Recent News
NORTHWEST, N.C. – Pioneer Strategies, a public relations and marketing communication firm based in Leland, recently won an Honorable Mention MarCom Award in the Print Design – Logo category for the City of Northwest’s new city seal. Pioneer Strategies’ account executive, Zach Drennan, designed the seal, which previously won a Gold Hermes Creative Award in…
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By Julie Havlak, Carolina Journal News Service RALEIGH — Lawmakers are fighting to help small businesses afford health insurance, but they’re running out of time. As the pandemic and the shutdowns wreck the economy, thousands of North Carolinians continue to lose their insurance. North Carolina has nearly 1.2 million uninsured residents. Gov. Roy Cooper and his allies…
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By John Trump, Carolina Journal News Service RALEIGH — About 25% of gyms in the U.S. will close by year’s end, a new study shows. The global pandemic is the biggest disruption the fitness industry has ever faced, writes Nick Rizzo of RunRepeat, which specializes in shoes for athletes and studies the fitness industry. It’s also estimated…
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CAMS (Community Association Management Services), an industry leader in community and condominium association management services throughout North and South Carolina, is thrilled to announce that Nealie Williams has been promoted to Director of Business Development. Of her nearly seven years with CAMS, Ms. Williams has spent five of them as Business Development Coordinator and has…
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Raleigh, N.C. – In light of the holiday season and of the overwhelming need for emergency funds and assistance in North Carolina communities, SECU Foundation has awarded The Salvation Army of the Carolinas with an additional $1 million for COVID-19 disaster relief efforts. The organization will use the funding to address mounting requests from North Carolinians…
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WINSTON-SALEM, N.C., Novant Health has named Tammy Jones as the new senior vice president and chief marketing officer. Jones has more than 15 years of experience in marketing and brand management, including five years at Novant Health. She reports to Jesse Cureton, executive vice president and chief consumer officer for Novant Health. In this role, Jones…
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SOUTHERN PINES, N.C, First Bank , North Carolina’s largest community bank, made a number of donations this week to charities within its footprint. These include: NourishNC: to support the construction of a new, larger facility that will increase access to and efficiency of its many programs, as well as provide additional storage for fresh and nonperishable…
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RALEIGH, N.C. — The state’s seasonally adjusted November unemployment rate was 6.2 percent, remaining unchanged from October’s revised rate. The national rate decreased 0.2 of a percentage point to 6.7 percent. North Carolina’s November 2020 unemployment rate increased 2.6 percentage points from a year ago. The number of people employed increased 28,320 over the month…
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SUPPLY, N.C. — Brunswick Electric Membership Corporation (BEMC) is taking additional steps to protect members and employees, and ensure efficient operations as the COVID-19 pandemic evolves. The following actions will take effect Monday, December 21 until further notice: In an effort to minimize the spread of COVID-19, all district offices will be closed to walk-in…
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WASHINGTON, D.C. — Small businesses anticipate the worst of the pandemic is still ahead and half (50%) of small businesses see their operations continuing for a year or less in the current business climate before having to permanently close according to a new poll taken October 30 – November 10 and recently released by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and MetLife. The survey also found that small businesses in the…
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“Small Business, Customer Service & Non-Profit of the Year” Southport-Oak Island, NC – In the Spring of 2020, The Southport-Oak Island Area Chamber of Commerce accepted nominations for its annual business awards: Small Business of the Year, Small Business Customer Service of the Year and Non-Profit Organization of the Year. Once nominated, the qualifying business or…
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by Julie Havlak Each week, staff at Carolina Journal looks back at the week in N.C. politics and chooses several interesting, relevant stories you may have missed. Biden appointee: The Biden administration is tapping North Carolina’s top environmental official to lead the Environmental Protection Agency, according to multiple reports. Michael Regan, secretary of the N.C.…
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The startup ecosystem is a living and growing organism that most cities are trying to add to their modern economic development strategy for job creation. The startup ecosystem is typically a very positive kumbaya environment. There are lots of smiles around town while people with rose colored glasses are selling more commercial and residential real…
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Yesterday I was a last-minute speaker for a business group, filling in for a planned speaker who was under the weather. I had to put on my thinking cap and come up with an interesting topic with little time to spare. Given that we are now at the one-year anniversary of COVID-19’s initial impacts on…
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When I first entered the public relations profession shortly after college, we typically heard about two types of media: earned media and paid media. Thanks to technology-driven changes, social media and owned media have become increasingly prevalent communication tools in recent years. Paid media refers to tools such as traditional advertising and direct mail. While…
Read MoreOpinion & Commentary
by John Hood RALEIGH — Here are three true statements, as best I can determine. First, Americans of all backgrounds have experienced gigantic declines in poverty over the past two generations. Second, most diversity training is worse than a waste of time. Third, police officers are no more likely to kill minorities than they are…
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June 28, 2021 by John Hood RALEIGH — Did Fagin’s pickpockets stimulate the economy of London? If you’ve read Charles Dickens’ Oliver Twist or seen the musical derived from it, you’ll immediately recognize the name. Fagin is the rogue who takes in orphans and runaways, trains them to pick pockets and swindle marks, and then distributes the…
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By JOHN HOOD RALEIGH — Although the politicians in Washington almost never talk about the issue anymore, our entitlement programs are on a collision course with fiscal reality. Let’s zero in on Social Security. Its “trust fund,” which consists entirely of debt the federal government has issued to itself, will be exhausted in a decade…
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