Business roundup: Crowds come out to see Phantom Racing Chassis at open house

Published 12:00 am Saturday, January 31, 2009

Wiggins Kart Shop Inc. and Phantom Racing Chassis drew nearly 1,500 to a recent open house at the company on N.C. 152.
Instead of traveling across the country to attend trade shows, officials decided to open the company doors and allow customers and interested parties inside Phantom Racing Chassis for a look behind the scenes.
Visitors came from such faraway locations as California, South Dakota, Canada and even one man from the Cayman Islands.
Harrill Wiggins Jr.’s China Grove company has been involved in the world of competitive go-karting for 20 years.
Phantom Racing Chassis is one of the leading companies for go-kart manufacturing and sales. Its network of distributors spans from Florida to New York and as far west as Arizona. The competitive performance karts are intended for racing purposes only. Nascar drivers such as Kevin Harvick, Tony Stewart, Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Denny Hamlin all compete in these types of karts to keep their reflexes and agility up during the off-season.
Besides the company showroom, Phantom has an apparel department, fabrication center and customer support division in the 15,000-square-foot shop on a 54-acre tract at 4010 N.C. 152.
Approximately 20 vendors were in attendance and Raceway Catering catered the entire event.
The company Web site is www.phantomchassis.com. The phone number is 704-855-3165.
‘Miss Carillon’ event coming up
Local EMS personnel and firefighters are needed to compete and escort women in Carillon Assisted Living’s “Miss Carillon” event to benefit the Justin Monroe Scholarship and Fallen Firefighters Funds.
It is Tuesday, Feb. 17 at 2:30 p.m. at 1915 Mooresville Road.
Prizes will be awarded to the top contestants. Prize donations are needed from local businesses.
For more information or to RSVP, call Suzanne Rose or Julie Koontz at 704-633-4666.
Interior design seminar
Anne Simpkins will show you designers’ secrets in a course on interior design.
She has taught this seminar through the University of Tennessee in the past.
You will study antique furniture beginnings and complete an architectural project with your room. Starting with backgrounds of walls, doors and floors, the seminar will look at kitchens, baths, fabric products and accessories to learn what works best in each application.
The five-week seminar runs Feb. 12-March 12 on Thursdays from 6-9 p.m. or from April 20-May 18 on Mondays from 6-9 p.m.
Cost is $120 and includes materials. Pre-registration is required by calling Teri Shaw at Salisbury Parks and Recreation, 704-638-5275
Janet Ward Black a ‘Best Lawyer’
Janet Ward Black, native of Kannapolis and president of Ward Black Law in Greensboro, has been recognized by her fellow attorneys in the 2009 edition of Best Lawyers in America as a notable attorney in the areas of mass tort litigation and in personal injury litigation.
This national publication accepts nominations for inclusion by peers in their geographic area and involves an election system based on the size of the town or city where the lawyer resides.
Another respected publication recognizes the outstanding attorneys in the state, North Carolina Super Lawyers 2009. This year, Black was included as a Top 50 Personal Injury Lawyers in North Carolina and overall in the Top 50 Women Lawyers in N.C.
Nursing center now Abbotts CreekLEXINGTON ó A local skilled nursing center has a new name and logo as part of a company-wide rebranding effort.
Effective Monday, SunBridge Care and Rehabilitation for Lexington will be renamed Abbotts Creek Care and Rehabilitation Center as a means of increasing its identity within the community.
The care center was given a Five-Star rating by the Center for Medicare Services (CMS) in mid December as part of its widely publicized nursing home rating system.
Five stars is the highest ranking CMS assigned and included health inspections, quality measures and staffing in its assessment.
The new logo, a sun resting in the palm of a hand,symbolizes the act of caring by providing support to those who receive its services with a sense of warmth.
“While we are not changing the essence of our mission, which is to provide ethical, quality care for our patients and residents, we are changing how we talk about it,” said Bill Mathies, president of SunBridge Healthcare, which operates Abbotts Creek Care and Rehabilitation Center.
The new logo replaces the center’s former logo established nearly 15 years ago which depicted a gold sun in a purple box.Hospice of Davidson County moves officesLEXINGTON ó Effective Feb. 9, Hospice of Davidson County will operate from its new offices located at 200 Hospice Way.
Both the Home Care program and administrative offices will operate out of one central building that is adjacent to their new inpatient facility, The Henry Etta and Bruce Hinkle Hospice House.
This move will allow for the non-profit agency to better respond to the growing need for end of life care for the residents of Davidson County. In 2008, the agency provided care for 349 patients and an additional 200 families who received bereavement support services.
To commemorate the opening, a community-wide dedication and ribbon-cutting ceremony will be held on from 2-5 p.m. Feb. 15.
The Hospice campus is located at the intersection of US Hwy. 64 East and Bryant Road, Lexington, 6 miles east from North Main in Lexington and 2.5 miles west of U.S. 109. Following the move, mail may be directed to 200 Hospice Way, Lexington, North Carolina, 27292, or in care of Post Office Box 1941, Lexington, NC 27293.
The local phone number has been changed to 336-475-5444. Callers may continue to use the agency’s toll free number, 1-800-768-4677.R3 Center offers career workshops KANNAPOLIS ó The R3 Center is offering numerous career development workshops and resumé clinics in February for adults in Cabarrus and Rowan counties. All of the programs are free.
Located at 164 Dale Earnhardt Blvd. in Kannapolis, the R3 Center is a career development center established by Rowan-Cabarrus Community College to assist workers who are unemployed or under-employed.
The center’s mission is built on three “Rs” ó a refocus on individual skills and interests, retraining and further education, and partnering with other workforce development agencies to secure career-oriented re-employment.
Due to the popularity of its free workshops, the R3 Center strongly encourages clients to call the center in advance at 704-216-7201, and reserve a seat.
The center’s February schedule of workshops includes:
– New Client Mondays ó 9:30 a.m., 2 p.m. and 6 p.m. on Feb. 2, 9, 16 and 23. New Client Mondays is an orientation program for persons who have never attended an R3 Center workshop or taken advantage of its other services;
– The ABCs of Computer Usage ó 9-11 a.m. on Feb. 3, 6 and 20;
– Interview Techniques ó 9:30 a.m. on Feb. 5;
– Stand Out from the Competition ń 9 a.m. on Feb. 7;
– N.C. Research Campus Careers 101 ó 6 p.m. on Feb. 10 and 9 a.m. on Feb. 26;
– Looking for Work at 50+ ó 9:30 a.m. on Feb. 10 and 6 p.m. on Feb. 24;
– It’s Not Who You Know, It’s Who You Meet ó 6 p.m. on Feb. 11;
– On-line Job Hunting ó 9 a.m. on Feb. 13;
– Myers-Briggs Type Indicator ó 9:30 a.m. on Feb. 19;
– Top-10 Job Fair Mistakes ó 1 p.m. on Feb. 27;
– Looking for Work with a Criminal Record ó 9:30 a.m. on Feb. 28.
The R3 Center will offer a number of free resume clinics to help job searchers improve their current resume or create a new one from scratch. Clinics are scheduled for:
– 9:30 a.m. and 2 p.m. on Feb. 4;
– 9:30 a.m. on Feb. 12;
– 6 p.m. on Feb. 17;
– 9 a.m. on Feb. 21;
– 9:30 a.m. and 2 p.m. on Feb. 25.
The R3 Center helps adult workers assess and profile their skills, aptitudes, training and academic credentials, and future career interests to develop a plan for career growth. All R3 Center services are provided free of charge. The center’s office hours are 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday through Thursday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Friday and 8 a.m. to noon on Saturday.
Motorsports outfit signs sponsors
MOORESVILLE ó D’Hondt Motorsports LLC has signed of several new product sponsors, including STP Tools, NutriSystem, SCA / TORK, Gunk, Rudy Project and Aircat.
“With the 2009 racing season about to get underway, we are very fortunate to have these fine companies supporting our efforts. … It says a lot for what we are building and where we are headed in both the NASCAR Nationwide Series and the ARCA ReMax Series,” said Dan Leon, new business director for D’Hondt Motorsports.
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