Happenings

Nikki Thompson and her two children, right, helped surprise Megan and Michael Bereman with a donation to help with medical costs.

Michael and Megan Bereman, of Apex, received

a $5,000 gift on Feb. 2 to help pay medical bills and other costs associated with ALS treatment. The donation was thanks to Paint for a Cure, an Arizona-based nonprofit founded to ease the financial burden on families affected by ALS. Handing over the check was Apex resident Nikki Thompson, whose family received a similar check from Paint for a Cure in November 2020. paintforacure.org

PARAGON THEATERS

plans to open in 2022 at Fenton, the 69-acre mixed-use community under construction in Cary. Amenities at the high-end theater include pod-style seating, seven auditoriums, a full bar, and an outdoor screen for movies or sporting events. The pod-style seating, configured as loveseats or singles, is akin to movie-viewing suites. Customers will be able to order freshly prepared food and beverages directly from their phones for in-seat dining. paragontheaters.com

THE UMSTEAD HOTEL, its fine dining

restaurant, Herons, and The Umstead Spa were named Forbes Travel Guide Five-Star award winners, the highest ranking achievable by the rating. The awards were announced in February, and this is the second consecutive year that the property has received triple FiveStar status. theumstead.com, ForbesTravelGuide.com

The Triangle’s 2020 Walk to End

Alzheimer’s was one of the Alzheimer’s Association’s

top 30 walks in 2020. Triangle participants raised more than $389,000 to fund Alzheimer’s care, support and research programs. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, instead of a large group gathering, thousands of area participants walked as individuals and small groups on sidewalks, tracks and trails across the Triangle. alz.org/nc

Kendra, Kai and John McAdory, of Apex, belong to McAdory's Marchers, a team that raised over $2,000 for the Alzheimer’s Association during the October 2020 Walk to End Alzheimer’s.

RESORT LIFESTYLE COMMUNITIES held a groundbreaking ceremony on Feb. 18 for the Brier Pointe Retirement Community, an independent senior living retirement community in Morrisville. The $30 million, 180,000-square-foot facility will be located at 5911 McCrimmon Parkway. BrierPointeRetirement.com

PennyMac Financial Services, Inc. plans to expand

operations in Cary, opening a Mortgage Fulfillment Center in 2021. The Californiabased mortgage lending firm expects to add 322 jobs that will support its loan processing, underwriting, and funding operations. The average salary is expected to be $64,000 annually. pennymacusa.com

Esteamed Coffee received a $1,566 donation from the Cary Women’s Club in January. The nonprofit coffee shop, located in downtown Cary, provides meaningful employment for people with various disabilities. esteamedcoffee.com

ERIKA CHAN, an Athens Drive Magnet High School 10th-grader, has created digestible infographics for social media to answer basic questions about COVID-19. Called ‘Easy Explanations,’ the graphics are aimed at combating conspiracy theories and other bad information about the pandemic. Chan’s infographics largely appear on Instagram @easy_explanations. They have also been published in the Athens Drive student newspaper and on her website. google.com/view/easy-explanations

In January, the Town of Cary celebrated the retirement of Sammie Garris, a longtime solid waste equipment operator. “In his nearly 45 years of service with Cary, Sammie has touched the lives of so many citizens and staff through his selfless acts of kindness and ever-present smile. From his first days in public works in 1976 to today, Sammie has watched Cary — and its appreciation for his wonderful heart — grow,” the town wrote in an announcement.

Matt Bland, of Bland Landscaping in Apex, was given the Jerry Ragland Award by the North Carolina Nursery & Landscape Association. The award recognizes an outstanding young person in the landscape business. In February, the trade association recognized eight industry professionals for their contributions to the North Carolina green industry in 2020. blandlandscaping.com

DREW HAVENS left his

position as Apex town manager on Feb. 5. and is now the town manager for Duck, N.C. Under Havens’ leadership, Apex moved forward with many initiatives including an organizational realignment, Downtown Plan & Parking Study, Vision Zero designation and associated roadway and pedestrian safety improvements, SolSmart Gold designation for solar power achievement, the first Citizen Satisfaction Survey, and a Community Branding Study. He also facilitated capital projects including Public Safety Station 5, and the construction of the Senior Center, Pleasant Park, and the Electric Operations Department. apexnc.org

OVER THE MOON

PLAY SPACE opened in February at 653 Cary Towne Blvd. in Cary. It includes a custom-designed rocket ship, a low ropes challenge course, tumbling equipment, a climbing wall, design and building activities, and a special zone for babies and toddlers. According to its website, the space is best for children up to age 10. overthemoonplay.com

PHOENYX KIMBALL, 13, finished first in two races at The INEX Series Winter Nationals at Auburndale Speedway in Winter Haven, Fla., in February. Phoenyx races a Bandolero car for Dillon Spain Motorsports in Raleigh and is sponsored by Twisted Scizzors Salon in Cary. twistedscizzorsonline.com Erik and Melissa Bomsta of Cary recently launched The Pooch Mobile,

a mobile dog wash and grooming service. The new business is

accepting appointments now for dog bathing, complete with all-natural hypoallergenic products and a treat at the end. ThePoochMobile.com

The Jandy Ammons Foundation, in

February, awarded $336,194 to 11 area nonprofits, including the Rex Healthcare Foundation and the

N.C. Museum of Natural Sciences.

The grants will fund capital projects related to art, wildlife conservation, education and church mission. The

Raleigh foundation is accepting grant applications for 2021 through May 3. TheJandyAmmonsFoundation.org

Panther Creek Student Designs COVID Board Game

WRITTEN BY JACK FREDERICK PHOTOS COURTESY OF CASEY BLACKERT

Casey Blackert, of Cary, hopes to pursue a career as a game designer at N.C. State.

TIME SPENT IN ISOLATION last summer gave one Cary high school student an idea for how to channel the boredom of the pandemic into a fun strategic board game.

Casey Blackert, a senior at Panther Creek High School, created “COVID 19: A Race to the Vaccine” in August as a game to keep her family entertained at home. The game quickly became a family favorite, and she realized others might enjoy it, too.

“There’s a lot of negativity in the world with COVID, but the positive aspect is that we can bring our families together. You’re getting closer with them, because you’re quarantined inside,” Blackert said. “You should enjoy the aspect of being with your family, so I thought that a COVID game would be the perfect way to get families to be together and have a souvenir for after it goes away.”

As the name suggests, the goal of the game is to be the first player to maneuver around the board and successfully vaccinate all of your pawns. Blackert designed it to mirror the real world, with obstacles like catching the virus or infecting others standing in the way of the ultimate goal.

“I wanted to make it have some sort of strategy aspect, but I also wanted it to be some sort of way to educate people,” she said. “That’s why I brought in the idea of having the race to the vaccine, so everyone’s family wants to get vaccinated first. It follows the whole way that COVID is happening right now, so if you catch COVID, and you’re near someone, then they can catch COVID, too, and then you’d have to go home and quarantine.”

No one can die in the game, which is designed for players of all ages, Blackert says. The game is her first to be published, but the 17-year-old has been interested in designing board games since she was a small child.

Until recently, Blackert said she kept her board games hidden outside of her family. It was her family who urged her to make her interest public by publishing the game for others to enjoy.

“I thought it was kind of weird,” Blackert said. “But when I did this with my family, they were so impressed and they thought that it was something that really could bring light to a time like this.”

With the help of a company called The Game Crafter, Blackert published the board game, which can be purchased on her website, quaranteengames.com.