Hometowns 2011

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If you belong to a group that holds conventions somewhere else, help us bring it home! Give us the contact information for the decision maker or meeting planner and you will be entered in drawings for a night on the town!

Send your group contact information to Marva Wells, High Point Convention & Visitors Bureau, 300 S. Main St., High Point, NC 27260, or call 336.884.5255 or visit bringithomehighpoint.org.

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The Bring it Home, High Point! Campaign is conducted by the High Point Convention & Visitors Bureau.

THE HIGH POINT ENTERPRISE SuNdAy, July 24, 2011 www.hpe.com

Once a pastoral landing field, PTIA has come a long way

By Paul B. Johnson ENTERPRISE STAFF WRITER

TRIaD – It’s not often you can point to one moment in time and say that the fate of a facility or area changed in an instant, but April 13, 1998, is such a day for Piedmont Triad International Airport and the region around it.

That morning, executives with FedEx Corp. traveled from Memphis, Tenn., to PTIA and announced that FedEx had picked the airport for its latest national cargo hub.

As The High Point Enterprise reported in its edition the day after the announcement, “Piedmont Triad International Airport’s ship finally came in, via cargo.�

FedEx picked PTIA after a recruiting battle among five other airports in North and South Carolina. The project for the hub, which opened in the summer of 2009 after a lengthy environmental review by government agencies and years of grading and construction, involved an investment of more than $500 million. The state of North Carolina recruited FedEx with a $115.5 million incentives package, to be paid over a 25-year period, that still ranks among the top 10 incentives packages offered in state history.

The hub was announced during one of the longest economic expansions in American history in the 1990s. But it has opened as the Great Recession stymies both the local economy and the devel-

opment of the hub. The projected benefits of the hub haven’t materialized as economic recruiters envisioned 13 years ago, but FedEx kept its pledge to open the hub by the middle of 2009 despite trying economic times.

As the overall national and regional economy recovers, so should the FedEx hub expand its operations as workers there sort more packages in better times, said Mike McCully, associate professor of economics at High Point University.

FedEx recently projected that the company expects its demand to improve during the second half of this year, McCully said. But having the hub in the Triad will position the region for growth as some type of recovery takes hold, he said. “They are a very strong company, constantly investing for the future,�

McCully said.

The recruitment of FedEx and expansion of PTIA to accommodate the hub adds to the heritage of an airport that got its start in the early 20th century as a landing field in a pasture.

What has become PTIA dates from 1927 when Lindley Field was opened on property that at the time was eight miles west of the Greensboro city limit. From its inception, though, the airport sported a regional tie, as it was referred to as Tri-City Airport because of its proximity among High Point, Greensboro and Winston-Salem.

One step that airport leaders took in the 1950s

The runways of PTIA are shown in this April 1998 file photograph. cleared the way for future growth of PTIA. The Piedmont Triad Airport Authority, the airport’s governing board, purchased more than 900 acres of land around the airport to secure space for growth.

The airport continued to grow over the decades, reflecting population increases and business growth in the Triad. Another key point in the airport’s history happened about 30 years ago.

In 1982, the new passenger terminal opened at PTIA, and the airport’s main runway was extended to 10,000 feet in length to handle larger jets. At the time, PTIA’s main runway was the longest in the state, according to the airport’s historical records.

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Another major development at PTIA began 11 years ago when Honda Aircraft Co. established research and development operations. Since then the company has established a manufactur-

ing facility at PTIA for its small jet targeted for corporate markets.

The biggest challenge today facing PTIA, as acknowledged by members of the Piedmont Triad Airport Authority, is coping with competition from nearby CharlotteDouglas International Airport and Raleigh-Dur-

ham International Airport. Those two larger airports offer more daily flights and, because of economies of scale, generally lower fares than PTIA. Airport officials have made recruiting more discount carriers to PTIA a priority. pjohnson@hpe.com | 888-3528

As predicted, FedEx spurs other growth

BY JORDAN HOWSE ENTERPRISE STAFF WRITER

TRIAD — Not only has the FedEx hub at Piedmont Triad International Airport provided direct jobs to the Triad region, it also has spurred growth surrounding its operation.

Less than one mile outside the High Point city limits, the hub has proved a bonus for businesses looking to move to the region.

Being close to the FedEx hub provides huge advantages for businesses wanting to locate here. It gives them the ability to meet higher customer service expectations, focus more on supply chain optimization and have a more ambitious inventory strategy.

It allows companies easy shipping to and from a variety of domestic or worldwide locations and to have more shipping flexibility overall.

Polo Ralph Lauren has had a distribution center in High Point since 1991 and added the ralphlauren. com apparel fulfillment/ contact center facility in

‘Our primary shipper is FedEx. Being close to a FedEx hub is very important to us.’

David Rush Polo Ralph Lauren 2007. It recently opened its third major facility in High Point that will operate as distribution/logistics facility.

“Our primary shipper is FedEx,” said David Rush, Polo Ralph Lauren’s vice president of supply chain.

“Being close to a FedEx hub is very important to us.”

Other companies that have expanded or come to the region since the announcement of the hub in 1998 are Baltek, a Swiss light manufacturer; Banner Pharmacaps, which produces softgel capsules; and TE Connectivity, formally Tyco Electronics.

An economic impact study estimated the hub will create 19,800 jobs and have a total value-added impact of $9.3 billion on the Piedmont Triad’s economy over a 16-year period.

It is anticipated that $703 million in new state tax revenues and $236 million in new local tax revenues could be generated during that time frame.

And the hub itself is poised for growth.

Currently, 65 flights are operating and an additional 75 to 100 flights per week will be added. FedEx will operate 26 aircraft at the new facility with more than 60 aircraft projected within the next 10 years.

A 9,000-foot runway was built at PTIA to accommodate the additional flight traffic. Packages originating on the East Coast for East Coast delivery will be handled through the Piedmont Triad hub.

Other FedEx hubs are located in Memphis, Tenn., Indianapolis, Anchorage, Alaska, and Fort Worth, Texas. jhowse@hpe.com | 888-3517

Aircraft are shown at the FedEx terminal at PTIA.

HPE | FILE

THE HIGH POINT ENTERPRISE SUNDAY, JULY 24, 2011 www.hpe.com

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Reviving Uptowne Leaders set ambitious goals for reshaping city

BY PAT KIMBROUGH ENTERPRISE STAFF WRITER

HIGH POINT – When the Uptowne High Point Association formed in October 2008, the group of business and civic leaders, property owners and others had an ambitious task.

The area around N. Main Street and Lexington Avenue had long been busy with trafďŹ c, with several well-established businesses in the vicinity, but it didn’t have much of an identity as a destination for High Pointers beyond that.

The group’s task boiled down to some basic ideas: How to improve business in the area and how to get business owners to

work together. “The whole point of that was to get people used to the idea of coming up here and walking around – changing the mindset,â€? said Jay Wagner, president of the association and an attorney with an ofďŹ ce in the heart of Uptowne. “One of the ďŹ rst things we had to do was create a name. The Core City plan recommended use of name ‘Uptowne.’ It kind of implies that it’s upscale, that it’s not downtown, so we settled on it.â€?

Since then, the group, assisted by many others who want to see Uptowne thrive, began to market the area, successfully

Wendy Fuscoe, executive director of The City Project, looks over a map of High Point.

petitioned the city for some ordinance changes, held special events like periodic sidewalk strolls and obtained a grant that paid for banners that are on display in Uptowne. “One of the ďŹ rst steps we took was to deďŹ ne the area,â€?

Wagner said. “Once you’ve got a name, then you’ve got something you can sell. We feel like we’ve had some success so far – some small steps – and if we can get a little more help, we feel like we can make some bigger steps.

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Jay Wagner is shown in Uptowne High Point area.

a place tends to snowball.

It starts out small, but once people see some visible successes, and they see some enthusiasm for a place, it begins to build on itself.”

The group has created an inventory of all available property in Uptowne for sale or lease, so that prospects can be informed immediately about the broker in charge, square footage, parking spaces and other particulars in looking at a site. The City Project, with which it works closely, provides step-by-step assistance with the permitting process if a prospect decides to lease or purchase a property.

Since the association began its work, several businesses have opened in Uptowne: the Golden B restaurant, a clothing store called Collared Greens, Char-Grill, Blue Bourbon Jacks, Just

HPE | FILE

Priceless and Wicked Purple, to name some of them.

“There’s still too many places empty. There’s plenty of places to move into, but we’ve got to help them bridge that gap to get in there,” Wagner said. “With the economy the way it is, it’s that much worse. It’s that much harder.”

The retail incentive policy pending before the City Council could be the way to “bridge that gap,” in Wagner’s estimation.

If the city awarded cash grants to small business projects in key areas of town, the money would give them a leg up getting some of the available space in the proper condition.

Landlords are generally willing to work with tenants looking to start a business in Uptowne, but it can be prohibitively expensive to convert a bare

building to accommodate a restaurant, bakery or coffee shop.

“There needs to be some upfitting done with each of these buildings,” Wagner said. “They’re primarily built to be retail shops or offices, and if we’re going to convert them to other things, like restaurants, there’s going to be some upfitting cost to that.”

Allowing retail incentives is the major local government action needed to benefit Uptowne, Wagner argues, but the City Council has taken action on a couple of smaller matters that has helped.

One was an ordinance change that allowed Uptowne businesses to use A-frame signs for advertisement purposes on sidewalks in front of their property. The other was the adoption of an ordinance to allow restau-

rants to feature sidewalk dining.

Wagner said these are positive steps, but Uptowne is still a tough sell for some clients.

“It’s hard to sell your vision when we take them up and down the street,” Wagner said. “You can show them pictures and say, ‘This is what we want it to look like one day, and we want this area to be walkable and we want this to be a destination where people in High Point can come and walk and see their friends and sit outside and eat dinner.’ But when you walk out on Main Street and look up and down the street, you just can’t see that. It’s a leap to get from where Main Street is now to what we would like it to be one day.”

In the meantime, the Uptowne Association has a business recruitment committee to help

market Uptowne. Its role is to solicit types of businesses that aren’t there.

One thing it’s been concentrating on is finding a local or regional coffee chain to locate there.

The Uptowne Association’s work often overlaps with that of The City Project, which has reached out to establishments like the Fresh Market and Mellow Mushroom restaurant.

The Ilderton Beach Blast series of concerts in the heart of Uptowne has

been dubbed a success, and both organizations have lent their support to all manner of ambitious ideas circulating in the community, from an International Amphitheater and Market to an Uptowne Farmers Market.

Nothing concrete has come of either such proposal as of yet, but Wagner and other Uptowne advocates say they don’t plan to go away anytime soon. pkimbrough@hpe.com | 888-3531

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Daunting task Aaron Clinard is shown on a vacant lot in front of GTCC-High Point campus on S. Main Street, a section of the city that’s being targeted for revitalization.

Sonny Hedgecock | HPe

Despite economic constraints, City Project leaders keep eye on the prize high poiNt – When she was appointed executive director of what is now The City Project nearly three years ago, Wendy Fuscoe was charged with the task of helping to revitalize inner-city High Point.

A nonprofit corporation that receives city funding and is guided by a 20-member board, The City Project’s mission is to implement High Point’s Core City Plan, which focuses on eight areas within the city’s 11square-mile urban core.

Her tenure has coincided with the worst eco-

nomic recession in nearly a century, which has slowed new development to a trickle, making The City Project’s mission that much more daunting.

Still, there has been progress guiding revitalization of the central city’s neighborhoods and commercial corridors.

“When I look back, I’d give us a ‘B,’” said Fuscoe, invoking the traditional grading scale to rate the organization’s performance. “And I know that other people might look around and say, ‘We see nothing.’ People get tired of hearing we’ve worked behind the scenes and we’ve laid the ground-

work, but I look at the things we have accomplished and I’m pleased with where we are. I’m pleased with what we’ve done. There have been some things that we’ve accomplished.”

Three parts of the city have been the group’s primary areas of interest so far.

Uptowne – the stretch of N. Main Street between Ray and State avenues – has probably seen the most in the way of accomplishments.

New businesses, such as Wicked Purple, Sequels, Blue Bourbon Jacks and Collared Greens, have opened, and the branding and marketing efforts to

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“We’re beginning to see a good uptick in interest from entrepreneurs who want to think about opening businesses here.

It’s been really encouraging,” said Aaron Clinard, City Project chairman.

“We also started something recently that we’ll pursue more and that is talking with property owners privately to make sure they are updated on our efforts – that we’re here to help them with any vacancies they have and share with them our passion for the types of businesses that we would like to see. One thing we’ll be pursuing soon is the idea of a retail village Uptowne.”

One tool City Project rep-

resentatives would like to have to aid in their business recruitment efforts would be the city’s proposed retail incentives policy, which is in a state of flux.

This would grant economic incentives to small businesses locating or expanding in core city areas such as Uptowne.

The City Council has not indicated a clear intent to adopt the proposal, although it is still on the table and in the process of further study.

Washington Street – renamed during the past year in reference to its history as the center of African-American commerce and culture in High Point during the era of segregation – also has received significant attention as a revitalization target.

The Hayden-Harman

Foundation of Burlington has spearheaded the changes in the neighborhood, which has long struggled with crime and urban blight.

The foundation bought a former barber shop and restaurant at 613 Washington St. and converted it into the Changing Tides Cultural Center, which includes space for offices and an art gallery.

The foundation also recently established a grant program to help residents of the neighborhood make repairs to their homes. Its efforts were said to be the first private-sector investment in the Washington Street area since The City Project started its work.

“Washington Street has probably seen more change, physical change, than the other ones just because of the Hayden-

Harman Foundation,” Fuscoe said.

The third major area to get focus is the area along S. Main Street near Guilford Technical Community College’s High Point campus.

The centerpiece of The City Project’s plans for the area is the idea of establishing a cultural arts center across the street from the campus.

They are working with the High Point Area Arts Council to propose a S. Main Street location.

“The theory is that a cultural arts center would create a lot more energy for other retail and restaurant opportunities,” Clinard said. “We already have 7,200 students in a captured audience, and so much activity and synergy already with arts at that campus.”

As with so much of what The City Project does, the chances of this becoming reality hinge on someone coming forth with a large investment to make it happen. Clinard said the group is trying to foster an environment that would increase the likelihood of that happening by forming a grassroots committee to come up with ways to market and brand the area, in a similar vein to what has been done for Uptowne.

Besides coining a new name for the area – the Southside district – the group wants to come up with a logo and other visible evidence that distinguishes it and shows that something is happening there.

The city has also taken recent steps to spark investment in this and

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other areas by modifying High Point’s existing incentives policy for large-scale office and industrial projects. The changes lowered the capital investment thresholds needed to qualify for incentives.

Existing companies in north High Point must now invest $1 million instead of $2 million to qualify for incentives, and existing south High Point companies must invest at least $500,000, down from $1 million.

To qualify for incentives, new companies locating in north High Point now will have to invest at least $10 million instead of $17.5 million, and companies will have to invest $2 million instead of $4 million when moving to south High Point.

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Washington Street district figures prominently into revitalization effort

BY JORDAN HOWSE ENTERPRISE STAFF WRITER

HIGH POINT — Washington Street has been the center of the African-American community since the earliest dates of High Point. It is included in The City Project’s Core City Plan to revitalize Uptowne and South Main/GTCC. Of the three districts, Washington Street has seen the most success.

It’s seen a total investment more than $250,000 and the Hayden-Harman Foundation has purchased and refurbished properties in the neighborhood. The Washington Street district is now listed on the National Register of Historic Places, meaning developers who choose to rehabilitate properties within it could be eligible for tax credits In the four years since the High Point City Council implemented the Core City Plan, several organizations have made strides to return Washington Street to its former glory. The opening of the Changing Tides Cultural Center, which houses five organizations: the HaydenHarman Foundation, the High Point Fine Art Guild, the City Project’s satellite office, Word of Reconciliation Church, and a project composed of High Point Universi-

ty students majoring in nonprofit management.

Last year, the City Council restored the historical name of Washington Street (Washington Street was renamed to E. Washington Drive in the 1960s).

Further revitalization projects include restoring the Kilby Hotel, where black travelers stayed while visiting or going through High Point, and building a jazz club.

The Hayden-Harman Foundation also established a grant program that will help homeowners of the neighborhood make repairs to their property. The foundation will cover 80 percent of the cost of repairs, up to $3,000.

Since businesses and residents have moved out of the area, it has become overwhelmed with crime, mostly drug-related. But the revitalization project has High Point Police cracking down on the neighborhood and making it more attractive for new businesses and residents to move back into the area.

In the fall of 2009, Washington Street held its first fall festival.

Last year, the festival brought out a crowd to the cultural center ribbon cutting and the many vendors and booths.

In March, the cultural

HPE | FILE

A section of Washington Drive, recently renamed to its original designation, Washington Street, is shown in this file photograph. center unveiled the mural on the eastern side of the building that pays homage to influential African-American High Pointers.

The City Project’s Core City Plan was undertaken to guide development, redevelopment and revitalization of High Point’s core area to improve the physical, economic and social facts of the area.

The central theme of the plan is to define the various distinct places that make up the core city area to bring identity to them, reinforce their purposes and ensure their long-term stability.

The ultimate goal of the Washington Drive Plan, drawn up previous to the name change, is to physically and economically revitalize this historic commercial

district. The intent that the area becomes both a resource for the adjacent Washington Street Neighborhood and the community as a whole.

Other historical places in the Washington Street neighborhood include High Point Normal and Industrial School, now William Penn High School, which was founded by the Society of Friends in 1893. Also, High Point Baptist Church, now First Baptist, was the oldest black church of its denomination within 25 miles of High Point.

Shaw University’s High Point campus was established in the late 1970s and is one of nine extramural sites of the oldest historically black college or university in the South. jhowse@hpe.com | 888-3517

HPE | FILE

The iconic Baptist church is one of the many historic features of Washington Street.

14 www.hpe.com Sunday, July 24, 2011 THE HIGH POInT EnTERPRISE

“Cheto” Gonzalez is shown in front of his tire business at 404 E. Main St. in Thomasville.

Making a new life

Sonny Hedgecock | HPe

Hispanic population growth adds to Triad’s business base

BY VICKI KNOPFLER ENTERPRISE STAFF WRITER

TRIAD – Felix Reynoso gets up at 5 or 6 a.m. during busy season to clean and sharpen the tools of his landscaping trade.

He and his crew arrive at their first job between 7 and 7:30 a.m. and work well past dark, often by the lights of Reynoso’s trucks. He even works weekends when needed.

Aniceto “Cheto” Gonzalez, owner of Cheto’s Tires in Thomasville, provided Mike Robertson of Trinity with such good service one Saturday morning in April that Robertson wrote a Letter to the Editor to The High Point Enterprise praising Gonzalez.

Reynoso and Gonzalez are just two of a growing number of Hispanic business owners who have settled in the Triad in hopes of bettering their lives by making their businesses a success.

With competition fierce in the poor economy, they focus on hard work and customer service to get ahead of the pack.

Municipalities do not track businesses by ethnicity of owners, but a drive down S. Main Street in High Point or National Highway in Thomasville makes it obvious that Hispanic businesses are increasing along with demographics. “(Hispanic businesses) are growing,

particularly in the National Highway area, and some folks really have some thriving businesses and are good, reputable partners for the city,” said Ken Hepler, Thomasville’s planning and zoning administrator. “I wish we did have a way to track them.”

The 2010 Census showed that the Hispanic population is growing faster than any other demographic. Currently, 50.5 million Hispanics live in the United States, which is 16 percent of the country’s 308.7 million population. In 2000, 35.3 million Hispanics lived in the United States.

In the South, the Hispanic population grew 57 percent between 2000 and 2010. In North Carolina, the Hispanic population doubled during the same period.

The largest sub-group of Hispanics in the country is Mexicans, and both Reynoso and Gonzalez are from Mexico.

Reynoso, 28, came from the state of Guerrero (where Acapulco is located) seven years ago and settled in High Point.

For the first three years here, he worked for a landscaping business in Thomasville, learning lawn maintenance, landscaping design and to cut and maintain trees.

He began his own business, FJR Landscaping, three years ago and is especially proud that his business is licensed and insured. He also takes pride in being so tidy he never leaves a stray leaf behind.

He works throughout the Triad and never turns down a job.

One evening this past spring, Reynoso arrived at a Thomasville home the day after a storm to cut and haul away a

large oak tree that had fallen. He and his crew left at 8:30 p.m. and were headed to another job laying sod.

His motivation is simple.

“I just love to work,” Reynoso said. “It’s (keeping) me out of trouble, and I want to leave something for my kids when they get old. My daddy had 14 kids, and he couldn’t give anything to nobody. I’m trying to change my life and have a better life.”

Reynoso and his Mexican-born wife, Dalila Harrison, have two children: James, 4, and Elizabeth, 2. Both were born in the United States, and when James becomes 21, he can help his father and mother become citizens, Reynoso said.

Gonzalez has been in the United States for 20 years and in Thomasville for 15 years. He came from Rioverde, San Luis Potos, slightly southeast of central Mexico. He worked at a tire business in Mexico and for someone else in Thomasville for six years to learn the trade before starting his own business four years ago.

Robertson stumbled on Cheto’s Tires by accident when he had a flat tire on his lawn mower one Saturday morning.

His usual tire shop was closed, so he went to three American-owned tire businesses, none of which was interested in his business.

On his way home, he noticed Cheto’s and stopped. Not only did Gonzalez fix his lawnmower tire, but he also did it for free.

“He only asked that when I next needed to purchase tires, to keep him in mind,” Robertson wrote in his Letter to the Editor.

THE HIGH POINT ENTERPRISE SuNday, July 24, 2011 www.hpe.com

15

Sonny Hedgecock | HPe

Felix Reynoso cuts a limb as he works to prune this large oak tree in High Point. Reynoso owns FJR Landscaping.

“So, in the future, I will bypass those businesses that obviously do not want my business and will support those who do. I also will tell my friends of those businesses that treated me badly, and of those who give me good customer service.

Remember, the customer you turn away may be the one you can least afford to lose.”

Gonzalez does not remember Robertson, but he chuckles at the recounting. Most tire shops, he said, won’t bother with small jobs, such as lawnmower, bike or motorcycle tires. But he does.

“I live for my customers, and I gotta make nice with them for more customers to support my business,” he said. “I don’t be nice, I don’t have customers.” vknopfler@hpe.com | 888-3601

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Sonny Hedgecock | HPe

The Palladium off Wendover Avenue anchors the growing retail base that’s sprouted up in north High Point.

Business leaders, officials try to cultivate city’s unique retail climate

By Paul B. Johnson ENTERPRISE STAFF WRITER

hIGh PoInT – If you took a city of 100,000 people that’s the size of High Point and plunked it down in most counties across North Carolina, it would become the retail focal point of the area.

But because High Point is in the Triad, adjacent to the larger cities of Greensboro and Winston-Salem, its retail role takes on a different dimension.

High Point’s recent retail history has

involved ups and downs reflected by the erosion of tenants at its largest shopping center, Oak Hollow Mall, and the expansion of retail shopping complexes in the northern section of the city in the past five to six years. The city’s retail climate also has been buffeted by the impact of the Great Recession and national shopping trends.

But High Point also faces a fate of geography.

If the city were the county seat and largest municipality in a more isolated

county, it probably would become the shopping mecca for people who would have few other options for stores. But because Greensboro and WinstonSalem are relatively easy drives for shoppers, city merchants not only face competition among themselves for retail dollars, but from businesses in the larger, neighboring cities.

High Point’s location in the urban Triad can cut both ways for its retail market, said Mike McCully, associate professor of economics at High Point

University. “High Point is going to have some advantage from people who are going to stay in the community and shop, especially if the shopping is convenient to where they live,” he said.

One reason for the development in the last decade of north High Point

THE HIGH POINT ENTERPRISE SuNday, July 24, 2011 www.hpe.com

retail centers such as Wendover Landing and the Palladium is the residential growth in the northern sections of the city, McCully said.

The High Point Chamber of Commerce, as part of its 2011 Plan of Action, lists as one of its business development goals

a Buy Local campaign. And High Point retailers enjoy one advantage that many other stores in a city its size would envy – upwards of 70,000 visitors coming here each spring and fall for the High Point Market. The influx of marketgoers gives High Point a retail

17

Oak Hollow Village is among several strip shopping centers comprising a retail node along Eastchester Drive. file | hpe

18S www.hpe.com SUNDAY, JULY 24, 2011 THE HIGH POINT ENTERPRISE

High Point Mall, anchored by the Harris Teeter grocery store, is one of the city’s busier shopping centers near the heart of town.

FILE | HPE

boost twice each year. Advocates for the City Project redevelopment effort and Uptowne – a section of the city along N. Main Street north of downtown – aim to convince small business entrepreneurs to pick High Point for their retail locations.

City Project advocates say they’ve recorded some success, even against the headwind of the recession.

Since August 2008, at least 16 businesses have opened or expanded in Uptowne, the City Project indicated earlier this summer.

While J.C. Penney Co. Inc. closed its underperforming Oak Hollow

Mall department store June 1, a small business owner near downtown has opened a catalog store to keep the Penney name and merchandise in the city.

What happens with the retail climate in High Point in the future may depend on the direction of the mall, which was purchased earlier this year by High Point University. HPU officials have indicated that Oak Hollow Mall will operate as a retail center for the immediate future, though in the long term the university may have other purposes for the property.

The direction of retail in High Point will

depend in part on the national economy, McCully said. The retail market in the city tends to follow national trends, he said.

“We are affected by the same factors overall. So that means consumer confidence is one issue, and that’s tied into people’s jobs. Then you have people’s income, which hasn’t been growing too fast,” McCully said.

The higher-thannormal level of gas prices through most of this year could divert money that would have been spent at retail stores, McCully said. pjohnson@hpe.com | 888-3528

THE HIGH POINT ENTERPRISE SUNDAY, JULY 24, 2011 www.hpe.com

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By leaps and bounds High Point University sees massive growth spurt ENTERPRISE STAFF REPORT

HIGH POINT — The latter half of the 20th century and the early years of the new millennium brought a spurt of growth to High Point University under the leadership of two presidents.

The campus opened in 1924 as High Point College, a cooperative venture between the Methodist Church and the city of High Point,

but remained relatively small until after World War II, when all campus debts from the Great Depression were paid.

Under the influences of the G.I. Bill and the “baby boom” of the 1940s and 1950s, enrollment more than tripled and staff also grew. The college’s programs received full regional accreditation in 1951.

Additional facilities were added in response to the

post-war growth: four residence halls between 1953 and 1968, two classroom buildings, a second gymnasium, an auditorium, a chapel, and a campus center. Crowning the physical expansion was Smith Library, completed in the spring of 1984. The original men’s residence hall was replaced in 1987 with a 221-resident facility and The Millis Athletic/Convocation Center was opened in late 1992

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during the presidency of Jacob C. Martinson and after High Point College became High Point University in 1991.

The university also opened an Evening Degree Program in Winston-Salem for working adults. HPU opened a graduate studies program during Martinson’s presidency.

Martinson was known for his quiet demeanor and integrity.

“He was a visionary leader,” said HPU President Nido Qubein. “We miss him, but we will always be grateful for his many contributions.”

Martinson also built stronger connections between the university and the city. Residents attend cultural and athletic events on campus, and students and faculty members participate in local activities.

Sonny Hedgecock | HPe

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High Point University leaders announced in October 2007 a doubling of investment in academic programs, student life, scholarships and construction of new facilities. That commitment eventually became a $2.1 billion, 10-year effort guided by Qubein, and made possible through gifts, bonds and operating revenues. Part of the financing comes from $170 million HPU has raised since Qubein succeeded Martinson in 2005.

Almost every month offers a new sight on the growing university campus.

A new $16 million Greek Village was to open in 2011 along with a “living and learning” community for arts, theater and music students even as construction started

High Point University leaders announced in October 2007 a doubling of investment in academic programs, student life, scholarships and construction of new facilities. on a $9 million School of Education. A new $12 million residence hall for 300 students is scheduled to open by fall of 2012.

Campus officials expect

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An inside look at the University Center at High Point University.

enrollment to continue growing to 5,000 undergraduates by 2017.

HPU also is a growing business enterprise. By the end of 2011, HPU was expected to join the city’s 1,000 employee club by adding 149 new workers. Job growth has helped to elevate the universi-

ty’s annual economic impact on the state to $415 million, according to Qubein.

The campus also has received national attention about resort-style amenities and fun activities. Classical music wafts through the grounds. There’s valet parking, a concierge desk, a hot tub

and free snacks. Qubein says that when students know you care, they do well in the classroom.

The latest big HPU project is the $70 million School of Health and Sciences, proposed to open in 2014. The 180,000 square-foot health science building to be located

21

across from Millis Center will include a pharmacy school and house programs in physical therapy and physician assistant studies.

So far, HPU has committed $550 million to construct 28 new buildings, add 120 faculty members and buy the nearby Oak Hollow Mall for

$9 million. Qubein’s family is one of four prominent High Point families who have pledged a total of $40 million to the upgrades. Most of the money from the families of Earl E. Congdon, Fred E. Wilson, Jr., Mark A. Norcross and Qubein will go to the health sciences school and

the proposed school of pharmacy.

“The donors know that their money is going to an institution with a clear vision, a solid leadership team and highly focused execution of projects,” Qubein said. “And they want to invest in the lives of young people.”

22 www.hpe.com Sunday, July 24, 2011 THE HIGH POInT EnTERPRISE

Changing with the times Mega-showroom deal may shift furniture market’s direction

By Paul B. Johnson ENTERPRISE STAFF WRITER

hIGh PoInT — The historic deal earlier this year involving the three largest showrooms at the High Point Market may change the trajectory of a trade show that has served as the nexus for the city’s economy for a little more than 100 years.

The newly created International Market Centers formally announced plans in May to buy the International Home Furnishings Center, the former holdings of Merchandise Mart Properties Inc., the assets of Showplace and the once-rival World Market Center trade show in Las Vegas. The deal totaling $1 billion will give International Market Centers, a privately held company made up of a group of investors from across the country, a corner on the home furnishings trade show field in the United States.

The deal came at a tumultuous time for the High Point Market. Two of the complexes that International Market Centers bought – the assets of Showplace and the former holdings of Merchandise Mart Proper-

Buyers shuffle in and out of the International Home Furnishings Center during a recent High Point Market. ties, which includes Market Square – had been in receivership for lack of payments on debts. And the purchase took place

during an ongoing battle between the High Point Market and World Market Center, the upstart trade show launched six

years ago as the main U.S. rival to High Point.

One sign of the scope of the deal: The Wall Street Journal during this past

spring devoted a halfpage of coverage as the sale was simmering.

The interest in the deal reflects the scope of the

FILE | HPE

trade show. The High Point Market features 180 buildings covering 10 million square feet of showroom space, pre-

dominantly in a trade show district taking up most of downtown. More than 2,000 exhibitors unveil tens of thousands of new product introductions at each trade show.

Now that the International Market Centers deal is announced and the buyers known, analysts of the home furnishings industry and the High Point Market are trying to assess what the merger of the Las Vegas market and approximately two-thirds of space at High Point Market will mean.

The purchase of the former Merchandise Mart Properties and Showplace showroom properties by International Market Centers removed them from the financial distress of court-supervised receivership, said Richard Bennington, professor of home furnishings at High Point University. “One encouraging sign is

THE HIGH POINT ENTERPRISE SuNday, July 24, 2011 www.hpe.com

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Representatives with Patagonia Trading Co. talk with potential buyers during the recent spring High Point Market in April.

Don Davis Jr. | HPE

that the leaders of International Market Centers are thinking about bringing in other markets like gift and accessories markets.

It may turn out to be a big boon for the local economy, if you could get these events in addition to the spring and fall markets,� he said.

The impact of the direction of the High Point Market doesn’t limit itself to the future vitality of the city, or even the region.

Year in and year out, the High Point Market represents the single-largest economic event in the state.

The annual impact of the trade show on the state economy is $1.14 billion annually, according to a study compiled by Andrew Brod, an economic researcher and faculty member at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro. The market accounts for more than 13,000 jobs, and the assessed tax value of all trade

showroom buildings was $667 million, according to Brod’s research.

Each spring and fall, the market draws upwards of 70,000 furniture industry representatives from across the world to High Point, including visitors from 106 countries.

One role that the High Point trade show will continue to play is serving as a test market for retailers ordering home furnishings for their stores and, indirectly, for consumer interest in products, Bennington said. “You have buyers coming in here who represent companies that are real close to the consumer. If 80 percent of the buyers come in and say, ‘That’s not right,’ furniture manufacturers are one step closer to what the consumer wants.

You can’t replace that easily,� Bennington said. pjohnson@hpe.com | 888-3528

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Made in the Triad

Despite globalization, many furniture companies keep operations here ENTERPRISE STAFF REPORT

TRIAD – While thousands of Triad furniture jobs have been outsourced to China, there are companies right here still continuing the trade.

In fact, some furniture jobs are coming back to Trinity as production costs are increasing overseas.

That’s good news for this region, an area that was shaped by the furniture industry.

One of the companies that continues to produce furniture locally is Linwood Furniture, located in Linwood. Linwood Furniture, which currently employs 85 workers, was founded six years ago as a dream of artist and furniture designer Bob Timberlake to keep and create furniture manufacturing jobs in North Carolina. With a dozen of its own branded collections, the company also serves as a leading domestic OEM producer for other residential and contract furniture brands.

Mike Mebane, the chief executive officer for Linwood Furniture, said the company was established folSonny Hedgecock | HPe lowing Sun Capital’s purchase of Mike Mebane with Linwood Furniture is shown near a scene on a wall outside the Linwood showroom on the third floor Lexington Furniture Industries. Me- of Market Square.

bane said Timberlake did not want the World of Bob Timberlake Collection to move to Asia, so arrangements were made to purchase the former Lexington Furniture factory for Linwood Furniture. “I don’t think you can say that the U.S. is going to retrieve a major share of the furniture business that left in the earlier part of the decade,�

Mebane said. “However, there is a portion of business that stays here, and there’s a portion that is going to come back. The reasons are multifold. When you look at the factors of production, those factors are increasing significantly in all Asian countries.�

Mebane grew up in Old Emerywood of High Point surrounded by furniture and textiles families. For many years, he worked for industry-leading, public chemical fibers company Unifi Inc., watching as the company grew from $350 million to more than $1.7 billion in sales.

Needless to say, he knows the impact that furniture and tex-

THE HIGH POINT ENTERPRISE SuNday, July 24, 2011 www.hpe.com

25

Braxton Culler (center), with sons, Brack (left) and Josh (right), are shown at the company’s Sophia plant recently.

Sonny Hedgecock | HPe

tiles have had on this region. “Certainly, it’s a huge impact to the economy of High Point,� Mebane said. “From the market standpoint, I think the region has pretty well absorbed the reduction of manufacturing jobs associated with furniture that left.�

Braxton Culler is the chief executive officer and president of Sophia-based Braxton-Culler Furniture. The company,whichwasfounded

by Culler in 1975 with a dozen employees, has 185 workers in a 415,000-square-foot facility. Culler said the majority of his company’s manufacturing is done in Sophia. “Business, at this particular moment, has been better since early March,� Culler told The High Point Enterprise in a May interview.

Culler’s grandfather, Roy Culler Sr., founded a furniture business in 1934 in High Point. Braxton’s father, Roy Culler Jr., continued that company, but it was later purchased by Burlington Industries. “Furniture and textiles

were the mainstays of this whole area for many, many years,� Braxton Culler said. “Of course, High Point, Archdale has a reputation, as far as the consumers are concerned, as being a center of the furniture industry.�

Thomasville Furniture Industries began in Thomasville in 1904. The company, which currently employs less than a 1,000 employees in the Chair City, had more than 6,000 residents at its peak, said Thomasville City Manager Kelly Craver. Those numbers began to decline in the mid-1990s.

According to Craver, TFI has committed to bring 40 to 50 jobs to a plant on Unity Street, relocating the operations from the company’s Appomattox, Va., plant.

Craver said Thomasville is home to other furniture companies, such as Tomlinson/ Erwin-Lambeth. Craver said he recently heard from the owner of Isom International who plans to bring some upholstery jobs back to Thomasville.

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Road to progress Proximity to I-85, planned I-74 project make Archdale ripe for growth

BY CHANEL DAVIS ENTERPRISE STAFF WRITER

ARCHDALE – The construction of Interstate 74 through Archdale-Trinity will put the community in the right position to lure future development.

The new I-74, when completed in October 2012, will touch the northeastern corner of the city. It will provide easier and direct access to the Piedmont Triad International Airport and the FedEx Terminal located nearby. In addition to the direct

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Proximity to Interstate 85 already has paid dividends for Archdale, with hotels sprouting up along the intersection of I-85 and U.S. 311. access via Interstate 85 to Greensboro and Charlotte, I-74 also would provide a direct access to Interstate 95 and Interstate 77.

“Our benefit will be the economic development, particularly up at the interchange of N.C. 62 and I-85,” said Archdale Planning Director Jefferey Wells. “I think that will help with economic development, attracting some industry and commercial development to that area. Particularly industry, because then they

will have the ability to go north or south on I-85 and east or west on I-74 a considerable distance.”

“It could also help residential development as well. Someone can live in the area and commute up to Winston-Salem in about 20 minutes for work,” Wells said. “We need more residential areas out there, and then I believe that the businesses that people desire will come with more housing.”

The federally funded

transportation system, running from Detroit to Charleston, is expected to fuel many opportunities, including light industrial and cluster developments at the intersection of I-85 and N.C. 62.

The I-85 and I-74 corridors will provide easy access to the area’s numerous attractions. The connection of the interstates will bring visitors right through the heart of the communities. Archdale and Trinity have plenty of accommoda-

tions for visitors with the seven hotels in the area.

City officials are hoping that the completed I-74 will accommodate more.

“It will certainly open up a lot of opportunities where the interstates cross. I think that eventually, it will be one of the more prominent commercial hubs in the city of Archdale, even though the economy has impacted our development process and it has not been at the interest that we had anticipated when

we made investments in that area,” said Archdale City Manager Jerry Yarborough. “I suspect that when the economy recovers, retailers and business will began to make investments that will be one of the prime locations. It is a national location for retail, and also a national location for logistics, warehousing and distribution facilities because of the interstates. It is the perfect location.”

With the extension of the U.S. 311 bypass, new

27

Sonny Hedgecock | HPe

school construction, highway improvements, and water and sewer upgrades, the cities are considered to have a solid foundation for business and industrial growth.

“We did some preliminary planning to prepare for this growth. We also made some investments in infrastructure, water and sewer in that area as well,” Yarborough said.

Retail and hospitality jobs are already on the rise in the area. New res-

28S www.hpe.com SUNDAY, JULY 24, 2011 THE HIGH POINT ENTERPRISE taurants, motels and retail stores have located in the area within the past few years.

Archdale and Trinity have also attracted a number of banks, insurance companies and financial planners to the area.

“A lot of it depends on what kind of development we see at the N.C. 62 interchange,” said Beverly Nelson, president of the Archdale-Trinity Chamber of Commerce. “There has been a lot of speculation about what might go there. We think this is a prime location for development for businesses that want to cater to interstate traffic, like restaurants, big box stores and restaurants.

The kind of businesses that would benefit by being next to an interstate. The economic impact would depend on how

The area surrounding the Food Lion shopping center on Archdale’s Main Street is shown.

Retail and hospitality jobs already are on the rise in the area.

that development looks and how soon.”

Nelson said the city expected the development to happen before now, but the economy did not allow for it.

“I talked to a big box who said we have the demographics to support one of their stores. We have a growing community, we have the traffic and the income levels, but they were not looking at expansion at that time due to the economy,” Nelson said. “But I do think that once something goes on the land that we are going to see a huge economic impact because not only will it generate revenue from the traffic, but it will provide services for the local residents.” cdavis@hpe.com | 888-3657

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29

Community Foundation is pillar for city

BY VICKI KNOPFLER ENTERPRISE STAFF WRITER

HIGH POINT – On the most simplified level, High Point Community Foundation channels money from donors to nonprofit groups.

On a more encompassing scale, it is one of the most quietly powerful groups in High Point. It has granted money to approximately 155 different nonprofit groups and acts as a catalyst for community growth.

Since 1998, the Community Foundation has granted more than $25.1 million to nonprofits, predominantly in High Point.

It holds more than $60 million in invested assets.

It is a reservoir of hope, said Executive Director Paul Lessard.

High Point attorney Jim Morgan formed the idea of such an organization when he learned of similar groups while traveling the state as president of the N.C. Jaycees and a member of the North Carolina General Assembly. Soon after, he enlisted the help of Jim Millis Sr., and the two began groundwork in High Point.

In 1990, they incorporated the High Point Community Foundation, and shortly afterward, several large gifts totaling $600,000 formed the foundation’s financial beginnings.

In the fall of 1997, Millis and his wife Jesse (who died in 2004 and 2010, respectively) donated $5 million to establish an office and staff.

Soon after, the first executive board began meeting. Members were:

SPECIAL | HPE

The High Point Community Foundation staff includes Karol Murks, director of accounting and grants (from left), President Paul Lessard and Sherri Scott, director of donor services and administration.

Morgan, chairman; Bill McGuinn, vice chairman; Millis, investment chairman; Charles Odom, treasurer; Bill Horney, development chairman; Charlie Greene, secretary; Phil Phillips, personnel committee chairman; Nido Qubein, public relations chairman; George Erath, grants chairman.

Lessard was hired as executive director in 1998, and he has led the organization since. In 1993, Lessard received the Carnegie Hero Medal for pulling a woman from a car submerged in water, and he used the cash prize to establish The Lighthouse Project, a nonprofit dedicated to establishing good character traits among young people in Guilford County.

“The greatest blessing for the Community Foundation has been Paul Lessard, Jim Millis and I

got very lucky with him,” Morgan said recently.

“I knew, almost from the minute I found out what it was, this was something I wanted to make my life mission,” said Lessard, a military brat who lived all over the world and was taught to serve others. “All my life, all I wanted to do was give back. I never had a home until I came here for college.”

Community Foundation gave its first grant to Rabbit Quarter Ministries, led by Raymond Payne, formerly a homeless addict who had been in prison. Lessard has kept track of Payne, who now works with Open Door Ministries.

Lessard follows the progress of people and groups that receive grants, and that’s one of the tenants and strengths of Community Foundation, he said.

The foundation also administers Donor Advised Funds, in which donors specify how their gifts are to be used.

For the grants program, however, a committee selects recipients based first on geography – with High Point as the center point – then on how the grant will impact the community, how many people will be impacted and how lives will change.

Most grants go to education projects, Lessard said.

Lessard believes the following factors make the Community Foundation successful and relevant to the community: • Leaders are dreamers who are practical; • It is operated as a business; • It ensures that money goes to the right organization and that those groups achieve;

• The board is composed of top community leaders, and staff that supports Lessard and the board – Karol Murks, director of accounting and grants, and Sherri Scott, director of donor services and administration – are tireless, dedicated and highly effective; • Transparency, confidentiality and partnerships are key tenets.

“We’re known as an organization that gets things done, and for the right reasons,” Lessard said. “We do the things we do quietly because we want to do them for the right reasons, and it’s easier to achieve when you’re not making a big deal of it.”

In recent years, the poor economy has resulted in more grants to meet human needs, which is fine, since the organization was designed to change with the times, Morgan said.

“I hope we don’t stay there, though, because I like the idea of new organizations and new ideas,” Morgan said.

Both Morgan and Lessard hope the Community Foundation’s invested assets reach $100 million, and they expect to meet that goal in six to eight years.

“I knew we’d be successful, and I’m happy where we are,” Morgan said. vknopfler@hpe.com | 888-3601

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Growing up Trinity’s transformation is an ongoing affair

BY PAT KIMBROUGH ENTERPRISE STAFF WRITER

TRINITY – When Trinity residents got together to begin the process of incorporation in the mid-1990s, there was one issue on people’s minds above all others: the prospect of being annexed by one of its three neighbors.

Becoming a city would forestall this, giving the residents the ability to con-

trol how their community developed.

It was much more than this issue that propelled Trinity into existence, but if there was another dominant theme leading up to the city’s incorporation in 1997, it lay in the hard soil of northwest Randolph County.

That soil held the key to the area’s future in many ways, because, without a public sewer system, new development would be difficult, since the soil made it difficult to install new septic systems.

Trinity’s fledgling government forged an agreement with Thomasville for that city to treat the wastewater from the new system and began installing sewer lines near N.C. 62 and Finch Farm Road.

The city started with a seven-member council, a manager and a clerk. Its property tax rate was 5 cents per $100 of assessed value, and, other than zoning and code enforcement, it offered virtually no services for the vast majority of its

THE HIGH POINT ENTERPRISE SuNday, July 24, 2011 www.hpe.com

31

Trinity City Manager Ann Bailie is shown with a book and map of Trinity.

in the current budget.

The population grew over the last decade, but has ebbed and flowed since then. It stood at 6,614 as of last month, down from 7,016 in September 2010.

Like all young cities, Trinity has gone through its share of growing pains.

One of the latest points of contro-

versy surrounds this summer’s special election to allow alcohol sales in the city. It might surprise some that Trinity, which drew hundreds of newcomers over the past decade and took on many of the characteristics of a prosperous a bedroom community, has no beer or wine for sale in its convenience stores. It’s easy to

forget that it’s still a part of conservative Randolph County, which remains dry.

Proponents argued that allowing beer, wine and mixed beverages in the city would draw commercial development, such as grocery stores and restaurants, that the city has lacked.

Bailie said a consultant once told

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residents who didn’t have access to the sewer system.

That has changed in recent years, but the city is far from a full-service municipality.

It has no police, fire or parks and recreation department, for example. It added curbside trash and recycling pickup this year, and is now up to eight employee positions

32 www.hpe.com Sunday, July 24, 2011 THE HIGH POInT EnTERPRISE city leaders that Trinity’s tax base was so tilted toward residential development that the percentage of it composed of commercial or industrial property was negligible. “(Commercial/industrial growth) hasn’t come about as quickly as hoped, but we’ve done OK,” she said, mentioning a Subway restaurant, Sheetz convenience store, Cornerstone Health Care office and other non-residential projects in recent years.

“Things have been happening, just not a great amount of development at one time.”

Allowing alcohol sales would address this, not only enhancing the quality

of life for residents, but positively impacting city finances by growing the property tax base, Bailie said. She estimates the enhanced tax base, sales tax stemming from beer and wine purchases and other new revenue streams would add about $29,000 per year to Trinity’s coffers.

That’s a significant sum, given the financial challenges faced by the city, which has a property tax rate of only 10 cents per $100 of assessed value, generating about $500,000 annually.

Beginning this summer and continuing for the next 20 years, Trinity faces annual debt service payments related to

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33

construction of the city’s sewer system that will top $1 million by 2014.

Trinity voters in 2004 approved a referendum allowing the city to issue up to $15 million in bonds for new sewer construction.

The plan was to use a significant amount of the city’s sales tax revenue

‘If everything remains the same, we’ll be OK. We’ll be able to pay the debt without raising taxes.’

Ann Bailie City Manager to pay the debt service until revenue from the new sewer customer base started flowing. With new development lagging, city officials are concerned about the future of their revenue sources. “If everything remains the same, we’ll be OK. We’ll be able to pay the debt without raising taxes, but there are so many variables,” Bailie said. “What we’re trying to do is position ourselves so that if some of these things should occur, we’re not going to have a huge and sudden burden on our taxpayers.”

The city has about 725 sewer customers and about 2,700 households, not all of which will be able to tap onto the system.

“We never said we’d be able to serve everybody with sewer. We said we’d do about half the households, and we’re on

The Carl & Linda Grubb Family YMCA, after eight years of planning, opened on Trindale Road in May 2010. course to do that,” Bailie said.

There are four or five sewer projects active, with the upcoming fifth phase of construction slated to make use of the remaining portion of the $15 million in 2004 bond funds.

The majority of the city’s sewer is still treated by Thomasville, with a small portion going to Archdale. The city is doing a feasibility study looking at the idea of a regional wastewater treatment plant that would involve Randolph County, but such an initiative is probably a long way off from coming to fruition.

Trinity’s next major project is continuing planning for the development of a downtown.

The city has hired consultants and formed resident focus groups to come up with an idea for how to create a downtown area along N.C. 62 that would take in the former site of Trinity College.

“The plan has been adopted and we’re working on the ordinances to support the plan, and that will be the next big thing,” Bailie said. “We’re very excited about that. We’re very excited about Trinity’s future.” pkimbrough@hpe.com | 888-3531

FILE | HPE

The bell from the former Trinity College chapel is a historic reminder of Trinity’s roots.

34 www.hpe.com Sunday, July 24, 2011 THE HIGH POInT EnTERPRISE

Small-town charm

Wallburg residents take destiny in their own hands ENTERPRISE STAFF REPORT

WALLBURG – Incorporating as a town on July 1, 2004, Wallburg leaders wanted to retain their small-town feel and culture before potential annexation took it away.

Wallburg Councilman Lynn Reece said the town was formerly known as Piney Grove. The name changed after J.W. Wall purchased large amounts of land for timber, Reece said. He said the town formerly had a drive-in movie theater and a mill, but those are now gone.

“Now, we are eight miles from every-

where, but we used to be as far as out you could get from any city,” Reece said.

Located in the far northeastern corner of Davidson County, Wallburg has a population of about 3,000 residents.

Wallburg almost borders the much larger city of Winston-Salem across the Forsyth County line. A large portion of Wallburg residents have Winston-Salem mailing address.

Thomasville city limits end just a few miles west of the town, and High Point is located only a few miles farther southwest.

Wallburg Councilman Mark Swaim said a large group of residents who were concerned over plans from adjoining cities to annex Wallburg started the push toward incorporation. He said those residents wanted to have a say in their community.

“They wanted to really kind of control those decisions,” Swaim said. That group also wanted to try maintain the community’s identity as much as they could ... They knew there was going to be growth, but they really wanted to try to maintain that small-town bedroom com-

THE HIGH POINT ENTERPRISE SuNday, July 24, 2011 www.hpe.com of 5 cents per $100 valuation. “The 5 cents was a lot more attractive than some of the other current rates,� Swaim said. “Of course, they offer a lot more services than we do, but there again, it went back to the citizens making their decisions and the leaders right now have made the decision not to provide a lot of services, so we can keep that tax rate down, and we have been able to do that.

Hopefully, we can continue to do that�

As of May, Wallburg has about 1,175 homes.

Town officials in May were considering providing garbage service. “I think we will continue to try to maintain that small-town identity and listen to the citizens,� Swaim said. “It is a community that we want the citizens to be a part of and let them help us make the decisions of the direction they want the town to go. I think

35

for the most part, everybody would like to keep that small-town atmosphere. We have kind of tried to develop the commercial development that is needed.�

Last year, the town received good news that Timco Aviation would be moving into the former Tyco Electronics building on Gumtree Road. The company pledged to created 500 jobs in Wallburg in the next seven years. “We are very excited to have Timco in the community,�

Swaim said. “We had the building there of course, and we obviously wanted to get some type of business or industry back in there. We are excited about Timco being in our community and the jobs they are going to bring to the community. We support that, and we will continue to help them in any way we can. We look forward to them being a part of our community.�

FILE | HPE

Wallburg Town Councilman Mark Swaim (left) and Wallburg Mayor Allen Todd, talk about plans for new business coming to Wallburg. munity feel that it has been for years and hopefully will continue to be.�

Swaim, a lifelong resident of Wallburg, said the town historically was a farming community. He said the town recently has become more commercialized at the intersection of Gumtree Road and N.C. 109, the location of Timco Aviation’s plant and a Sheetz convenience store. “It was predominantly a farm community

‘It’s a nice, quiet community for our citizens to live and raise their children in. It’s a great place to raise a family.’ Mark Swaim Councilman and, of course, that has changed as professions have changed,�

Swaim said. “The next generation, when they quit farming, they started selling some

of their property off and more homes were built.�

Swaim said the amount of farming in Wallburg changed drastically when the tobac-

co buyout happened in 2004. Now, the town is a bedroom community. “It’s a been a great community for the support of other larger areas as far as a labor pool, and it’s a nice, quiet community for our citizens to live and raise their children in,�

Swaim said. “It’s a great place to raise a family.�

Just like Midway, Wallburg leaders partly decided to incorporate partly due to the tax rate of other cities. The town currently has a tax rate

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36 www.hpe.com SundAy, July 24, 2011 THE HIGH POInT EnTERPRISE

Protecting its identity

Annexation fears drive incorporation of Midway as bona fide town

became a town because residents wanted to protect their identity.

MIDWAY – The town of Midway, known historically Current Midway Mayor George Byrum said resias a farming and faith-based community, incorpodents were concerned about “getting subsumed and rated on June 29, 2006, because community leaders losing its identity if it became a part of Winston.” were fearful of being annexed by Winston-Salem.

He said residents also wanted to ensure they didn’t Midway, which is near the communities of Arcahave the 49 cents per $100 valuation property tax dia, Wallburg and Welcome in Davidson County, got rate of Winston-Salem. Midway has a tax rate of 5 its name from being “midway” between Lexington cents per $100 valuation. and Winston-Salem. Several Midway leaders, like “For some people, it was a kind of a cultural Wallburg leaders a few years earlier, led the town’s thing,” Byrum said. “Other people, it was kind of drive to become incorporated because of annexation an economic thing that they got out and signed that petition. Sen. (Stan) Bingham had graciously confears and growth. Town officials have said Midway ENTERPRISE STAFF REPORT

37

Sonny Hedgecock | HPe

Hal McAlpine, whose family owns and operates Midway General Store, looks over some of his plants. The store originally was built in 1935 and ran as a general store/grocery/barber shop. Since then, it has undergone several changes, each time under different ownership. It is one of the oldest business buildings in Midway, located at the intersection of U.S. 52 and Gumtree Road. ing community, while also being a faith-based community. However, the town’s farming presence is almost obsolete because farmers either died out or their land was subdivided, he said.

Byrum said Midway has been a longstanding bedroom community, with a number of residents traveling to RJR Reynolds for work.

As part of services from the town, residents of Midway currently are provided garbage service, street lights, and zoning and planning, while law enforcement service is provided by the Davidson County Sheriff’s Office.

Established in

Midway Mayor George Byrum is shown in front of a quilt depicting Midway scenes. The quilt hangs in the Town Hall.

Sonny Hedgecock | HPe

1948

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sented to try to work with us and enable us to incorporate. For us to be one of the municipalities in Davidson County, that would be better for us than (to be) part of Forsyth County.”

At its time of incorporation, the town encompassed nearly 8 square miles and was home to 4,400 residents. Now, the town has 4.786 residents and 1,909 homes, according to Town Administrator Ryan Ross.

Ross said the town has grown partly due to about 100 residents who recently were voluntarily annexed into Midway. Town officials have said those residents wanted to become part of the town to prevent being annexed by WinstonSalem. The other growth has been gradual, Ross said.

Midway officials say sewer will be key to growth, in addition to providing restaurants and a grocery store for residents. The town has been putting in sewer for its business district along Hickory Tree Road. That project will be completed this summer.

“We did have a Winn-Dixie a while back,” Byrum said. “Because of the company’s business structure, they pulled out of here. We have been trying since that time to be able to get a grocery store here.”

Byrum said Midway officials have started a search for land for a new town hall and park. He said Midway’s current town hall is inadequate because of space. Byrum said a town park would be something to give back to residents who have paid taxes.

Lynn Griggs, chairman of the town’s planning and zoning board, previously said Midway historically has been known as a farm-

THE HIGH POINT ENTERPRISE SuNday, July 24, 2011 www.hpe.com

38 www.hpe.com Sunday, July 24, 2011 THE HIGH POInT EnTERPRISE

GTCC emerges as community college leader ENTERPRISE STAFF REPORT

JAMESTOWN – This small town located between High Point and Greensboro includes headquarters for one of the flagship community colleges in the state.

With campuses in Jamestown, Greensboro and High Point, Guilford Technical Community College is among the fastest growing two-year colleges in the nation with enrollments of 10,000 or more, according to the U.S. Department of Education. GTCC has two aviation campuses near Piedmont Triad International Airport.

Growth: GTCC ranks No. 10 on the growth list with a 20 percent increase in enrollment from fall 2008 to fall 2009, according to the latest figures available. The fall 2010 semester enrollment of 15,030 students established another record. Enrollment for all programs is about 42,000 students.

Growth of two-year colleges was listed in early 2011 by Community College Week. GTCC is the only campus among North Carolina’s 58 community colleges on the list published by the educational journal.

GTCC officials have at-

tributed the enrollment growth to workers seeking training for jobs in demand during an economic downturn. GTCC has grown to become the fourth largest of 58 state community colleges. Only colleges serving Charlotte, Wake County and the Fayetteville military community are larger. Many of the new GTCC projects have been approved with voter-approved bonds.

History: GTCC began life as Guilford Industrial Education Center in 1958.

As the community college movement grew in North Carolina through the 1960s, many educators did not want the renamed Guilford Technical Institute to offer college-level transfer courses.

“We started that in 1983,” retiring GTCC President Don Cameron recalled in 2008. “That was a breakthrough for us. Now those four-year colleges want our graduates.”

In his history of GTCC, author Lee Kinard points out that even local leaders had mixed views of the change. GTI board chairman Zalph Rochelle called the colleges “a string of half-pint, Mickey Mouse colleges.” Kinard also writes that Rochelle, while

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Zach Reynolds (left) and Jeff Little rehearse at the High Point campus of Guilford Technical Community College.

The campus is home to the Gatlin School of Entertainment Technology in High Point.

THE HIGH POINT ENTERPRISE SuNday, July 24, 2011 www.hpe.com

file | hpe

Students walk in front of the Medlin Campus Center on the main campus of GTCC in Jamestown. at odds with the school’s first president, Herbert F. Marco, backed the technical school movement.

Cameron credited GTCC’s growth to its association with aviation technology and management and its unique programs, including the Gatlin School of Entertainment Technology in High Point, named for entertainer Larry Gatlin. “Our aviation program is the largest in the state,�

Cameron said. “In entertainment technology, we have one of six programs in the United States.�

Meanwhile, construction continues on all campuses.

High Point: Educators are working to make campus life more complete at the GTCC campus on S. Main Street. Part of that is opening new buildings so students can stay on campus for more of their classes.

College leaders have the same hope for a new $8 million, three-story classroom building which has four new computer labs, biology and physics labs, office space, and more student space.

The campus goal is to provide any student who majors in any of the campus curriculum programs housed on the High Point campus – entertainment

technology, human services technology, simulation and gaming, pharmacy technology and upholstery – the opportunity to take all the classes they need to graduate on the High Point campus.

The campus also offers a combination of traditional manufacturing and service programs from upholstery to entertainment technology and massage therapy.

The college’s goal is to serve 10,000 people and the campus master plan calls for the construction of three more buildings as the campus expands toward S. Hamilton and Centennial streets.

Cameron campus: A new northwest campus will bear Don Cameron’s name. Located on N.C. 68, two miles north of Piedmont Triad International Airport, the $65 million project on 100 acres is to be completed by the spring semester of 2013.

The new campus will be home to the N.C. Center for Global Logistics, which will be a cooperative effort of 19 colleges in the region.

The construction is being financed from bond referendums approved by Guilford County voters in 2004 and 2008.

39

Cameron will be remembered as an ally for business and industry recruiters. “Don has developed GTCC into the best ally for job development.

What he has done for developing jobs here

and for others who were looking to bring jobs here is incredible,� Loren Hill, president of High Point Economic Development Corp., said when Cameron announced his retirement in 2010.

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Evolving mission

Randolph Community College is rooted in vocational training

opened as Randolph Industrial Education Center on Sept. 4, 1962, with 75 full-time students, eight instrucRANDOLPH COUNTY – Randolph Community College tors and four staff members. is well poised to begin its second 50 years in 2012, said In other ways, it’s now an entirely different resource for the community, with two additional name college President Robert Shackleford.

In some respects, RCC has changed little since it changes, expanded facilities in Asheboro, a campus

BY VICKI KNOPFLER

ENTERPRISE STAFF WRITER

in Archdale and approximately 11,500 credit and non-credit students.

In 1962, the school’s mission was vocational training, and it was a place where people went to learn a trade if they weren’t going to college.

Now, its mission still is vocational, but that mission has evolved considerably, and the vocations even have changed.

“Twenty-five years ago you could buy a set of wrenches and get under a car under a shade tree and learn to be a mechanic,” Shackleford said.

“Today, if you can’t learn to operate a computer system, you can’t even work on a car.”

Shackleford has been president of RCC since January 2007, but he has been at the school in various other positions since 1998, except for a 3½-year period, when he was at Rockingham Community College.

He describes the school’s evolution as a three-legged stool, with many offshoots.

First is the original vocational mission, which didn’t go away, but expanded 20-25 years ago to include what Shackleford calls the “college transfer mission.”

“We became what the old junior colleges used to be,” Shackleford said.

“Now our single-largest program is the college transfer program. Students take the first two years here, saving tens of thousands of dollars, but not sacrificing quality for savings. Our students out-perform in their junior and senior years native students of those universities.”

In the past 15 years, the third part of RCC’s mission has emerged to be econom-

THE HIGH POINT ENTERPRISE SuNday, July 24, 2011 www.hpe.com

41

SPECIAL | HPE

Students are shown participating in a motorcycle training class that’s offered at RCC’s Asheboro campus and soon will be coming to the Archdale campus. ic and work-force development. Even before the recent recession, the state’s economy changed with the loss of tobacco, textiles and furniture jobs.

“A big part of our job right now is to help retrain people in the work force for the emerging new economy,” he said.

“Manufacturing isn’t gone; it’s just advanced.”

Loss of jobs has led to a 16 percent increase in student enrollment since the start of the Great Recession. RCC also draws local students who previ-

ously planned to attend colleges away from home but can’t because their parents are out of work or under-employed.

More than half of the people in Randolph County who are unemployed are enrolled at RCC, Shackleford said.

Shackleford and the school work hard to ensure that RCC is changing its curriculum to meet students needs.

“I just met with two leaders in Randolph County industry, talking with them about where

industry is headed and what kinds of training is best suited for their industry so our programs are properly aligned,” Shackleford said.

“We want to prepare students for the jobs of tomorrow, not the jobs of yesterday.”

Toward that end, RCC recently added health care management technology and industrial engineering.

The auto body repair program will change from a one-year diploma program to a two-year

degree program, based on administrators’ belief that auto body repair isn’t something that can be exported to other countries, such as China.

RCC will be one of the very few community colleges in the country that offers a two-year auto body repair program, Shackleford said.

This year a medical assistant program will start on the Archdale campus, and plans call for a new welding lab at Archdale this fall, based on requests.

“As we start to come

out of the recession and construction is starting back up, we need welding again. It’s not like my daddy’s welding; it’s high-tech welding,” Shackleford said.

“We’re changing constantly. My philosophy is, it’s not our job to think up things and hang out a shingle and hope people come. It’s our job to be closely connected to business and industry, find out what they need and meet that need.” vknopfler@hpe.com | 888-3601

42 www.hpe.com Sunday, July 24, 2011 THE HIGH POInT EnTERPRISE

DCCC meets growing demand enterprise staff report

DAVIDSON COUNTY — Even as Davidson County Community College prepares to celebrate its first half-century, the school continues to look ambitiously toward the next one.

“We want to celebrate our achievements, but we also look forward to our future and what the college will do in the next 50 years,” said Mary Rittling, president of DCCC, which will celebrate its 50th anniversary in 2013.

Originally established as an industrial education center in 1958, the school became known as David-

‘With the current economy, we’ve seen a lot of individuals coming back for retraining education to help them with employment.’

Mary Rittling President son County Community College (DCCC) in 1963.

However, it was not officially chartered by the state until 1965, which allowed for the addition of college transfer courses.

Since its beginnings, the campus and its student body have grown signifi-

FILE | HPE

Nearly 17,000 students are enrolled in Davidson County Community College, either taking classes at the school’s main campus (pictured), one of the school’s satellite campuses or extension sites. cantly. In 1963, for example, the campus consisted of a single building on 22 acres, whereas today’s campus features 13 buildings on about 97 acres. There’s also a Davie County campus that opened in 1994 in Mocksville, as well as satellite education centers in Lexington, Thomasville and Advance. Meanwhile, enrollment has grown from about 175 students in 1963 to nearly 17,000 students today who take classes at one of the school’s campuses or extension sites.

With more than 50 curriculum programs, the college continues to grow,

and its significance in the community has multiplied in the difficult economy of the past few years.

“With the current economy, we’ve seen a lot of individuals coming back for retraining education to help them with employment,” said Rittling, who’s been at DCCC since 2003. “We’ve seen an increase in enrollment, and we’ve seen an increase in interest in our programs across campus. We try very hard to do outreach so we can make sure individuals – even if they’re intimidated about going

back to school – know that we’re here to serve them and help them get to where they want to be.”

The recently graduated Class of 2011 included 805 students who earned twoyear associate degrees, diplomas and certificates.

Two important pieces of DCCC’s future are its Link Campus and its participation in the “Completion By Design” initiative.

The Link Campus will be situated on a 183-acre site across Business 85 from the current campus. The land was donated to DCCC by siblings Ed Hinkle and Tal-

madge Hinkle Silversides in memory of their grandfather, Henry T. Link, an extremely successful furniture manufacturer who originally owned the land.

Link also was involved in the early planning that led to the creation of DCCC, according to school officials.

The vision for the Link Campus calls for such facilities as a 3,500-seat arena, a baseball stadium, a tennis complex, and softball and soccer fields.

There may also be a wind power generator to enhance the college’s expanding curriculum of green technologies; an am-

phitheater; a nature conservation complex; miles of recreation trails; and an animal sanctuary or aquarium, which will be part of DCCC’s recently established Zoo & Aquarium Science program, one of only seven such programs in the country.

“The Link Campus really expands our college for the future,” Rittling explained.

The “Completion by Design” initiative, supported by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, is a national initiative to develop and share ways to help more people obtain college credentials. DCCC is one of five North Carolina colleges – and one of only 14 nationwide – selected to participate.

“We’re going to look at the different situations students encounter from the moment they have an interest in going to school, and we’ll be looking at how we might intercede to help them meet their educational goals,” Rittling said. “We’ll be looking at how we advise students, how we teach, how we prepare them to go out in the world, and come up with strategies we can implement.”

With all that’s happening at DCCC, the school is also gearing up to celebrate its 50th anniversary in 2013.

“We’re getting excited about it, because this really is something to celebrate – not just our value to this community, but also the impact we’ve had on so many lives,” Rittling said.

THE HIGH POINT ENTERPRISE SuNday, July 24, 2011 www.hpe.com

43

A desired locale Jamestown’s growth is reflected in development of new schools ENTERPRISE STAFF REPORT

JAMESTOWN — The opening of one new school and the expansion of two others show that Jamestown is catching up with its recent growth.

Located between High Point and Greensboro with a population of 3,400, Jamestown has become a place where families and merchants seek small-town charm.

Town population grew 9.5 percent in the last decade, according to the 2010 Census.

The new Jamestown Middle School and the nearby Haynes-In-

man Education Center opened in 2010. The $33 million middle school will serve as many as 1,000 students. The old school will become part of the adjacent Ragsdale High School campus. The $11 million special education center opened with about 80 students.

Major construction was scheduled to start in the summer of 2011 on the $32 million renovation and expansion project at Ragsdale High. New portions include a gymnasium, media center and administrative offices.

For 50 years, the town has been home for the main campus and administrative offices of Guilford Technical Community College, which also has seen enrollment and campus growth.

Leading development growth has been the Pennyburn at Maryfield nursing home and retirement community, which opened an expansion at the edge of town.

Also pending is the development of a Koury Corp. shopping center on 35.6 acres at the southwest cor-

44 www.hpe.com Sunday, July 24, 2011 THE HIGH POInT EnTERPRISE ner of the Guilford College/High Point road intersection.

But growth has not always progressed smoothly. In 2010, residents battled town officials over the rezoning of the Forestdale neighborhood, which was rezoned to be considered for future growth and development.

After a public hearing, the Jamestown Town Council not only reverted the zoning of the Forestdale, Knollwood and Potter neighborhoods to single-family residential, but also five other properties that they rezoned in 2009 for commercial use.

Forestdale residents said they did not realize the city had rezoned parts of the neighborhood from single-family to commercial and mixed-use zoning, including multifamily residential. After the zoning change, residents said they were glad their hard work paid off.

For years, growth discussions have focused on a proposed highway bypass many town leaders oppose. The 7.7-mile, $108 million bypass would include widened parts of Greensboro/High Point Road and a new segment to the south of downtown.

It would reach from U.S. 311 in High Point to Hilltop Road in Greensboro.

Opponents fear the bypass would hurt downtown businesses by diverting traffic away from the heart of the town.

The project that has been in the planning stages since President Ronald Reagan was in office has been shifted to the back burner as state transportation officials reorganize spending priorities and schedules.

Sonny Hedgecock | HPe

The iconic Jamestown library is a town landmark and at one time was Jamestown High School before Ragsdale High School was built.

The current state Transportation Improvement Program, the longrange blueprint for state road projects, has work on the section of bypass from High Point around the heart of Jamestown starting no earlier than sometime after October 2012.

Earlier this decade, the Jamestown Town Council passed a resolution objecting to state plans for the Jamestown Bypass. Jamestown elected officials and many residents continue to have

concerns about DOT objectives for GreensboroHigh Point Road.

Town officials and residents have approached transportation officials about considering nearby Interstate 85 Business Loop as an alternative thoroughfare to avoid disrupting Jamestown with a major road construction project.

The uncertain status of the project leaves residents in an unwelcome limbo, according to Mayor Keith Volz.

One of Jamestown’s historic treasures, Mendenhall Plantation, is shown covered in snow earlier this year.

Sonny Hedgecock | HPe

THE HIGH POINT ENTERPRISE SuNday, July 24, 2011 www.hpe.com

45

A wild time N.C. Zoo, one of state’s main attractions, makes home in Triad more than 250 species – everything from polar bears, elephants RANDOLPH COUNTY — The North and gorillas to rhinos, giraffes Carolina Zoo, America’s largest and zebras – most of them from walk-through, natural-habitat Africa or North America. zoo, just keeps getting bigger.

“We’re by far the largest day-visLocated in Asheboro in the heart itor attraction in the center of the of the Piedmont, the nearly 1,500- state,” said David Jones, director acre zoological park features of the zoo since 1994. more than 1,100 animals from According to Jones, the zoo welEntErprisE staff rEport

comes approximately 750,000 visitors a year.

“Folks are looking for value for their money, especially families on a tight budget,” Jones said, pointing out that admission is $12 for adults and $8 for children.

“With the zoo, it’s a full day’s excursion – it takes a day to get around the entire zoo – so it’s a

46 www.hpe.com Sunday, July 24, 2011 THE HIGH POInT EnTERPRISE very good value in that respect.”

Recognized as the nation’s first state-supported zoo, the N.C. Zoo’s beginnings can be traced to 1967, when the Raleigh Jaycees hosted a pro football exhibition game to raise money for a zoo feasibility study. The game raised $18,000, and the process continued from there. The zoo site was dedicated in the spring of 1972, and the first animals – a pair of Galapagos tortoises – arrived in the summer of 1973. The interim zoo opened in 1974, and construction of the zoo’s natural habitats began in 1976.

The zoo became a total natural-habitat zoo in 1983 when the interim zoo closed and visitors went to the zoo’s Africa region. After the Africa exhibit came North America, the zoo’s second geographic region.

Africa habitats include the Forest Glade Habitat, where you’ll find a family of lowland gorillas; the Watani Grasslands Reserve (elephants); the Forest Edge (giraffes, zebras, ostriches); the Red River Hog Habitat; the Lion Habitat; a chimpanzee reserve; a monkey habitat; and a forest aviary.

North America habitats include the Sonora Desert (tarantulas, roadrunners and other desert creatures); the Rocky Coast (seals, Alaskan seabirds and puffins); the Cypress Swamp Habitat (alligators, turtles, snakes and cougars); the Streamside (river otters, bobcats, frogs and turtles); the Prairie (elk, American bison); a black bear habitat; a grizzly bear habitat; and a red wolf habitat.

And now, zoo officials are looking at the idea of expanding even more.

“We’re right at the end of a major feasibility study looking at the long-term future of the zoo, and we’re looking at the construction of our

Don Davis Jr. | HPE

N.C. Zoo Director David Jones makes the announcement of the pregnancy of one of the zoo’s gorillas earlier this year as male gorilla Nkosi roams the exhibit on the left. third continent, Asia, which will be a $100 million project over a 15-year period,” Jones said. “What we’re asking is, if we found the capital for that, could we earn enough off of that to pay the running cost?”

The zoo is about to begin construction on an $8 million project to enlarge its polar bear area to about four

times its current size. That enlarged area should open in 2013, according to Jones.

Another major project on the zoo’s horizon is the complete refurbishment of kidZone, the zoo’s educational children’s area.

“We’reputtingaboutthreequarters of a million dollars into a major refurbishment, so hopefully by next Easter

we’ll have a really nice educational play area for kids, run by our education department,” Jones said. “Up to age 8 or 9 is a very critical age in terms of kids learning about things around them, especially their natural environment, and kidZone will be very much directed toward that.”

Zoo officials also are look-

ing at the possibility of bringing another major attraction to a 300-acre tract of land adjacent to the zoo – as well as a hotel and conference center – with the idea of making the zoo a two-day or even threeday destination, rather than just a day visit.

“Where we’re headed in the long run with this is something like a Colonial

Williamsburg, a three-day destination site which has considerable economic implications for the region,” Jones said. “It could be a huge potential job creator.

According to Jones, bringing this other attraction to the area would give families more flexibility when planning what to do when they come to the zoo.

THE HIGH POINT ENTERPRISE SUNDAY, JULY 24, 2011 www.hpe.com

We’re proud of Rick Callicutt as winner of the Small Business Advocate of the Year Award. Here at Bank of North Carolina, his winning spirit inspires and guides us each and every day.

Here is what some of Rick’s associates have to say: . & " #('&' " " (& " && % * # & ) % ' &( && * ,& % ' &

[collaborative] *#% ( '(% " & " ) % ## % , " & & #% ' #"& " # #%' %# " & #%'(" ' '# ) &( & " +$ % " % #" # % / Tom Sloan %! " # ' # % " # #%' %# "

. " !, , %& " " " ) ! ' ! ", % ' " " " %& * # ) #!$ & % ' " ' % % %& *#( ) '# $(' ('' " ) %, &! # ' #" # * "" %& & ' "#*

[flexibility]

" ' % ) '# &( && & % &( ' * ,& & ' #" " # & $ %& " ' # % # % '#%& * " % #!! " & #(%& # ' #" & ' $ '#! # ) % " !#% ' " +$ ' /

. ('' $%#) & ' ( ' ' # &

W. Swope Montgomery, Jr.

#(% #% " - ' #" '# ' % ## & '# ' ('(% " & & * ' & #" ' #% -#" '# !# -

+ (' ) % " # #%' %# "

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[direction] % &#(% ( " && +$ % " "

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#!$ ' ' ) &$ % ' % , '#%& " #(% " & &( && / David Spencer

+ (' ) % & "' " " " % " # #%' %# "

. " & $#& ' #" & % & "' " $ % ' " % #% " # #%' %# " ('' & , + !$ *#% & % '# &($$#%' & " &' *#% " ") %#"! "' #% # (& #" &' & $ %&#" , * % ' ' ' ) ## # !$ #, & " ' % ! & $ " #"

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' ('(%

) ' &' % & "' " $ % ' " % ",* % $& ! " # #%' %# " ' $ '# #% ' % ' % &#"& / The Employees of Bank of North Carolina

Advocate Award 2011

Richard D. Callicutt, II

The place to be...for all the right reasons.

% & "' " $ % ' " % " # #%' %# "

47S

48 www.hpe.com Sunday, July 24, 2011 THE HIGH POInT EnTERPRISE