Recent News
Wilmington, NC — Community Association Management Services (CAMS), an industry leader in community association management throughout the Carolinas, is pleased to announce that Senior Vice President of the western NC region, Ben Rhodes, will begin taking on the additional responsibility of supporting and growing CAMS’ portfolio of large-scale and lifestyle communities. Rhodes is a seasoned industry…
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WILMINGTON, N.C., — Clean Eatz Kitchen is excited to announce their new partnership with UPS to deliver their healthy, prepared meals nationwide. “Reliability is a cornerstone of our success”, says CEO Jason Nista. “When we hand our packages off to a carrier, we have to be certain the carrier can meet their time-in-transit promises. We have tens of thousands of…
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CHARLOTTE, N.C., — Bank of America today announced findings from its 11th annual Workplace Benefits Report, which revealed 95% of employers feel a sense of responsibility for the financial wellness of their employees, up from 81% in 20151, and more than half (56%) feel extremely responsible. The report also found that over the last year, more employers…
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By David Bass, Carolina Journal A bill to establish a “regulatory sandbox” by waiving certain obstacles for a trial period for fast-emerging financial and insurance products and services is one step closer to becoming law. It cleared the Senate Commerce and Insurance Committee on Tuesday, Sep. 21. House Bill 642 would create the regulatory sandbox, which…
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New Hanover County and the City of Wilmington provide $4,212,112 in funding for the Hospitality, Retail & Service Grant WILMINGTON, N.C. — The Wilmington Chamber of Commerce has approved 192 Hospitality, Retail & Service grant requests to businesses located in New Hanover County, totaling an investment of $4,212,112. The investment in these businesses will help offset…
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BOLIVIA, N.C. —The Southport-Oak Island Area Golf Classic, an annual fundraising event for the Southport-Oak Island Area Chamber of Commerce, will be held at Carolina National Golf Club on Friday, December 3rd. The four-person Captain’s Choice tournament will begin at 11:00 a.m. with a shotgun start. The entry fee for a four-person team is $450.00 and…
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WILMINGTON, NC — In recognition of College Application Week across North Carolina (October 18-22), Cape Fear Community College is launching a series of College Application Nights at the College’s Wilmington, Castle Hayne, Burgaw, and Surf City locations. CFCC is providing students and families one-on-one assistance with residency (tuition determinations) and admissions applications. “While students can apply…
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WILMINGTON, N.C. — PPD, Inc. (Nasdaq: PPD) has been recognized with two global excellence awards for its effective learning programs, honoring the company’s high-performing employee development initiatives supporting delivery of global operational excellence and innovative solutions to customers. For the second consecutive year, PPD received two Brandon Hall Group Human Capital Management (HCM) “Excellence in Learning” Awards. This year’s honors include a…
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Novant Health today released the following update related to its mandatory COVID-19 vaccination program for employees: Today, 98.6% of more than 35,000 team members are compliant with Novant Health’s mandatory COVID-19 vaccination program. Team members are considered compliant if they have received the following: the single dose Johnson & Johnson (Janssen) vaccine, a first dose…
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WILMINGTON, N.C. — Cape Fear Community College is proud to announce its inclusion in the Best LPN Programs in North Carolina. For five years, CFCC’s Licensed Practical Nursing (LPN) program has consistently made the Top 10 list among 39 other LPN programs in the state as ranked by PracticalNursing.org. The scores and rankings for each school were…
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Southport’s Stepping Stone Salon & Spa recently held a ribbon cutting to celebrate their one year anniversary. In attendance were owners Annette McKee and Jennie Lewis, esthetician Susan Barnes, Southport-Oak Island Area Chamber of Commerce Board Members and Stepping Stone’s clients. Their services include haircuts, color/ highlights, perms, manicures, pedicures, waxing, facials and massages. They are open…
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Southport Jazzercise, located at Inspirations Dance Centre in Boiling Spring Lakes, North Carolina, recently held their 2nd Anniversary celebration with Southport-Oak Island Chamber of Commerce. Southport-Oak Island Area Chamber of Commerce Board of Director Ben Frazier joined Southport Jazzercise owner Angela Dover and her students Lori Dowd, Silvia Earp, Kathy Ragan, Cathy Blackburn, Joan Lynch,…
Read MoreBusiness Advice & Expertise
I have a hard time believing that Pioneer Strategies is celebrating 20 years in business this August. On the one hand, it seems like I just started the firm, but on the other hand, it’s hard for me to remember doing anything else. Anyone who has been in business for more than a few weeks…
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We’ve probably all heard the saying, “don’t confuse them with the facts.” When I Googled the phrase while writing this article, I found another article entitled “My Mind Is Made Up. Don’t Confuse Me with the Facts.” In his timeless classic, How to Win Friends and Influence People, Dale Carnegie said that when you directly tell…
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Over the course of my career, I’ve seen far too many organizations allow a reactive mindset and slow response time to hamper their public relations efforts. One organization (we’ll call it Company One) was subjected to a barrage of criticism from other organizations that were affected by one of Company One’s decisions and chose to…
Read MoreOpinion & Commentary
By JOHN HOOD RALEIGH, N.C. — When North Carolinians are free to trade with whomever they choose, be it South Carolinians or South Koreans, some local businesses may lose sales. The case for markets isn’t based on promises of cost-free benefits or perfect outcomes. No such promises could ever be honored in the real world.…
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by John Hood RALEIGH — According to the most-recent ranking I can find, North Carolina requires state-approved licenses in more occupations (nearly 200) than most other states do. North Carolina licenses twice as many occupations as Virginia does, and three times as many as South Carolina. You cannot be an auctioneer in our state unless…
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by John Hood RALEIGH — I’ve long thought the North Carolina General Assembly should reform our state’s archaic and anti-competitive requirement for certificates-of-need. In the post-COVID world we are entering, however, CON reform is no longer just a good idea. It’s an imperative. Created during the 1970s in response to a federal mandate, our certificate-of-need…
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