Recent News
SOUTHPORT, N.C. — Dosher Memorial Hospital and Medical Clinics have been named 2020 Guardian of Excellence Award® winners by Press Ganey, in three separate areas. Guardian of Excellence for Patient Experience in our Emergency DepartmentGuardian of Excellence for Patient Experience in the Dosher Medical PracticesGuardian of Excellence for Quality for hospital services The Guardian of…
Read MoreWASHINGTON, D.C. — The NFIB Small Business Optimism Index declined 2.6 points in November to 101.4 but remains well above the 47-year historical average reading of 98. Six of the 10 Index components declined and four increased. The NFIB Uncertainty Index decreased 8 points to 90, still a historically high reading. Owners expecting better business conditions over the…
Read MoreWASHINGTON D.C. – Carl S. Armato, President and CEO of Novant Health in North Carolina, recently received the Steven Schroeder Award for Outstanding Healthcare CEO. The award was presented virtually at The Leapfrog Group’s annual meeting. The award was created by Costs of Care, a leading non-profit dedicated to curating and disseminating insights from the frontlines of health care…
Read MoreMILLS RIVER, N.C. — As U.S. consumers turned to takeout, food delivery and online grocery shopping during the COVID-19 pandemic, food and beverage labeling took on fresh importance. Citing a 15-20% increase in grocery industry sales this year, and e-commerce sales up 43%, sustainable label leader UPM Raflatac found its grocery and restaurant delivery customers…
Read MoreThe following highlights noteworthy business news from across North Carolina. Grover Gaming’s Expansion Brings 200 New Jobs to Greenville: Grover Gaming Inc., a software development and design company with offices and distribution facilities in seven U.S. states, will expand its Greenville headquarters, adding 200 positions to its existing North Carolina workforce. The company will invest…
Read MoreThe real estate market in southeastern North Carolina remained strong through November, according to statistics released by two local REALTOR® associations. Brunswick County’s real estate market remains on a red-hot record pace, according to the Brunswick County Association of REALTORS®, with last month’s numbers including the highest number of homes sold in November on record.…
Read MoreCHARLOTTE, N.C. — More than half of Americans borrowed money from or loaned money to a loved one within the past year, according to a November 2020 LendingTree survey of more than 2,000 Americans. Nearly a third of Americans would prefer to take on debt rather instead of asking friends and family for money. Key Survey Findings: Lending between…
Read MoreRALEIGH — Today, Governor Roy Cooper announced additional new restrictions in response to COVID-19. According to a press release from Cooper’s office, the order: Requires people to stay at home between 10 p.m. and 5 a.m. and takes effect Friday, December 11 and will be in place until at least January 8, 2021. Requires restaurants,…
Read MoreWILMINGTON, N.C., — Atlantic Packaging recently announced the launch of a recyclable can carrier system, Fishbone, to replace plastic ring handles. The Fishbone beverage carrier is a curbside recyclable, biodegradable, and performance tested product that will eliminate single use plastic from beverage packaging. Single use plastics are a known threat to our environment, generating millions of tons…
Read Moreby Frank Williams The following highlights noteworthy business news from across North Carolina. Raleigh-based Shanahan Law Group merges with Nelson Mullins: Shanahan Law Group PLLC, a prominent business law firm in Raleigh, has joined Nelson Mullins Riley & Scarborough as of Dec. 1. Former federal prosecutor and four-term Raleigh City Councilman Kieran J. Shanahan founded Shanahan…
Read MoreRALEIGH — The North Carolina Medical Society (NCMS), the North Carolina Retail Merchants Association (NCRMA), the North Carolina Farm Bureau Insurance Group and the NC Chamber have come together to strongly encourage the public to follow public health guidelines in order to help protect our communities against COVID-19 and keep businesses open. View a video…
Read MoreWILMINGTON, N.C. – PPD, Inc. (Nasdaq:PPD) has been named one of the Best Workplaces in Greater China™ by Great Place to Work®, a global authority on high-trust, high-performance workplace cultures that provides executive advisory and culture consulting services to businesses, nonprofits and government agencies. The honor builds on the announcement by PPD to adopt a…
Read MoreBusiness Advice & Expertise
During the course of my public relations training, I’ve studied a four-step process dubbed “RPIE.” The four steps are: R = Research P = Planning I = Implementation E = Evaluation. The research phase is intended to ensure that a client or organization builds its campaign based upon valid assumptions and informed insight, not guesses…
Read MoreTechnology is transforming the world of public relations and strategic communication, and many now view the press release as a relic of ages past. At the start of my public relations career over two decades ago, much of my work revolved around traditional media relations. These days, more and more of our work is digital…
Read MoreThe events of 2020 have dramatically altered the communication landscape in which leaders must operate. This year has been so filled with crises that memes speculating on what could be next are a prevalent feature in my social media feeds. As leaders, we must understand that emotions run high during a crisis, with fear and…
Read MoreOpinion & Commentary
By JOHN HOOD RALEIGH — It was the summer of 1987 when I first stepped inside the United States Capitol to work instead of visit. As part of a summer program, I spent a couple of months interning with syndicated columnist Don Lambro. Rather than have me run errands or fetch coffee, Don sent me…
Read Moreby John Trump Assigning infallibility to government action is a fool’s errand. It’s a common refrain in libertarian and conservative circles, and its truth is grounded in history, as well as the government’s continuing and ubiquitous intrusion and overreach. I won’t take credit for the aforementioned paraphrased statement because Scott Maitland said it this week…
Read MoreBy John Hood RALEIGH — With Democrats in charge of the White House, and U.S. House, and (possibly as of this writing) the U.S. Senate, you can expect a push by left-wing activists and politicians to repeal some federal tax cuts enacted by the previously Republican Congress and signed by President Trump. Here in North…
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