Greater Charlotte Biz 2007.08

City of Charlotte: Syfert and Walton • S.L. Bagby Co. • American Product Distributors, Inc.

august 2007

LOOKING BACK, LOOKING FORWARD New City Manager Takes the Helm

Curt Walton City Manager Pam Syfert Retired City Manager City of Charlotte

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in this issue

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anagers

Looking Back, Looking Forward Curt Walton, who was an assistant city manager under Pam Syfert and has worked closely with her for years, took over as city manager on July 1, 2007. Although every person’s management style is as different as their personality, don’t expect a big change in the way city hall operates, because Walton is a huge fan of the city’s growth and he plans to carry on in the same tradition.

departments

Pam Syfert Pam Syfert has participated in the last 35 years of Queen City history, working her way through the ranks and spending the last 11 years as Charlotte city manager. As she passes on the reins, she looks back on her career and forward to the future of Charlotte.

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Curt Walton It’s his dream job, Charlotte’s new city manager says, adding that he’s learned his craft from the best. He can click off major issues and share ideas about how to address them, but he strongly feels he should take direction from the city council and the mayor.

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American Product Distributors After spending 20-plus years in banking, Ray Kennedy decided it was time to start a company that would provide a combination of goods and services in a unique way. So with that in mind, Kennedy found a niche and began responding to it.

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publisher’s post

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bizXperts Smart Salvos, Select Strategies and Succinct Solutions

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employersbiz Legislative and Regulatory Highlights for Area Employers

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workforcebiz Work Force Training and Development

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bizview The Charlotte Region: The View from Another Perspective

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biznetwork

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ontop

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executive homes Luxury Homes above $350,000

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on the cover:

Curt Walton City Manager; Pam Syfert Retired City Manager City of Charlotte

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S.L. Bagby The Bagby Company is redefining the idea of a “manufacture’s representative.” By using creativity and education, and guided by a strong ethical code, partners Jay Casabonne and Johnny Morgan have built their company into a trend setter in the lighting industry.

Photography by Wayne Morris.

LOOKING BACK, LOOKING FORWARD

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[publisher’spost] Push to Approve All Three Bond Packages!

August 2007 Volume 8 • Issue 8

In Mecklenburg County on Election Day, November 6th, you have the opportunity to vote on three bond packages that are especially important to our future and continuing business success. County commissioners have approved three bond proposals: one for Charlotte Mecklenburg Schools (CMS) for $516 million for school land, building construction and renovation; a second for $35.6 million for the Little Sugar Creek Greenway that includes property, parks and recreation, libraries and water quality conservation; and a third for $30 million for Central Piedmont Community College to continue its building renovation and construction in line with its growth and maintenance plans.

Without any reservations, I encourage you to vote yes on all three bonds. Let’s take a look at them more closely.

First, county commissioners unanimously approved the $516 million bond for CMS school renovations and new construction. While this is less than proposed by the CMS board for $617 million, it is more than the $427 million that voters rejected in a bond proposal in 2005. Certainly, many things have changed since that vote was taken. CMS has grown to more than 16,325 employees and over 129,000 students. We have a new superintendent, Dr. Peter Gorman, who has aggressively taken the helm of CMS with a budget that is now over $1.05 billion. In the last year, he has worked hard to listen to all the different and divergent opinions within this community, and, with the help of the school board, he has implemented many of the recommendations of the 2005 Citizens Task Force and set out his own objectives for improving the school performance within the system.

With over 5,000 new students each year and 50,000 new students over the next 10 years, Dr. Gorman projects budgetary needs for over $2.5 billion for construction and renovation over that same period. This 2007 bond package is simply a down payment on our future. We have too many students packed in too few schools with too many modular trailers for classrooms. To improve student performance, we need sufficient school space and classrooms to provide them with safe, secure, healthy environments to learn and grow. If Wake County can pass a bond package of $970 million for its schools, Mecklenburg County voters can surely pass one for $516 million.

Second, county commissioners approved a bond package of $35.6 million for the Little Sugar Creek Greenway. It is high time that this community gets serious about adding parks and recreation space for county residents and its visitors. While many in the past have called Charlotte the “city of trees,” the recent growth in housing and development without attention to parks and recreation is alarming. Acknowledging this, the Little Sugar Creek Greenway was recently ‘uncapped’ between Baxter and Morehead. This bond money will be used to purchase more land to further develop parks and recreational spaces in line with the Little Sugar Creek Greenway running from the city to the South Carolina border.

Third, the county commissioners approved a $30 million bond package for Central Piedmont Community College. This money is needed to simply continue the building and renovation plan that CPCC has been implementing to expand and upgrade its facilities given the demand in this region for its services. Despite challenges to community college funding on the state level to Mecklenburg County, CPCC has ramped up their plans to accommodate the needs of more than 70,000 students within their system. CPCC students are preparing for university training, for their first jobs and, increasingly, transitioning to new jobs. It is essential to continue expanding CPCC as well as other community colleges in this region. They are vital partners to our business success.

We need these bonds to maintain the quality of life in this community and to keep our families and our employees safe, healthy and well-educated. I encourage you to vote “YES” on all three bond proposals! biz

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august 2007

Publisher John Paul Galles jgalles@greatercharlottebiz.com

Associate Publisher/Editor Maryl A. Lane maryl.a.lane@greatercharlottebiz.com

Creative Director Joanna L. Davis Rebecca G. Fairchild Editorial & Sales Assistant Janet Kropinak jkropinak@greatercharlottebiz.com

Business Development Sandy Rosenfeld srosenfeld@greatercharlottebiz.com

Account Executive Mimi Zelman mzelman@greatercharlottebiz.com

Contributing Writers Ellison Clary Casey Jacobus Thomas Monigan Contributing Photographer Wayne Morris Galles Communications Group, Inc. 5601 77 Center Drive • Suite 250 Charlotte, NC 28217-0737 704-676-5850 Phone • 704-676-5853 Fax www.greatercharlottebiz.com • Press releases and other news-related information, please fax to the attention of “Editor” or e-mail: editor@greatercharlottebiz.com.

• Editorial or advertising inquiries, please call or fax at the numbers above or e-mail: info@greatercharlottebiz.com.

• Subscription inquiries or change of address, please call or fax at the numbers above or visit our Web site: www.greatercharlottebiz.com. © Copyright 2007 by Galles Communications Group, Inc. All rights reserved.The information contained herein has been obtained from sources believed to be reliable.

However, Galles Communications Group, Inc. makes no warranty to the accuracy or reliability of this information.

Products named in these pages are trade names or trademarks of their respective companies.Views expressed herein are not necessarily those of Greater Charlotte Biz or Galles Communications Group, Inc. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means without written permission from the publisher. For reprints call 704-676-5850 x102.

Greater Charlotte Biz (ISSN 1554-6551) is published monthly by Galles Communications Group, Inc., 5601 77 Center Dr., Ste. 250, Charlotte, NC 28217-0736.

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Larry T. Watts, MD. Specializing in pediatric cardiovascular surgery.

And teddy bear hugs.

A child’s heart is different from an adult’s, and requires very special care. That’s why, at Levine Children’s Hospital, you’ll find six pediatric cardiologists along with the region’s only pediatric cardiovascular surgeons. It’s why we have the area’s only ECMO heart-lung bypass capability and why soon we’ll open the region’s first cardiovascular ICU for children. We have more than 30 pediatric specialties, but every one is focused on the same thing: giving kids their childhoods back. www.levinechildrenshospital.org

[bizXperts] Smart Salvos, Select Strategies and Succinct Solutions

creating an “owner advisory board” Business owners can derive great benefits from creating the right advisory boards for their companies.

Unlike the standard board of directors, an owner’s advisory board has no authority whatsoever to control or take action on behalf of the company. An advisory board (i) exists solely to provide guidance to owners and management, (ii) serves at the pleasure of the owner, and (iii) often consists of at least one or two members who are business or other advisors not employed by the company.

The potential benefits of forming an advisory board include: 1. The board causes the owner to focus on long-term strategic and policy issues (rather than short-term day-to-day operations), such as vision, mission, strategic planning, having the right people, tracking the right information, and setting the right priorities for action. The board forces the owner to do things he would not normally choose to do but are most important to be done in terms of the long-term success of his business.

2. The board provides an outside perspective which the owner would not otherwise consider. Often, the owner is too emotionally connected to his own business in order to have the proper perspective—especially when it comes to people issues.

3. The board makes issue identification and problem solving go faster. Issues which the owner feels are complicated can often be instantly resolved with solutions proposed by board members with the right expertise and experience. Also, boards can help the owner find optimum solutions to his problems rather than solutions which may work.

4. The board holds the owner accountable for reaching his business and personal goals and implementing his vision with consistently scheduled meetings to review the critical factors relating to the current health of the business (financial, organizational, systems, marketing, operations, strategic matters, etc.) as well as to create action plans with specific responsibilities assigned and deadlines for accomplishment. The board continuously reviews progress made towards these action plans.

What are the characteristics of the right outside advisory board members to consider for your advisory board?

1. Individuals who possess not only particular expertise and experience in areas critical to the business’s success but also have broad based experience and knowledge as to what makes businesses successful.

2. Individuals who are selflessly independent and who are willing to tell the owner exactly what they think rather than what they believe the owner wants to hear. The advisors should not be dependent upon the owner for their livelihood and should be willing to risk the relationship if necessary in order to serve the owner’s best interests.

3. Individuals who have the ability to analyze and synthesize facts and situations in such a manner as to come up with optimum

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august 2007

solutions to recommend to the owner. Insight and wisdom based upon experience is the most valuable trait other than independence.

What should you expect this to cost for the right outside advisors? Obviously, there is a wide range of costs but you must have the right people serving on Robert Norris your advisory board or you will see it as simply another expense instead of the great investment it can be.

At the beginning, there is a cost which is incurred to allow the advisors to get up to speed on your organization and your business and personal objectives as owner. Often, particular information about the company is shared and discussions are held with the owner and key people to orient the outside advisors. Some companies spend as much as $1,000 to $2,000 per advisor for a proper orientation so that their advice can be based upon reality. After that, board meetings typically will not last more than a couple of hours per month for the first year (which normally costs between $500 to $1,000 per meeting per advisor based on the hourly rate or other amounts charged by the outside board members).

Thus, creating a board of advisors with two outside board members, orienting them to the business and to the owner’s objectives, and having monthly advisory board meetings for the first year of operation can cost in the range of $12,000 to $24,000 for the first year (and half of that if only one outside advisor is present). From our experience, we would suggest that at least two outside advisors be selected which have different expertise and experience to offer the company. Once the board meets quarterly, the expense should normally be less than $10,000 to $12,000 per year.

For smaller companies, there are also other models such as the TAB (The Alternative Board) Model which consists of advisory boards made up of other business owners as well as a facilitator/business consultant. The boards meet monthly and usually provide a less expensive alternative.

Based on our experience, the business owners we are associated with view their advisory board as an excellent investment in their business and personal success.

Robert Norris is managing partner of Wishart, Norris, Henninger & Pittman, P.A., a law firm which focuses on helping business owners define and achieve their business and personal objectives. Contact him at 704-364-0010 or visit www.wnhplaw.com

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Smart Salvos, Select Strategies and Succinct Solutions

[bizXperts]

sandler’s pain funnel: getting beneath the surface Consider this scenario: You sell a product or service that is truly unique. You call on two companies just at a time when they are upset with their current vendors. At the first company, your prospect grabs onto your offer with enthusiasm. At the second company, your prospect tells you she needs your service, but you just can’t get a signature. Why do prospects behave so differently, when they appear to be facing identical situations?

Surface problems may be similar, but the underlying problems, as well as the prospect’s motivations, may be very different. That’s when you need to employ Sandler’s techniques for uncovering pain, and lead your hesitant prospect down the Pain Funnel.

Sandler’s pain process uncovers the underlying reasons for your prospect’s pain, as well as its impact, by moving them from the general to the specific and, more importantly, from the intellectual to the emotional. In a simplified form, here’s how it works.

When your prospect states their surface pain (the problem they are willing to share up-front), follow this pain questioning path: • What have you tried before to fix the problem we’re discussing?

• Tell me more.

• Did that eliminate the problem?

• Why do you suppose that didn’t work?

• Why did you choose that approach the last time you made this decision?

• What was the key issue that caused the alternatives to be ruled out?

• Why was that the key issue?

• Why was it so critical?

• What lessons came out of the experience?

• How much did it cost you?

• What was most important to you personally?

• How did it make you feel?

• Have you given up trying to fix the problem?

• How will your earlier experiences affect the decision on the solution you choose?

• What will you do differently when choosing a vendor this time?

• How committed are you personally to resolving the problem…not how committed is your boss or your team—YOU?

greater charlotte biz

• Is there anything else I should know that would be helpful?

After you’ve asked these questions, you have more specific details of the problem. You now know what the what the prospect has already done to try to solve it, why those efforts didn’t Bob Henricks work, what this process has cost the company and how it has affected the prospect directly (and personally).

You’re now ready to move on in the qualifying process.

Think Positive Effective use of a selling system requires an understanding of the four possible positive results a salesperson can have when selling: First The first positive result obviously is obtaining the order.

Second The second positive result is knowing when you aren’t going to get the order. After all, if you aren’t ever going to get the order from a prospect, you want to know that sooner rather than later. So, getting a definite “no” from a prospect is a good thing when it allows you to close a file rather than chase after a no-win proposition.

Third The third positive result is getting a solid, reliable commitment for future action. For example, if the process slows down because a key decision-maker is out of pocket, a positive result would be to set up a future appointment for your selling with that person. Or, if the prospect doesn’t have the money in this year’s budget, a positive result would be a commitment to complete the sale on a certain date at the beginning of the next budget year.

Fourt h The fourth possible positive result is often not obvious to most salespeople. They get an order, they get a “no”, or they get a solid commitment on what will happen next. But what about all those times you leave a sales call and you have accomplished none of those? Obviously, something went wrong. And, if you have a system, you can figure out what it was. By debriefing your sales call, going over each step of the system, you find out where you lost control, and what you need to do better the next time. You can identify the problem and learn from your mistakes—that’s the fourth positive result when selling.

Bob Henricks is president of Henricks Corporate Training and Development, a company dedicated to helping business owners, sales managers and salespeople succeed. Contact him at 704-544-7383 or visit www.henrickscorp.sandler.com.

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[bizXperts] Smart Salvos, Select Strategies and Succinct Solutions

buying a new phone system Buying a new phone system is one of the most important purchases any business will make. There are many ways to communicate with your customers or clients, but the phone is still the fastest and the easiest. So, what should you evaluate when looking for new equipment?

Evaluate Your Needs: What do you like about your current set-up?

What don’t you like? You may not know what the technology is that can solve your problems, but by identifying areas that you would like streamlined or changed your vendor can guide you toward the appropriate solution. Develop your wish list and ask your vendor to itemize options for you.

Evaluate Your Vendor: Make sure that your vendor is a business partner with a similar business plan. Is the company you are choosing positioned to grow with you? Are they a voice expert? What type of service agreements do they offer? How long have they carried the product you are considering installing? What guarantees do they offer?

Evaluate Your Network: If you decide to deploy IP phones the quality of your data network needs to be evaluated. Is this something your vendor can help you with? Can the cabling in your building support VoIP? To avoid surprise costs make sure that your vendor does an analysis of your network.

Evaluate Your Carrier: If you have been on the same business plan for

over two years with your local and long distance carrier, now is the time to look at new options.

Choose a vendor that can help you with this. Even if you do not want to switch carriers, have an unbiased third party review your bill to make sure you are on the right plan.

Rhonda Morgan Evaluate the New System: You want to make sure that the system you are looking at installing is easy to use. Insist on a product demonstration. Get multiple references of similar sized businesses or businesses in the same industry. Ask your potential vendor to describe their training philosophy. What types of fees are associated with ongoing training?

Since the phone system you purchase will serve you for years to come, it is important that you allow time for a thorough evaluation. It is imperative that you and your vendor understand not only your current business plans but your strategy on how your business is going to evolve in the years ahead. You want to make sure that the system you purchase can grow with your business.

Rhonda Morgan is vice president and general manager of ATCOM Business Telecom Solutions. Contact her at 704-602-2902 or visit www.atcombts.com.

they need to know how they’re doing I recently led a training class on being a good boss. When I asked the question, “How many of you look forward to having performance reviews with your employees?” no one raised a hand. I taught a similar class to non-managers and asked the reverse of the question, “How many of you look forward to performance review time?” Almost everyone raised a hand.

That reinforced a notion that I’ve had for some time.

People want feedback. They want to know how they’re doing—even if the news isn’t good. They’d prefer good news, but most of all, they don’t want surprises. They don’t want to come in one day to find that they’re being let go for sub-standard performance when they thought they were doing fine.

That happens all too often.

So, what makes a good performance review? Here are a few thoughts: • Frequency—reviews shouldn’t be reserved for the once a year formal process. Employees need frequent feedback. If they’re doing something wrong, help them understand how to do it right—right away. If they’re doing something right, reinforce the behavior with a good word.

• Dialogue—reviews should not be one-way conversations.

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Good bosses want to understand why their employees do what they do, so they ask good questions. If you engage the employee in discussion, you’re more likely to get a better result.

• Continuation—feedback is a process, Denise Altman not an event. It’s good to set goals during reviews so that the employee knows clearly what he or she should be working on. The next regular feedback session should start by reviewing the goals of the previous session.

That way, you build from one session to the next, and you get the opportunity to reward progress and further enhance learning.

You should have a formal review at least annually, and interim reviews two or three times in between. Feedback should happen nearly every day. It’s your job as a manager to help your team grow. They need your direction to do that.

Denise Altman is president of Altman Initiative Group, Inc. She helps companies and employees work together for greater productivity and enjoyment. Contact her at 704-315-9090 or w w w.altmaninitiative.com.

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Smart Salvos, Select Strategies and Succinct Solutions

[bizXperts]

make outside advisors part of your team The invitation intrigued me. “We need to make a big decision and I’m afraid of missing something,” Joe said. “There’s no preparation, just come prepared to give honest feedback. Our attorney and CPA will be there too.”

This particular business was getting intense pressure from its largest customer to practically reinvent itself by modifying services, policies and pricing structure. The internal team differed on how to respond, but all agreed that the stakes were very high. What might look like an expensive meeting of advisors seemed downright economical when compared to the potential consequences of making a wrong decision.

Leading a closely-held business is a challenging undertaking. There are rarely enough internal specialists to cover all the bases. Employees, including key managers, frequently hesitate to express opinions dramatically different from the owner’s. And knowing the business too well can sometimes cloud thinking rather than improve judgment. In this environment, the difference between success and failure easily hinges on an owner’s skill at finding and using strong outside experts.

Accountants, attorneys, bankers, insurance agents and other consultants can be valuable assets in building business performance. They bring specialty expertise and provide objective perspective by not being as emotionally invested in your enterprise as you are. However, to use advisors effectively, an owner must learn to:

Be selective. Look for advisors who bring the expertise most critical to your situation. Interview carefully to ensure that their business values are compatible with yours. Require testimonials from satisfied clients.

Clarify expectations. Establish clear goals for the Mary Bruce relationship. Demand that advisors treat your team with respect and translate their technical jargon into language everyone can understand.

Make them part of the team. Bring advisors in early enough to impact key decisions, not just second-guess them or clean up messes. Proactively keep them up to date on your future plans.

Listen. This is most important when that objective advice is not what you wanted to hear. Sometimes a good outside advisor is the only thing between you and a huge blind spot.

Joe got a great return on that meeting. He declined requested modifications, explained why, and eventually ended up with even more of that client’s business.

Mary H. Bruce of Kaleidoscope Business Options, Inc. specializes in advising business owners on improving performance and building the value of their enterprise. Contact her at 704-375-1970 or www.kboptions.com.

a good look in the mirror The tasks of managing an organization are tough. But it’s even tougher when your people aren’t performing. Have you asked yourself: “Why can’t they just do more, or care more, or be more?”

I hear complaints like this all the time. “My employees aren’t engaged.”

“Why are my people so complacent?” “They just don’t get it.”

The answer: Because YOU aren’t, are, and don’t.

That’s right; the person I’m talking to is holding this magazine. When a culture underperforms, it is often directly attributable to its leadership. One the best ways to gauge the effectiveness of a leader is to view the effectiveness of his followers.

When a CEO, president, or business owner’s behavior suggests they don’t get it, the effects ricochet throughout the business. Employees fall asleep and unconsciously go into maintenance mode. The problem with maintenance mode is it usually doesn’t last long. Either a business is going forward, or sliding back.

In Gandhi’s words, the solution is “becoming the change that you seek.”

When looking to improve the performance of a group or an organization, the best place to start looking is in the mirror.

As goes the leader, so goes the culture. So ask yourself, do you truly want to inspire and lead the company in a positive direction? If so, then you must be personally committed to taking these steps to secure your own

greater charlotte biz

ability to perform optimally.

1. You must make a personal declaration that you are solely responsible for the success of your enterprise, while empowering your people to more.

2. You must make a firm commitment to your personal development and self-awareness.

Mike Whitehead 3. You need a coach. This should be someone with strong objectivity who isn’t averse to asking you tough questions, and holding you accountable to your commitments. It is also important that the person you select actively demonstrates the qualities and values that you seek to cultivate. If you are looking for financial independence, you should find a coach that is financially independent. If you are looking for a relationship coach, you should choose one that demonstrates positive relationships. Your coach should model the behavior you aspire to.

4. Do what your coach tells you to do. All the insight in the world is for naught if your action does not support the transformation you seek.

When solving any problem, seek the source not the symptom.

Transform your inner leader, and your organization will follow.

Mike Whitehead is president of Whitehead Associates, Inc., a consulting firm specializing in leadership and culture development.

Contact him at 704-366-5335 or visit www.whiteheadassociates.com.

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[employersbiz]

Legislative and Regulatory Highlights for Area Employers

Q:

HEARD ON THE HOTLINE

AN EMPLOYERS GUIDE TO VACATION POLICIES

I was always under the impression that the I-9 was one form that had to be completed manually, and keep the original document, rather than completed electronically or stored electronically. Could you please give me some information about the electronic I-9 process?

In the midst of the summer vacation season, employers may have cause to reconsider whether employees should be paid for their rest and relaxation?

Unfortunately, the answer cannot simply be found in federal wage laws (which is a challenge for employers with employees in multiple states). Rather, state wage payment laws generally cover whether and under what circumstances employees must be paid for their vacations. What is lost in uniformity, however, is gained in flexibility. Many state laws, including North Carolina’s Wage and Hour Act, give employers a great deal of options for tailoring paid and unpaid leave in ways that make sense for their business.

As you evaluate your company’s vacation policy choices, consider whether you have addressed (or want to address) the following: Notice Requirements—Employers may require that employees request and receive prior approval for vacation. This helps ensure that a company can maintain adequate staffing levels and meet continuing business needs, particularly in smaller departments or workplaces. However, employers should be as flexible as practicable to ensure that employees realize the value of the vacation benefit.

Accrual of Leave Time—Employers should specify whether employees accrue a “bank” of paid or unpaid vacation days on a particular day (e.g., at the start of a new fiscal year or the employee’s anniversary date) or over a period of time (e.g., one day per month worked). The “bank” method may be easier to administer.

However, an accrual method rewards employees for their longevity with the company.

Carry-Over Days—Employers should (and often must) decide up front whether to adopt a “use it or lose it” policy. Unless an employer specifies otherwise, vacation days may continue to carry over from year-to-year and give employees little incentive to use the time on a regular basis to relax and recharge. It may also result in a large pay-out to employees who accrue time over several years when they leave their employment with the company.

Pay-Out Options—Employers should consider whether employees may elect to cash out the value of accrued vacation days rather than take the time away from work. In addition, many states require that accrued, unused vacation be paid out upon the employee’s separation from employment, regardless of the reason, unless the employee is notified in writing at the outset whether and under what conditions vacation may be forfeited.

Employers should also review the laws for each of the states where their employees are located to ensure that the company’s vacation policy and practice meets both business requirements and applicable state law.

(Helms Mulliss & Wicker, PLLC)

A:

Congress passed legislation giving employers the option of completing the Form I-9 electronically. U.S. Immigration & Customs Enforcement issued regulations giving employers guidance on how I-9 forms may be written and stored electronically. The standards for electronic retention are fairly flexible and technology neutral. Any system employed must include an audit trail or timestamp whenever any I-9 is accessed or altered.

Other requirements include backup and recovery of records to protect against information loss and a retrieval system that allows searching based on fields.

An electronic program must be able to attach an electronic signature to the completed Form I-9 at the time of the creation of the records, create and preserve a record certifying the identity of the person producing the signature, and provide a printed confirmation of the I-9 to the employer. If the electronic signature does not meet the requirements stated, the Form I-9 will be considered improperly completed and the employer would be in violation of INA 274 (a)(1)(B). Although electronic storage creates the opportunity for a streamlined I-9 process and increased accuracy when fields are skipped or improperly entered, employers must take care in adhering to the regulatory standards when implementing the electronic storage. (www.gilfusa.com)

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10 steps to avoiding immigration – 1. Treat all people the same when announcing a job, taking applications, interviewing, offering a job, verifying eligibility to work, and in hiring and firing.

2. Accept documentation presented by an employee if it establishes identity and employment eligibility; is included in the list of acceptable documents; and reasonably appears to be genuine and to relate to the person.

3. Accept documents that appear to be genuine. You are not expected to be a document expert, and establishing the authenticity of a document is not your responsibility.

4. Avoid “citizen-only” or “permanent resident-only” hiring policies unless required by law, regulation or government contract. In most cases, it is illegal to require job applicants to be U.S. citizens or have a particular immigration status.

5. Give out the same job information over the telephone to all callers, and use the same application form for all applicants.

6. Base all decisions about firing on job performance and/or behavior, not on the appearance, accent, name, or citizenship status of your employees.

7. Complete the I-9 Form and keep it on file for at least 3 years from the date of employment or for 1 year after the employee leaves the job, whichever is later.

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[employersbiz] The Baby Boomers Predicament The imminent mass exodus of baby boomers is predicted to present problems for American businesses. Consider these stark statistics: • 50% of all companies recently surveyed say they expect to lose more than half of their senior managers in the next three years (RHR International study).

• 15% say they expect to lose 75% or more (RHR International study).

• More than 6 out of 10 respondents to an Ernst & Young survey say expected retirements over the next five years will cause a major ‘brain

drain’ in at least some business functions.

“The best and brightest of businesses are on their way out, and a generational exodus like we haven’t seen in decades will soon be upon us. Complicating matters is the fact that newfangled investment strategies are shaving years off retirement age for many,” says Eric Herzog, Ph.D., author of the book Future Leaders, who is at the forefront of sounding a clarion call for the business world to wake up and see the problem.

2007 Wage & Salary Survey Employers need to pay competitive wages to recruit and retain the best employees. One way to make sure your company stays current is to compare your wages to other organizations through benchmark surveys. Over 275 companies participate in this annual survey, the full report includes data breakouts for company size, industry type and geographic area for over 300 job titles.

Wage Jobs (reported on an hourly basis)

Job Title

# of Companies # of Employees

Janitor

37

87

Average

Weighted Average Median

$11.41

$11.20

$10.80

Material Handler, Level I

37

413

$13.09

$13.66

$12.24

Shipping/Receiving Clerk

85

292

$13.99

$13.60

$13.70

Salaried Jobs (reported on an annual basis)

Job Title

# of Companies # of Employees

Average

Weighted Average Median

Accountant, Level I

40

73

$41,691

$40,853

$41,158

Administrative Asst./Secretary, Level I

73

577

$30,932

$31,060

$30,388

Human Resources Assistant, Level I

21

32

$33,975

$34,804

$32,000

Technical Support Technician

47

110

$44,320

$44,902

$44,000

Sales Assistant

26

84

$35,326

$33,627

$35,396

Source: The Employers Association 2007 Wage & Salary Survey

– related employment discrimination 7. (continued) This means that you must keep I-9s on file for all current employees. You must also make the forms available to government inspectors upon request.

8. On the I-9 Form, verify that you have seen documents establishing identity and work authorization for all employees hired after November 6, 1986, including U.S. citizens.

9. Remember that many work authorization documents (I-9 Form lists A and C) must be renewed. On the expiration date, you must reverify employment authorization and record the new evidence of continued work authorization on the I-9 Form. You must accept any valid document your employee chooses to present, whether or not it is the same document provided initially. Individuals may present an unrestricted Social Security card to establish continuing employment eligibility.

(Note: Permanent resident cards should not be reverified; Identity documents should not be reverified) 10. Be aware that U.S. citizenship, or nationality, belongs not only to persons born in the United States but also to all individuals born to a U.S. citizen, and those born in Puerto Rico, Guam, the Virgin Islands, the Commonwealth of Northern Mariana Islands, American Samoa, and Swains Island. Citizenship is granted to legal immigrants after they complete the naturalization process. (usdoj.gov)

greater charlotte biz

“Some are aware and preparing, but far too many CEOs and senior leaders are not seeing the handwriting on the wall,” according to Herzog. “It’s easy to focus on long-term business development, R & D, and innovation, but losing sight of the today’s aging work force can make achieving those goals problematic.”

“Consider Arlene Dohm’s (economist, Office of Employment Projections, Bureau of Labor Statistics) warning: ‘As aging baby-boomers begin retiring, the effects on the overall economy and on certain occupations and industries will be substantial, creating a need for younger workers to fill the vacated jobs, many of which require relatively high levels of skill.’ (July 2000, Monthly Labor Review) “While the exodus of senior leaders is certainly critical, many knowledge workers and skilled workers at mid and lower-levels will also be leaving,” Herzog adds. “This presents a dual problem: while junior positions are easier to fill, if companies haven’t prepared some of their talented workers before they move into management positions, companies may have performance issues as well as unfilled positions, which will affect results for years to come.”

“One workplace change which may help reduce the impact is that eight in ten boomers are planning ‘phased retirements.’ They plan to work at least part-time and gradually leave.

(AARP Segmentation Analysis: Baby Boomers Envision Their Retirement.)

“Phased retirements will help, if organizations make it possible for retirees to work part-time and share jobs,” notes Herzog. “But fully preparing younger workers ahead of time to move up the ladder to assume management positions makes it possible to promote from within and not have to fight the battle for new hires.” (Dr. Eric Herzog, Founder and President, Quest Consulting & Training Corporation) biz The Employers Association is a nonprofit Charlotte organization providing comprehensive human resources and training services. Founded in 1958, the Association maintains a broad-based membership of over 800 companies from all industries in the greater Charlotte region.

The above excerpts were taken from The Management Report, the Association’s monthly newsletter. For more information, please call Laura Hampton at 704-522-8011 or visit the Web site at www.employersassoc.com.

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[bizprofile]

by thomas monigan

An All-A APD Creates Min

Back Row (l to r) Kim Kennedy, Environmental Health & Compliance Officer; Eva Dinion, S.V.P. Operations and COO; Cy Kennedy, S.V.P. Sales, Finance and Administration; Mia Kennedy, Internal Auditor Front Row (l to r) Cynthia M. Kennedy; C. Ray Kennedy, Founder, President and CEO American Product Distributors, Inc.

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merican Business ority Purchasing Solutions That Fit

By the time C. Ray Kennedy became the quarterback on his high school football team in the early 1960s, he had already learned about facing up to whatever life might dish out. His family helped supply the lessons, as Kennedy recalls, taking a brief break from his duties as the man in charge of American Product Distributors, Inc. in Charlotte.

“As a quarterback I always had the responsibility of making decisions, and I was captain of the basketball team, too,” he says. “It got to the point where I felt comfortable being the boss.”

Ray Kennedy has been moving forward in measured strides since graduating from what was then Maryland State College in 1967. Drafted into the U.S. Army soon afterward, he helped to run the phone system as a sergeant in Saigon during the Vietnam War, and came out of the service as a disabled veteran in 1970.

After spending 20-plus years in banking, he decided it was time to start a company that would provide a combination of goods and services in a unique way: American Product Distributors (APD). APD sells and distributes consumable products including office supplies, industrial and janitorial supplies, and business imaging supplies to corporations and institutions nationwide. ®

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Kennedy’s “niche” is to provide the “Single Source Solution” for minority purchasing needs of corporate America.

Founded in 1992, APD has grown from a two-employee start-up with $200,000 worth of business, to 55 employees today with nearly $140 million in sales for 2006.

Earlier this year DiversityBusiness.com ranked APD first among veteran-owned businesses in the United States. It also ranked APD 39th on the list of the country’s largest minority-owned businesses.

Other awards since 2000 have come from Bank of America, Johnson & Johnson, JPMorgan Chase, the U.S. Department of Commerce’s Minority Business Development Center, and the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs.

APD sells and distributes both nondurable and durable goods. The company was founded on the idea of supplying essential products for business offices, and Kennedy made sure that kept evolving into essential services as well.

Non-durable goods include copy and specialty papers, office supplies, toner cartridges, industrial supplies, on-line business cards and stationery. Durable goods include construction and building materials.

Procuring an Idea When Kennedy told Jim Hynes, chairman of the Charlotte Chamber in

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the early 1990s, that he was thinking of leaving banking, Hynes encouraged him to go into business for himself.

Then he got Kennedy connected with Bank of America.

Thanks to bank executives such as Hugh McColl Jr., Jim Hance and Jim Palermo, Kennedy was able to launch his company with Bank of America as its first major client in 1992.

At that point in his 24 years with Bank of America, Palermo was in charge of procurement.

“We had niche businesses we wanted to spend money with but they didn’t exist,” he recalls, “and Ray was just a good smart entrepreneur. We were looking to outsource some of our transactions business and he just had a good knack for seeing a good market niche and responding to it. That’s called America.”

“We saw a man who had good savvy and sense for business,” Palermo adds.

“As we would start him into something he was like a mini-conglomerate, he was always adding something. His was a competitively priced minority business and he was a good businessman. He did what he said he was going to do and we lived happily after.”

In recent years, contact between Palermo and Kennedy has been less frequent, especially since Palermo has retired from Bank of America. “But if we saw each other tomorrow, we’d still have that connectivity,” Palermo says of Kennedy. “He’s very special.”

In the 15 years since APD got started, its list of clients has grown to include Carolinas HealthCare Systems, Office Depot, GlaxoSmithKline, Johnson & Johnson, JP MorganChase, National Gypsum, and the U.S. Postal Service, among others.

“We may have started as a minority company,” Kennedy affirms, “but I knew that was not the thing that was

going to keep us in business. We had to bring value to the table and out-perform other companies.”

From the beginning, Kennedy and Chief Operating Officer Eva Dinion decided they would not get involved with the cost and logistics of delivering the products. They chose instead to focus on customer service and technical support.

Being registered and certified to calculate and collect sales tax in all 50 states has allowed APD to go nationwide.

“It was just a matter of sacrificing the profits to secure the longevity of the business,” Kennedy says. “We had to do it a little at a time, but we knew then and we know right now the sacrifice was well worth it.”

Customer and Community Care Dinion was there at the start in 1992.

She had worked in banking with Kennedy since 1979. Kennedy calls her the “heartbeat around here.” She calls the man in charge a “visionary,” someone who has taught his people about the value of listening to customers.

“We never say no,” Dinion says with a smile. “Obviously a request has to make sense, but our customers like that we’re quick to respond. They’re our lifeline.

Without them we’re nothing.”

Dinion says she has no idea what her employee number is, and that’s just part of a corporate culture that encourages employees to contribute in unique ways.

“We want to challenge them, not just spell it out and have them do it like a robot,” she says. “Ray knows all the employees by name, even the temps. And he pulls all the wagons, so that leaves me free to pull my little red wagon.”

And yet, Ray Kennedy’s energy isn’t confined only to his career. His civic involvement includes being chairman of the organizing committee for the CIAA basketball tournament, which has made a $30 million impact on Charlotte in the past two years.

Kennedy has also held key positions on boards and committees at the Charlotte Chamber of Commerce, he’s a founding member of the local chapter of 100 Black Men, he’s on the board of directors for Foundation of the Carolinas, and he’s a

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co-founder of the Bankers Educational Society of North Carolina.

And the way he tells it, the basis of all this accomplishment came from lessons he learned in childhood.

Standing Up for Family Kennedy grew up in Newton, located in Catawba County. His father, Manuel, had left school in the sixth grade because his mother had died. He spent 50 years working at Carolina Mills, and he and his wife, Rebecca, raised nine children. Ray Kennedy had six older siblings, and they helped show the way by succeeding in school and going on to college.

Young Ray learned much about the business world by caddying at Catawba Country Club. But even before that, he recalls a poignant moment in his real world education.

He and his siblings would help their father clean a local church. It was in the

American Product Distributors, Inc. 8227 Arrowridge Blvd., Ste. E Charlotte, N.C. 28273 Phone: 704-522-9411; 800-849-5842 Principals: C. Ray Kennedy, Founder, President and CEO; Eva Dinion, Senior Vice President, Operations; Cy Kennedy, Senior Vice President, Sales, Finance and Administration Established: 1992 2006 Revenues: $138 million Employees: 54 Business: Sells and distributes consumable products including office supplies, industrial and janitorial supplies, and business imaging supplies to corporations and institutions nationwide.

Awards and Certifications: Black Enterprise Magazine’s Top 100, ranked #43 in 2002, ranked #47 in 2001 and named the 2nd Fastest Growing Business; Charlotte Business Journal’s Southern Piedmont’s Fastest Growing Private Companies, ranked #1 in 2002, ranked #6 in 2001, and ranked #1 in 2000; Bank of America Minority Business Enterprise of the Year 2000. www.americanproduct.com

greater charlotte biz

“

Creating Solutions That Fit

1950s, and black people were not allowed to attend this particular congregation. At one point someone reported that a small amount of money was missing from the church, and word got around that Manuel Kennedy’s children were responsible. So Ray’s father walked into the Sunday morning service with his children in tow.

“He made an announcement to the congregation that his children were not brought up that way; that they did not do that sort of thing,” Ray Kennedy recalls. “For my father to stand up in front of that large congregation, it showed how strong he was. That’s still with me today.”

As the Kennedy family walked out of that church, Ray Kennedy remembers he heard some people clapping. “He was that kind of man,” Kennedy says of his late father. “Those kinds of lessons you don’t forget and that’s the kind of moral fabric I’ve tried to pass on to my children.”

For the past 15 years, Ray Kennedy has been working on passing along the family business as well. And since all three of his children have become involved, it figures he will achieve that goal.

Son Cy is the oldest and, after five years, has become a senior vice president for administration and revenue generation.

In recent months daughters Kim and Mia have also joined the company. Kim deals with “green issues” such as health and environmental compliance and Mia is involved with internal auditing.

Their mother, Cynthia, is involved with the C. Ray and Cynthia M. Kennedy Foundation. She is also in charge of three University Child Development Centers in Highland Creek and University City as well as Huntersville. These five-star centers have created about 200 jobs and will be adding an academic tutoring service for public school students in kindergarten through eighth grade, which will start in

”

September inside the three child development centers. The Kennedy’s plan for it to expand rapidly to other locations.

The Family Team Kennedy recognizes the challenges facing businesses with multiple family members involved. “It works as long as families understand business philosophies and strategies and they remain consistent with those philosophies and strategies,” Kennedy says. “It works fine with us.”

And this former quarterback and team captain apparently remembers that it’s teamwork that wins. “We encourage our children to voice their opinions, and they’re not bashful,” Kennedy says with a smile. “But at the end of the day, when the decision is made, everyone is expected to go along.”

Cy Kennedy says that business and family issues seldom clash in his situation.

“He’s been a great business mentor for me,” says Cy. “There’s plenty of time to talk about business all the time, but our family gets along very well. It’s enjoyable for me.”

Kim Kennedy says she’s been using the lessons her father taught her all through the process of growing up. “Integrity, honesty, treating people right and doing the right thing, we’ve been able to build the company based on those values,” she says. “We do talk about business a lot, but we do a good job of balancing it out.

And if your heart’s in something, you don’t mind talking about it. It doesn’t seem like work at home.” biz Thomas Monigan is a Charlotte-based freelance writer.

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photo: Wayne Morris

Pam Syfert Retired City Manager City of Charlotte

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by ellison clary

[bizprofile]

Steepedin Controversy...

For Charlotte, It’s Just Part of Growth

1972 So you think the half-cent sales tax debate is hot? Sure, but it’s in keeping with a strong local tradition, says Charlotte’s recently retired city manager.

Pam Syfert has participated in the last 35 years of Queen City history, starting as a research assistant, working her way through the ranks and spending the last 11 years as Charlotte city manager.

“Almost everything I’ve done in these 35 years has been steeped in controversy,” Syfert acknowledges quickly.

Syfert categorizes controversy as one of four major “themes” she’s seen in her tenure; the others being the visionary leadership of business and political leaders, the spirit of progress that this fosters, and the willingness of Charlotte’s leaders to take risks for continued growth.

Curt Walton, who was an assistant city manager under Syfert and has worked closely with her for years, took over as city manager on July 1, 2007. ®

2007

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we’re going to have to live through it and keep moving forward with a spirit of progress,” she says.

Building and Rebuilding “We have a history of an ability to take our public facilities, build them, tear them down, build new ones and move on, because the one’s we

This morning, on her last day with the city, Syfert takes some time out to speak about her experience over the last decade.

One of the things she feels strongly about is why she hopes the movement to repeal the halfcent sales tax that pays for light rail and better bus service is defeated on the fall ballot.

Critics accuse her of scare tactics, but she defends her view that the city will have to make “Draconian cuts” without the tax. She asked her budget officer and finance director for impact numbers, she says, and she knows the results.

“We’ll sit down and open our books to anybody,” Syfert says, with a view from her window of the light rail line the city plans to open between Uptown and Pineville this year.

“If you think we’re fear mongering, let us show you the numbers,” she says. “What I’ve noticed is when we lay out facts that are truly just the numbers and the situation, some real consequences, immediately the name calling starts. Nobody jumps up and says, ‘Here’s why we say these facts are wrong.’ They say things that absolutely make no sense, like, ‘You’ll find the money someplace.’”

Strongly as she feels about keeping the tax to finance mass transit—light rail and enhanced bus service—along five major corridors between the suburbs and Center City, Syfert can place the debate in perspective.

“It’s just one of our times when we’re going through a lot of controversy and

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built originally weren’t good enough or got outdated,” she says.

A bond issue to expand what is now CharlotteDouglas International Airport failed in the 1970s, but leadership resurrected it and got it passed, she recalls.

Where would Charlotte be today without that airport, Syfert wonders.

That same decade, Charlotteans fussed about where to build a convention center. Once built, within 10 years it was outdated. Bonds for the new convention center at College and Stonewall Streets failed twice before the city in 1991 finally issued $167 million in certificates of participation to finance it. The new Charlotte Convention Center has become a bulwark of the hospitality industry and is being expanded during construction of the NASCAR Hall of Fame next door, Syfert is quick to point out.

Syfert moves on to the 1980s when

the public debated strongly where to build the new Charlotte Coliseum.

Charlotte had convinced the National Basketball League to give the city the Charlotte Hornets expansion franchise and the Coliseum was outdated in 10 years. The Hornets left for New Orleans. Just last month that Coliseum was imploded, the property to be used for a mixed-use facility that puts the 150 acres back into the tax base, along with the new structures that will grace them, Syfert observes.

And, the recently built Charlotte Bobcats Arena, where the team that replaced the Charlotte Hornets plays, remains controversial. In a light turnout for a non-binding referendum, voters nixed an uptown facility. Syfert remembers a trip to New York to meet NBA owners and outline a different public-private financing plan for a new arena. “I came back thinking, ‘If we get an NBA team, we’re going to be dealing with a bunch of very interesting people,’” she recalls.

One of Syfert’s favorite stories involves CityFair. The retail development at Fifth and College Streets near The Square was born of a partnership between the city and a private developer. Many people who attended an international conference of city managers toured the newly opened facility when they visited Charlotte in 1988. When the group returned in 2003, some remembered CityFair and wanted to see it again.

“We told them that CityFair had opened, failed, been foreclosed on,

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been resold and now the Hearst Tower is on the site,” she smiles.

Nevertheless, Syfert believes all these projects reflect those themes of visionary leadership, a spirit of progress, and a willingness to take risks. “If we don’t get it right the first time with our public places and facilities, we will say ‘Okay, we need to make it better.’ We’re changing so fast, we need to make it better and we’ll tear it down and do it again.”

She remembers when Charlotteans had the vision to renovate Spirit Square and to establish the Afro-American Cultural Center. Discovery Place, she recalls, almost didn’t open as scheduled in 1981 because of a shortage of construction funds. Rolfe Neill, then publisher of The Charlotte Observer, led a private drive to finish what has become a premiere science facility.

That same spirit has transformed many of Charlotte’s residential areas, Syfert points out. “My real passion has been in housing and neighborhoods,” she adds.

Fourth Ward made a metamorphosis from 1970s slum to today’s upscale center city gem. Genesis Park is the product of a public-private partnership that transformed a drug-infested dead end into a successful mixed-income neighborhood. The city participated in these two projects and many other instances of Charlotte paying attention to housing rehabilitation, she says.

During her 35 years, Syfert says, “We’ve had six bond referendums, raising $110 million to invest and reinvest in neighborhoods that need some help.”

greater charlotte biz

Rising Up the Ranks Charlotte’s first woman city manager, Syfert says she’s never thought much about whether her gender affected her career path.

That’s because of the “balanced” way her parents, E.A. and Ruth Pulliam, brought her up on a farm near Freemont, Nebraska.

Her father pushed her into typical barnyard chores while her mother

took her to piano lessons.

After earning a bachelor’s in political science and history at Cornell College in Iowa, she completed her master’s in Political Science at Michigan State University. While there, she was influenced by Charles Adrian, a professor and author of books on local government and politics.

She and her ex-husband moved here in 1968 when he got a job teaching at what is now Queens University of Charlotte. Syfert stayed home with young son Scott until signing on with the Model Cities Program in 1972.

From there, she joined the city budget department and found great satisfaction in evaluating how well the city delivered services and how effectively it spent taxpayer money.

“It’s been an abiding passion my whole career,” she says.

Soon she was evaluation supervisor; then assistant budget and evaluation director; then budget and evaluation

director. She advanced to assistant city manager in 1987 and later deputy city manager. When former city manager Wendell White retired in 1996, she was appointed interim city manager while city council searched nationally for a permanent executive. The ultimate choice was Syfert.

Other mentors have been two of her bosses. For several years, she followed Tom Finney as he made his way up the city administration ladder, ultimately leaving his post as deputy city manager in 1989 to serve as city manager of Springfield, Missouri. The red roses adorning her desk on her last day are from Finney, now retired.

“Tom really cared about people who worked for him,” Syfert says. “He wanted them to develop; he gave them lots of credit.”

From White, she learned to appreciate her employees. “Wendell had a really positive feeling that people want to do good jobs, they want to be successful and that the people who are not like that are a small minority,” she says.

Syfert hopes she’s remembered for her informed decisions: “I would make sure I had done all my homework, and that I had talked to lots of people and got different ideas and different perspectives.

But then I was always willing to make a decision—and deliver that decision and be accountable for it, whether it was a good decision or a bad decision. The way to define my management style is to be accountable.”

Her advice to Walton, her successor, is ®

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to continue being a good listener and team builder and “pay a lot of attention to growth issues.”

Where Charlotte’s Heading Syfert likes to compare the Charlotte of 1972, when she signed on, to today’s

Charlotte. The population was 250,000 then and 650,000 now. The city budget was $48 million compared to today’s $1.6 billion.

In the next 10 to 15 years, she says the planning staff has predicted that Charlotte will absorb enough additional people to populate Cincinnati, essentially doubling in size.

“My fear,” she adds, “is that the transit plan gets stalled. It would be a catastrophe. The challenge is trying to make

Syfert categorizes controversy as one of four major ‘themes’ she’s seen in her tenure...

“I plan to take one big trip a year and lots of little trips,” she says.

“I have no plans to do any consulting,” she says firmly. “I’m truly done working.”

She has agreed to join the board of POST, or Partners in Out-of-School Time, an organization that helps children fill non-class hours productively.

One more thing…“I’m going to get involved with promoting the Mecklenburg Declaration of Independence,” she says. “When you look at what happened 200 years ago, 26 civic leaders gathered on The Square after the British shot the colonists at Lexington.” (The Massachusetts skirmish happened on April 19, 1775. The Mecklenburg

Almost everything I’ve done in these 35 years has been steeped in controversy... ~ Pam Syfert, Retired City Manager

It’s just one of our times when we’re going through a lot of controversy and we’re going to have to live through it and keep moving forward with a spirit of progress. ~ Pam Syfert, Retired City Manager

people understand what a shortsighted decision that would be.”

Syfert, who turns 65 this fall, will stay in her Dilworth home and see more of lawyer son Scott, daughter-in-law Gail and grandchildren Harrison and Madison.

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Declaration of Independence supposedly was signed May 20, 1775, but the document is not known to exist today.)

“Whether it really happened, or people just think it happened,” Syfert says, “it’s the spirit of the founding of our community that we ought to celebrate. It’s an opportunity to celebrate the history of those people years ago who were willing to take risks for their community.” biz Ellison Clary is a Charlotte-based freelance writer.

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Charlotte City Managers R.W. Rigsby, June 11, 1929 - May 6, 1931 [John F. Boyd, Councilman]

Pamela A. Syfert

J.B. Pridgen, June 3, 1931 - May 15, 1935

Retired as Charlotte city manager: June 30, 2007 Served as city manager: 1996-2007 Started with city: 1972 Positions held: research assistant, Model Cities Program; evaluation analyst, budget department; evaluation supervisor, budget department; assistant budget and evaluation director, budget department; budget and evaluation director, budget department; assistant manager, city manager’s office; deputy city manager; interim city manager; city manager.

Served seven mayors.

First woman city manager in Charlotte.

Favorite civic leader: Hugh McColl Jr. Favorite politician: Won’t say.

Accomplishments most proud of: Hiring decisions that included bringing new city manager Curt Walton into Charlotte city administration in 1986 and bringing in Pat Garrett to lead the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Housing Partnership in 1989.

Biggest disappointment: “I’m not much into regret.”

Two big fears: That the mass transit plan gets stalled.“It would be a catastrophe.”

That we can’t get school system issues resolved.“I think Superintendent Peter Gorman is doing a great job. But he’s got to have the help of the community and the help of the school board to get some of the decisions and resources to move the system forward.”

Vision of Charlotte in 10-15 years: “We’re going to be a much more populated city and we’re going to be even more diverse. It’s going to be an even better city than it is now, a city that has more educational, entertainment and cultural opportunities.”

J.B. Marshall, May 15, 1935 - May 8, 1940 J.W. Armstrong, May 8, 1940 - Aug. 13, 1941 [L.L. Ledbetter, City Treasurer] R.W. Flack, Oct. 1, 1941- Aug. 20, 1946 [L.L. Ledbetter, City Treasurer] Henry A.Yancey, Sept. 17, 1946 - May 1, 1959 George B. Livingston, City Accountant William J.Veeder, Aug. 1, 1959 - Dec. 1970 [L.P. Bobo, Asst. City Manager] David A. Burkhalter, May 1, 1971 - Dec. 1980 O.Wendell White, Mar. 1, 1981- Mar. 15, 1996 Pamela A. Syfert, Sept. 1996 - June 30, 2007 Curt Walton, July 1, 2007 - Present

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photo: Wayne Morris

Curt Walton City Manager City of Charlotte

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by ellison clary

[bizprofile]

Looking Forward...

Building on Lessons From the Past

Traffic

New Development Outerbelt

It’s his dream job, Charlotte’s new city manager says, adding that he’s learned his craft from the best.

He can click off major issues and share ideas about how to address them, but he strongly feels he should take direction from the city council and the mayor.

Don’t expect a big change in the way city hall operates, Curt Walton adds, because he’s a huge fan of how predecessor Pam Syfert steered the city for 20 years.

“Pam is the best city manager in the United States,” Walton says emphatically of his former boss, who retired in June. “There’s not going to be a great difference from her management style to mine.”

Syfert was inclusive and collaborative and worked for consensus, Walton says, adding that he hopes he’ll be regarded the same way. Maybe he’ll move a little faster, he allows. ®

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University City 1984

And that would have been the case whether or not I had gotten the job, because this is home.”

Charlotte City Council picked Walton over two other home-grown candidates, Ron Kimble and Keith Parker who, like Walton, were assistant city manUniversity City 2007 agers for the Queen City. For Walton, it’s the latest step in a

“If there’s one difference, it’s that Pam is probably a little more patient than I am,” he smiles. “I truly want to hear from people, get all the different perspectives, but I do like to hear it pretty quick. There will be a little bit quicker decision-making process. But I don’t know that that’s a strength.”

Walton is self-deprecating, with wit and a sense of humor. He’s also thoughtful.

“I can’t really say I came here in 1986 thinking ‘I want to be city manager,’” he reflects as he leans back, arms spread wide, in his office overlooking the city from the city-county government building.

“But given the point that I am in my career and the unfortunate opportunity of Pam’s retirement, the city manager position just seemed like the right thing to do. So in that sense, I’m probably in my dream job.”

Ballantyne 1994

career that has always felt natural and has been highlighted by some serendipitous events.

Growing Into the Job The son of two educators, Walton Ballantyne 2007 was born in Salisbury but grew up in Carthage, where his father

SouthPark 1940s

At 49, does he plan to hold the position until he retires? “I would hope so,” he says.

“I have no interest in leaving Charlotte.

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really intriguing,” he says. “I think it’s because they are closest to their constituents. I like to get people’s perspectives on what the issues are, what the problems and solutions are.”

He finished the University of North Carolina in 1982 with a bachelor’s in political science and psychology and immediately enrolled in The University of North Carolina at Charlotte. It was one of only a few schools that offered a master’s in urban administration, concentrating on local government.

By the time he completed that program in summer 1980, Walton had worked in the City of Charlotte’s Utilities Department while writing his thesis on

retired as assistant superintendent of the Moore County schools. His older sister also is a teacher, so he was familiar with public service.

Walton was drawn SouthPark 2007 to municipal government work.

“There was just something about cities that I found

public finance. He took a full-time job in utilities and then, in 1982, went to the Town of Wake Forest to be assistant town administrator. He fondly remembers the tutelage of veteran town manager Jerry Walters, now town manager for Oak Island.

Then, in 1986, a fortuitous coincidence happened. Walton was passing time during a brief layover in CharlotteDouglas International Airport when he bought The Charlotte Observer. He saw a city budget analyst position advertised and applied for it. A few months later, he was working for Vi Alexander Liles, who was assistant budget director. As budget director, Syfert was her boss.

“I really enjoyed living here,” he recalls. “There was just an energy about Charlotte. For some reason, I can’t put my finger on it, Charlotte felt like home.”

Soon, he enjoyed another happy

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coincidence. He bumped into a childhood friend who invited him to her 30th birthday party. Also there was Clare Vickers, who’d moved next door to his friend that day. That was in March and Curt and Clare, a native Charlottean and school teacher, were married by the end of 1987. Today, their only child, Hannah, is an incoming freshman at Appalachian State University.

Budgeting Issues Working in the city budget department for 16 years—he was budget director from 1996 until 2002—Walton found a creative outlet. “People kind of scrunch their face up when you tell them you work in budget,” he grins.

“They think that would be the most boring thing to do. But it’s not.”

Rather than a bookkeeping perspective, Charlotte approaches budgeting by making dollars match council priorities, Walton explains. “It is much more creative, flexible and innovative than people would think. I got to work closely with a number of city departments, police and solid waste particularly,” he adds. “You really learn the ins and outs of those departments.”

Since 2002, he’s been an assistant city manager, learning about all the departments and honing his management style under Syfert. He sets out his view of the city manager’s position clearly.

“But for the mayor and the city council, the city manager doesn’t have any direction,” he says. “But for the city employees, 6,600 folks, nothing happens. I’m the conduit in between. To me, it’s not a function of power; it’s a function of facilitation and making sure we all get the best out of each other.”

When the conversation moves to critical issues, transit is top of mind for Walton. In November, voters will decide whether to repeal the half-cent local sales tax that finances light rail construction and improvements to the municipal bus service. Walton says his biggest hope is that those who oppose the tax and those who support it will present accurate information to the public.

He personally believes in the long- ®

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range plan that includes five mass transit corridors, some served by light rail.

“Finishing that plan is going to be very important to the sustainability of Charlotte,” he says.

He calls attention to a 25-year transportation plan that deals with more traditional needs such as roads and intersections. “We’ve funded the first five years of that,” he says. “We need to make sure we keep up with that plan.”

Another reason addressing transportation is critical is that Charlotte is falling farther behind ever-more-stringent air quality standards, even as the air gets cleaner. “We could have a development moratorium put on us just because the air’s not clean enough,” he warns.

Growth itself is an issue, he adds, with the ideal being a sustainable pace that improves the quality of life. He sees paying for growth as important, too. The property tax “is about all we have,” he says as he acknowledges that alternatives such as impact fees or land transfer taxes are worth consideration.

He also believes that fighting crime and helping people feel safe are vitally important. Police involvement at the neighborhood level is a big plus, he says, but officers need to communicate better with citizens.

of Central Carolinas and the Arts & Science Council. “In some cases, we actually contribute greater real dollars than some much bigger cities,” he says. “I think that’s exceptional.”

And then there are the differences of opinion that Charlotteans seem to treasure. For instance, how the city and county should improve the public schools is a question with answers from across an incredibly wide spectrum. “I just use schools as an example,” he says. “They’re in no way an aberration. There is a constituency group, a constituency opinion and position for everything.”

Yet, he adds, Charlotte has a history of finding a middle ground on most issues. Perhaps that’s why he’s observed that, regardless of changes in control between Republicans and Democrats, city council doesn’t produce a sea change in local government direction.

That’s good, he believes. “We don’t want to be whipsawing the community back and forth.”

With 650,000 city residents and 850,000 county-wide, Charlotte is arguably the size of Austin, the Texas city where the Chamber of

photo: Wayne Morris

Finding the Middle Ground A self-described morning person, Walton hits the office as early as 6:45 a.m. He’s done by 5:30 p.m. unless there’s an evening meeting, which is often the case. Yet he makes time for family, remembering the lesson he learned when he missed Hannah’s first birthday party. He likes yard work and watching sports, particularly professional football and basketball.

Walton lists several aspects of

Charlotte that he finds remarkable, starting with the city’s button-down culture.

“It’s hard to imagine a city being quite as corporate as Charlotte is,” he says, quickly adding that’s not a criticism. He praises the success of Bank of America and Wachovia, huge molders of that corporate image, as well as their ability to attract a host of additional employers who support them.

He’s impressed with the city’s neighborhoods, pointing out there are more than 500. “There’s a community fabric that’s different from neighborhood to neighborhood,” he says. “It’s not in any way a homogenized city that I get a feel for in some other places.”

Generosity is another Charlotte attribute, he says, citing continued success of fund drives for the United Way

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Commerce recently took its annual factfinding trip. Walton praises Austin as a well-run city with a solid management history. Phoenix has long been a leader in municipal management and San Diego is a model for handling growth issues, he says, as he names municipalities he admires.

While he defers external goals to council, Walton wants the city to concentrate on providing citizen services the way the “customers” want them. He realizes communication is critical. The Web will be increasingly important, he predicts, as

will the 311 information telephone line.

Walton places high value on a citizen being able to speak with a live person— one with enough information at his or her fingertips to truly help. That requires a city services system that is much more integrated across department lines, something he promises to work on.

The new city manager prizes what he calls an open and ethical organization and says he wants to build confidence that the city is doing things the right way. Finally, he praises the city’s pristine financial

rating—Triple A—which is the highest.

“To maintain that is always going to be paramount,” he says.

He infuses humor with his overall aspiration for his city.

“I wish Charlotte had the best quality of life in the free world—and France,” he says with a smile. “And I don’t know that we don’t have it. For me, it’s a great place and I don’t know any other place I want to live.” biz Ellison Clary is a Charlotte-based freelance writer.

SUCCESS NEEDS A PARTNER

City of Charlotte

greater charlotte biz

“Timing and access are crucial for my customers. That goes double for my bank.”

– I’m Ron Ezell, Sr., president of Custom Logistics, and my banker is Sammy Black.

Member FDIC

600 East Fourth Street Charlotte, N.C. 28202-2861 704-336-2643 Principal: Curt Walton, City Manager Started: July 1, 2007 Experience: Assistant city manager, Charlotte, 2002-2007; budget director, Charlotte, 1996-2002; budget department, Charlotte, 1986-2002; assistant town administrator,Town of Wake Forest, 19821986; utilities department, Charlotte, 19801982 Degrees: Bachelors of Political Science and Psychology, University of North Carolina; masters of Urban Administration, University of North Carolina at Charlotte Charlotte population: 650,000 (est.)

Estimated median household income: $47,131 (2005) Elevation: 850 feet Land area: 242.3 square miles Industries: Finance and insurance; professional, scientific and technical services; health care; accommodations and food services; construction Fortune 500 company headquarters: Bank of America,Wachovia, Duke Energy, Nucor Steel, Goodrich, SPX, Sonic Automotive, Family Dollar (Matthews suburb), Lowe’s Home Improvement (Mooresville suburb) Other company headquarters: Belk Stores, Lance Corporation, Piedmont Natural Gas www.ci.charlotte.nc.us www.charmeck.org

Uptown Charlotte 704.945.6565 Cornelius/Lake Norman 704.987.9990 Matthews 704.814.1200 SouthPark 704.442.5900

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Johnny Morgan, Principal Partner; Jay Casabonne, Principal Partner S.L. Bagby Co.

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by casey jacobus

[bizprofile]

Watt’sNew in

Lighting Design?

Bagby Illuminates the Options S.L.B

agby Co. is redefining the idea of a “manufacture’s representative.” By using creativity and education, and guided by a strong ethical code, partners Jay Casabonne and Johnny Morgan have built their company into a trend setter in the lighting industry “We have a different relationship with them than we do with other sales representatives,” says Keith Pehl, president of Optima Engineering. “They’re not scared to do something different, even if no one else has ever done it that way.”

Established by light bulb salesman Sam L. Bagby in 1918, the Bagby company may well be the oldest lighting agency in the nation. Most appropriately, it occupies 7,700 square feet of converted loft space in an historic building in uptown Charlotte. This provides ample room for the company to demonstrate its products, including the latest in lighting technology, and to host seminars.

During its first 40 years, Bagby was family-owned and survived numerous economic and social upheavals, including the Great Depression, several wars, and the civil rights movement, while witnessing technological advances that produced major changes in the lighting industry. Despite the challenges, Bagby grew, adding many lighting lines, including Lithonia, and forging lasting relationships with many distributors, builders and contractors.

Today the company is thriving under a new leadership team. In 2004 Jay Casabonne and Johnny Morgan purchased the company and began a collaboration that led in new directions. The principal partners have 35 years experience in the commercial lighting industry.®

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Morgan graduated from Georgia Southwestern University with a B.A. in finance. During his career, he has worked for both Cooper and Lithonia Lighting in various roles, including product and market development. He has lectured at both Cooper’s Source and Lithonia’s J.H. McClung Lighting Center on a variety of topics. Over his career, he has also worked with a number of national clients including Belk, Family Dollar, Food Lion, Kraft Foods, Lowe’s, Outback Steakhouse, and Wachovia Bank.

After Casabonne graduated from the Georgia Institute of Technology with a B.A. in industrial management, he joined Lithonia Lighting. He worked in a variety of roles within Lithonia, including regional sales vice president for the North Central Region and Western Region. He relocated to Charlotte in 2002 and invited Morgan to join him in purchasing Bagby in 2004.

“It took almost thirty seconds for me to say ‘yes’,” says Morgan. “We share a sense of responsibility to Charlotte and our world to do more than just sell products. Our mission is not just to make money, but to make a difference.”

Although Morgan and Casabonne shared a single vision, the first six to nine months were an adjustment period as they learned more about each other’s strengths while forming a working relationship.

“I stepped on Jay’s toes occasionally and he pushed back,” laughs Morgan.

“There is a dynamic difference in our skill sets.”

Responsibilities were quickly divided up. Casabonne’s primary role is leading Bagby’s efforts in the customer service and project management areas. He takes the lead in working with the electrical contractors and electrical distributors.

As a LEED-accredited (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) professional, Morgan specializes in problem resolution for large facilities and multi-location retail customers. He works with the architects and interior designers on projects. He also participates in the development of new products by working closely with clients and communicating their needs directly back to the manufacturer.

“My job is to worry about tomorrow,” says Morgan, “while Jay’s job is to worry about today.”

Morgan believes his interest and participation in the development of new lighting technology helps to keep Bagby in the forefront of the industry. At the same time it enables the company to offer a greater value to society.

“While we sell products, our main mission is to educate people about the impact of their lighting choices on the people in the spaces and on the natural environment,” says Morgan. “Our job is to help them make ‘smart’ (green and sustainable) choices.”

To help the educational process, Bagby holds “Lunch and Learn” seminars two or three times a month. These presentations provide clients with information about new products and technology that can save both energy and the cost of waste disposal. They also include information about the latest in North Carolina codes and legislation.

Piedmont Town Center developer, Crescent Optima Engineering has had a long-term relationship Resources, wanted a signature site lighting with Bagby and President Keith Pehl has seen a noticedesign complete with street lighting, hangable difference in the way the company does business ing planters, and bollards. As their main since the ownership transition. tenant was going to be Piedmont Natural Gas, they opted for matching gas lanterns.

“They have helped educate my electrical engi-

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neers on the latest in codes and lighting methodology and have provided support for a number of projects,” says Pehl. “It’s more like a collaboration. We know we can go to them and it isn’t just about what they’re selling.”

Illuminating the Options While Lithonia Lighting is the largest manufacturer Bagby represents, the company’s line card includes almost 50 other manufacturers. Within the past year, the company has received recognition from several of their distributors including: the Edge Commercial Presence Award from EDI, the Vendor of the Year award from CED, and Outstanding Sales Performance awards from Lithonia, Elliptipar, OCL and Zumtobel.

“We are very proud of the national recognition we’ve received,” says Morgan.

“We want to break the mold for what a manufacturer’s representative can be. We hope to fashion the future of the industry.”

Casabonne and Morgan have provided innovative and sustainable designs for a wide variety of lighting projects. Their portfolio includes churches, libraries, warehouses, medical facilities, recreational projects, banks, retail outlets, and office areas.

Clients like Bill Wilkinson, vice president in charge of new branch construction at Wachovia, attest to the partners’ dedication to customer service.

“We have found them very responsive to our needs,” says Wilkinson. “They have helped us find more cost effective solutions and helped us become more ‘green’.”

One of the most complex projects Bagby has dealt with was the Food Lion Customer Support Center in Salisbury.

Corporate officials wanted to create a comfortable environment for their associates and a new image for the company. They also wanted to achieve LEED silver certification.

The 120,000-square-foot space blended a two-story open mezzanine area with workspace cubicles below a 26-foot ceiling.

The challenge was to integrate natural daylight with electrical lighting to create an interesting and comfortable space. The project also included a visitor’s lobby, conference rooms and a cafeteria.

“It was a very complex project with a

greater charlotte biz

client that was very cost conscious,” says Cami Dreher, senior interior designer at Little Associates. “Bagby was great; they brought so many different things to the table, including an understanding of how to achieve the most efficient lighting systems. They were partners with us all the way through the project.”

In addition to providing the foot candle calculations, Bagby worked closely with the subcontractors and integrated the work with the engineers and designers.

“We were able to act as a facilitator,”

says Morgan. “The client wanted to bring its retail ambience to the corporate center, while maintaining Food Lion’s values and its mission statement.”

Redesigning the lighting for the Hearst Tower Parking Garage in uptown Charlotte posed a different set of challenges. The 1,400-space parking garage needed to be more efficiently lit in order to provide a safe and bright environment for users. In addition, the facilities managers were having to replace the lamps in the old system every six months. Bagby was able to recommend ®

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a new system that provides more light and uses half the power of the old one.

As an added benefit, the lamps only needed to be replaced every three years.

“We were able to show the market a new way of doing something,” says Casabonne. “We were also able to save them 45 percent in energy costs and even more in waste disposal.”

An entirely different approach was required when Bagby worked with GanttHuberman Architects on the new Friendship Missionary Baptist Church on

Beatties Ford Road. The church needed a new facility that would accommodate its rapid membership growth. At the same time, they wanted to preserve their 40year-old history, along with the openness and warmth of their original building.

The open feel of the large sanctuary was created by a central clerestory to make effective use of day-lighting during daylight hours. For night use, indirect fixtures were installed to light the vaulted ceiling. Additionally, wall-mounted fixtures were used for indirect lighting of

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Weddington United Methodist Church decided to build membership. This new facility is home to a day care a band stage, and a gymnasium that can double as an

the sloped wood ceiling to provide uniform lighting with a soothing warm tone.

In keeping with tradition, the church felt it was important that the stainedglass windows tell a story to reflect their history and beliefs while adding color and beauty to the space. Of particular significance was a large 20 foot by 30 foot stained-glass window set above the baptistery facing the parking area. To create a bright, uniform lighting, wall fixtures were used to light a wall behind the stained-glass. The reflected light from the wall lends the window a gorgeous luminosity.

“This was a huge church and a very complex project, larger than most retail projects,” says Casabonne. “Stained glass is very difficult to light, but this turned out beautifully.”

Lighting the Way Both Morgan and Casabonne agree that much of the success Bagby has achieved is based on the code of ethics the two have adopted and the people they have hired. The code finds its inspiration in the ‘Golden Rule’: “Treating others as we would have them treat us” and it extends to clients, manufacturers and, particularly, employees.

“The biggest driver is respect,” says Casabonne. “We respect our people; we are nothing without them.”

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join organizations that contribute to the greater community.

“It’s a very positive work environment,” says Allison Farrar, director of marketing and events. “We all know where we’re going, thanks to the open communication that Jay and Johnny encourage.”

With a good business plan in place, good employees and the ability to attract good customers, Bagby’s future appears extra bright in continuing to lead the lighting industry in new endeavors.

Morgan cautions, however, that the company’s future success depends upon maintaining its values.

“We have to continue to be hungry to learn, and through our learning be willing to educate,” he says. “As we learn new technology and sell those products, our revenue will not only increase, we can also effect change. Our vision is for a brighter, greener, more sustainable future.” biz Casey Jacobus is a Charlotte-based freelance writer.

a separate building to house its expanding youth center, meeting rooms, a teen center complete with auditorium.

Early on the partners joined Renaissance Executive Forums, an international company dedicated to helping executives accelerate positive changes in their business. At the Charlotte chapter, headed by Tom Jackson, they learned about team building and work delegation.

Bagby hosts lunches and special events for employees both to help them learn about the latest in lighting technology and to participate in team building exercises. They share the latest sales figures with employees, help them develop leadership skills, and encourage them to

S.L. Bagby Co. 1230 W. Morehead St., Ste. 304 Charlotte, N.C. 28208 Phone: 704-334-2821 Principals: John T. Morgan IV, Principal Partner; Jay Casabonne, Principal Partner Founded: 1918 (family-owned for the first 40 years) Employees: 19 Business: Oldest lighting design business in the Carolinas, providing innovative and sustainable designs for a wide variety of lighting projects. www.slbagby.com

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[workforcebiz]

Work Force Training and Development

Investing in the Work Force = Increased Productivity and Retention An interesting article on Workforce Development Trends Reflecting the Importance of Continuing Education and Lifelong Learning✝ documents the increased attention employers are paying to investing in the work force’s continuing education for work skills as well as opportunities for lifelong learning for quality of life. In part it reads: Employers have begun to recognize that money spent on training employees is more realistically an investment rather than a cost. A more skilled work force results in increased economic productivity, and so organizational spending on work force education and training is on the rise.

A work force with higher skill levels is more productive.

Increasingly, education and skills are seen as important determinants of the employ-ability and income potential of the worker.The productivity of labor—the output produced per hour of work—is becoming more and more a function of what the employee knows and can do. As the economy shifts to one in which the value of strong minds increases relative to that of strong backs, employers seek skilled and educated workers.The demand for education thus increases.

In 1948, men who had finished less than 12 years of formal education completed 60 percent of the hours worked by men. By 1997, this figure had dropped to 12 percent. Women with less than 12 years of formal education accounted for 50 percent of hours worked by women in 1948 and only 9 percent in 1997.

In 1999, the Bureau of Labor Statistics attempted to compute the contribution of

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increased worker skill to increased productivity.They estimated that in the period 1973-79, increased worker skill accounted for only 2 percent of overall increased productivity. In the period 1990-1997, 32 percent of increased work force productivity was estimated to be due to increased knowledge and skill.This underscores the changing nature of the U.S. and global economies and stresses the increasing importance of knowledge and skills to economic productivity.

Continuing education helps employers retain employees and stay competitive.

Employers are using opportunities for education and training to attract and retain the best employees. Employers sponsor in-house training as well as underwrite the costs of education away from the workplace. Fifty-five percent of the companies ranked by Fortune magazine as the “100 Best Companies to Work For” paid for between 21 and 40 hours of training per employee in 2001. Another 34 percent paid for 41 to 80 hours of training, and 8 percent paid for more than 80 hours of training per employee per year. In addition to training, many companies offer tuition reimbursement, college

planning assistance and paid or unpaid sabbaticals.

There is no doubt that programs offering continuing education and work force training are invaluable to our work force’s growth and competitiveness. Central Piedmont Community College (CPCC) has developed a wealth of comprehensive work force and personal development programs and solutions to meet these needs. With footprints throughout Mecklenburg County at six campuses, in addition to online learning and on-site corporate training, CPCC offers diverse Corporate & Continuing Education business and industry training solutions including the following: • Computer Training • Real Estate, Insurance & Mortgage Banking • Health & Safety • Leadership & Professional Development • Quality & Process Improvement • Technical Training • Employee Wellness Make an investment in your employees—more education yields more productivity and good training options attract and retain talented employees.

Contact CPCC or visit their Web site at www.cpcctraining.org for more information. ✝ University Continuing Education Association, Lifelong Learning Trends, Building a Quality Workplace, 2002. w w w.ucea.edu biz This section is intended to highlight work force training and development programs and initiatives delivered by community colleges within the Charlotte region. Community colleges are invited to submit substantive content ideas to editor@greatercharlottebiz.com.

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TOPIC 2007: What’s In It For Me? August – Money makes the world go ‘round Money is an important factor in an employee’s life. It’s not the only factor, but it is a powerful one.

When used wisely and in conjunction with other factors, compensation can be a motivator.

We’ll explore compensation, incentives, rewards and consequences as tools to help us achieve desired behaviors and results. We’ll work to understand what rewards employees are looking for based on their “what’s in it for me” outlook.

2007 Schedule of Meetings August - Money makes the world go ‘round October - Would I buy this business from me?

scottjag.com

telware.com IFC

Time Warner Cable - Business Class charlotte.twcbc.com

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UNC Charlotte Belk College mba.uncc.edu

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Wayne Morris Photography wmphoto.biz

greater charlotte biz

Our meetings are packed with practical information you can use to improve your business and reach your goals. Join today and become part of this exciting and worthwhile group.

For specific dates, times, locations and membership information visit www.business-success-institute.com or call Denise Altman at 704-315-9090.

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[ontop] Awards & Achievements Multimedia marketing firm LA Management Company has been named a finalist for the 2007 Charlotte Chamber Entrepreneur Award.

Autobell Car Wash Inc. has awarded 34 employees its 2007 academic scholarships toward the college or university of their choice, with this yearâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s gifts totaling $30,200. Since its inception, the Autobell Scholarship Program has awarded over $106,000 in academic funds to employees.

Advertising & Media Steve Luquire, president and partner of Luquire George Andrews (LGA), an advertising, marketing and public relations firm, has been honored with the 2007 Silver Medal Award Steve Luquire by the Charlotte Ad Club.

WCNC has been honored with the 2007 national Edward R. Murrow Award by the Radio and Television News Directors Association for sports reporting in a large market.

Creative Marketing Solutions has been awarded First Place by the Mailing & Fulfillment Service Association for excellence and ingenuity.

Lyerly Agency and Blue Ridge Paper Products have been honored with the Achieving Excellence Best Overall Direct Mail Piece award and Best Overall School Marketing Campaign award at the International Dairy Foods Association (IDFA) SmartMarketing Conference.

Tim and Barbara Jones, owners of Allegra Print & Imaging have been honored by the Allegra Network with the franchise systemâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s prestigious Operational Excellence Award.

Moonlight Creative Group has been honored with a Communicator Award in the 2007 Print Competition and two Aster Awards.

Corder Philips has promoted Shawn Kelley to creative director and Robert

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[ontop] Locklear to associate creative director.

Cox Marketing Group has hired Duffy-Marie Ebel as its new creative director.

Lisa Hoffmann has been named chief copywriter for Duffy-Marie Ebel PRstore.

Business & Professional Smith Moore LLP has been recognized as one of the top law firms in North Carolina by Chambers USA Guide: America’s Leading Business Lawyers 2007.

Kennedy Covington has been named an industry leader in six practice areas by Chambers USA Guide: America’s Leading Business Lawyers 2007. The firm has also added Kent Walker as a partner in the firm’s Charlotte office and partner René J. LeBlanc-Allman has been named to the Charlotte Business Journal’s 40 Under 40 list.

Richard Q. Lafferty has joined Poyner & Spruill LLP as Of Counsel in the Charlotte office.

EnergyUnited has Richard Lafferty acquired Jennifer Maxwell as communications manager.

Fluent Language Solutions, Inc. has hired Josh Gouge as a staff interpreter in the Charlotte office.

Mary Elizabeth Murphy, managing director of S.T.A.R. Resources, has completed the core curriculum for certification with the Mary Elizabeth Murphy Coaches Training Institute.

Bonsal American has promoted Dale Thornbury and Jared Ziegler to regional sales managers for the Bonsal American Building Materials Independent Group and added Mike Mitchell as Mid-Atlantic sales representative for the Amguard Pavement Coatings Division.

Decision Support has added T.J. Felice to the management team as chief operating officer and Mike Sibley as president of the elections line of business.

American Product Distributors (APD)

Centuryy 21 Hecht Realty, Inc. Commercial Division Excellence Experience Dedication... and a touch of

Office

Gold

Land

Ted Hill III

Industrial

Retail

©2007 Galles Communications Group, Inc.

704.892.8252 Each office independently owned and operated.

Networking Services “No business is too small”

If you are looking for a company that gives a personal touch and honestly cares about their clients, then give us a call!

Local & Wide Area Networks Wiring Routers Switches Servers Wireless Workstations We are an innovative, high tech company, specializing in local and wide area networking to the small and medium business market.

We provide complete turnkey solutions from concept to reality.

For more information call: Walt Fields at 704-560-4897 or Dwayne Stone at 704-560-4900 FieldStone Networking Services • 16041-G Johnston Rd. #161• Charlotte, NC 28277

www.fieldstonenetworking.com

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august 2007

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[ontop]

trust+strategy+integrity+planning+insight+experience

Š2007 Galles Communications Group, Inc.

it all adds up.

At the lake:

Daniel, Ratliff & Company 107 Kilson Dr., Ste. 205, Mooresville, NC 28117

704.663.0193

Uptown office:

Daniel, Ratliff & Company 301 S. McDowell St., Ste. 502, Charlotte, NC 28204

704.371.5000

www.danielratliff.com

has hired Kim Kennedy as health and environmental compliance officer.

Rodger Saffin has Kim Kennedy joined Project Managers, Inc. as a senior project manager.

Mark Blevins has joined Rodger Saffin A&W Electric as manager-electrical services group.

Construction & Design Shelco, Inc. has been honored with a Star Award in the $10 million and larger project category for Piedmont Town Center.

Rhett Crocker of LandDesign has been listed by the Charlotte Business Journal in its 40 Under 40 list.

Rhett Crocker Perkins Eastman has hired J. Kilpatrick Burke, AIA to the Charlotte office as an associate principal.

Mark Sealy has joined BJAC p.a. as design leader and manager of the Charlotte office.

ClarkNexsen has hired Charles Glass as a CADD technician in the structural engineering department.

Education & Staffing Dr. Marlow Hinton, ITT director at North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University, has been awarded a Certificate of Appreciation from North Carolina Governor Mike Easley in recognition of his working with students and non-profit community organizations in a real world learning environment.

CPCC has honored Louis Foreman the 2007 Instructor Louis Foreman Achievement Award for his outstanding achievements in entrepreneurship and committed service.

Ron Smith Ron Smith, a culinary

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[ontop] arts instructor, has been named the Art Institute of Charlotte’s Spring 2007 Outstanding Faculty Member.

Mark Bryant has been named director of Wingate University’s MBA program.

Thomas C. Shandley, vice president for student life Mark Bryant and dean of students at Davidson College, has been elected the Region III vice president for the National Association of Student Personnel Administrators.

Michael Marsicano, president and chief executive officer of Foundation For The Carolinas, has been elected to Duke’s board of trustees.

Engineering S&ME has promoted Ken Daly, PE to manager of the civil engineering department at its Charlotte office.

Ken Daly

Finance & Insurance First Bank has appointed Joseph Arundell as senior vice president and marketing director.

Daniel, Ratliff & Company, a full-service CPA firm, has named Brian Huber a shareholder and added Brandon Ratliff as director of first impressions in their Charlotte office and Amber Reynolds as client service provider in their Mooresville Office.

ARE YOUR SALARIES COMPETITIVE? The 2007 Wage and Salary Survey is Now Available!

T

he Employers Association is the best resource for local compensation data. Capturing information from over 270 companies covering 330 benchmark positions, the 2007 Wage and Salary Survey provides comprehensive local data by industry, county and company size. New association members receive a complimentary Wage and Salary Survey or it is available for purchase.

The

EMPLOYERS A S S O C I A T I O N

For more information on The Employers Association please visit us at www.employersassoc.com or call 704-522-8011.

YOUR TRUSTED HR RESOURCE SINCE 1958 WITH 830 LOCAL MEMBER COMPANIES ©2007 Galles Communications Group, Inc.

Brian Huber

Brandon Ratliff

Amber Reynolds

Marsh USA Inc. has added John Del Bene as assistant vice president; Tim Fischer as a nuclear consultant; Jeffrey Inman as technology coordinator; and Debbie Chiappone as client representative.

Robert Palmer & Associates has appointed Season Loflin as accountant.

Melissa Warren has joined Hinrichs Flanagan Financial as a financial services professional.

greater charlotte biz

waynemorrisphotography wayne@wmphoto.biz www.wmphoto.biz

704.545.7001

Advertising Industrial Corporate Architectural Interiors & Exteriors august 2007

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[ontop] Government & Non-Profit Leadership Charlotte has hired Elizabeth Nye McKee as executive director.

Health Care Crystal Health Care Services has hired Lois Marlow, RN as marketing director and nursing supervisor.

Lois Marlow

Manufacturing Livingston & Haven, an industrial technology provider, has been honored with the Progressive Manufacturer of the Year 2007 award by Managing Automation.

Real Estate Commercial/Residential Better Homes & Gardens, Woman’s Day, Southern Living and The American Institute of Building Design have awarded Hubert Whitlock Builders a 2007 Chrysalis Award for Remodeling Excellence in the kitchen remodel over $100,000 category.

Coldwell Banker United has hired Tom Martin as Keith Postal senior vice Tom Martin president and Keith Postal as vice president of new homes marketing.

Beacon Partners, one of the area’s leading commercial real Nathan Medlin Erin Whitlock estate firms, has added Erin Whitlock to its leasing team and Nathan Medlin as assistant controller.

Justin Wells has joined Allen Tate Mortgage Services as a senior mortgage consultant.

Janet Shawgo, Jenny Brawley, Ingrid House, Rose Wright, Mark Claussner and Madelyn Rabb have joined Lake Norman Realty as sales associates.

Retail & Sports & Entertainment Bojangles’ Restaurants has promoted

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[ontop] Rene Dexter to director of training and Ken Scott to director of quality assurance.

Jim Utrata has been promoted to assistant general manager of The Oceanaire Seafood Room.

Chrystal Safari has Jim Utrata joined the Persian Rug House of Pineville as marketing and public relations director.

Targeted Golf Corporate Club has hired John Wavrick III as general manager for its flagship location.

R. Keith Smith has joined Western Waterproofing of America, Charlotte, as a sales and production manager.

Brian Guy has joined The Side Porch as executive chef.

Technology CC Communications, Inc., an Internet strategy and online marketing firm has won recognition in the 2007 International Hermes Creative Awards competition.

OmniVue Business Solutions has been named to the list of Top 100 Value Added Resellers by Accounting Technology Magazine.

Peak 10, the leading independent data center operator and managed services provider, has been named a Top 10 Host

by HostReview, in the industry publication’s Best Managed Hosting Service.

Eric Dudley, president of WebsiteBiz, has been named to the 2007 Charlotte Business Journal’s 40 Under 40 list of young Eric Dudley leaders.

AMTdirect has added Marc Feller, Jill Pennington, Jason Stone and Taft Tucker to its headquarters team. biz To be considered for inclusion, please send your news releases and announcements in the body of an e-mail (only photos attached) to editor@greatercharlottebiz.com, or fax them to 704-676-5853, or post them to our business address—at least 30 days prior to our publication date.

greater charlotte biz

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Featuring Executive Homes in the Charlotte Region THE RATCLIFFE IN CENTER CITY Charlotte, North Carolina This beautiful upper-floor condo connects to the Overstreet Mall and features a gourmet kitchen with stainless steel appliances and a 5burner gas stove. It includes excellent storage with a butler’s pantry and extensive California Closets and a private tile patio with gas grill and fabulous views of Southend. 2BRs/2BAs MLS# 688303 - $725,000 Property Address: 229 North Church St., Unit 502 Sandy Kindbom - 704-331-2124 www.allentate.com/sandykindbom

SETTLERS’ PLACE IN FOURTH WARD Charlotte, North Carolina Unique and spacious describe this traditional-style condo in Historic Fourth Ward. The end unit features floor-to-ceiling windows and a 200-square-foot balcony with gas grill overlooking Settlers’ Park. Other extras include detailed crown molding, surround sound and a fireplace. 3BRs/2.1BAs MLS# 647890 - $1,150,000 Property Address: 229 North Church St., Unit 303 Kim Pfleeger - 704-496-7440 www.allentate.com/kimpfleeger

HACKBERRY PLACE IN FOURTH WARD Charlotte, North Carolina You’ll appreciate the unparalleled renovation in this exquisite townhome.The kitchen features quarter sawn oak cabinets with glass,copper sink,mosaic limestone and sandblasted granite counters.The master bath offers a walk-in shower and marble counter.Also included are a patio,deck,courtyard and one-car garage.3BRs/2.1BAs MLS# 653437 - $749,000 Property Address: 311 Settlers Lane Nancie Woods - 704-331-2122 www.allentate.com/nanciewoods

SETTLERS’ PLACE IN FOURTH WARD Charlotte, North Carolina This is Center City living with rare views of Uptown and Settlers’ Park.

The expansive, one-level floor plan includes a grand kitchen with custom cabinets and granite countertops, plus extras like crown molding, fireplace and surround sound.There are three terraces to enjoy and two garage parking spaces. 2BRs/2BAs MLS# 666642 - $845,000 Property Address: 229 North Church St., Unit 402 Paul Koehnke - 704-496-7440 www.allentate.com/paulkoehnke

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Featuring Executive Homes in the Charlotte Region EXQUISITE WATERFRONT ESTATE Hickory, North Carolina This impressive two-story 7.4-acre estate includes 350+ feet of waterfront and features hardwood floors,in-law suite and three garages.The first level includes the master suite,gourmet kitchen and formals and the basement features recreation, media and exercise rooms. Beautiful porches overlook the lake, fabulous pool and cabana. 6BRs/ 6.2BAs MLS# 666818 - $3,900,000 Property Address: 4731 1st Street NW Helen Beleos - 704-367-7209 www.lakehickoryestate.com

ELEGANT LIVING Concord, North Carolina This exquisite home is in a golf course community. It features heated, antique brick flooring imported from France, crystal and gold chandeliers, and Lutron and Elan lighting and sound systems throughout.

The pub room is complete with hand-carved wooden bar.The English conservatory has an endless pool. 4BRs/4.1BAs MLS# 536383 - $1,000,000 Property Address: 1191 Asheford Green Ave. Diane Honeycutt - 704-721-7130 www.allentate.com/dianehoneycutt

THE HAMPTONS AT PARK SOUTH Charlotte, North Carolina Get Old English charm surrounded by SouthPark style with these gated luxury townhomes featuring first and second level master suites in each unit,red oak site-finished flooring and Viking appliances.Exterior construction includes brick,stone and stucco,complimented by DaVinci slate roofs.At The Hamptons,upgrades come standard! 4 BRs/3.1BAs Priced from the $720s Property Address: Northhampton Dr. Meba Thompson 704-661-0699;Jackie Kiser 704-533-4360

www.thehamptonsatparksouth.com

THE IVEYâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;S Charlotte, North Carolina Live the Park Avenue lifestyle in Center City Charlotte with a 24hour security guard for all your needs. This end unit loft features hardwood floors, soaring ceilings, and pristine views of the city.

New kitchen and bath renovations include granite, new hardware and stainless steel appliances. 2BRs/2BAs MLS# 682731- $439,900 Property Address: 127 N. Tryon St., Unit 415 Nancie Woods - 704-331-2122 www.allentate.com/nanciewoods

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