Business Briefs

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Awards & Recognition

The V Foundation for Cancer Research partnered with Twongo, an online team-buying discount service, as its June Power of Team Giving charity cause. Twongo sold tickets for the chance to win a Leith BMW 128i at the Jimmy V 2011 Reverse Raffle that will take place Aug. 26. Each raffle ticket purchased via Twongo includes a family four-pack of gallery tickets to the 18th Annual Jimmy V Celebrity Golf Classic on Sunday, Aug. 28.

Carolina Ale House donated $23,000 to the Carolina Hurricanes’ Kids ’N Community Foundation. Lou & Joy Moshakos, owners of LM Restaurants Inc., presented the funds to Doug Warf, Executive Director of the foundation. The total came from the combined efforts of two fundraising initiatives: Points for Kids & Heart of the Hurricanes. Carolina Ale House donates $100 to KNCF for every point the Canes earn in the standings, which this year rounded up to $10,000. This year’s Heart of the Hurricanes campaign raised $13,000 from sales of paper hearts and car magnets. Carolina Ale House has raised more than $63,000 for the foundation since 2007.

The 2011 Cary Chamber of Commerce Small Business Awards, sponsored by Crescent State Bank, honored local small businesses for contributions to the community through innovation, creativity, sustainability, success and community service. 2011 winners were: La Farm Bakery as Small Business of the Year; Equity Saver Plus Inc. with the Innovation Award; The Meat House with the Community Service Award; Robert G. (Bob) Smith, CPA with the Employer of the Year Award; Yes! Solar Solutions with the Green Plus Sustainability Award; and Cary High School with the Entrepreneurial Award in Education. The Charitable Partners Award, created specifically for the nonprofit organizations in the area, was awarded to The Miracle League of the Triangle.

Royal Oaks Building Group received the 2011 Major Achievements in Marketing Excellence Awards in the categories of Best General Brokerage/Agent Oriented Program, Best Merchandising for a Detached Home with a sales price of $175,000–$250,000 and Best Parade of Homes in the $175,001–$250,000 price range. In 2011, Royal Oaks has expanded homebuilding in five new residential neighborhoods and added several strategic members to its staff to accommodate this growth.

Coldwell Banker Commercial TradeMark Properties was honored by the 2010 Coldwell Banker Commercial Global Awards as the top Coldwell Banker Commercial office in North Carolina and in the top five of the Commercial Elite within the Coldwell Banker Commercial global affiliate network.

CreatiVisibility, a marketing and design firm in Cary, was awarded bronze in the 2011 Summit Creative Award competition in the Women’s Audience Website category. The Summit Creative Award is a part of The Summit International Awards organization, and recognizes and celebrates the creative accomplishments of small and medium-sized advertising agencies and other creative groups with annual billings under $30 million. CreatiVisibility’s winning website design was for Pristine Beauty, a natural hair and skin care beauty line created in Raleigh.

Fuentek, an Apex technology consulting firm that provides intellectual property and technology management services, has been selected as one of the Top Businesses by DiversityBusiness.com for the sixth consecutive year. The awards are based on annual gross revenue and business profile, and are used by major corporations looking to increase spending with small and diversity-owned companies.

Residents at continuing care retirement community Glenaire awarded $10,000 in scholarships to five graduating high school students planning enrollment in accredited post-secondary schools this fall. The scholarships were a combined effort from a Glenaire resident couple and the Glenaire Foundation. In 2003 this couple provided $100,000 to the foundation to establish the “Wait Staff Scholarship Fund” to provide scholarships for high school students who work in the facility’s dining room. Recipients were Dominick Downing from Cary High School, who will attend N.C. State University; Winnie Hui from Cary High School, who will attend East Carolina University; Lauren Koepnick from Athens Drive High School, who will attend NCSU; Keia Lusk from Panther Creek High School, who will attend ECU; and Zakiya Toney from Panther Creek High School, who will attend NCSU.

The Cary Chamber of Commerce held its annual Honor A Teacher Awards ceremony on May 9. Twenty four chamber members sponsored the $1,000 awards presented to each of the 27 winning Western Wake County teachers. Award money may be used in any way the teachers would like. The winners were: Allyson Lynch of Green Hope High School; Ashley Palermo of Carpenter Elementary School; Terri Stewart of Weatherstone Elementary School; Twanna Hancock of West Cary Middle School; Chris Forgione of Davis Drive Middle School; Jennifer Butler of Highcroft Drive Elementary School; Paul Regina of Adams Elementary School; Diana Hosterman of Mills Park Elementary School; Lisa Amador of Farmington Woods Elementary School; Christine Rahn of Reedy Creek Elementary School; Rhonda Potts of Davis Drive Elementary School; Robin Turner of Northwoods Elementary School; Ashley Nelson of Reedy Creek Middle School; Heather Lilley of Briarcliff Elementary School; Kelly D'Amico of East Cary Middle School; Robin Edelstein of Cary Academy; Patrick Jessee of Cary High School; Kathryn Boone of Turner Creek Elementary School; Elizabeth Ramsey of Morrisville Elementary School; Bonnie Lee O'Connor of Panther Creek High School; Erika Emelle of Alston Ridge Elementary School; Maureen Kasegian of Mills Park Middle School; Thomas Teachout of Cary Elementary School; Janice Azevedo of Kingswood Elementary School; Serena Buckner of Green Hope Elementary School; Wayne Bragg of Panther Creek High School; and Christine Dahlin of Cedar Fork Elementary School.

Allstate Insurance Co. recognized local Allstate personal financial representative Basil “Boz” Marchi with the Chairman’s Conference award for high standards in customer satisfaction and financial services sales. Marchi is one of six percent of Allstate producers nationally to reach this level of achievement, based on financial services sales.

Appointments

Cindy Alness Boily, RN, MSN, has been named senior vice president and chief nursing officer of WakeMed. Boily previously worked as a CNO and hospital administrator, serving in this role for hospitals and health care systems of all sizes. Most recently, Boily served as chief nursing officer for Broward General Medical Center in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. She holds a bachelor’s degree in Nursing from Minnesota State University, a master’s degree in Nursing from Barry University and more than 28 years’ experience in nursing.

The Carying Place, a Cary-based nonprofit agency serving working homeless families with children, has named Pat Lykins as executive director. Lykins most recently served as the Director of Outreach at St. Francis United Methodist Church. During her tenure at St. Francis, Lykins referred people who have needed help as well as those who had items, time and money to donate to The Carying Place.

“Coming to The Carying Place feels very much like the next step on my path,” said Lykins. “I enjoy helping people who are in need and living in desperate situations to turn their lives around. I look forward to the opportunity to intensively support the families and help to get them on a new path.”

The North Carolina Symphony named Sandi Macdonald as president and CEO of the organization. Macdonald brings more than 20 years of experience in orchestra management to her position. Previously she served as Miami Residency director for The Cleveland Orchestra.

MarketSmart Advertising, a Cary full-service marketing and communications agency, named Jan Johnson chief executive officer. Formerly MSA’s vice president, Johnson will manage internal company operations, supervise senior management executives and facilitate future business opportunities. Johnson brings more than 20 years of industry expertise with an extensive background in corporate, business-to-business, interactive and consumer marketing. Johnson joined MSA in 2006, where she guided the account leadership team and served as the account director for UNC Health Care.

Rex Primary Care of Cary has added Vandana Devalapalli, MD, FACP, to its staff. In March, Rex Primary Care of Cary expanded capabilities to offer a broader scope of quality health care services for patients 18 and older. Devalapalli brings more than 15 years of experience in internal medicine. Devalapalli has received several industry awards, including the 2010 Star Award for patient care recognition and the 2006 Circle of Quality Service Award for outstanding achievement.

Industry Growth
Lenovo has signed a contract with Affiliated Computer Services Inc., a Xerox Company, as part of an initiative to expand its Global Services business. The agreement will create approximately 300 new jobs in the Triangle, including 50 with Lenovo and 250 with ACS. Through its industry-leading customer services, ACS will support Lenovo customers in the U.S., Canada, Australia and New Zealand via telephone, email and Web chat.

Palm Avenue, the Lilly Pulitzer boutique in Raleigh’s Cameron Village, is the first store nationwide to offer the designer’s new home furnishings collection. The offerings include bedroom, living room and dining room furniture collections, case goods, accessories
and custom upholstery.

The shop, which recently changed locations within Cameron Village to accommodate the new products, opened its doors on May 4. “We are thrilled to be the first store in the country to offer this timeless and eclectic line to customers,” said Rebecca Byrd, owner of Palm Avenue. “We believe North Carolina’s roots in the textile and furniture industries provide the perfect location for us to invest in this new endeavor and honor our state’s exciting heritage.”