Robert D. Blackwell, formerly of Rowan County, has been named vice president for managed care and payer contracting for the UNC Health Care System.
Blackwell, a 1977 graduate of East Rowan High School, will lead the managed care function for all hospitals within the UNC network, including UNC Hospitals, Rex Healthcare and Chatham Hospital. He played an invaluable role in recent managed-care negotiations, most notably the successful renegotiation of UNC Heath Care’s agreement with Blue Cross Blue Shield.
Blackwell first joined UNC Hospitals in 1981 and has served as an assistant director of the Hospital Managed Care Office at UNC Health Care since August 1998. His previous positions include network development specialist, manager of budgets and supervisory roles within McLendon Laboratories at UNC Hospitals.
After earning a bachelor of science degree in medical technology from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Blackwell went on to earn a master’s degree in business administration from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro. He is a certified public accountant.
Greer retiring
Claims manager Carole Graham Greer is retiring from Central Carolina Insurance Agency after 36 years.
Greer joined the agency in 1973 when the office was on West Innes Street. Over the years and in several different locations, Greer saw the agency’s name change from Riley-Clay to Riley-Clay-Turner to the present name of Central Carolina Insurance.
Greer has handled thousands of claims over her career, including fires, automobile accidents, commercial damages, hurricanes, floods and ice storms.
“She has spent countless hours after closing time to make sure the claims were reported to the insurance company as quickly as possible,” a company release says.
“Over the years, adjusters have called her to discuss situations to ascertain her opinion on whether coverage would apply to a particular loss. Many body shops have her name and number in their office and call her when one of our clients has an incident.”
Greer has been active in the Insurance Women’s Association, serving as president and in several other offices.
She earned the Certified Public Insurance Woman and the Associate in Claims designations She also has worked on the Certified Property Casualty Underwriter designation ó all distinguished designations in the insurance industry and recognized nationwide.
Greer is a judge in her voting precinct, is a former Civitan Club member and has devoted volunteer hours to raising funds for different charities.
Her husband was the late Max Greer. She has three children ó Bambi Amick, Michael Greer and Susan Pickler ó and seven grandchildren.
Cozart donations
ROCKWELL ó In 2008, Cozart Lumber & Supply Co. Inc. of Rockwell donated $7,000 in building materials to the Habitat for Humanity General Store in Salisbury.
The company, located at 302 Link St., also donated $19,000 in building materials to World Vision’s The Storehouse of Vision Appalachia in Phillippi, W.Va., according to Vice President and Secretary Thad Whicker.
Valentine’s Day at Chick-fil-A
The Chick-fil-A restaurant at Towne Creek Commons in Salisbury will turn up the romance on Valentine’s Day with a special dining experience from 5-8 p.m.
Customers will be greeted by a maître d’, led to candlelit tables and served tableside by Chick-fil-A employees.
Families are welcome, and children are invited to play in the indoor playground while their parents enjoy a romantic dinner together.
The restaurant is located at 902 E. Innes St., near interstate 85. Bo Hawkins is the franchise operator.
BNC reports earnings
THOMASVILLE ó BNC Bancorp, the parent of Bank of North Carolina, reported earnings for the fourth quarter and 2008.
Fourth-quarter net income totaled $626,000, and net income available to common shareholders totaled $483,000, or 7 cents per diluted common share, compared with $1.55 million, or 22 cents per diluted common share, earned in the fourth quarter of 2007.
For the year ended Dec. 31, 2008, net income totaled $3.99 million, and net income available to common shareholders totaled $3.85 million, or 52 cents per diluted common share, compared to $7.44 million, or $1.05 per diluted common share, earned for the year ended Dec. 31, 2007.
Operating earnings available to common shareholders for the full year of 2008 totaled $4.12 million, or 56 cents per diluted common share, compared to $7.44 million, or $1.05 per diluted common share in 2007. The 2008 results exclude $413,000 in after-tax charges relating to a one-time separation of employment settlement and $141,000 in after-tax securities gains, both incurred during the second quarter of 2008.
“While our company is not immune to the effects of the economic slowdown in terms of higher credit costs,” said W. Swope Montgomery Jr., president and chief executive officer, “we are very pleased with the overall results from the fourth quarter.
“During the fourth quarter our company earned 7 cents per common share, maintained our non-performing assets at manageable levels, increased our capital through our participation in the Capital Purchase Program (CPP), effectively and profitably leveraged a portion of this new capital, initiated a Builder Participation Program to help spur housing activity in our local markets and significantly improved our liquidity ratios.”
Industrial Motion wins recognition
MOORESVILLE ó Industrial Motion Inc. of Mooresville has been named a 2009 Exporter of the Year award winner by ThinkGlobal Inc., publisher of Commercial News USA, the official export promotion magazine of the U.S. Commerce Department.
Industrial Motion provides spare and replacement machine parts to U.S. companies that have manufacturing facilities abroad.
The company supports customers through distribution centers in Shanghai and Singapore as well as in Delhi and Chennai, India. Sales engineers who work in the company’s foreign offices service local plants, identify sales opportunities, and provide applications solutions.
“Industrial Motion, Inc. was founded in 1994 to keep U.S. manufacturing plants that had moved overseas operating seamlessly through the efficient supply of their replacement machine parts,” said Eric Kozlowski, president and chief executive officer. “We are honored to have been selected as the 2009 recipient of this award and thank all of our worldwide employees whose daily efforts, achievements, and dedication have enabled IMI to realize tremendous year-over-year growth and customer loyalty.”
Commercial News USA is a catalog-style magazine with an estimated 400,000 readers in 176 countries worldwide. Awards are given to one U.S. company in each of 15 industry categories. Privately held Industrial Motion, Inc. was named Exporter of the Year in the Industrial Equipment Services and Supplies category. All Exporter of the Year award winners will be profiled in the May-June 2009 issue of the magazine.