Richard’s Bar-B-Que nominated for USA Today’s 10Best Readers’ Choice Awards

Richard’s Bar-B-Que, at 522 N. Main St., has been nominated for the Best BBQ Pork in North Carolina competition for USA Today’s 10Best Readers’ Choice Awards.

Travel experts from USA Today choose the top 20 nominees and then readers are allowed to cast votes for their favorites.

Voting is open until June 6. Votes can be submitted once per day at www.10best.com/awards/travel.

Salisbury entrepreneur Jim Michael honored for providing outstanding customer service

Allstate agency owner Jim Michael, who owns Michael Insurance Agency, is being recognized by Allstate for his outstanding performance and commitment to putting customers at the center of his agency’s work.

Allstate is recognizing Michael with the Premier Agency Designation and Honor Ring. These awards are Allstate’s symbols of outstanding business achievement and honorees have proven to be champions in growing their agencies and serving Allstate customers.

“It’s a tremendous honor to earn this recognition from Allstate,” said Michael. “My agency is fully committed to helping customers better understand the risks they face in their household and provide solutions that help meet those needs. We are extremely proud of this recognition and proud of the fact that so many customers trust us to help them with their insurance needs.”

Michael Insurance Agency is located at 454 Jake Alexander Blvd. W. in Salisbury. Michael can be reached at 704-642-0451 or at jimmichael@allstate.com.

 

Imperial Brown welcomes new employee

William “Bill” Prettyman has joined Imperial Brown Inc. as the senior account manager, Special Applications Division, assigned to the North Carolina facility in Salisbury.

Imperial Brown, Inc., with manufacturing facilities in Salisbury and Portland, Ore., is one of the leading walk-in cooler/freezer manufacturers in North America.

In this position, Prettyman will be responsible for specific account development and sales and relationship management for key specialty targets outside the food service segment. In conjunction with the Special Applications Division, he will assist in various aspects of growth/development at Imperial Brown.

He will work primarily out of his home office in Delaware.

Prettyman’s experience in the insulated enclosure industry is extensive. With more than 18 years of hands-on proficiency from the manufacturing/OEM and Independent Representative perspectives, he will help strengthen client bases.

 

Novant Health wins heart and stroke award

Novant Health Rowan Medical Center has received the American Heart Association/American Stroke Association’s Get With The Guidelines Stroke Gold Plus Quality Achievement Award. The award recognizes the hospital’s commitment and success in ensuring patients receive the most appropriate treatment for stroke and heart failure according to nationally recognized, research-based guidelines built on the latest scientific evidence.

To receive a Quality Achievement Award, hospitals must meet 85 percent or higher adherence to all Get With The Guidelines achievement indicators. The indicators were designed with the goal of speeding recovery and reducing death and disability for patients.

The different achievement levels for Get With The Guidelines-Heart Failure and Get With The Guidelines-Stroke – bronze, silver, silver plus, gold and gold plus – reflect the amount of time a hospital has successfully maintained compliance to the guidelines.

“At Novant Health, we are dedicated to improving the quality of heart and stroke care for our patients,” said Dari Caldwell, president of Novant Health Rowan Medical Center. “The Get With The Guidelines award indicates that we are making great strides toward achieving that goal.”

Gold Recognition is awarded to facilities that reach an aggressive goal of treating (heart failure or stroke) patients with 85 percent or higher compliance to core standard levels of care for 24 consecutive months, as outlined by the American Heart Association and American Stroke Association.

Most hospitals that implement Get With The Guidelines realize measurable results, including improved patient outcomes and fewer recurring events.