The Mobile JobLink Unit was made available for employees at Palm Harbor Homes to help assist them in job search and resume writing.

Photo above article: The Mobile JobLink Unit has internet access, computers, and printers to assist those that will be laid off in preparing for their future.

Terry Chapman with Rowan-Cabarrus Community was just one of the sponsors of the Career Connections Fair.

Photo above article: Almost 100 people attended the Career Connection Fair.

Michelle McNulty with her child, Zoey McNulty.

FastTrac to Starting Your Own Business

Stanly Community College Graduates First FastTrac Program Class

The Small Business Center (SBC) at Stanly Community College presented certificates of completion to its first FastTrac New Venture graduating class on Thursday February 18, 2010. FastTrac New Venture is a hands-on business development program designed to help budding entrepreneurs develop a business idea and plan the steps to a successful business launch.

This program is part of FastTrac LaunchPad, an initiative offered in partnership with the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation and Deluxe Corporation Foundation to support aspiring entrepreneurs who may be facing challenges in the current economy. With additional funding provided by Gov. Perdue’s Charlotte Regional Economic and Workforce Recovery Initiative, this program, valued at several hundred dollars, is offered at no cost to North Carolina residents who are unemployed or underemployed and want to pursue business ownership as a career.

While Stanly Community College graduated individuals from their program, the Small Business Center (SBC) at Rowan-Cabarrus Community College (RCCC) just started offering the award-winning FastTrac New Venture entrepreneurship program at no cost to displaced workers. The three-week class meets at the RCCC’s Cabarrus Business & Technology Center in Concord.

Designed for individuals who are serious about starting a small business, the 36-hour FastTrac New Venture course provides real-world tools to help participants develop a business concept and move quickly toward a successful business launch.

“The hands-on activities that help participants focus on their particular business idea is the key to the program’s nationwide popularity,” said Barbara Hall, director of the RCCC’s Small Business Center.

RCCC offers the course from 9:00 AM to 4:00 PM on Monday and Wednesdays. The course started on Monday March 22 and will run until Wednesday April 7, 2010.

The Centralina Workforce Development Board is strong partners with Stanly Community College and Rowan-Cabarrus Community College. The Board would like to congratulate the graduates from the Stanly Community College and wish luck to those currently enrolled in the program at Rowan-Cabarrus Community College. The Board fully supports this FastTrac program and can’t wait to see the positive results in the community!

For more information about the Rowan Cabarrus Community College Small Business Center and its programs, call at (704) 216-3512 or visit them online at www.rowancabarrus.edu/sbc/. For more information about the Small Business Center at Stanly Community College contact Kathy Almond at (704) 991-0182 or visit the website at www.stanly.edu.

Completing the 33-hour training program are pictured (left to right): seated: Clarice Moore, Loretta Bundy, and Bridget Kolda; standing: Tom Ramseur, President and CEO, Stanly County Chamber of Commerce, Thelma Thorne-Chapman, Stephen Kuhn, Wendy Caputo, Karen Smith and Kim West, FastTrac facilitator and MBA instructor, Stanly Community College.

Cooking Up Economic Development in Anson County

New Ventures Business Center Opens Commercial Kitchen in Wadesboro

With the traditional ribbon cutting and a serving of goodies from local caterers, Anson County’s first fully certified commercial kitchen opened Thursday March 11, 2010 at the Lockhart-Taylor Center of South Piedmont Community College in Wadesboro.

The 900-square-foot kitchen, the result of a partnership between New Ventures Business Development, Inc. and South Piedmont Community College (SPCC) is available to any local small businesses, caterers, chefs and farmers who wish to serve and sell their goods in the community.

“Several people have asked what was the genesis of this kitchen,” said Dr. Don Altieri, executive director of New Ventures and Centralina Workforce Development Board member. “There was no certified public kitchen in Anson County where caterers or what have you could prepare their meals.”

The new fully certified kitchen meets all health codes, he added, and also features a loading dock out it’s back door to make loading and unloading convenient for the kitchen’s users.

“We also realized we have farm families that might like to do more than a dozen jars of jellies or salsa to sell,” Altieri said. These folks would be able to use the kitchen, as well.

The kitchen adjoins the Lockhart-Taylor Center’s Ingram Community room, which can accommodate 400 at tables for meals and 500 with auditorium-style seating.

The commercial kitchen features a Vulcan 10-burner range with two conventional ovens, Southbend 30-gallon tilt skillet/braising pan, two Baker’s Pride full-size convention ovens, Traulsen two-door and three-door reach-in refrigerators, a Hobart temperature-sanitizing dishwasher and a Panasonic .8 cubic foot microwave oven.

Funding for the kitchen was provided by the US Department of Agriculture’s Rural Business Enterprise Grants program, the NC Rural Economic Development Center, the golden LEAF Foundation, Effie Allen Little Foundation, Elizabeth Burns Yost Trust, William A. Smith Trust, Pee Dee Electric Membership Cooperative, Stogner Architecture and Progress Energy.

Those interested in the commercial kitchen can find more information by contact New Ventures at (704) 272-5457 or by visiting them online at www.ansonkitchen.org.

Engineered Sintered Components Recognized as an Environmental Steward - Centralina WDB Incumbent Worker Funds in Action

Engineered Sintered Components environmental impact initiatives recently caught the attention of the NC Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR).

At a small ceremony at the company this month, NC DENR Secretary Dee Freeman presented the company with one of five Environmental Steward awards being given out this year. The advisory board appointed by Freeman to provide direction for the state’s Environmental Stewardship Initiative (ESI) recommended ESC based on its reduction of volatile organic compound air emissions, landfill impact and water uses.

It also noted the structural components manufacturer’s practice of operating below permitted levels, and using management techniques beyond what the state requires.

The voluntary ESI program is designed to promote and encourage superior environmental performance, according to an NC DENR press release. An “Environmental Steward” is an organization whose environmental performance goes beyond what is required by regulation.

Since it began in 2002, 14 of the 116 businesses in the ESI program received the Environmental Steward designation.

Engineered Sintered Components has excelled in developing a management system to promote environmentally friendly manufacturing, Freeman said. “I think that qualifies you as role models,” Freeman said.

Engineers Sintered components President Ryuichiro Goto said the recognition is just the beginning. Goto said he wants the company to celebrate Earth Day from now on. “We all know we have more things to do,” he said. “we will maintain a positive attitude in our environmental programs.”

The Centralina Workforce Development Board congratulates Engineered Sintered Components’ on receiving this great award! The Board and Engineered Sintered Components are strong partners, the company has been a recipient of the Board’s Incumbent Workforce Program as well has having their manager of human resources, Jan Comer, serve on the Board.

Please continue to look to the Centralina Workforce Development Board’s monthly E-Newsletter for updates on this exciting development in our region!

A New Era, A New Opportunity for Growth

Carolina Beer and Beverage Prepare for a New Age of Production - Centralina WDB Incumbent Worker Funds in Action

In preparation for its newest packaging line, Carolina Beer and Beverage temporarily contracted the production of its beer brands to other breweries.

The company moved the production of its 11 beer brands to Olde Hickory Brewery in Hickory and Lion Brewery in Wilkes-Barre, Penn., to accommodate the manufacturing of a new product line, a yeast-free health drink that will hit store shelves later this year.

"With beer, you just can't make enough for a year, and sit it in a corner," said Carolina Beer and Beverage President John Stritch. "It was a good business decision. We found two capable places that let us be hands-on with our beer."

Stritch founded the company with Michael Smith in 1997. Both men have experience in the beverage industry, and have created about 12 beers sold under the Carolina Blonde and Cottonwood Ales brands. The brewery is on Barley Park Lane, off Mazeppa Road, in Mooresville.

Carolina Beer and Beverage hired an outside company to sanitize the room it used as a brewery and purchased new floor drains in order to create a yeast-free environment for the new production area.

Stritch said the facility and product will undergo tests and a quality control audit in order to make sure everything meets the customer's standards.

Carolina Beer employees travel to the other breweries to supervise the production, and the beer is made with the same ingredients.

In addition to the extended-shelf-life energy drink products, Carolina Beer will start bottling tea at the end of this year.

Once testing is completed, the beer production will be moved back to Mooresville, Stritch said.

If Carolina Beer determines that the beer can't be made at its current location, production will be moved to another Mooresville location that will be more accessible to tourists, he said.

Packaging other companies' beverages has become a huge part of Carolina Beer and Beverage business.

In the past six years, the company has undergone several major expansions to accommodate its ever-growing list of clients.

Stritch said the company started in a 25,000-square-foot building with only six employees. It is now nearly 200,000 square feet with a staff of 200 keeping it in operation 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

The company started packaging Mike's Hard Lemonade, then the opportunity came along to package other beverages, such as energy and health drinks, which have become company's largest growth market.

The beverage company mixes and packages organic, non-alcoholic, Kosher and fruit beverages, along with beer and wine.

In the first quarter of 2010, the company's business has gone up 75 percent, Stritch said.

The Centralina Workforce Development Board would like to congratulate Carolina Beer & Beverage. The Board and the company are strong partners together in the community. Carolina Beer & Beverage has received the Incumbent Workforce Grant through the Board. The Board continues to look forward to their great success in the region!

Please continue to look to the Centralina Workforce Development Board’s monthly E-Newsletter for updates on this exciting development in our region!

Number 1 Again!

Statesville and Mooresville Wins Top Micropolitan Area for 7th Time in a Row

Leaving other micropolitan areas in the dust, Statesville and Mooresville racked up 20 economic development projects in 2009.

Site Selection magazine once again ranked the Statesville-Mooresville micropolitan area number 1 for new and expanded corporate facility projects. Sharing the number 2 spot were Wooster, Ohio, and Pottsville, Pennsylvania. Each reported 13 projects.

“At the end of the day, however, it’s all about performance,” said Ron Starner, a general manager of Site Selection magazine and Conway Data Inc. “As they like to say in NASCAR, an industry that you guys know very well, you either win or lose…Statesville-Mooresville is winning, and the actual project numbers prove that.”

It is the seventh time in the past eight years Statesville-Mooresville was ranked number 1 in the planning industry publication’s annual rankings.

The U.S. Office of Management and Budget defines micropolitans as urbanized areas based around a core city or town with a population of 10,000 to 50,000, Starner said.

The Statesville-Mooresville dominates the micro category year after year because of its products, location, workforce and business climate, Starner said.

Iredell County Commissioner Steve Johnson said the county has many pro-business attributes. “I think this points to our ability to react to economic conditions,” he said.

In the site selection industry, consultants consistently review the rankings released in the March issue, Starner said.

In order for a project to qualify, it must be a corporate facility expansion of $1 million or greater, 50 new jobs or greater or 20,000 square feet or greater of new floor space, he said.

Greater Statesville Development Corporation Executive Director Mike Smith said he believes the area has a running start this year and the ranking helps in marketing the area.

“Statesville and Mooresville have done this well collectively over the past decade,” he said. “We will continue to use this award as proof that Iredell County is a great place for business, and we are a consistent performer.”

Mooresville-South Iredell Economic Development Executive Director Russ Rogerson said the amount of facility planning activity in the area has goneup this year.

“I do believe that there are people out there and there are projects out there,” he said.

For more information about this exciting development, please continue to look to the Centralina Workforce Development Board’s monthly newsletter.

Voices for the Community

Rowan County Economic Development Commission Holds First Civic Forum

Job assistance seemed to be the biggest concerns for Rowan County citizens who attended the Economic Development Commission’s first civic forum.

The forum, a “coalition for positive change,” was held at Livingstone College on Friday February 19, 2010. Those attending were able to submit ideas for the community to come together and work on, and also allowed for a vote with people voting one point if they believed the idea to be a fair idea, and could vote up to five points if they thought the idea was “stupendous.” More than 90 people attended, and more were on a waiting list.

Each registered participant received a remote control, provided by Rowan-Cabarrus Community College, featuring buttons labeled with the numbers on through nine.

The top idea of the forum was to create a part-time job database and connection service to help those in transition between jobs. The idea that came in second was the development of a program to coordinate business internships, and the third and fourth-highest rated ideas, developing a system to match local suppliers and buyers, and developing a program to teach entrepreneurship, were tied at third place.

For everyone who voted 1-5 on the generated ideas, they also voted once more on each idea, either stating that they want to work on that idea, they know that the idea is already in the works, or they know someone who could help.

The following ideas were the top five in order of vote totals:

1. Planning boards work together to develop a plan for industrial development.
2. Student Government Association representatives to meet with local businesses and civic leaders to develop future leaders.
3. Bring together representative from each civic group.
4. Venture capital program, shark tank idea.
5. Volunteer economic development group top pursue high level targets.

Robert Van Geons, Executive Director of RowanWorks and former Centralina Workforce Development Board member, emceed the event, and said he hopes to have more forums in the future.

Please continue to look to the Centralina Workforce Development Board’s monthly E-Newsletter for updates on this exciting development in our region!

Ready to Race!

Race Engine Operation Will Bring 56 Jobs to Mooresville

Buoyed by recent economic incentives from Iredell County, a motorsports company will move its racing-engine operation to Mooresville.

Triad Racing Technologies will move its Toyota racing engine shop and manufacturing operations to 40,000 square feet of space in two buildings at Lakeside Business Park, Mooresville economic development officials announced this month.

The business is expected to bring a $3 million investment and 56 jobs with an average salary of $70,000.

Triad Racing Technologies is considered to be at the top of the industry for race engine development and production, said Russ Rogerson, executive director of the Mooresville-South Iredell Economic Development Corporation.

He said Triad was instrumental in Toyota winning the 2006, 2007, 2008 and 2009 Manufacturers Championships in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series.

Currently, Triad supplies horsepower for teams in NASCAR’s Truck, Nationwide and Cup Series, as well as the ARCA Series. In 2009, Triad Racing Technologies supplied power to 21 race winners and 22 pole winners.

Triad’s engine and manufacturing facilities are currently located in High Point, with corporate offices in Cornelius. The move to Mooresville will bring Triad closer to its client base and allow the company to continue to grow within the racing arena, said Triad Racing Technologies’ co-owner Marty Gaunt.

“We are looking forward to the move as a positive step in our company’s growth,” he said. “Close interaction with our clients is an integral part of making our product successful. Mooresville is a town with deep racing roots and a home to many of our racing clients.”

He said Triad will move its present operations and jobs to Mooresville by the end of 2010.

“Triad Racing Technologies is a well established company in the motorsports arena and we are glad to be able to assist them in moving to Iredell County,” said Iredell County Commissioner Ken Robertson, who lives in Mooresville.

“The motorsports industry has a significant, positive impact on our community. The addition of Triad will hopefully provide some opportunities for some of our unemployed residents who have worked in motorsports. These are highly skilled workers and truly an asset to our community.”

For more information about this exciting development, please continue to look to the Centralina Workforce Development Board’s monthly newsletter.

Up To Date Chamber Business? There’s an App for That!

Statesville Chamber of Commerce Releases Application for Smart Phones

Want information about Greater Statesville Chamber of Commerce businesses? Yep, there is now an app for that.

The chamber is the first subscriber of the “MyChamber” application for smart phones and iPhones. The program will provide access to the chamber’s membership directory and event listing.

The app was developed through a partnership with Target Marketing, SouthComm Publishing and ChamberMaster software.

“I think it will be a great benefit for our membership,” said Greater Statesville Chamber of Commerce President David Bradley. “We are thrilled to be the first kids on the block.”

Bradley said the chamber uses Target Marketing and SouthComm Publishing for various publications for its membership.

Management at both firms knew the Greater Statesville Chamber was open to state-of-the-art initiatives, he said.

Both local residents and visitors from other areas who have telephones with global positioning systems will be able to download the application and have access to phone numbers, addresses, maps and even coupons for chamber businesses.

The app was available for the iPhone on March 15, and will be available other handhelds by April 14. It is free to download.

App information can be updated instantaneously, Bradley said. If a business joins the chamber today, their information will be added to the app by tomorrow.

“We have worked for many months on this technology,” Target Marketing President Philip Hagman said in a press release. “we anticipate that “MyChamberApp” will provide expanded opportunities for Chamber members. We are delighted and very proud that the Greater Statesville Chamber of Commerce has chosen to be our first subscriber.”

The chamber spent $1,000 to be part of the program, which Bradley believes will generate more business in the community.

For more information on the app, call the chamber office at (704) 873-2892.
Please continue to look to the Centralina Workforce Development Board’s monthly E-Newsletter for updates on this exciting development in our region!

The Route to Bringing More Jobs to the Region

Local Economic Developers Travel to Brazil to Connect with Companies

An economic development trip to Brazil proved to be a positive experience for state and local representatives. The weeklong trip (February 28 to March 7) was designed to bring an economic boost to the region by strengthening ties with South American companies looking to expand or move to North Carolina.

Those attending the trip were: Lincoln Economic Development Association Executive Director Barry Matherly; Charlotte Regional Partnership President and Chief Executive Officer Ronnie Bryant; N.C. Secretary of Commerce Keith Crisco; N.C. Department of Commerce International Trade Director Jean Davis; Sabo Executive Vice President Panico Peres; Cabarrus County Economic Development Vice President Ryan McDaniel; and N.C. Department of Commerce Existing Industry Specialist Uconda Dunn.

The group visited businesses and other officials in Sao Paulo and Rio de Janeiro, the two largest cities in Brazil. Sao Paulo has 11 million residents in the city and 20 million residents in the metro area. In 2008, North Carolina had a population of 9.2 million people, less than half of Sao Paulo’s 31 million.

The group visited existing businesses that already had operations in the state, including Sabo, which has a plant in Lincolnton. They toured the Brazilian plant and met with the company president, Jose Sabo.

Barry Matherly had seen the Brazilian plant prior to this trip, but got the sense that his peers were equally impressed with the company.

“They were impressed not only with Sabo’s plant, but the fact of the global presence of Sabo because they are not only in the United States,” Matherly said. “They are all over the country.”

Afterwards, the group met with companies that did not have plants in North Carolina, but were interested in the prospect.

“Of the ones we talked to, most had already determined they needed a U.S. presence or might have had a presence on the West Coast somewhere, but needed an East Coast presence,” Matherly said. “Most were already aware of North Carolina as being a good location, but they wanted more information about our state because it is not as well-known in Brazil.”

Lastly, the group interacted with organizations, such as the American Chamber of Commerce, that work with Brazilian and American companies.

The group encouraged the American Chamber to get organizations to visit Charlotte, especially since Charlotte-Douglas International Airport offers a direct flight to Rio.

The American Chamber educated the group on how trade works in Brazil in an effort to help North Carolina companies that want to export goods to Brazil.

The group even got to meet with the largest film production company in Rio to discuss film opportunities in the Charlotte region.

Matherly said the film production company was surprised at the cheaper costs of filming in North Carolina than in more expensive states, such as California or Georgia.

“That was a meeting where they knew very little about film production in North Carolina, but when the connection was made, they were really interested in it,” he said.

Ronnie Bryant said the group was well-received by the Brazilian companies and officials. “It was a really productive trip,” he said. “We feel exceptionally good about our ability to recruit more companies to Charlotte.”

Having Peres, a Brazilian native, was a tremendous help to the group, Matherly said. Peres planned most of the details, from where the group would stay to how long it would take to their destinations, he said.

The group is already planning a second trip back to Brazil. For Bryant and Matherly, the trip exceeded their original expectations.

“The more 2010 potential we’ve got, the better off we are,” Matherly said. “We not only met a lot of people, but to have met people who had projects or actual expansions that they thought would happen in 2010 is very good news.”
Please continue to look to the Centralina Workforce Development Board’s monthly E-Newsletter for updates on this exciting development in our region!

Calling All Businesses: Centralina WDB Needs Your Input!

Survey Seeks Information on How We Can Help Your Business

The Centralina Workforce Development Board needs your help! Many of the ideas for complimentary services we deliver came from employers like you. As a result, the Centralina Workforce Development Board has been able to respond to real needs of the business community as we continue to be customer driven. As the lead workforce development and delivery agency in your area, our planning has allowed us to focus resources where they are needed.

So, please CLICK HERE to complete a SHORT survey and share how we can best serve your business. An investment of 3-4 minutes to get your input is extremely valuable to us. As a thank you, your name will be entered into our monthly drawing for a special gift from the Centralina WDB.

The few minutes you share with us gives back to your community as well as your business. If you have any questions about the survey or would like to give more input, please contact Vail Carter at (704) 348-2710 or by e-mail at vcarter@centralina.org.

March's Business Survey Prize Winner is ...

Each month, the Centralina Workforce Development Board holds a drawing from Business Surveys that area businesses have completed and posted on our website.

Centralina is pleased to announce that the winner of this month’s drawing is the Elmer’s Products Inc. in Statesville, NC (Iredell County). Tina Carpenter of the Elmer’s Products Inc. completed and submitted the survey. We thank Tina for helping us with our continuous improvement feedback process! For more information about Elmer’s Products Inc. please visit their site at www.elmers.com.

If you haven't completed the survey, you can do so now by going to our website. It only takes a couple of minutes and by completing the survey, it will guarantee your entry into our next drawing.

For more information on the Centralina Workforce Development Employer Survey and the business services available through the Board and our local JobLink Career Centers, please contact Vail Carter at (704) 348-2710 or by email at vcarter@centralina.org.

Jing He, a Chinese teacher from Marvin Ridge High School, shares information about "China Today" during the UCPS eighth annual Total Quality Share Day held this year at Cuthbertson High School.

David Hollars, executive director of the Centralina Workforce Development Board presented at the Union County Public Schools TQ Share Day.

Red Bull Racing donated a Spring Cup Series Toyota to Rowan-Cabarrus Community College’s Motorsports Management Technology program.

A computer rendering of the new Mooresville Center of Mitchell Community College

Former NFL player, Mike Minter sits in the "Bod Pod" in the Appalachian State University lab on the NC Research Campus in Kannapolis. The "Bod Pod" is used to determine the body mass.

There's a JobLink Near You!

Anson County JobLink Career Center
116 West Wade Street
Wadesboro, NC 28170
Phone: 704-694-6551

Cabarrus County JobLink Career Center
2275 Kannapolis Highway
Concord, NC 28027
Phone: 704-786-3183

Iredell County JobLink Career Center - Mooresville
470-A North Broad Street
Mooresville, NC 28115
Phone: 704-664-4225

Iredell County JobLink Career Center - Statesville
1907 Newton Drive
Statesville, NC 28677
Phone: 704-878-4241

Lincoln County JobLink Career Center
529 North Aspen Street
Lincolnton, NC 28092
Phone: 704-735-8035

Rowan County JobLink Career Center
1904 South Main Street
Salisbury, NC 28144
Phone: 704-639-7529

Stanly County JobLink Career Center
2215 US Highway 52 North
Albemarle, NC 28001
Phone: 704-982-2183

Union County JobLink Career Center
1125 Skyway Drive
Monroe, NC 28110
Phone: 704-283-7541

For more information on Centralina region JobLink Career Centers, click here.

Commitment to workforce excellence

Tell Us More

Every month the Centralina Workforce Development Board works hard trying to bring you the most up to date and innovative stories from around the region. We try to incorporate information that can be beneficial to both businesses and job seekers, as well as promote the accomplishments that are being done throughout the Centralina region. We want to know what you think of the monthly E-Newsletter. We want to know if the articles are informative and if they are relevant to you and your organization. We’d like to know what you’d like to see more of in the newsletter, as well as what you’d like to see less of. We are looking to improve so that we can give back to you the most cutting-edge and informative newsletter out there.

Please send any comments about the monthly E-Newsletter to Emily Clamp at eclamp@centralina.org. If you are new to the newsletter and would like to see our previous issues please visit them at the Centralina WDB website. We thank you in advance for your feedback and your assistance in our rebranding process!

Centralina WDB Youth Council Update

Pancakes, Networking and Growth Come Together at Recent Youth Council Meeting

Pancakes - what an awesome way to start the day! The Centralina WDB Youth Council met at the Boys & Girls Club of Concord on Thursday March 18, 2010 which was also the day of their annual fundraising event – Pancake Day.

More than a thousand people came out to support the event that has been an annual event at the Boys & Girls Club of Concord for 54 years.

During the Youth Council meeting, five new members were approved to serve. Jasmine Thompson, Tenkamenin Crowder, and Sarah Dunlap – all youth participants from Salisbury-Rowan Community Action Agency joined the Council as well as, Jaun “JD” Williams, Executive Director and Founder of Second Net – a juvenile justice program in Iredell County that takes pride in “rescuing the mind and restoring character, one child at a time”, and Mrs. Inez Williamson of Anson County. Mrs. Williamson is a parent and involved citizen who has an extensive experience working with youth and working at local JobLink Career Centers.

Dr. Pat Woods, Secondary and Career and Technical Education Director for Kannapolis City Schools and a Centralina Workforce Development Board and Youth Council member, made a presentation on the new graduation requirements for high school students in North Carolina. She stated that it was important that agencies serving youth are as educated on the matter of graduation requirements as parents are, so that they may better serve youth.

Lisa Crawford of the US Census Bureau, Cabarrus County office, shared a brief presentation on the 2010 Census – urging all in attendance to do their part in filling out and returning the form. Also, she stated that leaders in the community have a platform and ability to help spread the word on the importance of the census and encouraging hard to reach populations to complete the form.

The next Centralina WDB Youth Council meeting is scheduled for Thursday June 3, 2010 at the Boys & Girls Club of Concord. For more information on the Centralina Youth Council or for an invitation to the next meeting, please contact Natasha Pender at (704) 348-2725 or by e-mail at npender@centralina.org.

READ SIMILAR NEWS

Young Adults, One Voice!

Centralina WDB Youth Get Ready to Head to the NC Youth Summit

The North Carolina Youth Summit will be held on Friday and Saturday, April 23-24, 2010 in Greensboro and the Centralina WDB Youth Council will have ten youth to represent our region at the event. Many of the Centralina WDB Workforce Investment Act (WIA) Youth services providers as well as Centralina WDB staff member Natasha Pender will also be attending the event. Youth had to submit an essay detailing why they wanted to attend the summit and what they hoped to learn from being there. The essays were reviewed and ranked by members of the Centralina WDB Youth Council.

Youth chosen to participate this year were Tenkamenin Crowder, Jasmine Thompson and Sarah Dunlap (Salisbury-Rowan Community Action Agency); Traci Hudson and Jasmine McSwain (I-CARE) and Jason Hubbard, Terrance Hinkle, Victoria Quintanilla, Tiara Threatt and Divac Staton (Union County Community Action).

One of the essays that really stood out was from Jasmine Thompson, a 20 year old participant with the Salisbury-Rowan Community Action Agency WIA program. She wrote:

“I would love to be selected for the Youth Summit for several reasons one, the summit will provide me with more exposure to a variety of educational and career options such as the information given in the workshops. I’m already on the road to obtain my GED and wouldn’t mind learning more. Two, socially I would love to surround myself with peers that are climbing to a higher level like me, always aspiring to improve themselves.

I have been through a lot in my life; at the age of eight my third grade teacher told me that I wasn’t going to be good for anything. She was so wrong! I found the WIA GED program and participated in the ARRA summer youth employment, I attended the WIA work skills youth summit in Concord, North Carolina. I know that the cultural experience will also be great; my culture is the way I live; I want to see and hear about how other youth live in their communities.

The WIA program has helped me find myself. I am slowly overcoming my shyness. I also have been introduced to great new people. These experiences have made me realize that sometimes you must step outside the stressful world that you live in daily. It gives me a little peak at me future. I feel refreshed with more confidence and able to fight my daily battle, when I leave Salisbury and come back.

I can definitely benefit by attending the Youth Summit in Greensboro, North Carolina. By the age of eighteen I had gotten kicked out of school. I was completely devastated; I wanted to die. Being chosen to attend the Youth Summit will also give me a story to tell my peers back home. The conversations that we can relate to involve being on probation, the struggles of young parenting and the pain of being a youth, but I want to give them more to dream about and strive towards.

I want to be the one to represent for my peers and let them know that you can make your dreams come true, because after all we are one youth, one voice!”

The Centralina Workforce Development Board and the Centralina Youth Council would like to congratulate all of the youth chosen to attend this year’s NC Youth Summit! The Board and Youth Council are proud to have so many outstanding youth from the Centralina WDB region attending this great event! For more information about the NC Youth Summit please contact Natasha Pender at (704) 348-2732 or by e-mail at npender@centralina.org.

READ SIMILAR NEWS

Raising A Reader = Having a Great Workforce

Anson County Partnership for Children Starts New Reading Program

Anson County Partnership for Children confirmed its dedication to further prepare young children for school success by recently launching the Raising A Reader program in Anson County.

Raising A Reader is a national nonprofit that offers local agencies an evidence-based early literacy and parent engagement program that has demonstrated it can improve the reading readiness skills of children from birth to age 5.

“As an affiliate of the Raising A Reader program, we are excited to engage parents in a daily “book cuddling” routine that promotes parent-child bonding, as well as early literacy development skills,” said Elaine Scarborough, executive director of the Anson County Partnership for Children.

Through Raising A Reader, Anson County Partnership for Children will serve 172 4-year-old children in the 11 More At Four classrooms in Anson County.

“With nearly half of all US children entering kindergarten lacking the early reading skills needed for school success, Raising A Reader provides a research-based model that prepares young children for academic accomplishment,” said Gabrelle Miller, Ph.D, executive director of Raising A Reader. “With our new affiliates, we are currently serving 110,000 children and families at 2,500 sites around the country, bringing us closer to our long-term goal of reaching 1 million children.”

More than a dozen independent research evaluations have shown Raising A Reader programs to significantly increase parent involvement and improve early reading skills of children. The program rotates bright red bags filled with award-winning books into children’s homes on a weekly basis, exposing each child to approximately 100 books per year. Local More at Four classroom teachers and assistants were trained in February in interactive “read-aloud” techniques that stimulate early brain development and language acquisition.

Staff members in turn, will encourage parents to read to their children daily. Families are also connected to the Hampton B. Allen Library which is collaborating with the Partnership on the Raising A Reader program in Anson County.

At the culmination of the program, children will receive a blue library bag to use when they borrow books from the library, further fostering the parent-child relationship.

The Centralina Workforce Development Board and the Centralina Youth Council are proud to see one of their partners reaching out to children to get them into books at an early age. Early education for children is a top priority for the Board and the Youth Council. Early education for children can lead to a great workforce in the future! For more information on this program or on the Centralina Youth Council please contact Natasha Pender at (704) 348-2725 or by e-mail at npender@centralina.org.

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Ready for the Real World

LINKS Program Helps Transform Young Lives

Lame. This word came to her mind when Rachel Murphy, as an angry, lonely foster teen, heard of the Union County Social Services LINKS program, which teaches independent living skills to foster children.

But years later, as a joyful 20 year-old adult, she can’t stop praising how LINKS transformed her life’s perspective.

“Before I didn’t want to go to college and wanted to just sit around, and didn’t want to work, “ Murphy said. “I thought everyone would just hand things to me, but I learned it didn’t work like that. They helped me get a job and helped me change my mind on going to school.”

She is now engaged, going to South Piedmont Community College, and hopes to later get a degree in social work.

Murphy’s makeover began when her LINKS social worker Angie Mallard invited her to LINKS peer group meetings, the first Thursday of the month from 4:30 p.m.-6:30 p.m.

She ate pizza with other 13-21 year-old current and former foster kids. Then she listened to community speakers who taught her about consumer credit counseling, insurance, laundry, washing dishes, changing oil, and anger management.

“I used to have a lot of anger problems, and they helped me with advice on anger management, and learn how to handle people in the real world,” Murphy said. ”They are like your parents who guide you through everything, and tell you what you need to do.”

Daisy Valle-Davila, a 17-year-old senior at Porter Ridge High School and another LINKS student, said she never misses a week because it teaches her skills she never knew she would need. She is looking at colleges and hopes to fulfill her lifelong dream to be a lawyer. She said LINKS has taught her how her dream will be difficult to achieve.

“But LINKS has shown me that, yeah, it’s going to be hard, but you can always accomplish what you want,” Valle-Davila said.

Without programs like this, which are all over the country, Mallard said foster children don’t get the necessary help to survive independently. She said the programs began when lawyers discovered that many homeless youth had been in foster care.

“That was when they saw there was a problem with the system because kids weren’t being taught or given information, so they could live on their own,” Mallard said.

Dontae Latson, director of Union County Social Services, said one way for citizens to help is speaking at a LINKS meeting and sharing their knowledge — from educators to electricians to former foster kids.

“You can never underestimate the value an individual can have on you from one or a few interactions,” Latson said.

Mallard said the community could also donate drinks, or food to their monthly meetings, or help with transporting the children to and from the meetings.

Rachel Murphy didn’t think she needed LINKS before, but now she encourages other former or present foster children to come, so they won’t have to fear what’s next.

“I always had LINKS to fall back on, and they prepared me to be on my own. They helped me transition into a woman instead of a child,” Murphy said.

The Centralina Workforce Development Board and the Centralina WDB Youth Council are proud partners with the LINKS program and Union County DSS and is happy to see partners connecting youth to their future. For more information on this wonderful career fair, please contact Natasha Pender at (704) 348-2725 or by e-mail at npender@centralina.org.

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We Have a Winner!

Rowan-Salisbury School System Receives BioAchievement in Education Award

Horizons Unlimited, a science education initiative within the Rowan-Salisbury School System, won a regional biotechnology award this month. Local officials accepted the BioAchievement in Education Award at BioNight 2010, an event hosted by NC BioConnect and the N.C. Biotechnology Center in the newly renovated auditorium at Discovery Place.
BioNight showcases the success of researchers, entrepreneurs, educators and businesses involved in biotechnology and the life sciences in the region.

"I am so proud of the work that is being done at Horizons to introduce our students to the world of biotechnology and prepare them for the future," Dr. Judy Grissom, Rowan-Salisbury Schools superintendent, said in a statement.

Horizons Unlimited, led by Lisa Wear, pursues funding and partnerships that have made Rowan-Salisbury Schools a leader in biotech education, Grissom said.

BioNight honored Horizons Unlimited for strengthening biotech and life science education in the area. Specifically, local administrators and staff were recognized for developing and disseminating a progressive biotechnology education model for the region, focusing on biotech education and workforce development.

Grissom and Wear accepted the award with Dr. Rebecca Smith, Assistant Superintendent of Curriculum and Instruction, and Anne Ellis, science specialist at Horizons Unlimited.

Wear and Ellis have worked with the N.C. Biotechnology Center and other research partners to develop a challenging experience for eighth and ninth grade students attending the Biotechnology Career Academies at Horizons Unlimited.

Horizons Unlimited has worked with more than 1,000 eighth-graders so far this year.

"We are enlightened by their excitement, the high level of student engagement and mastery of skills critical to the needs of the region's future workforce and economy," Wear said in the statement. "Students are eager to learn and leave with a renewed sense of future."

Horizons Unlimited received grants from the Blanche and Julian Robertson Family Foundation and the N.C. Biotechnology Center for research-quality laboratory facilities and equipment.

Summer science programs and eighth-grade lab activities throughout the year at Horizons provide hands-on learning that students really enjoy, Smith said.

"The chance for students to be involved in the actual laboratory settings and apply their knowledge helps create a love of science and a real world approach to learning," she said.

Students at Horizons realize they have biotech career possibilities in their own communities, Smith said.

Horizons' research partners include the N.C. Research Campus, David H. Murdock Research Institute, Bio-Connect Ed and the N.C. Marine Biotechnology at the University of North Carolina at Wilmington.

More than 200 people attended the second annual BioNight 2010.

The Centralina Workforce Development Board and the Centralina WDB Youth Council are proud partners with the Rowan-Salisbury School System and congratulate them on receiving this wonderful award! For more information on the Horizons Unlimited program or on the award received please contact Natasha Pender at (704) 348-2725 or by e-mail at npender@centralina.org.

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