Business: Chamber chief leads conference

Rowan County Chamber of Commerce President Bob Wright recently co-chaired the Carolinas Association of Chamber of Commerce Executives (CACCE) annual management conference in Blowing Rock, which drew almost 100 participants.

Carlotta Ungaro of Beaufort, S.C., served with Wright as co-chair.

The two-state professional development organization for Chamber professionals is headquartered in Columbia, S.C.

Speakers and presenters for the two-day event included Joe Reagan, president of the Louisville, Kentucky Chamber of Commerce; Dr. Kenneth Peacock, chancellor of Appalachian State University; Dr. Harry Davis, chief economist for the N.C. Bankers Association; Mick Fleming, president of the American Chamber of Commerce Executives and Ronnie Bryant, president of the Charlotte Regional Partnership.

The conference also included an awards dinner announcing the North and South Carolina Chamber Executives of the Year and Honorary Lifetime Member Inductees

W.A. Brown names manufacturer’s rep

W.A. Brown & Son of Salisbury, manufacturer of walk-in coolers and freezers, has named Chernoff Sales Inc. of Pompano Beach, Fla., as its manufacturer’s representative for Florida.

W.A. Brown & Son is celebrating its 100th year in business. It is the oldest private manufacturer of commercial walk-in coolers in the food service industry.

“The Chernoff sales staff, with more than 175 combined years of experience, is committed to being a customer focused supplier by providing a combination of products, services and ideas,” said Ed Brown, chief executive officer for WA Brown.

The company markets its products to supermarkets, restaurants, schools and other public institutions.

Maurices to hold school supply drive

Maurices at the Carolina Mall, 1480 Concord Parkway N, in Concord is holding a school supply drive to benefit Cvan, a Battered Women’s Shelter.

Store manager is Lynn Lowery.

The drive continues through Aug. 8. Customers can drop off donations during store hours Monday-Saturday 10 a.m. to 9 p.m., and Sunday 12:30-6 p.m. Items needed include school supplies for all ages. Customers get a coupon good for 20 percent off any one regular-priced Maurices item for each donation. Coupons are limited to 10 per person.

Patterson Farm website for children

Patterson Farm now has a website geared to children that can be accessed at pattersonfarmkids.com.

The site is interactive and features a coloring book about the farm, a matching game about farm products, and puzzles about vegetables and fruits produced at the farm.

Patterson Farm Market & Tours, one of the farm’s four businesses, also operates a summer program for children called Learn & Grow Discovery Farm. The self-guided tour teaches children how food is produced through 13 interactive learning stations.

Michelle Patterson said educating children about farm life is beneficial to the future of farming. “We hope to keep farming sustainable for ourselves and others, and we hope that we can inspire children to possibly make farming a career choice,” she said.

Discovery Farm hours are from 9 a.m.-1 p.m. Mondays through Saturdays (closed Labor Day) through Sept. 25. Groups of 10 or more require a reservation by calling 704-636-4005 or registering online at www.pattersonfarminc. com. Cost is $8, with children under 2 admitted free.

Patterson Farm Market & Tours also offers fall group tours.

Regional railroad going ‘green’

A family-owned regional railroad in Star is working to reduce pollution and save on fuel costs while promoting a “green” business environment.

The Aberdeen Carolina & Western Railways business strategy of innovation in both economic development and research and development has driven the “green” effort.

Robert Menzies, whose family has owned the railway since 1987, says the efforts have cut pollution by 40 percent while saving $250,000 per year in diesel fuel costs.

ACWR moves commercial freight on The Carolina Route, 160 miles of track that it owns through six south central North Carolina counties: Mecklenburg, Cabarrus, Stanly, Union, Montgomery and Moore.

Gentiva holding drive for food banks

Staff members from the Gentiva Home Health office in Kannapolis, Concord and Salisbury will distribute food collection bags in August to gather donations for the Cooperative Christian Ministries and Rowan Helping Ministries food banks for the sixth straight year.

Gentiva employees around the country are placing the collection bags at health care facilities, trying to beat last year’s record of more than 94,000 pounds of goods for donation.

“We know that food banks, pantries and other charitable organizations face rising demand and a chronic lack of necessary supplies due to the economy and global food shortages,” said Dave Pfeufer, rehab director at the Kannapolis/Concord/Salisbury office. “We also know that proper nutrition is important for the well-being of the people that we serve.”

Gentiva serves residents of Cabarrus, Rowan and Stanly counties.

Salisbury woman in on Tastefully Simple

Tonya Kyles of Salisbury has become an independent consultant with Tastefully Simple Inc., a national direct sales company featuring more than 60 easy-to-prepare foods.

She offers food samples at home taste-testing parties, along with easy ideas for everyday meals, recipes, serving suggestions and fun. All of Tastefully Simple's products are open-and-enjoy or can be prepared by adding only one or two ingredients.

Contact Kyles at emttmk@yahoo.com. or visit tastefullysimple.com.

More Bottom Dollars in Philadelphia

Bottom Dollar Food plans to open approximately 15-20 stores by the end of 2010 in the greater Philadelphia market.

That will create more than 600 jobs in the region and bring another grocery option to customers in the region.

“Bottom Dollar Food has great potential in the market as we believe it is underserved in the soft-discount grocer arena,” said Meg Ham, president of Bottom Dollar Food. “We are very excited to expand Bottom Dollar Food and deliver the best price and value in grocery products to customers.”

Bottom Dollar Food has identified 21 locations for new stores. Based in Salisbury, it operates 28 stores in North Carolina, Virginia and Maryland.

BB&T Corp. profit up 74 percent

BB&T Corp.’s profit jumped 74 percent during the second quarter as it continued to get rid of nonperforming assets and bad loans.

The bank had net income of $210 million compared with $121 million a year ago.

Diluted earnings were 30 cents a share, up 10 cents from a year ago. The bank took $38 million in charges related to its integration of Colonial Bank, which represented 3 cents of earnings.

Nonperforming assets dropped 3.1 percent, the first decrease since the first quarter of 2006. The bank reduced its provision for loan losses to $650 million from $701 million a year ago, although it was up $75 million from the first quarter.

BB&T is one of the 10 largest financial services holding companies in the U.S. with $155.1 billion in assets and market capitalization of $18.2 billion. It is based in Winston-Salem.

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