Motivated by the mission: DHMRI welcomes Finance Director Ann Wilson

KANNAPOLIS — Preparation of the 2017-18 fiscal year budget, software needs and business processes are just a few of the items that Ann Wilson is balancing as she settles into her new role as director of finance for the David H. Murdock Research Institute, or DHMRI, located on the N.C. Research Campus in Kannapolis.

Wilson joined DHMRI over the summer and brings over 30 years of financial experience to the job. Throughout her career, she’s learned there is one central truth.

“If there is no money, there is no mission,” she said. “Every entity has to be able to make payroll, pay the bills and keep the doors open so we have to have a business model that can support the science.  That’s my job — to help provide for the scientists so they can succeed.”

Her expertise is critical to the DHMRI’s next phase of growth, where the institutes’ biomarker discovery and method development services are being translated into scientific products. The combination of services and products will expand the DHMRI’s ability to collaborate with academic and industrial scientists at the N.C. Research Campus and around the world.

“We are at the point where we are going to be developing products unique to our organization,” Wilson said. “The business analysis that supports that kind of initiative is crucial.”

Originally from Albemarle, Wilson now lives in Concord. She started her career in Winston-Salem, at a multi-national accounting firm, after graduating from Wake Forest University in the early 1980s. She has since served as finance director for Rowan and Cabarrus counties as well as Mecklenburg County’s behavioral health services.

She worked as CFO for both Fisher Corp. — a manufactured housing company in Richfield — and Piedmont Behavioral Healthcare, now called Cardinal Innovations Healthcare. She ran a consulting firm for nine years helping people start behavioral health care companies and assisting them with cost reports, billing and Medicaid compliance. Along the way, she earned an M.B.A. from Pfeiffer University and became a certified fraud examiner, or CFE.

When she learned of the job opening at the DHMRI, she immediately applied.

“I saw this opening, and it sounded like me,” she said.

In her first few weeks, she’s been impressed with the sense of mission.

“They are all doing their best to make headway in the research. It translates into better lives for people worldwide,” she said. “In my mind, the mission boils down to trying to feed the hungry, heal the sick and keep people well. Who would not want to be part of that?”

Panera Bread launches small order delivery in Central and Western North Carolina

Ohio-based Covelli Enterprises, the largest franchisee of Panera Bread, has announced the launch of small order delivery in Panera Bread cafés in Winston-Salem, Greensboro, High Point, Burlington, Clemmons, Salisbury, Hickory and Mooresville.

The new service is part of the company’s “Panera 2.0” strategy to improve customer service and accessibility through the use of technology.

This new service offers customers the ability to place a single order online and have it delivered directly to them as long as they are within a designated eight-minute delivery radius from the delivery café.

Delivery allows customers who may be unable to leave their workplaces or homes to enjoy the Panera experience from where they are.

“We hope to be able to reach new customers but also offer this incredibly convenient service to our existing loyal customers unable to make it to the bakery café on a regular basis,” said Sam Covelli, owner and CEO Covelli Enterprises. “Our goal is to make Panera as accessible as it is craveable.”
This delivery service launched in Covelli’s Dayton, Ohio, market in June 2016 and has resulted in tremendous growth in sales volume to the Panera cafés in Dayton.

Covelli has also rolled out delivery in its Columbus, Ohio, and Cleveland, Ohio, markets, and plans to have all its markets delivering by end of 2017, including Cincinnati and parts of the Carolinas and Georgia.
Delivery requires a minimum order of only $5 with the addition of a $3 delivery charge.

All delivery orders are currently placed online — with credit cards only— using the Panera Bread app or at panerabread.com.

Hours of delivery service are set for 11 a.m. to 8 p.m., meaning the first delivery order can be placed at 10:30 a.m. and the last at 7:30 p.m. Panera will deliver anywhere within the delivery radius, not just to people’s places of work.

Customers often use Panera delivery for lunch deliveries to their place of work and dinner deliveries to their homes.

Covelli Enterprises will hire up to 16 delivery team members at each Winston-Salem, Greensboro, High Point, Burlington, Clemmons, Salisbury, Hickory and Mooresville Panera Bread location to cover the volume of orders it expects will be added by delivery.

Positions are still available. Interested prospective delivery team members may apply in-café or online at jobs.panerabread.com.

Tractor Supply, 4-H partner for fall Paper Clover campaign

SALISBURY — Tractor Supply Company will continue its partnership with National 4-H Council by hosting its semi-annual Paper Clover fundraiser for 4-H students.

The in-store donation event will be held Oct. 4-15.

Tractor Supply customers can participate in the fall 2017 Paper Clover campaign by purchasing paper clover emblems during checkout. Donations, which begin at $1 and have no cap, fund scholarships that send in-state 4-H youth to 4-H camps, conferences and development programs where they learn everything from animal care to civic leadership.

“We created the Paper Clover fundraiser because we know how important local 4-H groups are to protecting a way of life that’s built around community and service,” said Christi Korzekwa, senior vice president of marketing at Tractor Supply Company.

National 4-H Council and Tractor Supply have worked closely together to provide 4-H members with the tools they need for success. Their partnership has yielded more than $11 million to support 4-H programming since 2010. Earlier this year, the spring 2017 Paper Clover Campaign raised nearly $825,000, resulting in 16,301 scholarships awarded to youth attending camps or other leadership experiences.

Individual 4-H clubs are encouraged to participate at their local Tractor Supply stores during the fundraiser. Many groups will hold bake sales, car washes and other activities to help boost donations. For example, the dedication of 4-H students in Timpoochee, Fla., allowed them to attend a local 4-H camp where they learned new skills including archery, sports fishing, kayaking, snorkeling and cooking. In Columbia, Tennessee, 4-H students learned about animal care and participated in a variety of team-building and leadership activities at camp.

“We could not be more thankful to the Tractor Supply customers who have helped make Paper Clover such a successful event over the past eight years,” said Jennifer Sirangelo, president and CEO of National 4-H Council. “Every clover sold contributes directly to an amazing 4-H experience for youth who may have otherwise not had the opportunity.”

For more information about the fall 2017 Paper Clover campaign, please visit http://www.tractorsupply.com/4h.