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R. Hanes Hoffman Jr. March/April 2013

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CA ITALat LAY The Free Spirit Of Enterprise

PUBLISHER

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CONTRIBUTING EDITORS

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CA ITALat LAY | March/April 2013

Feature Articles

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Bluewater Copper Works Meet artist R. Hanes Hoffman Jr.

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Seriously Playful

Becky Cannon —making a parents life easier

The Accidental Chocolatier George Williams: a chocolate maker by accident

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Asheville Urban Farms

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Castles of Kale and much, much more

Tinkering for Life Building a Cyclepedia

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Fly Fishing Westerrn Carolina, For The Spring Delayed Harvest

March/April 2013 | capitalatplay.com

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CONTENTS

Keepin’ it Brief From the area of commerce you’re in, from the Carolinas, and from around the globe - you won’t find the same information in one magazine anywhere else.

20

Western Carolina News Briefs

42

News In The Old North State

54 World Briefs 56

Health Briefs

Commentary

Leisure & Libation Working as hard as you do, it can be difficult to make time to find these things - let us help.

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Early Adopters These are some of the latest and greatest gadgets to improve your life and work, or maybe just to keep you entertained.

Politics Sometimes the private and public sectors of industry collide - We show you what some writers think.

We also help you reach the elected officials that represent you.

Body for your Body

blink(1) know what’s happening without checking any windows

Dance Every Day of the Week

HipKey Keep track of your precious things

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Voter Watch

Lehmann Aviation LA100 a fully automatic UAV designed for GoPro users

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Inside the Cuckoo’s Nest

Hunt Mallett Gives Us Wine & Wisdom

Suggestions for cutting a rug in WNC

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How Do They Do It?

Not just from notable people, but from individuals more than qualified to have an opinion.

22

Glocal Diplomacy

The first of many thoughts, from the mind of Elizabeth Colton

60

Today’s Real Estate

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Mike Talks: The relationship between education and debt

A novel look at one Sunday’s open house

Investment veteran Mike Summey enlightens us 8

CA ITALat LAY | March/April 2013

We ask this month’s Featured Capitalist’s : how do you manage your time?

Dodd-Frank is not your friend

Turf war may be looming over SBI Proposed natural gas tax may appeal to industry Lawmakers Propose 5-Year Jail Sentence for ‘Obamacare’ Implementation

Events

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People “At Play” 2013 “Polar Plunge” for Asheville Meals on Wheels

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Events from all around WNC and Upstate SC. See what’s going on in your community this week

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Bluewater Copper Works

Artist R. Hanes Hoffman Jr. Artist

R. Hanes Hoffman Jr. Written By Bill Fishburne Photographs By Linda D. Cluxton

10 CA ITALat LAY | March/April 2013

March/April 2013 | capitalatplay.com 11

If it weren’t for Henderson County’s thriving summer camp industry, artist and

sculptor R. Hanes Hoffman Jr., might still be roaming the world in search of whatever it is artists are always in search of.

Instead, as a young boy Hoffman was fortunate enough to attend summer camp in the tiny village of Tuxedo, North Carolina. It changed his life and indirectly gave the Western Carolinas one of its brightest artistic lights.

“I was exposed to Western North Carolina when I was a kid at Camp Mondamin,” Hoffman says referring to a popular 76 year old camp in Tuxedo. “I guess i never forgot about the beauty. I moved here about a year ago. So far, I’m really feelin’ the love.”

Hoffman’s artistic talents have focused on creating hammered copper sculptures of game fish that are highly prized as trophies for multi-million dollar fishing tournaments. Each piece is individually designed and created by Hoffman. Some hang from ceilings, but most are designed for wall display. A typical Hoffman sailfish in copper could measure up to five feet in length and three feet in height, plus being curved on one side to match the actual contours of the fish.

While his signature on the back and the copper penny brazed behind the fish’s eye are indicators that the work is genuine, there is nothing else like it on the market. If you see his work, with the color he finds and pulls out from deep inside the copper, you know you are looking at a unique piece of art created by an exceptional artist.

Hoffman doesn’t look the part of either a reclusive artist or of a mid-forties man searching for love. He’s about 6-feet tall, athletically built and says mountain biking is his favorite sport.

He lives near the DuPont State Forest with an extraordinarily large and gentle half-golden retriever, half great Pyrenees dog named Hops, and his artwork is truly beyond description. He is a true artist yet he refers to himself as a craftsman. His work is exhibited by Asheville’s discriminating New Morning Gallery, but its main popularity is found as the top-prize trophy at fishing tournaments around the world.

Hoffman’s story, like his art, is uniquely his. His life exhibits the wanderlust of youth. As he recounts his adventures along the way, you begin to think that your own adventures sound like the efforts of a horn blower on Ted Mack’s Original Amateur Hour compared to Louis Armstrong.

“The short version of how I got here starts after college. I traveled for 10 years. I moved to Islamorada in the Florida Keys, where I worked on a fishing boat. Then I went to Sun Valley, Idaho, then to Alaska where I ran a research vessel in 12 CA ITALat LAY | March/April 2013

the Valdez oil spil cleanup. That was interesting, and it paid well. I made some good money. I then moved to New Zealand for a year, where I biked all around the South Island. At one point I worked for a bungee company. Then I traveled across Australia and went up to Thailand and South East Asia. I was talking to a buddy who had stopped in Maui, and he said it was a beautiful place, so I went and worked there for three years.

“We started a kayak business that got to be very popular.

We were the first sea kayak business on the island. I sold my interest in that and moved to Colorado. I ran a Blues club in downtown Denver for a year. I had to get out of that business before the lifestyle killed me, so I moved to the mountains, to Breckenridge. I bought into a restaurant there for 3-1/2 years, and I learned a lot about the food and beverage business.

Yearning for my North Carolina home, firends, and family, I sold that and moved to Wilmington, NC where I lived on Wrightsville Beach for 10 years and explored my art.

Hoffman says he enjoys all the outdoor sports available in the mountains, but of them, mountain biking is his favorite.

“I’ve been a mountain biker all of my life. After I got this business started, I decided to move up here where I could be closer to nature. This is the right environment for me, enjoying the natural beauty and developing my art. I was for my Shangri-La.” “This is a Mecca for an outdoor lifestyle. I moved here last year, and when I was coming to town, looking to find a home for my art. I knew some of the gallery owners in Brevard, North Carolina, but I didn’t want to pick one over the other, and I knew that was an exclusive situation. Then someone told me about the Brevard Brewing Company on Main St., and about Kyle and Elizabeth Williams who make fantastic beer. I met them, and we got along great. They asked me if I had something that could work in their tap room. I’ve built this huge installation of fresh water trout and this river scene, and on the other wall I have some other pieces. While we were talking, I asked him if he had any bartenders. He said "no," and I told him I could help. It was a good way for me to meet people in a new town, and enjoy another passion of mine."

“I try to live a balanced life, which means an overabundance of fun and not too much work.”

Hoffman’s present home is a house in a quiet wooded community near the DuPont State Forest. The house is the temporary home of dozens of his sculptures and the more permanent residence for works of other artists. All of Hoffman’s work is by commission except for the few pieces he displays in galleries.

“I’ve been doing this since 1997, and it has evolved largely into

March/April 2013 | capitalatplay.com 13

14 CA ITALat LAY | March/April 2013

“I experiment with different types of metals, but I always come back to copper. Because it’s warm and friendly to work with”

March/April 2013 | capitalatplay.com 15

making very high-end trophies for major fishing tournaments.

I create each one specifically for the tournament. “Most of the time the fish I create are a recreation of the type of fish they’re fishing for in the tournament. Each one is created from pure copper with nothing added. No coloring, no painting.

Through the years I have learned how to pull colors out of the metal itself. It’s like painting in a way except I use a brazing torch. I’ve never created the same fish twice. It’s impossible.

Every fish is different, every application of the torch brings up tiny differences in the metal.

The colors are in there, you just have to know what’s going to appear from experience, and stop heating it just before that next color, the one you want, appears.”

The market for tournament trophies would seem to be limited. That’s not Hoffman’s experience.

“You would be surprised how many tournaments there are in the world. Just about every day there is a tournament somewhere, wherever the land meets the ocean. I’ve been around long enough now that the people who organize these events know me, or know of me. I just keep myself visible, and they come to me for the ultimate trophy. I mean, some of these events are multi-million dollar tournaments. They’re not going to give the winner a plastic fish glued to a piece of wood.

“Over time, fishing has become a competitive sport. The tournaments I work with every year could be in different oceans and for different types of fish. Most of them give away some type of trophy in addition to the prize money. About seven or eight years ago I started marketing my fish to tournament directors. Each one is a hand-made sculpture.

“There are a lot of different types of trophies the tournaments can choose from, ranging from plastic fish to cast bronze sculptures that are real works of art. I fall somewhere in between.

My stuff is extremely unique in that it’s all hand fabricated from a sheet of copper. It’s a copper sculpture incorporated with a unique piece of wood. I’ve just kind of developed these types of trophies and then guerilla marketed them through word of mouth, social media and lots of telephone calls. You have to try to sell it, but there’s a market there, and if you can try to tap into it, you get to know the people involved. I’ve been around for awhile now, and people know me.

“The fishing industry is just one avenue for me. I sell in coastal gift shops and in a few high-end tackle shops. My one outlet in Asheville is John Cram’s New Morning Gallery. I’m very fortunate to work with them. I’ve had pieces in the New Morning Gallery for several years, and I’ve really enjoyed the

relationship.

Hoffman refers to his art as “fish” and his “guys.” Each one seems to take on a personality as he conceives it, draws it and begins his work with the raw sheet of copper. He tells his visitors “this fish is going to a tournament in Jupiter, Florida.”

“I enjoy all aspects of the work,” Hoffman says. “What people don’t know is how much work is involved in preparing the metal for the torch. I’ll scrub on this fish for an hour before he’s ready to go into that vice and be colored. I scrub it with a diluted phosphoric acid solution then I use copper scrubbers (like steel wool but made of copper with larger loops). That gives it a brushed look.”

Everything is done by hand except for drilling the hole for the fish’s eye. “The only tool I use that plugs into a wall is the drill I use to cut out the eye,” Hoffman says.

The basic raw material is a 16 oz. copper sheet, which he buys in 100 lb. rolls or in sheets. Each sculpture is cut by hand then hammered into a three-dimensional form that is in exact scale with the real fish.

“My copper sheets are very thin.” Hoffman says. “I have to be very careful when I’m coloring it with the torch. Too much heat can not only take you past the color you want, it could easily burn a hole right through it.”

“If you asked me where my art lies in this, it’s in the heating, the coloration, the painting of the copper. Here’s what happens.

The sheet is already cleaned up and bright. I put it in this hanging device and use my torch and high-grade acetylene, oxygen and a small brazing tip. I use combinations of gases and volumes to create different flames. Sharp or wide. You use these flames as a brush, and you’re both marking the copper

Everything is done by hand except for drilling the hole for the fish’s eye. “The only tool I use that plugs into a wall is the drill I use to cut out the eye”

16 CA ITALat LAY | March/April 2013

with a brush and you’re pulling out the color in the copper. To get the colors you want you have to stop before you get there.

It’ll go on past what you want, and there’s no going back. Focus on what you’re doing but be ahead of where you really are. It will change from color “A” to color “X” depending on what’s in there.

And exactly what is in there? That’s only learned by experience.

Hoffman has no apprentices, no assistants other than Hops.

And frankly, if the big friendly dog can fit something in his

mouth and get out the door, even Hoffman (the mountain biker) is going to be in for a chase. “He’s a wonderful dog,” Hoffman says, “but maybe there’s a reason you don’t see too many perimeter-running Great Pyrenees being bred with Retrievers. He wants to patrol the top of the mountain with whatever’s in his mouth when he gets the notion.”

Interestingly, Hoffman often refers to his work as a craft. When asked which category, or both, his work falls in, he jumps right into the debate.

“Craft versus art? Craft is art. That’s very much what the movement is in this part of the country.

Art to me is a process...and I don’t divide craft from art. As a craftsman I can take it to a specific commodity market and sell it as a trophy. But at the same time, that fish is unique. It was created from a blank sheet of copper; and as it developed, as the shape and colors grew, it took on a character all its own. It has taken awhile but people are starting to appreciate what I do. Very few people, if any, do what I do. It’s not like being a bowl maker. You see 10 bowls, and there are three that you really like. There’s not a lot of comparisons and little understanding as to how it’s done. They see the markings of the fish and the coloring, and they don’t know how it was done. I like that question, "how was it done?" It’s all in the metal. The art in what I do is in the patina of the metal.

I find the color and pull it out.

“I experiment with different types of metals, but I always come back to copper.

Because it’s warm and friendly to work with.”

Hoffman’s decision to live in the mountains has been good to him so far. He was featured in a cover story in the Transylvania Times.

He also was canoeing with a friend, when an Asheville Citizen-Times reporter came by and put their photo on the front page.

“Last week I learned some of my work was on the cover of a new telephone directory.

I’m really feelin’ the love. So far, moving up here has been an absolutely great decision.”

“As I grow older I need copious amounts of things that nurture my soul. This is where I’m finding it.”

Contact the artist: Hanes Hoffman Jr. Bluewater Copper Works Studio: 910-262-6020

Hanes Hoffman & Hops March/April 2013 | capitalatplay.com 17

Western Carolina News Briefs

Public comment period time switched - BUNCOMBE COUNTY The Buncombe County commissioners have decided to move the public comment period to the beginning of their agendas.

Previously, it had been held at the end of meetings, but unease arose because it did not allow citizens to have input on items that were not open for public comment until everything was a donedeal. Some people, such as Commissioner Ellen Frost, liked the idea of moving the comments to the forefront of meetings because it would give people the opportunity to talk without having to sit through the entire meeting. Mike Fryar, however, argued the decision would result in under-representation of the majority of working-class people who, as a member of the public agreed, would have to get the boss’s permission to take time off, with or without pay, to attend the 4:30 meetings. County Attorney Mike Frue reminded the commissioners that General Statute 153A-52.1 only mandates county commissioners to hold one public comment period each month that the board arranges a regular meeting. The Buncombe County commissioners have been quite generous. Other boards restrict public comment to thirty minutes and require members of the public to sign up beforehand. The Buncombe County commissioners, however,

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decided there would be no sign-up sheet, public comment could go on until everybody who wishes to speak has been heard, and the chair could enact restrictions in special circumstances.

Public comment will still be taken at public hearings and other items open to the public on a case-by-case basis.

Home & Garden Expo in April - BUNCOMBE COUNTY The Asheville Home Builders Association has announced the dates of the fourth annual Home & Garden Expo. It will be held on April 20 and 21 at the WNC Ag Centers Davis Arena.

The expo, specific to homebuilding, will feature more than 100 exhibiting companies, including educational demonstrations, an indoor garden section with plants for sale, and Vicki Payne of PBS’s For Your Home on location Saturday, April 20. The event will be open from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m on Saturday, and noon to 5 p.m. on Sunday. Admission is $5, and parking is free. This year, a new section will be open for local interior design companies to showcase their flair on Designer’s Lane. Consumers will be able to vote for their favorite display, and one consumer will receive a $500 gift certificate to the winning designer’s showroom. The Playhouse Showdown will also be on display. The six Buncombe County high schools will construct a playhouse that will be given away following an on-location drawing. Each school will receive $2 from each ticket sold to use within their local construction classrooms. All other proceeds will go back to the schools in the form of scholarships programs.

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Western Carolinas; news that doesn’t receive much coverage from local or regional news media.

Mission Children’s is now open - JACKSON COUNTY Mission Children’s Sylva and Mission Children’s Bryson City are officially open, offering comprehensive pediatric care to the westernmost counties of North Carolina. Previously known as Sylva Pediatrics, the renamed practices in Sylva and Bryson City now operate under Mission Children’s Hospital to provide the same high quality pediatric care given by the original physicians along with access to the specialized services of a world-class health system. MC-Sylva and MC-Bryson will operate at the same locations and addresses as the former Pediatric centers, which have served the region for more than 30 years.

Junaluska Fire Department gets better rating - HAYWOOD COUNTY Thanks to an improved rating with the state, people who reside in the area served by Junaluska Fire Department could be paying less money for insurance by March. According to Fire Chief Charles Wood, the department covers a large area surrounding, yet not including, Lake Junaluska. The Insurance Services Office score is determined by the distance a person’s home is located from a fire hydrant. Residents who lived long distances from

fire hydrants were paying more for their insurance premiums since the fire department has to transport water to areas farther away during a fire. Previously, the territory the department served was considered a split district, with a combination of residents having various ISO scores. After a recent inspection by the Office of the State Fire Marshal, the department was given a better score based on a number of principles, including communication, water supply, and the department itself. That score permitted the department to alter their area from a split 6-9 district to a consistent 6 district. However, the specific amount of savings depends on the insurance company. Wood noted that he believes people who are located more than 1,000 feet from a hydrant will be paying a couple hundred dollars less on their insurance premiums this year.

New rural entrepreneurship director - HAYWOOD COUNTY As a reflection of its commitment to help rural small businesses in WNC thrive and create jobs, Mountain BizWorks has created a new position. Long-time employee Jo Ann Miksa-Blackwell has been appointed as the director of rural entrepreneurship. She has worked for Mountain BizWorks for over 10 years. During that time, she has taken on tasks varying from managing programs to working with small business owners. She received a master of entrepreneurship degree from Western Carolina University.

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Clifton Metcalf, Western Carolina University’s vice chancellor for advancement and external affairs, received the Order of the Long Leaf Pine award in acknowledgment of his contributions to North Carolina. Metcalf, a Madison County native, lives in Haywood. On behalf of former Governor Perdue, former Lt. Governor Walter Dalton and former N.C. Representative Phil Haire presented the honor to Metcalf during a campus celebration of his 54-year career in journalism and higher education. Metcalf graduated from Brevard High School and earned his bachelor’s degree from UNC Chapel Hill in 1959, where he studied journalism as a Morehead Scholar. He also previously served in the U.S. Marine Corps, worked at the The Mountaineer newspaper in Waynesville, and spent more than twenty years in leadership positions within the University of North Carolina system. Metcalf retired at the beginning of February. Presented to Metcalf with the letter from Amos was a flag that flew in Metcalf’s honor over the Iwo Jima Memorial on Jan. 1, 2013, the same day that the Order of the Leaf Pine was signed by Purdue. Established in 1965, the Order of the Long Leaf Pine is among the highest honors the governor can present to North Carolinians. It is designed to recognize individuals who have a proven record of extraordinary service to the state as shown by contributions to their communities, added effort in their careers, and many years of service to their organizations.

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LeRoy and Gale Roberson of Waynesville were honored as 2012 Main Street Champions at the NC Main Street Annual Awards Ceremony in Salisbury. Main Street is a downtown revitalization program for smaller towns based on economic development within the context of historic preservation. The Downtown Waynesville Association selected the Robersons for the recognition in appreciation of their remarkable contributions to the downtown revitalization process. They, alongside 30 Champions of other communities, were given a certificate commemorating this title. The certificates were

presented by N.C. Deputy Secretary of Commerce Dale Carroll and Office of Urban Development Director Liz Parham. The Main Street Champion designation was created in 2000 as part of North Carolina Man Street’s 20th anniversary celebration. It recognizes the incredible efforts of the people who have shown fundamental roles in the revitalization of their downtown communities. The commitment and hard work of many volunteers is necessary to make a local Main Street program successful. Each of North Carolina’s active Main Street programs is given a chance each year to acknowledge a local Main Street Champion. The addition of the most recent honorees brings the total number of NC Main Street Champions to 500. The Robersons have owned downtown Waynesville’s Haywood Optometric Care and, according to the Downtown Waynesville Association, have supported downtown revitalization through their respective service to the Town of Waynesville and the DWA. The DWA explained, “As an alderman for 11 years, LeRoy supported numerous projects in the district, including construction of a new parking deck, Town Hall and police department; renovation of the historic municipal building; and establishment of the Waynesville Public Art Commission…He was ever mindful of the impact his decisions as an alderman had on the economic growth and historic character of downtown.” Since 2004, Gale has been a member of DWA’s board of directors, and secretary since 2006. She has served on the nominations committee and volunteered at numerous events as well.

Evergreen Foundation transportation grant awarded to Appalachian Community Services

And today it is a revered work of art – a statement of what vision and planning can achieve.

- REGION WIDE To help clients with transportation from psychiatric facilities back to their homes, the Evergreen Foundation has given a $7,500 grant following a request from Appalachian Community Services and Meridian Behavioral Health. This grant will provide hospital-to-home transportation until the end of June. Typically, when a person seeks psychiatric treatment voluntarily, Smoky Mountain Center provides the funding to transport them to the facility, which could be several hours away. However, a problem sometimes arises regarding the client’s commute back home.

Doug Trantham, clinical director at Appalachian Community Services, explained, “Distant hospitals often decline admission to clients unless they know the client will have transportation to get back after discharge,” so an individual may have to wait many days in the local emergency room. Combined with continuing support from Smoky Mountain Center, the service given through the Evergreen Foundation grant will reduce emergency department wait times and improve client access forvoluntary inpatient treatment. Emergency transportation services are authorized. Appalachian Community Services provides Mental Health, Substance Abuse and Intellectual/ Developmental Disability services in Cherokee, Clay, Graham, Haywood, Jackson, Macon and Swain counties.

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Elizabeth grew up in Asheville, NC. She speaks and advises globally on diplomacy, politics, journalism & the media.

D

Glocal Diplomacy

By Elizabeth Colton

Diplomacy, the world, the earth and its oceans, the global media, world politics--and also my hometown Asheville and our mountains-region of Western North Carolina are all always on my mind. They are each interrelated now—just not in our thoughts but virtually and actually in today’s world.

Our world is global-- and it’s glocal. The so-called bigger world and the local are melded into one, each influencing the other. Our local places and people are part of the wide world.

The global community will increasingly know of our place and consider it a world-destination. How we make this happen without destroying what is good and the core reasons for our being on the world map is critical.

Diplomacy is known as a tool nations use for peacefully promoting their national interests, their foreign policy, overseas and around the world.

International organizations also practice diplomacy for promoting their agendas and causes.

Diplomacy is usually considered the domain of nation-states and international bodies in the area of foreign relations. But diplomacy is not theirs exclusively.

Global Diplomacy and Glocal Diplomacy are not different in their practice.

Cities, regions, states, people, and local organizations can also utilize global diplomacy for putting their names and interests out into the wider world. Asheville and Western North Carolina can also use diplomacy as a tool for promoting their reputation, interests, and concerns, and putting our place out onto the world stage.

22 CA ITALat LAY | March/April 2013

Diplomacy, politics and the media are all intertwined in today’s global village. One field of activity doesn’t take place without affecting or being affected by the other. There’s no way to discuss one—diplomacy, politics or the media—without trying to understand the role of the others.

Diplomacy, a “peaceful” tool for promoting one’s interests as in the nation’s foreign policy, does not function in a vacuum.

World and national politics form the arenas where diplomacy operates. The news media’s coverage or lack thereof and now the new social media can dramatically alter the course of diplomacy and politics—and vice versa. The key is to try to figure out how to develop positive interactions with the other field from whichever side you’re working.

All this is true not only for nations but also for states and regions and cities—diplomacy and the media are at their disposal. The word “glocal” is an apt term for the potential of a place like Asheville, WNC. Glocal means that global and local are not distinct, that they are part and parcel of each other in today’s world. Recognition of glocality is key to the success of a city’s or region’s world diplomacy.

A city like Asheville can use all the same tools for promoting itself in the world that a nation or international organization has at its command. In earlier days, many cities were like nations—as city-states—and sent their diplomats around the world to promote their interests. The Land of the Sky-Asheville and Western North Carolina can do the same in this 21st century.

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Recently, in Washington, I heard a foreign policy analyst— actually a nuclear arms negotiator—talking about our world of continual crises that go on forever without resolve. We all know about these. In this international relations discussion, the discussants cited one failed or overlooked diplomatic effort after another for the world’s continuing crises—North Korea, Iran, the Middle East impasse between the Israelis and the Palestinians, terrorism, Pakistan, Kashmir, Afghanistan, Iraq, American relations with China and Russia, and the list goes on.

It was a dismal view of diplomacy and its global role.

Yet despite all these pessimistic recitations of historic diplomatic failures, I remain hopeful or at least believing that diplomacy is still the best answer and needs to be tried again and again. As a journalist, I have covered diplomacy, war, and politics. As a professor, I have taught them diplomacy, politics and the media and their interrelationships as a subject of study. And I have practiced diplomacy as a diplomat for the United States and also as a Peace Corps Volunteer and as an international civil servant at the United Nations. So, I know about the failings, about the squandering of opportunities, the failures and mediocrity in decision-making, and the personalities that use diplomacy for their own ends. Yet I still believe diplomacy is the best tool for promoting good and for solving problems in the world.

The media from time to time have focused on unusual moments or even successes in diplomacy when something unexpected and often unofficial seems to bring countries together diplomatically or promote a little known country.

In talking about kinds of diplomacy or diplomatic ways of promoting one’s country or national interests, topical words— like “sports” or “music” or “environmental” or “arts” have often been attached to “diplomacy” to highlight the arena in which diplomacy worked to build positive relations. Often “sports diplomacy” on a field or court has led to diplomatic breakthroughs.

Media coined “ping-pong diplomacy” between China and the United States when those games opened the way eventually to normalizing relations between the two countries in 1970s, “wrestling diplomacy” once between Iran and the U.S., and now “basketball diplomacy” and “internet (or social media) diplomacy” with North Korea. Terms like “shuttle diplomacy” have been used for whirlwind diplomatic efforts in the jet-age ofr efforts to bring peace in the Middle East. “Oil diplomacy” for the OPEC nations was preferable to war.

And small, relatively little known countries, like Oman with its “perfume diplomacy” or San Marino and Andorra with their “stamp diplomacy” or little Latvia with its “opera diplomacy,” have all promoted themselves through establishing special niches in the world marketplace.

In Maldives, that once remote archipelago in the middle of the Indian Ocean, I was the first foreign correspondent who lived there and wrote about it at the beginning of its tourism before many foreigners had discovered it. On my moving from Maldives after living there as an anthropologist and journalist for nearly two years, the Maldivian newspaper wrote that I “had put (their) little country on the world-map.” Now the world knows about the beautiful Maldivian resort-islands through its “tourism diplomacy.”

Right now diplomats of many countries, like Thailand, Japan, India, and now the U.S., are practicing “gastronomic diplomacy” to promote their local foods and culinary uniqueness. Botswana

and Gabon use their wildlife-tourism to promote their national treasures in the world. Nepal and Bhutan publicize themselves by highlighting their mountains. Regardless of the size or remoteness of a place, each has the potential now with mass media and also still word-of-mouth diplomacy to promote itself.

In the practice of international diplomacy, the United States and other nations showcase their artists, musicians, writers, chefs, athletes, business leaders as part of their promotion of their foreign policy agenda. As an American diplomat, I often organized a variety of programs in collaboration with U.S. business partners in hosting concerts with our visiting musicians, art shows, and conferences on social entrepreneurship, freedom of the press, intellectual property rights, human rights, environmental organization, best business practices and leadership training—all to publicize what we as a country have of value to offer to the world. We brought athletes to train at sports camps in host countries, writers to teach, experts on rule of law, democracy organizers, CEOs of major U.S. companies to teach and promote businesses. We worked to promote America’s “Sister Cities” program. The goal was always the diplomatic promotion of U.S. foreign policy around the world.

Asheville and Western North Carolina and all the towns and organizations in the region can adopt the same diplomatic tools used by countries. For many generations, we have benefitted from promoting our mountains, tourism, health-care facilities, air and atmosphere in general. Our Asheville involvement in the “Friendship Force” has long sent our citizens around the world to make friends and tell others around the world about our place and have the citizens of the host countries come on return visits to our place. We still have these qualities and programs and much more to promote through diplomacy.

The words “marching-band diplomacy” could be applied to Asheville High School’s diplomatic role when it marched in this year’s Presidential Inauguration Parade. Western North Carolina athletes at last summer’s Olympics in London were “sports-diplomats” for this remarkable region that has long cultivated athletics of all kinds. The city’s chefs and local farmers are working together in “culinary diplomacy” to promote Asheville’s world-class restaurants. Asheville Lyric Opera now through its own “opera-diplomacy” is getting its name out into the international world of opera-lovers. We are positively touting our creative entrepreneurial environment as an example of what can be done in a free and encouraging community.

Our diplomacy for world-promotion of our city of Asheville and all the towns and region of Western North Carolina can and should utilize all the tools available in traditional mass media and new social media. Still, the most important means of diplomacy is the person-to-person. “Citizen diplomacy” is the true face of global and glocal diplomacy.

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Elizabeth (Liz) Colton, Ph.D., known as “a worldwide connector” on Twitter @eocolton, grew up in Asheville and never forgot her deep mountain roots as she lived and worked around the world as a journalist, diplomat, educator. Now through her EOColton&Associates Global Collaboration consulting firm based in Asheville and Washington, Dr. Colton speaks and advises globally on diplomacy, politics, education, journalism & the media.

March/April 2013 | capitalatplay.com 25

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Whats with the Body?

D

o you ever hear someone talking about a wine’s “body” and wonder what in the world they are referring to? The body of a wine is a description of the style, weight, or “mouth-feel” in a wine. It is used in both red and white wines and is the result of a number of factors, but is primarily derived from the grape used and how the winemaker crafts that grape into the style he or she is after. We’ll focus this discussion on red wine, although white wines certainly have a variety of styles as well. The categories are light-bodied, medium-bodied and full-bodied.

Light-bodied wines are often fruity and somewhat lower in alcohol. They also tend to be best when opened young, which signifies the absence of heavy tannins. Tannins are a preservative found in the skin, stems and seeds of grapes. They give wine a grip, as when you bite into a walnut and your mouth puckers up. Tannins get into the wine through the winemaker’s decision to leave the skins in contact for a longer period or in the aging of a young wine in an oak barrel rather than stainless steel or a neutral tank. Here are some examples of lighter varietal grapes: Gamay (Beaujolais), Pinot Noir (Burgundy), Tempranillo (Spain), Zweigelt (Austria and Germany), Cabernt Franc (France’s Loire Valley), Barbera and Dolcetto (Northern Italy). Some of these grapes can easily move into the medium-bodied and even full-bodied catagories depending on where and how the vines are harvested and how the winemaker vintifies the grapes. A light-bodied wine is fresh, not tannic, light on alcohol and, therefore, light feeling in your mouth. These wines pair best with delicate, simple foods such as fish, baked chicken, cheeses and veggies.

The step up to a medium-bodied wine might be as simple as allowing a bit longer hang time in the sun for the grapes, a longer maceration time to extract more color and tannins from the must, some extra fermentation time to allow the yeast to eat the sugars and produce more alcohol, or barrel ageing the wine to introduce contact with oak and the flavors and tannins that are thus gained.

Grapes that are commonly thought of as mediumbodied include Grenache, Sarah, Mourvedre

(Rhone Valley), Cinsault, Carignan (south France), Pinotage (South Africa), Tempranillo (Spain). These wines are paired well with a large variety of foods that are neither too heavy or too light. Grilled meats, pastas, roasted vegatables, pizza and hard cheese all are good picks for medium-bodied wines, in fact most of these wines benefit from a food paring.

The last category is full-bodied reds. These are the monster wines that can boast high tannin and alcohol that can fill your mouth and dominate your taste buds. Often these wines are meant to be tasted on their own before or after a meal. The grape varietals that pack the power to get in this class include: Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot(worldwide), Malbec (Argentina), Zinfandel, Petit Verdot, Petit Sirah (California), Sangiovese, Brunello, Nebbiolo, Negro Amaro (Italy), Carmenare, Tennat (Chile), Touriga National (Portugal). The presence of alcohol (up to 16%) gives your mouth the feeling of a heaviness or fullness, and some wines go further by “fortifying” the wine, that is by blending distilled grapes (Brandy) to get even higher levels of alcohol, for example, Port and Sherry. To be sure, you can still successfully pair these with food, but it takes a hearty steak, stew, game meats or strong cheeses to stand up to the intensity of a full-bodied wine.

Of course there are varying degrees and crossovers within and between each category, but this can give you the basics on what it means when it comes to “body”. As always, I urge you to talk with your local wine merchants or attend a wine dinner to learn more about the wines and their food pairings. Experiment, practice, and above all, enjoy!

March/April 2013 | capitalatplay.com 27

Dancing

Every Day of the Week Written By Tina Barr

By Tina Barr

28 CA ITALat LAY | March/April 2013

Leisure&Libation

O

Monday

ne summer evening I stepped out of a restaurant in Biltmore Village. There on the red brick pavement were a group of Morris Dancers, women in “peasant” style dresses, with white, gathered sleeves, weaving under archways of flowers they carried over their heads. A group of four men stepped forward, wearing hats and crossed suspenders, kicking their legs forward, bells on their shins, waving large white cotton squares and dancing. I was entranced. I felt I had stepped right into the pages of a nineteenth century novel by Thomas Hardy. I thought to myself, “only in Asheville.” I was so taken with the sight, sound and pageantry I wanted to learn to dance like that myself, and I discovered I could. The women’s group, the Ashgrove Dancers, learn and rehearse garland, stave, ribbon and jig dance traditions on Monday evenings, at 5:30pm, in downtown Asheville at the Reid Center for Creative Art, 133 Livingston. They perform throughout the spring and summer, and musicians are welcomed.

You can often catch a Swing Session at Tressa’s Jazz and Blues Club, 28 Broadway, on Mondays at 8:00pm, where there is plenty of room for dancing. Percussionist and singer, Russ Wilson, “the King of Swing,” and his band play jazz standards. As Russ says, “The Swing dance scene is very lively and very vibrant, with lots of different kinds of music involved.” Tressa’s is a quintessential jazz-style club, long and narrow, murky but without the smoke, with the band at one end. There are plenty of tables where you can sit and have a drink until the dance crowd comes in after the first set. As one band member commented at the end of an evening, “The band can’t always predict what people will dance to, but once they start then they don’t stop. People took off their shoes and danced barefoot, and a guy at the bar sang along to ‘Bye, Bye Blackbird.’”

The Grey Eagle, at 185 Clingman Avenue, offers Contra Dance on Mondays, to the sound of fiddles. In summer there is an outdoor patio, and there is a great big jug of water, a necessity for serious dancers. Pat Starnes, an avid contra and swing dancer since 2008, likes the casual feel of the place, with its unfinished wood floor and bar. Pat loves the “courteous and very inclusive” way people behave

on the local dance scene; “people help you learn.” They’ll introduce newcomers to those who have been around awhile, like Karen Engle and Bobby Wood, excellent dancers who are always willing to partner others. Pat loves the way she sees the same people at various venues, and appreciates how very different the dance scene is from a “bar scene.”

Tuesday Eleven on Grove is a veritable dance emporium on Tuesday evenings; you can take swing or tango lessons, followed by jam-packed dancing. The organization Swing Asheville, led by a board of active volunteers, including musician and dance instructor Michael Gamble and his wife, Jaya Dorf, as well as Marc and Jesse Tickle, promotes swing throughout the area.

The swing and tango communities work cooperatively, and as Tovah Welsh tells it, most dancers here have “crosstrained,” in both disciplines. She has been “working the door” for the last five years and dancing here for the last dozen, since her high school days, and she may well collect your entrance fee. Eleven on Grove is full of friendly people.

The main room on the first floor is well lit; with its black ceiling, silver-wrapped columns and red lights pooling on the dancers, it’s very atmospheric. I watched an intermediate swing class; couples spun and whirled, practicing their Lindy Hop technique, including rhythm, connection, timing and basic turns, to a nicely paced swing tune under ceiling fans

At the end of the week, I feel I’ve come full circle in a history of dance. and octopus chandeliers. This crowd has plenty of space to hang out in, around tables near the bar. In general, as Russ Wilson, the bandleader, tells it, “the swing crowd ranges from 20 to 80.” One of the teachers, Stacey, sported cool oxford style shoes and the skirt of her vintage style dress swung and flared out as she demonstrated moves with her partner and co-teacher, Jonas.

But my husband and I were there to take a beginner’s Argentine tango class downstairs at Eleven on Grove, in the crystal ballroom. The building is actually an old YMCA built in the 1920s, called Grove House.

March/April 2013 | capitalatplay.com 29

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After the class, the Practilonga social dancing runs from 8:30 to 10:30pm. Raven-haired Karen Jaffe teaches Argentine tango and has been dancing since 1997; she is a superb teacher, and participants ranged in age from 20 to 60. One lovely woman I spoke with is an accountant, and works in seasonal tax preparation; a man I danced with works at Lowe’s as a receiver in shipping. There is no need to bring a male partner, because Jaffe’s assistants, the very suave and straight-backed Michael and Sean, step in, and even the absolute neophyte is welcomed, encouraged and entertained by the intensity of this graceful, powerful, stylish form of dance. As Karen revealed, “There is no ceiling to what one can learn in tango. You just need a connection with your partner and the music.” People in the class were all shapes and sizes, all working on their posture, stride and precision of movement. As Jaffe explains it, “you want to be as graceful as a swan from the waist up, and as grounded as an elephant in terms of the work in your legs.” For further information see www. tangogypsies.com.

As an alternative, on Tuesdays, you can join The Asheville Morris Men’s practice of men’s Cotswald, Welsh Border and Mummers Play Traditional dances on Tuesday evenings at 7:30, St. Mary’s Church, 337 Charlotte Street.

Their traditions go back to the 16th century, so if your mind moves towards Shakespeare, you are right on target.

They celebrate the changing seasons, as well, with winter practice for a spring and summer performing and tour schedule, and you can wear suspenders.

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Another way of celebrating the turning of the seasons in a folk style dance tradition is to join in artist Barbara Nerenz-Kelley’s choreographies of Meditative Circle Dances, or Sacred Dances. They are, indeed, performed in a large circle. These dances are slow and meditative, a joyful kind of fellowship, and one is “solo,” because there are no partners, but everyone is part of the larger circle. As Barbara says, “There are no mistakes; there are only variations,” so don’t be afraid of joining in, because these easier dances allow anyone of any age, and in any shape, to participate. I felt happy, not overtaxed, after a two-hour session. They are based on the German choreographer and dance professor Bernhard Wosien’s research into South Eastern European dance traditions.

These dances are often accompanied by classical music, or contemporary music. They have long been embraced by the spiritual community of Findhorn, in northeast Scotland. Barbara, a local resident, teaches these dances on Wednesdays, about once a month, from 11:00am to 1:00pm, at the Common Light Meeting Place in Black Mountain. To join the mailing list, email nerenz-kelley@ charter.net.

Lessons with a Legend

Mel Riedl is a legend of social dance. He and his second wife, Renee, live in Hendersonville, and, at 84, he still teaches. You can take a private lesson with a man who put on revues called “Champagne Interludes” where everyone who danced, at places like Manhattan’s Tavern on the Green or El Morocco, received a bottle of champagne.

In 1948, when Mel was 21 years old, he “wanted to find a girl,” so he went to Roseland, and drank 7 orange sodas, before he realized that in order to actually meet a girl, he had to learn to dance. He found a newspaper ad that offered an opportunity to learn to be a dance teacher, for free. After six months, “he was teaching the teachers,” at Armando’s, a dance school in Manhattan. His teaching career began because he was the last person practicing late one night, and a woman came in who wanted a lesson. Mel was the only one available to give her that lesson. She signed up for $400.00 worth of lessons, a princely sum, and refused to study with anyone else. Before long he had quit Armando’s and was teaching in people’s homes. A famous psychiatrist, Rene Hartog, put up the money so Mel Riedl, a former cabinet maker, could build his own dancing school on Broadway, near 83rd Street. By 1949 he had 100 students and started putting on dances on Friday and Saturday nights.

At a certain point, he became quite famous. He was asked to judge national dance contests, made television appearances and shot commercials. He was flown to Jamaica once a month to teach the governor and “the big shots.” He put on yearly revues at Roseland from 1951 through 1964; during that same period, on behalf of the Dance Educators of America, he instructed dance teachers from all over the United States each year at New York’s Waldorf Astoria Hotel and built other dance schools in the Bronx and Queens.

Mel Riedl reached a turning point in his life after his wife died of an illness, so he closed the New York schools and relocated to Florida, where he established schools in Pompano Beach and Fort Lauderdale.

In 1972 Mel met a young woman named Renee; she was 27 and he was 45. In the process of courting her, he told her stories about his life in New York, but only when he took her north and they went to Roseland, where he was greeted with a standing ovation, did she realize that everything he had told her was true!

In 1980 he sold the schools and he and Renee traveled the world, dancing on cruise ships like the Queen Mary, and on ships from the Royal Viking and Carnival lines. They came to Hendersonville in 2001; in the studio behind his house, you can take lessons with the man who not only taught many stars and political figures to foxtrot, rumba, cha-cha, mambo and waltz but also formulated the steps!

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March/April 2013 | capitalatplay.com 31

L&L Thursday If you are looking for friendly people and a cocktail, try an evening of Swing Dance at the bright and spacious Olive or Twist Restaurant and Bar at 81 Broadway in Asheville, North Carolina, with free evening parking at Home Trust Bank.

You can drop in anytime between 8:00 and 11:00pm, when Heather Masterton’s Quartet will be playing. Masterton studied waltz, foxtrot, rumba, swing, country and two-step at the Asheville ballroom, but when she began singing, she moved off the dance floor; she filled me in on some of the history of swing. “East Coast style swing is the easiest to learn, followed by the more intermediate and advanced Lindy, West Coast style and Shag. Shag is really the North Carolina Jitterbug, called Shag in the late 1940’s beach communities of our state.” I learned that the Charleston and Balboa dances, which are part of the swing tradition, originated in the early 1900s. Olive or Twist is a happy place, with welcoming dancers hanging around the bar, lively music led by Heather’s singing, a casual and easy atmosphere, populated by people who love to dance and are more than willing to partner a stranger. I was even asked to dance a couple of times by patient, supportive men, a bonanza of a night for a solo beginner.

The Contra Dance at Warren Wilson College starts at 8:00pm, although I would recommend the beginners’ lessons at 7:30pm if you are new to this style of dance. You can track down information on danceasheville.com or oldfarmersball. com. I met dancers of all ages, from Miranda, age twelve, who attends Asheville Middle School, to one gentleman I am sure was in his 80s. I was shepherded by two very kind men, one in his 60s, from Waynesville, and another in his 30s, Lou, a computer programmer by day. I danced the first set with one and the 2nd set with the other. Although you have a partner you come back to, during the dance you dance with many other people as well. It’s common that people who know how to dance will partner up with newcomers.

We began in pairs and lined up in lengthy rows from one end of this old wood-lined gym to the other. There was a rock climbing practice wall at one end, and the Appalachian folk band, Euphoria String Band, played Old Time Music, jigs and reels, while Lindsay Morris “called” the dances. The dances are not difficult to learn and it doesn’t matter how “well” you do them; the agenda is to have fun. Even my husband had a great time. Able Allen, the President of the Old Farmers Ball board, has been dancing contra dance “for 25 years, since I was a baby on my mama’s shoulders.” The evening began with about 100 people and there were at least 200 by the time I left: breathless, happy and slightly dizzy.

TUESDAY BY BETH BOONE

Your Renoir or your Rottie.

Portraiture by Beth Boone 828 665-7730 | 1103 Brevard Rd. | Asheville NC 28806 | frameittoat.com

32 CA ITALat LAY | March/April 2013

Asheville, NC 828.231.3697 bethboone@aol.com

Roxanne Frue

L&L Friday Jack of the Wood, at 95 Patton Avenue, the Celtic style bar that offers a great pub atmosphere, hosts many bands.

I always like its warm, crowded feel, and of course, it offers great ale. One Friday sampling was The French Broad Playboys. Patrons could dance Western Swing starting at 9:00pm. But on other Fridays, they even feature Zydeco.

I used to dance zydeco and have been to Louisiana to attend festivals, so I’m partial to the dance style, from its simplest forms to its wildest, in the local clubs down in Louisiana, where it can get pretty athletic. I asked two locals, psychotherapists Judy and Roger Miller, about their experiences going to a couple of zydeco events in Asheville.

Judy loved the way people would dance with you, whether they knew you or not, and said she couldn’t help but want to get out on the dance floor. One of her friends became engaged to a guy she met zydeco dancing. You can put your cowboy boots to good use dancing zydeco.

Saturday The Asheville Ballroom and Dance Center, 991 Sweeten Creek Road, offers a comprehensive array of dance lessons.

Susan Duncan

Broker/Owner, GRI, CRS, Certified Woman-Owned Small Business

On a Saturday night you can attend a Ballroom Dance, from 8:00 to 11:00pm and take a lesson beforehand, at 7:00pm.

It’s been a long time since I tried the cha-cha or the hustle, the foxtrot or the waltz, but I’m looking forward to it. And there’s a 6,000 square foot floating hardwood dance floor. I think I’ll feel like I’m in the movies.

Sunday If you love Baroque music, as I do, you can join English Country Dances named “Astoria Lass,” or “Foula Reel,” or “The Play’s the Thing,” from 4:00 to 6:30 pm on most Sundays at 19 Zillicoa Street in Montford. The Homewood Event and Conference Center is actually an old house, and the dancers gather in a gorgeous wood-paneled great hall.

As Karen Gaughan, pianist, is quick to point out, everyone is welcome and no partner is necessary. There are “variations in tempo,” so the dances range from elegant to lively, although dress is casual. Typically, the live music includes piano, flute, recorder, fiddle and concertina. Dances like these appear in film adaptations of Jane Austen. English Country Dance is the precursor to Contra Dance and Square Dance in America. At the end of the week, I feel I’ve come full circle in a history of dance. Be sure to check danceasheville. com for specific schedules.

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March/April 2013 | capitalatplay.com 33

Seriously, Playful Written By: Dasha Morgan Photographs By: Linda Cluxton

LEARNING FROM AND ABOUT CHILDREN HAS TURNED INTO A FULL TIME BUSINESS FOR BECKY CANNON AND HER DAUGHTER, EMI KUBOTA. Even before the birth of Emi, her first daughter in Japan, Becky was studying and learning about child development and the importance of “play” in early child development.

In college she was inspired by specialists such as Piaget, Erik Erikson, Maria Montessori, and educators such as A. S. Neill, and John Dewey. She studied the philosophy of Rudolf Steiner and the Waldorf School, whose philosophy teaches that the first developmental stage in childhood greatly influences speaking and communication skills—the so-called social skills. Play and experiencing nature is of the utmost importance in early formative years, more so than learning the alphabet, numbers or early reading. Creativity needs to be encouraged and nourished at an early age. Now Becky and her daughter run a highly successful company, i play., Inc., which nourishes happy healthy babies with environmentally safe products, while making life easier for parents.

Becky started her company as a mail order business in 1982 that imported and shipped primarily woolen diaper covers, for reusable cloth diapers, held together

by Velcro®. At that time the company was very small.

She, her former husband Naoki Kubota and daughter Emi, had just moved into the Kenilworth neighborhood of Asheville, after living in Japan, where the role of motherhood is seen as an honorable and revered occupation. Few Japanese children are sent to daycare or a nursery, to allow their mothers to work outside the home. When Becky gave birth to her second child, Mari, she discovered that many items easily found in Japan were missing in the United States. Specifically, there was a need for woolen diaper covers. So she asked her mother-in-law to send them to her from Japan.

34 CA ITALat LAY | March/April 2013

Emi Kubota

March/April 2013 | capitalatplay.com 35

Out of this, a business was born. It started with Becky working for herself out of the garage, then grew slightly with a few other items to sell and ship by only a handful of helpers. Today—after 31 years —she has expanded the line into a myriad of child related products. There are two main brands, with the launch of a third one on the way. i play.® is primarily a swimwear and apparel line. You can find adorable bibs, rain and sun hats, warm cuddlesuits, vests, jackets, raincoats, and umbrellas all made in appealing colors and styles. This brand accounts for approximately 60% of the business. The green sprouts® line has practical feeding products, toys and baby care items for health and grooming. Here there are colorful backpacks, lunch bags, toys, sneakers, baby bottles, toothbrushes, plates, and food storage boxes, all carefully designed to ensure safety and practicality. This division, which was launched in 2008, accounts for approximately 40% of the business. Look for the new line of make-your-own fresh baby food ingredients, grow healthy™. Perhaps you have seen the colorful displays of green sprout® items in stores locally, such as Earth Fare or Whole Foods. Obviously keeping up with the details of the production of so many products is an enormous task!

With persistence and a positive attitude Becky has been able to overcome horrific business setbacks. She says, “Over the years The interior of their new store on South Liberty St, in Asheville, North Carolina Becky Cannon

36 CA ITALat LAY | March/April 2013

she had no choice, but to figure out a solution.” Many times it was a “sink or swim” situation. One of the first crises came some time ago. For no apparent reason sales of cloth diapers all of a sudden dropped incredibly. “They just plummeted.”

This emergency caused Becky to create a trustworthy Swim Diaper. She really needed a solution, and a light bulb went off, suggesting this new idea. Another time was after the company had moved into an industrial park and had hired one distributor for all i play.® products. All of a sudden, out of the blue, the distributor needed to close his business (for health reasons).

Either Becky takes over that aspect of the business to become her own distributor— package her own items and make the sales herself—or she would have to close the doors. The i play.® name recognition at that time was quite limited.

Somehow she scrambled and pulled it all together.

“It was very stressful,” but the company got through this crisis too. Another time, five or six years ago, Target, who was a major buyer with perhaps as much as 30% of overall sales, decided to drop the i play.® account. Of course sales plummeted, and again the company had to find a way to pick up the slack. This time they reached out to the smaller stores and boutiques. It was a rough road, but by opening new accounts they have strengthened their sales base. Perhaps it was a blessing in disguise.

The company has grown from approximately $1 million in sales in 1995 to $10 million a year in sales currently. In fact Emi Kubota, Vice President, says she “is projecting over 20% growth over last year” (quite an amazing expectation in today’s economy). There is a team of 55 employees, in a 40,000 square foot facility on Riverside Drive, where they design, market and distribute these baby products. A strong graphic design team with Becky as the head creative director works to create an integrated “look-and-feel” across all their brands. Individual sales representatives promote and sell the line throughout the United States and are offered incentives to reach higher sales goals. The New York City and San Francisco areas are the strongest in terms of brand loyalty for their merchandise with approximately 10% of total sales being international. Their product line can be found in retail boutiques throughout the United States, as well as in many major stores, such as Whole Foods and buybuy Baby Happily for those of us here in the western Carolinas’, last fall i play.,Inc., opened a retail store at 233 South Liberty Street off Chestnut Street in Asheville.

Swimwear is their most popular and best selling category.

The patented Ultimate Swim Diaper® technology is well recognized and desired as a product today. Although disposable diapers were widely available in America in 1982,

The company has grown from approximately $1 million in sales in 1995 to $10 million a year in sales currently, and projecting over 20% growth over last year

“We wish we had moved sooner.”

March/April 2013 | capitalatplay.com 37

there were no diapers specifically designed for swimming for diaper-age children. This made swimming with a baby incredibly problematic for a parent!! The diaper of this swimsuit is snug-fitting around the legs and waist of the infant and features a waterproof layer to prevent leakage, an extra absorbent layer to absorb wetness and a wick-away liner to draw moisture away from the baby’s skin. This market introduction was welcome news to many, and it allowed company sales to soar. Becky gathered a team of local home sewers to begin manufacturing the patented swim diapers.

At one point, the home sewers were able to produce 10,000 swim diapers a week. It has proven to be an extraordinarily popular item even today.

Becky has always been mindful of materials that might harm the little ones. The cheery fabrics and fanciful designs in the line are carefully tested to be sure the fiber or material used will not harm the delicate skin of a child. Design details can make a large difference to the safety of a developing baby. For instance, there are baby sunglasses to protect their fresh young eyes, as small babies can absorb more harmful solar radiation than adults; the toothbrushes have silicone bristles and a mouth guard; many of the plastic storage boxes are packable, stackable and reusable— all very convenient for parents; and they sell a wonderful pair of scissors to chop up table food that also has a special tip for mashing the food. It is obvious that Becky and her talented designers have considered the health and safety of the child in their designs, as well as the parents’ wishes and needs.

Product integrity, the health of the baby, and safety are of utmost importance in their designs. The company works with internationally recognized laboratories to ensure their products are as safe and healthy as possible.

In 2003 the company discovered the dangers of PVC and removed it from all their products. In 2006 they discontinued BPA from all feeding items. Their packaging is printed on 100% recycled paper with vegetable based inks. The bath toys, yoga mats and summer sneakers are all formamide-free.

Formamide, which is added to soften vinyl in products, such as puzzle mats and flip flops, has been assessed as a potential risk by many national authorities in Europe. Although it is not banned in the United States, i play.,Inc., has eliminated it from their EVA foam products.

The Next Generation In 2008 Emi Kubota decided to join her mother’s company, Early on as young children, Emi and her sister both helped pack orders in the family garage in Kenilworth and helped out when needed. Emi left for college to pursue her dream Becly & Emi in the of international development new i play,. Inc store while Mari, in contrast, followed in Asheville, N.C. in their father’s footsteps and 38 CA ITALat LAY | March/April 2013

became an acupuncturist. Emi graduated from Middlebury College in Vermont in 2002 with a degree in economics and international studies.

As she has always been interested in helping small businesses grow and develop, she volunteered in Kenya and later Cambodia, working with microfinance and microenterprise Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs).

Later she worked with social venture capital fund managers that invest and provide jobs for growth in the Balkans, Peru, Bolivia, Nicaragua, East Africa, Vietnam, and other countries.

With these experiences under her belt, she decided to go for graduate degrees at Columbia University. There she received dual Masters Degrees from the School of International & Public Affairs and the Business School in 2008..

Emi’s close friend from graduate school helped her to see the light that joining i play.,Inc., her mother’s company, might be a great career and business fit. She would have an amazing opportunity to contribute and be effective. She would be working in a growing, thriving company. She has worn many hats over the years, including leading different departments, such as marketing, supply chain. sales, and now finance. She has been the Vice President for just over one year and is now a co-owner alongside Becky. As a newcomer to each department she has worked in, Emi has experienced a steep

learning curve, having to work long hours to meet the everychanging needs of the business. Fortunately she “loves the challenge. There is always something that needs to get done.”

Currently most of i play.,Inc., production comes from China. Over the years the company has had many contractors everywhere—Tennessee, Alabama, Texas, Georgia, South Carolina, Mexico, Guatemala, Thailand, India, Taiwan and Vietnam. Becky says, “We went to China because of their infrastructure, and because they are organized. We have a fabulous China Officer Manager, in Shanghai, whom we talk to on Skype every day. He has an MBA from the University of Georgia and has great values.” The testing of their products in China is done by a U.S.-based testing company. The CPSC is the Consumer Product Safety Commission, a government agency that regulates product safety, and the testing of their products is done by a U.S.-based testing company. Emi adds, “It is always the responsibility of the brand to ensure that its products are safe, free of harmful substances and produced in a responsible way. We are always working to improve this for our customers and the long-term health of our company.

I believe that building international partnerships through trade promotes long-term economic growth on both sides.”

The Next Chapter After over thirty years of focusing on the best natural care for babies, Becky Cannon has been working on a book, gathering together information from all the experiences she has gleaned over the years about natural care for babies.

She plans to share it with readers soon in: grow healthy,

Build Smarter, Build Cleaner, Build EcoWise.

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grow happy: Whole Baby Care Guide. The book is organized into five parts: Whole Love, Whole Baby, Whole Foods, Whole Cooking and Whole Living. It lays a foundation for the healthy development of the child’s first three years—in body, mind, and spirit.

Becky started the company as a Mom wanting the best for her babies and for babies everywhere. It has been quite a journey with many twists and turns. Her talent and creativity permeates the company, and her “can do” attitude is an inspiration. She has learned a lot from trial and error, as well as from listening to her customers. In 2012 i play.,Inc., was ranked as one of the nation’s fastest growing private companies by Inc. magazine. It joined Spirit Airlines, television maker Vizio and Honest Tea among the prominent brands on the list.

The 2012 the Cribsie Award was awarded to i play.®’s Ultimate Swim Diaper for the Cutest Swim Diaper in the fashion category, and to green sprouts® Baby Food Storage Cubes for Most Convenient Way to Store Baby Food. The Cribsie Awards are the definitive awards for the parenting industry— the equivalent of an Oscar for a baby brand product—with the winners voted by the general public. In 2012 Becky won the Aya Award, which recognizes an independent successful outstanding woman in business through the Asheville Chamber of Commerce. Her company has committed itself to “focusing on doing the best thing, the right thing, for babies—from the inside to the outside.”

There is no doubt that this mother-daughter team, Becky Cannon and Emi Kubota, have a solid future. They continue to work together feverishly to create innovative plans to spur growth and prosperity for i play.,Inc., as they provide health and happiness for babies worldwide.

The 2012 the Cribsie Award was awarded to i play.®’s Ultimate Swim Diaper for Cutest Swim Diaper in the fashion category

Special promotion for Grandparents!

Mention this article at the iPlay baby store, at 233 S. Liberty Street in Asheville, and receive a

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March/April 2013 | capitalatplay.com 41

News in the

Old North State

Free online courses from Duke earn accreditation

The American Council on Education has given two of Duke University’s MOOCs credit recommendations. The ‘massive open online courses’ are becoming progressively popular among higher education right now.

The online course is taught by professors from notable universities and available to anyone. Previously, par ticipants who took these courses did not receive any official credit. However, the ACE is now considering five courses for credit, including the two from Duke. The Duke courses that were given credit recommendations are Mohamed Noor’s “Introduction to Genetics and Evolution” and Roger Barr’s “Bioelectricity: A Quantitative Approach.” A primary way MOOCs could change higher education is through their free availability to anyone with Internet connection, increasing oppor tunities to earn college credit. However, critics advise that this model could disrupt higher education.

Burt’s Bees names new top executive

Bur t’s Bees, headquar tered at the American Tobacco Campus in Durham, has a new chief in control. Craig Stevenson will replace Nick Vlahos, who has been promoted to senior vice president and chief customer officer of the Clorox Co., which owns Bur t’s Bees. Stevenson’s new title is vice president and general manager of Bur t’s Bees. He previously joined Clorox in 1994 as a sales manager in the Kingsford Products Division, and headed Clorox’s $260 million Professional Products Division.

Speed limit increase Drivers who live in, work in, or commute through Raleigh may be stepping on the accelerator a bit more. The NC Depar tment of Transpor tation is increasing the speed limit on a 22-mile stretch of I-540 from 65 mph to 70 mph. The section extends from Glenwood Avenue near Brier Creek eastward and then southward to U.S. 64/264 near Knightdale. The Depar tment of Transpor tation made the change based on a review of crash data, current speeds, shoulder widths and lane widths. According to spokesman Steve Abbott, the agency would not increase the speed limits on sections of roads with large numbers of crashes, especially if most of the crashes are associated with speeding. Due to its reasonably wide lanes and shoulders, the section of I-540 has been suitable for a higher speed limit. In comparison, I-540 southwest of Glenwood Avenue is slightly narrower in some areas, and the exits are closer to one another. In addition, DOT is evaluating sections of I-85 nor th of Durham for potential raises in their speed limits.

New cold storage facility at port The Nor th Carolina Council of State has approved a ground lease permitting USA InvestCo to 42 CA ITALat LAY | March/April 2013

construct a 75,000-square-foot cold storage facility to store vegetables, fruit, and meat.

The new addition at the Por t of Wilmington could eventually be expanded to 300,000 square feet in 75,000-square-foot increments.

Chuck Schoninger, managing member of USA InvestCo, explained, “Considering we’re the second-biggest pork producer and secondbiggest producer of poultry in aggregate… we’d really like to keep that business in Nor th Carolina.” Of the 110 jobs the facility is expected to bring to the area, trucking, onsite packaging, and management are included.

The project is conditional on the award of state and local incentives, but USA InvestCo is preparing an initial investment of $13 million in the plan. Originally 20 years, the lease also has four five-year options, which could result in 40 years total. When the lease ends, the por t will keep the privately built cold storage facility. For the first five years, USA InvestCo will not pay rent. The sixth year, the rent will be $23,650, and increase 3 percent annually in years that follow. Por t officials hope the new facility will suppor t their competition with neighboring por ts in Charleston, S.C., Savannah, GA., and Norfolk, VA.

NC Solar Center welcomes grant The Nor th Carolina Solar Center, an independent organization within N.C. State University, will receive a $500,000 federal grant to study ways to add more alternativefuel stations in NC. The Alternative Fuel Implementation Team, run by the Solar Center, will use the money to determine the best way to promote an expanded network of stations that offer biodiesel fuel, highethanol blends and electric-charging facilities for vehicles. Par tners on the AFIT include local governments in NC’s Triangle region and Mecklenburg County, Duke Energy Corp. in Charlotte, gas utility PSNC and Holmes Oil Co. in Chapel Hill.

Panthers & Charlotte near a deal Based on an agreement recently endorsed

by City Council, the Carolina Panthers would stay in Charlotte for at least 15 more years. Although the agreement still requires approval and contributions from the state

North Carolina at a glance and a final council vote, its terms call for the city to contribute $143.75 million to stadium renovations, a maintenance fund, and gameday traffic expenses. The state would fund an additional $62.5 million for stadium improvements.

Stadium improvements account for $250 million of the total investment, including $96.25 million from the Panthers, divided among stadium upgrades, maintenance, and five rent-free events each year for the city. Lingering issues among this proposal include the legislature having to decide how and whether to invest state revenue in the project.

billion in federal, state and local taxes. For NC, beer distributor activities contribute $298 million in federal, state, and local tax bases, which does not include the $320 million in tax revenue generated for beer sold outside of NC. Including the impact of distributor operations, capital investment and community involvement, the overall number of jobs suppor ted by beer has reached nearly 9,856.”

Duke Energy battery project gets ‘Project of the Year’ award

UNC-Greensboro best for commuters UNC-Greensboro has been dubbed the “Best Workplace for Commuters” among universities in the country due to its programs targeted toward sustainable transpor tation.

UNCG welcomed the top prize in the university category in the National Center for Transit Research’s awards program. In 2012, UNCG received a gold medal in the competition, and Stanford University took the top prize. Scott Milman, the director of auxiliary services at UNCG, explained the school’s par tnerships with mass transit organizations such as the Piedmont Authority for Regional Transpor tation and Greensboro Transit Authority, along with using the ride-sharing program Zimride and care-share service Zipcar, have all helped establish alternative transpor tation options for faculty, staff, and students. Millman also noted, “Sending a car to school adds to the cost of attendance. We want students and parents to know they can save money by coming to UNCG without a car.”

Italian solar company sets U.S. operations in Charlotte Siser USA, a solar development company launched last year to offer Italian firm Siser Srl access to the U.S. solar market, has formed its headquar ters in Charlotte. Currently, the company has three employees. However, according to a press release, the company plans to hire 10 people over the next three years. Guido Barbi, president of the young company, claims it chose Charlotte for its

“excellent infrastructure, par ticularly the international airpor t, an attractive business environment and convenient time zone to Europe, affordable living costs, and high quality of life.” In addition, Siser has a par tnership with Jetion Solar U.S. Corp., the U.S. subsidiary of a Chinese panel that has its U.S. headquar ters in Charlotte. Siser’s parent company has installed more than 50 megawatts of solar projects in Germany, Spain, Italy, and Eastern Europe in the last five years. Siser’s services will include plant design, equipment selection, permitting and license application, financing suppor t, installation, and maintenance.

Beer boosts economy According to a recently released repor t by the National Beer Wholesalers Association, the 78 beer distributor establishments in Nor th Carolina generate 3,869 jobs and $1.4 billion in economic impact. On a national scale, beer distributors employ 130,000 fulltime equivalent positions, add $54 billion to the national economy, and create $10.3

Duke Energy’s 402-kilowatt battery project at the Rankin Substation in Gaston County has been named Project of the Year in PowerGrid International magazine for integrating renewable energy and the grid. The battery tests the utility’s ability to smooth minuteby-minute power surges and troughs from the 1.2 megawatt rooftop solar project at Mount Holly’s National Gypsum plant just a mile away. Accrding to Dan Sowder, Duke Energy’s senior project manager, “As clouds roll by, solar output can go from 100 percent to practically zero…with enough solar, that could disrupt the electrical grid. The Rankin Substation project is testing whether our battery setup can smooth out the fluctuations caused by solar’s intermittent output.” The Rankin project is one of several pilot programs, involving testing large-scale batteries at wind farms, Duke is operating in Texas, Nor th Carolina and Indiana. Many of the projects are in the Charlotte region.

At Rankin, Duke installed 12 nickel-chloride batteries made by FIAMM Energy Solutions of Italy and constructed them as a single large battery. Chicago’s S&C Electric Co. provided the electrical design for the control system. Since the end of 2011, Duke has altered the battery system to continuously discover and develop the most effective way to use batteries to integrate irregular power from solar projects to the grid, which has to run at constant power levels.

March/April 2013 | capitalatplay.com 43

Written By Tina Barr

THE

Photos By Linda D. Cluxton

ACCIDENTAL CHOCOLATIER

44 CA ITALat LAY | March/April 2013

George Williams became a chocolate maker by accident.

Over eight years ago, a couple approached him about leasing a property.

“They came to my office downtown and asked if I had any retail space. They told me they had a burning desire to open a chocolate business and asked, ‘How about if we partner up?’”

H

e remodeled the space, down Times Arcade Alley, right in the center of downtown Brevard, bought and installed equipment, even paid for their moving expenses, and was ready for them to take over. But they reneged on their agreement. “Knowing what I know now, these folks did not know a lot about chocolate.” Since he refuses to be discouraged by obstacles, George thought to himself, “How hard can it be?” For the next three months he proceeded “to ruin a lot of chocolate. I turned a lot of milk chocolate white.”

At 70 years old, he works twelve hours a day, seven days a week, but for him “it’s a fun business. I eat chocolate every day.”

George seems an unlikely candidate for a chocolate connoisseur. He is a low-key kind of guy, warm and entirely down to earth, who can talk to anybody, an “everyman,” and his circuitous path into chocolate making begins with his experiences in business in general. George was born in Rockwood, Tennessee. He had been living for a number of years in Florida, but moved up to Brevard to take over his father’s company, Brevard Glass and Glazing. “Dad had a glass and glazing company he was closing, so I took over the business.”

George and his son David ran the glass and glazing company for fifteen years, and they closed it in 1990.

George wasn’t sure what to do next, and he thought he’d build

March/April 2013 | capitalatplay.com 45

“An advertising guy wanted to sell advertising to me. I gave him fifty business cards and $100.00 to hand out the cards.” The business cards promised a free chocolate for people who visited the store, and he’s never done any “advertising” since then.

George Williams 46 CA ITALat LAY | March/April 2013

a house for his family. His wife said, “You don’t know anything about building a house.” He tells me proudly, “I’ve been married to the wrong woman for 47 years; I’m very fortunate.” He built his house, and, having succeeded in building one house, he went on to build others. He became interested in renovating old buildings, and other real estate ventures, which he continues to pursue concurrent with managing Downtown Chocolates.

For the last eight years, he has been making chocolate. When I ask him how one learns to make chocolate, he tells me the recipes are easy but calls the mastery of chocolate-making “a bear.”

Making chocolate is a chemical process, almost a feat of alchemy, as he describes it. To create chocolate with a smooth consistency and shiny finish, for use in molded or dipped chocolates, one must temper it. During the months he taught himself to make chocolate, there were times when the chocolate would be perfectly manageable, but heat and humidity affect the process and it’s difficult to melt it to the right temperature. George Williams uses a Belgian chocolate that comes in bulk. He mastered the chocolate-making process and now melts it, tempers it, and produces a wonderful array of flavored truffles, turtles, barks, and dipped chocolates in milk, white and dark varieties.

He relates how when he first opened, “An advertising guy wanted to sell advertising to me. I gave him fifty business cards and $100.00 to hand out the cards.” The business cards promised a free chocolate for people who visited the store, and

he’s never done any “advertising” since then. The visual array of chocolates is alluring, and they look perfect. Glossy caps of truffles in dark, milk and white chocolate are inventively decorated. A white globe filled with a cherry kirsch cream is topped with a tiny sprig of dried cherry. “Dark and Stormy” is a square of white ganache that bursts into the mouth, a piracy of rum and ginger. Bourbon pecan is a gooey, rich button of flavor, inside a crunchy robe of pecans. Lavender, my favorite, is a subtle deep chocolate, just slightly tasting of the herb, so that it gives dimension to the dark ganache. According to Lindsay Edwards, a vet tech who began working at Downtown Chocolates in college, their toffee is very popular. Its buttery density is the result of standing over the pot and stirring it for a full hour. George finds a book and reads while he stirs. Their turtles are an over-the-top experience, a plunge into a pool of caramel, pecans breaking from their shell of dark chocolate. Their combination milk, white and dark chocolate bark is a visual abstract painting.

Despite the delicious finished products, George shares with me the way these are all the results of experiments. He likes to come up with something new; he “gets tired of the same stuff over and over.” But he assures me “I’ve made some chocolates you would spit out!” And he is willing to fulfill the whims of his customers. At a customer’s request, he has even made chocolate-covered pork rinds!

George is always looking for ways to please his customers, and he has come up with some great ideas to incorporate into

“I’ve been married to the wrong woman for 47 years; I’m very fortunate.”

March/April 2013 | capitalatplay.com 47

what he offers. For example, he has a machine that can print George’s philosophy about getting on in life is that you don’t onto chocolate. Lawyers or real estate agents might bring in a need to know anything, you just need to go step by step. He business card, and he can replicate the printing on a business- thinks to himself, “I can do that.” Taking the initiative has led sized square of white chocolate. One of his boxes of truffles to success in his business ventures. As George says, people features one of these white rectangular pieces, with a picture move through life and are thrown “curve balls.” His response is, imprinted on it of the famous Brevard White Squirrel, which is a “You can feel sorry for yourself or you can think, ‘Where do I go unique, and very real, breed of squirrel found in Brevard, North from here?’” He goes into the back of the chocolate shop and Carolina. “You can take any pictures, and transfer them. One returns with a slew of color, xeroxed photographs of wrecked guy asked me to transfer a photo of a Harley Davidson; I’ve even houses. They look abandoned, filled with junk, decrepit, roofs done baby pictures.” fallen in. He tells me that everyone would say, “Tear it down.”

He bought molds for the white chocolate squirrel lollypops His response was, “People have no vision.” He shows me the that caught my eye. I have glossy color brochure of a to admit I think they are house after he has renovated adorable. The “Emergency it, and the difference is Chocolate Bar” with a red unimaginable, magical. He cross on the label, was profited, and as he says it in designed and printed by his his modest, matter-of-fact wife Kathie Williams, who fashion, made “a butt load of does all the labels. As George money.” But he assures me says of his wife, “She’s my that better than the money is boss.” She has some degree the satisfaction that you just of involvement in the shop, take a wrecked house and fix since she also offers seasonal it. decorating suggestions, and, George’s confidence, as George says, “She’s my and his creative, inventive in-house critic.”

George philosophy of effort extends has expanded the shop’s to the way in which he runs offerings to include coffee. the business. Lindsay calls There are some gaily-draped out from the back of the store huge burlap coffee sacks on that, “He’s a great boss!” He the back wall, and George gives autonomy to his seven explains to me, “We sell a lot employees, all part-timers, of coffee.” because, as he asserts, “You In the summer he offers can’t make a mistake in ice cream from Wells Dairy here.”

One employee, a in Wisconsin. George tried polite young man I spoke many different brands of ice with on the phone, Juan cream, before settling on Mascaro, is the son of the what he considers a superior Athletic Director at Brevard choice. During the summer, College. He’s a soccer player the shop sells milkshakes and and a dark crème brulee malts. “A lot of kids don’t truffle man. Another longknow what a malt is. It’s ice term employee, Terry, refers The inside of the Square Root, in Brevard, NC cream, malt, and milk, and to “the school of George.” that’s it.” Williams makes George himself admits, “I’d it sound so delicious that I’m already vowing to return in the hate to go to culinary school and find out what I’m doing wrong.” summer and taste one!

“You just start; you just try, and it’s okay to fail.” By the time George is an incredibly friendly person, and if I’m inclined I leave the store I am inspired by George Williams’ strength, to come back to the shop, it’s an indication that others feel the intelligence, humor, and humility. same way. For George, the most important part of the business Obviously, people return to this low-key, relaxed, café store is the contact with people. “I’m a people person. Everybody for more than chocolates. Despite the sophistication of the who leaves here smiles. People have great stories if you will sheet fountain, built of salvaged copper metal, that George built listen to them. You can buy one chocolate here and put it on and installed outside the store, with its outdoor benches and your credit card. No minimum sale.” His customers have taken wide windows, its front of brick salvaged from across the street, Downtown Chocolates home to Belgium, Jerusalem, Japan, Downtown Chocolates is a casual place. The space is filled with Ireland, Guatemala, Sweden and Finland. And individuals drive tables, and one can imagine people coming in for a cup of coffee in from Charlotte or from Tennessee to replenish their personal and a treat, sitting for as long as they like and passing the time. stashes of chocolate.

Employee Juan Mascaro describes shifting between making 48 CA ITALat LAY | March/April 2013

March/April 2013 | capitalatplay.com 49

chocolate, while it’s at just the right temperature to work with, and going back and forth from the kitchen to serve the shop’s customers. There is nothing fancy here, except the decorated chocolates, and anyone would feel at home.

But the story of Downtown Chocolates is really only one aspect of a much more compelling and more important story, and that is the larger story of Williams’ development as an entrepreneur. Once he had built his first house, the experience led to other renovations, more expansive real estate ventures, and he began buying up and renovating properties other people

deck, and floored the entire space with 6,000 slices of pine post, which make a beautiful “tiled” wood floor so sophisticated it looks European, though historically that kind of flooring has had an industrial appeal due to its durability. The squares in the floor support the patterns of squares all over the restaurant, which Jennifer named “The Square Root.” Initially the theme of squares was based on the preexisting leaded-glass squares in the storefront. In his characteristic fashion, George worked on the renovation without spending a lot of money. He used goat fencing up against a counter to create a barrier and echo the theme of more squares. He scavenged the decorative tin roofing “out of some guy’s trash pile.” The bar, a 20 foot long solid piece made from spalted maple taken off of nearby King Street, looks sculptural.

It’s magnificent. The bar-back is a Brunswick he managed to find; it’s unique, art-deco in style, and he says he has been told, “They’re not many of them around anymore.” People said it was a “terrible considered hopeless prospects. His imagination, his vision and location for a restaurant,” but it became “a destination,” his confidence in his own abilities led to the renovation of the the busiest restaurant in town. His daughter ran it for four alley where Downtown Chocolates is located and of which it is years, but it was so successful she had no life, so they sold the a part. restaurant but still own the building.

The story of his renovation of Times Arcade Alley begins with Further along the alley, on one side, is a building with five his daughter. His daughter, Jennifer Brandenburg, had managed large murals in spaces for windows that used to be covered with a restaurant in Winston Salem. Jennifer got married and bars. “It looked like a prison.” So George worked with the wanted to open a restaurant in Brevard. George “had a bunch local Arts Council to have the bars removed and have five artists of these old buildings,” and redid this alley with the help of his replace them with murals, but of course, George supplied the son David, who has worked on all of his real estate ventures. wood panels on which the artists would make the paintings. He The old buildings included an abandoned beauty shop, a rigged up a solar panel, so that his sign for Downtown Chocolates woodworking shop and a storage area. He and his son tied the would be lit up at night. He says it’s important “to think outside shops into one large space, the box.”

“People don’t put a porch over a parking do, because they don’t get area to create an outdoor started. People are afraid of An example of a business card printed on white chocolate

At a customer’s request, he has even made chocolate-covered pork rinds

50 CA ITALat LAY | March/April 2013

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failure, but being broke is not terminal. Anything above that is a semi-success.” He believes, “Success is if your children love and respect you. Then everything else doesn’t matter that much. You can’t be afraid; if you fail, then you learn.”

Although George Williams doesn’t tell me this, I can infer that he has taken that philosophy and shared it. His wife, Kathie, is the Director of the Children’s Center, a non-profit for neglected and abused children, located at 95 Johnson Street in Brevard.

At one time, he tells me, “I had as many as fourteen kids we took in off the streets.”

He had one foster child, just out of reform school, who was very talented at basketball.

“Brevard College was interested.” He took the young man over to the college, and the coach, who was a new head coach, asked if George had the time to help out. The boy only participated for six months, but George has stayed on as the Assistant Men’s Basketball Coach at Brevard College for the last fourteen years.

But Downtown Chocolates’ raison d’etre is not to make money. As George tells it, “It’s not why you do things.” He shares stories about real estate ventures he has embarked on in Brevard, and because his approach is so unconventional, he has been able to assist others without taking advantage of them. He swapped deeds with the beleaguered owner of a junkyard, who was being pestered because he owned an eyesore. “The guy really just wanted to get out of the town.” George was able to build houses on the property, and everybody was happy. It’s easy to see why people would trust George. He says that it’s important to learn about people, “what they are; what they stand for.” He has a huge vision, and imagination, the ability to look at abandoned houses, decrepit buildings, and re-envision them, and he brings his vision to reality because of his determination. Now he’s ready to do something else, because Downtown Chocolates can run itself.

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March/April 2013 | capitalatplay.com 51

How Do They Do It?

Hanes Hoffman

Emi Kubota

George Williams

How do you manage your time?

“I try to live a balanced life, which means an overabundance of fun and not too much work.”

“I keep a big list of everything I have going on – it’s a bit like a database.

Because I touch so many different areas of the business, I categorize every task and then prioritize each of them by importance and urgency. Then as an accountability measure for myself, I record the date completed, so that I can make sure that in the future I am not over-promising and under-delivering.”

George works 12 hours a day, seven days a week, but he takes time off to assist in coaching basketball at Brevard College.

When do you take time for yourself?

“I’ve been a mountain biker all of my life. After I got this business started, I decided to move up here where I could be closer to nature. I like to get out of the studio and into DuPont [State Forest] on a nice sunny afternoon”

52 CA ITALat LAY | March/April 2013

“I generally work fairly long hours, depending on what is needed. However this year I am trying to take time off on the weekends, so that I can do some of the things I love to do–like cooking, trail running, yoga, and dancing.”

“I took a half a day off at Christmas.”

Lenard Nelson

Sherrye Coggiola

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“I stay flexible, and I don’t want to get in my employees way, so many days I go into work after my kids are in bed, sometimes working till four am.”

Sherrye Coggiola tells us that her work provides her with the “joy she gets out of life.”

“Making connections with likeminded people,” is “what we do all the time, and we love every minute of it.”

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“I force myself to do something fun, like riding mountain bikes, messing with machines or cooking with my family. Last night we made bagels from scratch!”

Sherrye says she is constantly “solving problems and finding new solutions,” that lead to “a new paradigm,” and she doesn’t make a distinction between her life and her work.

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March/April 2013 | capitalatplay.com 53

WORLD BRIEFS San Jose State to train workers in “battery university” San Jose State is teaming with a group of California battery makers to train workers for the industry. The so called “battery university” will be established in San Jose with the help of CalCharge, a San Francisco-based group created last year by CalCEF, which forms clean energy institutions and investment vehicles, and Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory.

It will offer courses through San Jose State’s ongoing education program to educate a specialty work force now necessary for the swiftly growing battery industry. Although most battery manufacturing today occurs in China, there are about 40 battery-related companies in California that are confronting energy storage challenges that are used for electric vehicles, solar and wind power, and in consumer electronics such as smartphones,

tablets, and other mobile computers. Jeffrey Anderson, interim executive director of CalCharge, explained, “The fast-emerging energy storage industry is key to the continuing success of the multi-billion dollar global clean energy economy…ceding this important sector to another country would be a tragic and short sighted mistake. Battery university classes should start this summer in partnership 54 CA ITALat LAY | March/April 2013

with San Jose State’s engineering college, which produces more engineering professionals to Silicon Valley than any other university.

Amtrak seeks new CFO Amtrak has started its nationwide search for a new chief financial officer as it seeks $7 billion for an ambitious renovation of D.C.’s Union Station. The position will be a crucial role for the rail service operator, which intends to rely heavily of a collection of funding sources for the Union Station project and other big-ticket items, such as a high-speed rail initiative that would allow passengers to travel from the District to Boston in only 96 minutes. Amtrak expects to lobby for federal and state funding for the project. According to spokesman Steve Kulm, Amtrak has been running ads in media outlets including the Wall Street Journal to find the perfect candidate.

Air Force activating Red Horse Squadron at Beale The Air Force officially plans to activate the 583rd Red Horse Squadron at Beale Air Force Base. The reserve squadron is a mobile heavy construction and civil engineering unit.

RED HORSE stands for Rapid Engineer Deployable Heavy Operational Repair Squadron Engineers, and the Red Horse insignia includes a red horse as a knight’s chess piece. Beale had previously been home to a civil engineering squadron, which is being downscaled to a civil engineering flight unit. According to Col. Patricia Brewer, 940th Mission Support Group commander, “Many of our current civil engineering squadron reservists will simply transition to the new unit…So, while they’ll no longer belong to the 940th Wing, the majority of the members of the 583rd will be familiar faces.” The new Red Horse squadron will eventually have just under 200 personnel, including civil engineering positions, logistics, security, support, and a medical team. The old squadron was focused on base maintenance, while the Red Horse squadron’s objective will be heavy construction

in remote, high-threat and potentially hostile environments around the world. However, it will take a couple of years to bring the new Red Horse squadron to full strength.

Puerto Rico tax laws present opportunities According to a Dallas-based lawyer who recently set up an office in Puerto Rico, Larry Friedman, it is a great time for companies to do business in the territory following a change in tax laws. Friedman explained, “Puerto Rico presents itself as a tax haven for American companies…In conjunction with the federal government, it has expanded its opportunities for American companies to do business in Puerto Rico and literally be taxed at a lower rate.” He said the different can be substantial. For example, a company in the 38 percent tax bracket in Dallas might be in the 4 percent bracket in Puerto Rico. He also noted that Puerto Rico is especially well suited for manufacturing. The government is offering tax incentives for U.S. companies that take over vacant plants. In addition, workers are voluntarily available, and wages seem to run slightly less than they do on the mainland.

New port marks China’s growing presence in the Persian Gulf region China and Pakistan recently signed an agreement granting Beijing the operating rights to the Gwadar port facilities in western Pakistan, along the Arabian Sea and near the Strait of Hormuz.

Last year, China rejected Pakistan’s offer to build a naval base in Gwadar – a move that humiliated Pakistan and thwarted its effort to play China against the U.S. A non-military facility linked to China is less than optimal for Pakistan, especially its powerful army, but the arrangement is exciting interest and concern in many quarters, especially in India and in countries along China’s eastern periphery. Concern may be overstated, as almost always is the case in national security institutions around the world. Nonetheless, events in Gwadar bear consideration.

New Delhi will see Chinese operations in Gwadar, albeit civilian in nature, as a step toward a Chinese naval base there in coming years. This would make Gwadar part of China’s “string of pearls” (along with Burma, Sri Lanka, and the Seychelles) that seek to surround and isolate India.

Adidas introduces sleeves to NBA jerseys Adidas has introduced one of the biggest visual changes to the NBA since the shorts were altered to be longer. The National Basketball Association’s Golden State Warriors will have sleeves introduced to their jerseys.

According to Lawrence Norman, who runs the German athletic footwear and apparel company’s global basketball business, next season, several other NBA franchises will also sport the new look.

Regardless of the new uniform’s technical attributes, such as being 26 percent lighter than the normal jersey, the sleeve addition can also be targeted toward increasing the sales of NBA fan gear. Many sports fans steer clear of NBA jerseys in comparison to soccer or football simply because they would rather not wear tank tops. The sleeved NBA jersey is Adidas’ solution to that setback.

step ahead of the southern continent’s shifting ice and pounding snows. The British Antarctic Survey says that the Halley VI Research Station is located on the Brunt Ice Shelf, a floating sheet of ice at the edge of the South Atlantic Ocean.

It’s the sixth in a line of research stations based at the site, most of which had to be deserted after they were crushed by the weight of the polar snow. Survey spokesman Paul Seagrove said that the latest iteration, consisting of sci-

Wisconsin scientists help search for alien life

New UK citizenship test The UK government wants immigrants to learn about everything from Margaret Thatcher to Monty Python before they can become British citizens. The government is revising the “Life in the U.K.” handbook and test taken by those hoping to settle in Britain.

While the previous version contained some practical questions about daily life, the emphasis is now on British history and culture.

There are questions on sports, music and historical figures from William Shakespeare to Winston Churchill. The government says the new handbook, published Monday, also features “an exploration of Britons’ unique sense of humor and satire.” It claims the goal is to help new arrivals understand the “values and principles at the heart of being British.”The new test will be introduced in March.

UK’s space age Antarctic base can slide across ice According to researchers, Britain’s new Antarctic base will be movable, capable of sliding across the ice on ski-clad stilts. The innovation will allow researchers to remain one

toward younger generations that often know little about the war, its significance in world history or the impact of its outcome. The exhibit will alternate artifacts periodically from a collection of 78,000 items to reflect the advancement of U.S. forces during the war, leading to the surrender of Japan and Germany in 1945. [Among the items to be displayed will be a Soviet uniform and diary that were obtained with the help of the U.S. State Department.]

fi-looking modules raised off the ground by hydraulic stilts, should last a bit longer.

Eisenhower staff to launch 3-year WWII exhibit A new World War II exhibit starting this summer at the Eisenhower Presidential Library and Museum will pay tribute to the millions who fought, with hopes of getting young people interested and engaged in the war’s relevance. The Abilene center’s executive director, Karl Weissenbach, says the ambitious three-year project will be targeted

Scientists at the University of WisconsinMadison are assisting in a search for proof of alien life by examining rocks here on Earth, rather than venturing into outer space. Some of the rocks are up to 3.5 billion years old.

Scientists are seeking crucial information to understand how life could have surfaced elsewhere in the universe and guide the search for life on Mars in the future. NASA, which is funding the project, provided a $7 million, fiveyear grant that began in January. It was the group’s second five-year, $7 million grant. The group includes nearly 50 staff, students, and post-doctoral fellows from 24 institutions in five countries. Their goal is to find footprints of biological activity, also known as biosignatures, which are substances such as isotopes or elements that give evidence of ancient life. The scientists are searching to discover microscopic signs of life, such as microbes bacteria, and other tiny, one-celled organisms that are much more adaptable and more complex than organisms.

The consortium is also sending microbes into Earth’s orbit on the International Space Station to see how they react to radiation and a space environment. So far, they have discovered new details of microbial life that dates back 2 billion to 3 billion years, before the planet’s atmosphere contained oxygen. They have learned that microbes then relied more on iron than sunlight for energy.

March/April 2013 | capitalatplay.com 55

Healthy&Brief

R

Researchers Coat Spinal Polymer Implants with Bioactive Film to Improve Bonding with Bone

esearchers from North Carolina State University have for the first time successfully coated polymer implants with a bioactive film. The discovery should improve the success rate of such implants – which are often used in spinal surgeries.

The polymer used in these implants, called PEEK, does not bond well with bone or other tissues in the body. This can result in the implant rubbing against surrounding tissues, which can lead to medical complications and the need for additional surgeries.

“We wanted to apply a bioactive coating that would allow the polymer implants to bond with surrounding tissues,” says Dr. Afsaneh Rabiei, an associate professor of mechanical and aerospace engineering at NC State and lead author of a paper on the research. “The challenge was that these coatings need to be heated to 500 degrees Celsius, but the polymer melts at 300 C. We’ve finally solved the problem.”

The first step in the new technique coats the implant with

a thin film of yttria-stabilized zirconia (YSZ). The second step applies a coating of hydroxyapatite, which is a calcium phosphate that bonds well with bone. The researchers then heat the hydroxyapatite layer using microwaves. The YSZ layer acts as a heat shield, preventing the PEEK from melting. Meanwhile, the heat gives the hydroxyapatite a crystalline structure that makes it more stable in the body, meaning that the calcium phosphate will dissolve more slowly – promoting bonding with surrounding bone.

“We have received funding from the National Institutes of Health to proceed with animal testing to fine-tune this technique,” Rabiei says. “Then we will move on to clinical testing.”

The paper, “Processing and Evaluation of bioactive coatings on polymeric implants,” is published online in the Journal of Biomedical Materials Research: Part A. The paper was coauthored by Dr. Stefan Sandukas, a former NC State Ph.D. student. The research was supported, in part, by the National Science Foundation.

New look at old study casts doubt on value of vegetable fats for heart health

A

By UNC Health Care

new analysis of data missing from a study that ended more than 40 years ago shows that replacing saturated animal fats with omega-6 polyunsaturated vegetable fats (PUFAs) is linked to an increased risk of death among patients with heart disease.

A new analysis of data missing from a study that ended more than 40 years ago casts doubt on current dietary advice about vegetable fats and heart health.

The clinical trial published in the British Journal of Medicine shows that replacing saturated animal fats with 56 CA ITALat LAY | March/April 2013

omega-6 polyunsaturated vegetable fats (PUFAs) is linked to an increased risk of death among patients with heart disease.

Nutrition epidemiologist and study co-author, Daisy Zamora, PhD, is postdoctoral researcher in the Program on Integrative Medicine in the Department of Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation at the University of North Carolina School of Medicine. She said, “These findings highlight the need to re-evaluate worldwide dietary advice to substitute omega 6 PUFAs for saturated fats.”

Continued on the folowing page

...Continued from the previous page The most common dietary PUFA in Western diets is omega-6 linoleic acid; concentrated sources of these fats are safflower oil, corn oil, soybean oil, sunflower oil, and cottonseed oil.

An in-depth analysis of the effects of linoleic acid on deaths from coronary heart disease and cardiovascular disease has not previously been possible because data from the Sydney Diet Heart Study – a randomized controlled trial conducted from 1966 to 1973 – was missing.

But now, a team of researchers from the U.S. and Australia have recovered and analyzed the original data from this trial, using modern statistical methods to compare death rates from all causes, cardiovascular, and coronary heart disease.

Their analysis involved 458 men aged 30-59 years who had recently had a coronary event, such as a heart attack or an episode of angina.

Participants were randomly divided into two groups. The intervention group was instructed to reduce saturated fats (from animal fats, common margarines and shortenings) to less than 10 percent of energy intake and to increase linoleic acid (from safflower oil and safflower oil polyunsaturated margarine) to 15 percent of energy intake.

Safflower oil, a concentrated source of omega-6 linoleic acid, provides no omega-3 PUFAs, typically associated with fish oils.

The control group received no specific dietary advice.

Both groups had regular assessments and completed food diaries for an average of 39 months. All non-dietary aspects of the study were designed to be equal in both groups.

The results show that the omega-6 linoleic acid group had a higher risk of death from all causes, as well as from cardiovascular disease and coronary heart disease, compared with the control group.

The authors then used the new data to update an earlier meta-analysis (a review of all the evidence). This also showed no evidence of benefit, and suggested a possible increased risk of cardiovascular disease, emphasizing the need to rethink mechanisms linking diet to heart disease.

The researchers conclude that recovery of these missing data “has filled a critical gap in the published literature archive” and that these findings “could have important implications for worldwide dietary advice to substitute omega-6 linoleic acid (or polyunsaturated fatty acids in general) for saturated fatty acids.”

Co-authors of the study along with Zamora are Christopher E. Ramsden, U.S. National Institutes of Health (NIH); Katourah R. Faurot, UNC; Boonseng Leelarthaepin, University of New South Wales, Australia; Sharon F Majchrzak-Hong, NIH; Chirayath M. Suchindran, UNC Gillings School of Global Public Health; Amit Ringel, NIH; John M. Davis, University of Illinois at Chicago; and Joseph R. Hibbeln, NIH. Ramsden, Zamora, and Faurot also are affiliated with the Program on Integrative Medicine, Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, at UNC School of Medicine.

Funding for the study came from the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA), a component of the U.S. National Institutes of Health; and The Life Insurance Medical Research Fund of Australia and New Zealand.

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March/April 2013 | capitalatplay.com 57

Virus Hits 12 Globally With New British Case

By Kate Kelland

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fourth person in Britain has contracted a potentially fatal SARS-like virus which was unknown in humans until a few months ago, but health officials said on Friday the risk to the population remained very low.

Confirming the third British case this week of infection the new virus - known as novel coronavirus, or NCoV - the Health Protection Agency said the patient was one of a cluster of three in the same family.

This latest case brings the total number of confirmed cases globally to 12, of which four have been diagnosed in Britain, the HPA said. Of the total, five have died. Most of the infected lived or had recently been in the Middle East.

NCoV was identified when the World Health Organization (WHO) issued an international alert in September 2012 saying a virus previously unknown in humans had infected a Qatari man in Britain who had recently been in Saudi Arabia.

The virus belongs to the same family as SARS, or Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome - a coronavirus that emerged in China in 2002 and killed about a tenth of the 8,000 people it infected worldwide. Symptoms common to both viruses include severe respiratory illness, fever, coughing and breathing difficulties.

The HPA, which earlier this week said the other two patients from the same family were being treated in intensive care units in separate hospitals in northern and central England, said the third case in the cluster was mild.

“The patient ... is recovering from a mild respiratory illness and is currently well,” it said in a statement.

John Watson, the HPA’s head of respiratory diseases said that despite this, the HPA was advising the patient to selfisolate and limit contact with other people. Health officials are currently following up other household members.

Coronaviruses are typically spread like other respiratory infections such as flu, travelling in airborne droplets when an infected person coughs or sneezes.

“We would like to emphasize that the risk associated with novel coronavirus to the general UK population remains very low,” Watson said.

When a second case in this cluster was found on Wednesday, Tom Wilkinson, a senior lecturer in respiratory medicine at Britain’s University of Southampton, said that if NCoV turned out to be like the previous SARS outbreak, it may prove quite slow to spread from one human to another.

“But it’s early days to make any definite statements because viruses can change and mutate very rapidly, so what is right today may be wrong tomorrow,” he said.

Among the 12 laboratory-confirmed cases of NCoV to date, five are in Saudi Arabia, with three deaths; two are in Jordan, where both patients died; four are in Britain, where three are receiving treatment and the latest one is described as well; and one was in Germany, a patient from Qatar who has since been discharged from medical care.

Brain Implants Help Parkinson’s Patients New England Journal of Medicine

A

study in the New England Journal of Medicine shows that deep brain stimulation, a therapy in which a device is implanted in the brain to send electrical impulses to different parts of the organ, can help Parkinson’s patients earlier in the disease than previously believed.

The patients still had severe disease (a 3 on a 1 to 5 scale), had been sick for at least four years and were starting to stop responding to their medicines.

The researchers tracked 251 patients with Parkinson’s for an average of 7.5 years after they were treated with drug therapy, or drugs plus deep-brain stimulation with Medtronic Inc.’s Kinetra or Soletra devices. Quality of life improved significantly for those getting both treatments, while it worsened slightly for those given only drugs, according to the study published yesterday in the New England Journal of Medicine.

“The observed difference between the treatment groups is thus due to an improvement among patients receiving neurostimulation,” said the researchers led by Michael Schuepbach, from the University of Pierre and Marie Curie and Inserm in Paris. “As a main benefit from the patient’s perspective, activities of daily living were improved among patients with neurostimulation in the worst condition during the day.” -via Medtronic’s Brain Device Improves Early-Stage Parkinson’s – Bloomberg.

The brain stimulator gave patients bigger improvements in their emotional well-being and ability to think that would have been expected in sicker patients. It didn’t, however, make them more mobile.

There are also concerns about suicide: two patients who got brain stimulator committed suicide; so did one patient who did not get the device.

In an editorial, Caroline M. Tanner of Stanford University writes that “for carefully chosen, high-functioning patients” the device appears to provide “additional years of good functioning.” She did worry, however, that the suicide risk might be real based on earlier studies of the technology.

Maurizio Facheris, MD, associate director of research programs at the Michael J. Fox Foundation, said in an interview that he thinks that the results are particularly impressive because they compared deep brain stimulation as an addition to medicine to medicine alone — and showed that the patients who got the device did better overall. “The results are really compelling,” he says. But he also cautions that, so far, deep brain stimulation, like existing drugs, treats the symptoms of the disease but not to change its course.

The study was supported by the German Ministry of Research, the French Programme Hospitalier de Recherche Clinique National and Medtronic, and many of the authors reported financial conflicts of interest with Medtronic and other companies.

Cheryl MacPhail,

Broker Associate

828-337-2139 cmacphail@beverly-hanks.com www.beverly-hanks.com/agents/cmacphail

March/April 2013 | capitalatplay.com 59

Real Estate

Sunday’s Open House

“I’ll stock the ruts with trout”

I

want to thank you for letting me host your Open House today. As you know, it was the first time I’ve hosted an Open House and, all things considered, I thought it went very well. We had four groups come through the property, not counting the deputy sheriff and that really nice bunch of guys from the Fire Department.

I got there early, around 1:15 p.m., to make sure the air conditioning was on, maybe to open windows to air it out and to put the cookies in the oven. As you know I previewed it Wednesday, so I really had a good feel for it. My first impression was that it is a very nice house but kind of feminine. I offset that by hanging a large moose head on the wall in the breakfast nook. That way any guys who came through would feel more at home.

The first batch of cookies was ready by 1:45 p.m. The house was cool, and it was a very nice day. I decided I’d sit on the sofa with the flyers the marketing folks made (thank you, Marketing!) laid out on the coffee table. I ate a few cookies and put a second batch in the oven before I sat down.

The next thing I knew it was 2:25 p.m. I must have dozed off. Mr. and Mrs. Patterson were in the kitchen with two boys.

(They signed in while I was asleep. Very nice people.)

The boys, of course, had finished off the first batch of cookies, and Mrs. Paterson had rescued the second batch before they actually caught fire. The smoke was getting thick by then, and I recommend you tell the owner the house needs a better smoke detector. The Patterson kids were also very nice, maybe 10 and 12 years old, and they could really kick that soccer ball! I’ll get you a new piece of glass for that picture frame later this week. I put a third batch of cookies in the oven while we laughed about how much smoke the second batch made. This time I set the 60 CA ITALat LAY | March/April 2013

timer. The Pattersons left at 2:45 p.m.

I decided to sit on the porch while the smoke continued to clear. (Be sure to tell the owner that the air conditioner blower does a great job. That’s certainly a plus for this house!)

It was really nice on the porch in the reclining chair, but again I’m afraid I dozed off. I woke up when a big green caterpillar crawled across my glasses. Being a bit groggy from sleep and perhaps the lack of oxygen in all the smoke, I thought the Martians were attacking and turned my head every which way but still had this giant green crawly thing on my face. I must have screamed a little bit because one of the Neighborhood Watch folks heard it, saw me dancing a jig on the front porch and called the Sheriff. (That Neighborhood Watch is a great thing. Another plus for this property!)

I recovered OK once I woke up and realized what it was, and I was feeling pretty good when the deputy’s squad car slid to a stop in the front yard near the porch. (Don’t worry about that. I can fill those tire ruts with mulch from the flower beds because they won’t need it over there anymore. Those azaleas didn’t even slow him down, and I do think they look pretty good in their new location.)

Anyway, I’ve never seen the pointy-end of a 9mm Glock before. And especially not from three feet in front of my nose.

The deputy was holding the gun in both hands and screaming, but I couldn’t hear him because he’d left his sirens on. There also were some neighbors screaming about smoke coming out the kitchen window and, now, the front door. I still had the caterpillar in my hand, and I held it out to the deputy to show him why I was screaming. He moved away a bit to his left and about that time one of the Patterson kids (they came back. That’s a very good sign that they’re interested in

the house, right?) kicked the soccer ball over the roof and it came down on the deputy’s Glock. He screamed some more and shouted, “DON’T DO THAT” and I screamed “DO WHAT? I’M A REALTOR CALL MY OFFICE” and pulled my cell phone from its little holster on my belt.

That probably wasn’t a good move on my part. The deputy hopped even higher, fired a couple of shots up in the air and continued screaming something at me. By then I was scared so bad that I was down on my knees begging for my life. Then the guys in the yellow rubber suits and gas masks ran between me and the deputy with this big ‘ole hose trailing behind them.

(That thing’s about four inches in diameter, did you know? And my, gosh, the water it puts out!)

Well, anyhow, the deputy was jumping and hopping around like a rabbit yelling “DON’T DO THAT AGAIN” and I yelled back “CALL MY OFFICE” and “DON’T SHOOT” and I think that, since I was already on my knees, I may have yelled “HELP ME, JESUS” but I really don’t remember exactly. The big Patterson kid came over to get the soccer ball and the deputy was bouncing like he was on a trampoline. Did I mention he was frantic? He hollered, “WHO’S THE KID,” I think, but I really couldn’t hear him because that was about the time that the big hook and ladder truck slid across the grass with its siren and lights going to beat all hell, and I think I wet myself.

Don’t worry too much about those big, deep ruts in the yard.

I would have filled them with mulch before I left but there isn’t enough of it left to bother with. Anyhow, it’s going to rain Monday and I can stock the ruts with trout. (Be sure to put “shady fishing spot” on the MLS sheet.)

The deputy let me get up when one of the Neighborhood Watch guys brought over one of the OPEN HOUSE signs. We hugged each other and cried like 12-year old girls on the last day of summer camp. The Fire Chief apologized for breaking out the patio door but said there was too much smoke and his guys couldn’t see anything. I’ll get over to Lowe’s for you on Tuesday.

Oh, I believe I accidentally left the cookie dough in the refrigerator. Check that out for me if you get a chance. I’d like to get it back.

All in all, I think this Open House went pretty well. The Patterson’s seemed to be really impressed with the strength of the structure, and I’m sure the photo on the front page of today’s newspaper will attract a lot of attention.

Thanks again for letting me show your fine listing.

Sincerely, Bill Fishburne Realtor Note: The author is Realtor with Beverly-Hanks & Associates.

This story is mostly fiction. Names were changed to protect the author from lawsuits by the property owner and from getting his head beaten in by the listing agent. Realtor is a trademark of the National Association of Realtors.

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March/April 2013 | capitalatplay.com 61

Mike Talks

Mike Summey is a well known entrepreneur, the author of several books on real estate, and has written a number of real estate columns. He is also an avid pilot and philanthropist.

The relationship between education and debt

I

n the January/February issue of Capital at Play I used this space to discuss how consumer debt is a vehicle through which wealth is transferred, resulting in the rich getting richer and the poor getting poorer. The feedback I have received from this article has been overwhelming. Almost without exception the comments have been the same, “I never thought about it that way.”

The more I heard this, the more I realized that the culprit may be a problem I have written about extensively in the past. If large segments of the population don’t understand that interest paid on consumer debt transfers wealth from borrowers to lenders, why is this?

How can so many people that naive? So I have to ask, “Could the problem be the failure of our educational system to teach basic financial literacy?”

When I attended public school, more years ago than I like to admit, we learned how to balance a checking account, pay bills, prepare a budget, amortize a loan and many other basic fundamentals of financial literacy that everyone needs to know whether you plan to be a ditch digger or a doctor.

I started learning these basic fundamentals in elementary and middle school. Things got a bit more sophisticated by high school, but not a lot. The reason is basic financial literacy is not rocket science. Maybe that’s why teaching it has gradually disappeared from the public school curriculum since we started sending rockets into space. Now we turn out students who can plot the course of a rocket to the moon, but they can’t balance their checking account.

I remember a teacher telling the students to never spend more than they make; that if they did, they would have to borrow money and that is not good. Of course, that was before the arrival of the credit card. In one math class, we had an assignment to do the calculations required to create a loan amortization schedule. It was not a long complicated schedule like one for a mortgage loan that may run for thirty years; it was a simple schedule of payments required to repay a loan with monthly payments over a period of three years. Each of us could select the amount of loan we wanted to use and for the assignment we used an interest rate of ten percent as it was easier to calculate.

62 CA ITALat LAY | March/April 2013

When the assignment was completed, the teacher asked each of us add up the amount that would be paid in interest.

I had used $10,000 as my loan amount and according to my calculations; my total interest came to over $1,600. I’ll never forget the teacher’s comment, “Now I’m going to explain why borrowing money is not good. The amount you calculated you would pay in interest is the price you pay when you don’t have the patience to save for the things you want. It is money that has to come from your earnings that you will not be able to spend on something you may really need later.” Keep in mind that was before the advent of the credit card, and it has stuck in my mind ever since. Somewhere along the way the stigma of consumer debt has been replaced with widespread acceptance and the “I want it NOW” mentality that is prevalent in today’s society.

Another exercise I had to do in school was to keep a mock checking account register for one semester. Each Friday the teacher would give us an amount that represented our paycheck for that week’s work. If you attended class all week you got to enter the full amount in your account register and add it to the balance, but if you missed a day or two, you had to subtract a proportional amount for the time you missed. We didn’t have sick days or paid leave days.

Each Monday, the teacher would put a list of things on the blackboard that we could purchase during that week. There were always more items than we had money to buy, so we had to be selective. Once we made our selection, we had to list the items we purchased, enter the amounts in the account register and deduct it from the running balance. We quickly learned that by not spending all our money each week, we could occasionally buy one of the nicer more expensive items.

Oh, if the urge to get one of these items caused us to spend more than we had in the account, we had to automatically deduct $20 from our next week’s pay. I guess that was an overdraft fee!

At the end of each month, we had to turn in our account register for review. The teacher would look it over and give us a summary of the account that she prepared, which usually didn’t agree with the balance we turned in. Our task was to reconcile our account with her summary and find the error

that kept them from balancing. This exercise took very little class time throughout the month, except for the day we had to reconcile, but it taught us how to keep track of our money. Schools don’t do this anymore.

When I was growing up, we performed numerous little exercises like these that were spaced throughout our school years. They helped us learn about the way things work in the real world; the world where we would live and function regardless of our chosen career paths. When lessons like these are removed from public education, it results in a gradual dumbing down the population with regard to personal financial literacy.

The huge debt crisis our nation is currently facing can be traced directly back to the introduction of the credit card and the gradual acceptance of consumer debt as a way of life. When the population no longer views debt as a stigma, it’s difficult for them to restrain politicians who want to use it to give us things we can’t afford. Eventually, debt can be more addictive than drugs or alcohol and far more destructive because the bills have to be paid at some point. Isn’t it time we demand that personal financial literacy be an important part of the school curriculum again?

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March/April 2013 | capitalatplay.com 63

Castles of Kale and much much more, cultivated at

Asheville Urban Farms Writtten By Tina Barr Photos By Linda D. Cluxton & Harley O. Morgan

S

pending the day at Asheville Urban Farms is deceptive. It is much more than a purveyor of fresh wheatgrass for Green Sage, or a supplier of basil for Strada restaurant, or kale for Tupelo Honey. It is a giant laboratory for learning to grow food, in what, for most of us, appears to be an unconventional way.

Hydroponic farming is also good news for people in various states of emergency, when food sources must be developed rapidly, but because of war, or natural disasters like a tsunami, a flood, or a hurricane, traditional agricultural methods may not be functional. Anthony Coggiola, the Chief Executive Officer of Asheville Urban Farms, the Chief Operating Officer, Bill Muller, and restaurateur Sherrye Coggiola, Director of Sales and Marketing, all work in tandem. They contribute to the innovative and lush production of “towers” of vegetables grown at their headquarters on Amboy Road, within 2.5 miles of downtown Asheville. Some of those greens you eat

64 CA ITALat LAY | March/April 2013

at local restaurants were picked within hours of consumption, and they are, truly, “local.” As Anthony Coggiola says, “I cut these greens 40 minutes before they arrive at a restaurant.”

Coggiola speaks to the viability of urban farming because, as he says, “The population of the United States is 83% urban.

Food costs will go up 120 to 180% by 2030.” Although Asheville Urban Farms has targeted restaurants with which they conduct business, he’s aware that since those are wholesale bulk buyers, he isn’t getting the best price point. However, he acknowledges Asheville is a tourism town, “so we’re considered a local service industry. There are a large percentage of independent restaurants here and we can help stabilize costs for their produce.”

Asheville Urban Farms can switch crops in 4 weeks, and provide crops during the winter months when local farms aren’t producing. However, they won’t put themselves into competition with local farmers. This enterprise has a mission,

and sustainability and community support are central to it.

For example, they won’t grow tomatoes during the outdoor growing season but will grow heirloom tomatoes in winter at the hydroponic farm. Incidentally, he reveals that 80% of the tomatoes consumed in the US are grown in Florida and California. We move out of the office areas and into 10,000 square feet of open space, which contain various plastictented greenhouses. Anthony begins describing three types of hydroponic systems. In the first, the ebb and flow system, seed is planted in a small plug of reconstituted bark. The bark sits in a shallow tray of water, and absorbs water, which is actually an AUF produced compost “tea” rich in nutrients. The bark wicks nutrients in a solution of highly aerated water; the seedlings and tray sit under a specifically selected light source producing rapid plant development. The entire system depends on electrical energy. An AUF goal is at some point to supply the electrical energy via solar panels.

The second hydroponic method employed at the farm is a deepwater raft system. Three inch plastic net cups are filled with hydro corn, which are kiln-fired clay “pebbles.” The hydro corn supports the root system; the roots grow down and throughout the bark plugs, eventually reaching the liquid nutrient below the raft, rather than spreading outward as they would in soil. The net cups float in 3 inch cubbyholes spread throughout large floating rafts of a non-harmful “foam.”

Along the length of the raft I can see kale, arugula, marigolds, and Swiss chard and basil seedlings. Asheville Urban Farms employs exacting methods, checking micro-activity in their lab twice daily. Microorganisms in the compost tea they produce consume amino acids and sugars made by the plants’ roots, and expel a rich source of nitrogen and other essential nutrients. Dr. Elaine Ingham, Chief Scientist at Rodale Institute, is one of a group of valued consultants AUF uses; she is one of the leading soil biologists in the world. I understand now that there is an enormous amount of chemistry involved in this undertaking; even the subject of compost tea is complex. Compost needs to undergo a thermophylic heating process to purify it, regardless if it is plant material, fish or animal waste; this renders the fine black soil fit for tea brewing. The third type of hydroponic system is a rotary carousel system, which I find fascinating. A food grade plastic wheel, rather like looking inside a huge rotating clothes dryer, rotates around a central light source every hour. This rotary system, in which the light source is within optimum distance from the plant, and is on 18 hours per day, encourages plants to produce a heavy leaf volume and a very short stock.

As the wheel rotates through, a reservoir directly under the

wheel circulates an aerated nutrient solution. I am looking at a space age, self-contained growing machine! As I climb the stairs of one of the six three tiered hydroponic “towers,” I’m aware that although some of the equipment has been purchased as store-bought systems, most of the growing systems occupying this large warehouse were designed and built out of low cost locally sourced materials, under the direction of COO Bill Muller, who has extensive engineering background, along with a master’s degree in underwater archaeology and 20 years of construction and design background. Each of the “greenhouse towers” has 3 vertical levels and reaches a height of 14 feet, with 6 forty foot troughs in each of the 6 towers. In the “micro climates” created behind “Japanese” style sliding panels, air movement and exchange, water circulation, and the constant monitoring of humidity, temperature, and nutrients are tightly controlled. Humidity averages 70% and the temperature is controlled within a range from 65 to 75 degrees. It feels like night air in the Caribbean. In each of the 18 forty foot long troughs, a nutrient level of at least 4 inches, equating to just over 300 gallons, is maintained. AUF grows 500 to 600 plants in each level, for a total plant potential of over 10,000 plants. This urban farm has created the perfect environment for rapid plant growth. Beneficial ladybugs and lacewings fly throughout, along with pest repelling marigolds, borage and lavender, all working to mitigate any pests and aid in pollination. I’m looking at dense rows of kale being grown for Tupelo Honey restaurant.

Alongside the greenhouse towers are giant white plastic vats, originally containing olive oil, that now serve as compost tea brewers supplying the grow towers with recirculating nutrients. We move to another “tent” greenhouse within the vast expanse of the building, and I taste handfuls of various micro-greens.

It’s like eating the essence of a plant, an explosive and charged tasting of arugula, sunflower, cressida, mustard or bok choy, very different from the less powerful “normal” taste of these plants.

I’ve never experienced anything quite like it, the “liqueur” or serum of taste. Chefs call for mild or spicy mixes, and they can order custom micro green blends on a ten-day growing cycle. We are really eating the seedlings of these plants. Next, we move to the tent designated for growing large volumes of wheat grass for Green Sage restaurant. Within seven days the wheat grass seeds grow into a thick lush matte of tasty green grass. AUF is also looking at this system to grow year round fodder as a livestock food supplement. A hydroponic farm can produce winter grasses for cattle or horses to the tune of a half-ton a week in the grass unit towers. The numerous benefits to livestock, in addition to cost savings for feed, include ease of

"Financing is tricky in unstable countries, places like Kurdistan, where people want to develop food systems to supply yogurt, milk and cheese; they just want to run their own business."

March/April 2013 | capitalatplay.com 65

digestion and high levels of vitamins and minerals that augment the typical feeding of grass or corn.In another tent I walk through the Nutrient Film Technique (NFT) systems growing Swiss chard and Locinato “Dinosaur” kale, and Genovese basil for Tupelo Honey and Strada. The plants produce rapid growth and their leaves are harvested every 2 - 3 weeks, but the root systems, the plants themselves, stay alive and can remain productive thru 6 harvests before new plantings are required. Only their leaves are taken. I also taste the exquisite lemon basil. When I ask about the actual production costs, Anthony informs me of the distribution costs they are able to circumvent, because they sell direct and that they provide products at a stabilized cost during non-growing seasons. Restaurants are able to remove themselves from a chain of supply over which they have little control.

Joseph Cagle 66 CA ITALat LAY | March/April 2013

Usually regional consolidators collect agricultural products that are brought to a distribution center, and are next moved through food distributors, and finally brought to the consumer’s table weeks later. Involved are the fuel costs, the refrigeration costs, and all the “hidden” costs I never think of when I buy a bunch of kale at a supermarket. For example, Randy Talley, of Green Sage, always wanted to be able to offer fresh pressed wheatgrass juice, but costs were prohibitive. He told Coggiola, “You helped put more green into Green Sage.”Asheville Urban Farms not only produces lush foodstuffs, they also employ 11 people thus far and expect to double their employment figures in a year. Three of those 11 employees are from the Arc of North Carolina organization, which assists mentally or physically handicapped people with job placement.

Like so many exceptional entrepreneurs around Asheville, Anthony Coggiola’s vision is one of integration, contribution, and community, rather than simply a “bottom line.” As for Marketing Director Sherrye Coggiola, there are two crucial levels of meaning to her work, the first is to provide “hyperlocal produce,” and the second is provide for “folks who can’t get fresh produce.” Asheville Urban Farms works with local food charities, including Green Opportunities and Children First, to provide produce at no or very low cost. Part of this vision is to provide food to local sellers, who create micro-businesses, CSAs (community supported agriculture), with produce they can resell, which creates enterprise businesses and jobs. This is becoming the new paradigm in business, and it seems to be taking root in Asheville.

RESEARCH & DEVELOPMENT Although they only started to build the farm in June of 2012, Anthony and Bill spent numerous years in research.

Both Bill Muller and Anthony Coggiola were faculty members at Texas A&M University. Coggiola left in 1998 and went into corporate business, first as the National Director of a company that specialized in insuring, servicing and maintaining medical equipment, then at Johnson Controls Company, specializing in the theatre of critical care, where hospitals must maintain surgical sites at certain levels of humidity, temperatures, redundancies and air quality. Suddenly these tented greenhouses bear a resemblance to the laboratories of critical care.

Coggiola’s story begins with his attendance at Christ School,

Anthony Caggiola March/April 2013 | capitalatplay.com 67

the boarding school in Asheville where he spent his high school years and met his sweetheart and future wife, Sherrye, who grew up in Asheville. He refers reverently to the “profound values, ethos and education” instilled in him at Christ School.

As Coggiola reveals to me, it took him 29 years and a “bunch of different jobs to become relevant, based on experiences and

businessmen, and have also been consulting with a large estate property in Asheville. It appears that I’m speaking with a CEO who clearly has a much broader vision than just profits in selling vegetables, and who tells me that what “drives him is his faith” and the pleasure of doing difficult jobs correctly because they should be done that way. On Anthony Coggiola’s office walls there are photographs of Bill Muller and himself with officials from far-away places like Kurdistan and Romania. Both of these men have been involved in international work, acting as business development liaisons for US companies, in places like North Angola, Eastern Europe and the Middle East. Coggiola knowledge in multiple disciplines and different walks of life.” was brought to Africa to consult with Angolan businessmen, He says he feels exceptionally capable in leading highly skilled government officials and entrepreneurs to help revitalize a results-oriented teams, and insists that “Bill Muller possesses region rich in agricultural history, but recovering from a long technical skills that far exceed mine: he has two Masters civil war and former communist rule that destroyed their degrees and worked for the Army Corps of Engineers mapping agricultural capabilities. In Angola, 67% of the once agrarian the Mississippi River and later as a technical design engineer at population has migrated to the cities. Anthony Coggiola was NASA.” He and Bill, both Army combat veterans, met in 2008 involved in supporting the development of food production, and at freshman day orientation thus, jobs. He was formerly in at the Asheville School, which the U.S. army, both active and Bill (far right), Anthony (center left) and their both their daughters attended. reserve, for 13 years. Before Kurdish business development partners at a pivot They are currently in talks he left the military in 1998 he irrigation system south west of Erbil, Iraq. with a group of Cherokee specialized in bringing in high

The chicken farm owner had been a guerilla fighter against Saddam Hussein, and he was a hero to his people, but he had been tortured under the dictator's rule

68 CA ITALat LAY | March/April 2013

Asheville Urban Farms the article is in, but still going through revisions. will have in next proof

March/April 2013 | capitalatplay.com 69

...continued from p.66

Left to right: Bottom row: Jason Meinders & Arc of N.C. staff member Second row: Sherrye Coggiola and Joseph Cagle Third row: Julian Vargas and Anthony Coggiola Top: Mario Lopez 70 CA ITALat LAY | March/April 2013

performance logistical support teams to rebuild infrastructure. On the way to normalizing relations before and during a conflict, civilians, as well as troops, need power, water, and food, and he worked to create platforms for rebuilding war-torn and emerging societies; working with the governors of tribal groups, in places where there might not even be a US Embassy. He worked with village elders, bringing in engineers and others, to consult on formal projects, often involving clean water. His teams were concerned with good quality plant growth, affected by water systems, as well as medical needs and water quality issues. Given the high heat in the Middle East, temperatures over 100 degrees, for example, irrigation is complicated. Traditional food crops include sorghum, rye or wheat. One solution is to move growing indoors, as has been done in Kurdish Iraq. In the capital of Erbil, which is so old it is referenced in Biblical passages as Mesopotamia or Babylon, he went back, with the blessing of the US government, in 2006 to help establish agricultural businesses.

He worked with the Barzani tribe to present solutions and alleviate their food emergency situation.

“Iraq imports over 80% of its food supply.” When a country’s people are without food, Coggiola asserts, there are three possible outcomes in food emergency situations: they will revolt, they will become refugees, or they will die. As Coggiola states, “Food is the lynchpin for a stable government.” The United States government encouraged American businesses to put together proposals for assistance. Mueller and Coggiola were the lead consultants of C3L Associates, a 100% Service Disabled Veteran Owned Company, of which Coggiola was the Executive Director.

(C3L means to Clarify, Connect, Create and Launch ideas) They have worked with a Dutch Company headquartered in Michigan, which developed automated feeding and waste systems for poultry as early as the 1920s. They specialize in intensive farming habitats. Coggiolia

says, “However much I prefer the free-range habitats I’ve seen Anthony Coggiola asserts, the estuaries were clogged with oil. in this area, I am sympathetic to the realities of peoples going “The estuary is a lymph node of the earth; plankton lives in without food. There are very high costs for these large systems, the canes and grasses the oil settles in.” One solution is to use and C3L Associates worked with small business owners to help a composter in their lab to breed micro-organisms that will them. As Coggiola asserts, “Financing is tricky in unstable eat oil. “We delivered burlap sacks filled with micro-organisms countries, places like Kurdistan, where people want to develop bred to eat oil.” food systems to supply yogurt, milk and cheese; they just want to As CEO, Anthony Coggiola finds people and cultivates run their own business.” talent, those who can Coggiola showed me implement change. He photos of a sad looking speaks to the natural poultry farmer, whose processes used in chickens were falling traditional, sustainable ill from disease and farming, including the the farmer had no way composting process. of understanding why.

He speaks to the They had a deadly interdependence of poultry disease called animals and pastureland, Newcastle.

Normally as opposed to monoyou can treat and retain crop methods. Cows eat 60% of your birds, but the grass; pigs root up this man lost 60% of bulbs and till the ground; his birds, a situation chicken put ammonia Coggiola describes as into the soil. They have “heartbreaking.”

The also been involved in chicken farm owner rainwater harvesting, had been a guerilla and solar distillation fighter against Saddam processes for filtering Hussein, and he was a water. He addresses the hero to his people, but problem of food deserts he had been tortured in the United States. under the dictator’s rule.

He describes how we A third type of hydroponic system is a rotary carousel C3L Associates worked contaminate the water system. As the wheel rotates through, a reservoir directly under the wheel circulates an aerated nutrient solution with Iraqi businesses and create food deserts to bring together farm in water-abundant areas. solutions to avoid In New York or Chicago further destabilization. As he says, “We specialize in the or Baltimore, industrial run-offs means that no food can be difficult.” Working in Iraq, C3L came up with a model for grown, so the farm is farther away from the people it feeds. In extended farming, community supported agriculture to Urban Farming, people employ rainwater harvesting, and they provide jobs, and a food distribution system. They met with grow indoors 365 days a year, using 90% less water for the same ministers of agriculture, finance and education. Their projects yield. The knowledge, techniques, and systems of Asheville involved demonstration farms, to reintroduce proteins like Urban Farms can be franchised, and AUF will continue to be poultry and fish, eggs and fish being the simplest proteins involved in any such franchises. to produce, broilers more difficult. Tilapia, for example, In Asheville, ironically, only 10% of the food we consume remediates water; as they eat algae they clean water. There has been grown within a hundred mile radius. According to is a symbiotic relationship between fish plants and fish waste. Anthony Coggiola, ‘’This market is underserved by locally Anthony speaks about fish farming or hydroponic farming that produced foods. As an entrepreneur there’s an opportunity was done as far back as1500 BC. I’m astonished to realize here using a community-based model.” Asheville Urban Farms the Hanging Gardens of Babylon were water terraces. Coggiola is a resource: an agricultural extension service, a demo farm went on to explain the repercussions of chicken farming losses. and a youth services center. Through the Youth Chamber of In a 2012 tornado in Alabama, 5 million chickens were killed. Commerce they will provide a group class for high-school He illustrates the loss by asking me to multiply that figure of students to learn about multidisciplinary careers in agri5 million by the 325 eggs a year that a hen can customarily farming. I spoke with Justin Arends, employed through the produce. Hens lay on average 94 eggs on a hundred day cycle. ARC of NC program, which supports statewide employment for Weather is intrinsic to farming, and he outlines the effect of the individuals with disabilities. He has been responsible for data loss cycle: people who work in processing, people who consume entry since October 2012, and he likes working at Asheville the eggs, as individuals, and in restaurants, and the steps from Urban Farms because as he says, “People around here are processing to bank payments. During the 2010 Exxon oil spill, willing to help and support us.”

March/April 2013 | capitalatplay.com 71

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72 CA ITALat LAY | March/April 2013

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63 Haywood St. • Asheville, NC 828-254-5088 Hours: Mon-Sat 10:30-6 March/April 2013 | capitalatplay.com 73

Tinkering for LIFE

d

Writtten By Arthur Treff Photos By Harley O. Morgan

“Dammit!” you shout to no one in particular. The wrench you’ve tossed clatters across concrete, punctuating the moment.

You’re alone in the garage. The rest of the family is asleep.

The kids are excited to leave for a family weekend riding dirt bikes, except…one of the machines is broken!

Sure, you know your way around a toolbox, you even bought the right parts for the repair, but you forgot that you don’t own a repair manual for little Sally’s new motorcycle. The pressure is on: you leave tomorrow.

Sound familiar? Are you feeling stressed yet? It rates right up there with having to assemble a bicycle on Christmas Eve guided by Cantonese characters…or forgetting to buy batteries for all those electronic gifts you’ve just wrapped.

Imagine if, in the middle of a repair crisis and faced with a dearth of documentation, you could spark up your iPad or iPhone and find the information you need, instantly.

Breathe…. and step away from the toolbox. Help resides in Weaverville where a team of repair manual specialists works to deliver repair data in print and web formats. Let me guide you to www.repairmanual.com.

74 CA ITALat LAY | March/April 2013

Wow, look at this, you can buy a fix-it book for — ATVsautos-bicycles-boats— the letters A and B are covered. M reveals motorcycles while, S depicts their distant cousins: scooters. Wait…we skipped over G, which stands for golf carts and go-karts. Rolling down to P we see: personal watercraft and power equipment. Sliding into S we hit snowmobiles, and last, but certainly not least, are tractor manuals.

Hold on a second, I promised you instant information, so let’s go to www.cyclepedia.com. This website is incredible, the photos are extremely clear, and the directions are well written, there are even videos. I’m confident that you’ll find an online manual for your daughter’s cycle, and they accept Visa. Bonus.

For wrench-wielding weekend warriors, these websites are nirvana. Both were founded by Lenard Nelson, a man who was born to mess about with machines.

“When I was seven, my Dad gave me his old lawnmower,” says Len, “it wouldn’t run. He was going to purchase a new one. I had no idea what I was doing, but I was fearless. I took the carburetor apart and put it back together using a diagram.

When I was done, it ran, and Dad didn’t have to buy a new mower.”

Once the make and model of motorcycle is identified, Cyclepedia purchases one. Then, it is completely disassembled, right down to the last bolt and nut, the entire process documented with detailed notes, photos and video.

March/April 2013 | capitalatplay.com 75

Children, who grow up in households where tinkering toddlers are encouraged, are rarely fearful about attempting something new. When Len was in 6th grade, his parents bought him a Sinclair Computer.

This was the old days, when displays were tiny black screens that showed neon green or orange text. No color, no graphics, no Internet, it was the Windowless days before Macs. Anything the user wanted to do had to be programmed into the machine using an arcane language.

Our hero taught himself to program that computer, and wrote basic role-playing text games he shared with friends. Len also wrote routines that would draw a primitive picture using X’s and O’s. Little did he know that all of his childhood tinkering would power the rest of his adult life.

While pursuing an MBA at Pace University, Len performed market research for Prodigy Communications Corp. This was 1993. Back then, HTML programming and websites had not yet exploded, so Internet service providers, like Compuserve and Prodigy, developed ‘communities of interest’: websites where subscribers could view topical information and correspond with fellow geeks.

Prodigy wanted to add a networked community for motorcyclists. Len, being an avid one himself, was chosen to create it. He switched from research statistician to motorcycle journalist, which was another serendipitous event.

Lenard wrote technical repair articles; he took motorcycle journeys then uploaded travelogues, pictures and maps to the Prodigy website. He reviewed the latest model offerings and gave riding tips in this online publication. He also provided a forum where riders could communicate with each other on a broad range of subjects.

Right after graduating with his MBA in Human Resources, Len was contacted by Brent Plumber, a member of Prodigy’s moto forum. Brent was creating the first Web-only motorcycle magazine, and invited Len to join the management team — why not? He had HR training, he knew his way around a computer, and he was a working motorcycle journalist.

An amazing opportunity for Lenard to blend vocation, education and avocation! Len could link his passions motorcycling, working in a human resources capacity, and web publication.

Great stuff, but he would have to let go of his good paying job…and move to California.

He’s a risk taker, so he dropped everything, moved to LA, and spent the first three months sleeping on Brent’s couch, which didn’t matter — Len was too busy to sleep. He was the Director of www.Motorcycle.com a website that is still one of the premier go-to spots for motorcyclists worldwide.

76 CA ITALat LAY | March/April 2013

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“It was an amazing time for us,” says Len. “We were given brand-new motorcycles to ride and evaluate, as well as all the crash gear, tools and accessories we could wish for. We took riding trips to all the key events, photographed them and wrote online articles. The company had a large stable of free bikes to use, so I rode in the dirt and on the road just about every day. It was intoxicating.

Success brought even more opportunities. Motorcycle.com sponsored a race team with the help of some large industry sponsors, including Clymer Manuals, one of the largest publishers of aftermarket repair guides.

Clymer approached Len and Brent to become a distributor of their books, by selling them on the Net. Len viewed this offer as a good opportunity for expansion, but his partner disagreed, wanting to retain their purity as unbiased journalists.

A separate division was discussed briefly, but in the end, Len was encouraged to leave the magazine partnership. He immediately started Motocom.com which later became, RepairManual.com, a website dedicated to selling Clymer repair manuals.

Few businesses provide an immediate income, and Len needed a change of scenery. He moved to Atlanta to take a job as the webmaster of MCI’s corporate communications website — until MCI was purchased by WorldCom — and he was asked to move to Jackson, MS. Lenard jumped ship and landed at Siemens AG, where he received an education in technical writing, DVD replication, help system software and user interface design, all of which would help him to expand his own business in years to come.

RepairManual.com was grown in Len’s spare time, all of his working experiences helped immensely. Initially, he did everything: returned the phone calls, shipped books, and performed market research, falling asleep at his computer many nights. He gratefully added some part time employees as the business swelled.

To keep the RepairManual stockroom filled, Len routinely drove to Hartsfield International’s freight terminal to unload pallets that contained 500 books each, which were hefted into his private vehicle, and sneaked through the entrance of the gated community into his 3 bedroom apartment, 2 of which were jammed with books.

“We did market research, certainly,” says Len, “but growing the business was easy. All we had to do was listen to our customers, they dictated where the product line needed to expand.“ Len ended up writing all of his E-commerce, accounting, billing and shipping software because there wasn’t much to choose from back then…and he was an aspiring PHP/MySQL developer, which is a combination of powerful open source, server side scripting, and database software.

While working part-time for Siemens and keeping a handful of web consulting gigs, he bought a house in Atlanta solely because it had a huge basement, which he immediately jammed with books.

By 2001 the new business was providing a living, so Len moved into a 2,500 sq. ft. warehouse in Burnsville, NC, and six years later, he expanded into a 5,000 sq. ft. space in Weaverville. This facility was hand-built by Len, with assistance from a Cyclopedia technician and his father-in-law. RepairManual.com has been around 16 years as of 2013.

With the growth of the Internet, customers wanted to see their manuals online.

This isn’t necessarily a ‘green’ request. When someone needs a repair guide, they’re usually in a crisis to get a vehicle back on the road, and cannot wait until a book arrives by mail. Online repair data would make it instant, and allow customers to download and print only what they needed.

Company growth has always been driven by market demands, not by lofty goals or dreams

78 CA ITALat LAY | March/April 2013

Lenard asked manual publishers if they’d be interested in distributing their technical data via the web. He cited his team’s web experience, and sizeable customer base that were clambering for online materials. He was met with an unceremonious, emphatic, NO. “This situation with the manual publishers reminded me of an incident I’ve never forgotten,” says Len. “Twenty years ago, I went to my local Kawasaki dealer to buy an official repair manual. The manager refused, saying that manuals were for dealer use only.”

Fueled by a desire to help his fellow wrench wranglers, Len wondered how could he bring this idea to the Web if no one would license his team to use their technical data?

Not wanting to infringe on anyone’s copyrights, the RepairManual crew decided to write their own repair guides, which freed them to distribute the information via the Web. They decided to concentrate on drafting manuals for what they knew and loved most: motorcycles. Cyclepedia.com, a second business, was born.

Creating a repair manual is not trivial. Once the make and model of motorcycle is identified, Cyclepedia purchases one. Then, it is completely disassembled, right down to the last bolt and nut, the entire process documented with detailed notes, photos and video. The process is then reversed; the assembly is chronicled in the same fashion as the teardown.

Cyclepedia strives to create high caliber manuals. As a result, only the best quality photographs, that accurately depict the project, are used. Directions are written that are accurate, and lead the user through a repair in the correct sequence. Since the product will be viewed on the Internet, their manuals also contain well-crafted videos.

Cyclepedia customers pay a fee similar in scale to the price of a printed manual. There are two options: a One-year, and a Lifetime subscription.

This gives users access to the online manual for a specified model motorcycle.

Additionally, customers are allowed unlimited personal technical help.

Lifetime customers can switch their account to a different model motorcycle at any time. (Unlike that Bally’s Fitness card in your wallet, this is a lifetime membership that you will actually use.)

The software that drives Cyclepedia’s manuals is powerful. Subscribers can search the site by part name, and bang, it appears. No flipping through pages or fast forwarding through a YouTube video, this is instant gratification and is a huge time saver for private and professional mechanics.

Imagine what that means: Cyclepedia subscribers can access technical data via a smart phone, a tablet, or computer while in the middle of a job or better yet, during a breakdown on a long distance trip. The team in Weaverville is helping people by creating a very usable service, and it’s growing.

Cyclepedia has written 115 online manuals, a number that keeps climbing.

The company can turn a new product guide in a month, but their emphasis is on quality, not quantity. The desire to create a superlative product leads the team to take their time.

By 2007, the business was creating an online buzz in the motorcycle world. As a result, the Austrian motorcycle manufacturer, KTM, licensed Len’s company to distribute all their technical manuals for two-year-andolder machines. RepairManual.com/Cyclepedia.com is selling KTM manuals in: print, CD, DVD and online formats.

Scooters…they’re everywhere, and one of the largest manufacturers of vehicles and scooter engines is Kymco, who also manufactures for Arctic Cat and BMW Motorrad.

Cyclepedia has written 115 online manuals, a number that keeps climbing

Lenard Nelson

March/April 2013 | capitalatplay.com 79

The huge Korean corporation discovered our little company from NC at a tradeshow, and in 2011 hired Cyclepedia to write and web-publish manuals for all their new products…including dealer training. They’re also under contract to clean up the older Kymco manuals.

Cyclepedia 2.0 is a very dynamic software tool. No commercially available webpublishing applications can come close. Len wrote it specifically for this business; it’s the culmination of all his past work experiences.

If a Kymco dealer, for example, thinks more detail is needed in a specific area, Cyclepedia can, within seconds, roll it into the manual from anywhere in the world, leaving their competition in the dust.

Contracting with the team in Weaverville is smart business for Kymco. Powerful online manuals make their dealers’ lives easier, and happy dealers sell more bikes. Customer service is important to everyone, and Cyclepedia is viewed as a very valuable customer service tool.

Len’s two divisions employ six people, plus contractors.

The business runs on the sweat of writers, photographers and wrench-wielding technicians. Mr. Nelson firmly believes that everyone should enjoy what they do, and who they do it with.

For that reason, he hires new team members based on their interest in motorsports and a strong desire to be involved in the project. Consequently, everyone in the company socializes and rides motorcycles together. The team has taken years to build, and Len is happy with the results.

What does this highly successful innovator do to keep his sanity?

“Turning a hobby into a career can ruin the love of that

hobby,” says Len. “On a regular basis, I have always forced myself to walk away from the pile, change the subject, do something fun; like cooking with my family, riding mountain bikes, or messing with machines.”

Most small business owners offset the long hours by being flexible with their time, and Len is no exception.

Many days, he prefers to leave his employees alone, which motivates them to remain creative; this also allows Len to concentrate on the larger picture: licensing new technical data, creating relationships with manufacturers and tweaking the company’s software to keep the tools’ cutting edge sharp.

What is this entrepreneur’s primary worry? Not being innovative enough, and expanding too fast.

To mitigate these concerns, Len coaches the team to seek new opportunities by listening to their customers. If enough customers ask for a particular product, it’s probably time to include it in the lineup.

Company growth has always been driven by market demands, not by lofty goals or dreams. What does Len Nelson hope for Cyclepedia’s future? Working with more and more manufacturers directly to distribute their technical manuals online, rewriting existing manuals for web distribution and reducing Internet piracy.

So what are you waiting for? The night is young. Get on your computer, go to www.cyclepedia.com and fix your daughter’s dirt bike — right now. Just imagine how happy she’ll be riding the trails tomorrow! Your Super-Parent status will be elevated, and — no one will ever suspect that you forgot to buy a manual.

Market-driven expansion is conservative and sustainable; it keeps the day-to-day stress lower, and everyone gainfully employed

80 CA ITALat LAY | March/April 2013

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March/April 2013 | capitalatplay.com 81

Voter Watch Dodd-Frank is not your friend.

Written By Roger McCredie

Is the law that was supposed to fix Wall Street creating havoc on Main Street?

W

ednesday, July 21, 2010: China began cleaning up a massive oil spill in the Yellow Sea. Lindsay Lohan discovered she was sharing a jail facility with a member of the same theft ring that had burgled her house. It was the 149th anniversary of the first battle of Manassas, the reality check that the War Between the States was going to be long and bloody. In Asheville-Hendersonville, North Carolina, it was hot and humid; the temperature flirted with 90 degrees. Despite the promise of more daily thundershowers, the Asheville Tourists were preparing to host Hagerstown at McCormick Field.

And in Washington, President Barack Obama signed into law the Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, promising that “Americans will no longer asked to foot the bill for Wall Street’s mistakes.” The bill, known in Beltway shorthand as “Dodd-Frank” after its co-authors, Sen. Christopher Dodd and Rep. Barney Frank, was hailed as the most sweeping reform in the banking regulatory process since the Great Depression, and as the President put pen to paper, there was a shift of the tectonic plates beneath the surface of America’s financial landscape. Two years later the tremors are still being felt; in

with high risk/high return positions, especially mortgage loans.

The casualties included several of America’s largest and most globally interconnected banks, so that the American crisis quickly became a worldwide one. On the premise that these banking giants were “too big to fail” —a phrase coined during a smaller crisis in the 1980’s and more accurately rendered as “too big to be allowed to fail” —the federal government undertook the unprecedented step of shoring them up with trillions of dollars’ worth of “bailouts.” In response to widespread calls for investigation and overhaul of the regulations governing the nation’s banking system, the Obama administration originally floated the idea of far-reaching reforms in a draft bill sent to the House of Representatives in June of 2009. What emerged after a year of intense congressional wrangling – what the President put his pen to on that hot summer day – was a 2,100page act whose sixteen titles, or provisions, ranged from the transference of certain powers to the FDIC, the Controller of the Currency and the Fed, to new requirements for Wall Street accountability, to the establishment of a new Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection, to the Mortgage Reform and Anti-Predatory Lending Act. And woven through the entire fabric of the act itself, implicit in some titles and spelled out in others, were the twin threads of oversight and regulation. More oversight and regulation, the critics of Dodd-Frank began quickly to point out, than was necessary, feasible or even relevant in some cases.

The nation’s financial edifice resembles the human circulatory system. The massive injection of regulatory provisions designed to clear the major veins and arteries ultimately has to reach, and be exchanged through, the tiny venules and arterioles, and finally the nearly microscopic capillaries; and blockages along these progressively smaller vessels can lead to all sorts of complications, not only in the vessels themselves

“The Dodd-Frank Act, sold to the public as the tamer of the ‘Wall Street Titans,’ may well end up having a disproportionate impact on smaller institutions [that are] not too big to fail … things are really bad,” fact, they are perhaps more noticeable on Main Street than on Wall Street.

Dodd-Frank was born of the never-again mindset that emerged from the 2008 implosion of America’s housing market bubble, when one chicken after another came home to roost at financial institutions whose portfolios had become top heavy 82 CA ITALat LAY | March/April 2013

but in the surrounding tissue. A community bank, say, operating at the capillary level and inundated by guidelines tailored to the business models of megabanks, can develop an operational clot that affects local credit seekers, from businesses —especially those needing continuous access to credit lines —to individual account holders. Not to mention, say some local bankers, the stress created by trying to comply with Dodd-Frank’s Byzantine requirements while simply trying to serve their customers.

“It [Dodd-Frank] is the gift that keeps on giving,” says Connie Corn, Senior Vice President and Mortgage Manager at Hendersonville’s Mountain First Bank. “Perfection is what’s expected {by regulators] and we’re not perfect.

“These big ol’ banks have whole in-house legal and compliance departments,” Corn says. “We have to make do with what we have, which means we’re constantly having to change our internal systems to adapt to new requirements.

Everything — everything — has to be documented, especially as it relates to risk management. For instance the Qualified Mortgage Rule [which comprises sections 1411 and 1412 of Dodd-Frank] took a ream of paper just to print. We have to understand and comply with every bit of it.” The QRM, as it is known, actually runs to 804 pages, considerably more than a 500-sheet ream of copy paper. It has been widely criticized for placing virtually all responsibility for determining loan worthiness on the lender. In the January 16, 2013 issue of U.S. News and World Report, Jay Weiser, an associate professor of law and real estate at Baruch College, said of it, “Dodd-Frank's suitability rules are enforced with a sledgehammer, with damages too high for most lenders to risk.”

The disconnect between the leviathan-like mandates of Dodd-Frank and the reality of Main Street banking has not gone unnoticed. In the November 9, 2012, issue of American Banker, Louise Bennetts, the current associate director of financial regulation studies at the Cato Institute, said, “The Dodd-Frank Act, sold to the public as the tamer of the ‘Wall Street Titans,’ may well end up having a disproportionate impact on smaller institutions [that are] not too big to fail … things are really bad,” Bennetts added, “when even the regulators begin to notice.” She cited an October speech to the Florida Bankers Association by Comptroller Thomas Curry in which Curry said Dodd-Frank contained “a number of provisions that … many in the industry thought would not apply to community institutions,” particularly in its insistence that banks generally move away from reliance on credit ratings agencies and adopt instead the guidelines of the Dodd-Frank-created Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. “The CFPB,” Bennetts wrote, “is clearly targeting its efforts at the consumers who use community banks … groups such as pensioners, students and consumers who lack financial literacy. And,” she said, “that means significant compliance costs that community banks will find it harder to absorb” —which is exactly what Mountain

“We desperately need to separate business and state,” Allison says, “so that the best businesspeople can use their creative minds to produce a better life for all of us.

March/April 2013 | capitalatplay.com 83

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First’s Connie Corn is saying.

Kick-the-cat syndrome plays a part as well. “We’re a truly local bank,” says Corn.

We’re able to have a much more direct link to prospective home buyers and their profiles.

We can make informed decisions at our own level. Like all banks, we’ve made some loans that have turned bad; that’s going to happen, for unforeseen reasons. But we’re not wrong often. It’s like we’re having to jump through all these new hoops because some big banks made some big mistakes.”

As with the banks themselves, so with other players in the mortgage industry.

The compliance section of Dodd-Frank insinuated itself into the property appraisal process by inserting appraisal management companies into the equation. “Overnight,” says Doug King, a licensed home appraiser in the Asheville-Hendersonville market, local appraisers found their direct communication with banks and buyers no longer existed; “we now had to wait to be contacted by one of these companies. They wanted us to do appraisals for less than half of what we usually charged, they wanted us to bill them and not the lender, and they wanted their results within 24 hours.

It was ridiculous. I lost ninety per cent of my appraisal business between 2010 and 2011 and I’ve heard that maybe as many as half the local appraisers just quit; they couldn’t operate that way.” Also, he says, “some of these appraisal management companies declared bankruptcy, leaving the appraisers unpaid. I lost a few thousand dollars that way, but I know of people who got really burned to the tune of twenty or thirty thousand.”

Dodd-Frank’s regulatory colonization of

the small bank lending process is disquieting enough, but it pales in comparison to other collateral damage. Analysts say the regulations avalanche is stifling the ability of community banks to make capital readily available to the little-guy builders and developers who have traditionally and deliberately partnered with them. On Dodd-Frank’s first anniversary, Rep. Sam Graves, Chairman of the House Small Business Committee, observed that “lending to small firms has plummeted to record lows.” He added, “The stricter regulatory environment created by Dodd-Frank, and the new Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), combined with the uncertainty brought by many of the laws’ vague provisions, is slowing small business lending.”

In a new book, The Financial Crisis and the Free Market Cure, Charlotte, N.C. native John Allison, who was for 20 years CEO of BB&T and now heads the Cato Institute, maintains that the stage had been set for Dodd-Frank for years before it actually materialized.

“The regulators,” he says, “were too liberal in good times and too conservative in bad times. There is absolutely no reason to believe that they will not make these same mistakes in the future. The regulators are driven by incentives like everyone else. Unfortunately, their incentives are political, not economic.”

To see who voted for the Dodd-Frank Act, or to view this article online, just follow this QR Code. www.capitalatplay.com

As to Dodd-Frank itself, Allison indicts it for four principal shortcomings:

1) That its compliance section is not about compliance at all, but about credit allocation; this, he says, shows “a fundamental move towards statism.”

2) That the government’s way of dealing with “too big to fail” is to identify companies it thinks should not fail and ensure, at all costs, that they do not.

3) That Dodd-Frank’s Durbin Amendment on credit card fees amounts to price-fixing and amounts to “government-mandated redistribution of wealth” that ultimately can only harm low- and middle-income consumers rather than helping them.

4) That the Act radically expands the power of the Fed and banking regulators —the very entities that helped create the crisis in the first place.

“We desperately need to separate business and state,” Allison says, “so that the best businesspeople can use their creative minds to produce a better life for all of us. When you put a ball and chain on the best and brightest, you reduce the standard of living for everyone.”

So now, two and a half years after the coming of Dodd-Frank, those who have to deal with it look anxiously around for the source of that ominous clanking, dragging noise.

84 CA ITALat LAY | March/April 2013

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StraussLaw.com March/April 2013 | capitalatplay.com 85

INSIDE the CUCKOO’S NEST

(

Who’s Crazy Now? Here are a few articles, from other publications, that talk about how the Private Sector interacts with the Public Sector

(

TURF WAR MAY BE LOOMING OVER SBI By Cullen Browder

S

tate lawmakers are considering pulling the State Bureau of Investigation from the North Carolina Department of Justice and moving it to the Department of Public Safety.

The SBI has been part of the Justice Department for 75 years, and Such a move would boost the power of DPS Secretary Kieran Shanahan, a Republican appointee of Gov. Pat McCrory, at the expense of Democratic Attorney General Roy Cooper, whose office now oversees the SBI. “It is a bad public policy idea,” Cooper said Friday. “It is critically important that the SBI remain independent and autonomous under an independently elected attorney general.”

He pointed to recent SBI investigations into the campaign finances of former Govs. Mike Easley and Beverly Perdue.

Republican legislative leaders haven’t publicly discussed a potential SBI shift, but Rep. Leo Daughtry, R-Johnston, confirms that the idea is being discussed within the halls of the Legislative Building.

Daughtry said he said he’s not yet convinced it’s a good idea, echoing Cooper’s call for SBI independence.

“If there are reasons and good reasons to do it, to move it, I

want to hear it,” he said.

The North Carolina Sheriff’s Association also opposes moving the SBI. Advocates say folding the SBI into DPS, which already includes the State Highway Patrol and the Division of Alcohol Law Enforcement, would promote efficiency.

The idea also surfaced in a draft Senate budget two years ago, when various departments were consolidated to streamline state government operations.

Shanahan said in a statement that he wants to focus on those consolidations in his department before he considers anything else.

“I think saving money is always important to taxpayers and that would be one consideration, but I don’t want it to be the only consideration,” Daughtry said.

Critics question the politics behind the idea.

“I don’t want to assume anyone’s motives at this point,” Cooper said. “We don’t need to be fighting about this. We need to be fighting criminals.”

“I think our deliberations should be based on policy and not politics,” Daughtry said.

PROPOSED NATURAL GAS TAX MAY APPEAL TO INDUSTRY By Julie Fertig

I

f a newly introduced energy bill passes, the state can begin issuing permits for fracking to begin in North Carolina as early as March 2015.

Members of the Mining and Energy Commission met Friday in Pittsboro to discuss the implications of fracking. The commission is developing three studies by Oct. 2013 and rules to govern the industry by Oct. 2014. The bill would not change their deadlines. Chairman Jim Womack expects passing the would lure drilling companies here.

“I think that’s very good for industry so they can anticipate when they can ramp up their activities in the state,” said Womack.

The bill sets out a taxing structure for the future of the natural gas industry in which the earlier you start, the better rates you’ll get. Between 2015 and 2017, drilling companies would pay the state a severance tax on gas produced from a well that cannot exceed 1 percent. In 2018 and 2019, that goes up to 2.5 percent.

In 2020 and beyond, the tax must be at least 2.5 percent and cannot exceed 6 percent.

“So as those products come up out of the ground, there’s a tax levied on the volume of those products that are produced,” said 86 CA ITALat LAY | March/April 2013

Energy Program Supervisor for Department of Environment and Natural Resources Walter Haven.

Womack said the tax structure will make North Carolina competitive with other drilling states.

“That’s very enticing, absolutely. Some of the state’s like Texas and Colorado, they have much higher severance taxes than what we’re starting off with,” said Womack.

Environmentalists said local governments will be left to foot the bill for damages fracking may bring.

“By creating the lowest tax they possibly can it increases the likelihood that those burdens will be put on North Carolina taxpayers,” said Environment North Carolina Field Director David Rogers.

Womack expects the final bill to include a provision that carves out some funds for the city and county governments to cover fracking expenses.

“Increasing your police and fire and hazmat capabilities. Those things, I think, are anticipated,” Womack said.

If the energy bill passes, the Department of Environment and Natural Resources said the number of members on the Mining and Energy Commission would decrease from 15 to 13.

Inside the Cuckoo’s Nest LAWMAKERS PROPOSE 5-YEAR JAIL SENTENCE FOR ‘OBAMACARE’ IMPLEMENTATION By Steven Nelson

N

ullification is yet again picking up steam in Dixie.

Pursuing an archaic legal theory that punctuated pre-Civil War disputes between the federal government and states, South Carolina state Rep. Bill Chumley last week pre-filed a bill for the upcoming legislative session that would criminalize implementation of President Barack Obama’s 2010 healthcare reform law.

If his bill becomes law, any state official caught enforcing the healthcare law would be guilty of a misdemeanor and “must be fined not more than one thousand dollars or imprisoned not more than two years, or both.”

Federal officials caught enforcing the law, however, would be given stiffer punishment under the proposal.

Any federal employee or contractor enforcing the law “is guilty of a felony and, upon conviction, must be fined not more than five thousand dollars, or imprisoned not more than five years, or both,” the bill proposes.

“I think we’re within our rights to do this,” Chumley explained to U.S. News. “It’s an obligation, I swore an oath to uphold the Constitution and protect the people.”

The bill was drafted after the U.S. Supreme Court upheld the constitutionality of the healthcare law in June, a decision that Chumley strongly disagrees with. In response, says Chumley, “we put a little study committee together to look at the

possibility of nullification.”

The study group included local lawyers, retired political science professors, and medical doctors, Chumley says.

Another attendee was state Sen. Lee Bright, who is proposing similar legislation in the legislature’s upper chamber.

“If we don’t do something now, when do we?” says Chumley.

“It’s a sad situation that the government put us in... an unpleasant task you have to do from time to time.”

“I feel very, very good about support,” he adds. “I don’t think it’ll be a really hard sell.”

South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley, also a Republican, has made no public statement on the bill. Chumley said he has seen Haley just once since setting up his study group and “didn’t want to bother her with this.”

Among the items in the healthcare law that irk Chumley are the individual health insurance mandate, “the establishment of 150 or so more agencies,” “the addition of many thousand new IRS agents,” and “home visits to come out and see how you’re living.”

UCLA law professor Eugene Volokh, however, told U.S. News the proposed law “would be clearly un-enforceable, because the federal law – upheld by the Supreme Court – trumps state law.”

“But I assume it’s meant to make a political statement, not to have a direct legal effect,” adds Volokh.

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People...At Play

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March/April 2013 | capitalatplay.com 89

Events

So you know when and where

Mar./Apr. Grammy Award Winner Jimmy Webb

International Food & Wine Celebration

When: March 15th 8:00PM Where: Diana Wortham Theater Pack Place, Asheville

Cost: Adult: $30, Student, $25, Child, $15 - Group prices available About: A true living legend, multi-Grammy Award winning Jimmy Webb crafts amazing songs that are cherished standards and platinum-selling classics, including, “Up, Up and Away,” “By the Time I Get to Phoenix,” “Wichita Lineman,” “Galveston,” “The Worst That Could Happen,” “All I Know,” and “MacArthur Park.” “He’s a prodigious performer, and a night with Jimmy at the keys is not unlike getting to hear George Gershwin or Cole Porter live. Webb is still at it, thankfully, and if you get a chance to see him live, grab it. 828-257-4530 or visit www.dwtheatre.com

Young Violinst Star in Brevard

When: Sunday, March 24th 3:00,p.m.

Where: Porter Center

When: March 29th 5-9:30PM Where: Village Green, outside of

Nantucket Restaurant downtown Greenville, SC Details: Join us for a celebration of the best of the best --- the best wine and the best cuisine, prepared by some of the best chefs in the world. Special appearances by Michelin starred chefs and Michael Ellis, Editor of the Michelin Red Guides. This event is presented by Rick Erwin Dining Group. Contact: http://www.upstateinternational. org/

Strawberry Festival

When: May 4th 10AM-4PM Where: Slater, SC Details: Annual celebration of life in Slater - Marietta SC. Strawberries, arts and crafts, fun and games for kids, music and entertainment.

2012 Tee Up For Cancer Golf Tournament

Cost :$25 About: Zeyu Victor Li, a 16 year old violinist, and

Brevard College, Brevard When: March 24, 2013, 3:00 p.m.

winner of the Menuhin Competition in Beijing, 2012, will be playing the Tchaikovsky Violin Concerto in D. Major with the Brevard Philharmonic Orchestra. The overture to La Cenerentola by Rossini and a symphony by a living composer from Cleveland,Ohio, Robert Ward, will be performed. 828-884 4221 or visit www. brevardphilharmonic.org

SHIPWRECKED

When: March 27th - April 21st Where: North Carolina

Stage Company 15 Stage Lane, Asheville, NC 28801-2835 Times: Wed through Sat 7:30, Sun at 2:00 p.m.

Cost: Tickets $16, $25 and $28 based on day Details: With a full title of “Shipwrecked! An Entertainment: The Amazing Adventures of Louis de Rougemont (as told by himself)”you know you’re in for a rollicking good time.

This magical theatrical story is based on the true story of the Victorian explorer and storyteller Louis deRougemont.

Contact: Box Office | Phone: 828-239-0263 | Email: ncstage@ncstage.org 90 CA ITALat LAY | March/April 2013

When: April 8th Where: PO Box 24242

Greenville, SC 29615

Details: Join us for the third annual BrightLife golf

tournament, dinner and silent auction at Thornblade Country Club. This year’s proceeds will be donated to Greenville Hospital System’s iTOR Center for Cancer Research, an organization providing advanced cancer research at home. Contact: Phone - 864-735-7410 or www.brightlifesc.com.

Asheville Lyric Opera - Tosca

When: April 12 & April 13 8:00 p.m.

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Pictured on the previous page: 1) Steven Freedman 2) Dianne Trammel 3) Hillary Frye 4) Michael Smith 5) Kelly Hemphill 6) Samantha Ross 7) Ann Clark 8) Ryan Bowman 9) David Gantt 10) Blake Butler 11) Billy McCracken 12) Oby Morgan 13) Rachel Horn 14) Morgan McKay 15) Donna Cannone 16) Sheriff Van Duncan 17) Barbie Hunter & Terri Bowman Photos By: Anthony Harden of Alt Media Pros www.altmediapros.com

Events WNC Veterinary Hospital

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Financial Advisor Your other family doctor.

One Oak Plaza, Suite 106-A Are you at Play? Take a photo of yourself holding an edition of Asheville, NC 28801 Capital At Play, and send it to: events@capitalatplay.com Tel: (828)348-5216. Fax: (828) 348-4309 Stephen ChFC Email:R. Stephen.Judge@SecuritiesAmerica.com Stephen R. Judge, Judge, ChFC 2 Pond Street, Arden, NC 28704 • 828-684-3531

(Located near intersection of Long Shoals and Hendersonville Road)

www.wncveterinaryhosp.com

Financial Advisor Financial Advisor Financial One Oak Advisor Plaza, Suite 106-A Stephen R. Judge, ChFC One Oak Plaza, Suite Asheville, NC 28801 One Oak Plaza, Suite 106-A 106-A Financial Advisor Tel: (828)348-5216.

Fax: (828) 348-4309 Asheville, NC 28801 Asheville, NC 28801 One Oak Plaza, Suite 106-A Email: Stephen.Judge@SecuritiesAmerica.com Tel: (828)348-5216.

(828) 348-4309 Asheville, NC 28801 Fax: Tel: (828)348-5216.

Fax: (828) 348-4309 Email: Stephen.Judge@SecuritiesAmerica.com Tel: (828)348-5216.

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March/April 2013 | capitalatplay.com 91

Events

So you know when and where

Where: Diana Wortham Theater

Pack Place, Asheville

Cost: Adults: $30 - $53 Students: $17 - $35 About: Political unrest has seized Rome as Tosca, a

famed diva singer, struggles to free her love from the tyrant chief of police Scarpia. Making its ALO debut at the Diana Wortham Theatre, the dramatic play Tosca features La Scala (Italy) tenor Stephen Mark Brown, as Cavaradossi and Metropolitan Opera baritone, Galen Scott Bower as Scarpia. Dan Allcott, conductor of the Oak Ridge Symphony Orchestra, returns as maestro for this renowned Puccini production. 828-257-4530 or visit www.asheville lyric.org

Two Guitars from Brazii

When: Sunday, April 28, 2013, 3:00 p.m.

Where: Porter Center

Brevard College, Brevard

Cost: $25 About: Classical guitar duos, Joao Luis and Douglas

Lora, are favorites at many summer festivals and have played with many well known orchestras, such as the Dallas and the Houston Symphony, and The Dayton Philharmonic. They have traveled internationally. They perform both traditional and new concerti to rave reviews.

828-884-4221 or visit www.brevardphilharmonic.org

24TH ANNUAL ASHEVILLE HERB FESTIVAL When: May 03, 2013 - May 05, 2013

Where: Western North Carolina

Farmers Market 570 Brevard Road Asheville, NC 28806 Times: Friday, 9 a.m. - 5 p.m.; Saturday, 9 a.m. - 5 p.m.; Sunday,10 a.m. - 3 p.m.

Cost: Free Details: The WNC Chapter of the NC Herb Association

represents the incredibly wide variety of herbalists and herb businesses in North Carolina: herb growers and vendors, natural gardening and landscaping specialists, and makers of herbal ointments, balms, soaps, teas, medicines, and other products. We hope you’ll join us and more than 25,000 other herb lovers when we celebrate the 24th Annual Asheville Herb Festival. Contact: Phone 828-2531691

LEAF - LAKE EDEN ARTS FESTIVAL When: May 09, 2013 - May 12, 2013 Where: Camp Rockmont

Black Mountain, NC

Admission: See http://theleaf.org for pricing structures.

Details: LEAF is one of the treasured traditions for

families and friends across the southeast and beyond. A weekend at LEAF is the equivalent of going on a year-long multi-cultural music, arts, dance, and outdoor adventures journey, which “recharges our batteries”. A few aspects that make LEAF “one of the best fests in the country” [re: Johnny Irion] is the FAMILY friendly atmosphere, the diverse sampling of arts and music, the setting, and the intimate

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92 CA ITALat LAY | March/April 2013

Do you have an interesting event coming up soon, or maybe a business event that just took place? Tell us about it at events@capitalatplay.com

upscale furniture consignment

Recycle & Refurnish Your Home Retraction: Our apologies for mis-labeling Lance, of Diamond Brand Outdoors, in the previous edition.

John Delaloye, co-owner of Diamond Brand, is correctly shown to the right.

It doesn’t happen often, but we messed up. John & Lance, please accept our sincerest apologies.

Unfortunately, an e-mail from Steve Judge to us was never received due to server problems, and we were unaware that he was no longer with the firm that was displayed in his ad in the Jan/Feb publication. His ad showing his new firm is properly shown in this edition on p.91

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DESIGN AND INSTALLATION FULL PROPERTY MAINTENANCE LAWN LANDSCAPE HARDSCAPE Brendan Clarke - Owner/Operator 828-712-7901 www.thoseguyslandscapingLLC.com March/April 2013 | capitalatplay.com 93

Capital Adventurist

Fly-Fishing the

Delayed Harvest

(

Written & Photographed By Eric Crews

)

The N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission's delayed harvest program is one of the more popular trout programs in the state. By delaying harvest of trout stocked in certain bodies of water, the Commission provides anglers with high quality, catch-and-release fishing opportunities in the spring and fall.

This is a program that was instituted through the regulations process with substantial public input in the early 1990s. Four streams were opened for the delayed harvest program for spring fishing only in 1992. The program was then expanded to fall and spring fishing in 1996. The number of streams in the program has continued to grow through the regulations process, primarily due to strong public interest and support.

With around 4,000 miles of trout streams, the mountains of western North Carolina has long been considered a haven for fly-fishermen looking to test their angling skills in a beautiful and oftentimes rugged environment. In Transylvania County alone, the nearly 500 miles of creeks, streams and rivers that course through the steep mountains and rich forests are renowned as one of the top destinations in the state for fly-fishing.

For local fishing guides who spend a great deal of their time guiding clients on the rivers, the diversity of the county’s waterways and the bountiful fish populations that thrive in the cool mountain water helps keep them and their clients satisfied day in and day out.

94 CA ITALat LAY | March/April 2013

North Fork of the French Broad Nathan “Than” Axtell said that when it comes to fishing, there is no place he’d rather be than deep in the gorge of the North Fork of the French Broad stalking a wild and elusive trout.

The river’s rugged location makes it less popular with the average fishermen and that’s exactly why he likes it, Axtell said.

Axtell is an independent guide, who regularly does guided trips through Headwaters Outfitters, and has been working as a certified guide for more than 10 years.

“It’s remote, so it’s a true backcountry fishing experience,” Axtell said. “There is really only a handful of places in the Pisgah National Forest where a stream of that size is that far from the road. You can get away from the crowds and fish in relative solitude.”

He said that during the week it is rare to run into other fishermen in the gorge region of the North Fork.

“There are not a lot of people who will go to those lengths to catch small wild fish, which is mostly the type of fish there,” he said. “It isn’t a stocked stream, so it is a completely wild fishery in the gorge section.”

It isn’t necessarily the distance that keeps the crowds away; it’s the gradient, Axtell said.

“It’s how far you have to drop in to get to the water and how hard the hike is to get out,” he added.

The other challenge facing anglers looking to get their feet wet on the North Fork is the limited number of access points.

“If you get in at one point and you don’t know where you are climbing out you’re going to get hopelessly lost,” he jested.

Axtell said that he prefers to “fish through” sections of the river to access a different trail than the one he hiked in on. Oftentimes

that involves making a serious commitment. The shortest section between trails is two miles, he said. In between lie the wild, elusive trout and some very difficult and challenging terrain.

“There are some stretches where you have to climb over waterfalls, big boulders and climb around stuff with no official trail or trail markings for three to six miles,” he said. “There are a few sections where you could fish through in about four hours. But if you really work the water it could easily take you the better part of an eight hour day.”

The North Fork isn’t for the everyday recreational angler looking to land big stocked trout just minutes from the road, Axtell said.

“It takes time, it takes stamina and it takes some athletic ability,” he said. “That’s what I like about it. The terrain and the ruggedness of it keeps the average guy from going down in there because the average guy is not going to want to go through that much effort and pain and the potential of a broken ankle to catch a wild fish.”

Axtell said that for the most part, the river holds rainbow and brown trout, but occasionally a brook trout from one of the small tributaries will wash into the river.

Axtell recommends fishermen looking to test their mettle on the North Fork should start at the Pisgah National Forest boundary at Lazy Jay campground.

“You can fish up into what is the mouth of the gorge,” he said.

“That’s a long stretch of water that can easily be fished in an afternoon. There are some nice wild fish in there in that nine to 12 inch class.”

The North Fork is regulated as Wild Natural Bait, allowing the harvest of four fish per day.

March/April 2013 | capitalatplay.com 95

Davidson River Landon Lipke, a California native who has been a guide at Davidson River Outfitters for five years, said one of his favorite rivers in the area is the Davidson.

He said that the hatchery located near the headwaters of the river creates ideal conditions for trout.

“The hatchery puts nutrients into the river that feeds the whole river,” he informed. “In turn, it makes the river hold some big fish.”

While most of the Davidson River is only a “stone’s throw” from the road, Lipke said for the most part it doesn’t feel that way.

“You don’t really feel the road while you’re there,” he said. “It’s actually pretty serene.”

Above the hatchery, the river narrows into a smaller stream that offers a true wilderness setting, Lipke added.

“You can get away from people and still catch bigger fish, unlike some of the other small streams in the area.”

Lipke said that the average size trout in the river is around 14 inches, but that’s not the only size fish to be caught there.

“There are big fish pulled out of the Davidson all of the time that are bigger than 20 inches. It’s just all about catching them at the right time.”

Lipke said that what makes the river such a fun place to fish is the variety. Lipke said that in order to be successful, anglers

would need to work to figure out what the fish are feeding on at each spot.

“There are so many different types of water. From pocket water to big slicks to big plunge pools that your fishing is not just one style of fishing. It’s a nice mixture of everything.”

Lipke said that he thinks spring fishing makes for some of the most exciting fly-fishing of the year.

“Fish are usually coming out of their winter mode, so they are a little more aggressive. They begin to eat because they are trying to gain up some strength, and the bug life this time of year is also more prolific.”

Lipke said that while the spring hatches are fairly hit or miss, when they happen, it makes for a great day of fishing.

Lipke said that it takes anglers utilizing trial and error to determine what the fish are feeding on. When an angler finds something the fish is hungry for, it makes for a fun afternoon.”

“They kind of start to get crazy,” he refers to the fish during a spring hatch. “They key on that bug, and it makes the fishing just a little bit easier because they start to go after those bugs that begin popping up.”

Around 14 miles of the river, from its headwaters to Avery Creek, are managed under catch-and-release, fly-fishing only regulations.

The lower mile is hatchery supported.

Landon Lipke, (also on previous page) a guide for Davidson River Outfitters, on the Davidson River near Brevard, North Carolina.

East Fork of the French Broad For guide Walker Parrott, the East Fork of the French Broad River is one of his favorite destinations because of its easy access and large population of trout. “It’s easy for people to get in and get out,” he said. “And it’s easy for the stocking truck to get close to the river.”

The drop and pool style river is home to countless brown, rainbow and brook trout, which he enjoys because each fish, much like the type of environment where they live, is unique in their own distinct way.

The diversity of the rivers environs forces anglers to either adapt to what the fish are feeding on or get shutout, Parrott said.

“I like it because there are some pretty deep runs where you can nymph fish long leaders,” he said. “And there are also some nice riffles that can be fished with a dry fly and dropper combo.”

Parrott said that the fishing in the East Fork is good from October to June, but said his favorite season is in the spring.

Walker said he particularly enjoys dry fly fishing on the East Fork – a type of fly-fishing where anglers fish with small flies that float on top of the water and mimic different types of flying bugs 96 CA ITALat LAY | March/April 2013

– because it’s exciting.

“The end of March is great because that’s when we get our first sightings of dry flies,” he said. “The East Fork has a lot of good quill hatches and some bigger may fly hatches which is nice. It makes for some easy dry fly fishing.”

Walker said that the size of fish that can be caught in the river run the gamut.

“The average is probably 10 to 12 inches. But there are some big ones in there, some twenty inch fish.”

However, due to its close proximity to South Carolina, Georgia and other southern states, the river is very popular with visitors coming in from out of the area.

There’s a ton of pressure, but there’s enough water for people to spread out if they practice harmonious angling,” he claimed The state stocks around 17,000 trout along the nearly five-mile section of the East Fork that runs alongside East Fork Road between Glady Fork Road and the main stem of the French Broad.

Catch-and-release regulations apply from October to May, and only single-hook artificial lures are allowed.

Other Top Spots

CHRIST SCHOOL ASHEvillE, NortH CAroliNA CHRIST SCHOOL

The Tuckaseegee River

Flowing through the mountains of Jackson County, the Tuckaseegee, or the Tuck as many of the locals fondly refer to it, is acclaimed as one of North Carolina’s top spots for fly fishing. The popular river is renowned for its wide shoals, which offer anglers a chance to spool out their line and make some long casts across the wide riffles and boulder-strewn rapids.

The river also has the distinction of being the most stocked river in North Carolina, which makes it a top destination for beginning anglers looking to hook into their first fish. From October to June, the river is designated as catch and release only as part of the delayed harvest regulations.

According to local guides, the river fishes great through winter and early spring but really starts to shine when warmer weather moves in and causes more frequent hatches that seem to rile the fish into a feeding frenzy.

Anglers can suit up at a number of roadside pull offs near Sylva, Webster, and Dillsboro.

ASHEvillE, NortH CAroliNA

North Mills River For anglers looking to get a bit more off the beaten path and into the forest, look no further than the delayed-harvest waters of the North Mills River.

Located halfway between Brevard and Asheville, the tight confines of the river’s forested banks, small pools and crystal clear waters offer a nice change of scenery from many of the roadside fishing destinations popular across western North Carolina.

From the fishing near the entrance to the forest at the paved parking area to the seldom seen holes deep in the forest, the North Mills offers anglers a variety of types of different fishing conditions sure to suit nearly everyone.

As a delayed harvest river, fishing is easiest during spring.

However, summer through winter also offers anglers looking for a challenge a chance to see if their skills are enough to make trout rise to the occasion.

To access Mills River, head toward the Asheville Regional Airport and continue on U.S. 280 to North Mills River Road. Access to the recreation area is roughly five miles from U.S. 280.

As with all outdoor adventures, a map, compass and proper gear for the excursion are a necessity.

Eric Crews is a writer and photographer who writes about outdoor adventure sports in the mountains of North Carolina.

Follow his adventures online at: www.landofskyadventures.com

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