Business briefs for May 26
Published 12:00 am Sunday, May 26, 2019
Sixth annual Dragon Boat Festival set for July 27
SALISBURY — The Rowan Chamber of Commerce will host its sixth annual Rowan Chamber Dragon Boat Festival on July 27.
The festival will be held at the Shrine Club on High Rock Lake, with races starting at 9 a.m. and awards beginning at 4 p.m.
The Dragon Boat Festival is the largest annual gathering held on High Rock Lake, the second-largest lake in North Carolina. More than 3,500 people are expected to watch more than 30 teams compete.
“We are thrilled with the positive growth of the Dragon Boat Festival, now in its sixth year,” said festival committee Chairwoman Teresa Dakins of Trinity at Home. “The Rowan Chamber is passionate about incorporating health and wellness into its programming. A strong event such as the Dragon Boat Festival on High Rock Lake instills team-building, family fun and clean competition.”
The festival is free to attend, and guests are encouraged to bring lawn chairs or blankets. No pets, coolers or outside food will be allowed. Parking is by donation and available in lots adjacent to the Shrine Club.
The site is also accessible by boat on High Rock Lake. The Rowan County Tourism Development Authority will provide trolley rides between the parking areas and the Shrine Club.
There will be entertainment and food during the lunch break with a Drummers Parade and Heads/Tails game. A raffle for kayaks and other water sports equipment will be held at the end of the day.
PanAm Dragon Boat has been contracted to oversee the competition and provide each team with the necessary equipment such as a boat, paddles and life vests. Teams will compete on a 350-meter straight course in three heats.
Olympic-style medals will be awarded to first-, second- and third place-winners in each division. An overall champion will be named after the finalist race. Novant Health will present the Corporate Cup traveling trophy to an organization or business with the best workplace wellness program.
For more information, contact the Chamber of Commerce at 704-633-4221, info@rowanchamber.com or www.rowanchamberdragonboat.org.
Rowan’s economic progress featured in national publication
SALISBURY — Rowan County was recognized in Site Selection magazine for its growing dominance in the transportation manufacturing sector.
The story was written by Ron Starner. “If you haven’t been to Rowan County, about 40 minutes north of Charlotte, then you’ve missed one of the more remarkable economic turnaround stories of the past decade,” Starner writes.
“Fueled by America’s first 10-gigabit-per-second internet connection, a network of six community colleges, workforce training assets that are best in class, and a suddenly revitalized automobile and truck manufacturing sector, Rowan County is a case study in what can happen when people refuse to stay mired in defeat,” Starner writes.
County commissioners Chairman Greg Edds is quoted in the article.
“It’s important for Rowan County to stick to its mantra of “Be an original” if it wants to see this turnaround continue,” Edds says. “We watch a lot of communities trying to copy one another, some even trying to be something they’re not. We believe that people and companies want to be part of something real, something genuine, something original.”
Rod Crider, president of the Rowan EDC, said the county’s marketing efforts are paying off.
“The positive recognition for projects like Amrep and Agility Fuel Solutions paved the way for Chewy Inc.’s decision to locate here. We’re also seeing increased interest from outside developers, and this national publicity from Site Selection will only help to propel us to even greater heights.”
Craig Black appointed to Energy United board of directors
STATESVILLE – Mooresville resident Craig Black has been appointed to Energy United’s board of directors.
Craig Black
Black was appointed to fill the third-district directorship seat left after the recent passing of longtime board member Mack Shoaf, who had served the cooperative for more than 40 years.
“(Black) has impressive credentials and will bring a new and interesting perspective to our board and our organization,” said Max Walser, Energy United president. “His dedication to the community in which he lives is directly in line with our core beliefs as a cooperative business, and I know he will be an asset for all of our members and customers.”
Black has a background in business development that will prove useful to Energy United as the cooperative continues to grow and shift demographically, Walser said. During his 28-year career in the printing industry, Black delivered effective business solutions for a diverse group of clients with varying needs, standards and expectations.
“I enjoy having opportunities to present ideas,” Black says. “Just because something has been done one way for many years doesn’t mean that we should continue down the same path. One should be willing to collaborate and think outside the box for other alternatives and solutions.”
Salisbury store celebrates four years of donating surplus food to good causes
SALISBURY — Tesco’s Salisbury Extra store has donated more than 32,000 meals to people in need.
The store belongs to the supermarket chain’s Community Food Connection plan, which celebrates its fourth birthday this weekend and is run in conjunction with leading food charity FareShare.
On Saturday, store employees will be talking to customers about how the plan provides free surplus food, and they will invite local charities and community groups that receive food from the plan to encourage even more to sign up.
Community Food Connection ensures that Tesco stores are able to donate surplus food at the end of the day to charities and community groups. It uses an app developed by social enterprise FoodCloud to notify groups each night about the food available.
More than 7,000 groups pick up free food from a local Tesco store. Since the program began, Tesco has donated more than 36 million meals, with more than 1 million meals now being donated each month.
The Salisbury Extra store has donated 32,343 meals so far.
“At Tesco, we firmly believe that no good food should go to waste,” said Alec Brown, head of community at Tesco. “That is why we set up our Community Food Connection scheme, which ensures that our surplus food is put to good use in the local community.”
For information, go to www.tesco.com/community-food-connection.
Salisbury native inducted into dental honor society
GREENVILLE — Brett Ryan Leslie, a Salisbury native and 2019 graduate of the East Carolina University School of Dental Medicine, has been inducted into the Omicron Kappa Upsilon National Dental Honor Society.
OKU is generally considered dentistry’s Phi Beta Kappa.
Brett Leslie
In 2014, Leslie graduated from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill with a bachelor of arts in political science. At the ECU School of Dental Medicine, he served as class vice president and advocated for fellow students on the student and resident affairs committee while supporting and planning class community service and social programs. He had been a didactic tutor for the predoctoral dentistry program since his second year.
Leslie graduated from ECU with a doctor of dental medicine degree on May 3. As fourth-year students, he and his classmates completed 27 weeks of hands-on experience — treating patients at the school’s eight community centers across the state.
“I am very honored to know that some of my most admired faculty have such confidence in my abilities as both a dentist and a leader in the community,” said Leslie.
“Brett is to be commended for his leadership and scholarship over these past four years in dental school,” said David Paquette, president-elect of OKU Beta Eta Chapter and chairman of the dental school’s department of surgical sciences. “He has great potential for making a significant contribution to dentistry and to the lives of the patients he treats.”
Leslie plans to enter private practice in Salisbury.
