Applications are being accepted for the 2009-2010 Leadership Rowan program sponsored by the Rowan County Chamber of Commerce.
This will be the 18th year for Leadership Rowan, which is designed to help developing leaders and enhance existing leaders in Rowan County. The 2009-2010 program begins Aug. 14-16 with a retreat at The Catholic Conference Center in Hickory. Nine sessions will be held beginning in September. They run from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. on the third Thursday of each month.
Each Leadership Rowan session will be led by experienced and proven community leaders.
Each Leadership Rowan participant is required to attend the retreat and all sessions. Participants should be willing to make a serious commitment and (if applicable) employers should agree in advance to grant participants time off from their duties to attend each session.
Tuition for the program is $700 for Chamber members and $750 for non-members. This fee covers the kickoff banquet, retreat, all session materials and meals. Tuition is due by July 31. Limited financial assistance may be available for those who need and request it.
Enrollment is limited. Applications may be obtained by contacting the Rowan County Chamber of Commerce at 704-633-4221 or visiting www.rowanchamber.com. Completed applications must be received by May 15.
Members of the Leadership Rowan steering committee are Deb Young (city of Salisbury), Chair; Bob Fallis (F&M Bank); Rita Foil (Rowan-Salisbury School System); Penny Greer-Link (W.G. Hefner VA Medical Center) and Tommy Page (Carolina Beverage Corp.).
First Bank promotes Simpson
ALBEMARLE ó First Bank recently promoted Haley Mattox Simpson from branch officer to assistant vice president and branch manager at its Albemarle branch office. Simpson has been with First Bank for 10 years.
“Haley is an invaluable member of our Albemarle team,” said Dick Clayton, First Bank regional executive and senior vice president. “We are confident that she will continue to be an asset to First Bank and will provide our community with the very best banking services.”
A longtime resident of Cabarrus County, Simpson graduated from Mt. Pleasant High School and received her degree in junior accounting and business administration from Salisbury Business College. Simpson began her banking career in 1999 with First Bank and previously held positions as a loan officer, assistant branch manager and branch officer.
Simpson serves as an ambassador for the Stanly County Chamber of Commerce. She and her husband, Dana, live in Concord.
Automotive suppliers forum March 11A March 11 forum in Concord will focus on survival strategies for automotive suppliers in the greater Charlotte region.
In response to the mounting challenges facing this industry, the Centralina Economic Development Commission is co-sponsoring the forum to help companies find the resources they need to remain competitive. CEDC is a non-profit corporation that creates and supports strategies for growth and prosperity in key industry clusters. The commission is supported by the boards of county commissioners in nine counties, including Rowan, and by the cities of Charlotte, Concord, Gastonia and Mooresville.
CEDC has identified advanced manufacturing as an important regional economic driver. The turmoil in the industry can jeopardize the viability of local companies that manufacture parts or provide supplies to manufacturers in the automotive sector. Recent bankruptcies of major automotive suppliers have disrupted normal supply chains.
Attorney Shannon Hoff, from the Charlotte office of Poyner Spruill, will provide information to local manufacturers involved in the automotive industry. The presentation will provide descriptions of rights and remedies in the bankruptcy process, help companies understand what happens if a customer enters bankruptcy and describe the implications if a supplier enters bankruptcy.
Professor Ertunga Ozelkan, from the Center for Lean Logistics and Engineered Systems at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte, will describe an on-going study of the automotive supply chain in the greater Charlotte region.
The forum will be held at Embassy Suites, 5400 John Q. Hammons Dr. NW, in Concord, from 7:30 a.m. until 9 a.m. The forum is open to the public, but reservations are required. Reservations can be made by calling 704-688-6502.
The Centralina Council of Governments and the city of Concord are also co-sponsoring the forum.
Bottom Dollar gives away car at Mooresville location
MOORESVILLE ó David Mayberry of Mooresville received the keys to a new car Saturday for winning Bottom Dollar Food’s “Rev Up the New Year” contest at the 247 Plaza Drive East store.
The promotion offered customers the opportunity to win a new Chevy Aveo with every $25 purchase. The contest ran from Dec. 17 through Jan. 27. For every $25 spent at the Mooresville Bottom Dollar Food location, customers received one entry into the sweepstakes.
A concept introduced by Food Lion in 2005, Bottom Dollar Food is a discount grocer offering the national brands and private-label products at competitive prices. The chain has 28 stores in parts of North Carolina, Virginia and Maryland.
For more information, visit the Web site at www.BottomDollarFood.com.
First Bank’s Isenhour on Kannapolis advisory board KANNAPOLIS ó First Bank recently appointed local business leader Jeff Isenhour to its Kannapolis Advisory Board.
“As a local business owner, active community member and lifelong resident of Cabarrus County, Jeff will be a great addition to our board and our First Bank team,” said Dick Clayton, First Bank regional executive and senior vice president.
A resident of Concord, Isenhour completed his associate’s degree in civil engineering technology at Central Piedmont Community College and earned a bachelor of science in civil engineering from the University of North Carolina at Charlotte.
In 2004, he became majority owner and President of Ike’s Construction Inc. in Concord. He serves as a task force team member for the Big Brother, Big Sister program in Cabarrus County.
He and wife Judy have three children.
Submit information about new businesses, honors and management promotions to bizbriefs@salisburypost.com. Include a daytime phone number.