Robinson Funeral Service opens in Concord

Robinson Funeral Service held a ribbon cutting with the help of Concord Mayor Scott Padgett, the Concord City Council and local faith leaders on Oct. 21.

Robinson Funeral Service serves Concord, Kannapolis, Harrisburg and surrounding areas with their funeral service and cremation needs. Robinson Funeral Service understands that the death of a family member and loved one can place a very big burden on those planning funeral arrangements. They are dedicated to removing the feeling of uneasiness and awkwardness oftentimes associated with conventional funeral arrangement settings by intentionally creating a stress-free atmosphere during a very sensitive period of arrangement planning.

Robinson Funeral Service sets itself apart from others by coming to where you are when you need them the most, conveniently assisting you with complete funeral arrangements, services, products and professional care. They do this without you having to leave the comfort and refuge of your home or other familiar environment.

“I have always believed that families, regardless of their ethnicity, faith, social status or circumstances, deserve unwavering respect and dignity throughout the entire funeral process. It is that core principle with which we conduct all of our business at Robinson Funeral Service,” said Rev. Dr. Fred Robinson, owner of Robinson Funeral Service.

Robinson Funeral Service is located at 381 Church St. N. in Concord.

S.A. Sloop Heating & Air Conditioning, Inc. acquires Brotherton Heating & Cooling

S.A. Sloop Heating & Air Conditioning, Inc. would like to announce they have acquired  Brotherton Heating & Cooling of Kannapolis.

Ryan Brotherton, the founder of Brotherton Heating & Cooling will be joining the team of S.A. Sloop as the installation supervisor. Brotherton brings more than 20 years of experience in the heating, air conditioning and ventilation field. Prior to starting Brotherton Heating & Cooling, Brotherton was S.A. Sloop’s very first employee and spent 13 years as an installer, then an installation supervisor of several crews. So needless to say, S.A. Sloop Heating & Air Conditioning, Inc. is excited to welcome him back to the team.

Brotherton brings professionalism and a wide knowledge base of the new construction and retrofit installation jobs. S.A. Sloop Heating & Air Conditioning, Inc. welcomes Brotherton Heating & Cooling’s customers and wants them to know they can expect to receive the same professional, courteous, prompt service that Brotherton provided them.

They are welcome to visit the company website: www.sasloop.com. Other means of contact is by phone, 704-857-5684, or email, sasloophvac@gmail.com. The physical address is 705 W. Ryder Ave., Landis. The mailing address is P.O. Box 8145, Landis, N.C. 28088.

Infection control startup opens headquarters at North Carolina Research Campus

BioArmor is a start-up company that is changing the field of infection control with proprietary formulations of non-toxic, non-alcohol based hand sanitizers, topical antiseptics and hard surface disinfectants that use nanotechnology to kill harmful microorganisms for up to 12 hours.

Headquartered in office space on the third floor of the David H. Murdock Core Laboratory building, BioArmor is the most recent company to locate at the North Carolina Research Campus (NCRC).

Member Manager Sal Toscano launched the company two years ago and already has a growing customer base that includes government and military agencies, private schools, pharmacies and stores like Bed, Bath and Beyond. He and Scientific Consultant Mike Bralkowski, whose patents are the basis for BioArmor’s products, realized that locating at the NCRC gives their company the opportunity to collaborate with corporate partners, the David H. Murdock Research Institute and academic research centers at the NCRC. Collaborations that could help advance their product development.

“We are ecstatic that we are able to secure a space here surrounded by research scientists and instrumentation that can help us continue to develop our product lines,” Toscano said.

The NCRC’s location gives them a short drive to their manufacturing facility in Rockwell as well as major highways and the Charlotte airport. Since Toscano travels extensively marketing BioArmor products, the NCRC’s proximity proved vital to their decision to locate at the campus.

BioArmor is leasing less than 500 square feet of office space, but they expect to expand in another year, adding additional office space for new staff and a laboratory for product research.

“Expertise, high-tech partners, instrumentation and room to grow,” said Bralkowski, “it is exactly what we needed at this stage of our growth.”

Mark Spitzer, vice president of operations for Castle and Cooke North Carolina, developer of the NCRC, added, “While the NCRC is recognized for corporate partners like Dole Foods, General Mills and Sensory Spectrum, we also have space and infrastructure for startup to mid-size companies that are focused on the areas of human health, nutrition, agriculture and physical fitness.”

Local business owner honored for outstanding leadership

Heather Bell of Salisbury, an independent distributor with Skinny Body Care, was recently honored at their national convention in Dallas, Tex., an event held in May which brought together business leaders and nutritional professionals from multiple countries and states.

Bell was honored for not only for her personal achievements in this fast-growing company, but more importantly for showing incredible leadership skills to help others across the globe to lose weight and keep it off.

Skinny Body Care opened its doors in January 2011. Offering consumers a line of award-winning weight management and skin care products, the company has been featured all over the internet, in magazines, newspapers and on TV. Because of the high quality and effectiveness of the products to help people manage their weight, Skinny Body Care is experiencing explosive growth, most of which is driven by people like Bell who have helped others to lose weight and create their own residual income in their spare time from home, too.

Ben Glinsky, the founder of Skinny Body Care, handed out awards to those who have taken this great product and turned it into a solid business opportunity.

“We were honored to have Heather Bell attend our international conference; she is an invaluable member of our team. We’re thrilled to have her with us as we work to create a healthier body, a healthier economy and some great stories of success.”

If you’re interested in finding out more about how Heather Bell is helping others lose weight or start their own home-based business, she can be reached by calling 704-713-5564.

Salisbury’s N.C. State Veterans Home voted Best Nursing Home

North Carolina State Veterans Home — Salisbury earned a Best Nursing Home designation by the U.S. News & World Report for 2016-17. The facility, at 1601 Brenner Ave., has an overall rating of 4.5 stars out of 5 on the website.

More than 2,000 nursing homes with overall ratings of 4.5 stars or greater earned the designation. The star ratings are based on state-conducted health inspections, nurse staffing and medical quality measures.

The facility’s profile on usnews.com now displays a badge to let visitors know it is one of the website’s best nursing homes.

Rowan Chamber of Commerce now accepting nominations for annual awards

The Rowan County Chamber of Commerce is now accepting nominations for annual awards to be presented at the Annual Gala on Jan. 12 at the Livingstone College Hospitality Center.

Community members can be nominated for Chamber Champion — Small Business of the Year, Paul E. Fisher — Chamber Volunteer of the Year, and the Duke Energy Citizenship & Service Award.

Nominations are due Dec. 2 by 5 p.m. Contact the chamber at info@rowanchamber.com or by calling 704-633-4221 to receive a nomination form.