SALISBURY — The American Institute of CPAs recently awarded the 2021 Elijah Watts Sells Award to a Salisbury accountant at Alan F. Burke, CPA, PA.

Tyler Black was the recipient of the annual award, which is given to candidates who pass all four sections of the Uniform CPA examination on the first attempt with a cumulative average score above 95.50.

In 2021, more than 72,000 individuals sat for the CPA Exam with only 57 meeting the criteria for the Elijah Watts Sells Award.

Black had previously worked as a speech-language pathologist for 12 years before making a career change. After having studied for her first career at Wake Forest University and the University of North Carolina at Greensboro, she began prerequisite work in accounting at Rowan-Cabarrus Community College in 2017 and earned a master’s of accountancy from St. Joseph’s College of Maine in 2020 while working full-time and being the mother of two young children. In August 2020, she began working as a staff accountant at Alan F. Burke, CPA, PA in Salisbury.

EGGER to host job fair in Linwood

EGGER Wood Products will host a job fair on Wednesday from 4 p.m. – 7:30 p.m. at its Davidson County facility at 300 Egger Parkway, Linwood.

Priority positions include maintenance technicians and mechanics with pay starting at $26.50 an hour and production operators up to $20 an hour.

The job fair is set to fill positions for full-time production operators, maintenance technicians and mechanics to work a 12-hour, rotating swing shift at its state-of-the-art particleboard production facility. In addition to a competitive salary, EGGER also offers training and development opportunities, growth potential and excellent benefits such as healthcare, 401K and company-wide PTO. Interested candidates should bring a current copy of their resume and be prepared for on-site interviews.

Candidates are encouraged to complete pre-applications at egger.com/jobs. Those who have not submitted an online application before arrival will be asked to complete the application on a mobile device from their phone. Interested candidates who are unable to attend the job fair will have the opportunity to drop off their resume from 10 a.m. to noon on Thursday.

For a full list of open positions at EGGER, please visit https://egger.com/jobs/.

Rowan Arts & Ag tour set for June 4

CHINA GROVE — The Fourth Annual Rowan Arts & Ag Tour will be held on June 4 from 10 a.m.- 4 p.m. with the Rowan Chamber of Commerce and the Rowan County Extension Office organizing the event.

The self-guided tour is a free event for families and features 10 farms, businesses and a school garden matched with more than 20 artists to showcase the best of Rowan County agriculture and artistic communities. Participants will see firsthand where their food comes from, watch artists in action, learn more about farm life and purchase farm products and art.

This year’s tour is focused in and around the China Grove area of Rowan County. Each year, the Chamber’s Ag Committee selects a different part of Rowan County to feature.

The stops on this year’s tour are the following:

• L.L.Goodnight and Sons, 605 Saw Road, China Grove — celebrating their 75th year in business as a farm/feed store and greenhouse. “Pie in the Sky” Food Truck and Bluegrass Music will be featured at noon.

• Circle D Farms, 350 Saw Road, China Grove — rotational grazing in action with sheep and cows.

• China Grove Roller Mill & Farmers Market, 308 N. Main St., China Grove — learn about Rowan County’s rich agricultural history; buy local produce from the Farmers Market.

• Goodman Farm Supply, 338 N. Main St., China Grove — old-fashioned hardware and feed store.

• Mainstreet Market Place and Meeting Place, 306 S. Main St., China Grove — hydroponic vegetables and entrepreneurial development programs.

• Millbridge Elementary Outdoor Garden, 155 Ed Deal Road, China Grove — visit the school’s discovery garden.

• Ranchside Veterinary Clinic, 2365 Brown Road, China Grove — farm animals.

• Patterson Farm, 3060 Millbridge Road, China Grove — a behind-the-scene tour of a family farm’s distribution and packing house.

• John Weddington Greenhouses, 1975 Miller Road, China Grove — flowers and plants for your garden.

• Douglas Vineyards, 7696 Freeze Road, Kannapolis — local wines and Big City Bites Food Truck.

For more information, visit www.artandagfarmtour.com or loohttps://www.facebook.com/RowanArtsandAgTour

U.S. Department of Agriculture invests $40 million to expand marketing opportunities for rural businesses

RALEIGH — U.S. Department of Agriculture Secretary Tom  Vilsack announced the department is investing $40 million to help create new and better market opportunities for rural businesses and people in North Carolina.  

“The economic success of rural America has long been the bedrock of our Nation’s economy as a whole,” Vilsack said. “Under the leadership of President Biden and Vice President Harris, USDA is prioritizing investment in jobs, businesses and entrepreneurial opportunities in rural America. The investments we’re announcing today demonstrate how USDA remains committed to helping people in rural America create new and better market opportunities for our country.” 

The funding will help a diverse rural America keep resources and wealth right at home through job training, business expansion and technical assistance. It will also help companies hire more workers and reach new customers, open the door to new economic opportunities for communities and people who historically have lacked access to critical resources and financing and help entrepreneurs and business cooperatives create jobs, grow businesses and find new and better markets for the items they produce.  

According to Rural Development State Director Reginald Speight, USDA is making the investments in two programs in the state specifically designed to create economic  opportunities for people and businesses in rural areas. The programs are the Business and  Industry Loan Guarantee Program, Rural Economic Development Loan and Grant Program.

Economic Development Partnership of North Carolina CEO named to Federal Innovation and Entrepreneurship Council 

RALEIGH — The CEO of the Economic Development Partnership of North Carolina, has been appointed to the National Advisory Council on Innovation and Entrepreneurship.

Christopher Chung was appointed by United States Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo and will serve a two-year term beginning June 1. He is joined by 31 leaders from across the country in academics; science, technology, engineering, math, business and nonprofits, among others.

NACIE is a federal advisory committee that advises Secretary Raimondo on ways the federal government can advance the nation’s economic growth through innovation, technology, job growth, business development and equity. The council’s first task is to develop a National Entrepreneurship Strategy that will establish the United States as the top nation in the world for startups, innovation and emerging technologies.

“North Carolina has seen immense economic development growth over the last few years, and Christopher has been leading that charge,” said Gene McLaurin, chairman of the EDPNC Board of Directors. “He will represent North Carolina well, and his knowledge and experience will be an asset to the council. I know I can speak on behalf of board when I say I am delighted he was appointed to NACIE.”

For more information on NACIE, visit https://eda.gov/oie/nacie/.