Business roundup: RCCC students honored at conference in Charlotte

Published 12:00 am Saturday, April 18, 2009

Rowan-Cabarrus Community College students received honors at the North Carolina State Phi Beta Lambda Leadership Conference and Competition held recently in Charlotte.
RCCC students competed against students from 22 schools, such as Appalachian State University, Campbell University, Fayetteville State University, Pfeiffer University, Wake Tech Community College and Asheville-Buncombe Tech Community College.
The RCCC student winners:
– Olivia Ackerman, first place, business communication.
– Sandra Horne, second place, information management.
– Erin Derr, second place, marketing concepts.
– Erin Derr, fifth place, business law.
– Wykeisha Smith, sixth place, justice administration.
– Local Chapter Annual Business Report, sixth place.
– Olivia Ackerman, eighth place, job interview.
Ackerman, Horne and Derr qualified to compete at the PBL National Leadership Conference and Competition in Anaheim, Calif., in June.
RCCC’s PBL chapter is advised by adjunct faculty member Martha Cranford, who teaches accounting in the business technologies department. Cranford re-chartered the RCCC PBL chapter for the 2008-2009 academic year and has been with the college since 2006.
Financial seminar April 30 at Pfeiffer
MISENHEIMER ó Who doesn’t want to protect the assets they’ve worked to grow, limit taxation, maximize inheritances and accomplish personal and charitable goals?
Pfeiffer University will sponsor the seminar “Where is your financial plan leading you?” April 30.
It will provide insight into the above topics and more, helping participants create an intelligent financial plan.
Cosponsored by The Bank of Stanly and the Center for Lifelong Learning at Pfeiffer, the session will begin with a welcome reception at 5:30 p.m. April 30.
The seminar starts at 6 p.m. and will be held in the Community Room of the Stokes Student Center on the Misenheimer campus. The event is free and open to the public, but those interested should register by April 28 because of limited seating. A light meal will be served.
John R. Morgan, a Greensboro attorney and a certified public accountant who specializes in estate and retirement planning, will lead the seminar.
Morgan will share terminology and planning tool mechanics, ways to avoid accidental disinheritance, how to preserve more of your estate for your heirs, the importance of written instructions, ways to make assets work for you during your lifetime and more.
Morgan serves as president of the N.C. Association of Certified Public Accountants. He earned a bachelor’s degree from Pfeiffer University and a law degree from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
To register or for additional information, contact Jo Ellen Newsome, associate vice president for advancement and director of planned giving, at 704-463-3037 or joellen.newsome@pfeiffer.edu.
Thrivent Financial honors Brady
Eric D. Brady, a financial representative with the Piedmont Regional Team of Thrivent Financial for Lutherans, has qualified for the organization’s Summit Circle for 2008 achievements.
Brady, of Salisbury, is with Thrivent Financial’s Southeast Regional Financial Office, and serves Lutherans and their family members in the surrounding communities by providing financial guidance to help them achieve their financial goals.
Fewer than 200 of Thrivent Financial’s 2,600 financial representatives qualified for the Summit Circle. Brady has been with Thrivent Financial and its predecessor organizations for 18 years and has been recognized for his performance 13 times.
Archie caregiver of the month for April
Dwana Archie has been named Caregiver of the Month for April at Home Instead Senior Care.
She joined the company in January 2008. The Salisbury native served 10 years in the U.S. Army and is a case manager at Piedmont Correction Center. She is also pursuing a degree in criminal justice at Catawba College.
Bank of the Carolinas revises figures for quarter, year
MOCKSVILLE ó Bank of the Carolinas Corp. has revised its financial statements for the fiscal year ended Dec. 31, 2008, recording a larger fourth quarter loss than announced earlier.
Its annual provision for loan losses was increased from $4.8 million to $6.3 million. A charge associated with real estate valuation allowances was increased by $821,000.
The changes resulted in after tax losses for the quarter of $640,000 and $3.6 million for the year.
Previously announced results were income of $794,000 for the quarter and a loss of $2.2 million for the year.
No other financial statements filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission were affected. The company didn’t list the reason for the changes.
Rite Aid pharmacies offer deal with savings card
Patients can get one free 30-day generic drug prescription from a list of more than 300 of the most commonly prescribed maintenance generic drugs when signing up for the free Rite Aid RX Savings Card at North Carolina Rite Aids.
Patients already signed up for the card also are eligible.
The offer is good through June 30, and the free prescription must be filled within that period. The list of 300 generics eligible for a free 30-day prescription is available at the 247 Rite Aid pharmacies in North Carolina.
The free savings card offers discounts on more than 10,000 prescription drugs, as well as Rite Aid brand products at more than 4,900 stores nationwide.
Customers can get a list of the discounted generic medications covered by the Rite Aid RX Savings Card at www.riteaid.com.
Brotherton earns heating, air license after test in Charlotte
Ryan Brotherton of S.A. Sloop Heating & Air Conditioning Inc. successfully passed the N.C. Heating & Air License test which was administered in Charlotte March 23.
As a result, he received his N.C. H-3 CLASS-1 license.
Brotherton began his career in the heating and air business in November 1998 as the first full-time employee of S.A. Sloop Heating & Air Conditioning Inc.
His initial job was as an installation helper. He then became a crew leader and was subsequently promoted to an installations supervisor in 2004.
In June 2008, he assumed the responsibilities of installation project manager, serving as a liaison with the contractors and as a project coordinator. He also has his EPA certification.
Clayton Homes offers help for buyers who lose their jobs
Clayton Homes is taking steps to try and ease concerns by offering help for someone who buys a home and then unexpectedly loses his or her job.
“We’re making this commitment: if someone buys a home and then loses their job because of the economic downturn, we will make payments on their home for three months,” said Kevin Clayton, president and CEO. “It won’t cost the buyer a dime.”
The goal is to encourage people to get into new homes and help them stay there.
The Payment Protection Program is applicable for new homes purchased between now and the end of June. If the monthly mortgage payment includes homeowners insurance and property taxes, Clayton absorbs those costs as well.
The program was designed with potential first-time home buyers in mind, who can also take advantage of the $8,000 tax credit passed as part of the Economic Recovery Act. “Similar programs to help homebuyers have given them a tax deduction, in effect reducing their taxable income,” says Clayton. “This program actually reduces the taxes they owe dollar for dollar over a three-year period. That’s a huge difference.”
Clayton, a Berkshire-Hathaway company, has built more that a million homes since 1934. More information is available at www.claytonhomes.com.
TQM Roofing of Statesville honored for installations
Statesville ó Firestone Building Products Co. recently named TQM Roofing Inc. a winner of the 2009 Firestone Partner in Quality Award. The firm earned the award for its expertise in high-quality roofing installations over the past year.
The Firestone Partner in Quality Award recognizes contractors who installed a minimum of four warranted Firestone roofs in each of the past five years, maintained at least 1 million square feet of Firestone roofs under warranty and achieved an annual Quality Incidence Rating of 2.0 or less. The Firestone QIR measures each contractor’s quality performance based on warranty repair incidences per million square feet under warranty.
Submit information about new businesses, honors and management promotions to bizbriefs@salisburypost.com. Include a daytime phone number.