GRANITE QUARRY — One year after Jason Smith opened the Hotdog Shack in Granite Quarry, the restaurant is still going strong, he said.
Smith started the business in July 2013 in the building that formerly housed Reid’s Chicken at 408 S. Salisbury Ave. The Hotdog Shack crew celebrated the first anniversary with a hot dog eating contest and other festivities.
“We simply opened the Hotdog Shack up on a chance,” Smith said. “… We never imagined we would have been this blessed. It has been a lot of fun and the community has been very supportive.”
When he was a student at East Rowan High School in the ’90s, Smith took a job at what was then Fieldcrest Cannon Stadium in Kannapolis. Smith did so well selling hot dogs to baseball fans that he opened his own hot dog stand at the stadium. From that, the Hotdog Shack was born.
Hours are 10:30 a.m. to 9 p.m. every day but Sunday.
SALISBURY — The Rowan County Chamber of Commerce will kick off its 2014 Total Resource Campaign this week.
The event is set for 5 to 7 p.m. Monday in conjunction with the Business After Hours mixer at Novant Health Rowan Pediatrics, 530 Corporate Circle. The theme of the campaign is Your Voyage to a Healthy Business.
Team captains will challenge each other in a mini boat race during the kickoff festivities.
Dari Caldwell, president of Novant Health Rowan Medical Center, is chairwoman for the campaign, which runs through Sept. 12 with prizes awarded at the chamber’s Sept. 15 board meeting. The goals are 90 new members, 90 percent retention of first year renewals and $5,000 in non-dues revenue.
Each team captain has recruited 10 team members. The top producer will win a vacation package valued at more than $2,500.
The mixer and campaign kickoff are free and open to members and interested business people who are thinking about joining the chamber.
KANNAPOLIS — First Bank has named Ann Brackett Strickland as Kannapolis branch manager and vice president.
Strickland has more than 30 years of banking experience. She graduated from South Rowan High School and attended Rowan-Cabarrus Community College, where she studied business and banking.
“As a lifelong resident of Kannapolis and Rowan County, she will be a tremendous asset to our team,” said First Bank Regional Executive Dean Martin.   
After starting her banking career as a teller, Strickland moved to become a personal banker, loan officer and eventually held leadership positions at Community One Bank and Wells Fargo.
Strickland serves as treasurer for the South Rowan Athletic Boosters and is a committee member for the annual Village Jiggy Jam in downtown Kannapolis. She lives in Kannapolis with her husband Darren and daughter.
SALISBURY — Gentiva Home Health in Salisbury and Rowan County has launched a food drive to benefit Rowan Helping Ministries.
Staff members from the Gentiva Home Health offices will be blanketing Rowan County throughout August, distributing food collection bags and gathering donations for the food bank as part of the company’s 10th annual food drive.
Gentiva employees across the country are placing the food collection bags at health-care facilities in their respective communities and will collect their “harvest” during August. They are focused on beating last year’s tally, when the company collected more than 377, 000 pounds of goods.
“As active members of the community, we know that food banks, pantries and other charitable organizations continue to face increasing demands to our troubling economy,” said Susan Wear, senior home health specialist. “We look forward to working with many area health organizations, and we encourage local health-care providers to contact us for more information on how they and their employees can participate in this community effort.”
To learn more, call Wear at 704-933-1001.
SALISBURY — Chris Foote, managing partner of the LongHorn Steakhouse in Salisbury, has attained Darden Restaurants’ Diamond Club status.
Each year, managing partners throughout North America who demonstrate outstanding results by showing strong and inspiring leadership while also achieving top financial performance in the company’s previous fiscal year are recognized. This is the third time Foote has received this recognition.
“Chris is an exceptional leader who is committed to our goal of becoming America’s favorite steakhouse,” said Valerie Insignares, President of LongHorn Steakhouse. “He leads a dedicated team that is passionate about our food, our guests, and their community, ultimately making the Salisbury LongHorn Steakhouse a great place to work and dine.”  
This year, Foote joins a group of 20 managing partners selected from more than 460 LongHorn Steakhouse restaurants in North America. The Salisbury LongHorn Steakhouse is located at 1371 Klumac Road.
?Submit information about new businesses, honors and management promotions to bizbriefs@salisburypost.com. Include a daytime phone number.