Embed Size (px)
Citation preview
ChamberChamberNewsletterNewsletterVolume 74, Issue 3 October 15, 2019
717 Main StreetNorth Wilkesboro, N.C. 28659
(336) 838-8662www.wilkesnc.org
By JIMMY FLYTHEWilkes Chamber Chairman
This year the Chamber started something new, Government Af-fairs sessions.
Executive board member Jude O’Sullivan, the chief customer officer for Carolina West Wire-less, serves as the vice presi-dent and graciously chairs the sessions.
The idea behind the committee is to give Chamber members an opportunity in a small informal group setting to hear from vari-ous government leaders.
The sessions allow attendees to ask questions and inform leaders about things that are important to local businesses.
We’ve held three informative sessions, starting with state Sen. Deanna Ballard in Febru-ary 2019.
Sen. Ballard serves N.C. Sen-ate District 45, which now in-cludes Wilkes County. The event enabled the guests to become bet-ter acquainted with Sen. Ballard and gave her the opportunity to meet local business owners and representatives.
Congresswoman Virginia Foxx spoke with the Government Af-fairs group in May and enlight-ened the group on the state of af-fairs nationally.
On Aug. 29, state Rep. Jeffrey Elmore was the Chamber’s guest presenter. Rep. Elmore gave a very informative overview on the proposed state budget as well as providing updates on several pending bills within the House.
The sessions are held quar-terly in the Chamber boardroom from 5:30 p.m. until 7:00 p.m. The room is always full, but still a small group that creates a great opportunity for informal discussion.
It ’s important that leaders hear from business leaders about issues we face and to share information about leg-islation or policies can impact us. It is a lso impor tant our leaders know how much they are appreciated for their ser-vice and that they have cham-ber support.
We’ l l cont inue these ses -sions with the next one sched-uled for November. Our plan is have a presentation on N.C. Depar tm ent of Tra nspor ta -tion and local transportation concerns.
The sessions are open to all chamber members, but space is limited. I encourage your participation.
Government leaders meet with members
JIMMY FLYTHEChamber Chairman
Next to Lowes FoodsWilkesboro
336-667-2257www.brandjewelrync.com
CONGRESSWOMAN VIRGINIA FOXX was the featured guest speaker for the Chamber’s May Government Affairs Session. Congresswoman Foxx gave an update on current affairs in Washington and answered multiple questions for attendees.
N.C. 94TH DISTRICT House Rep. Jeffrey Elmore, who has served Wilkes County for the last six years, was guest speaker for the Chamber’s Government Affairs Session in August. Rep. Elmore spoke before a room fi lled with business owners and chamber members and provided an outstanding overview of the proposed state budget.
Chamber Government Affairs sessions
By LINDA CHEEKWilkes Chamber of Commerce President
As people visit the Chamber to gather information on relo-cation to the Wilkes area, one of the fi rst questions asked is about schools. The Chamber staff is always eager to share the good news about the many programs and opportunities that Wilkes County Schools have available to students. The school board and administra-tion along with their partner-ship with Wilkes Communi-ty College have afforded stu-dents with the ability to gain an education far exceeding what is available in most ru-ral communities.
Superintendent Mark Byrd recently provided account-ability results for the 2018-2019 school year, stating most schools are “meeting” or “ex-ceeding” growth since 2015-2016. Byrd reported seven schools in Wilkes (East Wilkes Middle, Moravian Falls Ele-mentary, Mountain View El-ementary, North Wilkes High, North Wilkesboro Elementary, Wilkesboro Elementary and Wilkes Early College High School) exceeded expected growth for 2018-2019. He stat-ed, “We are so proud of the stu-dents and staff of Mountain View Elementary, who did not meet expected growth in 2017-2018, yet exceeded expected growth in 2018-2019. We are just as proud of the students and staff of North Wilkesboro Elementary who exceeded ex-pected growth for the sixth year in a row.”
Byrd reported that East Wilkes High School met ex-pected growth for the fi rst time in six years, and three other schools (Boomer-Ferguson Ele-mentary, Central Wilkes Middle and Roaring River Elementary) met expected growth after not meeting expected growth the previous year. Almost 75% of schools statewide met or ex-ceeded growth expectations for 2018-2019, while 81% did in Wilkes County Schools.
Byrd stated, “Wilkes Early College High School contin-
ues to be a source of pride for our county. They achieved a letter grade of “A” for the third year in a row. Less than 10% of schools statewide achieved this distinction.”
The report indicated that Wilkes County Schools’ four-year graduation cohort rate is at 88.1%, above the N.C. state average of 86.5% and slight-ly up from 87.9% in 2017-2018. The data from 2018-2019 shows that Wilkes County has a lot to be proud of with our schools ranking higher than the state average in meeting or exceed-ing expected growth and in graduation cohort rates. Byrd stated, “We will continue to strive to give the students of Wilkes County the best edu-cational experience possible. Our entire system believes they deserve it!”
Wilkes County Schools offers leadership programs encour-aging students to be leaders and accountable for their ac-tions and behaviors, programs such as the middle schools’ “Leader in Me.” North Wilkes Middle School and West Wilkes Middle School, with only three years of being involved in the
Leader in Me program, were named a Leader in Me Light-house School.
Career and Technical Edu-cation (CTE) apprenticeship program partners with Wilkes County businesses.
Congratulations to Wilkes County’s fi rst apprentices, Kai-tlyn Bell (InfusionPoints), Tate Foster (Gardner Glass), and Hannah M. Billings (Infusion-Points). Each of these students completed their pre-apprentice-ship in the summer of 2018 and were offered a formal appren-ticeship upon successful com-pletion. In August, three addi-tional partnerships were an-nounced with Dylan P., Jayme M. and Jordan M. Our CTE de-partment held a special signing ceremony for them in partner-ship with other Wilkes County businesses. Congratulations to these students!
The CTE internship program allows selected students to ob-tain real-world work experi-ence in a fi eld related to their career interests. Students are exposed to diverse situations and hands-on tasks that help with career and post-second-ary planning, not to mention
the addition of valuable work experience to their resume. Because of the relationships with local businesses, Wilkes County Schools has been able to successfully place hundreds of students in a wide variety of internships throughout the county. The CTE Internship Program is application-based, and all students are thoroughly screened to ensure the “right fi t” and the highest level of suc-cess. Many students even inter-view with business partners be-fore securing a placement. Stu-dents complete 120 hours over the course of the semester and earn one academic credit. Stu-dents are monitored through-out their internship experience by the career development co-ordinator and are required to complete meaningful activi-ties such as a learning plan, resume writing workshop and soft skills development .
Wilkes Chamber of Com-merce applauds Superinten-dent Byrd, the Wilkes County School Board, entire school administration, and the many teachers and school staff that work so diligently to make our schools great.
Wilkes County Schools:Outstanding performance!
STUDENTS IN the Wilkes County Schools’ CTE Internship Program gain real life work experi-ence with local employers and earn academic credit.
2 • Wilkes Chamber of Commerce Newsletter • October 15, 2019
Social media statsWilkes Chamber of
Commerce Facebook Page
Old Page Likes ........... 2,302New Page Likes ......... 2,398New Likes ....................... 96Explore Wilkes
Old Page Likes ............1,186
New Page Likes ......... 1,203New Likes ........................17Twitter
Tweets ........................9,192Followers ................... 1,244Following ...................... 867
Champion Builders, Inc.P.O. Box 85Wilkesboro, N.C. 28697336-838-5308
Liberty National Insurance
1150 SE Maynard RoadCary, N.C. 27511(919) 491-3218
TwoBoros Brewery & Pizzeria
111 East Main StreetWilkesboro , N.C. 28697(336) 990-9455
Lisa Carlay Designs LLC
P.O. Box 184Wilkesboro, N.C. 28697(704)-604-7704
Watauga Opportunities
642 Greenway RoadBoone, N.C. 28607(828) 264-5009
Rock Creek IGA
4913 268 Elkin HwyNorth Wilkesboro, N.C. 28659(336) 696-2240
Target Marketing, Inc.
7766 Ewing Blvd., Suite 200Florence, Ky. 41042(866) 420-0219
Piccione Vineyards
2364 Cedar Forest RoadRonda, N.C. 28670(336) 775-8330
Dodge City Steakhouse
Wilkesboro
4803 West Hwy. 421Wilkesboro, N.C. 28697(336) 973-0218
NC Guardian ad Litem
Program—District 23
500 Courthouse Drive, Suite 2037Wilkesboro, N.C. 28697(336) 651-4466
Extreme Spirit Allstarz
Cheer, Dance & Tumble
308 Cothren StreetWilkesboro, N.C. 28697(336) 990-9898
Trendz
2581 Boone TrailNorth Wilkesboro, N.C. 28659(828) 851-6099
Wilkes Offi ce Supplies
915 Cherry StreetNorth Wilkesboro, N.C. 28659(336) 990-9061
Vannoy Properties
P.O. Box 8279 East Main StreetWest Jefferson, N.C. 28694(336) 846-2484
Welcome to our new members
Wilkes Chamber of Commerce Inc.
2019 Board of DirectorsOffi cers
Name Title Company
Jimmy Flythe Chair Duke Energy
Jody Call Chair Elect 2020 Wilkes Communications Inc.
Jack Lynch Treasurer BB&T
Greg Edwards Assistant Treasurer Skyline Bank
Chad Treadway VP Membership Cube Creative Design
Mark Byrd VP Education Wilkes County Board of Education
Landon House VP Leadership Wilkes Carolina West Wireless
Jody Call VP Youth Leadership Wilkes Communications Inc.
Laurie Brintle-Jarvis VP Small Business Assistance Wilkes Community College
Nancy Call VP Wilkes Women in Leadership Lowe’s Companies Inc.
Jude O’Sullivan VP Government Affairs Carolina West Wireless
Scott Cranston Executive Committee at Large LP-Roaring River
Scotti Stevens Executive Committee at Large Samaritan’s Purse
Directors
Laurie Brintle-Jarvis 2019 Board Member Wilkes Community College
Jody Call 2019 Board Member Wilkes Communications Inc.
Gary Daemer 2019 Board Member Infusion Points LLC
Steve Ellis 2019 Board Member FleetMaster Inc.
Matt Reese 2019 Board Member Rose Glen Village
Brian Bang 2020 Board Member Tyson Foods Inc.
Chad Brown 2020 Board Member Wake Forest Baptist Wilkes Medical Center
Jack Lynch 2020 Board Member BB&T
Randall Parsons 2020 Board Member Gardner Glass Products
Janice Somers 2020 Board Member Westwood Hills Nursing & Rehab Center
Rich Voisinet 2020 Board Member The Interfl ex Group
Alice Blankenship 2021 Board Member Piedmont Federal
Landon House 2021 Board Member Carolina West Wireless
David McClure 2021 Board Member Bernard Robinsons CPAs
Sam Morrison 2021 Board Member Edward Jones
Caroline Whitson 2021 Board Member Wilkes Family YMCA
Callie Walker 2021 Board Member Realtor/Remax
Ex-Offi cio
Nellie Archibald Wilkesboro Town Councilwoman Town of Wilkesboro
Keith Elmore County Commissioner-Chair County of Wilkes
Jeff Cox President Wilkes Community College
Robert Johnson Mayor Town of North Wilkesboro
LeeAnn Nixon President Wilkes Economic Development
Kenneth Noland Town Manager Town of Wilkesboro
Wilson Hooper Town Manager Town of North Wilkesboro
Victor Varela Mayor Town of Ronda
John Yates County Manager County of Wilkes
Chamber Staff
Linda Cheek President Wilkes Chamber of Commerce
Terrian Carter Membership Director Wilkes Chamber of Commerce
Teresa Lococo Offi ce Manager Wilkes Chamber of Commerce
Rachael Mahaffey Marketing Director Wilkes Chamber of Commerce
NWNC Visitors Center
Stacy Dunn Travel Specialist Wilkes Chamber of Commerce
Kathy Luck Travel Specialist Wilkes Chamber of Commerce
Bill Luck Travel Specialist Wilkes Chamber of Commerce
Ella Rhodes Visitor Center Coordinator Wilkes Chamber of Commerce
William Rhodes Visitor Center Coordinator Wilkes Chamber of Commerce
Donna Wood Travel Specialist Wilkes Chamber of Commerce
WILKES JOURNAL-PATRIOTYOUR COMMUNITY NEWSPAPER SINCE 1906
Contact Advertising Department
336-838-4117 Fax 336-838-9864
www.journalpatriot.com
Craig LangstonFinancial Advisor
126 Executive DriveSuite 240Wilkesboro, NC 28697Bus. 336-818-1678Cell 336-466-9111 Fax [email protected]
336-667-7129
Revient Reclaimed Wood is a premier supplierof reclaimed building materials using
barn wood, wood fl ooring, antique beams, live edge slabs and rusted metal
336-818-0197www.RevientReclaimedWood.comMonday-Friday • By appointment only
TrendzLet’s design your homeUniqueness guaranteedHome store • Art classes
Resin and acrylic2581 Boone Trail
North Wilkesboro, N.C.828-851-6099
4913 Elkin Highway • North Wilkesboro, N.C. 28659(336) 696-2240
Wilkes County’s only
locally owned grocery store
that cuts meat fresh daily
THREE WILKES TEACHERS received Price-Deverick scholrships through the Wilkes Chamber of Commerce.
Three teachers receive Price-Deverick scholarships
Wilkes Chamber of Commerce recently award-ed the 2019 Price-Dever-ick Scholarship to three Wilkes County teachers. The scholarship funds are provided to the chamber for distribution through Blue Ridge Energy (for-merly known as the Blue Ridge Electric Member-ship Corporation).
For several years, Blue Ridge Energy has provided $1,000 to award to teach-ers to help them earn re-newal credits, complete certifi cations or partici-pate in specialized work-shops and training. This year the Chamber received a total of six applications. A review team of former educators reviewed the ap-plications and awarded the 2019 scholarships to three Wilkes County teachers.
Kaylene Burcham, a Wilkes Early Col lege High School English Hon-ors teacher and gradua-tion project coordinator, received a Price-Deverick scholarship to assist her
with tuition toward pro-fessional development. Ms. Bucham was selected as one of 30 participants for the Teaching Shakespeare Institute’s Summer Acad-emy 2019. There were two sessions available through the Academy, “Othello & Hamlet.” Ms. Burcham chose “Othello,” as it is a Shakespearean play that she teaches to juniors during the fall semester. Ms. Bucham stated, “This academy will allow me to view the play through various lenses of scholar-ship including race, per-formance, and classroom practice.” The program will be held at The Folger Shakespeare Library in Washington, D.C. and Trin-ity Washington University.
Melissa Minton, a third grade teacher at Mulber-ry Elementary School for 14 years, was award-ed the scholarship to at-tend the Mathematics Education Leadership Training (MELT) at Ap-palachian State Univer-
sity. Mrs. Minton stated, “This professional devel-opment opportunity will help me to improve math-ematical practices in the following areas: problem solving and perseverance, abstract and quantitative reasoning, construct and critique arguments, mod-el with mathematics, stra-tegically use appropriate tools, attend to precision, fi nd and use structure and express regularity in re-peated reasoning.”
Brandy Sappington, a Wilkes Central High School teacher for grades 9-12 and AP English Lit-erature and Composi-tion, has been awarded the scholarship to assist her with enrollment in the 2019 summer course “Project-Based Learning: Bridging Common Core and 21st Century Skills” through the UCLA Exten-sion Program. Ms. Sap-pington states, “Project-Based Learning has tru-ly piqued my interest this school year and while I
believe that I am regularly designing learning units for my students that al-low opportunities for self-directed learning, I would like to make a full commit-ment to helping learners to develop the autonomy nec-essary for solid, analytical and critical thinking skills that will become common-place in the classroom.”
For more information on the Price-Deverick Schol-arship, please contact the Wilkes Chamber of Com-merce at 336-838-8662.
Bekah Gardner, director of col-lege access for Wilkes Communi-ty College, recently provided an update on the Robert L. Stickland Career Coach program. This pro-gram is an opportunity for students to learn about and engage with re-gional employers, understand how to develop a plan to obtain their ca-reer goals, and incorporate second-ary and post-secondary education opportunities in alignment with their career choices. In year one, the coaches went on 32 site visits to lo-cal businesses to learn about viable career opportunities in our region.
The career coach program at Wilkes Community College partners with Wilkes County high schools. The program employs six career coaches who serve at the six tradi-tional high schools in our service
area with a combined student pop-ulation of 3,657.
During the fi rst year, the WCC ca-reer coaches conducted 2,501 one-to-one meetings with high school stu-dents in Wilkes, Ashe and Alleghany counties. Topics of discussion in-cluded choosing a career of interest, paying for post-secondary education and selecting high school and college courses. Career coaches assisted students with deciphering career as-sessments, developing individual ca-reer and academic plans, researching post-secondary programs of study and completing college applications.
Career coaches gave over 218 classroom presentations to a to-tal of 6,747 (duplicated) students in group and classroom settings. Ac-tivities included guiding students through career exploration web-
sites, taking students on tours of lo-cal businesses, arranging for guest speakers from industry to do pre-sentations in the high schools and helping connect students with pro-grams and faculty during visits to Wilkes Community College.
In our fi rst year, the Robert L. Strickland Career Coach program has been embraced by the students, school partners, and business com-munity which we anticipate will lead to more students completing post-secondary education credentials and becoming part of our trained and ready workforce.
If you would like to learn more, please contact Bekah Gardner, di-rector of college access , Wilkes Community College at 336-838-6492 or by email at [email protected].
Career coaches active in schools
Wilkes Chamber of Commerce Newsletter • October 15, 2019 • 3
Prearranged Funeral PlanningCemetery and MausoleumGrief Recovery Services
MonumentsFloral Arrangements Laminated Obituaries
www.reinssturdivant.com
Changing how you live, not where you live.
FREE TRIAL VISITYou choose the days and hours that best suit your needs!
Mondaythrough
Friday6:00 AM
to6:00 PM
North Wilkesboro 336-667-2541
Medicaidand VAApproved
Adult Day Care provides a safe environment for adults who can’t safely stay at home by themselves during the day while their family goes to work, runs errands, or simply takes a break.
An affordable alternative to in-home care, assisted living, or nursing home care.
Choose the days and hours that best suit your needs.
Chamber 110% membership investors are listed
THE NORTHWEST North Carolina Visitor Center and Rest Area is celebrating a 10-year anniversary in October. The Visitor Center, an outstanding travel and tourism promotional asset for Wilkes County and the northwest N.C. region, has served over 493,000 visitors since the opening in 2009. Travelers continuously say, “This is one of the nicest visitor centers in the s tate!”
The Wilkes Chamber Foundation Annual Golf Tournament for Education was held Sept. 19 at Oak-woods Country Club. All proceeds from the Wilkes Chamber Education Foun-dation Golf Tournament are directed toward sup-porting educations efforts here in Wilkes County: Communities In Schools’ New Century Scholars; principal and teacher of the year recognition, and United Teens in Action, a Wilkes County Schools youth leadership program.
Sponsors for the 2019 Tournament included: Hole In One Sponsor—Classic Toyota of North Wilkes-boro; Lunch Sponsor—Tyson Foods; Corporate Sponsor—Piedmont Fed-eral Savings Bank; Hole Sponsors—Arnold and
Becky Lakey, BB&T, Ber-nard Robinson and Co., Brushy Mountain Power-sports, Carolina Comfort Heating and Air, Caroli-na West Wireless, Cook’s Sporting Goods, Duke En-ergy, Dwight Phillips Auto Sales, ECMD, Energy Unit-ed, FleetMaster Inc, Fron-tier Natural Gas Company, G&B Energy, Gardner Glass Products, Herbal Ingenuity, Hugh Chatham Memorial Hospital, InfusionPoints LLC, InterFlex Group, Jim-mie Johnson Air and Heat, Louisiana Pacific Corpo-ration, MAD JAX Seafood and Steak, Pencare Total Offi ce, Red’s Home and Gar-den, Reins-Sturdivant Fu-neral Home, Surrey Bank and Trust, Tyson, Wake For-est Baptist Health—Wilkes Medical Center , Wilkes Communications, River-
street Networks, Wilkes County Schools, World-Wide Protective Products and Wilkes Family YMCA.
Special thanks for the various donations of food, beverages, and door priz-es from Chamber mem-bers: Northwest Food Ser-vices, R.H. Barringer Dis-tributing Company, Inc., Rock Creek IGA, 18 North Sandwiches and More, Al-most on the Lake, Belk Department Store, Better Homes Furniture Company, Brand Jewelry, Call Fam-ily Distillers, Carter Bank and Trust, Dom Bakeries, Dooley’s Wilkesboro, Dun-can Insurance Agency, Ivy Ridge Traditions, Just Save Foods, Louisiana Pacific Corporation, Lowe’s Home Improvement Store, Oak-woods Grocery, Terri Stack-house, Town of Wilkesboro,
Two Boros Brewery, Win-ston-Salem Association of Realtors—Wilkes County Chapter, Wilkes Art Gal-lery, Wilkes Family YMCA and Zaxby’s for their door prize contributions.
Participating teams in this year’s tournament were: Advantage Real Es-tate Inspections, Bernard Robinson & Company LLP, Carolina West Wireless, Classic Toyota of North Wilkesboro, Duke Ener-gy, Edward Jones Invest-ments, Gardner Glass Products, Hugh Chatham Memorial Hospital, Inter-Flex Group, Lisa Carlay Designs LLC, Louisiana Pacifi c Corporation, MAD JAX Seafood & Steak, Red’s Home & Garden, Ty-son Foods, Wake Forest Baptist Health—Wilkes Medical Center, Wilkes
Communications and Riv-erStreet Networks.
Tournament winners were: fi rst place: Caroli-na West Wireless Team—Terry Johnson, Jim War-den, Dennis Joyce and Bri-an Robbins; second place: Red’s Home and Garden Team—Daniel Furches, Dwight Furches, Randall Scott and Chad Scott; third place: Advantage
Real Estate Inspections Team—M.J. Richardson, Mike Richardson, Wayne Salmon and Ray Salmon.
Closest to the pin: Rich Voisinet; men’s longest drive: Ricky Brooks; men’s longest drive seniors: Bri-an Robbins.
Wilkes Chamber Foundation holds annual golf tournament for education
THE WILKES CHAMBER FOUNDATION Golf Tourna-ment was held at Oakwoods Country Club.
Foothills Center for Women the Spa and Aesthetics Center sponsored the Aug. 1 Wilkes Women in Leadership event. The event was hosted at the Blue Ridge Ar-tisan Center and catered by the Artisan Center Café. Beverages were provided by Raffaldini Vineyards and Winery. “Skin-Better Science” was presented by guest speaker Kerstin Ducatte, “CoolSculpt-ing” presented by Krystal Bates and Dr. Neal Goldman shared a presentation on “Facial Plastic Surgery.”
Registered guests of the event were
eligible to win one free CoolSculpting cycle (valued at $750), one free SkinBet-ter Science Invisalift Facelifting Facial (valued at $95), and one free Dermaplane & Ageless Stem Cell & Peptide Facial (valued at $120).
Foothills Center for Women Spa & Aesthetics Center provides total wom-en’s primary care for ages 13 and older. The full service spa and aesthetics cen-ter provides medical aesthetics includ-ing Botox, laser hair removal and laser rejuvenation.
Foothills Center for Women sponsors Women in Leadership
A COOLSCULPTING PRESENTATION was part of the Aug. 1 Women in Leadership event.
The following Chamber members are 110% investors from June-September 2019:
Albert Brown Electric, Almost on the Lake, Amerigas, Arlene and Friends Sa-lon, Atlantic Auction Service LLC, Bayada, BB&T Scott & Stringfellow LLC, Blair Prop-erties, Blake Farms, Blue Ridge Energy, Bojangles #629, Brame Huie Pharmacy, Bumgarner Services Inc., Cagney’s Kitch-en of Wilkesboro, Call Family Distillers;
Carla Souther Hauser Financial Servic-es, Cherry Street Media, Child Abuse Pre-vention Team (CAPT), Classic Hyundai of Wilkesboro, Classic Toyota of Wilkesboro, Cook’s Inc., Cornerstone Creations, Cube Creative Design Inc., DAVHENCO Inc.;
Dennis Huggins, Eckerd Youth Alterna-tives Inc., ECMD Inc., Elkin Creek Vineyard & Winery, Ebenezer Christian Children’s Home, First United Methodist Church, Fleet Master Inc., Foothills Sanitation &
Recycling Inc., Frog Holler Cabins, Gard-ner Glass Products Inc.;
Goodwill Industries of NW North Caro-lina, Green 2 Go, Haynes Lawn Care Inc., Hidden Happiness Bee Farm, Home In-stead Senior Care, Impact Collision Cen-ter, Infusion Points, Interconnect, Jan Hug-gins, Jimmie Johnson Air & Heat, Keller Electric Company, Laurel Ridge Camp Conference and Retreat, Louisiana Pacifi c Corporation, Lowe’s Motel, Main Street/High Country 365, Mayhew,Scheffl er;
Conn & Copley Orthodontics, MBI Builders, McDonald’s (N.C. Hwy. 18), Mc-Donald’s (U.S. Hwy. 421), McLean Floor Coverings, Donna McNeil, Mike McNeil, Meineke Car Care of Wilkes, Midtown Mar-ket & Garden, Millers Creek Pharmacy;
Mountain Valley Hospice and Pallia-tive Care, New River RHA Health Services, Northwest Automotive LLC, Northwestern Regional Housing Authority, Oakwoods
Grocery, Patricia Hatley Inc.;Piedmont Dental Associates, Quality
Inn & Suites, SCORE, Sharon Lyall, CPA, Sharp Business Systems, Sherwin-Wil-liams Co., Southeastern Cars & Parts;
Suncrest Farms Country Ham Inc., The Jazzy Beauty Soirée, The Joan & Howard Woltz Hospice Home, The Ragg Com-pany, The Walker Center, Tony Huffman Insurance Inc., Tyson Wilkesboro Food Service, Ultimate Carwash, Wake Forest Baptist Health WMC Auxiliary, Way To Go Merchandising, Westwood Hills Nursing & Rehab Center, WFBH Care at Home Hos-pice (Curo Health Services), Whippoorwill Academy & Village, Charles & Mary White;
Wilkes Family YMCA, Wilkes Literacy, Wilkes Security, Wilkes Veterinary Hospi-tal, Wilkesboro Fire Department, Window World Inc., Yadkin River Greenway Council and Yadkin Valley Railroad Club of Wilkes.
The following renewed their Chamber memberships from June-September 2019:
Aaron’s Inc., Albert Brown Electric, AmeriSouth Mortgage Company, Arlene and Friends Salon, Atlantic Auction Ser-vice LLC, Barnes & Barnes, CPA, Bayada;
BB&T Scott & Stringfellow LLC, Blair Properties, Blevins Building Supply (Park-er’s Building Supply), Blue Ridge Energy, Blue Ridge Resource Conservation & De-velo, Bojangles #629, Brame Huie Phar-macy, Brushy Mountain Water Co, Build-ing Security Associates LLC, Bumgarner Services Inc, Carolina Heritage Cabine-try, Child Abuse Prevention Team (CAPT);
Classic Hyundai of Wilkesboro, Clas-sic Toyota of Wilkesboro, Communities In Schools, Concorde Financial Resources
LLC, Cook’s Inc., Cornerstone Creations, Cregger Company Inc., Cube Creative Design Inc., Downtown North Wilkes-boro Partnership, Eckerd Youth Alterna-tives Inc.;
Elkin Creek Vineyard & Winery, Ener-gy United, Ebenezer Christian Children’s Home, Faw & Associates PLLC, Faw In-surance Agency, First United Methodist Church, Fleet Master Inc., Foothills Out-door Adventures, Foothills Sanitation & Recycling Inc., Frog Holler Cabins;
Gardner Glass Products Inc. , Goodwill Industries of NW North Carolina, Graham Wyche, Green 2 Go;
Haynes Lawn Care Inc., Hidden Happi-ness Bee Farm, High Country Workforce Dev. Board, Home Instead Senior Care,
Dennis Huggins, Jan Huggins, Hugh Cha-tham Memorial Hospital, Impact Collision Center, Integrity Security, Interconnect, Ivy Ridge Traditions, Jimmie Johnson Air & Heat, Keller Electric Company, Laurel Ridge Camp Conference and Retreat;
Leatherwood Mountains Resort, Loui-siana Pacifi c Corporation, Lowe’s Motel, Main Street/High Country 365;
Mayhew, Scheffl er, Conn & Copley Orthodontics, MBI Builders, McDonald’s (N.C. Hwy. 18), McDonald’s (U.S. Hwy. 421), McLean Floor Coverings, Donna McNeil, Mike McNeil;
Meineke Car Care of Wilkes, Merrill Lynch—Norman Young Group, Midtown Market & Garden, Miller Funeral Service, Millers Creek Pharmacy, Moravian Falls
Campground, Mountain Valley Hospice and Palliative Care, New River RHA Health Services, North Wilkesboro Kiwanis Club;
Northwest Automotive LLC, Northwest General Insurance Agency, Northwestern Regional Housing Authority, Oakwoods Grocery, Patricia Hatley Inc, Piedmont Den-tal Associates, Pipedreams, R.H. Barrin-ger Distributing Co. Inc, Rock Creek IGA, SCORE, Sharon Lyall, CPA, Sharp Business Systems, Shatley Construction Company, Sherwin-Williams Co, Southeastern Cars & Parts, Subway of Wilkesboro, Suncrest Farms Country Ham Inc., The Jazzy Beauty Soirée, The Joan & Howard Woltz Hospice Home, The Ragg Company, The Walker
Center, Tony Huffman Insurance Inc, Tyson Wilkesboro Food Service, Ultimate Carwash;
Wake Forest Baptist Health WMC Aux-iliary, Watauga Opportunities Inc., Way To Go Merchandising, Westwood Hills Nursing & Rehab Center, WFBH Care at Home Hos-pice (Curo Health Services), Whippoorwill Academy & Village, Charles & Mary White, WIFM Radio 100.9 FM, Wilkes ADAP Inc, Wilkes Family YMCA, Wilkes Income Tax Service Inc, Wilkes Literacy, Wilkes Secu-rity, Wilkesboro Fire Department;
Wilkesboro Mini-Golf, Games & Ar-cade, Window World Inc., Yadkin Valley Motor Company and Yadkin Valley Rail-road Club of Wilkes.
Chamber members renew memberships
4 • Wilkes Chamber of Commerce Newsletter • October 15, 2019
ON MAY 29 an offi cial ribbon cutting was held to celebrate Annatiques & Fruit of the Vine. Annatiques is lo-cated at 820 Main Street, North Wilkesboro. This lovely shop is fi lled with memories of yesterday. You’ll fi nd authentic, as well as some reproduction pieces to use and decorate with. Collections include furniture, mir-rors, lamps, pictures, chandeliers, china, crystal, silver and much more. Store hours are Wednesday-Friday 10 a.m.-5 p.m., Saturday 10 a.m.-2 p.m. or by appointment. Fruit of the Vine has now moved to a new loca-tion across the street at 831 Main Street, North Wilkesboro. Shoppers will fi nd unique and inspirational gifts for every member of the family! Come in or shop online at www.fruitofthevineonline.com . This boutique features fun items for home and kitchen, clothing for women and men, graphic tees, designer pet gifts and treats, jewelry, bags and purses and sports items. In-store shopping hours are Monday-Friday 10 a.m.-6 p.m. and Saturday 10 a.m.-2 p.m.
A GREAT CROWD showed up to lend their support for our new downtown North Wilkesboro bakery/café, fam-ily-owned Dom Bakeries, on Sept. 21. They are located at 908 D Street and serve made from scratch donuts and pastries, custom cakes, coffee for all, plus hand-crafted pizza, sandwiches, salads, beer and wine. Stop by and enjoy the view from the upstairs balcony or cozy up by the fi replace. Bring your pet too, and sit on the outdoor patio. Walk in or drive up! Check out their menu online at www.dombakeries.com or call 336-990-9245 for your to- go orders.
STAFF AND OWNERS from Rock Creek IGA Marketplace had an offi cial ribbon cutting ceremony July 5 for the grand opening of Wilkes County’s only IGA Store. Congresswoman Virginia Foxx was present for the celebra-tion. The Rock Creek IGA is located at 4913 Elkin Highway, North Wilkesboro. This local grocery gives qual-ity service at the right price and freshness is always guaranteed! Their meat department is second to none. They have a weekly ad with family packed savings down every aisle. Every Wednesday, they donate a portion of their sales to a nonprofi t organization from noon until closing. Shop at Rock Creek IGA Marketplace and start saving today! Go online for more information at www.rockcreekiga.com.
IT WAS A BEAUTIFUL EVENING overlooking the vineyard for the August Business After Hours hosted by Me-naRick Vineyard & Winery. Guests were welcomed with a delicious spread of appetizers and desserts. The tasting room at the vineyard was the perfect gathering place for making business connections and visiting with friends. MenaRick Vineyard & Winery is a family- owned vineyard and winery located on 40 acres nestled in the foothills of the Yadkin Valley. They specialize in Spanish and Portuguese varietals.
WE CELEBRATED the grand opening of School Street Self-Storage, located at 1220 School Street, Wilkes-boro, with an offi cial ribbon cutting on June 28. Owners Craig and Lila Walker offered tours of the facility to show the various units. The celebration included door prize drawings and a refreshing ice cream treat for those in attendance. School Street Self-Storage is N.C.’s only climate-controlled residential and commercial storage space. They also have non-climate controlled units for your vehicle, boat, and camper and RV stor-age. You can rest easy knowing that the area is fenced in, with gate access via a PIN pad and has 24-hour surveillance. Reserve your unit now by going online to www.schoolstreetselfstorage.com, or call 336-984-7776 for more information.
THE WILKES CHAMBER OF COMMERCE celebrated Two Boros Brewery with an offi cial grand opening/ ribbon cutting on Aug. 16. TwoBoros is located at 111 East Main Street in Wilkesboro in the former J.T. Ferguson Store. This unique architecture was built in 1887 and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The building features a classical Victorian façade and displays an interior of poster-size photos of scenes and people of the Wilkesboros from past years. TwoBoros has a wood-burning brick oven for serving a vari-ety of pizza. The restaurant serves appetizers, handmade desserts and salads. The brewery has 16 beers on tap from other area breweries and are brewing their own in-house now. Business hours are Wednesday-Sun-day 11 a.m.-9 p.m. You can dine in or call 336-990-9455 for takeout. Visit their Facebook page at TwoBoros Brewery to see this one of a kind brewery/eatery.
THE WINSTON-SALEM Association of Realtors—Wilkes County Chapter hosted the Sept. 19 Business After Hours. The event was held at the Oakwoods Country Club and catered by 6th & Main Restaurant. Guests enjoyed ap-petizers and desserts as they networked and made new business connections. Winston-Salem Association of Realtors—Wilkes County Chapter Board President Jim Logan thanked sponsors for the evening—Steelman Home Inspections, Advantage Real Estate Inspections and Quality Control Exterminators—and held a drawing for the following prizes; a set of tumblers, two grab bags and four two-day passes for the Carolina in the Fall event. The Winston-Salem Association of Realtors—Wilkes County Chapter is an association consisting of local licensed real estate agents to help residents, potential residents or business inquiries with real estate needs in Wilkes County.
THE HOSPITALITY HOUSE hosted the June Business After Hours event. The event was held at the Wilkes Art Gallery. Executive Director Tina Krause and Director of Development Todd Carter took the stage to share their mission and explain the importance of what they are doing, encouraging those in attendance to help spread word and support in any way possible. The mission of the Hospitality House is to rebuild lives and strengthen community by providing a safe, nurturing, healthy environment in which individuals and families experiencing homelessness and poverty-related crises are equipped to become self-suffi cient and productive.
