Several new shops have opened in The Salisbury Emporium, according to owners Betty and Mickey Black.
• East Coast Granite, Marble & Bronze has opened a space offering pet memorials and ash urns made from granite. These long lasting tributes can be cut with names, images, and dates in memory of those special friends. The shop offers granite benches and granite markers with house numbers, Bible verses and custom messages. According to Pat Pearson and James Poe, principals in the business, special orders are welcome and can be made through the Salisbury Emporium. Visit www.eastcoastgranitemarbleandbronze.com for more information.
• Pete and Patti Turner of Concord have started P&P Treasures in one of the upstairs galleries. Pete is a district manager for Radio Shack and Patti is a store manager for Walmart. From their travels and from local auctions and sales, the Turners have filled their space with 19th century walnut furniture, small antique accessories, period photographs and portraits, and paintings. Handthrown pottery is another of their specialties.
• Garriott Woodcrafters is the space opened by Michael Garriott of Concord. This shop offers U.S. flag cases, display shadow boxes and exhibit cases handmade from hardwoods with natural finishes. Garriott can also provide custom trophies and pet memorial urns with brass plaques or wood burned details and inscriptions. Custom hardwood products can be ordered. Visit www.garriottwoodcrafters.com to see examples of his work.
• Marty Exon of Hickory is offering his work at Mountain View Photography on the upper level. Exon is a professional photographer and also works in a medium where he transforms photographs into paintings. His paintings will include views of local landmarks and historical scenes. See his work at www.mtnviewphotography.com
• Jessica Randlett is an art student at Rowan-Cabarrus Community College and has opened Beguile Me Not downstairs to display her works. Her pieces in acrylic, chalk, charcoal and some mixed media are bright and colorful. They fit well with the new, young contemporary decorating look. She says her style is “just what comes out!”
The Salisbury Emporium is a collection of 85 shops and galleries located in the old Frick Sawmill Supply building at 230 E. Kerr St. in downtown Salisbury, near the train station. In business since 1993, the Emporium is open Tuesday through Sunday.
Pest management professional
Denver Dombroski has joined Bill’s Exterminating/ Peeler Environmental as a pest management professional.
Dombroski has lived most of his life in the Harrisburg and Concord areas. He and his family live in Kannapolis. His interests include camping, hunting and wiffle ball. He was the mastermind behind a local wiffle ball league and has coached a soccer team for children.
Averitt named a Walmart‘Carrier of the Year’
Averitt Express has earned Walmart’s 2011 Regional LTL Carrier of the Year Award.
Each year, Walmart recognizes transportation suppliers that have demonstrated excellence or exhibited significant improvement in business objectives, including small parcel, less- than-truckload (LTL) and intermodal. This is the second time in the past three years that Averitt has been recognized by Walmart, earning the Rising Star Carrier of the Year Award in 2008.
According to a letter of commendation from Ken Braunbach, Walmart senior director of carrier relations, Averitt was chosen because of its “overall dedication to customer service, operational excellence, and ability to provide creative solutions to complex supply chain opportunities that set (it) apart and raised the bar for quality in the industry.”
“Our entire team is honored to receive this distinction from such a great customer like Walmart,” said Phil Pierce, Averitt’s executive vice president of sales and marketing.
Pierce explained that Averitt is one of several regional LTL carriers that provide transportation from thousands of vendors to Walmart’s distribution centers.
Averitt Express is in its 41st year of service.
Statesville accountantin AXA’s hall of fame
Statesville resident Annette Lyon, a financial professional with the Charlotte office of AXA Advisors LLC, has been inducted into the company’s hall of fame. The announcement was made by K. Mark Poulton, ChFC, CLU, a divisional executive vice president for AXA Advisors and manager of its South & Western Carolinas office.
Entry into the company’s Hall of Fame requires qualifying for AXA Advisors’ National Leaders Corps for 10 years of nationally ranked honors. This achievement is reserved for those financial professionals who have set themselves apart from their colleagues by consistently achieving an outstanding level of sales production driven by client service.
Lyon graduated from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill with degree in business administration. She earned the Certified Public Accountant designation in 1986. She also earned a Certificate in Retirement Planning for completing the AXA Equitable At Retirement program at The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania.
Her office is at 813 W. Lewis Ferry Road, Statesville.
Biotechnology development grant ideas due Feb. 1
RESEARCH TRIANGLE PARK — North Carolinians have until noon on Feb. 1 to submit pre-proposals to the North Carolina Biotechnology Center for the next round of Regional Development Grants.
The grant program supports early-stage life-science economic development projects.
Two of the grants awarded by the Biotech Center in 2011 totaling $100,000 are boosting life-science economic development projects in the Research Triangle and Piedmont Triad regions.
One award for $75,000 went to the University of North Carolina General Administration for Reach NC, a Web portal that provides information on the expertise of the state’s university personnel. The second was $25,000 for equipment to expand wet lab facilities at the First Flight Venture Center in Research Triangle Park.
Reach NC was launched using data on researchers from UNC at Chapel Hill and North Carolina State University, with a goal of including all major research institutions statewide, said Leslie Boney, UNC associate vice president for Economic Development Research, Policy, and Planning.
With this grant, the database will add 1,770 expert profiles from North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University, the University of North Carolina Greensboro and Winston-Salem State University to the portal, he said.
The First Flight Venture Center expansion will support the start-up of new life-science companies in North Carolina, said Joe Spratt, First Flight financial specialist.
The Biotechnology Center is a private, nonprofit corporation supported by the N.C. General Assembly. Its mission is to provide long-term economic and societal benefits to North Carolina by supporting biotechnology research, business, education and strategic policy statewide.
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