Business roundup: Lumber Liquidators open

Lumber Liquidators, which has more than 200 stores in the U.S., has added another one to its roster with a new store at 403 Bendix Drive.

Lumber Liquidators is the largest specialty retailer of hardwood flooring in the U.S., specializing in high-quality brands at the lowest possible prices.

Lumber Liquidators takes a “no frills” approach. The stores are simple, scaled-down warehouses often located in non-retail, off-the-beaten-track locations. Tom Sullivan, founder and chairman of Lumber Liquidators, began selling surplus wood in 1993 behind a trucking company outside of Boston.

Between hardwood, bamboo, cork and laminate, Lumber Liquidators offers more than 150 varieties of flooring, including premier brands. Recently added was an expanded selection of handscraped floors and stained bamboo.

The store is open 8 a.m. to 6 p.m., Monday through Wednesday, 8 a.m. through 7 p.m. Thursday and Friday, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturdays and 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Sundays. To purchase online, visit www.lumberliquidators. com.

LongHorn managing partner honored

Salisbury resident Chris Foote, managing partner of the LongHorn Steakhouse in Salisbury, has been presented with Darden Restaurants’ top honor — the Diamond Club Award, which is presented to managing partners throughout North America who demonstrate outstanding results and financial performance.

Foote joins 17 others selected from more than 300 LongHorn Steakhouse restaurants in North America. The Salisbury LongHorn Steakhouse is located at 1371 Klumac Road.

Ramsue-Thompson optometrist of year

Cleveland native Dr. Joyce Ramsue-Thompson won Optometrist of the Year at the 42nd annual convention of the National Optometric Association in San Juan, Puerto Rico.

A 1974 graduate of West Rowan High School, Ramsue-Thompson attended the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and the Illinois College of Optometry in Chicago. She was the first African- American female to be licensed to practice optometry in North Carolina. Ramsue-Thompson is staff optometrist at Northeast Ohio Neighborhood Health Center in Cleveland and Northeast Ohio Pre-release Center in Cleveland.

She is the daughter of Nellie Ramsue of Salisbury and the late Davie Ramsue.

Allstate honors two agents for service

Allstate agency owners Jim Costantino and Nnamdi Osakwe have been designated Premier Service Agencies for 2010.

Bestowed upon less than 30 percent of Allstate’s nearly 12,000 agency owners, the designation goes to those who have consistently met designated levels in customer service and business performance.

Freightliner trucks on display at show

PORTLAND, Ore. — Freightliner will show off trucks made in Cleveland at the Great American Trucking Show in Dallas this week.

The Freightliner Trucks booth will feature the Paralyzed Veterans of America truck, a custom Cascadia designed to honor America’s veterans. The company also will show a tricked-out Coronado and a Cascadia created by the Chrome Shop Mafia, as well as Gina Angsten’s personalized Slice of Life truck, a 2010 Cascadia equipped with a Detroit Diesel DD15 engine.

“Slice of Life: Reloaded” participants Henry Albert, Gina Angsten, Kurt Grote and Dick McCorkle will be on hand in the Freightliner booth

Moore celebrates 50 years in radio

Rockingham County radio personality Mike Moore is celebrating 50 years in radio.

A North Carolina native, he had just turned 13 in July 1960 when he began a half-hour “top tunes” show on Saturday night at WSAT in Salisbury. He moved to Rockingham County in 1972 as news director of WLOE in Eden.

He and his wife, Annette, operate WLOE and WMYN in Mayodan, the area’s only full service radio stations. The Moores host an information hour weekday morning program. All local programming is streamed live daily at www.RockinghamCountyRadio. com.

“I was born and raised in Spencer, started my radio career at WSAT in 1960, probably the youngest in radio in the state at the time, was there until I graduated from North Rowan in 1966, then left for college,” Moore said.

Retallick attends IRS-sponsored forum

Bill Retallick, a certified public accountant, recently returned from the Carolinas Tax Professionals Forum, which is sponsored by the IRS and the departments of revenue for North and South Carolina.

More than 325 tax professionals attended.

The IRS is conducting numerous payroll tax audits as part of a national research project, which will last three years and involve thousands of taxpayers. Some of the targeted industries include agriculture, landscaping, construction and hospitality.

Greene recognized in incentive program

Dianne Greene of Century 21 Towne & Country received national recognition as one of 21 winners of the brand’s Connect 2 the 1 Agent incentive program for June.

As part of the brand’s $8,000 List Your Home Sweepstakes, the agent incentive program rewarded sales professionals for increasing the number of listings in their area.

Century 21 Towne & Country also is launching the 21st Century Child: Picture the Future photo-sharing contest. Families can help raise money to benefit children and families living with autism.

Century 21 and Easter Seals are asking families to visit 21centurychild.com and share a favorite photo of their child (ages 5 and younger) and an inspirational message. After the photo is uploaded, participants are encouraged to share their photo and fundraising campaign profile with family, friends and others through their social network. For every photo uploaded, the Century 21 System will make a donation through Sept. 30. Whoever generates the highest amount of financial contributions will win a $2,100 Apple gift card. The next six highest fundraisers will win an Apple iPad.

Complete rules and regulations are available at www. 21centurychild.com.

Big Lots opens new store in Kannapolis

KANNAPOLIS — Big Lots has opened its new store at 950 S. Cannon Boulevard.

This store will replace the store located at 407 N. Cannon Boulevard. Big Lots plans to open 80 new stores in 2010.

MedExpress on list of fastest growing firms

MedExpress Pharmacy has once again made the Inc. 5000 list of the fastest-growing private companies in America.

The pharmacy made the list for the sixth straight year. David Post owns the Salisbury-based business.

Snippers adds licensed esthetician

Snippers Hair Salon has added licensed esthetician Whitley Stevens.

She has training with Eminence skin care, which is a handmade organic skin care product from Hungary.

Contact Stevens at 704-431-4226 for facials and waxing services. Snippers is located at 830 Faith Road at the intersection with Jake Alexander Boulevard.

Salisburian honored by appraisal institute

Scott Robinson of Salisbury was recognized as the Appraisal Institute’s August “Volunteer of Distinction” for Region V, which includes Indiana, Kentucky, North Carolina, Ohio, Virginia and West Virginia.

The Appraisal Institute is the nation’s largest organization of real estate appraisers. Robinson is a member of the Appraisal Institute’s North Carolina Chapter.

Robinson has been a member of the Appraisal Institute for 23 years. His service includes serving on the Appraisal Institute’s board of directors and as president of the North Carolina Chapter. He is a former Region V chair. He has also received the Appraisal Institute’s prestigious Bert L. Thornton President’s Award for commitment to the appraisal profession.

Robinson, 51, has been involved in the real estate valuation profession for a quarter century. He has been certified as a general real estate appraiser by North Carolina and has co-owned the firm, Robinson & Associates, since 2000.

He is a member of the Downtown Salisbury Taskforce and is the chair of planning for the city of Salisbury. He also is president of the Kiwanis Club and chairs his Cub Scout Pack Committee while serving as assistant Scout Master for Troop 443. He has been an active member of Saint John’s Lutheran Church, serving on the church’s council and as captain of the ushers.

Manufactured housing sales up

Overall home sales have taken a hard hit in our region, much like the rest of America. But at the Clayton Homes’ sales center serving Salisbury, numbers for the first half of the year are up 22 percent from this time last year.

The nation’s seasonally adjusted annual rate of new single-family house sales in May was 300,000. That’s down almost 33 percent from the month before, which was down 18 percent from the month before that according to the U.S. Census Bureau and the Department of Housing and Urban Development.

Perfect inspection for senior living property

Summit Place of Moores-ville was one of two senior living communities operated by Bell Senior Living to record a deficiency-free score in the annual inspection conducted by the N.C. Division of Health Service Regulation.

Parkwood Village in Wilson and Summit Place of Mooresville reached the high standard in the unannounced inspections made annually by DHSR officials.

Bell Senior Living, headquartered in Greensboro, operates 28 senior living communities across the Southeast, 11 of them in North Carolina.

“The inspectors ask about everything and examine everything, but are especially interested in medical care and personal oversight of the residents,” according to Dale Ann Putnam, executive director at Summit Place of Mooresville.

Submit information about new businesses, honors and management promotions to bizbriefs@salisburypost.com. Include a daytime phone number.