SALISBURY — Salisbury financial adviser John P. McGrail has accepted an Edward Jones limited partnership offer.

“I am honored to be invited to become a limited partner in the firm,” said McGrail in a news release. “I value working at a firm with such a strong sense of purpose — to make a positive difference for our clients, colleagues and community.”

Edward Jones employs 50,000 associates throughout the United States and through its affiliate in Canada. This is the firm’s 18th limited partnership offering in its 100-year history.

The Jones Financial Companies, L.L.L.P. was created in 1987 to enable the firm to expand into new business areas while allowing it to remain a partnership. The Jones Financial Companies, L.L.L.P. owns Edward D. Jones & Companies, L.L.L.P., which operates under the trade name Edward Jones, as well as other affiliates including the Edward Jones Trust Company, Olive Street Investment Advisors, LLC, Edward Jones SBL, LLC, and an international financial services subsidiary in Canada, Edward Jones (an Ontario limited partnership).

Edward Jones is a leading financial services firm in the U.S. and through its affiliate in Canada. The firm’s nearly 19,000 financial advisers serve more than 8 million clients with a total of $1.5 trillion in client assets.  The website is edwardjones.com, and its recruiting website is careers.edwardjones.com.

Food Lion named one of top workplaces for Diversity

SALISBURY — Food Lion has been recognized by Newsweek as one of “America’s Greatest Workplaces for Diversity.”

“The work we do to support and celebrate our associates is an ongoing priority as part our commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion,” said Linda Johnson, senior vice president of human resources and communications, in a news release. “This recognition from Newsweek underscores the importance of making Food Lion a great place to work. Our associates are the heart of Food Lion and a reflection of the diverse towns and cities we serve.”

The ranking scored 1,000 companies across the U.S. for their value of diversity in their workplaces. Newsweek, in cooperation with Plant-A Insights Group, used publicly available data, interviews with human resources professionals and a large-scale employee study to develop the list.

 Food Lion has received ongoing recognition for being a diverse, equitable and inclusive employer. For the past 13 consecutive years, Food Lion has earned a perfect 100 on the Human Rights Campaign Foundation’s Corporate Equality Index. For the past five years, Food Lion has been named one of the Top 50 Best-of-the-Best Corporation for Inclusion by the National Business Inclusion Consortium, spearheaded by the National LGBT Chamber of Commerce. Meg Ham, president of Food Lion, is a member of the CEO Action for Diversity & Inclusion coalition.

Project Santa provides food, toys, clothing for eastern Rowan County

Project Santa, working with Food Lion, provided food boxes to families or individuals in need in Denton and Eastern Rowan County, with volunteers assembling food boxes on Dec. 15 at the Fellowship Hall of the First Baptist Church, in Denton.

A total of 164 food boxes were assembled in 55 minutes and were handed out on Dec. 16 and Dec. 17.

Volunteers from the Denton community and 12 Food Lion store managers, including the area director from the Lexington, Thomasville, Mocksville, and Winston-Salem areas, moved the food in preparation for assembly. A local volunteer provided the use of a Skid-steer. A large mobile freezer was provided by a donor from Trinity to store turkeys and hams until they would be distributed with the food boxes.

Project Santa participates in the Food Lion Feeds Program. For the ninth year, Project Santa received a grant from the foundation in the amount of $2,500 to put toward the purchase of food in 2022.

The Food Lion Feeds Program’s goal is to provide 1.5 billion meals by 2025.

Project Santa of Denton also completed its 65th year for delivering toys, food and clothing to families and children in need in Davidson and eastern Rowan counties. This year,  Project Santa provided Christmas gifts to 455 underprivileged children from 182 families. The organization offered Bibles to families that needed one.  Clothing was also available for those in need.

For the past 15 years, the organization has worked out of St. Matthews Lutheran Church Boy Scout hut to cover the eastern Rowan County area.