Davidson, NC – In recognition of the nation’s best new housing designs Eric Johnson of E.S. Johnson Builders was awarded the Best in American Living Award for his home entry “The Brandywine Valley Home.”  The category was Best Single-Family Detached Home 4,001 square feet and over.  The Best in American Living Awards, considered the foremost residential design competition in the nation, is given annually by Professional Builder magazine and the National Association of Home Builders.  This year’s ceremony was held at The Wynn Hotel and Resort in Las Vegas during the International Builders Show on January 19th, 2009.
 
“The Brandywine Valley,” was a home built in Fort Mill, S.C. in the neighborhood of Springfield for the annual Homearama Showcase.  Despite its South Carolina location, this home is an authentic reproduction of a Bucks County (Pa.) farmhouse.  To make it look like an old house that had been added on to over the last 150 years, the main structure, built with four wings, each with a distinctive look appropriate to the time period.  For instance, the first floor study looks like an old spring porch that was enclosed.  Blending the old with the new, a cascading outdoor living area with a large whirlpool flows into the main pool, the main pool then drops into another smaller pool complemented by a large arbor and stone fireplace.

Charlotte, NC - Western North Carolina Entrepreneurs face challenges on many fronts, including lower consumer spending, rising unemployment and tightening credit.

SCORE in western North Carolina area has local Offices in Asheville, Asheboro, Chapel Hill, Charlotte, Greensboro, Hendersonville, and High Point, plus eleven supporting branches, to provide confidential mentoring to small businesses for free. SCORE experts, at these conveniently located offices and branches, have experience in finance, accounting, management, marketing, sales prospecting and strategic planning.  

SCORE CEO Ken Yancey says, "Be quick to retrench expenses, quick to adapt products & services to changing market needs, and quick to build a network of advisors to help your business make it through the recession." Yancey adds, "Now is the time to meet with a SCORE mentor on how to tighten credit policies, cut expenses and look at holding cash in your accounts.

 

Harry Stillerman has been selected as Mitchell Community College's new director of development and college relations. In this role, he will oversee public and community relations, operations of the endowment for excellence, grants management, resource allocation, marketing and public information, and alumni relations. He succeeds William Findt who left Mitchell last year to become president of Bladen Community College. With record growth in enrollment and significant reductions in state funding, his primary focus will be on fundraising.

Stillerman joins Mitchell from Foundation For The Carolinas where he served as assistant vice president for development since 2007 with responsibility for Iredell, Cleveland, Lincoln and Cabarrus counties.

 

JANUARY 13, 2009 – Achieving health and wellness tops the list of New Year’s resolutions every year. This time around, Dr. Amir Koohestani is offering methods to help individuals reach those goals through his “Food as Medicine” seminars.

Koohestani, the primary physician at Richfield Medical Services in Stanly County, will present his unique seminars at Pfeiffer University two consecutive Tuesdays, Jan. 20 and Jan. 27, from 9:30 a.m. – 11 a.m. both days in the Stokes Student Center Community Room on the Misenheimer campus. The seminars are free and open to the public.

 

JANUARY 6, 2009 – To celebrate and commemorate the life of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and his notable legacy of service and civic action, Pfeiffer University will sponsor a day of service on Jan. 21, followed by its 12th annual Servant Leadership Week held Jan. 25-31. This year, a series of guest speakers, workshops and community service opportunities will be held on the university’s Misenheimer campus and throughout neighboring communities.

“In 1994, Congress passed the King Holiday and Service Act, designating the holiday as a national day of service. This series of events celebrates Dr. King’s life and is designed to be an extension of the classroom experience for our students,” said Sudie Nallo, director of service scholar programs at Pfeiffer. “There is no better way to honor the extraordinary legacy of Dr. King. These are opportunities to invite others onto our campus as well as to continue to immerse ourselves in service to our community.”