35 CEO: John Leavy Employees: 1,350

Greensboro Manufacturer of pavement markings and traffic products 2019 Rank: 31 CEO: Matt Soule Employees: 1,500

31. Atlantic Packaging Wilmington Distributor of industrial packaging materials and paper converter 2019 Rank: 34 CEO: Russell Carter Employees: 1,171

32. Clancy & Theys Construction Raleigh General contractor 2019 Rank: 36 CEO: Tim Clancy Employees: 400

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Greensboro Tire distributor and service provider 2019 Rank: 41 CEO: Marty Herndon Employees: 1,200

41. ettain group Charlotte Information-technology staffing agency 2019 Rank: 80 CEO: Trent Beekman Employees: 3,000

42. Renfro Mount Airy Sock manufacturer 2019 Rank: 37 CEO: Stan Jewell Employees: 4,000 (estimated)

North Wilkesboro Manufacturer and distributor of millwork products 2019 Rank: 42 CEO: Todd Meade Employees: 875

37. Liberty Healthcare & Rehabilitation

Wilmington Nursing homes and health services 2019 Rank: 51 CEO: John A. McNeill Jr. Employees: 1,500 (estimated)

Charlotte General contractor 2019 Rank: 43 CEO: Pat Rodgers Employees: 300 (estimated)

44. Segra Charlotte Telecommunications service provider 2019 Rank: N/A CEO: Timothy Blitz Employees: 1,000 (estimated)

38. The Cook & Boardman Group Winston-Salem Distributor of architectural doors, frames, door hardware and related building products 2019 Rank: 38 CEO: Darrin Anderson Employees: 1,300

39. Flexential Charlotte Data-center operator 2019 Rank: 40 CEO: Chris Downie Employees: 900 (estimated)

Charlotte is home to this fast-growing U.S. telecom. Segra was formed in 2019 by the merger of Columbia, S.C.-based Spirit Communications and Waynesboro, Va.-based Lumos Networks. In May, it acquired High Point-based North State Telecommunications, one of the state’s last independent telephone companies, for $240 million. Segra’s main owner is Swedish private equity group EQT Partners.

PHOTO COURTESY OF FULL METAL CHICKEN

30. Ennis-Flint

40. Snider Fleet Solutions

43. Rodgers Builders

36. ECMD Established in 1955 and still owned by the Shuford family, Shurtape Technologies makes tape and other office supplies for global markets. Its ShurTech division, which is responsible for Duck Tape and FrogTape, rebranded to the Shurtape Technologies name this year.

Demand for pandemic-related social distancing tape floor markings has spurred sales.

$200 million to $499 million

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GO MAJESTIC Majestic is the Carolina’s preferred manufacturer and installer of fabricated stone, glass, countertops, and kitchen and bath accessories to custom and mass production homebuilders, apartment developers, medical facilities, commercial builders, and general contractors.

As an industry leader, Majestic invests in people, training, technology, equipment, and process excellence to ensure product quality and precision, on-time delivery, and first-time right installation.

As a corporate citizen, Majestic honors our nation’s veterans through employment opportunities and Majestic4USTroops fundraising initiatives.

Majestic operates in the Carolina’s major metropolitan areas.

VISIT GOMAJESTIC.COM Charleston • Coastal Carolina • Charlotte • Greensboro • Greenville • Myrtle Beach • Raleigh • Wilmington

SAFETY | STEWARDSHIP | PASSION | COLLABORATION Clancy & Theys Construction Company is one of the largest vertical builders owned and headquartered in North Carolina. Originally founded in Raleigh in 1949, the company is one of the largest privately-owned entities in the state and one of the largest contractors in the Southeast. With offices in Raleigh, Wilmington and Charlotte, as well as Newport News, Virginia and Orlando, Florida, Clancy & Theys has a solid construction presence throughout the southeast region of the United States.

Clancy & Theys offers a full range of Preconstruction, Construction, and Virtual Design and Construction services, as well as the ability to self-perform sitework and general trades.

516 WEST CABARRUS STREET | RALEIGH, NC 27603 | 919.834.3601 | CLANCYTHEYS.COM S P O N S O R E D

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45. Samet

53. Eastwood Homes Greensboro

General contractor 2019 Rank: 54 CEO: Arthur Samet Employees: 238

Charlotte Homebuilder 2019 Rank: 57 CEO: Clark Stewart Employees: 300 (estimated)

46. D.H. Griffin

54. Crowder Constructors

Greensboro Demolition, environmental and site-development conglomerate 2019 Rank: 48 CEO: David Griffin Employees: 1,000 (estimated)

47. Adams Beverages of NC

Charlotte General contractor 2019 Rank: 55 CEO: Lynn Hansen Employees: 927

48. Strata Solar

Edenton Tire distributor and auto repair service 2019 Rank: 68 CEO: Charles Creighton Employees: 600

55. Carolina Handling Distributor of material-handling equipment 2019 Rank: 62 CEO: Brent Hillabrand Employees: 600

56. Harvey Enterprises & Affiliates

Chapel Hill Solar developer 2019 Rank: 44 CEO: Markus Wilhelm Employees: 400 (estimated)

49. Global Knowledge

Kinston Distributor of farm equipment and petroleum products 2019 Rank: 49 CEO: John McNairy Employees: 801

Cary Information technology and businessskills trainer 2019 Rank: 50 CEO: Todd Johnstone Employees: 1,000

50. Murphy Family Ventures

57. MegaCorp Logistics Wilmington Logistics consultant 2019 Rank: 58 CEO: Ryan Legg Employees: 325

Wallace Hospitality, farming, boatmaking 2019 Rank: 52 CEO: Wendell “Dell” Murphy Jr. Employees: 1,000 (estimated)

51. True Homes Monroe Homebuilder 2019 Rank: 53 CEOs: Dan Horner and Mark Boyce Employees: 300 (estimated)

52. Edifice Charlotte General contractor 2019 Rank: 56 CEO: Eric Laster Employees: 100 (estimated)

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61. Colony Tire

Charlotte

Charlotte Beer distributor 2019 Rank: 32 President: Clay Adams Employees: 700 (estimated)

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2019 Rank: 67 CEO: Thomas Teague Employees: 1,029

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58. Golden Corral Raleigh Restaurants 2019 Rank: 60 CEO: Lance Trenary Employees: 2,100 (estimated)

59: Blythe Development Charlotte General contractor 2019 Rank: 64 CEO: Jack Blythe Employees: 925

60. Salem Holding Winston-Salem Provider of transportation and truck-leasing services

Founded in 1976 in Rodanthe with just two gas pumps, the automotive and tire service provider has grown to 40 locations in the Carolinas and Virginia.

CEO Charles Creighton was named Modern Tire Dealer magazine’s 2007 Tire Dealer of the Year and was inducted into the N.C. Tire Industry Hall of Fame in 2011. Last year, it began a $3.3 million, 100,000-square-foot expansion of its 200-employee Edenton facility with plans to add at least 40 jobs.

62. Precision Walls Cary Building contractor 2019 Rank: 72 CEO: Brian Allen Employees: 949

63. Baker Roofing Raleigh Roofing contractor 2019 Rank: 61 CEO: Mark Lee Employees: 1,033

64. Boddie-Noell Enterprises Rocky Mount Hardee’s franchise operator 2019 Rank: 46 CEO: William Boddie Employees: 10,000 (estimated)

65. Biltmore Asheville Museum and lodging 2019 Rank: 65 CEO: William Cecil Jr. Employees: 2,600 (estimated)

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DMA SALES

A Company Built On Innovation & Passion

the meeting and convention industry l

Founded in 2008 by President and CEO, John Treece, and company CFO, Steve Bertling, DMA Sales has quickly grown to become a trusted supplier to the automotive and heavy-duty parts aftermarket industry. Serving OES, big box retail, wholesale, and e-tail sales channels, DMA is a leading product development, engineering, and diversified manufacturer whose portfolio of product brands have become some of the most recognized and respected in their industry. In addition, DMA is a leading private label manufacturer with over 60% of its global revenues coming from products produced by them but under the customer’s brand.

For the fourth consecutive year, DMA has been named to the prestigious Inc. 5000 list of the fastest growing private companies in America. In 2019, DMA ranked as the #2 fastest growing Mid-Market sized company in North Carolina. The company has won numerous national awards for its engineering innovations and brand marketing strategies. Mr. Treece was named Person of the Year for 2019 by the Auto Care Association and serves as Chairman of the Executive Leadership Council for the Import Vehicle Community.

Headquartered in Tabor City, NC, with over a 1,000,000 square feet of distribution space across its four facilities in North and South Carolina, DMA continues to deliver on its mission to provide innovation and value for its customers. With growth in sales to soon approach over $130 million and no signs of slowing down any time soon, DMA is poised for continued success. “Our company has a dynamic, performance -driven culture that embodies the entrepreneurial spirit from which we were founded. Hard work, collaboration with our partners, and taking care of our employees and their families are what has propelled our company’s success. That’s why we say, we are a company that is built on passion,” said John Treece.

DMA is also a company which cares about its communities.

Having donated over $2.5 million in charitable contributions, DMA actively supports its local civic initiatives and encourages its employees to get involved and give back.

DMA’s Senior Management Team (pictured above from left to right) Larry Clark, Director of Product Development, Steve Bertling, CFO, John Treece, President & CEO, Maria Treece, EVP & CPIO, Olga McIntyre, CIO, Sophie Mirabel, Director of HR

233 N US Highway 701 Bypass, Tabor City, NC 28463 | 910-653-7101 | DMA-SALES.COM S P O N S O R E D

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66. Frank L. Blum Construction

72. Landmark Builders

Asheville

Winston-Salem

General contractor 2019 Rank: 63 CEO: Mike Lancaster Employees: 175 (estimated)

Construction company 2019 Rank: 66 CEO: Steve Stephens Employees: 176

67. HSM Hickory Springs

73. Carolina Beverage Group

Manufacturing

Salisbury Hickory

Cheerwine distributor 2019 Rank: 76 CEO: Cliff Ritchie Employees: 600

Furniture component manufacturer 2019 Rank: N/A CEO: Mark Jones Employees: 2,700 (estimated)

$100 million to $199 million

68. Camco Manufacturing

74. Epes Logistics Services

Greensboro Manufacturer and distributor of RV accessories 2019 Rank: 70 CEOs: Donald Caine and Lisa Cook Employees: 462

Greensboro Logistics consultant 2019 Rank: 74 CEO: Jason Bodford Employees: 183

69. Tencarva Machinery

75. Advantage Truck Center

Greensboro

Charlotte

Distributor of liquid- and air-handling equipment 2019 Rank: 71 CEO: Ed Pearce Employees: 370

Retail truck dealership 2019 Rank: 78 CEO: Terry Young Employees: 160

76. Powerhome Solar

70. JF Petroleum Group

Mooresville

Morrisville

Solar energy and roofing company 2019 Rank: 102 CEO: Jayson Waller Employees: 1,106

Fuel-equipment installer and service provider 2019 Rank: 69 CEO: Keith Shadrick Employees: 800 (estimated)

77. Omega Construction

71. Union Corrugating

Winston-Salem

Fayetteville Manufacturer of metal roofing materials 2019 Rank: 73 2019 Rank: Keith Medick Employees: 640

Commercial construction 2019 Rank: 88 CEO: Barry Hennings Employees: 90

78. Electrical Equipment Raleigh Distributor of electrical equipment 2019 Rank: 79 CEO: Mark Holmes Employees: 258

79. Carolina Wholesale Group The residential, commercial and agricultural roofing and siding company opened in Fayetteville in 1946. It has expanded to 18 manufacturing and distribution locations across 15 states. It recently acquired Florence, Ala.-based Oakland Metal Buildings.

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Charlotte Distributor of office supplies and equipment 2019 Rank: 75 CEO: Larry Huneycutt Employees: 175

80. American Welding & Gas Raleigh Manufacturer and distributor of gases and welding supplies 2019 Rank: 81 CEO: Jason Krieger Employees: 571

81. Parata Systems Durham Provider of drug-dispensing technology for pharmacies 2019 Rank: 108 CEO: Rob Kill Employees: 400

82. Furnitureland South Jamestown Furniture retailer 2019 Rank: N/A CEO: Jeffrey Harris Employees: 495

83. T.A. Loving Goldsboro Commercial construction 2019 Rank: 77 CEO: Samuel Hunter Employees: 245

84. The Budd Group Winston-Salem Provider of janitorial, landscaping and maintenance services 2019 Rank: 86 CEO: Joseph Budd Employees: 4,417

85. AvidXchange Charlotte Payment-processing software 2019 Rank: 92 CEO: Michael Praeger Employees: 1,500

86. insightsoftware Raleigh Software developer 2019 Rank: 103 CEO: Mike Lipps Employees: 727

87. N2 Publishing Wilmington Publisher of community magazines 2019 Rank: 84 CEO: Duane Hixon Employees: 325

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BETTER TOGETHER National Coatings & Supplies / Single Source, Inc. (NCS/ SSI) is your local paint, body, and equipment (“PBE”) distributor with a national footprint. With over 180 stores and multiple mobile stores, we distribute the top brands in the automotive refinish industry. Our primary focus is to help our customers be more profitable and productive by providing industry leading Paint & Material Inventory Control solutions as well as access to extensive industry training. NCS/SSI has joined forces to forge ahead, knowing we are “Better Together.”

NCSSSI.COM

Automotive Paint & Refinishing • Transportation, Aerospace and Marine Coatings • Industrial Coatings • Tools and Equipment

SIMPLIFY ACCESS TrialCard is a full-service pharmaceutical solutions company located in Morrisville, NC. Since 2000, we have been providing strategic guidance and integrated solutions to the marketplace.

We employ approximately 2,000 team members who address our clients’ regular and cyclical business needs.

TrialCard is one of the largest independent patient services organizations supporting the pharmaceutical market.

Our attention to detail, commitment to our clients, and locations in areas that rich in healthcare talent allow us to provide levels of service that are unsurpassed in our industry.

2250 Perimeter Park Drive #300, Morrisville, NC 27560 | 919-845-0774 | mcarlin@trialcard.com | trialcard.com S P O N S O R E D

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88. Morrisette

93. Mickey Truck Bodies

Browns Summit

High Point

Distributor of paper, packaging and janitorial supplies 2019 Rank: 85 CEO: Bill Morrisette Employees: 260

Manufacturer of truck bodies and trailers 2019 Rank: 99 CEO: Matt Sink Employees: 479 The company opened as a blacksmith shop 116 years ago. The fourth-generation family-owned business is one of the largest suppliers of beverage trailers, beverage bodies, side loaders and emergency vehicles in the U.S. The company distributes its vehicles to more than 50 countries around the world. It manufactures about 5,000 dry freight van bodies annually.

89. Mako Medical Laboratories Raleigh Laboratory testing services 2019 Rank: 94 CEO: Chad Price Employees: 715

94. InVue Security Products Charlotte

Demand for COVID-19 testing prompted Mako to add more than 200 employees in the last year, even as the pandemic initially caused a 40% decline in its core business as medical visits plummeted. But the company was growing rapidly long before the pandemic. Chad Price and Josh Arant founded the business in 2014, and it topped $100 million in revenue in 2018. Forbes named it to its list of America’s Best Startup Employers in July.

90. TrialCard Morrisville Pharmaceutical marketing services 2019 Rank: 87 CEO: Mark Bouck Employees: 1,100 (estimated)

91. Wayne Brothers Davidson Provider of concrete and site-work construction services 2019 Rank: 83 CEO: Keith Wayne Employees: 513

92. Best Logistics Group Kernersville Transportation services and management 2019 Rank: 89 CEO: Roy Cox Employees: 500 (estimated)

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Provider of security products for retail displays 2019 Rank: 90 CEO: Jim Sankey Employees: 275 (estimated)

98. MedStream Anesthesia Solutions

Asheville Anesthesia services provider 2019 Rank: 101 CEO: Doug Ellington Employees: 84

99. Myers & Chapman Charlotte General contractor 2019 Rank: 93 CEO: Marcus Rabun Employees: 68

100. Smith Turf & Irrigation Charlotte Distributor of landscaping and irrigation equipment 2019 Rank: 95 CEO: Stephen Smith Employees: 253

101. Daly Seven Greensboro

95. Carotek Matthews Distributor of industrial equipment 2019 Rank: 91 President: Deryl Bell Employees: 175 (estimated)

96. Autobell Car Wash Charlotte Car wash operator 2019 Rank: N/A CEO: Chuck Howard Employees: 3,000 (estimated)

97. Jaggaer Morrisville Cloud-based automation technology provider 2019 Rank: N/A CEO: Jim Bureau Employees: 1,000 Jaggaer is the renamed SciQuest, which started 25 years ago as an online marketplace for scientific equipment.

It has evolved into a digital-procurement company, helping companies buy equipment and supplies efficiently using cloud-based technology. Private equity group Accel-KKR bought the then-public company in 2016 for $519 million and changed its name a year later. Cinven, a British private equity group, bought controlling interest from Accel-KKR in August 2019.

Jaggaer is a derivation of the German word for hunter.

Hotel management and development 2019 Rank: 96 CEO: Bob Daly Employees: 1,200 (estimated)

102. Smart Choice Insurance High Point Insurance broker 2019 Rank: 97 CEO: Douglas Witcher Employees: 60 (estimated)

103. DuBose Strapping Clinton Distributor of industrial equipment 2019 Rank: 98 CEO: Charles DuBose Jr. Employees: 180

104. Prometheus Group Raleigh Software developer 2019 Rank: N/A CEO: Eric Huang Employees: 300 (estimated)

105. McGee Brothers Monroe Masonry contractor 2019 Rank: 100 CEO: Mike McGee Employees: 650 (estimated)

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GENERATING POWERFUL RESULTS How North Carolina’s largest residential solar power installer found great success amid pandemic

COVID-19 forced businesses to make hard decisions in March, when the virus reached pandemic status. For Mooresville-based POWERHOME SOLAR, one of the leading residential installers of solar in the U.S., its decision involved whether to remain open amid the uncertainty. It had that choice to stay open because of its status as an essential business providing energy infrastructure.

Company CEO Jayson Waller and his executive team removed themselves from payroll and opted to forge ahead to give employees the opportunity to continue earning paychecks, but also gave concerned workers the chance to take leave without penalty until conditions improved.

While the company encountered soft sales over those first 30 days, the executives did not anticipate what lie ahead. Record sales months came in May, June and July, with the company discovering homeowners with strong appetites for taking control of their energy futures and investing in solar.

Also playing a part in the company’s success was forming a partnership with Generac, allowing POWERHOME SOLAR to begin selling Generac’s solar batteries and generators. Both items give customers opportunities to benefit from a whole-home energy package.

“We wanted to make sure that the moms and dads who needed to buy diapers and keep their families running had a chance to do that,” POWERHOME SOLAR CEO Jayson Waller said of

the company’s COVID response. “It was incredibly humbling and emotional when we had a number of employees volunteer to take pay cuts to improve our cash flow. That we’ve managed to weather this storm and emerge stronger is a testament to the team that we’ve built, and continue to build.”

POWERHOME SOLAR began 2020 with 756 employees, but the company has since added 400 more staffers. The company is now ranked as the No. 7 residential installer in the U.S. according to Solar Power World’s 2020 rankings, up one spot from a year ago, and it remains as North Carolina’s No. 1 residential installer.

“We know what we’re doing changes lives,” Waller said.

“We’re building a movement of solar energy, one solar panel, one customer and one employee at a time, and every array we install gets us all to a cleaner tomorrow.”

919 N. Main Street Mooresville, NC 28115 800-POWER-90

powerhome.com

Home Energy Efficiency | Residential Solar | Commercial Solar S P O N S O R E D

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106. Allen Industries

114. Alliance of Professionals &

Greensboro

Consultants

Raleigh

Sign manufacturer 2019 Rank: 115 CEO: Tom Allen Employees: 338

Professional and staffing services 2019 Rank: 111 CEO: W. Troy Roberts Employees: 398

107. Remi

115. Systel Business Equipment

Charlotte Equipment-maintenance management 2019 Rank: 106 CEO: Dan Schuster Employees: 129

108. Oliver’s Oil

Fayetteville Electronics dealer and service provider 2019 Rank: 116 CEO: Keith Allison Employees: 250

116. Fairfield Chair

Lumberton Convenience stores, distributor of petroleum products 2019 Rank: 110 CEO: Christopher Oliver Employees: 125

$99 million and under 109. Spectraforce Technologies Raleigh Staffing and consulting services 2019 Rank: 105 CEO: Amit Singh Employees: 2,500 (estimated)

Lenoir Furniture maker 2019 Rank: 117 CEO: R. Dixon Mitchell Jr. Employees: 420

117. Majestic Kitchen & Bath

Creations

Youngsville Countertop and mirror shop 2019 Rank: N/A CEO: Scott Byers Employees: 246

120. Hickory Construction Hickory General contractor 2019 Rank: 120 CEO: Mark Baucom Employees: 38

121. Enviro-Master Services Charlotte Commercial cleaning service 2019 Rank: 121 CEO: Pat Swisher Employees: 500 (estimated)

122. Imagine Software Charlotte Billing-automation software for medical industry 2019 Rank: 123 CEO: Sam Khashman Employees: 162

Lilesville

Raleigh

Fabric manufacturer 2019 Rank: 122 CEO: Chuck Horne Employees: 300

Media company 2019 Rank: N/A CEO: James Goodmon Employees: 550

124. Transportation Impact

Winston-Salem Brick manufacturer 2019 Rank: 107 CEO: Fletcher Steele Employees: 350 (estimated)

112. CornerStone United Hickory Provider of warranties and service contracts 2019 Rank: 112 CEO: Richard Swartzel Employees: 70

CEO Scott Byers and three senior managers led a buyout of the business in June from Majestic’s founding family, completing a transition that started in 2017. The 30-year-old company makes and sells a wide range of granite, marble, stone and other kitchen and bath products. The company has seven locations in the Carolinas, including Charlotte, Greensboro, Raleigh and Wilmington. Its payroll increased 30% in the last four years.

118. Hissho Sushi Charlotte

113. DMA Sales

Sushi bars and kiosks 2019 Rank: 118 CEO: Dan Beem Employees: 200

Tabor City Auto-body parts supplier 2019 Rank: N/A CEO: John Treece Employees: 89 N O R T H

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Emerald Isle Logistics consultant 2019 Rank: 125 CEO: Berkley Stafford Employees: 73

125. DuBose Industries Clinton Service provider of steel and steel strapping 2019 Rank: N/A CEO: Charles DuBose Jr. Employees: 20

PHOTO COURTESY OF MAJESTIC KITCHEN AND BATH CREATIONS

111. Pine Hall Brick

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Dunn Manufacturer and distributor of petroleum products 2019 Rank: 59 CEO: Dan Owczarzak Employees: 431

123. Hornwood

110. Capitol Broadcasting Co.

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119. Warren Oil

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8/19/20 1:25 PM

FO D FIGHT

Four generations of Georges have built a thriving Hickory business that mixes supplying hundreds of grocery stores with its own unconventional retail chain.

By David Mildenberg

N

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PHOTOS COURTESY OF LOWES FOODS

ot messing up a good thing is a challenge facing every fourth-generation family business leader. Brian George has been dancing on that tightrope since 2014 amid dramatic changes and increasing competition in the food industry, the bread and butter of his family’s Alex Lee Inc. since 1931.

His approach at the Hickory-based company is to balance the need to innovate while sustaining the organization’s culture and values. The strategy is to emphasize customer service, local ownership and close ties with food-industry partners while employing technology as effectively as much larger organizations. Those efforts are progressing well, he says, at both Winston-Salem-based Lowes Foods, the company’s 74-store retail chain, and MDI, its Hickory wholesale-food distributor that supplies more than 600 grocery stores globally. That success, he adds, is a credit to the company’s 13,700 employees, including about 2,000 added since the coronavirus started spreading.

Change is required in retailing, even for the powerful. George points to Walmart’s supercenter concept, which he calls one of history’s most brilliant business models.

Now, with Amazon.com and other online competitors making it easy to buy thousands of products that fill those giant warehouses without visiting the store, the world’s biggest retailer is shifting to promote its own digital effort.

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“It’s more important that you are heading somewhere, because then you can steer the ship.”

– Brian George owner, Alex Lee Inc.

43-unit chain based in Burlington.

Over the last seven years, however, Lowes Foods has remade itself by creating more contemporary, innovative stores intended to appeal to discerning customers looking for specialty items while also offering competitive prices on basic items.

Under President Tim Lowe, who was hired in 2013 after working at Supervalu and Circuit City, Lowes Foods’ stores now include specialty sections such as Beer Dens full of zillions of varieties of suds; SausageWorks with fresh links, brisket and other meats; and old-time newspaper-themed Daily Delis. Two South Carolina

PHOTOS COURTESY OF LOWES FOODS

Likewise, change has been a hallmark at Alex Lee, which ranks No. 6 on Business North Carolina’s list of the state’s largest private companies. It was founded in 1931 when Brian George’s great-grandfather, Lebanese immigrant and Shelby resident Moses George, bought a small food company in Hickory for his two sons, Alex and Lee, to operate. The seller provided a loan to facilitate the sale, fully expecting the two men, then in their early 20s, to fail and eventually hand the company back at a discount.

Instead, the business flourished by supplying produce and other foods to local grocers, schools and mill stores in central and western North Carolina. An early decision was raising the pay of the company’s small sales staff with the expectation that happy salespeople would be more effective. It was a startling move in the middle of the Great Depression, but it proved motivational, Brian George says. The business adopted the name Merchants Distributors Inc. in 1956.

In 1966, MDI merged with another Hickory-based food distributor to create Institution Food House to service the growing restaurant and school-cafeteria industries, complementing the grocery business. Increasing consolidation of regional restaurant suppliers prompted the sale of IFH to Richmond, Va.-based Performance Food Group in 2012.

MDI bought its own retail group in 1984, the Lowes Foods chain then based in North Wilkesboro that had 75 stores in North Carolina and Virginia. In 1992, MDI changed its holding company structure and named Brian’s father, Boyd George, as chairman and president of the new Alex Lee, a name honoring the two brothers who oversaw the company’s rapid growth.

During its first 25 years owned by the Georges, Lowes Foods competed effectively with larger rivals Food Lion, Winn-Dixie Stores and Harris Teeter as a fairly traditional operator. In 1997, it acquired Byrd Food Stores, a

▲ A food business started by Lebanese immigrant Moses George, left, in Shelby during the Great Depression has morphed into a billion-dollar business with 13,700 employees.

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STAYING ON OFFENSE Brian George, 43, joined the company in 2006 after working as an accountant in Chicago. Graduating with a bachelor’s degree and MBA from Notre Dame University, his pre-CEO jobs included working as a grocery store manager and as vice president of sales at MDI. His sisters also have key roles: Kimberly is vice president of communications and corporate citizenship, while Heather is Lowes Foods’ senior vice president of brand strategy.

Changing Lowes Foods’ strategy followed customer conversations that concluded “that we have to stand out in the world and do something different and better than somebody else while creating value for the customer,” Brian George says.

While the chain has ranked between 45th and 50th in grocery magazine lists of the largest U.S. operators for many years, it is viewed as a bigger company because of its robust wholesale unit. Its private ownership status also allows long-term thinking, unlike public companies that face quarterly profit pressure.

Lowes Foods President Tim Lowe “has been able to see a strategy that was laid out and stay with it,” George notes. “Usually, it’s if you don’t see results in three years, we’re going to change. He’s been with us about six years and he told me, ‘My favorite part of this business is when I walked in the door, this is where we were going. And we’re still heading in that direction.’”

Sticking to a direction is no small order given the supermarket industry’s evolution, particularly in North Carolina, which is regularly cited as among the nation’s most competitive markets. While Food Lion, Harris Teeter and Walmart remain market-share leaders, the pie keeps getting divided. German-owned discount grocers Aldi and Lidl are expanding rapidly, while Amazon.comowned Whole Foods, Lakeland, Fla.-based Publix Super

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Markets, Rochester, N.Y.-based Wegmans Food Markets and others are adding stores in more affluent neighborhoods, mostly in the bigger cities.

Lowes Foods’ goal is to stay on offense. “If you are looking at your competition, you’re probably already behind,” George says. “Nobody owns everything in this industry. They just own their piece. You just need to know where else you deserve to operate.”

Regional chains like Lowes Foods and the dozens of smaller independent operators served by MDI have a strong future despite constant consolidation in the supermarket industry, George says. “I firmly believe that this is one of the best times for the independent grocer.

I don’t believe that society wants their choices to be just Walmart and Kroger (which owns Harris Teeter). People want to know who they do business with, and there’s nothing cooler than having a member of your community run a local grocery store.”

He sees that trend working across MDI’s footprint.

“We’ve got independent customers that have unbelievable businesses because they connect with their communities.” He cites stores that offer breakfast bars that draw lots of local folks every morning or others with close ties to area farmers who don’t want to supply their produce to big chains. MDI’s role is to help those smaller businesses, which often operate one to 10 stores, improve their operations including staffing and marketing.

George likens his work to captaining a ship that requires momentum to steer. “It’s more important that you are heading somewhere, because then you can steer the ship. I’ve seen companies come in and change their direction dependent on what happened around them, what wave hit them, and they are rudderless, they have no momentum and no direction.”

Since its 2012 sale of IFH, two recent acquisitions have bolstered Alex Lee. In 2017, the company bought Atlanta-based Souto Foods, a wholesale supplier of Hispanic-oriented dairy and other products. Founder Sebastian Souto had built a strong business from scratch, building partnerships that would have taken MDI years

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PHOTOS COURTESY OF LOWES FOOD

stores have pioneered the speakeasy-themed liquor store Knock Knock Spirits concept, something that isn’t allowed in North Carolina, where the state controls liquor sales.

to match as the Hispanic population soars.

“When we asked Sebastian why he was selling his business, he said, ‘I believe you guys can give more opportunities to my employees than I can,’” George says. “That’s the kind of servant leader that you want. He took an enormous risk to start a business and then to sell it to us.

He’s still running it, and he’s doing an awesome job.”

Last year, Alex Lee bought a smaller version of itself: W. Lee Flowers, a closely held Scranton, S.C.-based company that had wholesale and retail units, including 50 grocery stores it operates under the Independent Grocers Alliance and KJ’s Market brands. The transaction strengthened MDI’s clout in neighboring South Carolina and its ties with other IGA operators.

PHOTOS COURTESY OF LOWES FOOD

SLOWDOWN SPURS RAPID CHANGE While the COVID-19 pandemic has impacted every business, the food industry has undergone a stunning change in the last six months. No one wanted the crisis, but supermarkets have been a beneficiary, as the hospitality industry’s collapse prompts more dining at home. Demand for the Lowes Foods’ online ordering service quickly tripled, accelerating progress that the company had expected to take a couple of years.

MDI has also helped smaller grocers step up their technology games as it tackles its own digital transformation. In December, the company hired a new CEO, Michele Azar, whose past jobs included vice president of global e-commerce at tech retail giant Best Buy. To be sure, Alex Lee felt an initial supply shock, prompting the need for more food to flow through its system and more workers. Overall, the company has added nearly 2,000 staff since March, mostly at its retail stores, and demand remains higher than pre-coronavirus days, George says. It partnered with food distributors Performance Food Group and Riviera Beach, Fla.-based Cheney Brothers to add warehouse capacity.

Fortunately, Boyd George had directed the company 15 years ago to prepare a pandemic-planning process after talking with an epidemiologist who studied food safety. While restaurants are slowly attracting more customers, Brian George expects the shift to more home cooking to endure after the crisis is mitigated.

“It’s lasted so long, and you are seeing habits change. Quite frankly, it’s cheaper and healthier,” he says. “Lots of studies have shown that family meals make for much healthier communities and families. … I hope it shows people that you don’t have to be busy 24/7, and it’s OK to sit down to take time to cook a meal.”

The return to home cooking has included a resurgence of traditional food products such as soup and cereal, reversing declining sales in recent years. That’s all good for George, who says he shares a simple palate with his four children. “My wife laughs at me when I come home and make cereal for dinner.

But I could eat cereal four times a day.”

He also shares a family tradition of loving his work and the grocery industry. “My father and grandfather worked seven days a week. The concept of a weekend or a holiday doesn’t

FAST FACTS

13,700

Alex Lee Inc.’s total employment

2,000

Employees added since coronavirus outbreak, mostly at Lowes Foods

1,908

Alex Lee’s Catawba County employment, including 1,412 at MDI

131

Total grocery stores, including 74 Lowes Foods, seven JustSave and 50 W. Lee Flowers

3

Distribution centers, in Hickory (MDI); Scranton, S.C. (W. Lee Flowers); and Norcross, Ga. (Souto Foods)

1954

Opening of first Lowes Food store by Jim Lowe, son of Lowe’s Cos. home improvement founder Lucious Lowe

1984

MDI bought Lowes Foods from J.C. Faw

exist because the business doesn’t stop. I do family time and work.”

The George family owes its success, he adds, to its frontline staff, who met the definition of essential workers when the pandemic slammed the economy. “It was gratifying to hear people say, ‘I really appreciate your being here to stock the shelves or check me out.’

“People don’t realize [MDI] shuts down for six hours a year, maybe, and that’s a half day on Christmas. When they say, ‘I can’t believe you work on Thanksgiving,’ I say, ‘If you stop eating, we’ll stop working.’” ■

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MEDICAL HEART & CANCER CARE

THE CALM DURING THE STORM Hospital cardiac and cancer centers navigate safely amid virus concerns.

More than a month before Mission Health saw its first COVID-19 patient on March 20, the Asheville hospital made plans to battle a virus with no known cure or vaccine.

Virtual conferences regarding testing and patient care helped several N.C. hospitals and medical centers get a jump on the pandemic. In the often-urgent fields of cardiology and oncology, practices juggled essential and nonessential procedures to best serve patients, caregivers and families.

“About early February, we were getting national directives to start preparing for a surge, and we had some tabletop exercises early on,” says William Hathaway, Mission’s senior vice president and chief medical officer. “I think it was [then] when I started to panic, when the news reports out of New York City started, and we’d seen things in Italy and Iran and China. It

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was like it would never happen here. …

But it became a reality, and so we knew this was the time [to prepare]. Do we have beds? Do we have the staff to take care of those beds? We went into all the details.”

Mission’s rural, 18-county region’s population exceeds 1 million. The Buncombe County hospital initiated entry screening and visitation limits. Clinical trials were underway in July — including at Levine Children’s Hospital in Charlotte, one of 30 worldwide sites to test an antiviral treatment for COVID-19, and Atrium Health, which is testing an oral medication used to treat cancer in bone marrow and has shown to have an effect against COVID-19.

By July 27, Buncombe County had 1,445 confirmed virus cases. North Carolina had more than 113,000.

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PREPARING FOR THE WORST

Coronavirus concerns created a fear factor, doctors say, causing people who otherwise would have sought treatment to stay home — even when care was necessary.

“Cardiology and oncology are a bit different in that a lot of patients with heart disease cannot wait,” says Sun Moon Kim, an interventional and structural cardiologist with FirstHealth of the Carolinas’ Reid Heart Center in Pinehurst. “There are cases that delay their presentation because there’s COVID-19, and they’re afraid of exposure and they miss their golden opportunity to be treated.”

When COVID-19 first became evident in the U.S., FirstHealth stopped all non-urgent elective heart procedures.

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MEDICAL HEART & CANCER CARE

In addition, the system implemented telemedicine visits for patients who were concerned about coming to the hospital or clinic but had cardiology issues that needed to be addressed.

“We are here 24/7, so if there’s a problem, seek our advice,” Kim says.

“Call our clinic. It’s better to call our clinic and speak to a health care provider than to be guessing and waiting at home.”

When the pandemic first began, many health care providers were unsure of how long it would last.

“You could look at China, and they ran through it pretty quickly, all things considered,” says Dr. Derek Raghavan, president of Atrium Health’s Levine Cancer Institute in Charlotte. “It began in December, and by March they had it in control.”

Raghavan says the staff at Atrium participated in conference calls with other international doctors who had experienced the virus firsthand in order to learn from them and prepare, including meetings with Taiwanese and Chinese health care providers. “I have two physicians who work with me who speak fluent Cantonese and Mandarin, and they have a colleague who was the head of the COVID-19 task force in Wuhan. We were able to get a lot of information early, like late February, so we had advance plans.”

Most health care workers knew it was only a matter of time till the coronavirus spread to the U.S.; they just didn’t know when.

“Early on, we thought we might need to set up field hospitals in North Carolina,” says Dr. Kevin High, president of Wake Forest Baptist Health system in Winston-Salem. “We’ve been lucky in keeping aspects of society closed down and opening them up slowly. Early on, in phone calls with the governor, we asked for two things, personal protective equipment and testing materials. … We’re lucky we had a steady climb instead of a big surge.”

High says the difficult thing about plan-

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ning ahead has been the changing nature of the virus spread.

“You make a decision in the morning back in March and April, and by afternoon, it’s wrong. … We’ve had to make adjustments in the emergency room and operating rooms, with deep cleaning and big-time ventilation changes. But the most difficult [thing] is social distancing in crowded spaces. Emergency waiting rooms are crowded.”

In early March, UNC REX Healthcare in Raleigh renovated part of its intensive care unit to a Special Respiratory Isolation Unit — or SRIU — to safely care for COVID-19 patients, reconfigured its emergency room to add outdoor triage tents, prescreened surgery patients, and expanded virtual care.

Dr. Geoffrey Rose, president of Sanger Heart & Vascular Institute in Charlotte, recalls March as a turning point. “We went from no cases to a very steady increase, and it became very clear that we needed to make changes, not just in heart and vascular, but in our lives because of the nature of our work. With cardiology, you have medical emergencies that don’t follow any scripts, and we don’t know the volumes [in advance]. … We were able to transform in a very short time to 95% virtual.”

Rose says when Gov. Roy Cooper ordered the state to shelter-in-place, health care providers saw an increase in care avoidance and a 30% drop in patients seeking emergency care for heart attacks.

“COVID-19 does many things, but it doesn’t cure heart attacks.”

Dr. Michael Pritchett, a pulmonary specialist with FirstHealth Moore Regional, says it’s extremely important for high-risk patients to have a safe way to connect with their health care providers, even during a pandemic. “There were so many facets you never thought of, like breathing-function tests and the aerosol generating procedures [such as bronchoscopy], and it’s high risk if it’s an infected patient.

But we needed to see those [possible] lung cancers, so we needed to see a safe way to do this.”

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CARE REMAINS STRONG

Raghavan and eight other specialists composed a letter, “Levine Cancer Institute Approach to Pandemic Care of Patients With Cancer,” published in April, detailing the importance of continuing cancer care during a pandemic.

“Limited data exist for COVID-19 infection outcomes in patients with cancer,” the report reads. “Early reports from China have suggested that patients with cancer are twice as likely to become infected and are at high risk for severe clinical events defined as a need for ventilation, admission to an intensive care unit, or death.”

“If you delay a screening for three months, it wouldn’t have an effect on survival,” Raghavan says. “But there will be surgeries where the longer you delay, the larger the risk.”

“In the end, cancer doesn’t care about pandemics,” says Pritchett.

Pinehurst resident Jane Sandor was diagnosed with lung cancer in March after a CT scan by her primary care physician found a nodule in her lung, and a follow-up warranted a biopsy. FirstHealth was chosen in 2019 as the nation’s first site for clinical trials for a robotic technology, the Ion Endoluminal Robotic Bronchoscopy Platform, which can reach nodules deep within the lung using robotic-assisted, catheter-based technology through natural openings such as the mouth.

Sanders was the hospital’s 100th patient to use the procedure.

“Dr. [Peter] Ellman and I had many conversations about whether it was the right time to proceed with Jane’s surgery, given the current pandemic,” says Pritchett. “Additional safety precautions were taken for the patient as well as for staff.

While elective procedures were placed on hold, we don’t consider treatment for an aggressive cancer to be elective.”

On July 2, FirstHealth’s Kim performed a groundbreaking procedure at Reid called transcatheter mitral valve repair, or MitraClip, which he says is “for patients with

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severe mitral regurgitation who are not viable candidates for traditional surgery options like open-heart surgery.” The MitraClip “is implanted in the heart and connects to areas of the mitral valve to significantly reduce the backflow of blood and decrease the risk of heart failure.”

“A lot of procedures we do are nonelective,” he says. “If any patient has a change in symptoms or requires hospitalization, we have to take necessary precautions.”

Mission Cancer Center added a Rapid Access Anemia Clinic in July, founded by Albert Quiery, medical director of Mission Medical Oncology. The clinic performs anemia evaluations, transfusions, iron infusions, bone marrow examinations and follow-up. “Anemia is one of the most common clinical problems encountered by primary-care providers,” Quiery says, adding that the clinic brings together hematologists and specially training nurses and pharmacists.

Mission, named a Top 50 Cardiovascular Hospital nationwide 14 times by AI platform IBM Watson, also recently opened a Heart Failure Clinic for continuing care, run by Vinay Thohan, a cardiologist and medical director of Mission’s Advanced Heart Failure Therapies.

One heart failure treatment option used by Thohan is the LVAD, or left ventricular assist devices, a pump surgically connected to the heart. It is used for patients whose heart is weak but who aren’t candidates for transplant. “This groundbreaking technology has changed the natural history of an illness that would otherwise take the lives of patients,” he says.

Mission’s cancer arsenal includes the da Vinci XI robot, for minimally invasive surgery; CyberKnife Radiosurgery for lung, brain and prostate cancers; and outpatient palliative care, which includes a fellowship to train doctors in the field.

Since 2014, CarolinaEast Cancer Center in New Bern has partnered with UNC Health Care to provide cancer treatment to patients in coastal Carolina. Like Mission, it also utilizes the da Vinci surgical

Dr. Derek Raghavan speaking about the importance of cancer care during the pandemic.

system for cancer patients and offers cancer treatments such as radiation, chemotherapy, immunotherapy, biologics, hormone therapy and clinical trials.

CarolinaEast’s Cardiovascular Center of Excellence is the only hospital in the state with an accredited catheterization lab by the American College of Cardiology. The center is also home to an electrophysiology lab, a surgery center for inpatient care, and cardiac rehabilitation and support groups.

“It’s a good time to be a physician because what we do matters,” says Levine’s Raghavan. “What it has done for the medical staff is refocused what’s important, and that’s taking care of people in the community.”

LOOKING TOWARD THE FUTURE

Medical leaders and physicians agree changes such as virtual visits and telemedicine will remain necessary when possible, especially in demographics where in-person visits are riskier.

“The COVID-19 pandemic has been challenging because we need to provide ongoing care to our patients without increasing their risk of exposure and infection,” says UNC Health cardiologist Christopher Kelly with North Carolina Heart and Vascular. “So far, we have successfully achieved that by maintaining a strict PPE policy for all hospital staff, patients and visitors; limiting visitors and the overall

number of people in the hospital; requiring negative COVID-19 testing before any elective procedure; and screening our sicker patients at the time of admission.”

UNC McLendon Labs was performing about 2,000 COVID-19 tests per day in July and expected to increase to 3,000 by mid-August, and the UNC Medical Center is using plasma from virus survivors for research to learn about antibodies as therapy. As of Aug. 17, there were 5.41 million confirmed coronavirus cases in the U.S., with 170,000 deaths.

“I think until we have a vaccine, we’re going to be living with COVID-19,” Rose says. “I think if we are collectively able as a society to do things regularly that need to be done to contain the pandemic, it will be manageable.”

Physicians and administrators want patients with chronic or ongoing conditions to know precautions have been put in place to ensure hospitals are safe.

Cancer and heart issues are two vital areas, doctors insist, where people must understand — medical facilities are safe.

“There are studies that show patients are staying home,” Pritchett says.

“Patients with lung cancer, patients with heart attacks, diabetes that is out of control. We have precautions in place [at the hospitals]. We’re ready to handle anything.”

— Kathy Blake is a freelance writer from eastern North Carolina.

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HIGHER ED CONTINUING EDUCATION

EXPANDING EDUCATION In today’s new normal, flexibility in adult education is critical.

Last March, many North Carolina college and university students and faculty experienced an extended spring break they never saw coming as the COVID-19 pandemic created a major paradigm shift midway through the 2019-20 school year.

Months after the world went into quarantine, it is not business as usual for higher education, including executive and continuing education. But business school deans and community college presidents agree that while spring semester and summer classes have been anything but normal, they are optimistic the changes they have implemented as a result of the pandemic will ensure their students get the quality education they expect. And if the new learning models are successful, it may lead to permanent changes in the ways schools operate in the future.

“Colleges and universities, both public and private, had to make an abrupt move to remote learning,” says Hope Williams, president of the North Carolina Association of Independent Colleges and Universities.

But many were able to adapt, especially with executive and continuing education programs that were already partially online, such as Duke University Fuqua School of Business’ MBA program,

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including its global MBA program, which is conducted on a virtual, worldwide platform. Last spring, the coursework converted to entirely online, and the school will use a hybrid format in the fall.

“We are structuring classes to be live and held on a regular schedule,” says William Boulding, dean and J.B. Fuqua professor of business administration.

“Most of them will include simultaneous delivery to students participating faceto-face in the classroom and those participating online. Fuqua School of Business launched this teaching format several years ago.”

The pandemic has caused collateral damage to people’s lives and to the economy. Unemployment has skyrocketed into the double digits for the first time in a decade.

Last May, the University of North Carolina’s Kenan-Flagler Business School responded to the economic downturn by launching a pilot MBA program called NC Business Next for recent college graduates.

Typically, MBA applicants must have work experience before enrolling, but NC Business Next will provide opportunities for top students to go straight into the

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MBA program after earning their bachelor’s degrees.

“We are targeting high-performing graduates and seniors who are graduating into an economic downturn and giving them an opportunity to extend their education over the next two years,” says Bradley Staats, associate dean of MBA programs and a co-author of the new program. NC Business Next will host its first class of grad students in the fall.

Boiling Springs-based Gardner-Webb University, whose online-only MBA program has not felt any adverse effects from the pandemic, has seen a 250% enrollment increase from 2019 to 2020, says Mischia Taylor, dean of the Godbold School of Business.

Taylor attributes the growth to its new 10-Month MBA, an accelerated pathway to earning an MBA. “It is the exact same content as our regular program, but by condensing the normal 16-week terms to eight weeks and allowing no breaks, students can finish in 10 months,” she says. “For those who can handle the pressure, it is a way for them to get their MBA in 10 months rather than two years.”

Like Gardner-Webb’s MBA program, SPONSORED SECTION

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HIGHER ED CONTINUING EDUCATION

UNC Wilmington has seen tremendous growth in its MBA program, says Nivine Richie, associate dean of graduate programs, who credits its online presence and the recent addition of health care management as a specialty.

The program, in UNCW’s Cameron School of Business, also fosters camaraderie among students and faculty, she added.

“Most of our MBA students are from North Carolina, and they flock to our program because our course content is relevant, our professors are responsive to their needs and we provide a sense of community even though we are online,” she says.

The school recently launched a dual degree program. Students pair their MBA with a master’s degree in finance or business analytics. It also plans to launch an MBA specialization in marketing and supply chain management.

Students working toward their MBA at UNCW can choose the digital program,

which is completely online. The executive online program meets two weekends a year and includes an international component, giving students an opportunity to spend a week meeting with corporate executives in a foreign country. The third option is a largely online program that meets weekly in person.

In all its offerings, UNCW’s MBA program showcases flexibility, offering opportunities for students to structure their classwork around professional and family obligations.

“We were deliberate about creating our online MBA program,” Richie says.

“We were able to prepare our faculty by providing opportunities for them to learn how to teach online, and that has paid off.”

COMMUNITY EFFORTS

Community colleges have spent the last six months in evolution, says Jane Stancill, spokesperson for the North Carolina Community College System.

Roughly three quarters of the system’s 58 colleges are converting to online only and hybrid-teaching methods.

They also are providing special assistance to struggling students and their families.

“Last month, the state board approved $4 million for virtual tutoring for students who have had to adjust to online classes, and $950,000 for a student assistance program to provide around-the-clock access to confidential counseling for mental health, medical and other concerns,” Stancill says. “These allocations were from COVID-19 relief funding.”

Students who arrived for fall semester classes at Central Piedmont Community College on Aug. 10 faced major changes in the way their coursework will be delivered.

Faculty are teaching classes in multiple formats, including online, face-to-face and hybrid or blended, which includes both online and face-to-face instruction, according to Jeff Lowrance, vice president of communications, marketing and public

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• General knowledge of conductors, how to install conductors, and how to cut, ream and thread conduit • Various types of raceway systems • Applied mathematics, basic atomic theory, and units of electrical measurement • Hand tool and power tool applications, materials handling, methods for hand-bending conduit • Safety practices for all applications Upon successful completion, students will obtain national accreditation through the National Center for Construction Education & Research (NCCER)

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relations. Fall classes will end on Dec. 11.

The college offers nearly 300 programs to get students real-world ready. Affordable and flexible classes help students earn the skills to fast-track into a career pathway or lay the foundation for a four-year degree.

Among these programs are two new transfer-degree offerings in teacher preparation — Associate of Arts and Associate of Science degrees — both in teacherpreparation curriculums. These new transfer degrees were put in place to address North Carolina’s teacher shortage by creating a larger pipeline for future teachers, especially in the state’s rural counties.

CPCC, which enrolls more than 56,000 students annually in for-credit programs and approximately 36,000 corporate and continuing education students each year, contributes $1.2 billion annually to the Mecklenburg County economy, according to Lowrance. In the academic year ending in 2019, more than 140 students completed apprenticeships with 19 employer partners, and 724 students participated in

co-ops through 43 programs of study with 314 employer partners.

In Cumberland County, Fayetteville Technical Community College is already accustomed to online education, with a requirement that 100% of courses have an online component. “That goes back for the past 10 years,” says President Larry Keen.

The National Security Agency and the Department of Homeland Security have designated the school as a National Center of Academic Excellence in Cyber Defense Two-Year Education. Fayetteville is home to Fort Bragg, a U.S. Army base and one of the largest military installations in the world, and FTCC has a large contingent of students in the military who are able to continue their education even when they are deployed, Keen says.

Like other colleges, FTCC offers its courses in a variety of formats, designed to meet the needs of students and facilitate learning.

PLANNING AHEAD

Few college and university executives know what the future holds, but they stress flexibility and adaptability are key to addressing student educational needs going forward.

NCICU’s Williams believes the COVID-19 pandemic and resulting quarantines have opened a door to opportunities to meet students where they are and foresees continued growth in higher education.

“Years ago, many university and community colleges began changing the way people learn by offering adult programs in both an online and hybrid environment out of convenience,” she says. “Today, what we have learned from COVID-19 is that flexibility is absolutely critical.” ■

— Teri Saylor is a freelance writer from Raleigh.

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RAILROADS TO RETAIL

+ TALKING POINTS

With a vibrant downtown, art scene and big-box retailers, Garner sets itself apart as more than just a bedroom community.

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32,500 POPULATION

1905 GARNER IS REINCORPORATED AS A TOWN

$230,559 AVERAGE HOME SALES PRICE

$61,873 MEDIAN HOUSEHOLD INCOME

THE NBA STAR GREW UP IN THE CITY.

465 SEATS IN THE GARNER PERFORMING ARTS CENTER

2013 NAMED ALL-AMERICA CITY BY THE NATIONAL CIVIC LEAGUE

SCOTTY MCCREERY THE AMERICAN IDOL SEASON 10 WINNER WAS BORN HERE IN 1993. sources: U.S. Census Bureau, garnernc.gov

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ehind the wall of painted wildflowers and a cardinal bigger than a window pane, Jeanette Craven has briefly unmasked herself to sip an espresso.

“I love this place,” she says, while seated at a corner table of Garner’s Full Bloom Coffee Roasters on Main Street. The mural of birds and blossoms splashed along its outside wall is the handiwork of Raleigh artist Sean Kernick. Like many other downtowns across the country, the coronavirus pandemic has slowed business, but the easing of restrictions has given this coffeehouse and its neighbors a much needed jolt. On this weekday morning, regulars stream in and out, all wearing masks. “[Business] has been going pretty steady,” says employee Hunter Howell. At the outset of the pandemic, that meant offering only takeout, until cafes could operate at half capacity.

For Craven, it’s never felt so good to once again sit in her favorite coffee shop and drink up the atmosphere. She lives next door in a building that dates back to 1914 and now houses four condos.

Originally from Mooresville, she discovered Garner in 1971 after graduating from N.C. State University. She moved away, but with her son living in Raleigh — Garner is six miles from the state capitol building — she returned to her old haunts. “As soon as I came back, it felt like home.”

Full Bloom opened in 2017 inside the former Bank of Garner, built in 1910. Owners Patrick and Michelle Byrd renovated the building with a $75,000 boost from the Main Street Solutions Fund, a state grant to encourage entrepreneurs to invest in downtowns.

Main Street in Garner runs parallel to the railroad and is lined with refurbished century-old brick storefronts. When the North Carolina Railroad came through in the late 1840s, a water and wood stop sprang up here at an artesian well to provide fuel for locomotives. The community, originally incorporated as Garner’s Station, reincorporated as the town of Garner in 1905. It now has a population of more than 32,500, having doubled since 1990.

In the modern era, big-box stores and national chains followed the multilane highways — U.S.

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PHOTOS COURTESY OF ALLEN FORREST

JOHN WALL

BY BRYAN MIMS

▲ In 1847, state leaders designated what is now Garner as a new station for the North Carolina Railroad running between Goldsboro and Charlotte.

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PHOTO COURTESY OF DEMIAN DELLINGER

▲ Downtown Garner’s Full Bloom Coffee Roasters on Main Street is known for its vibrant mural by Raleigh artist Sean Kernick.

70 and U.S. 401 — leaving downtown to hollow out. “We, for a long time, suffered with empty buildings and an area that needed a lot of attention,” says Mayor Ken Marshburn, who was elected in 2019. “We’re proud to say that most of those buildings, if not all of them, are now filled with businesses. It’s really becoming an artsy kind of place.”

Businesses such as Shady’s, a bar and barbecue eatery that opened in 2018, and Gearworks, a tech incubator owned by the town, had begun to fill those once-forgotten brick buildings along Main Street — only for the pandemic to upend the day-to-day.

It seems as though the vibrancy that had been pumped into the heart of Garner could dry up.

At the Garner Baseball fields just outside downtown, Andrea Proffitt reflected on the pandemic’s hometown impact as her 9-year-old son, Jace, finished a baseball game. She and her husband, Chuck, have lived in Garner for 18 years after moving from Tennessee. “There’s a lot of, I don’t want to say sadness, but you come from a little town where there’s always something going on, there’s always an arts event going on, [and] it’s hard not being able to go out and be around others,” she says.

Youth baseball swung back into action in June, fostering the communal experience she had been craving. Garner, she says, is a family-centric place with a wealth of athletic programs for kids.

It’s refreshing “just to see them smile and laugh again,” she says.

But many in the business community still feel benched. “Garner

is a collection of small businesses,” says Joe Stallings, Garner’s economic development director. “And we’re seeing companies really struggle. A lot of these companies didn’t have online presences [and] didn’t generate a lot of their sales from online.”

In the early stages of the crisis, Illinois-based food distributor Martin Brower, one of Garner’s bigger employers, submitted a federal filing required when a company plans a mass layoff.

Stallings says the company furloughed 59 people. “I believe that the vast majority of those impacted have since been rehired,” he says. Aside from temporary closures of businesses deemed nonessential, he says the pandemic didn’t cause any businesses to close permanently.

“By and large, we’re still seeing economic development projects proceed,” he says. “It is a little bit slower, most definitely, than what we’ve seen over the last couple of years, but the projects that were on the move are still on the move.”

COVID-19’s silver lining Though it slowed many brick-and-mortars, the pandemic proved a boon for e-commerce, spurring Amazon to double the workforce at its sprawling Garner fulfillment center that is under construction. In July, the company announced plans to hire more than 3,000 people — double its original estimate.

Announced in 2018, the four-story, 2.6 million-square-foot building sits on a former ConAgra Foods plant site adjacent to S E P T E M B E R

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Interstate 40. An explosion at the Slim Jim factory in 2009 killed four workers and injured dozens more. After the rubble was cleared, the site remained vacant for years until state and local officials wooed Amazon. Employees will work alongside robots to pick, pack and ship items to customers in the region, with pay starting at $15 an hour. The company expects the facility to open for the 2020 holiday season.

COVID-19 also spawned business opportunities in Garner, engendering companies to create new product lines. Startup Sanctuary Systems, which develops fiber technology and non-woven materials, began making face masks for workplaces in the Triangle. Stephen Sharp, director of operations, says the company’s one machine can churn out 3,500 masks per hour. “[Sanctuary Systems] is at such a capacity that it’s adding more machines and employees just to keep up with the demand of face masks, and it’s only selling them to businesses.”

The wheels are still turning at Gearworks in downtown, a public-private partnership to furnish entrepreneurial “bridge space” for small businesses, which allows startups to set up shop for a limited period. Started in 2018, Gearworks is an effort by the Downtown Garner Association to attract tech companies to Main Street. One tenant, Operation 36, develops software and curricula to teach people how to play golf. It started with four employees but now employs about a dozen, Stallings says.

Other creative and tech companies in downtown Garner include Rising Stream Media, a marketing firm; graphic design company Grafix House; and Garner Underground, which builds instruments and controls for the HVAC and agricultural markets.

More than just a bedroom community Even though Garner borders Raleigh, town leaders say

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Gearworks, its up-and-coming downtown, a variety of parks and youth sports, and the Amazon center make Garner more than just a bedroom community. In 2013, the National Civic League named Garner an All-America City, citing its nonprofits and arts community. A prized possession is the Garner Performing Arts Center, located in the former Garner High School. While the pandemic has closed the curtain on performances for now, its 471-seat auditorium has hosted concerts featuring Broadway.

Another attraction still in the works is the Garner Recreation Center. Standing along Main Street, the nearly 40,000-squarefoot building will include a gymnasium with high school basketball courts, an indoor exercise and walking track, and playgrounds and trails outside. It’s been beset by construction delays but is expected to open this year, depending on coronavirus restrictions.

“I think it’ll be a real catalyst for bringing people to our downtown area,” Marshburn says. “It’ll be a focal point and bring tournaments into town.”

Months into the pandemic, people are coming back to their favorite downtown hangouts. At the Locs, Naturals & More hair salon, which had to shut down for more than two months, 33-year-old owner Kentrell Perry says he’s back up to nine employees — only one fewer than he had pre-pandemic. On this weekday, he has 40 clients scheduled.

“If you’re hopeful and you’re upbeat and you’re doing your work and keeping a good head on your shoulders, then you’ll attract other people,” he says.

It’s a cheery outlook with a distinct sense of optimism. No mask can stop the spread of good vibes. ■ Bryan Mims is a writer and reporter at WRAL-TV in Raleigh.

PHOTOS COURTESY OF ALLEN FORREST, CHRIS BAUCOM, ROB SMITH

► Garner’s Main Street, top, is home to several restaurants, retail outlets and a tech incubator. The city’s 63-acre Lake Benson Park, right, is three miles south of downtown. Before the pandemic, the town held annual events such as its Fourth of July celebration, far right.

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