Business North Carolina January 2025

THE 2025 LEGAL ELITE: BEST N.C. LAWYERS PICKED BY PEERS FRESH FACES ON JONES STREET | HOMEOWNER INSURANCE BLUES | A CEO WATCHLIST

JANUARY 2025

STAR RELIEVER How Franklin Graham’s $1 billion-plus charity responded to unprecedented disaster.

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Serving Business Owners and Families Since 1990 Franklin Street Partners has been providing personalized investment solutions for over three decades.

In that time, we have grown from a startup firm to managing over $4 billion for individuals and families, but we still work with each client to align our strategies with their individual goals.

For a fresh perspective on your investment strategy, call Bob Newell at 877.489.2600 or visit FSPNC.com.

Craig Sullivan Director of Fixed Income and Alternative Investments

Brick Brown Principal

Bob Newell President

Financial Planning

Wealth Management

Trusts & Estates

Family Office

Franklin Street Partners is a dba for Franklin Street Trust Company, which includes references to our former parent entity, Franklin Street Partners, Inc. Franklin Street Trust Company is a non-depository trust company chartered by the State of North Carolina and regulated by the North Carolina Office of the Commissioner of Banks. Franklin Street Trust Company is not FDIC-insured and is a wholly-owned, indirect subsidiary of Fifth Third Bank, N.A. and Fifth Third Bancorp. Assets under management as of June 30, 2024.

Investment Products Are: Not A Deposit | Not FDIC Insured | Not Insured By Any Federal Government Agency | Not Bank Guaranteed | May Lose Value

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THE BEST JUDGE of LAWYERS? OTHER LAWYERS. Our thanks to professional colleagues who named 34 of our lawyers “Legal Elite.”

LEGAL ELITE HONOREES Tony Barwick

Sam Ervin IV

Agustin Martinez

Collins Saint

Marc Bishop

Shana Fulton

Brian McMillan

Adam Tarleton

Libby Brewington

Jimmy Haynes REAL ESTATE LAW

BANKRUPTCY LAW

Eric David

Jonathan Jenkins

Jeff Oleynik LITIGATION

REAL ESTATE LAW

Jennifer Van Zant

REAL ESTATE LAW

APPELLATE LAW

BUSINESS LAW

CRIMINAL LAW

BUSINESS LAW LITIGATION

BUSINESS LAW

Kearns Davis

YOUNG GUNS

EMPLOYMENT LAW

TAX AND ESTATE PLANNING

Clint Morse

Jessi Thaller-Moran

LITIGATION

ENVIRONMENTAL LAW

Bob King

Jim Phillips

Alex Elkan

Beth Langley

Clint Pinyan

ENVIRONMENTAL LAW

EMPLOYMENT LAW

Jamey Lowdermilk BANKRUPTCY LAW

YOUNG GUNS

LITIGATION

ANTITRUST LAW

EMPLOYMENT LAW

Anna Tison

LITIGATION

Ed West

CRIMINAL LAW

Joey Ponzi

ENVIRONMENTAL LAW

LEGAL ELITE HALL OF FAME MEMBERS Charles Baldwin

Mark Davidson

BUSINESS LAW

BUSINESS LAW

Jonathan Jenkins

INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY

Jeff Oleynik

Jennifer Van Zant

Arty Bolick

Kearns Davis CRIMINAL LAW

BANKRUPTCY LAW

John Cross

George House

Gary Parsons

CONSTRUCTION LAW BUSINESS LAW CORPORATE LAW

ENVIRONMENTAL LAW

David Sar

CORPORATE LAW

LITIGATION

ANTITRUST LAW

Katie Wong YOUNG GUNS

These lawyers have been recognized for excellence by Business North Carolina as among the state’s Legal Elite*. This includes new inductee David Sar to the Legal Elite Hall of Fame. To our professional colleagues, we offer our thanks—to the honorees, our congratulations. *For information about Business North Carolina’s Legal Elite and selection criteria, please visit: https://businessnc.com/special-sections/legal-elite/

Greensboro 230 North Elm Street

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Raleigh 150 Fayetteville Street

Wilmington 115 North 3rd Street

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Eastern North Carolina:

A Region On the Rise Fleet Readiness Center East announced a new Maintenance, Repair, and Overhaul Complex at the Global Transpark that will create 444 jobs.

Eastern North Carolina is on the rise! In 2024, there were over 4,500 new jobs and an incredible $5 billion in investments announced in the 29-county NC East region.

We are thrilled to celebrate and support this success as eastern NC continues to gain momentum.

From cutting-edge industries like aviation and aerospace, advanced manufacturing, and life sciences to the expansion of small businesses and startups, eastern NC is leading the charge in growth and opportunity.

These achievements reflect the collective regional strength of our communities, workforce, and strategic partnerships.

Eastern North Carolina isn’t just growing — it’s thriving.

These investments are more than numbers; they represent opportunities for our people, vibrant local economies, and a prosperous future for generations to come.

Join the momentum. Experience why businesses and talent are choosing Eastern North Carolina as the place to grow and succeed.

Natron Energy announced 1,000 jobs and a $1.4 billion investment in Edgecombe County.

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JANUARY 2025

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UP FRONT

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RURAL ROUTE

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POWER LIST INTERVIEW

COVER STORY

NC Chamber CEO Gary Salamido discusses helping the state succeed in business and the steps needed to stay on top.

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NC TREND

Potential successors for three high-profile CEOs; Eye-popping rate increases in home insurance; Why CS21 favored Morehead City over Boston; Experts’ favorite stocks for the new year.

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The annual economic well-being ranking of N.C. counties causes some head scratching.

2025 LEGAL ELITE

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24 HR SUMMIT Recognizing those who help build and manage thriving workforces.

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32 ROUND TABLE: ADVOCACY A panel of experts discuss the teamwork required to solve problems and push forward agendas.

38 FAITHFULLY FARMED

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BY KEVIN ELLIS

NORTH CAROLINA’S ACE IN THE HOLE When disaster strikes, Boone-based Samaritan’s Purse moves with an evangelical purpose and a mission for relief work.

BY SHANNON CUTHRELL

Braswell Family Farms is a fourthgeneration egg producer where everyone considers themselves a farmer.

COVE R PH OT O : S A M A R I TA N ’ S P U R S E

It’s our annual list of top North Carolina lawyers as selected by their peers.

90 COMMUNITY CLOSE UP: STANLY COUNTY The mostly rural Piedmont county is close enoughto take advantage of Charlotte amenities while not losing its small-town touch.

40 FRESH FACES After a long stretch of stability, the state’s political leadership gains some new faces this year.

BY RAY GRONBERG

Start your day with business news from across the state, direct to your inbox.

SIGN UP AT BUSINESSNC.COM/DAILY-DIGEST.

January 2025, Vol. 45, No. 1 (ISSN 0279-4276). Business North Carolina is published monthly by Business North Carolina at 1230 West Morehead Street, Suite 308, Charlotte, NC 28208. Phone: 704-523-6987.

All contents copyright © by Old North State Magazines LLC. Subscription rate: 1 year, $30. For change of address, send mailing label and allow six to eight weeks. Periodicals postage paid at Charlotte, NC, and additional offices.

POSTMASTER: Send address changes to Business North Carolina, 1230 West Morehead Street, Suite 308, Charlotte, NC 28208 or email circulation@businessnc.com.

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VO L U M E 4 5 , N O. 1 PUBLISHER

Ben Kinney

bkinney@businessnc.com EDITOR

David Mildenberg

dmildenberg@businessnc.com MANAGING EDITOR

Kevin Ellis

kellis@businessnc.com ASSOCIATE EDITORS

Ray Gronberg

rgronberg@businessnc.com

Cathy Martin

cmartin@businessnc.com EDITORIAL INTERN

Natalie Bradin

CONTRIBUTING WRITERS

Pete M. Anderson, Dan Barkin, Shannon Cuthrell, Noelle Norene Harff, Bill Horner, Brad King CREATIVE DIRECTOR

Cathy Swaney

cswaney@businessnc.com GRAPHIC DESIGNER

Lauren Ellis

MARKETING COORDINATOR

Jennifer Ware

We were just talking about that...

Business North Carolina’s Chatter podcast serves up interviews with some of the Tar Heel State’s most interesting people. Each week, we discuss business with the top decision-makers in the state.

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Melanie Weaver Lynch, eastern N.C. 919-855-9380 mweaver@businessnc.com

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UPFRONT

David Mildenberg

A SWING AND A MISS

D

ale Folwell, my vote for North Carolina’s most interesting politician over the past eight years, leaves office a disappointed man.

Our state has had shrewd, ambitious state treasurers, including fiscal hawk Harlan Boyles and successors Richard Moore, now a leading N.C. banker, and Janet Cowell, Raleigh’s mayor.

Folwell is equally ambitious. The former Forsyth County state representative hoped to parlay eight years overseeing the state’s $120 billion-plus pension assets and 750,000-member health plan for state workers into the governorship.

Instead, he got outmaneuvered by skilled, influential political operators. He just calls them “cash.” Detractors say a know-it-all style and short term thinking on complex issues were also factors.

More than his predecessors, Folwell viewed the treasurer’s post as a bully pulpit on pressing issues in healthcare and financial services. His list of pulpit topics was long: rising healthcare costs; stunning CEO pay; expensive money managers; private equity abuses; inequitable drug prices; soaring medical debt; “woke” investment strategies; nonprofit-hospital tax advantages; and hospital consolidation.

In short, Folwell attacked healthcare executives and “finance bros” with a goal of fixing problems and cutting costs. That approach might work politically for a Democrat in liberal-leaning states, but it bombed for a grassroots North Carolina Republican.

Folwell agrees that he failed. “You either break the hospital cartel or you don’t. We didn’t,” he says. For that, he blames “counterfeit conservatives” who kowtow to industry lobbyists and favored Mark Robinson for the Republican Party nomination for governor.

He wouldn’t name names, but he clearly means the state’s most influential Republican leaders, Phil Berger, Tim Moore and former Republican Party Chairman Michael Whatley. They watched as Robinson revved conservative support and secured Donald Trump’s endorsement before the March 2024 primary.

A personal opinion here: Virtually anyone who spent time with Robinson knew he would eventually bomb as a gubernatorial candidate. He was unprepared for a challenging job. Attorney General Josh Stein’s simple message — “I’m not Mark Robinson” — led to a 15 percentage point victory. That helped four Democrat candidates win

Council of State seats by much thinner margins.

The Republican leaders showed no interest in backing Folwell, who received 100,000 more votes than Stein in the 2020 elections. Moore focused on getting to Congress; Berger showed continued mastery over the state’s legislative policies; and Whatley led Trump’s successful campaign. They all won.

Folwell was too hot to handle because of his unrelenting criticism of drugmakers, money managers and healthcare CEOs. Did he ever really try to reach compromises with Moore and Berger? “I went when I was invited and I saw no result from that,” he says. “I worked really hard as a legislator to get Republicans into a majority, but my job was made harder because they didn’t do their job.

I don’t tolerate counterfeit conservatives.”

The former treasurer says he never bent his ethical standards. “In 20 years of public service, I’ve never been in a black limousine or a private jet,” he says. “True public servants shouldn’t be in a position to profit, but we have a counterfeit conservatism in our state.”

Now, it’s arguable that Folwell failed at perhaps his most important task, managing the pension system. Many N.C. local public officials and financial industry experts, and the candidates who sought to succeed Folwell, say his strategies cost the system billions of dollars in potential gains. A distrust of PE funds and alternative investment vehicles and excessive cash holdings meant the state system underperformed most peers in recent years.

Folwell disagrees. His priority was preserving capital and limiting risk, not seeking volatile gains, he says.

The new treasurer, Brad Briner, has solid Wall Street investment credentials. The state's returns should strengthen. On healthcare, he wants to lower the rhetoric and find sustainable ways to cut spending, aiding state employees and taxpayers.

That message didn’t impress Folwell. He didn’t endorse his Republican successor. ■ Contact David Mildenberg at dmildenberg@businessnc.com.

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Horner’s

RURALROUTE Rural Route is a new Business North Carolina column authored by veteran journalist Bill Horner III. He will focus on key issues in less populated parts of the state.

+ TA L K I N G PO INTS

CENTER OF ATTENTION

A lionized Piedmont town embraces transformational change while grasping to retain its charm.

TOWN O F SIL ER C ITY

8,043

POPULATION (2023)

DIVERSITY 51% HISPANIC; 25% CAUCASIAN, 19% BLACK

NAME JOHN SILER WAS A PLANTATION OWNER IN EARLY 19TH CENTURY

BY BILL HORNER III

1887

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INCORPORATED

DONALD MATTHEWS MAYOR

JACK MEADOWS TOWN MANAGER

$20.7 MILLION 2024 FISCAL YEAR BUDGET (ALL FUNDS)

MAJOR EMPLOYERS MOUNTAIRE FARMS, WALMART, CHATHAM COUNTY SCHOOLS

$272,500 MEDIAN HOME SALES PRICE (OCTOBER 2024)

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▲Architectural rendering of the new Wolfspeed facility in Chatham County.

y admittedly hazy recollection from TV’s make-believe Mayberry is that Siler City — where Barney would make the occasional foray, and where Andy was once ticketed for fishing without a license — was a pretty robust place.

Today, in the real Siler City in western Chatham County, there’s still a sense of the homespun, such as jars of Mt. Olive pickles regularly left by fans who visit the gravesite of actress Frances Bavier, who’s interred at Oakwood Cemetery. Bavier portrayed Aunt Bee, to Sheriff Andy Taylor and bumbling Deputy Barney Fife, on “The Andy Griffith Show,” the ‘60s sitcom.

Idyllic Mayberry was indeed the stereotype — or for some, the epitome — of rural North Carolina. Siler City is, in many ways, a modern approximation: a relatively poor, formerly industrial-rich town fighting for traction, stability and identity.

With one caveat: Wolfspeed and Toyota are creating ground-shaking development to the tune of about $19 billion.

Mayor Donald Matthews, who’s lived in Siler City for most of the last 60 years, is a bit flummoxed when other N.C. mayors lack a clear sense of what’s happening in his neck of the woods.

“We haven’t gotten to the point where we’re really on their radar,” Matthews told me.

A typical reaction? “‘Oh, you’re from Siler City? Isn’t that where Aunt Bee lived?’ Something of that nature.”

Bavier, a New York City-bred stage actress, retired to, and died, in Siler City. Born near Central Park, it was her portrayal of a dowdy homemaker for a rural sheriff and his precocious, tow-headed son that earned her fame. Thirty-five years after her death, “Andy Griffith” reruns stream nearly around the clock. At Oakwood Cemetery, Bavier’s TV character’s name is etched, just beneath her own, onto a towering granite tombstone — a kind of paean, along with the pickles, to what once was.

One only needs to leave her gravesite, turn left onto U.S. 64 and drive two minutes to see Wolfspeed’s bustling site, which puts Siler City in the shadow of two of the largest economic development projects in state history.

Durham-based Wolfspeed has pledged 1,800 jobs at its $5 billion silicon carbide plant. Less than 15 minutes further west on U.S. 64, in Randolph County, Toyota’s $13.9 billion battery manufacturing plant is expected to create an additional 1,500 jobs.

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Not that there aren’t blustery headwinds. In mid-November, Wolfspeed dismissed CEO Gregg Lowe and is cutting 20% of its staff after reporting a $282 million quarterly loss. Toyota faces a sluggish electric vehicle market amid fears that President-elect Donald Trump will eliminate the $7,500 tax credit for EVs. And Siler City has its own issues, such as a water-related moratorium on construction and a new wastewater treatment plant that won’t be operating until 2027.

Still, we’re talking billions of dollars of investment. A tenth of that would be a game-changer for any small town or rural community.

PHOTO CREDIT: WOLFSPEED AND BILL HORNER

Tune-up time The area around Siler City is one of the poorest in the state.

Bucolic it’s not. U.S. 64 through town is a mishmash of fast food joints and convenience stores and small, slightly dilapidated strip shopping centers. The old downtown area has plenty of character, and some refurbished spaces, but also unkempt, vacant storefronts.

The town of 8,043 inhabitants isn’t technically rural, if you base it on the N.C. Rural Center’s qualification of fewer than 250 people per square mile. The U.S. Census Bureau, though, defines rural as “an area that is not urban,” and while Siler City has a rural feel and a distinct measure of charm, it simultaneously feels old and a bit run down.

So naturally there’s real enthusiasm that the Wolfspeed and Toyota tides will buoy the town. That’s particularly evident at The Chatham Rabbit, the town’s social hub and coffee shop, where Matthews, the mayor, holds court most Tuesday mornings.

The Rabbit shares space with an arts incubator and the workshop of boutique luthier Terry McInturff, who’s made guitars for rockers Eric Clapton and Jimmy Page. Shop co-owner Brooke Simmons remembers telling customers more than a decade ago that the day would come when Siler City wouldn’t be recognizable.

“People said, ‘That’s never gonna happen in our lifetime.’ And it’s just what’s happening here,” she says.

The COVID-19 pandemic represented the first shift. People wanted space, Simmons says, and while some were attracted to Pittsboro and the high-end neighborhoods closer to Chapel Hill, others flooded to western Chatham. Then came industry: VinFast announced its $4 billion EV plant in Moncure at Chatham’s eastern edge in March 2022, followed six months later by Wolfspeed. Both came after Toyota’s announcement of the Liberty site in 2021.

Nothing’s been the same since.

“Literally every single state in this country is represented in Siler City now,” Simmons says. “Whereas, before, if somebody came in who was trendy or young, I would seriously joke with them and say, ‘Have you been abducted? Are you OK? Like, how did you get here?’ Because it was so weird. I mean, you knew every single person who came in here. And now I still know 90%, but every day there are people here that I have never seen before.”

The affable Simmons says she still queries newbies who come to the Rabbit to order lattes and cold brews, but the changes in Siler City aren’t just in new faces and construction. Matthews, the mayor, is enthused about momentum and new initiatives, including a visitors center and the hiring of people to promote the community. The town has signed a service agreement to merge with Sanford’s TriRiver Water for water and sewer. Downtown-wide Wi-Fi is on the horizon.

Fairyland In early 2023, Siler City business leaders, frustrated that so much of the focus in Chatham was on Pittsboro, took action.

They hired Josh Harris, the former athletic director at the local high school, to become the town chamber’s first executive director. Nearly 120 businesses have since joined.

Harris sees the organization’s role as to help small businesses prepare for the opportunities and challenges posed by population growth.

“I mean, it’s kind of a cliché, but it’s a great place to live and enjoy your time, and raise your family,” he says.

“What happens in the next 10 years, ultimately, is a little unknown, ▲Brooke Simmons - Chatham Rabbit and it’s hard to predict. But the potential is there.”

Harris is leaning hard into downtown and retail development.

But he recognizes Chatham’s farming roots and the need to preserve agriculture and grow agribusiness. His family’s Harris Homeplace Farm, in nearby Snow Camp, sells grass-fed meats directly to consumers.

“We have the potential to become more of a generational community, with multiple generations of families here,” Harris says. “I graduated high school here, and a lot of my graduating class isn’t here anymore. So one of my goals is helping to turn that tide a little bit.”

Taking on the role of the new chamber’s leader gave him more of a realization of what legacy means.

“I’m the sixth generation on our family farm, and our family’s been here a long time. So we’re not going anywhere. I’m not going anywhere. I thought, I need to get my hands involved in this because I want this to be a great place to live in 30 years — not for me, but for my kids.”

It might still be a Siler City that Bavier, or Aunt Bee, for that matter, would recognize. “I, like a child, came here looking for a fairyland,” the actress once said. She told another interviewer: “I fell in love with North Carolina, all the pretty roads and the trees.”

Simmons, over at the Chatham Rabbit, said it’s simple: residents still want community.

“They want somewhere to land, and people to talk to.” ■ Bill Horner is a third-generation newspaper publisher who was an owner and editor of The Sanford Herald and the Chatham News + Record. He and his wife Lee Ann live in Sanford. Reach him at bhorner@businessnc.com

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GARY SALAMIDO

LIST INTERVIEW

with Nido Qubein

FULL AGENDA NC Chamber CEO Gary Salamido joined High Point University President Nido Qubein in the Power List interview, a partnership for discussions with influential leaders. The interview was edited for brevity and clarity.

T

ell me how a pharmacist becomes a CEO of the chamber of commerce.

I learned very early on from my upbringing that people are the priority, and taking care of people and being of service to your community and your family is a top priority. That’s what my family was all about when they came here. So I went to pharmacy school because I wanted to take care of people. The pharmacist in the community was that person who had access to a lot of different people. So I learned how to listen, and I learned how to understand people and take care of them. As long as you’re open and you meet people and you build relationships, opportunity comes. That’s what it’s all about, right?

Gary Salamido is entering his 14th year at the

As you know, North Carolina wasn’t always the number one place around the country, around the globe where people wanted to come. We had some work to do. So we sat down and we put in an intentional plan in place through business leaders like yourself. We developed the 2030 plan. It was intentional that we’re here where we are now. That was back when Stan Kelly was our chairman and decided we needed a long-range plan for North Carolina’s economic security, so people can have a good job. We just finished our last five-year installment. Over the next five years, we’ll finish that up.

We’ve almost achieved everything that’s there.

NC Chamber, including serving as CEO since

Summarize the plan for us.

2019. He has advanced policies credited with helping the state achieve various best-in-business rankings and raising the group’s profile. The advocacy nonprofit has a $5 million annual budget and employs 28. Before moving to the NC Chamber, he worked for 19 years at GlaxoSmithKline, including a decade as director of state government affairs. He has a bachelor’s degree in pharmacy from the Albany College of Pharmacy in Albany, New York, and a master’s degree from the University of Texas. He and his wife, Lisa, have three children.

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Right. The state of North Carolina is thriving businesswise. Great climate, mountains and beaches.

Wonderful place to raise a family. Corporations are attracted here because of our workforce, because of our values. What does the chamber do that supports economic development?

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It’s divided into three pillars: education, talent supply and a competitive business climate. Because you can get everything else right, but if you don’t have the people, and you don’t have the skill sets necessary for the jobs of today and tomorrow, nothing else matters.

Then you need a competitive business climate, everything that goes into the cost of a job, the tax climate, the legal climate, the regulation. And then you have infrastructure, roads, water, sewer, ports, goods and services and people back and forth. So we aggregate the voices of the private sector business community and ask what are the things that transcend across industries that make the state the best place for private sector job growth, so that people can have a good job?

Do we have enough people? Do we have enough graduates? Not just talent that can do manufacturing, but talent that can also be equipped to deal with the world. Where would you rank us?

We have all the ingredients. We have the schools. We have the public and private universities. We have a world-class community college system. So we have all the ingredients, but nobody has the people. And, you know, it’s just a math problem right now.

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The birth rates are less than they were 25 years ago. Things have changed dramatically in our cultures. So we have less people than we have the availability of the jobs at this rapid rate of change and innovation has created for us. And yet we have migration to the states, but not enough. We have to be the best state in the country and the best place in the world for migration of talent.

We have to do it all together. We’re at the top right now. The magic sauce is out now. Everybody knows why North Carolina is winning. Do we have the initiative? Are we agile enough as the business community to act and to make those critical investments so that people want to continue to come here?

What is the toughest part of your job?

The toughest part is addressing all the needs that the people have.

And each community is different. So we have to be really good at listening to understand what’s going on in each community and then aggregating that into the policies that will benefit businesses across all industry segments. So the toughest part is the needs in the west are different than the needs in the east and in the Piedmont.

We are figuring out what the common threads are and advancing the common thread so that North Carolina wins wouldn’t matter where you live, you have the opportunity to succeed.

How much of your time is invested in the legacy of communication? I call it lobbying.

Oh, at least 90% of what we do is legacy. At the North Carolina General Assembly and the agencies. The other 10% is making sure our members’ educational needs are met among those key policy issues. But we’re an advocacy organization whose goal is to advocate for policies and initiatives that advance the economic climate for it.

So it’s 90%.

Give me two or three of those policies. What are you working on now, for example?

Right now, one of the biggest challenges is workforce. The pandemic revealed a couple of things that we knew were challenges anyway, including the affordability and availability of childcare.We know the demographics are changing. We have two parents, two spouses, two partners that are working either because they have to or they want to.

The other is housing. We need affordability of housing. We need to modernize our permitting processes so builders can build safe and good homes for everybody across the economic spectrum. It takes longer to permit something than it does to build it. With the technology we have and the awareness out there, we can be better than that.

And the other one we’re working on is water and wastewater.

Water is life, in so many ways and so how do we have a plan for water and wastewater treatment across the state that reimagines how we look at that, looking at public and private partnerships, looking at how we regionalize the delivery of those services in ways we haven’t done here historically.

The last one is energy. We have good, affordable, reliable energy here now in North Carolina. But what’s the future look like? We should lead the nation in advanced nuclear technology. We should make sure that it’s a safe place, but a place where diversified energy sources are here for our people and for our businesses. So those are the top three.

And what is the role of government in that? You say 90% of your time is advocacy mainly in the legislature.

I assume you’re talking about funding and you’re talking about laws that that expedite the processes.

The role of government is to do the things that the private sector can’t do through the markets and through innovation. There’s a role there for government to help build infrastructure, public education, highways, rail, water, sewer. All those things that have to exist across county and municipal boundaries.

I want to talk about housing. We have to make it amenable for developers to invest money and build affordable houses, right?

There’s a lot of innovation going on there right now. We can’t put it into one bucket and say, this is the one solution that will work, because Charlotte is very different than Raleigh and very different than rural North Carolina.

We have a lot of farmland here now. So we have to be really thoughtful. But if we’re taking away farmland, farming and agriculture is our number one industry in the state, we feed the world in North Carolina. So let’s be thoughtful about how we do that.

It can coexist. It can thrive together. But it’s not going to be the same in every community. All of those things are going to be needed for North Carolina. We just have to be thoughtful and communicate with each other about what works where.

What about healthcare? Where do you see some of the pluses and minuses in North Carolina?

We have some of the best healthcare in the world. People come to North Carolina for healthcare. So its quality is unmatched. The challenge we have and something we’re working on to know is, the bigger businesses that can pay for it, that can fund themselves, they have options. They can influence their people. They can influence the providers, they can influence the systems. They can incentivize things in a certain way.

The biggest challenge in North Carolina is that our small business don’t have that option. Our small businesses don’t have the option to aggregate the lives of small business employees and then go to a system or go to an insurer and say, ok, I have 100,000 lives here, and I know what I need and here’s what I’m willing to pay for it.

What about childcare? How do we resolve that issue?

The issue is multifaceted. The system that was developed 30, 40 years ago has not modernized with the changing times. We have a different population of people now that need it and access it. We have different needs for the economically challenged versus in Cary, where I live.

But we’re making one size fits all. The regulatory scheme needs to be modernized so that private healthcare providers can come in and have it be affordable.

We did a nationwide study, and no one’s doing it well. The private sector and the government come together and innovate and do public private partnerships that keep our children safe and help get them the education that they need.

What worries you at night? I worry if my grandchildren and children are going to have the same opportunity I had because the world has changed so much.

I worry about how the value of relationships has gone down and how we’re so polarized and how our society is so transactional. There is the hard work of solving difficult problems between two people who look and see or feel differently about the world, and put each other in a box and don’t talk.

If you’re not learning from people that think, look, feel, come from different backgrounds, then you’re not going to make the difference you want to make. ■ J A N U A R Y A U G U S T

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12/19/24 10:10 PM

NCTREND ››› Banking

Truist

Rebuilding after a challenging merger Bill Rogers, CEO

CEO CHANGE A’COMIN’?

Out of public view, succession planning is a key issue at three pivotal Tar Heel companies.

By Noelle Norene Harff

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orth Carolina’s corporate leadership may see major changes this year, with three veteran CEOs of the five largest public companies at or near the traditional tipping point of age 65.

Brian Moynihan of Bank of America, Lynn Good of Duke Energy and William “Bill” Rogers of Truist haven’t signaled their intentions. But their departures wouldn’t be surprising to close observers.

To be sure, CEOs are staying longer than ever. More than 40% of the CEOs at companies comprising the S&P 500 Index of major companies are 60 or older, an all-time high, according to the Conference Board and the ESGauge research firm.

“It used to be that the prime CEO years were 45 to 55, but now CEOs are asking boards if they could stay longer,” says Richard Leblanc, a corporate governance expert who teaches at Canada’s York University. “If you have a performing CEO, there’s no reason to change, simply for change’s sake.”

Longer stays reflect the vigor of many CEOs, board members’ preference for battle-tested leaders and sharp increases in the level of CEO pay, which raises both net worths and pressure. With many CEOs in their mid- and late-60s, however, some experts expect a “cliff” of retirements looming on the horizon.

CEO succession is a key issue for any corporate board, but rarely discussed publicly. When companies are operating successfully, the odds are high that an internal candidate will gain the top spot. Nearly 60% of CEOs in the Russell 3000 index were hired from within.

In the financial sector, nearly 90% of CEOs moved up within the organization, a Conference Board report notes.

Here is some of the speculation circling the three large N.C.-based companies.

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t Truist, CEO Bill Rogers, 65, has faced significant hurdles since taking the helm in 2021 from Kelly King, two years following the 2019 merger of BB&T and SunTrust. Investors have been largely unimpressed by the merger, with Truist shares underperforming the industry indices while reporting lesser profits than expected.

After a major realignment of its leadership team, Rogers told analysts in November that “we are on offense” with third-quarter earnings gaining 24%. Rodgers assured shareholders there was no “merger hangover.”

Rogers had served as chairman and CEO of Atlanta-based SunTrust since 2011, after joining the company in 1980. He is a born-and-bred Tar Heel with a bachelor’s degree from UNC Chapel Hill.

Three executives appear well-positioned to succeed Rogers. ► Hugh “Beau” Cummins, Truist’s vice chair and chief operating officer, has worked closely with Rogers since joining SunTrust in 2005.

He spent most of his career in the company’s capital markets and wholesale banking operations, becoming vice chair in 2021 and COO in 2023. Cummins, who has an MBA from the University of Michigan, earned the second-largest compensation at Truist in 2023, with a package valued at $6.1 million. Two years earlier, he had received total compensation of $11.7 million, including $7.78 million in stock awards. Truist shares have have declined 20% over the past five years.

Cummins is in his early 60s, which may be too close to Rogers’ age and work against his chance to become CEO. ► Kristin Lesher, Truist’s chief wholesale banking officer, would reflect the board’s desire for change. She joined the company last February from much larger Wells Fargo. After earning an MBA at Northwestern University in 2000, she joined Charlotte-based Wachovia, which Wells Fargo acquired during the 2008 financial crisis. After many years in investment banking, she was promoted to key commercial banking posts starting in 2018. She’s spent most of her career based in Washington, D.C. Now at Truist, she’s overseeing corporate and investment banking, commercial banking, commercial real estate, and wealth management. Truist’s merger struggles make it more likely the board would promote a relative outsider to the CEO post. ► Dontá Wilson was named chief consumer and small business banking officer in November 2023, when Cummins was promoted to COO and Lesher’s hiring was disclosed. Wilson is a close confidant of Rogers and an esteemed Charlotte civic leader. His post includes oversight of more than 2,000 community banking branches in 17 states and the District of Columbia, along with digital banking, core deposit and loan products, consumer finance and innovation. The units make up 60% of Truist revenue. Wilson, 48, started working for predecessor BB&T as a UNC Charlotte student in the mid-1990s. He has worked for the bank in several states and was named to the executive management team in 2016.

C A R O L I N A

12/19/24 10:12 PM

Duke Energy

Bank of America

Navigating a transition Lynn Good, CEO

Stability after the storm Brian Moynihan, CEO

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B

► Harry Sideris was named president in April, a title Good previously held. He has a chemical engineering degree from NC State University and an MBA from Campbell University. He joined Duke in 1996. His previous roles at the company include executive vice president of customer experience, solutions and services; state president of Duke Energy’s utility operations in Florida; and senior vice president of environmental health and safety. “The rule has long been, ‘grow your own’ internally, especially at a company of that size and complexity,” says Ralph Ward, editor of the Corporate Insider newsletter.

► Dean Athanasia is president of regional banking, which has been BofA’s traditional core business. A graduate of Yale University with a Wharton School MBA, he joined BofA predecessor Fleet Boston in 1996 after working for JPMorgan in corporate lending and strategy jobs. After BofA bought Fleet Boston in 2004, he gained increasingly key roles in the wealth and investment management unit, then became president for consumer and small business banking. He oversees four of the company’s eight major lines of business, and has helped sustain BofA’s leadership in retail banking and small business and commercial lending. He’s long been among the bank’s highestpaid executives, receiving average compensation of about $14.6 million over the past three years.

ynn Good is completing her 11th year as CEO of Duke Energy, the third-largest U.S. electric utility based on market value. A former Arthur Andersen CPA who joined predecessor company Cinergy in Cincinnati in 2003, Good has led the company to record profits while steering toward a more green future. It’s been “a complex undertaking that involves short-term planning and long-term advances in technology,” Hannah Bates wrote in a Harvard Business Review story.

Like many peers, Duke Energy is shifting from its once-heavy reliance on coal-fired production plants to more natural gas and alternative energy sources. The utility benefits as the second-largest nuclear operator among U.S. utilities.

Good is also a director of Boeing, which is facing unprecedented challenges. She’s active in the Charlotte Executive Leadership Council, a CEO group. Good’s total annual compensation has averaged more than $19 million over the past three years, which is nearly four times as much as any other Duke Energy executive during that period.

Should Good step down, two internal candidates get the most buzz as likely successors.

► Brian Savoy, chief financial officer, is another longterm Duke executive, having joined the company in 2001 as a manager in its energy trading unit. Before taking his current post in 2022, he was chief strategy and commercial officer. His total compensation in 2023 was $3.48 million, the lowest of the six most highly compensated officials. That doesn’t always correlate with succession. “When you hear about executive pay plans, take it with a grain of salt,” Ward says. “There are a lot of different pay structures involved.”

rian Moynihan, 65, has had a remarkable run since bank directors picked him in 2010 to succeed Ken Lewis as CEO. His selection came amid a closely watched succession battle following BofA’s controversial purchases of Merrill Lynch and Countrywide Financial. The hiring of the Boston-based CEO confirmed the dominance of board members less connected to Charlotte, where predecessors Lewis and Hugh McColl Jr. built the financial powerhouse. Moynihan focused on reducing risk, expense controls, rebuilding capital and methodically improving the bank’s core businesses of retail banking, capital markets and wealth management. His work has won consistent plaudits from Wall Street investors and Warren Buffett, who remains BofA’s largest shareholder even after hefty sales over the past year.

Moynihan, whose annual compensation has averaged $27 million over the past three years, is in no rush to depart. But his nearly 15-year tenure is increasingly unusual among leading U.S. CEOs, and the demands of a $2 trillion bank never get easier.

Succession buzz centers on three leading candidates, each of whom is in their mid- or late-50s.

► Alastair Borthwick became the bank’s chief financial officer in 2021 after previously heading global commercial banking for nine years.

He previously was co-head of global capital markets. He joined the company in 2005 after working for Goldman Sachs for a dozen years. He received an undergraduate degree at the University of St. Andrews in his native Scotland, then a Dartmouth MBA. He has earned annual compensation of about $11 million in recent years. ► James DeMare is president of global markets at BofA, and has more than 25 years of financial services industry experience. Prior to joining Bank of America in 2008, he held various management and senior trading positions in fixed income at Citigroup, Salomon Brothers and Bear Stearns. Reflecting the higher pay typical for capital markets executives, DeMare has received more compensation over the past three years — averaging about $18.7 million annually — than any named executive other than Moynihan. ■

J A N U A R Y

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12/20/24 9:53 AM

NCTREND ››› Insurance

RATE RANTING Justifying eye-popping increases in homeowner insurance rates splits the industry and its regulator.

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any North Carolina homeowners are facing sticker shock when opening the annual bill from their property insurance company.

Whether the higher charge should be 30%, 50%, 80% — or zero — is sparking debate between state regulators and the companies. A decision is likely within the next two months.

North Carolina’s insurers think homeowners should pay an average 42% more than the current rates approved by the state Department of Insurance. That request for higher rates is the industry’s first filing since 2020, a period that has been a painful experience for many insurers and property owners because of an unusual number of powerful storms, higher material costs and increased labor charges. Anyone who’s paid for a new or repaired deck or roof knows the meaning of construction inflation.

Still, Insurance Commissioner Mike Causey contends the statewide average increase should be no more than 3%. In some regions, he says rates should be flat or cut modestly.

The industry and department argued the matter for several weeks at a hearing that started in Raleigh in October.

Causey is expected to rule State Insurance Commissioner early this year.

Mike Causey 12

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N O R T H

The department’s “overall recommendations simply cannot be squared with what is happening in the marketplace here in North Carolina,” Mickey Spivey, a lawyer for the insurance industry, said at the hearing’s opening. “You must ask yourself whether you can possibly find credible any witness or any argument that seeks to convince you that the current rates do not need to be increased. We submit to you that the answer to that question is a resounding no.”

There’s nothing new about such tussles in North Carolina, which has used its unusual approach to ratemaking for decades.

Most states let individual homeowner insurers to file new rates, then institute the change without regulatory approval. But pressure for higher rates is accelerating.

Between 1993 and 2014, N.C. insurers submitted eight rate filings. Since then, there have been four rate requests.

Commissioners historically order lower-than-requested increases, spurring industry lawsuits and eventual compromises.

But the 42% request made in early 2024 is sharply higher than previous proposals. The last request was for a 24.5% increase in 2020. Two years later, the industry and Causey agreed on a 7.9% hike.

The 42% number is an average, with the specific increase varying widely across the state, depending on storm frequency, claims experiences and other factors. Homeowners in some coastal regions are seeing average rate increases of 99%, while others are in the single-digit range.

Still, it’s a record request that is hitting homeowners across North Carolina, not just beach properties.

PHOTOS CREDIT: DOI

By David Mildenberg

C A R O L I N A

12/19/24 10:13 PM

ADVISE AND CONSENT While that’s the big picture, the real world situation is that insurers are charging and collecting higher rates because they have to make a profit, and the law lets them raise the fee, says Christopher Cook. He owns Winston-Salem-based Alliance Insurance Services, which employs 40 people in five locations.

About 45% of the state’s residential properties were covered by “consent-to-rate” policies in 2023. That refers to state law permitting insurers to charge as much as 25% more than the state-approved rate.

A $1,000 approved rate could lead to a $1,250 offer from Company X, for example. The homeowner can either “consent” and pay $1,250, or turn it down and find another insurer.

Company X is then allowed to cancel the policy.

“While no one likes to see their insurance premiums increase, consent-to-rate is a tool that insurance companies can use to continue covering customers’ property if that property becomes too risky to cover at the base rate,” Causey said in an email response to questions. “[Consumers] may shop around to see if they can find lower rates.”

The commissioner, who was re-elected in November to his third four-year term, says he’s open to improving the consent-to-rate law if state lawmakers want to do so.

“Insurers aren’t going to take on a rate that is going to cause them to lose money,” says Cook, who is active in the Independent Insurance Agents of North Carolina, a trade association representing nearly 1,000 agencies. Unfortunately, he says, North Carolina’s insurers have collectively paid out more in claims than they have received in premiums in recent years, which justifies the rate request, he says.

The insurance industry’s case for higher rates stems from three key factors: construction inflation; higher prices charged by the mostly European-based reinsurance companies that act as a backstop for the insurance carriers; and payout ratios, which fluctuate based on the frequency and severity of storms.

All three factors are showing negative trends that have reduced profit in recent years, industry officials say.

FAST FACTS

LARGEST HOMEOWNER INSURERS – 2023 premiums

$4.27 billion – Homeowners’ multi-peril premium revenue

State Farm Group – $657.2 million

DATA ON N.C. HOMEOWNERS INSURANCE IN 2023

14.4% – Increase in premiums from 2022 PHOTOS CREDIT: DOI

Inflation in construction prices is a big concern, with material costs for single-family homes soaring about 34% since early 2020, the American Property Casualty Insurance Association reported in 2023. Construction wages gained 20% between 2021-23, according to market researcher RS Means Data.

In North Carolina, construction costs of $300 per square foot are now common for lower-priced homes, which is double the amount eight years ago, Cook says. And the cost of repair or replacement in higher-income neighborhoods is often $500 per square foot or more, he adds. “Reconstruction cost is really driving the rate increases.”

The result of hefty premium increases is more telephone calls from policyholders asking insurance brokers for help in finding lower-cost alternatives, Cook says. Many calls come from buyers of direct-to-consumer insurers such as Geico and Progressive, which attract business through heavy ad spending.

In the current market, however, it’s often hard to find another carrier willing to offer a lower price. “The last few years have been hard on everyone and not many companies are growing their book of business,” he says.

The good news for homeowners is that solid housing demand and restricted supply has sent home values soaring in many N.C. regions. Nationally, the Zillow Home Value Index gained more than 45% between March 2019 and March 2024, while premiums for homeowners insurance increased by nearly 15%.

It appears that insurers and regulators are finding a balance, avoiding the situation in some states where, many insurances have pulled out of the market because they view the risk as exceeding any reward. Having more carriers spurs competition that gives homeowners more choices and, presumably, better rates.

The N.C. Department of Insurance doesn’t publish a list of companies that have left the state. But Causey notes he has “not received many such notifications over the past few years. North Carolina continues to have a competitive insurance market.”

He credits the consent-to-rate approach, which he says “while far from perfect, allows insurance companies to be competitive and remain solvent in North Carolina.” ■

42% – Independent agent market share 58% – Captive insurers and direct-to-consumer market share

N.C. Farm Bureau – $545.4 million USAA – $446.7 million Nationwide – $286.9 million Allstate – $283.8 million

12.1% – Average commission paid by companies Source: A.M. Best Company

Source: A.M. Best Company

RATE CASE HISTORY Year

Request

Settlement

2008

19.5%

4.1%

2012

17.7%

7.0%

2011

8.7%

4.8%

2018

17.4%

4.8%

2020

24.5%

7.9%

2024

42.0%

TBD

Source: N.C. Rate Bureau J A N U A R Y

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12/19/24 10:13 PM

NCTREND ››› Technology

CHARM CITY Partnerships with ECU, IBM and the Crystal Coast’s appeal help attract a software company.

By Kevin Ellis

Moorehead City

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PHOTOS CREDIT: 21ST CENTURY SOFTWARE

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hat would lead the CEO of 21st Century Software Technologies to relocate the software development company known as 21CS from Boston to Morehead City? Eddy Ciliendo mentions the fresh seafood available on North Carolina’s Crystal Coast, but the attraction to eastern North Carolina was about more than a good meal.

“Our initial plan was to relocate to Raleigh, Charlotte or Wilmington, but we realized that the Crystal Coast was a much better fit for us due to affordability, talent pool and quality of life – besides we felt that we would have a greater impact on the local economy compared to one of the metro areas,” he says.

21CS’ move to eastern North Carolina will involve an investment of $455,000 and create about 25 jobs with an average pay of $87,920, more than doubling the current Carteret County wage of $41,149.

Those new jobs will include software engineering and software support roles. North Carolina’s average wage is $65,409.

The company was formed in 2017 to develop software for mainframe computers.The company employs about 200 workers, with about 60 in the U.S. Its largest office is in Perth, Australia, Ciliendo says. He declined to detail the private company’s revenue, but says it is a “multi-million dollar company planning to at least double our revenue in the next couple of years.”

About 60% of its customers are based on the East Coast with its biggest partner being IBM, where Ciliendo previously worked for 19 years. Big Blue’s large presence in the Raleigh-Durham area led 21CS to look toward North Carolina for a new location, he says.

“We also work closely with East Carolina University as they have a computer sciences curriculum that produces ideal candidates for our line of work,” says Ciliendo.

The move to is “motivated by our growth ambitions, as we will have to hire aggressively to sustain the growth target.”

He suspects the initial 25-job target for Morehead City “will probably end up closer to 50 or 60 people over a five-year horizon.”

Ciliendo joined 21CS in July 2023 and succeeded Nick Pachnos as CEO in September. A graduate of the University of Zurich, Ciliendo began his career with IBM in Switzerland and later worked at the company’s Singapore operation from 2015 to 2017. He then spent the next five years at the Triangle site, before leaving to join 21CS.

C A R O L I N A

12/19/24 10:13 PM

Ciliendo lives in Morehead City, but says the availability of suitable office space in the city of fewer than 10,000 residents made it more favorable for the company than it being his home address.

“However, having experienced the many qualities of eastern North Carolina firsthand played a big role as I don’t think many non-residents know about the quality of life, great schools and friendly community,” he says.

“I have worked and lived all over the world, and I hold many places in fond memory, but I cannot think of a better place for our kids to grow up than the coast of eastern North Carolina,” he adds. “True to the State’s motto ‘Esse Quam Videri (to be, rather than to seem)’ we have great schools, seafood that is fresher than any high-end restaurant in New York or Tokyo and beaches that rival many top tourist destinations, all with a very down to earth attitude.” ■

21st Century Software CEO Eddy Ciliendo

PHOTOS CREDIT: 21ST CENTURY SOFTWARE

“Serving the Carolinas for 41 years”

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NCTREND ››› Investing

STAY STRONG

BEST N.C. STOCK PICKS FOR 2025

By David Mildenberg

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ur trustworthy quartet of veteran investors are back for some suggestions for Business North Carolina’s annual stock-picking feature, after a solid showing last year.

Beating the market averages was challenging, with the S&P 500 and Nasdaq indices gaining more than 30% in the year ending Dec. 11.

But three stockpickers chose companies with gains exceeding 40% in that period. Bobby Edgerton hit it with Veeva Systems, Frank Jolley scored with Bank of America and RTX and Christy Phillips also selected RTX. Ann Zuraw’s best selection was Lowe’s, which gained about 30% over the 52 weeks. Only two of 12 picks were negative, compared with eight of 12 in the previous year.

BOBBY EDGERTON

Co-founder Capital Investment Companies Raleigh

FRANK JOLLEY

Managing director and co-chief investment officer Live Oak Private Wealth Rocky Mount

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B U S I N E S S

For 2025, the investors made a diverse array of choices of companies based in North Carolina or having some operations here. Edgerton went conservative by recommending 30-year Apple bonds, and a hoped-for turnaround at Krispy Kreme Doughnuts. Jolley picked two strong dividend payers in Nutrien and UPS. Zuraw went heavy on healthcare with Pfizer and Iqvia, while Phillips recommended data center operator Core Systems, which is benefiting from the AI explosion.

Our three dartboard picks last year were each atrocious losers. So we asked one of our favorite office mates to make three selections.

Good luck investors in 2025!

KRISPY KREME APPLE BONDS DOUGHNUTS (DNUT) (AAPL)

INSTEEL (IIIN)

MARKET CAP - $1.69 BILLION DIVIDEND YIELD: 1.4%

MARKET CAP - $3.8 TRILLION DIVIDEND YIELD: N/A

MARKET CAP - $582 MILLION DIVIDEND YIELD: 0.4%

The Charlotte-based company is a rare stock trading near its 52-week low with a price-equity ratio of about 10, after being as high as 18. Shares are trading at their lowest level since KKD went public in 2021. It had EBITDA of $145 million in the past year on annual revenue of $1.7 billion.

In July, it sold its majority stake in Insomnia Cookies for $172 million, retaining a 34% ownership. I once advised the CEO to stick to North Carolina, but he decided to go global.

I like Apple’s bonds which have a coupon rate of 2.65% and mature in 2051. The bonds with a $1,000 face value sold for $640, or 64 cents on the dollar in November, making the yield to maturity more than 4%.

Bond interest is paid in May and November. This is the world’s safest bond issue ever, along with a similar offering from Walmart. It is a great choice for individuals and families wanting an incredibly safe source of income for the next 26 years.

This is a super well-run Mount Airy-based manufacturer of steel wire reinforcing products for concrete construction applications.

The company paid a $1 per share special cash dividend in December, the fourth straight year it has made an extra payout. Chairman and CEO H.O. Woltz runs a debtfree ship with a cash balance averaging $100 million over the past two years.

NUTRIEN (NTR)

UPS (UPS)

THERMO FISHER SCIENTIFIC (TMO)

MARKET CAP - $23.7 BILLION DIVIDEND YIELD - 4.5%

MARKET CAP: $110.5 BILLION DIVIDEND YIELD 5%

MARKET CAP - $205.2 BILLION DIVIDEND YIELD: 0.3%

Nutrien is a Canadian fertilizer company that operates the Aurora phosphate mine in Beaufort County. Shares have declined from a peak of $117 in 2022 and should offer excellent risk/reward at current prices. The shares trade at less than 13 times forward earnings, approximately 90% of book value and pay a 4.5% dividend. It is a good total return vehicle for the patient investor.

UPS is the world’s largest integrated air and ground package delivery company. Shares are down approximately 43% from the 2021 peak levels and offer great value at 15 times 2025 estimated earnings. During the third quarter, UPS reported its first revenue and profit growth in two years. UPS’s dividend yield gives investors a very competitive current return.

Thermo Fisher is a leading provider of analytical instruments and services for the life sciences, pharmaceutical and drug discovery industries. It bought Wilmingtonbased PPD in late 2021. Weakness in China, coupled with the runoff of COVID-19 related revenue, has been a drag on revenue growth the past couple of years. We would expect growth to accelerate over the next few years with shares generating attractive returns going forward.

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12/19/24 10:14 PM

CHRISTY PHILLIPS

Head of equity strategies and director of research Franklin Street Partners Chapel Hill

ANN ZURAW

President Zuraw Financial Advisors Greensboro

OLIVER SWANEY Good Boy Davidson

MARTIN MARIETTA MATERIALS (MLM)

BRISTOL MYERS SQUIBB (BMY)

CORE SCIENTIFIC (CORZ)

MARKET CAP: $34.4 BILLION DIVIDEND YIELD 0.6%

MARKET CAP: $116 BILLION DIVIDEND YIELD: 4.2%

MARKET CAP: $4.4 BILLION DIVIDEND YIELD: N/A

As one of the largest producers of crushed stone, sand and gravel, this Raleigh company is a longterm beneficiary of infrastructure, reshoring activities and data center build-outs. The combined demand should drive above-average growth for several years. Aggregates as a percentage of total sales is rising, which enhances overall margins and drives pricing throughout the business. The company essentially operates in a duopolylike market. We believe investors will pay a premium in 2025 for domestic-oriented companies that benefit from the focus on US exceptionalism and aren’t hurt by potential tariff policies.

Bristol Myers has a strong portfolio of drugs and a robust pipeline focused on oncology, cardiology and neurology. These areas represent opportunities for strong pricing power. Opdivo transformed cancer treatment and has the potential to reach nearly $10 billion in sales. In neurology, the Cobenfy schizophrenia drug has the potential for a $5 billion franchise by 2033. We believe investors will return BMY to favor based on strong earnings generation capability, below-market valuation and a strong dividend yield.

Bitcoin miners are emerging as attractive partners to build out data centers, and Core Scientific leads the AI data center co-hosting model. The company has a center in Cherokee County. It secured a 12-year $4.7 billion contract with Coreweave, which has a partnership with NVIDIA. We believe the AI revenue line provides a downside floor to the miners, with Bitcoin driving a cyclical upside.

Bitcoin and the entire digital asset ecosystem are on the brink of entering the financial mainstream.

AAR (AIR)

PFIZER (PFE)

IQVIA (IQV)

MARKET CAP - $2.4 BILLION DIVIDEND YIELD: N/A

MARKET CAP - $143.3 BILLION DIVIDEND YIELD: 6.6%

MARKET CAP - $36.5 BILLION DIVIDEND YIELD: N/A

The Wood Dale, Illinois-based company generates significant revenue from its Aviation Services Segment, driven by strong demand from airlines for parts supply and aftermarket services. It has operations in Fayetteville and Havelock. Its acquisition of Triumph Group’s Product Support business for $725 million bolsters its repair capabilities and expands its presence in the Asia-Pacific region. With improving financial conditions from lower interest rates and increasing demand for airline services, AAR is wellpositioned for sustained growth and market leadership.

This pharma giant, which is a major North Carolina employer, has a diverse portfolio of products across various therapeutic areas, including oncology, immunology, cardiology and rare diseases. Some of its key drugs, such as Eliquis (a blood thinner) and Ibrance (for breast cancer), continue to generate significant revenue. It also has an extensive pipeline of potential drugs in development, while demand for COVID-19 vaccines and treatment will continue to decline. Patent expirations, regulatory hurdles and intense competition explain the depressed stock. But the stock appears undervalued, selling at an estimated 8.9 times price-toearnings ratio and a dividend yield of 6.6% in early December.

The Durham company is a leader in healthcare data analytics and contract research, benefiting from its strong market position, technological innovation and diversified revenue streams. Its advanced solutions, including AI, machine learning and cloud technologies, enable healthcare and pharmaceutical companies to optimize R&D, accelerate drug development and enhance patient outcomes. The company has stable cash flow and low debt.

With demand driven by an aging population and more precision medicine, IQVIA is positioned to sustain robust growth.

ADVANCE AUTO PARTS (AAP)

BIOCHRYST

PHARMACEUTICALS(BCRX)

PREMIER (PINC)

MARKET CAP - $2.6 BILLION DIVIDEND YIELD: 2.4%

MARKET CAP - $1.5 BILLION DIVIDEND YIELD: N/A

MARKET CAP - $2.1 BILLION DIVIDEND YIELD: 3.9%

Oliver is a sucker for turnaround stories, so logically he picked a stock that has declined 30% in the past year and 76% over the past half-decade. It seems Advance has struggled to compete with stronger operators AutoZone and O’Reilly Auto Parts. But the Raleigh-based retailer’s CEO Shane O’Kelly is moving to fix the company, including closing 523 stores and four distribution centers and cutting ties with 204 independent locations. It expects fullyear 2024 results to be at break even, with profit returning this year.

Who knew that Oliver understood the promise of this Durham-based company, which has investors excited about its Orladeyo oral drug to prevent hereditary angioedema, which typically involves the swelling of the face, hands or feet that blocks lungs or intestinal walls. Biochryst has lost more than $1.4 billion since 2010. But surging Orladeyo sales may push it into the black this year, some analysts predict. Shares are up 20% in the year ending Dec. 16.

Some day, we hope Oliver can explain what Premier does to achieve an expected $930 million to $1 billion in annual revenue. We know it is a leading healthcare analytics business that helps more than 4,350 hospitals and 325,000 other providers achieve purchasing savings. Beyond that, we’re perplexed. Anyway, he must like that Premier makes money, pays a solid dividend and may repurchase as much as $1 billion in shares. ■

J A N U A R Y

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12/19/24 10:14 PM

NCTREND ››› Statewide

CHARLOTTE An entity affiliated with data center operator Digital Realty Trust acquired about 155 acres on Moores Chapel Road.

The company bought the site from an entity affiliated with The Keith Corp. for $160 million.

Honeywell signed an agreement with Montreal-based aviation company Bombardier to provide avionics, propulsion and satellite communications for future aircraft. The deal could add $17 billion in revenue to Honeywell over the lifetime of the deal, according to the company. Separately, the company sold its Personal Protective Equipment business to Protective Industrial Products for $1.325 billion. Also, the company said it is considering a divestiture of its aerospace division, the company’s largest unit.

Freight broker RXO will invest $13.7 million and add 216 jobs over the next few years as it expands its Ballantyne

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headquarters. The move will also support the retention of 890 jobs already in the state.

Gambling.com agreed to buy Odds Holdings, the parent company of OddsJam. Under the agreement, Odds Holdings stockholders will receive $80 million upfront and may receive as much as $80 million more based on Odds’ performance through 2026.

Charlotte Douglas International Airport is proposing more flight paths for departing aircraft, in order to disperse noise over a wider area. CLT currently has eight paths for departing aircraft — four to the north and four to the south. The airport is proposing that the Federal Aviation Administration create 27 total paths. The FAA is likely to take more than a year to approve any changes.

Queens University President Dan Lugo will step down to take on the same role at Trinity College, the Hartford, Connecticut school announced. Lugo has been president of Queens College since 2019 and is slated to become Trinity’s 23rd president on July 1.

Tepper Sports & Entertainment promoted Carolina Panthers President Kristi Coleman to Tepper Sports CEO.

She is the first CEO since 2022 in a front-office restructuring by the owner of Charlotte’s NFL and Major League Soccer teams.

UNC Charlotte launched a $500 million fundraising campaign “For the Love of Charlotte.” The university has already raised more than half of the money but expects it will take several more years to raise the rest. Separately, the school hired Tim Albin as its head football coach. Albin had been head coach at Ohio University for four years.

He replaces Biff Poggi, who was fired after less than two years.

A state agency audit found more than $6 million in “unallowable” spending by the U.S. Performance Center, which received $25 million from state lawmakers to attract high-level development of Olympic sports. The six-page audit found the center spent some of the $6.2 million on alcoholic beverages and fines on payroll back taxes.

BELMONT Australia’s Sayona Mining will acquire Piedmont Lithium, which has worked since 2021 to add a lithium mine in northwest Gaston County. Sayona and Piedmont already jointly own a lithium

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CHARLOTTE

project in Quebec. The two companies will have a combined market value of about $500 million. Piedmont Lithium employs fewer than 30 employees, down from 62 in late 2023.

North Carolina’s only Catholic Church-affiliated college picked an architect for a $25 million performing arts center that has banked $9 million in state funding. Belmont Abbey College selected Charlotte-based Little Diversified Architectural Consulting to design the project. The college is raising about half of the remaining funds for the 1,000-seat theater.

HUNTERSVILLE Mecklenburg County commissioners approved a settlement with Colonial Pipeline more than four years after a pipe burst beneath a nature preserve here, flooding the ground with some 2 million gallons of gasoline and other fuel.

Under the settlement terms, the Georgiabased company will pay $600,000 to the county’s Natural Areas Restoration Fund.

Ever Home Plastics, a subsidiary of China-based Vacane Home Concepts, will invest $3.6 million in the Mid-South Industrial Park, and begin operations in January. Ever Home manufactures plastic injection molds for home organization products supplied to retailers. It expects to create 46 jobs over four years with an annual salary of $57,826. That compares with Rowan County’s average of $50,138.

STATESVILLE Beachwood, Ohio-based cabinet maker MasterBrand will permanently close facilities in Iredell and Randolph counties, resulting in the loss of 274 jobs.

However, MasterBrand will expand its operations in Kinston, where it has about 500 employees. The company didn’t say how many new jobs will be added there.

EAST

EDENTON The energy company building the 45-turbine Timbermill Wind facility has secured construction financing.

Charlottesville, Virginia-based Apex Clean Energy announced institutions leading the financing are German-based Helaba, Japanese-based SMBC and BNP Paribas and Societe Generale, both based in France. A Goldman Sachs tax equity investment was secured. The project will have a capacity of up to 189 megawatts, producing energy to power up to 47,000 homes annually.

HENDERSON New York-based textile company Keeco will close its facility around Feb. 3, resulting in the loss of 114 jobs. Customer demands could keep the facility open longer, according to the company.

LILLINGTON Andrew Burgess Poultry will use a $46,000 U.S. Department of Agriculture REAP Grant to purchase

MOUNT HOLLY Duke Energy says its electrification center for commercial and public electric fleet vehicles is a first-of-its-kind in the U.S. to offer the service using 100% renewable energy. That means zeroemissions and carbon-free electric vehicle charging. The six-charger facility includes solar, battery storage, hydrogen and other types of generation. Cincinnatibased Electrada and its investors put up more than $1 million to open the Duke Energy + Electrada Fleet Mobility Microgrid.

PHOTO CREDIT: TRUIST

SALISBURY Greg Fitchum will become president of Food Lion in May, succeeding Meg Ham, who is retiring after leading the grocery store chain since 2014. Fitchum joined the company in 1989 and has been executive vice president of retail operations for more than a decade. Food Lion is owned by Ahold Delhaize.

CHARLOTTE Truist is committing $725 million over the next three years to Helene recovery efforts in western North Carolina. Highlights include providing $340 million in loans for small businesses, mortgages and commercial real estate and $310 million in low-cost municipal loans.

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NCTREND ››› Statewide and install heaters, service doors and tunnel doors. This will save the poultry farm $6,900 per year and save 5,300 gallons of propane per year.

GREENVILLE Hyster-Yale, a forklift manufacturing company with more than 1,400 employees and a 50-year history in Pitt County, will lay off 97 workers starting Jan. 23. The Cleveland, Ohio-based company reduced its fork-life truck manufacturing unit to one operating shift, which led to the layoffs.

East Carolina University broke ground on the 195,000-square-foot, $265 million Center for Medical Education building at its Moye Boulevard site. The center is across from the existing Brody School of Medicine on ECU’s Health Sciences Campus.

LELAND Sandbar Oyster, which was formed in 2015, has leased a 2,000-square-foot facility that will employ about 12 people to manufacture and distribute its Oyster Catcher product. It is a structure made of cloth and cement that provides a reef framework for oysters to settle and grow on.

WALLACE Residential cabinet manufacturer NexGen Cabinets will create 42 jobs by investing $6.7 million to establish an East Coast assembly and manufacturing facility. NexGen is a division of China-based Honsoar International, a manufacturer of kitchen and bathroom furniture with a production footprint in Malaysia, Vietnam and Cambodia.

TARBORO Amazon bought 77.4 acres of land at the Tarboro Commerce Center for $512,000,

according to Edgecombe County property records. Seattle-based Amazon has not disclosed its plans for the property.

WILMINGTON Frontier Scientific Solutions, a temperature-controlled storage and transportation company serving the life sciences industry, announced plans to develop a 500,000-square-foot facility at Wilmington International Airport that would initially create 100 jobs . It could add 500 more as the company expands.

Middle Street Partners, a real estate investment and development firm based in Charleston, South Carolina, closed on the purchase of Pier 33 Apartments in downtown. The property’s sale price was $85.3 million. Raleigh-based Dewitt Carolinas was the seller.

Vantaca, a firm that provides community associations with management software, acquired California-based AI technology provider HOAi, which helps the community management industry streamline financial analysis and automate document management, among other functions. Dave Sweyer founded Vantaca after leading Community Association Management Services.

CHAPEL HILL Bill Belichick, who has a total of eight Super Bowl rings, will stalk the sidelines of the UNC Chapel Hill gridiron after receiving a five-year, $50 million contract to coach football. He replaces Mack Brown, UNC Chapel Hill’s all-time winningest football coach.

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Avelo Airlines plans a base at Wilmington International Airport and will add three new nonstop destinations, including Nashville, Tennessee; Rochester, New York; and Boston/Manchester, New Hampshire, beginning in April. Avelo’s plans will create 50 jobs.

PHOTO CREDIT: UNC CHAPEL HILL

A new microscope at the Port of Wilmington could help streamline the inspection of imported produce and agricultural products. U.S. Customs and Border Protection specialists will use a new Leica Microscope to inspect imported produce and agricultural commodities to ensure they don’t contain harmful pests.

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TRIAD HIGH POINT Superior Glove, a Canadian producer of safety gloves and PPE equipment, is set to open its first American manufacturing plant in High Point in April. The Ontario-based operation said it expects to create more than 100 jobs at the 45,000-square-foot plant over the next five years. No state incentives were involved in the transaction.

GREENSBORO

The Greensboro Area Convention and Visitors Bureau, the Greensboro Sports Foundation and the Oak View Group, which manages the First Horizon Coliseum complex, have partnered to purchase 40 portable pickleball courts that will be housed at the special events center at the coliseum complex.

North Carolina A&T State University will be the state’s first school to offer an undergraduate degree in artificial intelligence. Some universities in the state offer an AI concentration within their computer science degrees.

PINE HALL

Tanger expanded its shopping center reach in the Southeast by paying $73 million for The Promenade at Chenal in Little Rock, Arkansas. It is the first Arkansas presence for the open-air shopping center and outlet operator.

The Little Rock center contains 270,000 square feet.

Wieland Copper will invest $27 million to expand its production facility and create 50 jobs at a location that it has owned since 2010. Wieland produces copper tubes that are then processed for the HVAC, defense and aerospace industries. The Ulm, German-based company already employs about 470 workers in Stokes County.

PHOTO CREDIT: UNC CHAPEL HILL

Cone Health completed its merger into Risant Health, ending 71 years of local ownership. Risant has committed

a minimum of $1.4 billion in capital to Cone Health over the next five years and up to $300 million more over the over the next 10 years. At least $1 billion will be for investments in facilities, health equity and other projects. The remaining $700 million will go toward the transition in ownership and Cone’s growth opportunities.

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NCTREND ››› Statewide Atrium Health Wake Forest Baptist rode a strong performance from its investment income portfolio to post $263.5 million in excess revenue over expenses through three quarters of fiscal 2024. Baptist is the largest employer in northwest North Carolina, with more than 22,000 employees.

FAYETTEVILLE Businesses in low-to-moderate income areas could be eligible to receive up to $750,000 under a new city loan program designed to grow small businesses in economically disadvantaged areas. The “Can Do Grant Program” is supported with $2.5 million of the city’s American Rescue Plan Act funds and $2.5 million in state funding.

WINSTON-SALEM Wake Forest University began construction on The Grounds, a 100acre, mixed-use development around the university’s athletic complex, 14 years after the project was announced.

The groundbreaking kicks off the $215 million project involving the university, city and developers Carter of Atlanta and Front Street Capital of Winston-Salem.

Nelipak opened its 110,000-squarefoot packaging production site nearly two years after the global healthcare packaging manufacturer committed to creating 79 jobs. The Cranston, Rhode Island-based company, doing business as Nelipak Healthcare Packaging, is operating in a new speculative building that represents its first North American flexible packaging production site.

Developer High Tide Capital, which specializes in restoring historic landmarks, purchased the downtown Loewy Building from the Housing Authority of Winston-Salem for $3.1 million. The Maine-based developers plan to invest as much as $20 million to convert the building into apartments.

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ProKidney paid $22.5 million for two buildings on property adjacent to its existing location after walking away from a planned Greensboro expansion that came with about $35 million in incentives and a promise to create 330 jobs. The new deal represents about 180,000 square feet of space and will support ProKidney’s manufacturing operations for rilparencel. It ia a treatment to potentially preserve kidney function in patients with Type 2 diabetes and advanced chronic kidney disease.

Truliant Federal Credit Union purchased Atkins & Associates Insurance Agency, based in Greenville, South Carolina. Atkinas has operated for more than 16 years and is now called Truliant Insurance of Greenville.

TRIANGLE ABERDEEN Reliance Packaging plans a $7.4 million expansion that will create 32 jobs. The company has operated here since 2014. Its heavy-duty plastic bags and film are used for the lawn and garden market as well as other outdoor applications.

CARRBORO The town of 21,000 residents is suing Charlotte-based Duke Energy, contending the big electric utility knew about harmful impacts of climate change for

more than 50 years but continued to operate coal and gas power plants that emitted significant greenhouse gases. Duke Energy says it is reviewing the lawsuit.

DURHAM Chipmaker Wolfspeed fired CEO Gregg Lowe, who had led the company since 2017. Board Chair Thomas Werner will lead the company until a permanent chief executive is hired. Wolfspeed reported a $282.2 million net loss for the first quarter of its fiscal year. The chipmaker has laid off about 20% of its staff in 2024, while adding a $3.9 billion plant in Chatham County. Wolfspeed had 5,013 employees as of June 30.

The Biden administration announced the Department of Commerce and a North Carolina nonprofit are entering talks on a $285 million deal to create a new institute to bolster the U.S. semiconductor industry. The talks between the U.S. Department of Commerce and Semiconductor Research Corp. could lead to what officials call the SMART USA Institute.

A former Extended Stay America hotel on N.C. 55, just south of Interstate 40, won 7-0 approval for conversion into 126 multifamily homes by Vivo Living.

City Council also unanimously approved expansion of Caring House on Pickett Road to provide more housing for Duke Cancer Center patients and their families.

Federal Express will close an office here and lay off employees at a Raleigh office, resulting in the loss of 123 and 218 jobs, respectively. Some employees have already accepted new positions at other FedEx locations. The layoffs at both locations will be effective Feb. 3.

North Carolina Central University announced a $1 million grant from Google.org, Google’s philanthropic arm, to establish the Institute for Artificial Intelligence and Equity Research. It is a first-of-its kind program for a U.S. Historically Black College or University.

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HOLLY SPRINGS Biotechnology company Amgen plans a $1 billion investment in Holly Springs expected to create 370 additional jobs that pay an average wage of $91,527. Amgen broke ground in 2022 on its first Holly Springs site, which represents a $550 million investment and an estimated 355 jobs. It should be operational in 2025, while the expanded plant should open by 2028.

RALEIGH Advance Auto Parts continues to slim down as CEO Shane O’Kelly realigns the Raleigh-based retailer. The company says it will close 523 stores, sever relations with 204 independent locations and shutter four distribution centers by mid 2025. At the end of 2023, the company operated 4,786 stores, 50 distribution centers, and it supplied 1,245 independently owned Carquest stores.

McAdams, a design and engineering firm headquartered here, acquired AVID Group, a civil engineering firm with 20 employees and offices in the Tampa and Orlando areas. Adams has 473 employees with branch offices in Charlotte, Durham and Winston-Salem, and the Dallas-Fort Worth area.

International travelers at RaleighDurham International Airport can now choose from a record 14 destinations.

Recent announcements include nonstop flights to Vancouver and Calgary in June 2025, flights to Montego Bay, Jamaica, and Punta Cana, Dominican Republic, in February and flights to Bermuda in April.

Former City Manager Ruffin Hall was named CEO of the nonprofit Dix Park Conservancy, which maintains the 308acre park near the center city. He succeeds Janet Cowell, now mayor, who resigned before the election. Hall was the capital city’s manager from 2011-20. The CEO search attracted 150 applicants.

Saint Augustine’s University dismissed half of its employees as it works to regain

its financial footing. The university is eliminating 67 staff positions, 37 full-time faculty positions, and 32 adjunct faculty positions. It will also discontinue several academic programs. These cuts have helped reduce the university’s expenses by about $17 million.

SOUTHERN PINES The Jefferson Inn, a historic downtown hotel, was sold at auction for $3.3 million to Hometrust Bank of Asheville. Current management company Hogan Hospitality Group didn’t say whether the Jefferson Inn and its on-site bar, the 1901 Lounge, will continue operations.

WEST

BOONE Appalachian State University will use its allocation from a sports wagering tax to help pay for a $29 million on-campus indoor practice facility. The UNC Board of Governors approved ASU’s funding proposal for the 85,000-square-foot facility, of which $3.3 million, or 11%, comes from sports betting. The school also hired Dowell Loggains as head football coach. He had spent the past two seasons as offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach at the University of South Carolina. He succeeds App State alum Shawn Clark, who posted a win-loss record of 40-24 in six seasons.

UNC Health Appalachian promoted Chief Operating Officer Nathan Nipper to CEO. He succeeds CEO Chuck Mantooth, who announced in July he would retire at the end of this year. Nipper joined the system in December 2022.

MARION

ASHEVILLE Novant Health, a Winston-Salembased health system, is seeking state approval to open an $8.3 million diagnostic center here. The proposed diagnostic center, Novant Health Asheville Imaging Center, would be located at a former Gold’s Gym now housing families affected by Tropical Storm Helene.

The Asheville Metropolitan Statistical Area shed 8,200 jobs in October, or 4% of the region’s total jobs, according to the N.C. Department of Commerce. It’s a glimpse of the impact of Hurricane Helene in the area, which includes Buncombe, Haywood, Henderson and Madison Counties. The state lost a net of 5,500 jobs in October.

Businesses reliant on tourism and hospitality in Buncombe County are projected to post Helene-related revenue losses of as much as 70% in the final quarter of 2024, according to the Tourism Development Authority.

The world’s largest IV fluid plant resumed operations after Hurricane Helene shut down production, triggering a ripple effect across hospitals and doctors’ offices. A levee breach had flooded Baxter Healthcare’s 1.4 million-square-foot manufacturing site about 30 miles from Asheville, causing significant damage to the facility.

MORGANTON E.J. Victor, a high-end furniture manufacturer, will lay off 121 workers in a downsizing related to Hurricane Helene storm damages and a dispute with its insurance provider, Firemen’s Fund. E.J. Victor filed a lawsuit against its insurance carrier, Fireman’s Fund Insurance Company, seeking in excess of $75,000 in damages.

PISGAH FOREST Rocky Mount-based C.W. Williams will invest about $1.75 million and create 10 jobs as it opens a third location in the state. The company, which has more than 40 employees, currently sells and services emergency vehicles, and has another location in Statesville. ■

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SPONSORED CONTENT

2024 CAROLINA HR SUMMIT & AWARDS The inaugural Carolina HR Summit & Awards was held on Nov. 4.

More than 175 human-resources leaders from across the Carolinas attended the event, which was held in Charlotte.

Organized by Charlotte-based Search Solution Group, an executive search company, in partnership with Business North Carolina, it featured a keynote speaker, moderator and four panelists. They offered insights into building and managing a thriving workforce.

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SPONSORED CONTENT

CAROLINA HR SUMMIT 2024 WINNERS

Kristen Maxwell SVP & Senior HR Officer

F&M Bank

Amanda Rossi

Kristen Mahoney

Director, HR Systems & Processes

TXX Company

HR Business Partner

ABX Innovative Packaging Solutions

Christi Smiley VP of Human Resources

Northern Regional Hospital

Adria Bush Senior HR Manager

I-77 Mobility Partners LLC

Shane Wilson

Katie Cooper

Danielle Stilwell

Manager Operations, HR Business Partner

Director of Training and Development

HRD Recruitment Manager

National Gypsum

Raines Co.

Columbia Forest Products

Ron Fish Global Talent Acquisition Leader

Invati

Tiffany Pridgeon Talent Acquisition Specialist II

BAE Systems Inc.

The summit also recognized HR Standout winners. These 10 human-resources leaders were chosen based on leadership, dedication and innovative approaches, all of which set them apart as trailblazers. Their achievements inspire others and demonstrate the power of effective leadership in shaping strong and resilient organizations.

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MEDICAL ORTHOPEDIC CARE

KEEPING STEP Demand for orthopedic care is growing as North Carolina’s population grows and shifts slightly older. Providers are using technology, expansions and cooperation to meet it.

M

edical education provider American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons expects knee-replacement surgeries to increase a staggering 180% nationwide by 2030. That increased demand is already being seen in North Carolina.

Wayne McFatter, executive director of surgical services at FirstHealth of the Carolinas, estimates the healthcare system’s surgeons perform about 5,000 orthopedic procedures across its 15-county region in central North Carolina, which is home to a large population of retirees, each year.

“This is an extremely busy practice area for us, and we’re strategically located in an area where we’re just far enough away from the big centers like UNC, Duke and Charlotte and even Greensboro,” he says. “We want to treat patients in our community, and at the same time, they want to stay close

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to home, experience a fast recovery and save money.”

Orthopedic practices statewide are keeping care and costs top of mind as a fast-paced system of ever-changing laws, policies and insurance reimbursements reconfigure the healthcare landscape. As they strive to keep pace, their leaders are implementing unique ways to ensure quality care is available for their patients.

Growing demand

Pushed by a growing population that’s led by aging baby boomers and Gen-Xers, demand for orthopedic surgery is rising. American Joint Replacement Registry’s database surpassed 4 million hip and knee arthroplasty procedures in March 2024, a milestone announced in the 11th edition of its annual report.

Published by the American Academy

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of Orthopaedic Surgeons Registry Program, the 2024 report analyzed more than 3.7 million procedures — 18% more than the year prior — and reflected data submitted between 2012 and 2023 from nearly 1,500 institutions nationwide.

There are about 1,200 orthopedic surgeons practicing in North Carolina, according to North Carolina Medical Society and North Carolina Orthopaedic Association. Dr. Michael Marushack, NCOA’s immediate past president and an orthopedic surgeon in Wilmington, started his practice with a small group of Brunswick County practitioners in 1999. He says the number of orthopedic surgeons in the state has remained consistent the past few years. “The patient population is changing, and more and more people need to see orthopedists,” he says.

“Not all procedures involve major orthopedic issues like broken hips SPONSORED SECTION

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AMERICA’S 100 BEST ORTHOPEDIC SURGERY

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and arthritis. Some of them are ankle sprains and things that could be taken care of by a nurse practitioner or a physician assistant who has expertise in that area.”

Injecting technology

One way to improve outcomes and cut costs is robotic knee-replacement surgery. It allows surgeons to better tailor implants to a patient’s musculoskeletal anatomy. McFatter says FirstHealth has robotic knee-replacement surgery systems at its Moore Regional Hospital in Pinehurst and satellite locations in Hoke and Richmond counties. They’ve been recognized as one of America’s 100 Best Hospitals for orthopedic surgery

by Healthgrades, a leading resource that consumers use when searching for a doctor or hospital. Moore Regional also earned the 2025 Orthopaedic Surgery Excellence award and ranked as a five-star recipient for total knee replacement for 2025 and hip-fracture treatment for four years in a row.

Robotic surgeries perform life-impacting surgeries in less time, less invasively and with greater precision than traditional approaches, creating better outcomes, especially for older patients. Orthopedic care providers are leveraging technology in other ways. The HURT! app, for example, quickly connects users to an orthopedic expert, who is ready to discuss symptoms and receive patient-taken taken photos, providing guidance on next steps, including helping a patient decide if a trip to the emergency room, many times a costly move, is warranted.

end. Charlotte spine surgeon Dr. Leo Spector, sparked by a desire to sharpen his management acumen, enrolled in Duke University Fuqua School of Business’ MBA program in 2020. He became Charlotte-based OrthoCarolina’s CEO in January 2024. It has proved an ideal move for him, and he believes it has been positive for his patients, too. “In my dual role as a physician and CEO, I bring a unique perspective to both patient care and organizational strategy,” he says. “I can see firsthand the individual patient’s needs, how to best support our teammates and the larger strategic view of our organization.”

Physician-owned EmergeOrtho and OrthoCarolina are the two largest orthopedic practices in North Carolina. Both offer numerous office locations and specialty clinics across the state. OrthoCarolina was born out of two orthopedic practice groups — Charlotte Orthopedic Specialists, founded in 1922 by Dr. John Stuart Gaul, and Miller Orthopedic Clinic, founded by Dr. Oscar Lee Miller.

The two doctors worked together, managing and treating patients suffering from polio until Dr. Jonas Salk developed a vaccine in the early 1950s. They shared their knowledge

and techniques with other physicians.

That collaborative spirit continued until their practices merged in 2005.

Spector says OrthoCarolina has about 130 physician shareholders, more than 470 medical providers and 1,700 employees. “We have more than 40 orthopedic practices from Winston-Salem to Bennettsville, South Carolina, and as far west as Boone,” he says.

EmergeOrtho formed when five orthopedic practices — Ortho Wilmington, Triangle Orthopedic Associates, Greensboro Orthopedics, Carolina Orthopedic Specialists and Blue Ridge Bone Joint — came together between 2016 and 2019. “Our easternmost point is the Morehead City area, and we go west all the way through Asheville to Clyde and Brevard,” says EmergeOrtho CEO Allison Farmer. “We have 63 locations and 170 physicians.”

Farmer says the trend of smaller practices merging into larger ones won’t reverse anytime soon. “The continued burdens on a practice, from purchasing equipment to staffing, electronic medical recordkeeping and payer negotiation, reaps larger rewards if we operate on a larger scale,” she says.

Stronger together

For some physicians, playing a leadership role in their practice is important. But it often requires assembling an ever-expanding set of skills to address healthcare’s business

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Adding capacity

American Academy of Orthopedic Surgeons’ 2024 report also noted ambulatory surgery centers’ continued importance to delivering total joint arthroplasty care; they handled 62,110 procedural cases last year. That’s a 70% increase since 2022. But building more to alleviate growing demand for orthopedic care isn’t as easy as choosing a site, putting up bricks and mortar, and outfitting with technology and staff. There are rules to follow and needs to meet.

Placement and operation of ambulatory surgery centers, which specialize in same-day procedures, are controlled by government regulations.

When North Carolina expanded Medicaid in 2023, significant changes were made to the state’s Certificate of Need law, the regulatory mechanism for approving major capital expenditures and projects for certain healthcare locations. It aims to control costs by preventing duplicate services and determining if proposed projects meet a community’s needs. North Carolina is one of 35 states that have a CON law.

Tucked inside the Medicaid expansion were exemptions to CON law. One was for “qualified urban

ambulatory surgical facilities” in counties with a population greater than 125,000 people. MRI scanners in urban communities were made exempt from review, and thresholds for establishing diagnostic centers and acquisition of replacement equipment were relaxed.

“We are thrilled that these reforms open opportunities for ambulatory surgery centers and MRI growth, and we hope further relief will continue to be prioritized,” Farmer says. “However, we’re continuously burdened with the decrease in Medicare reimbursement from Washington.”

Paying the bills

Many small communities, especially those in rural regions, are home to more residents using Medicaid and Medicare than private insurance. Farmer says that creates a challenging business environment for practices. But a buzz is being created around an initiative that address those and other financial concerns. In 2023, EmergeOrtho and OrthoCarolina announced they were joining forces with administrative partner SCA Health to create HiVE of the Carolinas. HiVE — Health Innovation Value Enterprise — uses a framework of data analytics, patient-engagement technology, advanced-care models and

evidence-based protocols to identify areas for improvement.

Spector says HiVE’s goal is to shift the system to a point where providers are rewarded for the quality of care they deliver and positive outcomes rather than traditional fee-for-service medicine. He’s quick to point out that the collaboration does not signal a merger between EmergeOrtho and OrthoCarolina. “Rather, we are collaborating … to leverage our collective strengths, expertise and resources while maintaining our individual brand identities to provide a higher standard of orthopedic care,” he says. “Together, our two independent groups comprise just over 50% of the orthopedic surgeons in North Carolina, and we take care of approximately 50% of musculoskeletal spend, creating a tremendous opportunity to deliver value to our patients throughout the state.”

Spector hopes other healthcare organizations replicate HiVE. “We aspire to be a catalyst for positive change in healthcare by fostering collaboration, ultimately leading to more patient centered, cost effective and value based healthcare models,” he says. ■ — Teri Saylor is a freelance writer in Raleigh.

FirstHealth of the Carolinas has expanded knee-replacement surgery options for its patients through the introduction of a robotics-assisted surgical system at Moore Regional Hospital – Hoke.

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ROUNDTABLE

ADVOCACY

ONE VOICE

Teamwork makes the dream work. That popular saying applies to sports and business. Industry groups and organizations bring together their members, uniting their voices to solve challenges and push forward agendas. Business North Carolina recently gathered a group of leaders and representatives of some of the state’s most-prominent ones to discuss how their collective efforts help them and North Carolina as a whole, including navigating the recent election results, addressing workforce needs and supporting the ongoing Hurricane Helene response. The conversation was moderated by Publisher Ben Kinney. The transcript was edited for brevity and clarity.

Tina Gordon CEO North Carolina Nurses Association

Albert Eckel co-founder and partner Eckel and Vaughan

Joshua Grant director of public policy and government relations Smith Anderson

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Ardis Watkins executive director State Employees Association of North Carolina C A R O L I N A

Patrick Woodie CEO and president NC Rural Center SPONSORED SECTION

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The discussion was sponsored by: •Electricities of North Carolina •North Carolina Nurses Association •State Employees Association of North Carolina •NC Rural Center

WHAT’S ADVOCACY’S ROLE IN ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT? GRANT: Smith Anderson represents the North Carolina Economic Development Association. It has more than 950 members, the most it has ever had.

About half are practitioners — senior developers, community members and tangential entities. NCEDA’s advocacy initiative has increased during the past five years. Its legislative agenda is sorted into three buckets: product development, site development and workforce

readiness. We also work on North Carolina’s competitive posture in relation to other states, and that includes taxes, infrastructure and more.

The state can play a larger role in economic development. That has become more apparent as other states, especially those in direct competition for projects, have invested large sums of money in infrastructure and workforce.

One issue underlined by our legislative survey this year is childcare. We had a couple members mention it in the past, but it lacked consensus across our membership. We look forward to seeing proposals for feasible solutions.

Our members’ biggest priority is state investment in infrastructure and sites. We have been encouraging the legislature to invest in product development. Get some sites ready. North Carolina has had tremendous economic development success, and those wins have depleted business-ready sites. Having them is

significant. Getting the legislature to identify and invest in sites has been significant. Economic Development Partnership of North Carolina did a megasite study, which identified seven sites. There are nearly 15 properties, all less than 1,000 acres, in the Selectsite Readiness Program.

ECKEL: I worked for Corning for 14 years, when fiber optics was going strong. We had to continually expand capacity. At the end of the day, incentives matter. But infrastructure and site readiness will make a deal. If I was told here’s your site and you develop it, that would be big. That is such an important investment. It’s the build it and they will come mentality.

WOODIE: We look at North Carolina through an economic development lens.

That’s our mindset. NC Rural’s mission is to improve communities and the quality of life for the people who call them home. We have a broad network — local

COMMUNITY CONNECTION

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government, economic development, education, healthcare, nonprofits, faith community and regional institutions. We must address issues and challenges through regional frameworks and increase our ability to work through them.

North Carolina has had success with megasites. They put a lot of our rural workforce closer to more employment opportunities, including ones associated with supply chains that ripple from those successes. While some rural counties will never be proximate to a megasite, they still have economic development potential. Realizing it requires state support, developing sites and buildings that can lead to local investment and job creation.

We support megasite efforts and the diversification brought by Selectsites.

One size does not fit all when it comes to economic development. State policy must reflect that and be poised to invest in small and isolated places. It’s vital that they, too, can attract investment and jobs.

HOW CAN A UNITED VOICE ADDRESS THE STATE’S WORKFORCE NEEDS? GRANT: Workforce is vital to economic development success. The community college system has been a tremendous ally in that space. It’s new funding model — Propel NC — is more efficient, responsive and flexible to future workforce demands. Our members strongly support it. They want to continue to explore apprenticeship opportunities and K-12 programs. It’s important to work side by side.

GORDON: North Carolina Nurses Association represents and advocates for registered nurses in the state. They number more than160,000, the largest healthcare workforce component by a wide margin. But even that isn’t enough to meet healthcare needs.

Workforce is No. 1 in all our healthcare conversations. We must expand the pipeline for new registered nurses along with strengthening workplace safety and protection of our current workforce.

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We’re not going to produce our way out of the current nursing shortage — about 12,500 by 2033. So, we’re pursuing a multifaceted approach.

Nursing has had many workforce shortages over the years. What makes this one unique is North Carolina’s numbers look different compared to other parts of the country. Not every place is experiencing the shortage or facing the severity of projections that we are. It’s important that we investigate why, not only from the healthcare workforce standpoint but also what it means to attracting and retaining businesses and families.

Last year’s North Carolina Institute of Medicine report has many strong recommendations. The healthcare community’s challenge is figuring out which is tackled first. We’re digesting the nursing workforce recommendations.

NCNA has opinions to offer, but it’s a big conversation that requires attention in many different places. Workforce has become a conversation for every industry and profession, so we run the risk of becoming background noise when everyone is talking about it.

WOODIE: There are severe shortages of providers in almost any healthcare category that you want to discuss. We need more boots on the ground, and we need to get the most from every pair. One way to do that is modernizing and expanding the scope of advanced practice nurses, who are trained to take on more responsibility but restricted or prohibited from doing so by state regulations. We strongly support that move for North Carolina. More than half of the states have traveled that road, and none have turned back.

WATKINS: State government’s job vacancy rate has hovered between 23% and 25% since the COVID-19 pandemic. It has been more than 60% at some prisons. That is astounding.

State government touches almost every industry, so it needs to be able to respond to the needs of residents and businesses. Hurricane Helene drove

C A R O L I N A

ADVOCACY that point home. While every workforce is important, state government workers have it a bit different when disaster strikes. They’re the ones asked to save lives then rebuild them.

State employees are doing a yeoman’s job responding to Hurricane Helene.

It was a huge disaster and different than any that the state has dealt with previously. It wasn’t just a hurricane.

There were so many other things to deal with. State government workers were asked to do unpleasant things well beyond their job descriptions. We’ll see the mental health effects from that for a long time.

Mental health needs to be a priority across North Carolina, because at the end of the day, it affects workforce, too.

You can’t build a house with a broken arm, but you can’t do anything if your mind is broken. Mental health has to be a bigger priority.

WHAT ISSUES WILL YOU FOCUS ON THIS YEAR? WOODIE: We administer the State Small Business Credit Initiative, which is a federal program funded by the U.S. Treasury. We’ve built a real capital base. We operate several programs in partnership with banks, credit unions, community development finance institutions and fund managers on the equity side. They reach small business owners regardless of where they are in the business lifecycle. They support capital access for those small businesses, filling in some of the identified gaps. It was designed to be evergreen. It has given us opportunity as time has gone on.

We have a working group within our board of directors that’s investigating some new lines of small business financing, perhaps even housing or project financing. It’s a reflection of what we hear in our advocacy efforts and will allow us to address other gaps in capitalaccess markets and make a greater impact on the communities that we serve.

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As a state-level organization that’s focused on rural regions, we’re unique on the national level. We’re a private nonprofit. There are other nonprofits, but they’re based in state government or at a university, often the state’s land grant institution. We have greater flexibility in how we do things, the experiments we try and programs we implement. We offer a host of different standing programs, all relevant to rural residents and leaders.

We increasingly are looking at exporting that work to others that are focused on rural regions, enabling them to take what we have learned, along with some of our approaches, and implement their own versions, whether at the state or regional level.

Our faith work has led us to partner with rural churches, offering programs that help their congregations tackle local economic and community development issues.

Bringing a congregation to bear on some of these community issues, then exporting that approach nationally, is a new experiment for us. We’re looking forward to seeing where it takes us.

WATKINS: State Employees Association of North Carolina represents active and retired state employees from every agency, university and community college. We’re in public schools, too.

Our work extends to residents who aren’t a state employee or related to one. The state’s economic engine depends on its infrastructure, and state employees are that infrastructure.

There are many issues that concern us.

Healthcare has consumed much of our group’s time, because its cost to the economy is out of control.

ECKEL: We all have issues that we must address, either killing them or making them happen. But the really effective organizations are always advocating, and that has different meanings. It’s not only advocating for a piece of policy. It’s advocating for local change. Sometimes that’s change to soften the ground for something else. So, many people are moving into action. People are ready to tell their story. This will be an interesting

and fun year for people who engage in policy, public affairs and similar types of work.

WHAT ARE YOUR POLICY GOALS FOR THE UPCOMING LEGISLATIVE SESSION? WHAT ARE YOUR CONCERNS? WATKINS: The state’s current fiscal situation is my biggest worry. About half a billion dollars were approved for Opportunity Scholarships just prior to Hurricane Helene’s arrival. Hurricane recovery’s price tag is inching toward $60 billion. Revenue from 27 western counties is pretty much decimated for the second quarter of the state’s fiscal year, and it probably won’t be any better in the third quarter. There are discussions at the federal level about pushing costs down to state and local governments.

That’s a big question. And Medicaid expansion, which was passed in 2023, is overlaying all of it.

No one could have foreseen this series of events happening in step with big

State Employees Association of North Carolina State employees, retirees, and their families make up 10% of North Carolina’s population.

We’re proud to work to protect and enhance their earning power, benefits, and retirement security — all of which directly impact the state’s economic prosperity.

www.seanc.org

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policy changes. I’ve never seen anything like it. It’s a perfect storm. It will force us all to focus. Everyone will have to show why whatever they’re advocating for is a priority in what will be a limited pot of money.

ADVOCACY

what was surprising is that there’s seven.

That’s more than we’ve seen in recent polls. But they make a lot of sense.

Affordable housing was named by 72% of respondents. Access to affordable childcare, which we see as a workforcedevelopment challenge, public education funding, opioid drug abuse, availability of qualified workforce, high cost of doing business and effective local leadership were also listed. Our policy agenda will reflect those concerns. That’s a lot to keep up with.

WOODIE: We’re gearing up for a new legislative session and new elected leadership on the state and federal levels. This past fall was dedicated to engaging as much of our rural network as possible, determining our priorities.

We held 15 listening sessions across the state. Every rural resident was no more than a 45-minute drive from one. We heard a lot. Our rural poll had its largest response. It’s an informal process that lets us gauge the thoughts of people on the ground and the leaders that we work with in our network. We also heard a lot of consistency.

Our state doesn’t face many small challenges; everything is high magnitude.

That was true before Hurricane Helene and remains that way today. It isn’t an exaggeration to say we never have seen a storm bring the same devastating impact, and we’ve had some bad ones in eastern North Carolina.

There were seven issues of greatest concern; more than 50% of respondents listed them. None were a surprise. But

I recently met with the North Carolina and South Carolina transportation secretaries. South Carolina expects

repairs to Helene-damaged roads and bridges will cost $50 million. North Carolina’s estimate for similar work is $5 billion. This is a problem. How are we going to prioritize things?

North Carolina has a well-defined system of emergency management and disaster recovery. It’s a process, and it’s expanding. It’s bureaucratic. It doesn’t always work well, including for those it’s intended to help. That’s concerning.

We want to think that we can build back smarter, in a way that’s more resilient, so that next storm doesn’t have the same effects as Helene. That’s incredibly challenging, even without considering the other issues on the table that can’t be ignored. Each of our seven areas of greatest concern, for example, could potentially carry a big price tag. We must decide how to fund everything on the table.

BUILDING VIBRANT COMMUNITIES ADVOCACY

The NC Rural Center, our State Small Business Credit Initiative and our affiliate CornerSquare Community Capital provide advocacy, support and capital for your small businesses. Visit our websites to learn more about how we can work together.

Let us help you grow no matter where you live.

ENGAGEMENT

LEADERSHIP

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www.cornersquare.org

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|

www.ncruralcenter.org

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GRANT: North Carolina would benefit from greater certainty from Congress in regards to its commitment to hurricane recovery. Will that push a budget timeline out further? State legislative leadership has said only Congress can pick up a tab this big. Having healthy reserves was significant. Sen. Phil Berger said we had a very rainy day.

But that’s not to say we won’t be hit with a hurricane or some other catastrophe again in the near future. If we had this conversation in isolation, then people could feel good about every one of the initiatives mentioned. I’m not envious of those who must weigh each against the others to decide their worth. That’s a difficult position.

GORDON: State funding would help some of our workforce priorities. But we have other requests that wouldn’t cost the legislature a dime. Some would save the state money. Better use of advanced practice nurses, for example, continues to increase in importance, both in

regards to the state’s ongoing healthcare needs and those exacerbated by Helene. We believe legislators should remove regulatory barriers for these advanced practice nurses, so they can do what they’ve been trained to do.

Doing that will increase healthcare access statewide but especially in rural communities. It also will cut costs, returning money to the state coffers from state health plan savings for Medicaid.

It’s a simple money-saving move that about half the country has already undertaken. It’s already underway in western North Carolina, where emergency waivers were enacted.

Let’s make those permanent and move forward.

understand how they can make an impact.

How do they hit their target? Many times they’re looking for us to develop that plan and the needed content.

We’re at a big moment. A lot of leadership will be needed from our local, state and federal officials to address hurricane recovery in western North Carolina, population changes statewide and other issues. I’m a positive person, so it’s a moment of opportunity to continue to define who we are as North Carolina. We do things well, and that’s what I’m excited about. ■

ECKEL: Everybody basically sat on their hands from July through November, wondering what to do. But they weren’t doing nothing. They were gaming out different scenarios. Now we have certainty at the state and federal levels.

People are moving into action. They want to mobilize themselves and begin to

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N.C. PORTRAITS

FAMILY-OWNED BUSINESS

FAITHFULLY FARMED FEEDING THE BODY & THE SOUL

For four generations, the leadership of Braswell Family Farms has leaned on their faith.

Their operation is sizeable - the family-owned business employs over 225 people at their Nashville,N.C., headquarters and beyond to produce over 720 million eggs each year – but the Braswell family knows they are simply stewards of a great blessing.

Over the last 81 years, the Braswell family has held fast to the words of 1 Corinthians 10:31,“whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.” They have a deep respect for their role in the community. They know the responsibility of a farmer is one you cannot take lightly and they know the importance of not only feeding the body, but also the soul.

HOW IT STARTED

Braswell Family Farms was founded in 1943 when brothers J.M. and E.G Braswell purchased the historic Boddie Mill in Nashville. There, the pair produced corn meal for the community local farmers and neighbors — mindful to close every Sunday for rest and worship. In the 1950s, the second generation of Braswells joined the business and, like each subsequent generation, took steps to grow the operation. They began selling young hens to egg producers and contracting with local farmers to keep hens.

The business grew steadily over those early years and, in 1969, they built a state-of-the-art feed mill before purchasing and expanding Red Hill Egg Farm. In the 1970s. Then, in 1989, Braswell’s third-generation leader, Ronald “Scott” Braswell Jr., saw a new opportunity. He took a chance as a founding member of the Eggland’s Best franchise a leap of faith that nutritionally enhanced eggs were the way of the future.

Trey with his maternal grandfather, Dick Parker.

Mr. Parker also worked in the family business raising pullets.

HOW IT’S GOING

Today, the company is led by a fourth generation in Ronald “Trey” Braswell III who took over from his father in 2008.

You can still see the stamp of each previous generation’s impact on Braswell Family Farms. In 2017, Braswell Foods officially rebranded to Braswell Family Farms under Trey’s leadership. From Scott’s leap of faith in 1989 to today, Braswell Family Farms has become the second largest Eggland’s Best and Land O’ Lakes franchisee in the United States producing specialty eggs of nearly all shapes and sizes: cage free, free range, pasture raised and organic.

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Braswell Family Farms also produces their own brand of eggs, Natural Choice, which continues to grow each year.

The feed mill also remains a core tenant of the business providing feed for chicken and hog farmers in North Carolina and Virginia. The company is just as focused on quality for their chicken feed as they are for the eggs they sell. After all, it’s all connected.

They work with nutritionists to ensure the feed they produce is the best it can be, and they produce different formulas for different stages of a hen’s life.

“It’s just like with people; our diet adjusts with the stage of our life, and it’s the same with animals,” says Braswell Family Farms Communications and Engagement Specialist Brittany Armbruster. “It changes based on the time of year and how old they are.”

Trey with his father, Scott, at the re-branding kickoff in May 2017.

Braswell Family Farms 104 E. Cross St. Nashville, NC 27856 252-459-2143 braswellfamilyfarms.com

IMPACT BEYOND EGGS

The growth of Braswell Family Farms over four generations has had a rippling impact in Nashville and beyond. The Braswell family is committed to producing the highest quality eggs and feed as an act of service to their community and as a vessel to share God’s goodness. This manifests in a variety of ways in locales near and far.

For the last three years, Braswell Family Farms has had the opportunity to donate eggs for the White House Easter Egg Roll held in Washington D.C. Part of the commitment is providing the eggs hardboiled and dyed. Since 2022, Braswell Family Farms has donated, cooked and dyed nearly 100,000 for the annual event.

“It’s fun and logistically there’s a lot to coordinate but it’s a great opportunity and we’re honored to have done it,” Armbruster says.

Closer to home, Braswell Family Farms is hosting its Second Annual New Year’s Eve Egg Drop this year. The company aimed to create a safe and joyful New Year’s Eve celebration for families to make meaningful memories and come together as a community. In its inaugural year, nearly 4,000 people were able to enjoy the event. The event is free to the public and proceeds from a 50/50 raffle donates to local causes. This year, the proceeds will support recovery from Hurricane Helene in Western North Carolina.

Finally, the organization is committed to giving as an act of worship. They annually support causes including Samaritan’s Purse, American Cancer Society’s Relay for Life, Baptist Children’s Homes of NC and Appalachia Service Project, among others.

LOVE AND LOSS

In October 2024, Braswell Family Farms experienced the loss of Ronald “Scott” Braswell Jr., the third generation to run the business. While his son, Ronald “Trey” Braswell III, has been leading the company for the last few years, Armbruster says Scott Braswell was still involved in the business and was known as a warm, kind presence to employees.

“He was a part of the business and has been here most of his life,” she says.

“There are people who have known him and have worked directly under him for 20 to 30 years.”

Scott became president of the company in 1991 after his father passed away. Under Scott’s leadership, Braswell Family Farms continued to expand to the forefront of the industry. He purchased Glenwood Farms in 1997, which allowed the company access to markets in Virginia, Maryland, Delaware, and New Jersey. Forward-thinking led Scott to move the company away from leasing packing facilities and toward owning the process from start to finish. The company’s processing facility, known as Carolina Egg, was completed in 1999 and is located next to Scott’s first hen houses at Red Hills.

But in speaking with those who knew him best, it was clear that Scott Braswell’s faith led the way. He was known for his quiet, philanthropic approach to life. He was known to randomly pay for folks’ dinners while out in Nashville - without saying a word. He often helped employees when they needed it and was passionate about creating quality jobs for the community.

“He really believed in what he did and the mission of Braswell Family Farms,” Armbruster says.“We produce eggs that feed America. That was never lost on him. He would say, ‘That’s a real privilege to be able to do that.’”

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Recovery, shelter and kiddos

Two new leaders atop state government enables a fresh start for addressing three prime problem areas.

After a long stretch of stability, North Carolina’s political scene is undergoing some big changes in 2025, with a new governor and new House speaker

succeeding incumbents who’d been in place for almost a decade.

Incoming Gov. Josh Stein is taking over from Roy Cooper, who was term-limited after eight years in office, and incoming House Speaker Destin Hall replaces Tim Moore, who led his chamber of the General Assembly since 2015.

At least initially, any differences are likely to be stylistic.

Stein, a Democrat, succeeded Cooper as attorney general in 2017 after serving as a state senator for eight years. Hall, a Republican, had been Moore’s Rules committee chair since 2020. He quips the job is “like being a speaker on training wheels” with “all of the work of the speaker but none of the glory.”

Still, the changes are likely to at least bend the state government’s direction, even if Stein and Hall agree with their respective predecessors far more than they disagree.

Elsewhere in the capital, there’s continuity. Senate President Pro Tem Phil Berger is back for another term at the head of the 40

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Senate’s Republican supermajority, a post he’s held since 2011.

The Rockingham County lawyer has followed the paradigm for his office established by the late Marc Basnight, a Democrat who had led the Senate during the previous 16 years.

Berger is perhaps North Carolina’s most powerful elected official. His 2022 flip on the merits of expanding Medicaid insurance for low-income residents, for example, went a long way toward ensuring Cooper’s longtime top legislative priority became law the following year.

The Democratic leaders are House Minority Leader Robert Reives, a Chatham County lawyer, and Senate counterpart Sydney Batch. In a post-Thanksgiving coup, Batch ousted fellow Wake County lawmaker Dan Blue, who has served in the legislature since 1981, minus a four-year hiatus.

Party labels aside, the leaders agree that three topics are likely to command the majority of legislators’ attention when the new session starts on Jan. 8: Hurricane recovery, housing and childcare. While those issues would seem to involve nonpartisan matters, it’s common for divisive policies to enter the fray. That was the case in December, when a hurricane relief bill morphed into a successful Republican effort to wrest appointment powers from incoming Democratic Gov. Stein.

PHOTOS COURTESY OF JOSH STEIN, DESTIN HALL AND THE AP

By Ray Gronberg

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Recovery

PHOTOS COURTESY OF JOSH STEIN, DESTIN HALL AND THE AP

Helene: How much?

State lawmakers have earmarked about $1 billion in state money to help western North Carolina cope with Hurricane Helene. Officials are waiting on Congress to come through with massive federal aid.

“This is going to be probably a $50 billion problem, and that’s the kind of problem that the federal government is going to have to help fund,” says Hall, a lawyer from Lenoir in Caldwell County.

Cooper asked Congress for a $25.6 billion aid package, including $17.6 billion that wouldn’t otherwise flow through established programs at agencies such as FEMA or the Small Business Administration. As of mid-December, approval remained pending, though state and federal leaders were hopeful that Congress would provide major aid by Christmas.

The recovery cost exceeds Cooper’s request significantly. State budget director Kristin Walker has warned that it’s a $53.6 billion problem — and that even support of that magnitude would not make western North Carolina whole. She forecasts about $17.8 billion in additional unmet needs.

“Some of it is gone and is gone forever,” she says, referring to homes, businesses and other resources destroyed in September. A tiny fraction of properties in the West region have flood insurance, leaving many owners reliant on government and nonprofit support for rebuilding assistance.

Money aside, there are questions about how the state should address the recovery. Many Republicans believe former Gov. Cooper’s administration botched the aftermath of 2016’s Hurricane Matthew and 2018’s Hurricane Florence. They point to the home replacements financed with money from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.

Cooper tasked the N.C. Office of Recovery and Resiliency with handling that work. Years later, 1,454 families displaced by the storms are waiting for the completion of promised new homes Hall suggests officials need to rethink how the state handles storm recovery. Like Berger, he wants North Carolina to look to South Carolina, Florida and others for examples of effectiveness.

“I’m a big believer in copying what other folks have done if it’s successful, so I think that’s where you start,” Berger says.

Reives and other Democrats emphasize the need to not just respond to Helene, but to seize an opportunity to harden the state’s infrastructure and communities against damage from future storms.

“We’ve got to revamp the way that we do it [so] it’s not about just throwing money at problems,” Reives says. “It’s not a matter of if it’s going to happen again, it’s a matter of when. And it’s not a matter of is it going to be ferocious; it’s going to be.”

State leaders have to make sure that “for every dollar we invest, that dollar actually gets to the people who are hurting and doesn’t become 10 cents on the dollar,” Reives adds.

▲ North Carolina Governor Josh Stein Age 58 First elective office: N.C. Senate, 2009

▲ House Speaker Destin Hall Age 37 First elective office: N.C. House, 2017

▲ Senate Pro Term Phil Berger Age 72 First elective office: N.C. Senate, 2000

▲ Senate Minority Leader Sydney Batch Age 45 First elective office: N.C. Senate, 2019

▲ House Minority Leader Robert Reives Age 54 First elective office: N.C. House, 2014

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shelter

HOUSING: STOPS AND STARTS

North Carolina isn’t producing enough new housing, not just to replace the undetermined numberof homes destroyed by Hurricane Helene, but in the state’s most economically prosperous markets. In Charlotte alone, there’s a need for 25,000 additional housing units for lower-income residents, city leaders say.

The problem is there’s a lack of consensus on how to promote more building of homes and apartments for those priced out of the state’s robust housing market. Star line, the progressive-leaning advocacy group Carolina Forward urged lawmakers to provide state backing for more project development loans to reduce risk for investors and developers. The group is also promoting streamlining zoning regulations to enable more housing targeted to middle-income workers.

A majority of lawmakers have yet to fully embrace those positions. Everyone has ideas about housing, however. Hall argues for eliminating delays in building permits; Reives is skeptical of deregulation that might limit local input. Berger sees a need for a balancing act, with state intervention reserved mainly for curbing regulatory abuses.

“It’s just something I don’t know that there’s a one-size-fits-all solution,” Berger says.

“It’s an issue that is statewide, really, but it really shows itself differently in different parts of the state,” Hall adds. “And I think that’s been part of the problem with coming up [with] a solution.”

Republicans’ favored approach has been to establish “shot clock” deadlines for city and county governments to act on builders’ permit requests. The House is also likely to consider what Hall terms “statewide inspectors,” or some other attempt with local government to speed the pace from planning to completion.

“That’s one thing that I think we need to pinpoint and deal with very quickly,” Hall says. “You have folks who are ready to build. They’ve got the capital, they’ve got contractors ready to roll [and] start building, but we’re waiting on a government bureaucrat to come out and inspect and issue the permit.”

That begs the question whether cities and counties are allowing enough development, even before permits are handed out. Many real estate industry executives say officials in the state’s fastgrowing areas are putting up too many hurdles, largely in response to resident pressure for slower growth. Berger has been heavily involved in a prolonged, publicized debate over development density in the Summerfield community near Greensboro. He says state and local governments need to understand that it’s a mutual balancing act.

“Two things come to mind,” he said. “One is we need to be real careful if we’re going to step in. And two, the local governments need to be real careful about how much they regulate.”

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kiddos

CHILDCARE: A SEARCH FOR PARTNERSHIPS

Berger, Hall and Reives agree with the NC Chamber and other groups that argue the limited availability and high cost of slots for children is keeping too many parents out of the workforce.

There’s a dispute over strategy, however. Berger argues the solution isn’t just about shoveling money into the existing system of childcare centers.

“When I first got elected to my position, my thought was, childcare is something that’s best left to mom and dad,” Berger says. “Things have changed significantly since then. To me, the way we need to look at this is, it’s a problem for mom and dad, it’s a problem for the employer and, increasingly, it’s a problem for the state. And so I think whatever you do, you’ve got to have all three of those interest groups involved in whatever the solution is going to be. It can’t be something that’s just the government creating a program and funding the program.”

Reives agrees that officials and advocates need to “look first for structural changes” and ways to “help people help themselves.”

The solution most likely lies in facilitating more public-practice partnerships that expand access at affordable rates, he says.

That means “finding ways to empower maybe local chambers of commerce or local nonprofits of some sort to assist in providing childcare, or maybe a larger employer to create a capacity, not just for their employees, but for other folks to participate,” Berger says.

“I do think one thing is clear,” he adds. “We’re going to have to spend more money at the state level in order to make any of those things work.” ■

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NORTH CAROLINA’S

ACE IN THE HOLE When a Helene-type disaster strikes, Boone-based Samaritan’s Purse moves with a purpose.

By Shannon Cuthrell

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t any given time or place in the world, 257,000plus Samaritan’s Purse volunteers are busy distributing food bags, rebuilding homes after hurricanes, packing toy boxes for needy children, performing heart surgeries and treating airstrike victims in war-torn countries. It’s a small army that outnumbers the lineup of active-duty troops and reservists in the Marine Corps.

As in the military, readiness and adaptability are everyday business for Samaritan’s Purse. Drawing more than $1 billion in contributions and grants annually, the 54-yearold Christian humanitarian organization has steadily built up a sizable resource pool: 24 aircraft, offices in 15 developing countries, five emergency field hospitals, 2,318 employees in the U.S., and thousands of additional people on call who are trained to deploy at a moment’s notice.

More than 1,950 employees work in North Carolina across its Boone headquarters, Wilkesboro warehouse, Charlotte processing center and Greensboro airlift site, where crews manage its Boeing 757 and Douglas DC-8 cargo planes.

▲Samaritan’s Purse best-known program may be Operation Christmas Child, which provides toy boxes globally. Graham, left, is shown with Mark Brumblelow, a Baptist preacher in Wild Peach, Texas, and his wife, Cherry.

It’s hard to plan what we’re going to do tomorrow because it can change depending on the news that night

PHOTOS CREDIT: SAMARITAN’S PURSE

— Franklin Graham “It’s hard to plan what we’re going to do tomorrow because it can change depending on the news that night,” says Franklin Graham, 72, the longtime president and CEO. “We can change the direction of a big part of our ministry overnight if we need to.”

Such a day came in on Sept. 27 when Hurricane Helene drowned western North Carolina’s rivers, streets, highways, homes and tourist gems. It was a 1,000-year flood of biblical proportions, killing 103 people and racking up $50 billion-plus in damage, including more than 100 staff members’ homes.

In response, the organization quickly mobilized about 33,000 volunteers in North Carolina and set up bases in Asheville, Burnsville and Boone. Another 4,660 people have supported recovery efforts in Florida and Georgia.

Graham, the son of legendary preacher Billy Graham, has never seen such a storm in his native state. “Just follow the rivers. On both sides, there’s more need than you can shake a stick at. Everywhere, you’ll find a place to help,” he says.

“When a person’s home has been destroyed or damaged, they don’t know what to do. They just stand there, almost in a daze. And when you bring in an army of volunteers to help clean up the home, they suddenly begin to see daylight.”

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▲Graham and his wife, Jane Austin, attended National Purple Heart Day ceremonies in Alaska in August.

▲After Hurricane Helene struck, Graham, right, and his son, Edward, left, met with U.S. Sen. Ted Budd and his wife, Amy Kate.

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By mid-December, volunteers had delivered 3,847 generators, 7,768 heaters, 24,666 food bags and 22,473 gallons of fuel across 15 counties statewide, reaching 3,820 homeowners and 200 churches. Eighteen aircraft carried 700,000 pounds of supplies across 359 missions. It was the “largest civilian airlift operation in U.S. history,”officials said.The group also installed or repaired 139 SpaceX Starlinks for satellite internet service.

Samaritan’s Purse plans to rebuild 500 houses and replace 500 manufactured homes over at least three years, paid for by hundreds of thousands of devoted donors nationwide. The preliminary budget lists material costs at $155,000 to $300,000 per home, and $150,000 each for mobile homes.

A BULGING PURSE Samaritan’s Purse’s rapid growth

$1.2 billion (2023) $1.5 billion $1 billion $500 million $0

Our nonprofit and faith-based partners like Samaritan’s Purse play an essential role in disaster response and recovery

$1.04 billion (2023)

— FEMA spokesperson It joins dozens of nonprofit and faith-based organizations working alongside state and local agencies as part of the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s Voluntary Organizations Active in Disaster network. The goal is to help survivors with needs that may be outside the scope of government disaster recovery programs. FEMA’s voluntary agency liaisons identify unmet needs and work directly with Samaritan’s Purse in coordinating response and recovery.

“Our nonprofit and faith-based partners like Samaritan’s Purse play an essential role in disaster response and recovery, offering critical assistance to survivors in their time of greatest need,” a FEMA spokesperson says.

When Helene hit, FEMA leveraged the organization’s unprecedented volunteer turnouts to muck out flooded homes, tarp roofs, remove downed trees with chainsaws and transfer debris for pick-up.

Samaritan’s Purse worked alongside FEMA long before Helene, though it doesn’t receive funding or grants from the agency.

Samaritan’s Purse equipped its first disaster relief semi-truck in 1998.

Other examples of collaboration include: wildfires in New Mexico last year, tornadoes in Mississippi in 2023, and hurricanes Harvey in Texas, Michael in Georgia and Ian in Florida.

FEMA also points to the Maui wildfires in 2023, when Samaritan’s Purse deployed crisis-trained chaplains through its sister ministry, the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association. “Chaplains were on the island to provide emotional support and spiritual comfort to residents suffering in the wake of so much loss,” the spokesperson stated.

Graham, who also leads the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association as president and CEO, says these rapid-response chaplains are mainly there to listen to people in the immediate aftermath of natural disasters, shootings and other crises. “It’s important for people to be able to tell their story because it may be the most traumatic thing in their life,” he adds. “Our chaplains listen to their stories, pray with them, and help local authorities bring calm to the situation. It’s one of the most important areas of our ministry.”

$1 billion $800 million $600 million $400 million $200 million $0

$1.83 billion (2023) $2 billion $1.5 billion $1 billion $500 million $0

$112 million (2023) $120 million $100 million $80 million $60 million $40 million $20 million $0

Source: Form 990 tax filings from 2011 to 2023

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PHOTOS CREDIT: SAMARITANS PURSE

$1.2 billion

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PHOTOS CREDIT: SAMARITANS PURSE

▲Samaritan’s Purse recovery efforts in its home state are massive with volunteers delivering 3,847 generators, 7,768 heaters, 24,666 food bags and 22,473 gallons of fuel as of mid-December. More than 3,800 homeowners were reached, along with 200 churches. Plans call for rebuilding 500 homes and replacing 500 manufactured homes.

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Evangelical DNA

We’ve grown almost every year for the last 40 years, Graham says. We never try to focus on growing per se, but we just want to be faithful and carry out the work God wants us to do.

— Franklin Graham “I want Samaritan’s Purse to be exactly what Jesus said it was to be,” Pierce is quoted as saying. “Who was that Samaritan? Likely a layman. The professional religionists, the priests, and the Levites had taken a casual look at the wounded traveler – and gone on their way quite unaffected by his critical need of help. Then along came this Samaritan whom the religionists despised.”

After Pierce died in 1978, the board tapped the 27-year-old Graham to take over as president and board chair a year later.

“I took office chairs and a few files from his desk in California to North Carolina, and we set up Samaritan’s Purse here in Boone with some ladies from the local church who helped me,” Graham says. The original office was in the attic of a medical practice run by the founders of World Medical Mission, which became the medical arm of Samaritan’s Purse. Since 1980, the operation has deployed more than 14,500 trips of medical personnel in 82 countries.

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▲Graham is pictured with family members including his son, Edward, (far left); cousin Melvin Graham (third from left); wife Jane Austin (fifth from right) and daughter Cassie Lynch, (far right).

Samaritan’s Purse now manages more than $1 billion in net assets and armies of volunteers across 100 countries. Medical teams have served 60,000 patients through emergency field hospitals, and the Children’s Heart Project has performed surgeries on about 1,500 children with heart defects.

Among its best-known projects, Operation Christmas Child, has delivered 220 million gift-filled shoeboxes to impoverished children. Operation Heal Our Patriots hosts an annual marriage retreat in Alaska, where hundreds of military couples come to fish, bear-watch and take marriage enrichment classes.

“We’ve grown almost every year for the last 40 years,” Graham says.“We never try to focus on growing per se, but we just want to be faithful and carry out the work God wants us to do.”

Samaritan’s Purse paid Graham an $812,909 salary in 2023, according to the latest tax filings. Another 12 executives each received more than $300,000 in total compensation, including Graham’s son Edward, who is chief operating officer. Other family members affilated with the organization include Franklin’s wife Jane Austin, and his daughter, Jane “Cissie” Lynch.

Graham’s upper-six-figure salary is not uncommon in large Christian ministries. Some execs earn more than $1 million in annual compensation, particularly those in media enterprises.

Other relief and development ministries pay their presidents sixfigure salaries, including World Vision ($534,742), Compassion International ($419,184), and MAP International ($352,693).

Graham also receives an undisclosed salary from the Graham evangelistic association. He believes his 45-year track record justifies his compensation. “A lot of pay is tied to longevity,” he says. “I think I’ve been at this job more than anyone else in the evangelical world, so if the Lord gives me health and strength, I’m going to keep doing it as long as I can.”

PHOTOS CREDIT: FRANKLIN GRAHAM

Samaritan’s Purse remains unapologetically Christian, a clear distinction from many humanitarian aid nonprofits. “We’re an evangelistic organization that happens to do relief work. We come right out and say, this is who we are,” Graham says. “I want everyone to know God loves them, that Christ died for their sins. We share that with everybody, but we never make it a condition for us to help them. We help them all, regardless of what they believe.”

Evangelism is in Graham’s DNA, having grown up witnessing his father’s sermons and broadcasts. “I never wanted to try to be Billy Graham because I knew I never could,” he says. “My father was a special person that God called and used.”

While he never planned to join his father’s operation, Graham knew he wanted to join the ministry world since his late teens. This realization came after a formative trip to northern Jordan, treating tuberculosis victims at a missionary hospital near the Syrian border.

He figured he’d start by learning how to manage money. After returning from Jordan, he enrolled in Appalachian State University to get a business degree.

Around this time, the late Baptist pastor Bob Pierce asked Graham to join a new ministry, Samaritan’s Purse, that he started in California in 1970. When Pierce got sick with leukemia later that decade, Graham asked about his vision for the organization’s future. Pierce referenced the namesake New Testament parable delivered by Jesus, in which a priest and a Levite chose to ignore a half-dead traveler crying for help along the side of the road.

The third passer-by, a “good Samaritan,” broke the pattern and stopped to help.

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Franklin Graham, president and CEO, Samaritan’s Purse; president and CEO, Billy Graham Evangelistic Association Don Campion, president, Banyan Air Service Michael Cheatham, M.D., Orlando Health Surgical Group Corey Furman, president, Boone Drugs Edward Graham, chief operating officer, Samaritan’s Purse Melvin Graham, president and CEO, Graham Enterprises Jeff Greene, vice president, Hollar and Greene Produce Skip Heitzig, senior pastor, Calvary Chapel Thomas Hodges, executive vice president, Truist Bobby Idol, executive vice president, Carroll Companies Cissie Lynch, senior adviser/spokesperson, Samaritan’s Purse Dr. Felix Martin del Campo, general dentistry Brian Pauls, president, Pauls Corp.

Phyllis Payne, executive adviser to the president, Samaritan’s Purse Paul Saber, president and CEO, Manna Development Group John Scott, senior vice president, Wealth Management, Truist Robert Shank, founder and CEO, The Master’s Program Richard “Stick” Williams, retired president, Duke Energy Foundation Paula Woodring, executive vice president, Samaritan’s Purse

2025 and World Peace

PHOTOS CREDIT: SAMARITAN’S PURSE

PHOTOS CREDIT: FRANKLIN GRAHAM

SAMARITAN’S PURSE BOARD MEMBERS

Graham says Samaritan’s Purse will expand on several fronts in 2025. Immediate plans include adding a Boeing 767 cargo plane to its fleet, opening a new ministry center in Baltimore, and continuing its Helene rebuilding operations. Two new planes are on order for Alaska and Africa, but likely won’t be ready until 2026.

Asked about emerging crises he’s tracking, Graham mentions the situation in Sudan. Over half the population has minimal access to food, 3 million refugees have fled, and 8 million remain internally displaced, making it the largest displacement crisis worldwide. “We have an office in Port Sudan, which is functioning as the capital city since Khartoum has been abandoned and sacked,” Graham says. “We are doing all that we can to help feed people and care for their medical needs.”

For now, Samaritan’s Purse will continue its longtime operations in Ukraine. Before Russia invaded in 2022, the organization was working with 3,000 churches through Operation Christmas Child. “We’re still there helping them,” Graham says. “We’ll be in Ukraine for some time now. We hope that President Trump can work out some kind of deal, as he promised he would, to see this war come to an end.”

Graham isn’t shy about his support for the incoming president, continuing his decades-old history of outspoken views that have drawn sharp criticism from more liberal leaders and organizations. In 2015, he called for barring Muslims from emigrating to the United States, similar to bans on German and Japanese immigration during World War II. A regular poster on social media, he opposed efforts to make same-sex marriage legal in all 50 states and is staunchly anti-abortion, except in cases involving the mother’s health.

Graham prayed for Trump at the Republican National Convention in 2020 and 2024. In the first administration, Graham spoke highly of Trump’s peace agreements between Israel and the United Arab Emirates, and his diplomatic engagements with Russian President Vladimir Putin and North Korea’s Kim Jong Un. In their various meetings over the years, Graham has encouraged Trump to pray daily when he wakes up. “I believe he’s doing that,” he says.

Interviewed a week after the November election, Graham remained optimistic about world peace. “Trump is not a person who wants war. He’s a person who wants to make a deal, he wants to see people prosper. And whatever crises around the world, I think he’ll be very supportive of a humanitarian organization like Samaritan’s Purse in responding.”■

▲Franklin Graham and President-elect Donald Trump in Valdosta, Georgia after Hurricane Helene.

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Zealous Advocate.

Hope and Compassion.

It’s about people.

Let’s go!

By Kevin Ellis Photography by Terrence Jones

CATEGORY WINNERS

ANTITRUST | Cassandra J. Creekman APPELLATE | Matthew W. Sawchak BANKRUPTCY | Jason L. Hendren BUSINESS | Milton “Heath” Gilbert Jr. CONSTRUCTION | Neale T. Johnson CORPORATE COUNSEL | Christopher F. Buchholtz CORPORATE LAW | Anne E. Croteau CRIMINAL | Russell D. Babb EMPLOYMENT | William Augustus Oden III ENVIRONMENTAL | Bryan Brice Jr. FAMILY | Janet Haney Amburgey IMMIGRATION | Ana Sofia Nuñez INTELLECTUAL | David W. Sar LITIGATION | J. Scott Flowers REAL ESTATE | Marc L. Isaacson TAX & ESTATE PLANNING | Heidi Elizabeth Royal YOUNG GUNS | Carlie Anne Smith

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hose were some of the words Business North Carolina received when we asked this year’s Legal Elite category winners to describe their work. We also asked this group of 17 attorneys – who work in firms ranging from two attorneys to 1,000 – about ways they’re working smarter. One says making phone calls rather than defaulting to email has made a difference.

Another calls perfection “the enemy of good work.” The answers gave a lot of insight into what motivates these attorneys to serve their clients.

Business North Carolina would like to thank all of the attorneys who took time to vote on their peers as well as those who participated in this feature.

It’s the 24th class of Legal Elite, which honors lawyers chosen by their peers. Business North Carolina contracted DataJoe Research to facilitate an online peer-voting and internet research process.

About 1,300 lawyers received votes, with those receiving the most getting recognition in 17 specialties as Hall of Fame members.

The responses have been edited for length and clarity. Previous Hall of Fame members are listed by their firm at the time of selection unless otherwise noted.

DataJoe Research is a Boulder, Colorado-based software and research company specializing in data collection and verification, and it conducts various nominations across the nation on behalf of publishers. DataJoe confirmed that each published winner had, at the time of review, a current, active license status with the appropriate state regulatory board. If unable to find evidence of a lawyer’s active registration with the state regulatory board, that lawyer was excluded from the list. In addition, we checked available public sources to identify lawyers disciplined for an infraction by the state regulatory board. They were excluded from the list.

DataJoe presented the tallied results to Business North Carolina for its final review and adjustments.

DataJoe and Business North Carolina recognize that there are many talented lawyers who are not listed. This is a subset of talented professionals across the state. Inclusion in the list is based on the opinions of responding lawyers in North Carolina. DataJoe thoroughly ensures fair voting but the company understands that the results of this survey nomination and internet research campaign are not an objective metric.

Disclaimers: DataJoe uses best practices and exercises great care in assembling content for this list. DataJoe does not warrant that the data contained within the list are complete or accurate. DataJoe does not assume, and hereby disclaims, any liability to any person for any loss or damage caused by errors or omissions herein whether such errors or omissions result from negligence, accident, or any other cause. All rights reserved. No commercial use of the information in this list may be made without written permission from DataJoe. For research/methodology questions, contact the research team at surveys@datajoe.com.

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WardSm

Fewer than 4% of the state’s attorneys are included in Business North Carolina’s Legal Elite Mary ryy Charles Amers rson rs s Family Law

Michelle Gonzalez Real Estate Law

Jane Francis Nowell Young Guns

Adam Beaudoin Business

Justin Hill Young Guns

Michael Parrish Litigation

Payton Collier Bullard d Young Guns

Lee Hodge Business

Greg Peacock Tax and Estate Planning

Al Clyburn Family Law

Matthew Jones Business

Lauren Quinn Family Law

Richard Crow Business

Melody King Family Law

Joe Schouten Litigation

Alex Dale Appellate

X. Lightfoot Young Guns

Jason Strickland Construction

Angela Doughty, CIPP/US, AIGP Intellectual Property

Avvery Locklear Young Guns

Allen Trask Litigation

John Martin Appellate

Hayley Wells Employment

Lance Martin Bankruptcy

Devon Williams Employment

Alex Ferri Construction

Marianna Baggett McMurry Young Guns

Cameron Winfrey Real Estate

Sam Franck Real Estate Law

Evan Musselwhite Construction

Chris Edwards Appellate Paul Fanning Bankruptcy

or the Legal Elite Hall of Fame Joanne Badr Real Estate Law

Brad Evans Antitrust

Amy Wang Environmental

Jim Creekman Corporate Counsel (retired)

Will Oden* Employment *2025 Inductee

David Ward Corporate Counsel (Counsel Emeritus)

We are proud to count 38 of them as our own

Asheville | Greenville | New Bern | Raleigh | Wilmington 1001 College Court, New Bern, NC 28562 wardandsmith.com | 800.998.1102 J A N U A R Y

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See businessnc.com/special-sections/legal-elite for an explanation of the standards of membership.

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ANTITRUST CASSANDRA CREEKMAN Wyrick Robbins Hometown: Rhinelander, Wisconsin Undergrad: Duke University Law school: New York University School of Law, 2005 Practiced law: 19 years Family: Husband, David, and two sons, ages 11 and 13

ANALYTICAL & Pratical FIRST JOB: As a teenage day camp counselor, I often worked alone at a small public park for seven hours. My job was to entertain a dozen kids between the ages of 5 and 12.

WORKING SMARTER: I used to personally answer every question I was asked. Learning to delegate ultimately empowers others and provides better client service.

FAVORITE NORTH CAROLINA PLACE: The mountains, especially Boone and Blowing Rock.

MISSION ACCOMPLISHED: Hiking a glacier STILL ON BUCKET LIST: Scuba diving STRESS RELIEVER: Reading – but the book can’t be too good or I stay up all night!

WHY I BECAME A LAWYER: I wanted to use the law to help guide decisions for long-term or society-wide benefits, rather than immediate self-interest.

ALTERNATIVE CAREER CHOICE: Cognitive psychology research

2025 MILESTONES: Completing our first Hart-Scott-Rodino filing under the newly revised rules.

PASSIONS: Travel and spending time with my family.

LAW SCHOOL IN 2 OR 3 YEARS: Two years would be enough for many practice areas and would reduce financial burdens on students. Law schools might develop externship-type programs for a third year of specialization.

ABOUT WYRICK ROBBINS FOUNDED: 1979 OFFICE: Raleigh MANAGING PARTNER: Todd Eveson HOW MANY ATTORNEYS, STAFF: 120 attorneys, 55 professional staff KEY SPECIALTIES: Corporate/M&A/public companies; capital markets/PE/VC; life sciences; ag-tech; tech; IP/licensing; banking and financial; litigation; data privacy and security; real estate/ environmental; employment; ERISA/Employee benefits/executive compensation; healthcare; tax; municipal; and family law and trusts and estates.

YOUR EDGE: I like solving problems and am not afraid to tackle new things.

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ANTITRUST

Steven Andrew Bader Cranfill Sumner, Raleigh

J. Blakely Kiefer Wyrick Robbins, Raleigh

Jaye Elizabeth Bingham-Hinch Batten Lee, Raleigh

John Korzen Wake Forest Law, Winston-Salem

CASSANDRA J. CREEKMAN Wyrick Robbins Daniel Micah Blau Daniel M. Blau Law, Raleigh Raleigh Lisa F. Garrison Garrison Law Group, Asheboro

Charles Clanton Wyrick Robbins, Raleigh

Larry S. McDevitt Van Winkle Law Firm, Asheville

Ashley Ann Crowder Round 2 Legal, Charlotte

Michael T. Medford Manning Fulton & Skinner, Raleigh

Alexander C. Dale Ward and Smith, Wilmington

Lawrence C. Moore III Robinson Bradshaw & Hinson, Charlotte John D. Noor Roberts & Stevens, Asheville Clinton R. Pinyan Brooks Pierce, Greensboro George Sanderson The Sanderson Law Firm, Raleigh

APPELLATE MATTHEW W. SAWCHAK Robinson Bradshaw &Hinson, Raleigh

Christopher S. Edwards Ward and Smith, Wilmington Samuel J. Ervin IV Brooks Pierce, Greensboro Stephen D. Feldman Robinson Bradshaw & Hinson, Raleigh Ross Fulton Rayburn Cooper & Durham, Charlotte

Lorin J. Lapidus Nelson Mullins Riley & Scarborough, Winston-Salem

Mark Russell Sigmon Sigmon Law, Raleigh Amie Carol Sivon Ragsdale Liggett, Raleigh

Scottie Forbes Lee Ellis & Winters, Greensboro

Christopher G. Smith Smith Anderson, Raleigh

Michelle Ann Liguori Ellis & Winters, Raleigh

Rebecca K. Watts Collins & Elder Law Group, Monroe

John M. Martin Ward and Smith, Greenville Lucy Inman Milberg Coleman Bryson Phillips Grossman, Raleigh Kip David Nelson Fox Rothschild, Greensboro Preston O. Odom III James McElroy Diehl, Charlotte David S. Pokela Maynard Nexsen, Greensboro

Robert Daniel Gibson Davis Hartman Wright Attorneys, New Bern

Stephen M. Russell Jr. Mullins Duncan Harrell Russell, Greensboro

Bonnie Keith Green The Green Firm, Charlotte

Deborah Sandlin Sandlin Family Law Group, Raleigh

Michael Duane Jones Hedrick Gardner Kincheloe Garofalo, Charlotte

Patricia Pursell Shields Hedrick Gardner Kincheloe Garofalo, Raleigh

Jonathan D. Sasser Ellis & Winters, Raleigh

D. Martin Warf Nelson Mullins, Raleigh John R. Wester Robinson Bradshaw & Hinson, Charlotte Erik Randall Zimmerman Robinson Bradshaw & Hinson, Chapel Hill

BANKRUPTCY

JASON L. HENDREN

Hendren Redwine & Malone, Raleigh Rayford K. Adams III Spilman Thomas & Battle, Winston-Salem

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APPELLATE MAtthew sawchak Robinson Bradshaw ANTITRUST HALL OF FAME Hometown: Vestal, New York Undergrad: Harvard University Law Schoo: Duke University School of Law, 1989 Practiced Law: 34 Years Family: I’ve been married to my wife Maureen for 40 years.

We have an adult son, Ben, and an adult daughter, Julia.

Rigor & Readability FIRST JOB: The summer after ninth grade, I was the bugler at a scout camp on Cayuga Lake in the Finger Lakes of New York. At the end of each week, the campers would throw me and my bugle into the lake as revenge for waking them up every day.

YOUR EDGE: Unfailing encouragement from Maureen.

WORKING SMARTER: Delegation. Sharing responsibility with my younger colleagues is important for their development and my sanity.

Also, litigation strategy improves when it reflects more than one point of view.

FAVORITE PASSIONS: Singing and reading about current affairs.

FAVORITE NORTH CAROLINA PLACE: Beaufort

2025 MILESTONES: I’ve been fortunate to work on several appeals in 2024. I’d like to work on even more in 2025.

LAW SCHOOL IN 2 OR 3 YEARS: I’d stick with three, but I’d focus the third year on clinics, internships and other ways for students to sample the role of a lawyer before jumping into the deep end.

MISSION ACCOMPLISHED: Arguing in the U.S. Supreme Court.

BUCKET LIST: Visiting Croatia STRESS RELIEVER: Watching sports with Maureen and tossing toys to our rescue dogs. We often do both at the same time.

WHY I BECAME A LAWYER: I enjoy working with words and ideas.

ALTERNATE CAREER CHOICE: I could see myself as a choral conductor. I have a passion for singing and for leading singing groups.

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ABOUT ROBINSON BRADSHAW FOUNDED: 1960 OFFICES: Charlotte, Raleigh, Chapel Hill and Rock Hill, South Carolina. Sawchak works in Raleigh.

MANAGING PARTNER: Allen Robertson HOW MANY ATTORNEYS, STAFF: 173 attorneys, 105 professional staff KEY SPECIALTIES: More than 40 practice areas across four departments – corporate, litigation, real estate and tax.

C A R O L I N A

12/19/24 10:05 PM

Brian Richard Anderson Fox Rothschild, Greensboro

William L. Esser IV Parker Poe, Charlotte

Jamey Mavis Lowdermilk Brooks Pierce, Greensboro

Philip M. Sasser Sasser Law Firm, Cary

James B. Angell Howard Stallings Law Firm, Raleigh

Paul A. Fanning Ward and Smith, Greenville

Jennifer Lyday Waldrep Wall Babcock & Bailey, Winston-Salem

Travis P. Sasser Sasser Law Firm, Cary

David R. Badger David R. Badger, Charlotte Paul Rudd Baynard Offit Kurman Attorneys At Law, Charlotte Laurie B. Biggs Biggs Law Firm, Raleigh

Megan P. Farley Allen Stahl + Kilbourne, Asheville Chip Ford Parker Poe, Charlotte Joseph W. Grier III Grier Wright Martinez, Charlotte Cole Hayes Hayes Law, Charlotte

Lance P. Martin Ward and Smith, Asheville Michael Leon Martinez Grier Wright Martinez, Charlotte Robert Ashley Mays Mays Johnson Law Firm, Asheville

Dirk W. Siegmund Ivey Mcclellan Siegmund Brumbaugh & McDonough, Greensboro Kevin L. Sink Kevin Sink Law, Raleigh Zachary H. Smith Moore & Van Allen, Charlotte

Ashley Lee Hogewood III K&L Gates, Raleigh

Jack Miller Rayburn Cooper & Durham, Charlotte

William E. Brewer Jr. Sasser Law Firm, Cary

Andrew Thomas Houston Moon Wright Houston, Charlotte

Clinton Shepperd Morse Brooks Pierce, Greensboro

Glenn Clark Thompson Hamilton Stephens Steele + Martin, Charlotte

Daniel C. Bruton Bell Davis Pitt, Winston-Salem

Charles M. Ivey III Ivey Mcclellan Siegmund Brumbaugh & McDonough, Greensboro

George M. Oliver Law Offices of Oliver & Cheek, New Bern

Joseph Jude Vonnegut Hutchens Law Firm, Fayetteville

John C. Bircher III Davis Hartman Wright Attorneys, New Bern

William E. Burton III Fox Rothschild, Greensboro Algernon L. Butler III Butler & Butler, Wilmington Stacy C. Cordes Cordes Law, Charlotte Brian D. Darer Parker Poe, Raleigh Damon Terry Duncan Duncan Law, Greensboro

James W. Kilbourne Jr. Allen Stahl + Kilbourne, Asheville

Kathleen O’Malley Stevens Martin Vaughn & Tadych, Raleigh

William Howard Kroll Everett Gaskins Hancock Tuttle Hash, Raleigh

Richard Rayburn Rayburn Cooper & Durham, Charlotte

James C. Lanik Waldrep Wall Babcock Bailey, Winston-Salem

Ciara L. Rogers, Waldrep Wall Babcock & Bailey, Raleigh

Luis Manuel Lluberas Moore & Van Allen, Charlotte

Ashley S. Rusher Blanco Tackabery Attorneys At Law, Winston-Salem

Lisa P. Sumner Maynard Nexsen, Raleigh

Jill C. Walters Baker Donelson Bearman Caldwell & Berkowitz, Raleigh Matthew Alexander Winer Hamilton Stephens Steele + Martin, Charlotte A. Cotten Wright Grier Wright Martinez, Charlotte Joseph Zachary Frost Buckmiller Boyette Frost, Raleigh

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bankruptcy jason L. Hendren Hendren, Redwine & Malone Hometown: I was born in Ripley, Tennessee, but spent most of my childhood in Bedford, Virginia Undergrad: Lee University Law school: University of Tennessee School of Law, 1999 Practiced law: 25 years Family: Married with three children, ages 27, 17 and 10.

hope & Compassion FIRST JOB: I bagged groceries at Food Lion at age 15.

ALTERNATIVE CAREER CHOICE: Financial adviser

WORKING SMARTER: I’ve learned to work with an excellent team of attorneys and paralegals and not micromanage every aspect of the business.

YOUR EDGE: I wouldn’t be where I am today without my faith in God and my family.

FAVORITE NORTH CAROLINA PLACE: Cape Lookout MISSION ACCOMPLISHED: Traveling for overseas mission work and teaching English classes in Budapest, Hungary.

STILL ON BUCKET LIST: I would like to travel the intercoastal waterway with friends and family and work up the Great Loop.

STRESS RELIEVER: Golf, playing drums with my church band and boating.

WHY I BECAME A LAWYER: I enjoy helping people who are going through stressful situations and thought bankruptcy law was a great opportunity to help clients through financial difficulties.

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2025 MILESTONES: I will travel on my seventh mission trip to Budapest.

FAVORITE PASSIONS: Music and investing LAW SCHOOL IN 2 OR 3 YEARS: Three for sure ABOUT HENDREN, REDWINE & MALONE FOUNDED: 2009 OFFICES: Zebulon and Raleigh HOW MANY ATTORNEYS, STAFF: Five attorneys, and three staff KEY SPECIALTIES: Business-related financial workouts and bankruptcy cases. Law partner, Mike Malone, focuses on personal injury, class action and business litigation.

C A R O L I N A

12/19/24 10:05 PM

BUSINESS MILTON “HEATH” GILBERT JR.

Baucom, Claytor, Benton, Morgan & Wood, Charlotte Thomas A. Allen Wyrick Robbins, Raleigh Nicholas John Bakatsias Carruthers & Roth, Greensboro Catherine A. Barnes James McElroy Diehl, Charlotte Adam Matthew Beaudoin Ward and Smith, Wilmington Matthew S. Black Envisage Law, Raleigh Marc D. Bishop Brooks Pierce, Greensboro Scott Bowers Baker Donelson Bearman Caldwell & Berkowitz, Raleigh

David P. Broughton Womble Bond Dickinson, Winston-Salem Patrick S. Bryant Robinson Bradshaw Hinson, Charlotte Steven Carr Ellinger & Carr, Raleigh Ryan W. Coffield Van Winkle Law Firm, Asheville Galen G. Craun III Bell Davis Pitt, Winston-Salem Natalie Crenshaw Folmar Tuggle Duggins, Greensboro Richard John Crow Ward and Smith, Wilmington Katie M. Ertmer Wyrick Robbins, Raleigh Paul T. Flick Miller Monroe Plyler, Raleigh Christie Anthony Hartinger Wyrick Robbins, Raleigh

William P. Bray Bray & Long, Charlotte

Lee Carlton Hodge Ward and Smith, New Bern

Curtis C. Brewer IV Smith Anderson, Raleigh

Kevin David Israel Venture Law Firm, Raleigh

Elizabeth S. Brewington Brooks Pierce, Greensboro

Jonathan L. Jenkins Brooks Pierce, Greensboro

Kelly Rains Jesson Jesson & Rains, Charlotte

David K. Liggett Ragsdale Liggett, Raleigh

Jesse Hofers Jones Fourscore Law, Raleigh

Jonathon Adam Martin Robinson Bradshaw & Hinson, Chapel Hill

W. Scott Jones Barbour Searson Jones Cash, Asheville

Merrill M. Mason Smith Anderson, Raleigh

Warren P. Kean Shumaker Loop & Kendrick, Charlotte

J. Dickson McLean Block Crouch Keeter Behm & Sayed, Wilmington

Jeffrey P. Keeter Block Crouch Keeter Behm & Sayed, Wilmington

Joshua J. Otto Wyrick Robbins, Raleigh

Robert D. Kidwell Fox Rothschild, Greensboro

Jeffrey James Owen McGuire Wood & Bissette, Asheville

Byron B. Kirkland Smith Anderson, Raleigh

Lonnie M. Player Jr. Player McLean, Fayetteville

Katherine Kliebert Kliebert Law, Charlotte

Christopher Poe Wyrick Robbins, Raleigh

Christopher Henry Kouri Maynard Nexsen, Charlotte

Kevin A. Prakke Manning Fulton & Skinner, Raleigh

Nick Kendall Johnston Allison Hord, Charlotte Matthew A. Jones Ward and Smith, Raleigh Stephen F. Later Robbins May & Rich, Pinehurst Lesley Attkisson Lewis Moore & Van Allen, Charlotte

V. Vaughn Ramsey Tuggle Duggins, Greensboro Cory Andrew Rayborn Tuggle Duggins, Greensboro Thomas Duke Ricks Alexander Ricks, Charlotte

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business milton “Heath” Gilbert Jr. Baucom, Claytor, Benton, Morgan & Wood Hometown: As the son of a United Methodist minister, I had no hometown. I went to high school in Louisburg in Franklin County.

Undergrad: UNC Charlotte Law school: University of Akron School of Law, 1999 Practiced law: 23 years.

Family: Wife, Cherise, and children Melanie, Rachel and Andrew.

cautious & Optimistic FIRST JOB: I washed pots and pans every Saturday at Louisburg College cafeteria.

WORKING SMARTER: I have learned how to say “no” to work. I have set limits and learned that I simply cannot help everyone. Moreover, many great colleagues are more capable than me and might want the referral.

FAVORITE NORTH CAROLINA PLACE: Coming from eastern North Carolina, I visited Charlotte in 1988 and knew that it was where I wanted to live and have since 1989, except for three years of law school.

MISSION ACCOMPLISHED: Traveled to England and France in 2023.

STILL ON BUCKET LIST: Hawaii STRESS RELIEVER: Watching a great comedic movie with my wife, kids and dogs in our theater room with a glass of wine or some other beverage of choice.

WHY I BECAME A LAWYER: My parents suggested this career to me in high school. I had the ability to write and also an innate ability to successfully advocate for things that one would not otherwise be compelled to do absent my advocacy. I figured that with those skills I could have a positive societal impact and also enjoy what I do.

YOUR EDGE: Discovering that I had ADHD in 2001. This helped me finally pass the bar, it shaped the way that I practice law and has kept me grounded.

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ALTERNATIVE CAREER CHOICE: Film producer 2025 MILESTONES: I will be an empty-nester when my son graduates high school in May 2025.

FAVORITE PASSIONS: Neurodiversity awareness: I have told my story through articles and CLE about my challenges with ADHD and how I manage it with the specific intention of encouraging others similarly situated to find their path; (2) UNC Charlotte: I have two degrees from there, two children have graduated from there and a third is on the way. I support their athletic teams, and academic scholarships and would love to see them eventually add the third public law school in North Carolina.

LAW SCHOOL IN 2 OR 3 YEARS: The traditions and work of the three-year process make us better lawyers. Shorter does not always mean better.

ABOUT BAUCOM, CLAYTOR, BENTON, MORGAN & WOOD FOUNDED: 1957 OFFICES: Charlotte and Matthews MANAGING PARTNER: M. Heath Gilbert Jr. HOW MANY ATTORNEYS, STAFF: Nine attorneys, 10 staff KEY SPECIALTIES: Business/corporate, real estate, estate planning and administration, commercial and business litigation, domestic, construction law

C A R O L I N A

12/20/24 12:31 PM

David Scott Rugani Johnston Allison Hord, Charlotte

Ryan Lee Beaver Bradley, Charlotte

David S. Coats Bailey & Dixon, Raleigh

George W. Sistrunk III Hamilton Stephens Steele + Martin, Charlotte

Christopher K. Behm Block Crouch Keeter Behm & Sayed, Wilmington

Ritchie W. Taylor Manning Fulton & Skinner, Raleigh

John T. Benjamin Jr. Law Office of John T. Benjamin Jr., Raleigh

Keith E. Coltrain Wall Templeton Haldrup, Raleigh Ward Davis, Bell Davis Pitt, Charlotte

David Lee Tkach David L Tkach, Charlotte

Eric H. Biesecker Maynard Nexsen, Greensboro

Luke J. Farley Ellis & Winters, Raleigh

Nancy Stewart Litwak Rosenwood Rose & Litwak, Charlotte

Caroline Wannamaker Sink Robinson Bradshaw & Hinson, Charlotte

Steven Allen Bimbo Windle | Terry | Bimbo, Charlotte

Alexandra Ferri Ward and Smith, Raleigh

Rod Malone Tharrington Smith, Raleigh

Matthew C. Bouchard Poyner Spruill, Raleigh

John Thomas Floyd Moore & Van Allen, Charlotte

Kevin Anthony Marshall Johnston Allison Hord, Charlotte

Carl Jeffress Burchette Rosenwood Rose & Litwak, Charlotte

Joseph P. Gram Conner Gwyn Schenck, Greensboro

Carmela Mastrianni Hamilton Stephens Steele + Martin, Charlotte

Robert L. Burchette Johnston Allison Hord, Charlotte

Mark Hamlet Hamlet & Associates, Wilmington

Joseph W. Moss Jr. Maynard Nexsen, Charlotte

Benjamin Thomas Buskirk Poyner Spruill, Raleigh

Scott C. Harris Milberg Coleman Bryson Phillips Grossman, Raleigh

Evan Monroe Musselwhite Ward and Smith, Raleigh

Jeffrey R. Wolfe Davis Hartman Wright, Greensboro Robert B. Womble K&L Gates, Raleigh

CONSTRUCTION

NEALE T. JOHNSON Fox Rothschild, Greensboro

Todd A. Jones Anderson Jones, Raleigh Andrew Perry Atkins Smith Anderson, Raleigh Stacey Denise Bailey-Pharr Pharr Law, Winston-Salem

David Anderson Carmen Bell Davis Pitt, Winston-Salem Andrew L. Chapin Conner Gwyn Schenck, Greensboro Rebecca K. Cheney Hamilton Stephens Steele + Martin, Charlotte Adrianne Huffman Chillemi Hamilton Stephens Steele + Martin, Charlotte

Adam Reese Denobriga James Denobriga, Charlotte

Robert Jason Herndon Parker Poe, Raleigh Jessica Soles Humphries Hamlet & Associates, Wilmington Edward Aubin Jesson Jesson & Rains, Charlotte W. James Johnson Mays Johnson Law Firm, Asheville

Wesley S. Jones The Law Office Of Wesley Scott Jones, Wilmington Daniel G. Katzenbach Cranfill Sumner, Raleigh Rebecca Ann Knudson Cranfill Sumner, Wilmington

John M. Nunnally Ragsdale Liggett, Raleigh Donald R. Pocock Akerman, Winston-Salem William W. Pollock Ragsdale Liggett, Raleigh Walt Rapp McAngus Goudelock & Courie, Asheville

CAutious & Optimistic

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construction NEALE T. Johnson Fox Rothschild Hometown: Birmingham, Alabama. Greensboro is my adopted home.

Undergrad: University of South Carolina, 1988 Law school: University of Virginia School of Law, 1998 Practiced Law: 26 Years Family: Deborah Brantley Johnson, my wife of 30 years, and three grown children and two grandchildren, all living in North Carolina.

hardworking & practical FIRST JOB: I stayed in the Marine Corps Reserves until the early 2000s, when I mustered out with the rank of major.

2025 MILESTONES: Expanding my neutral practice as a mediator and arbitrator.

WORKING SMARTER: Perfection is often the enemy of good work. It raises anxiety and reduces productivity. A 70% solution is better than no solution or a 90% solution that is unaffordable.

FAVORITE PASSION: Preparing the next generation of lawyers for their challenges in a complicated and difficult environment.

Generational differences are real, but I can also remember the generations ahead of me saying a lot of the same things about my generation.

FAVORITE N.C. PLACE: Mountains of western North Carolina.

MISSION ACCOMPLISHED: Seeing my children finish school and become responsible, independent adults who are great human beings.

STILL ON BUCKET LIST: Helping my grandchildren do as well as their parents.

STRESS RELIEVER: Walking in the woods, followed by fellowship and a single malt scotch.

ALTERNATIVE CAREER CHOICE: Chef YOUR EDGE: Almost everything good that I’ve accomplished traces back to some investment that someone shared with me.

LAW SCHOOL IN 2 OR 3 YEARS: Students should have a chance to learn in summer months what they need to pass the bar, but still finish in two years.

ABOUT FOX ROTHSCHILD FOUNDED: 1907 OFFICES: Charlotte, Raleigh and Greensboro and 27 other locations coast to coast.

MANAGING PARTNER: Todd Rodriquez HOW MANY ATTORNEYS, STAFF: 1,000 attorneys, 1,000 staff KEY SPECIALTIES: More than 70 practice areas

WHY I BECAME A LAWYER: My wife and I married in 1994, and I knew that constant overseas deployments would make family life difficult. My sister, also a lawyer, suggested I might really enjoy law.

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C A R O L I N A

12/19/24 10:06 PM

David Redding TLG Law, Charlotte

Gregory L. Shelton Shelton Law, Charlotte

Jeffrey M. Reichard Maynard Nexsen, Greensboro

Nicole B. Slaughter Hamlet Law, Wilmington

Neil Riemann Parry Law, Chapel Hill

Mitzi Riana Smith Smith Bowers, Raleigh

R. Lee Robertson Robertson & Associates, Charlotte

Jeffrey Kendal Stahl Allen Stahl + Kilbourne, Asheville

Richard L. Robertson Richard L. Robertson Associates, Charlotte John C. Rogers III Allen Moore Rogers, Raleigh Whitaker Boykin Rose Rosenwood Rose & Litwak, Charlotte Perry Safran Safran Law Offices, Raleigh Byron Lee Saintsing Smith Debnam Narron Drake Saintsing & Myers, Raleigh

Kevin J. Stanfield Wyrick Robbins, Raleigh Jason Trent Strickland Ward and Smith, Raleigh Jay P. Tobin Young Moore And Henderson, Raleigh Daniel S. Trimmer Skufca Law, Charlotte

CHRISTOPHER F. BUCHHOLTZ

Stuart Hale Russell Truliant Federal Credit Union, Winston-Salem

Frederick D. Hutchison Hutchinson, Raleigh

John Robert Seymour Mss Solutions, Charlotte

CORPORATE LAW

ANNE E. CROTEAU

John Bowen Walker Ragsdale Liggett, Raleigh

Alexander R. Atchison Young Moore and Henderson, Raleigh

Bryan G. Scott Akerman, Winston-Salem

Jay M. Wilkerson Conner Gwyn Schenck, Raleigh Steele B. Windle III Smith Terry & Johnson, Charlotte Brian E. Wolfe Wolfe Gunst & Hinson, Charlotte

William B. Gwyn Jr. Manning Fulton & Skinner, Raleigh John B. Hoke McGuireWoods, Charlotte

McGuireWoods, Raleigh

Gary J. Welch Johnston Allison Hord, Charlotte

Paul Joseph Foley Akerman, Winston-Salem

RTI International, Research Triangle Park

Scott M. Tyler Moore & Van Allen, Charlotte

Sandra Woods Schilder Ragsdale Liggett, Raleigh

David A. Senter Maynard Nexsen, Raleigh

CORPORATE COUNSEL

Evan K. Auberry Fox Rothschild, Greensboro Nicole Elizabeth Bleuer StephensonLaw, Cary David Busch Alexander Ricks, Charlotte

William Clark Isenhour Johnston Allison Hord, Charlotte Cyrus M. Johnson Jr. Womble Bond Dickinson, Charlotte G. William Joyner III Kilpatrick Townsend & Stockton, Winston-Salem April Epley Kight Schell Bray, Greensboro Stephen E. Klee Fox Rothschild, Greensboro Elizabeth Everett Lane McGuire Wood & Bissette, Asheville J. Christopher Lynch Wyrick Robbins, Raleigh Thomas I. Lyon Manning Fulton & Skinner, Raleigh

Vincent D. Childress Jr. Roberts & Stevens, Asheville

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corporate counsel CHRIStopher BUCHHOLTZ RTI International Hometown: Marblehead, Massachusetts.

Undergrad: UCLA Law school: UNC Chapel Hill School of Law, 1998 Practiced Law: 25 years Family: Wife of 28 years, Erika, daughter, Chloe, a sophomore at UNC Chapel Hill, and Theo, a junior at Carrboro High; Dash, a 7-year-old Cavapoo and Purrl, a 10-year-old cat.

riser & mission-driven FIRST JOB: Pumping gas in my hometown. Full service. Loved it.

Second, was selling Kirby vacuum cleaners door-to-door. Challenging, but I was successful and learned a great deal.

WORKING SMARTER: Early morning weekend workouts so I can enjoy late Friday and Saturday nights out with my wife and friends.

FAVORITE NORTH CAROLINA PLACE: We moved to Chapel Hill from Los Angeles in 1994 and have loved living here and raising our family.

MISSION ACCOMPLISHED: Safari in Kenya and Tanzania.

STILL ON BUCKET LIST: Spending time in Australia and New Zealand.

STRESS RELIEVER: An evening workout at the UNC Wellness Center followed by a hot tub and sauna.

WHY I BECAME A LAWYER: I always thought law would be a noble profession aligned with my interests. It is and has been.

ALTERNATIVE CAREER CHOICE: Either a clinical psychologist or school teacher and coach. I love working with people.

YOUR EDGE: Having great mentors who have guided me on my professional journey and being a mentor to early career staff.

2025 MILESTONES: Doing everything I can to help RTI International reach its North Star Goal of improving the lives of 1 billion people. I will also do my best to support Anuja G. Purohit, RTI’s newly elected chief legal officer. She’s a great leader, lawyer and person.

LAW SCHOOL IN 2 OR 3 YEARS: Three, with the third year focusing on skill development, extracurricular opportunities, including clinics and externships, and specialized electives.

ABOUT RTI INTERNATIONAL FOUNDED: 1958 OFFICES: Headquartered in Research Triangle Park, RTI employs staff in all 50 states and in 90 countries around the world.

MANAGING PARTNER: Anuja Purohit HOW MANY ATTORNEYS, STAFF: Nine attorneys, five paralegals KEY SPECIALTIES: Corporate transactions, government contracting, corporate governance, labor and employment, intellectual property and licensing, and risk and compliance.

FAVORITE PASSIONS: UNC basketball and international travel.

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C A R O L I N A

12/20/24 12:34 PM

Clay Oliver Christian Martin Wyrick Robbins, Raleigh Annalise F. Perry Wyrick Robbins, Raleigh Scott Cooper Rayburn Cooper & Durham, Charlotte Brian Russ Nelson Mullins Riley & Scarborough, Charlotte Jason Robert Schneider Schneider Law Group, Raleigh

Jones Pharr Byrd Jr. Bell Davis Pitt, Winston-Salem

Christopher C. Fialko Fialko Law, Charlotte

RUSSELL D. BABB

Stephen Lacy Cash Searson Jones, Gottschalk & Cash, Asheville

Berryman J. Fitzhugh III Sandman Finn & Fitzhugh, Raleigh

A. Brennan Aberle Aberle Wall, Greensboro

Christine Elizabeth ClarkePeckham Law Office of Chrissy ClarkePeckham, Charlotte

Deno Thomas Frangakis Law Firm of Williford Crenshaw Boliek & Frangakis, Fayetteville

CRIMINAL

Tharrington Smith, Raleigh

F. Hill Allen Tharrington Smith, Raleigh

Peter Donovan Singh Fourscore Law, Raleigh

Durwood Kevin Altman Law Office of Kevin Altman, WinstonSalem

Paul A. Steffens Troutman Pepper Hamilton Sanders, Charlotte

James Thomas Amburgey Amburgey Law, Asheville

Andrew David Steffensen Schell Bray, Greensboro Richard C. Stephenson StephensonLaw, Cary Amalie L. Tuffin Hutchison, Raleigh Jennifer Weaver Manning Fulton & Skinner, Raleigh David Lee Wilke Wyrick Robbins, Raleigh

Christopher Anthony Beechler Beechler Tomberlin, WinstonSalem

Christopher R. Clifton Grace Tisdale Clifton, Winston-Salem Collin Patrick Cook Cheshire Parker Schneider, Raleigh David T. Courie Beaver Courie Law, Fayetteville James Austin Davis Davis & Davis, Salisbury

Jason Lee Aycoth Garrett Walker Aycoth & Olson, Greensboro

Russell W. Dement III Dement Askew & Johnson, Raleigh

Bradley J. Bannon Patterson Harkavy, Chapel Hill

Sean P. Devereux Devereux Banzhoff, Asheville

Andrew B. Banzhoff Devereux Banzhoff, Asheville

Michael Dowling Dowling, Raleigh

David G. Budd II Law Offices Of David G. Budd, Asheville

Douglas Perry Edwards Edwards Law, Asheville Anna Smith Felts Law Offices Of Anna Smith Felts, Raleigh

Elizabeth Freeman Greene Flannery Georgalis, Charlotte Shana LaVerne Fulton Brooks Pierce, Raleigh Joseph J. Garcia The Law Offices of Joseph J. Garcia, Durham Chad Garrett Garrett Walker Aycoth & Olson Attorneys At Law, Greensboro Emily Gladden Tin Fulton Walker & Owen, Raleigh Aaron Michael Goforth Hatch Little Bunn, Raleigh Lambert Franklin Guinn Flannery Georgalis, Charlotte Daniel Allen Harris Clifford & Harris, Greensboro Adam Hauser Mecklenburg County Public Defenders Office, Charlotte

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corporate law anne Elizabeth Croteau McGuireWoods Hometown: Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania Undergrad: Duke University Law school: Harvard Law School, 1998 Practiced Law: 25 Years Family: Daughters, Ivy, 18, and Lucy, 17, rescue dogs Siggi and Raven.

humorous & direct FIRST JOB: Waiting tables and scooping ice cream at Friendly’s.

WORKING SMARTER: I stopped eating lunch at my desk. I started when my kids were young, so I could get more done while at the office, but it’s not a healthy practice physically or mentally.

FAVORITE NORTH CAROLINA PLACE: Blowing Rock MISSION ACCOMPLISHED: Being an actress in New York City for 18 months after quitting law. Obviously with great success since I’m a lawyer again.

STILL ON BUCKET LIST: Writing a novel STRESS RELIEVER: Dancing and walking my dogs.

WHY I BECAME A LAWYER: I like words and crafting arguments. I now use those to broker compromises and deals.

FAVORITE PASSIONS: Cooking and college sports. I am the only person I know who toggles between ESPN and Food Network during a game, throwing in an occasional Hallmark movie.

ALTERNATIVE CAREER CHOICE: Psychiatrist

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YOUR EDGE: Ironically, having my career go sideways (or backwards) for years after downshifting to have kids, then having to reinvent myself. After being an M&A lawyer for a decade, I started doing debt financings and equity investments, so now handle all aspects of a leveraged buyout, which clients appreciate.

2025 MILESTONES: Redesigning my garden and perfecting a pirouette.

LAW SCHOOL IN 2 OR 3 YEARS: While you can get the fundamentals in two years, the third year is important for synthesizing and applying what you learned, as well as taking classes you think you’ll never use but do. Knowledge is never wasted.

ABOUT MCGUIREWOODS FOUNDED: 1834 OFFICES: Charlotte, Raleigh and 20 other cities around the world.

MANAGING PARTNER: J. Tracy Walker IV HOW MANY ATTORNEYS, STAFF: 1,000 attorneys, 957 staff KEY SPECIALTIES: Corporate, individual, and nonprofit clients across a range of industries, including the banking and financial services, energy, healthcare and private equity sectors.

C A R O L I N A

12/19/24 10:06 PM

Christon S. Halkiotis Law Office Of Christon S. Halkiotis, Greensboro William Scott Harkey Harkey Law Firm, Winston-Salem Bradford F. Icard The Icard Law Firm, Charlotte James K. Jackson Western Wake Law Group, Raleigh George V. Laughrun III Goodman Carr Laughrun Levine & Greene, Charlotte Hayes S. Ludlum Ludlum Law Firm, Warsaw Thomas Courtland Manning Manning Law Firm, Raleigh

John P. O’Hale John P. O’Hale, Smithfield

Steven Saad Saad Law, Raleigh

William D. Young IV Hatch Little Bunn, Raleigh

Robert O’Hale Greensboro Law, Greensboro

Anthony Glen Scheer Rawls Scheer Clary & Mingo, Charlotte

Joseph E. Zeszotarski Jr. Gammon Howard Zeszotarski, Raleigh

Sean Michael Olson Garrett Walker Aycoth & Olson Attorneys At Law, Greensboro C. Melissa “Missy” Owen Tin Fulton Walker & Owen, Charlotte Gregory Plumides Plumides Romano & Johnson, Charlotte Bill Powers Powers Law Firm, Charlotte Emily Jones Queen Burney & Jones, Wilmington

Thomas Taylor Manning Manning Law Firm, Raleigh

Eben Turner Rawls III Rawls Scheer Clary & Mingo, Charlotte

Duncan A. McMillan McMillan & Smith, Raleigh

Jan E. Pritchett Schlosser & Pritchett, Greensboro

Joel Hart Miles Jr. Cheshire Parker Schneider, Raleigh

Claire J. Rauscher Womble Bond Dickinson, Charlotte

Patrick Melton Mincey Cranfill Sumner, Wilmington

Edd K. Roberts III Roberts Law Office Raleigh

M. Rashad Moore Moore Law Group, Graham

James F. Rutherford James Rutherford Attorney At Law, Wilmington

James Bradley Smith James B. Smith, Charlotte Roger W. Smith Jr. Tharrington Smith, Raleigh Jason C. St. Aubin Marcilliat & Mills, Charlotte Paul K. Sun Jr. Ellis & Winters, Raleigh

EMPLOYMENT

WILLIAM A. ODEN III Ward and Smith, Wilmington

Raymond Tarlton Tarlton Law, Raleigh

G. Bryan Adams III Van Hoy Reutlinger Adams Pierce, Charlotte

Noell P. Tin Tin Fulton Walker & Owen, Charlotte

Zachary S. Anstett Parker Poe, Raleigh

Donald Kenneth Tisdale Jr. Grace Tisdale Clifton, WinstonSalem Anne M. Tompkins Cadwaladar, Charlotte Ed West Brooks Pierce, Raleigh Norman Cole Williams Cole Williams Law, Durham Jonathan Wilson II J. Wilson Law, Durham

William P. Barrett Barrett Law Offices, Raleigh Patricia T. Bartis Parker Poe, Raleigh Samuel Eric Bass Venn Law Group, Charlotte Bridget A. Blinn-Spears Maynard Nexsen, Raleigh Kenneth P. Carlson Jr. Constangy Brooks Smith Prophete, Winston-Salem

J A N U A R Y

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criminal Russell BABB Tharrington Smith Hometown: Wilson Undergrad: UNC Chapel Hill Law school: UNC Chapel Hill School of Law, 1999 Practiced Law: 25 Years

zealous advocate FIRST JOB: Mowing lawns for five families in my neighborhood when I was in the seventh grade. I would spend most Saturdays doing yard work and would make $50 a week.

ALTERNATIVE CAREER CHOICE: Football coach or NFL agent.

WORKING SMARTER: I used to get up before dawn to start my work day. During COVID, I quit sacrificing sleep for work whenever possible. Regular sleep has made me more effective and a balanced lifestyle has made me happier.

YOUR EDGE: Each of my partners is a phenomenal resource when I have questions about one of my cases. Sometimes 15 minutes in a colleague’s office is the X-factor that leads to a positive outcome for my client. I have also had amazing mentors throughout my career, like Wade Smith. Wade is North Carolina’s greatest criminal lawyer, so to have had the privilege to learn from him has been a true gift.

FAVORITE NORTH CAROLINA PLACE: The High Country – Boone/ Blowing Rock/Banner Elk

2025 MILESTONES: I plan to travel to the Grand Canyon and several great national parks out West.

MISSION ACCOMPLISHED: Scuba diving at the Great Barrier Reef in Australia

FAVORITE PASSIONS: UNC football and basketball. If the Heels are playing, I’m watching.

STILL ON BUCKET LIST: Wildlife safari in Africa

LAW SCHOOL IN 2 OR 3 YEARS: The sooner someone can get out of law school the better.

STRESS RELIEVER: Zoning out watching Netflix; putting on noisecancelling headphones to listen to music or a podcast WHY I BECAME A LAWYER: Followed in my dad’s footsteps as a civil litigator for seven years and I did not enjoy my job. One day I accepted a case for a young man accused of selling marijuana. I threw myself into that client’s case and I loved every minute of it. I was able to help the client achieve a good result and I realized I had made a difference in his life. Helping people manage a crisis or get a second chance after making a bad choice is the most fulfilling part of my job.

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ABOUT THARRINGTON SMITH FOUNDED: 1964 OFFICES: Raleigh MANAGING PARTNERS: Russell Babb and Evan Horwitz HOW MANY ATTORNEYS, STAFF: 36 attorneys, 31 staff KEY SPECIALTIES: Criminal defense, education law, family law and civil litigation.

C A R O L I N A

12/19/24 10:06 PM

Patrick E. Kelly Johnston Allison Hord, Charlotte

Christine Fernicola Mayhew Anderson Jones, Raleigh

Rosemary Gill Kenyon Smith Anderson, Raleigh

Karin M. McGinnis Moore & Van Allen, Charlotte

Michael Clyde Harman Harman Law, Huntersville

Michael A. Kornbluth Kornbluth Ginsberg Law Group, Durham

Michael Douglas McKnight Ogletree Deakins Nash Smoak & Stewart, Raleigh

Jonathan Tristram Coffin Johnston Allison Hord, Charlotte

Dan M. Hartzog Hartzog Law Group, Raleigh

Dena Beth Langley Brooks Pierce, Greensboro

Brian John McMillan Brooks Pierce, Greensboro

Edward G. Connette III Essex Richards, Charlotte

Katie Weaver Hartzog Hartzog Law Group, Raleigh

Kelly Margolis Dagger Ellis & Winters, Raleigh

Sean Franklin Herrmann Herrmann Murphy, Charlotte

Roberta King Latham King Latham Law, Winston-Salem

Andrew K. McVey Murchison Taylor & Gibson, Wilmington

Cate Edwards Edwards Beightol, Raleigh

Elizabeth Binion Hilker Smith Law Firm, Charlotte

Catherine E. Lee Hedrick Gardner Kincheloe Garofalo, Raleigh

Emily Jeffords Meister Law Firm Calorinas, Greensboro

Patrick H. Flanagan Cranfill Sumner, Charlotte

Benjamin R. Holland Ogletree Deakins Nash Smoak & Stewart, Charlotte

Robert C. Carpenter Allen Stahl + Kilbourne, Asheville Kevin Michael Ceglowski Poyner Spruill, Raleigh William S. Cherry III Manning Fulton & Skinner, Raleigh

Kristen Elizabeth Finlon Gardner Skelton, Charlotte Jared Edgar Gardner Gardner Skelton, Charlotte Holly Elizabeth-Ross Hammer Hammer Law, Raleigh

Elizabeth R. Gift Ogletree Deakins Nash Smoak & Stewart, Charlotte Marc E. Gustafson Bell Davis Pitt, Charlotte

Matthew E. Lee Milberg Coleman Bryson Phillips Grossman, Raleigh

Tamara Lynn Huckert Strianese Huckert, Charlotte

Andrew William Legg Kornbluth Ginsberg Law Group, Durham

Donavan John Hylarides Craige Jenkins Liipfert & Walker, Winston-Salem

Mary-Ann Leon Leon Law Firm, Greenville

L. Michelle Gessner Gessner Law, Charlotte

Lori P. Jones Jordan Price Wall Gray Jones Carlton, Raleigh

Narendra K. Ghosh Patterson Harkavy, Chapel Hill

Kevin S. Joyner Ogletree Deakins Nash Smoak & Stewart, Raleigh

Daniel Christopher Lyon EMP Law, Charlotte Alice Y. Magnuson Wyrick Robbins, Raleigh Margaret B. Maloney Maloney Law Associates, Charlotte

Congratulations to our

2025 Business North Carolina Legal Elite

Eliu Felipe Mendez A.G. Linett & Associates, Greensboro Kevin Patrick Murphy Herrmann Murphy, Charlotte Sarah Hayward Negus Moore & Van Allen, Charlotte Laura Noble Noble Law, Charlotte Daniel J. Palmieri Wyrick Robbins, Raleigh Linda Nicole Patino Law Offices of L. Nicole Patino, Greensboro J. Christopher Heydt Philbeck Bailey & Dixon, Raleigh Charles Grainger Pierce Jr. Van Hoy Reutlinger Adams Pierce, Charlotte Sabrina P. Rockoff McGuire Wood & Bissette Asheville Nicholas J. Sanservino Jr. Edwards Beightol, Raleigh Robert A. Sar Ogletree Deakins Nash Smoak & Stewart, Raleigh Jeremy Regan Sayre Fox Rothschild, Raleigh

L. Penn Clarke | Real Estate

James McCaskill | Real Estate

Edward S. Schenk III Williams Mullen, Raleigh Kerry A. Shad Smith Anderson, Raleigh Shannon “Missy” Spainhour Constangy Brooks Smith Prophete, Asheville Theresa M. Sprain Baker Donelson Bearman Caldwell & Berkowitz, Raleigh

Bradley Wooldridge | Tax & Estate Planning

Worth Mills | Young Guns

(919) 645-4300

longleaflp.com

Mimi Soule Soule Employment Law Firm, Raleigh T. Cullen Stafford Wyrick Robbins, Raleigh Phillip J. Strach Nelson Mullins Riley & Scarborough, Raleigh

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employment william A. Oden III ward and Smith Hometown: Washington Undergrad: UNC Chapel Hill Law school: Campbell University School of Law and MBA ,2004 Practiced Law: 20 years Family: My wife, Katie, and our daughters, Alston, 10, and Sallie, 6.

about people FIRST JOB: Working for Larry “Mr. T” Trollinger at Ken’s Quickie Mart next to Granville Towers in Chapel Hill during college. If you bought a keg from there in 1999, I may have carried it out and loaded it up for you.

WORKING SMARTER: I quit focusing on seeking validation from older partners and began focusing more energy on mentoring and building up younger lawyers, which has made me a better lawyer.

FAVORITE NORTH CAROLINA PLACE: On a boat somewhere in the Pamlico River or Sound.

MISSION ACCOMPLISHED: Working with the State Bar and other employment attorneys to launch a board-certified program in employment law, and become one of the first employment attorneys in N.C. to become board-certified.

STILL ON BUCKET LIST: Going back to Europe with more than a backpack and a Eurail pass, mainly sleeping in hostels and train stations, like I did the summer after graduating college.

STRESS RELIEVER: A walk outside always does the trick.

WHY I BECAME A LAWYER: I am the fourth (non-consecutive) generation on my mother’s side to practice law in North Carolina. My father would tell me about Mom’s relatives who had contributed to our community as attorneys, and others who had served our state as judges. That is what initially drew my interest.

ALTERNATIVE CAREER CHOICE: A second, encore career in public service.

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C A R O L I N A

YOUR EDGE: I strive to be a trusted adviser to our clients. I understand and appreciate that clients want my counsel and good judgment, not just legal advice.

2025 MILESTONES: I will perform my normal 80/20 analysis of the year, and its post-mortem in December, and set goals for 2025 then.

FAVORITE PASSIONS: My family and legacy are my passions and drive everything that I do. Professionally, I have a passion for growth – both my own and of those younger professionals I mentor, which is the most rewarding part of the practice of law for me.

LAW SCHOOL IN 2 OR 3 YEARS: Personally, two-and-a-half years would have been perfect. Even though I was active on Law Review, Moot Court teams, a trial team, Honor Court and took MBA classes at night, the last semester of law school was unnecessary. But two years would have been too short.

ABOUT WARD & SMITH FOUNDED: 1895 OFFICES: Asheville, Beaufort, Greenville, New Bern, Raleigh, Wilmington CO-MANAGING PARTNERS: Brad Evans and Devon Williams HOW MANY ATTORNEYS: staff: 113 attorneys, 150 staff KEY SPECIALTIES: Litigation, business, tax, real estate, labor and

employment, construction, intellectual property and data privacy, personal injury, creditors’ rights, trusts and estates, economic development, government relations, community associations, environmental

12/20/24 12:43 PM

Jill Susanne Stricklin Constangy Brooks Smith Prophete, Winston-Salem Tory I. Summey Parker Poe, Charlotte Jessica Beauvais Thaller-Moran

Brooks Pierce, Raleigh Linda D. Tindall Wyrick Robbins, Raleigh

Allison Clarice Tomberlin Beechler Tomberlin, Winston-Salem Benton Louis Toups Cranfill Sumner, Wilmington Joshua Reed Van Kampen Van Kampen Law, Charlotte Angelique Regail VincentHamacher

Robinson Bradshaw & Hinson, Charlotte Jonathan Wall Higgins Benjamin, Greensboro Kyle T. Watson Watson Law Office, Charlotte Hayley Roper Wells Ward and Smith, Asheville Devon Diane Williams Ward and Smith, Raleigh

Eric Clifton Williams Allen Stahl + Kilbourne, Asheville

John M. Flynn Carruthers & Roth, Greensboro

Benjamin Winikoff Daggett Shuler Law Firm, Winston-Salem

David A. Franchina McGuireWoods, Charlotte

Virginia M. Wooten Ogletree Deakins Nash Smoak & Stewart, Charlotte Kathleen N. Worm Worm Law Firm, Raleigh

ENVIRONMENTAL

F. BRYAN BRICE JR.

Law Offices of Bryan Brice Jr., Raleigh Stanford D. Baird K&L Gates, Raleigh Charles S. Carter Earth And Water Law, Raleigh Billy Clarke Roberts & Stevens, Asheville Catherine W. Cralle-Jones Law Offices Of F. Bryan Brice Jr., Raleigh Alexander Elkan Brooks Pierce, Greensboro

Robert J. King III Brooks Pierce, Greensboro Steven J. Levitas Kilpatrick Townsend & Stockton, Raleigh Peter J. McGrath Jr. Moore & Van Allen, Charlotte Joseph Andrew Ponzi Brooks Pierce, Greensboro Amanda Kitchen Short Parker Poe, Charlotte Christopher Shields Walker Alexander Ricks, Charlotte Steven D. Weber Parker Poe, Charlotte Noelle Wooten Baker Donelson Bearman Caldwell & Berkowitz, Charlotte Mona Lisa Wallace Wallace & Graham, Salisbury I. Clark Wright Jr. Davis Hartman Wright Attorneys, New Bern

FAMILY

JANET HANEY AMBURGEY GHMA Law, Asheville

Carole R. Albright Black Slaughter & Black, Greensboro Lesley Wiseman Albritton Legal Aid Of North Carolina Raleigh Mary Charles Amerson Ward and Smith, Wilmington Lisa M. Angel Rosen Law Firm, Raleigh Marcia H. Armstrong The Armstrong Law Firm, Smithfield Lillie Ashworth Soni Brendle, Charlotte Mary Aiken Barrow Tharrington Smith, Raleigh Rachel Carter Beard Wake Family Law Group, Raleigh Shelby D. Benton Benton Family Law, Goldsboro

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environmental F. bryan brice Jr. Law Offices of F. Bryan Brice Jr. Hometown: Wilson Undergrad: UNC Chapel Hill Law school: UNC Chapel Hill School of Law, 1990 Practiced Law: 33 Years Family: Wife, Carson Brice, son, Stephen Brice, 23, daughters Minta Brice, 21, and Cordelia Brice, 19.

clean & green FIRST JOB: Paper boy with Vance Young delivering Wilson Daily Times; first law job, clerk for Justice John Webb at N.C. Supreme Court.

WORKING SMARTER: Need to quit one!

FAVORITE NORTH CAROLINA PLACE: Morehead City with family.

MISSION ACCOMPLISHED: Travel to Spain.

STILL ON BUCKET LIST: Travel to New Zealand.

STRESS RELIEVER: Play a tennis match with friends, a round of golf, or spend time with Carson listening to music.

WHY I BECAME A LAWYER: My mother always told me I was going to be a lawyer, like her father, Charles McLean. Also, I was always inspired to help people, and protect the environment.

YOUR EDGE: Cathy Cralle Jones! I have been blessed to have such a good, strong, smart woman as my long time law office partner! I have been so fortunate to have good people work with us, experts, consultants and especially our employees and staff who provide great help, insight, knowledge and desire to help others. And put up with me.

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ALTERNATIVE CAREER CHOICE: Therapist 2025 MILESTONES: Continue to represent our clients, protect the environment and make a difference for the betterment of others in our community.

FAVORITE PASSIONS: Music, especially the Grateful Dead, and playing tennis.

LAW SCHOOL IN 2 OR 3 YEARS: Three years ABOUT LAW OFFICES OF F. BRYAN BRICE JR. FOUNDED: 1999 OFFICE: Raleigh MANAGING PARTNER: Self HOW MANY ATTORNEYS, STAFF: Four attorneys, five staff members KEY SPECIALTIES: Environmental law

C A R O L I N A

12/19/24 10:06 PM

Caitlin Birckhead Tharrington Smith, Raleigh

Phillip Haskell Cowan Hatch Little Bunn, Raleigh

Kaylan M. Gaudio Sodoma Law, Monroe

James Gregory Hatcher Hatcher Law Group, Charlotte

Andrea Bosquez-Porter Bosquez Porter Family Law, Raleigh

Jessica Ketchem Culver Dummit Fradin Attorneys At Law, Greensboro

Wesley Peter Gelb Connell & Gelb, Raleigh

R. Maria Hawkins Wyrick Robbins, Raleigh

Jennifer M. Bradley Triangle Smart Divorce, Cary

Kavita Christina Desai James McElroy Diehl, Charlotte

Katie Walsh Gilbert Rech Law, Charlotte

Lee Claiborne Hawley Roberson Haworth Reese, High Point

Andrew Steven Brendle Soni Brendle, Charlotte

Nathalie M. Doran Wilson Reives Silverman & Doran, Sanford

Amy Lynn Britt Parker Bryan Family Law, Raleigh Amanda Brisson Cannavo Dozier Miller Law Group Charlotte

Nicole Applefield Engel Johnston Allison Hord, Charlotte Steven Bruce Epstein Poyner Spruill, Raleigh

Courtney Lynn Carter Arnold & Smith, Charlotte

Jonathan Daniel Feit James McElroy Diehl, Charlotte

Chelsea Michelle Chapman McIlveen Family Law Firm, Gastonia

Ashley Fillippeli Triangle Smart Divorce, Cary

Adrienne R. Cherry Leitner Bragg & Griffin, Monroe

Joshua L. Finney McIlveen Family Law Firm, Charlotte

James A. “Al” Clyburn Ward and Smith, Wilmington

Katherine Wiggins Fisher Battle Winslow, Rocky Mount

Isla N. Tabrizi Collins Family & Elder Law Group, Monroe

Kyle Frost Hamilton Stephens Steele + Martin, Charlotte

Charles W. Coltrane Coltrane & Overfield, Greensboro

Katherine Ann Frye Frye Law Office Raleigh

Michelle D. Connell Connnell & Gelb, Raleigh

Maren Tallent Funk Godley Glazer & Funk, Statesville

Seth Andrew Glazer Godley Glazer & Funk, Cornelius Kelley Louise Gondring Gondring Law, Winston-Salem Nancy L. Grace Wake Family Law Group, Raleigh Monica R. Guy Kurtz Whitley Guy Sanders & Rainey, Winston-Salem Brittany Capps Hall Block Crouch Keeter Behm & Sayed, Wilmington

Jessica B. Heffner Wyrick Robbins, Raleigh Penelope Lazarou Hefner Sodoma Law, Charlotte Kara Q. Helms The Helms Firm, Winston-Salem Evan Horwitz Tharrington Smith, Raleigh Paul Doughton Horton, Sodoma Law, Charlotte Lindsey Ann Houk Waple Houk, Charlotte

Rachel D. Rogers Hamrick Charlotte Collaborative Divorce, Charlotte

Hilary Workman Hux Garrett Walker Aycoth & Olson Attorneys At Law, Greensboro

Tara Austin Harrawood Marcellino & Tyson, Charlotte

Clara Ann Ignich Bell Davis Pitt, Winston-Salem

Michael S. Harrell Manning Fulton & Skinner, Raleigh

Jill Schnabel Jackson Jackson Family Law, Raleigh

Tia G. Hartley Law Office Of Tia G. Hartley, Charlotte

Elizabeth Johnstone James Hamilton Stephens Steele & Martin, Charlotte

SAFEGUARDING ASSETS. SECURING FUTURES.

ASHEVILLE FAMILY LAW SPECIALISTS 828-258-3368 https://ghma.law

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family Janet HANEY Amburgey GHMA Law Hometown: Asheville Undergrad: University of Tennessee, Knoxville Law school: Appalachian School of Law, 2008 Practiced Law: 15 Years Family: Husband of 15 years, Thomas Amburgey, and our 10-year-old daughter and 8-year-old son.

driven & dependable FIRST JOB: My first job was with a criminal defense attorney in Asheville, where I was the only attorney handling family law matters. The attorney encouraged me to find answers by reaching out to other family law attorneys, court personnel and judges.

This experience pushed me to build connections and establish relationships with people who became integral to my early practice, and who continue to be valuable colleagues.

WORKING SMARTER: While it might feel satisfying in the moment to send a swift, sharp email, I’ve learned that the short-term relief rarely outweighs the long-term impact such communications can have. Now, I give myself 24 hours to reflect on how I want to respond and what message I truly want to convey.

2025 MILESTONES: I will retire from the executive committee of the Buncombe County Bar after 10 years of service.

ALTERNATIVE CAREER CHOICE: Costume designer for movies and TV shows.

STILL ON BUCKET LIST: Attend a show during New York Fashion Week.

STRESS RELIEVER: Put my cell phone away, turn on music and sit outside in the sun.

FAVORITE NORTH CAROLINA PLACE: Old Edwards Inn in Highlands.

YOUR EDGE: Relationships and friendships I’ve built with fellow attorneys, our incredible office staff, and the dedicated courthouse staff.

MISSION ACCOMPLISHED: Seeing Adele perform in person.

FAVORITE PASSIONS: Tennessee football and travel.

WHY I BECAME A LAWYER: I come from a long line of attorneys on my mother’s side, and my grandfather, Papa Jerry, practiced probate law in California for many years. His tales of clients and their wild cases, some exaggerated (but just barely), kept everyone captivated. I loved visiting his office, sitting at his big desk, eating his candy, and playing with the ceramic monkey on his bookshelf.

I knew then I wanted a career I was as invested in as he was in his – and I wanted that monkey! Papa Jerry, who is now 95, gifted me the ceramic monkey when I started practicing law. It sits in my office for my kids to play with, right next to the candy.

LAW SCHOOL IN 2 OR 3 YEARS: Definitely three. Only after starting my practice did I realize how much there was still to learn.

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ABOUT GHMA LAW FOUNDED: 1980 OFFICE: Asheville MANAGING PARTNER: Patrick McCroskey HOW MANY ATTORNEYS, STAFF: Two attorneys, two staff KEY SPECIALTIES: Family law

C A R O L I N A

12/19/24 10:06 PM

Stephanie Jenkins Parker Bryan Family Law, Raleigh

Lauren Ellis Leader James McElroy Diehl, Charlotte

Bethany M. Mulhern Miller Bowles Cushing, Charlotte

Bradley Jones Parker Bryan Family Law, Raleigh

Lauren Vaughn Lewis Essex Richards, Charlotte

Erica R. Nesmith The Nesmith Firm, Charlotte

Jana Kelly Jones Jana K. Jones, Charlotte

Rik Lovette Rik Lovette & Associates, Raleigh

Corey Alexander Noland Arnold & Smith, Charlotte

Alicia Jurney Parker Bryan Britt Tanner & Jenkins, Raleigh

Jeffrey E. Marshall Marshall & Taylor, Raleigh

Tony Kehoe Gailor Hunt Davis Taylor & Gibbs, Raleigh

Justin L. Mauney Wake Family Law Group, Raleigh

Irene Patrice King King Collaborative Family Law, Charlotte

Patrick S. McCroskey GHMA Law, Asheville

Katherine Hardersen King Wake Family Law Group, Raleigh

Angela White McIlveen McIlveen Family Law Firm, Gastonia

Melody Jo King Ward and Smith, Asheville

Joy Gragg McIver Montford Family Law, Asheville

Julia Anne Kirby Marcellino & Tyson, Charlotte

Jonathan Stephen Melton Gailor Hunt Davis Taylor & Gibbs, Raleigh

Carolyn Lovejoy Krueger-Andes

Krueger-Andes Law, Charlotte Matthew Krueger-Andes Krueger-Andes Law, Charlotte

David Matthew Krusch Plumides Romano & Johnson, Charlotte Jon B. Kurtz Kurtz Whitley Guy Sanders & Rainey, Winston-Salem

Eric Steven Meredith Jetton Meredith, Charlotte Jaye Meyer Tharrington Smith, Raleigh Christopher D. Miller Miller Bowles Cushing, Charlotte

Linda B. Sayed Block Crouch Keeter Behm & Sayed, Wilmington Ryan Binderup Schultz Lea/Schultz Law Firm, Wilmington David K. Self David Self Law, Cornelius

Ashley Lister Oldham Parker Bryan Family Law, Raleigh

Abigail Comfort Seymour Camino Law, Greensboro

Carolyn T. Peacock Peacock Family Law, New Bern Victoria Marie Perez Sodoma Law, Charlotte

Jim Siemens Siemens Family Law Group, Asheville

Robert A. Ponton Jr. Wyrick Robbins, Raleigh

Grant Sigmon Sigmon Klein, Greensboro

Manisha Pravinchandra Patel Law Office of Manisha P. Patel, Greensboro

Susan S. Simos Craige Jenkins Liipfert & Walker, Winston-Salem

Lauren Taylor Quinn Ward and Smith, New Bern

Tonya Graser Smith Grasersmith, Charlotte

Bennett D. Rainey Kurtz Whitley Guy Sanders & Rainey, Winston-Salem

Megan E. Spidell Spidell Family Law, Greensboro Robin J. Stinson Bell Davis Pitt, Winston-Salem

Mark D. Riopel Hamilton Stephens Steele + Martin, Charlotte

Courtney Hamer Smith

Tin Fulton Walker & Owen, Charlotte

Kimberly R. Robertson Dozier Miller Law Group, Charlotte

Rose M. Stout Smith Debnam Narron, Raleigh

Sarah Dees Miranda Miranda Law Firm, Fayetteville

Casey Taylor Robinson Garrett Walker Aycoth & Olson Attorneys At Law, Greensboro

Dara Duncan Larson Duncan Larson Law, Charlotte

Jennifer P. Moore Marcellino & Tyson, Charlotte

Jeffrey Robert Russell Tharrington Smith, Raleigh

Nicole Taylor Gailor Hunt Davis Taylor & Gibbs, Raleigh

Lydia Bree Laughrun Essex Richards, Charlotte

Jillian Mack Moore Moore Law Group, Graham

Caitlin Elizabeth Ryan Sodoma Law, Charlotte

Carrie Tortora Tortora Family Law, Raleigh

James W. Lea III Lea/Schultz Law Firm, Wilmington

Barbara R. Morgenstern Morgenstern Law, Greensboro

Claire Joanne Samuels Charlotte Collaborative Divorce Professionals, Charlotte

John Paul Tsahakis James McElroy Diehl, Charlotte

Alice Stubbs Tharrington Smith, Raleigh

R. Lee Robertson, Jr.

Jacob A. Johnson

WE KNOW CONSTRUCTION. AND CONSTRUCTION KNOWS US.

IN LITIGATION, MEASURE TWICE AND CUT ONCE.

2730 E ast W.T. Harris B ou le vard, Suite 101 C harlotte, Nor th C arolina

|

704-597-5774

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w w w.rlrob er ts on.com

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immigration ana S. NUñEZ Fay Grafton Nuñez Hometown: Havana Undergrad: University of Central Florida Law school: North Carolina Central School of Law, 2014 Practiced Law: Nine years Family: Wife, Andrea, and children Alex and Alfie.

patient & Hyper-focused FIRST JOB: A cashier at Guess at the Dadeland Mall in Miami. It was a great first job and I learned so much about customer service.

ALTERNATIVE CAREER CHOICE: Planning parties, which I love to do.

FAVORITE NORTH CAROLINA PLACE: Horace-Williams House in Chapel Hill. I got married here, and love this place.

2025 MILESTONES: More family trips and exploring new places.

MISSION ACCOMPLISHED: Convinced my sister to move to North Carolina.

STILL ON BUCKET LIST: Still working on my parents.

STRESS RELIEVER: Spending time with my wife and children. Having and making time for quality time with them to me is very important, especially as the kids get older.

WHY I BECAME A LAWYER: To effect change.

YOUR EDGE: Having wonderful mentors and colleagues. This profession can be really isolating at times, and having a network to reach out to is crucial to your success as an attorney.

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FAVORITE PASSIONS: Traveling and my family LAW SCHOOL IN 2 OR 3 YEARS: Three years. I can’t imagine doing it in two.

ABOUT FAY GRAFTON NUÑEZ FOUNDED: 2006 OFFICES: Raleigh and Asheville MANAGING PARTNER: William Fay HOW MANY ATTORNEYS, STAFF: Four attorneys and 14 staff members.

KEY SPECIALTIES: Immigration and criminal law

C A R O L I N A

12/19/24 10:06 PM

Shannan Barclay Tuorto Tuorto Family Law, Asheville

Jorgelina E. Araneda Araneda Law Firm, Raleigh

Meghan A. Van Vynckt Cordes Law, Charlotte

Shauna A. Arroyo Arroyo Law, Raleigh

Theresa Eileen Viera Modern Legal, Charlotte

Cynthia A. Aziz Aziz Law Firm, Charlotte

Danielle Jessica Walle Marcellino & Tyson, Charlotte

Penni P. Bradshaw Constangy Brooks Smith Prophete, Winston-Salem

Angela Marie Watkins Leitner Bragg & Griffin Law, Monroe Elise Morgan Whitley Kurtz Whitley Guy Sanders & Rainey, Winston-Salem Lindsay Woodard Willis Rosen Law Firm, Raleigh Rebecca Wofford Wofford Burt, Charlotte Tiasha L. Wray Wray Law Firm, Charlotte Arlene M. Zipp Roberson Haworth & Reese, High Point

IMMIGRATION

ANA SOFIA NUÑEZ Fay Grafton Nuñez, Raleigh

Rosa Maria Corriveau Ogletree Deakins Nash Smoak & Stewart, Raleigh Jennifer Cory Womble Bond Dickinson, Charlotte Amanda Carrano Franklin Moore & Van Allen, Charlotte Nam Douglass Garfinkel Immigration Law Firm, Charlotte Alexander John Eiffe A.G. Linett & Associates, Greensboro Benjamin Blaise Frear Frear Law, Charlotte Steven H. Garfinkel Garfinkel Immigration Law Firm, Charlotte David John Garrett Maynard Nexsen, Raleigh

Lindsey Taylor Goehring Charlotte Immigration Law Firm, Charlotte

Ann Robertson Robertson Immigration Law Firm, Raleigh

Vanessa Ann Gonzalez Law Office Of Vanessa A. Gonzalez, Wilmington

Stephen Hugh Smalley Ogletree Deakins Nash Smoak & Stewart, Raleigh

Hannah Faith Little Garfinkel Immigration Law Firm, Charlotte

Helen Laura Tarokic Helen Tarokic Law, Wilmington

Carlos Andres Lopez The Lopez Law Firm, Charlotte Jeremy L. McKinney McKinney Immigration Law, Greensboro George N. Miller Dozier Miller Law Group, Charlotte Colleen Forcina Molner Garfinkel Immigration Law Firm, Charlotte Carlos Alexander Osegueda Jr. A.G. Linett & Associates, Greensboro Helen Parsonage Elliot Morgan Parsonage, Winston-Salem

Douglas Bradley Thie Clawson and Staubes, Charlotte Carla Vestal Vestal Immigration Law, Davidson

INTELLECTUAL

DAVID W. SAR Brooks Pierce, Greensboro

Alton Luther Absher III Kilpatrick Townsend & Stockton, Winston-Salem Ani Agrawal NK Patent Law, Raleigh

John L. Pinnix Allen Pinnix, Raleigh

Stephen Smith Ashley Jr. Ashley Law Firm, Charlotte

Nicola Ai Ling Prall Jackson Lewis, Raleigh

William Barker Cannon Parker Poe, Raleigh

JJ A A N N U U A A R R Y Y

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intellectual david sar Brooks Pierce Hometown: Roanoke, Virginia, originally, but now Greensboro Undergrad: Duke University Law school: Yale Law School, 1996 Practiced Law: 28 years Family: Two daughters, one in grad school and one in her senior undergrad year.

LET’S GO! FIRST JOB: Video game arcade attendant. I collected quarters from the games, made change, did limited repairs, tried to stave off fights and played a lot of free games when off-duty, right? Gen Alpha has no idea what this job was or why it was the best summer gig.

WORKING SMARTER: Showing up way, way early. Now I’m just early.

FAVORITE NORTH CAROLINA PLACE: Courts – both judicial and tennis.

MISSION ACCOMPLISHED: Summitted Mount Kilimanjaro STILL ON BUCKET LIST: Seeing the Northern Lights in upper Sweden STRESS RELIEVER: Happy video games WHY I BECAME A LAWYER: To help people with their problems.

ALTERNATIVE CAREER CHOICE: Astronaut YOUR EDGE: Dedication

2025 MILESTONES: Two kids out of undergrad, learning Russian and visiting the Pyramids LAW SCHOOL IN 2 OR 3 YEARS: Three. More time is beneficial to build a strong foundation in legal reasoning and advocacy.

ABOUT BROOKS PIERCE FOUNDED: 1897 OFFICES: Greensboro, Raleigh, Wilmington MANAGING PARTNER: James Adams II (effective Feb. 1) HOW MANY ATTORNEYS, STAFF: About 118 attorneys, 75 staff members.

KEY SPECIALTIES: Complex litigation; media, entertainment and communications; corporate and securities; international law; technology and intellectual property; telecommunications; sustainability and environmental; labor and employment; banking; hospitality; construction, surety, land use and development; health care; state and federal governmental relations; tax; wealth management; and white-collar defense matters.

FAVORITE PASSIONS: Tennis and audiobooks

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C A R O L I N A

12/19/24 10:06 PM

Angela Powers Doughty Ward and Smith, New Bern

Douglas William Meier NK Patent Law, Raleigh

Kathryn McDaniel Eyster Tepper Eyster, Raleigh

Justin R. Nifong NK Patent Law, Raleigh

Eva Gullick Frongello Parker Poe, Raleigh

Kelli Ovies Womble Bond Dickinson, Raleigh

Darrell A. Fruth Smith Anderson, Raleigh

LITIGATION

J. SCOTT FLOWERS Hutchens Law Firm, Fayetteville

Matthew William Buckmiller Buckmiller Boyette Frost, Raleigh Anthony T. Capitano Bishop Dulaney Joyner & Abner, Charlotte John H. Capitano Kirk Palmer & Thigpen, Charlotte

Daniel S. Porper Wyrick Robbins, Raleigh

Noah Breen Abrams Abrams & Abrams, Raleigh

Bo Brandon Caudill Villmer Caudill, Charlotte

William Kevin Ransom Moore & Van Allen, Charlotte

Ryan James Adams Adams Howell, Raleigh

Michele M. Glessner Moore & Van Allen, Charlotte

Jeffrey J. Schwartz Schwartz Law Firm, Charlotte

David Neal Allen Allen Chesson, Charlotte

James P. Cooney III Womble Bond Dickinson, Charlotte

John Christopher Jackson Morningstar Law Group, Raleigh

Steven N. Terranova Withrow Terranova, Apex

Philip S. Anderson Van Winkle Law Firm, Hendersonville

Ashley Johnson Dogwood Patent And Trademark Law, Raleigh

Christina Davidson Trimmer Shumaker Loop & Kendrick, Charlotte

John Timothy Kivus Morningstar Law Group, Raleigh

Jennifer Van Doren Morningstar Law Group, Raleigh

Shawna Cannon Lemon Stanek Lemon, Raleigh

Henry B. Ward III Bradley, Charlotte

James L. Lester MacCord Mason, Greensboro

Emmett Weindruch Holland & Knight, Charlotte

Kevin R. Lynn Womble Bond Dickinson, Raleigh

Devon E. White Wyrick Robbins, Raleigh

Steven D. Gardner Kilpatrick Townsend & Stockton, Winston-Salem

Benjamin Withrow Withrow Terranova, Apex

Bryan C. Thompson 2025 Legal Elite

Chad Alan Archer Blanco Tackabery Attorneys At Law, Winston-Salem Heather Tonelli Baker Skidmore Law Group, Raleigh Dauna L. Bartley The Brocker Law Firm, Cary

Steven Corriveau Martin & Jones, Raleigh Eric M. David Brooks Pierce, Raleigh Alexandra Davidson Moore & Van Allen, Charlotte Kearns Davis Brooks Pierce, Greensboro Michael D. DeFrank Wyrick Robbins, Raleigh

Jonathan A. Berkelhammer Ellis & Winters, Greensboro

Fred William DeVore IV Devore Acton & Stafford, Charlotte

Robert B. Blackerby Harris Creech Ward & Blackerby, New Bern

Mark Doby Wallace & Graham, Salisbury

Ashley Kamphaus Brathwaite Ellis & Winters, Raleigh

Alan W. Duncan Mullins Duncan Harrell Russell, Greensboro

Robinson & Lawing, LLP provides a broad range of legal services to clients throughout North Carolina.

The firm consists of exceptional attorneys and a dedicated professional staff who are steadfastly committed to providing quality legal services to clients while maintaining the highest professional standards. Committed to the tradition of excellence.

Bryan Thompson, a partner with Robinson & Lawing, LLP in Winston-Salem specializes in Elder Law, Wills and Estate Planning, Trusts and Estates, Guardianship, Corporate Law, Collections, Taxation, and Real Estate. Thompson has been a practicing attorney since 1999.

Congratulations to our 2025 Legal Elite Bryan C. Thompson Robinson & Lawing, LLP | 110 Oakwood Drive, Suite 200 Winston-Salem, NC 27103 | (336) 631-8500

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litagation J. Scott flowers Hutchens Law Firm Hometown: Warsaw Undergrad: East Carolina University Law school: Campbell School of Law, 2003 Practiced Law: 21 years Family: Wife, Robin, and our daughters. Jana is a 1-L at Campbell Law; Shayne, a high school senior; Carlie, third grade.

slow & steady FIRST JOB: Working at a lumberyard in Rose Hill for three summers, where I learned a lot of important life lessons.

YOUR EDGE: The people I work with. Chief among them are my mentor, Terry Hutchens, and long-time paralegal, Paula Register.

WORKING SMARTER: I was lucky enough to have a “caboose baby” later in life and it made me realize how much time I had missed with my first two daughters through work.

2025 MILESTONES: I will be a co-managing partner of my firm in 2025 and I hope to continue to guide our ship in the right direction.

FAVORITE NORTH CAROLINA PLACE: Topsail Island. Duplin County is a close second.

MISSION ACCOMPLISHED: I can’t think of anything that I would say I am ready to check off the list and be done with it.

STILL ON BUCKET LIST: So many things I want to see and do, that I can’t narrow them down to a list.

STRESS RELIEVER: Spending time with my family.

WHY I BECAME A LAWYER: I was fortunate growing up in Warsaw to know some fine lawyers like Gerald Ludlum, Gene Thompson and Reggie Kenan. Watching them inspired me. That and Atticus Finch.

FAVORITE PASSIONS: Hunting (anything in season) and travel (near and far).

LAW SCHOOL IN 2 OR 3 YEARS: Three years. There is a seasoning/maturing process in law school that shouldn’t be cut short.

ABOUT HUTCHENS LAW FIRM FOUNDED: 1980 OFFICES: Charlotte, Fayetteville, Leland and Southern Pines MANAGING PARTNER: H. Terry Hutchens HOW MANY ATTORNEYS, STAFF: 35 attorneys, 159 staff KEY SPECIALTIES: Business law, litigation, real estate, creditor’s rights

ALTERNATIVE CAREER CHOICE: General contractor

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C A R O L I N A

12/20/24 12:44 PM

Christy Cochran Dunn Young Moore And Henderson, Raleigh Joshua B. Durham Bell Davis Pitt, Charlotte Andrew Larry Fitzgerald Fitzgerald Litigation, Winston-Salem Murphy Horne Fletcher McGuire Wood & Bissette, Asheville

Patrick Michael Kane Fox Rothschild, Greensboro Charles Bailey King Jr. Bradley, Charlotte Kimberly Jill Kirk Johnston Allison Hord, Charlotte Ben E. Klein Sigmon Klein, Greensboro Heryka Rodriguez Knoespel McGuireWoods, Charlotte

Jeremy Stuart Foster Clawson And Staubes, Charlotte

Kenneth T. Lautenschlager Johnston Allison Hord, Charlotte

Robert W. Fuller III Alignment Legal, Huntersville

Michael Aaron Lay Hamilton Stephens Steele + Martin, Charlotte

Charles George Wyrick Robbins, Raleigh Reginald B. Gillespie Jr. Wilson Ratledge, Raleigh Christopher T. Graebe Morningstar Law Group, Raleigh Jeffrey C. Grady J. Grady Law, Charlotte L. Cooper Harrell Mullins Duncan Harrell Russell, Greensboro Kirkland Hardymon, Rayburn Cooper & Durham, Charlotte James Hash Everett Gaskins Hancock Tuttle Hash, Raleigh

Sara R. Lincoln Lincoln Derr, Charlotte Trey Lindley, Lindley Law, Charlotte Adam Gregory Linett A.G. Linett & Associates, Greensboro Jeffrey Anderson Long James deNobriga Long, Charlotte Harrison A. Lord Lord & Lindley, Charlotte Lesley Skye MacLeod Ragsdale Liggett, Raleigh

Jeremy Scott Maddox Law Offices Of James Scott Farrin, Charlotte

Allison Mullins Turning Point Litigation, Greensboro

Edward Hallett Maginnis Maginnis Law, Raleigh

Sammy M. Naji Triangle Legal, Raleigh

Dennis Lee Martin Jr. Roberts & Stevens, Asheville

Brandon S. Neuman Nelson Mullins Riley & Scarborough, Raleigh

Robert R. Marcus Bradley, Charlotte John D. Martin Cranfill Sumner, Raleigh Elizabeth A. Martineau Martineau King, Charlotte Moulton Braxton Massey IV Hardee Massey & Blodgett, Greenville John M. McCabe Law Offices Of John M. McCabe, Cary

Lauren O. Newton Tin Fulton Walker & Owen, Charlotte Jeffrey E. Oleynik Brooks Pierce, Greensboro David J. Overton Ricci Law Firm, Raleigh Michael J. Parrish Ward and Smith, New Bern K. Alan Parry Parry Law, Chapel Hill

Thomas Richmond McPherson III

Corey Vaughn Parton Parton Law, Charlotte

Jason A. Miller Miller Monroe Plyler, Raleigh

Kathleen Elizabeth Perkins Hunton Andrews Kurth, Charlotte

McGuireWoods, Charlotte

Michael Mitchell Smith Anderson Blount Dorsett Mitchell & Jernigan, Raleigh Jeffrey R. Monroe Miller Monroe Plyler, Raleigh

Jimmie W. Phillips Jr. Brooks Pierce, Greensboro Amy E. Richardson Harris Wiltshire & Grannis, Raleigh

Scott Hazlegrove Wyrick Robbins, Raleigh John Alexander Heroy James McElroy Diehl, Charlotte Karen Marie Hinkley Davis Hartman Wright Attorneys, New Bern Adam Samuel Hocutt Dozier Miller Law Group, Charlotte Howard Clay Hodges Jr. Harris Sarratt Hodges, Raleigh

Congratulations

Michael James Hoefling Johnston Allison Hord, Charlotte

PERRY SAFRAN

Matthew M. Holtgrewe Maynard Nexsen, Charlotte John W. Holton Miller Monroe Plyler, Raleigh Ann Patton Hornthal Roberts & Stevens, Asheville

on being named to Business North Carolina’s

LEGAL ELITE 2025

Robert N. Hunter Jr. Higgins Benjamin, Greensboro Michael Ingersoll Womble Bond Dickinson, Charlotte Melody Jewell Jolly Cranfill Sumner, Wilmington Amanda Patricia Just Ragsdale Liggett, Raleigh

SERVING THE CONSTRUCTION INDUSTRY

Find us online: safranlaw.com

J A N U A R Y

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real estate marc L. isaacson ISAACSON SHERIDAN Hometown: Greensboro Undergrad: UNC Chapel Hill Law school: Wake Forest University School of Law, 1982 Practiced Law: 42 years Family: Wife, Jill R. Wilson, daughters, Sarah Castellano and Allison Isaacson; one grandchild on the way.

history & integrity FIRST JOB: Dishwasher at Stamey’s BBQ at age 14. Promoted to hushpuppy maker that same summer.

ALTERNATIVE CAREER CHOICE: Speechwriter for president of U.S.

WORKING SMARTER: Changed from handing out paper booklets at every rezoning hearing to using PowerPoint for presentations at most public hearings.

YOUR EDGE: Working with smart, dedicated attorneys and paralegals.

FAVORITE NORTH CAROLINA PLACE: For family visits: Bald Head Island; For golf: Banner Elk MISSION ACCOMPLISHED: Playing the Old Course at St. Andrews with my Dad for my 50th birthday.

STILL ON BUCKET LIST: Play Augusta National Golf Club STRESS RELIEVER: Play golf with friends.

WHY I BECAME A LAWYER: I interviewed James Fallows, President Jimmy Carter’s speechwriter, at the Oval Office in 1978 about speechwriting as a major at UNC. He suggested I attend law school to learn more about our Constitution and governance, to prepare for that or any career, and to learn how to think about issues more logically. I met my wife in law school, but she said she would not marry me until I passed the bar exam, so I had a little extra pressure! I joined my dad’s firm right out of law school.

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2025 MILESTONES: Take family to Europe and attend the Ryder Cup Tournament.

FAVORITE PASSIONS: Outside of family: Community involvement and golf.

LAW SCHOOL IN 2 OR 3 YEARS: Three years. Need time to absorb and understand our legal system and the way nearly every area of law affects our clients; need ample time for practical experience.

ABOUT ISAACSON SHERIDAN FOUNDED: 1980 OFFICES: Greensboro MANAGING PARTNER: Tessa Leftwich HOW MANY ATTORNEYS, STAFF: Nine attorneys, 10 staff members KEY SPECIALTIES: Real estate transactions and development, including land use law; corporate and general business; commercial litigation.

C A R O L I N A

12/19/24 10:07 PM

Matthew Scott Roberson McGuire Wood Bissette, Asheville

Zachary D. Walton Martineau King, Charlotte

Randall Wayne Faircloth Regent Law, Charlotte

Morgan Hunter Rogers Parker Poe, Charlotte

Judson A. Welborn Manning Fulton & Skinner, Raleigh

Andrew Steven Felt Akerman, Winston-Salem

Erik M. Rosenwood Rosenwood Rose & Litwak, Charlotte

Dixie T. Wells Ellis & Winters, Greensboro

Walter D. Fisher Jr. Troutman Pepper Hamilton Sanders, Charlotte

Alan M. Ruley Bell Davis Pitt, Winston-Salem

Martin L. White Johnston Allison Hord, Charlotte

Jennifer Flynn Carter Law Group, Salisbury

Megan Sadler Venn Law Group, Charlotte

Kevin G. Williams Bell Davis Pitt, Winston-Salem

Stephen Francis Horne III Horne and Horne, Greenville

Jay C. Salsman Harris Creech Ward & Blackerby, New Bern

David C. Wright III Robinson Bradshaw & Hinson, Charlotte

Samuel B. Franck Ward and Smith, Wilmington

William Kirk Sanders Hendrick Bryant Nerhood Sanders Otis, Winston-Salem Joseph Anthony Schouten Ward and Smith, Raleigh W. Bradford Searson Barbour Searson Jones Cash, Asheville Thomas Hamilton Segars, Ellis & Winters, Raleigh

REAL ESTATE

MARC L. ISAACSON Isaacson Sheridan, Greensboro

Derek J. Allen Allen Stahl + Kilbourne, Asheville

Robert M. Friesen Robbins May Rich, Pinehurst Jonathan Peter Goldberg Alexander Ricks, Charlotte Michelle Gonzalez Ward and Smith, Raleigh Tikkun A.S. Gottschalk Searson, Jones, Gottschalk & Cash, Asheville

Nicole Sabourin Loeffler Weatherspoon & Voltz, Raleigh Timothy P. Logan, Parker Poe, Charlotte Sarah Robinson Lucente Kunkleman Lucente, Charlotte Jeffery J. Malarney Jeff Malarney, Kitty Hawk LaDeidre Dianne Matthews Fox Rothschild, Charlotte John M. May Robbins May & Rich, Pinehurst James C. McCaskill Longleaf Law Partners, Raleigh Craig T. McCall The McCall Law Firm, Raleigh Whitney Seara McCrea Whitney S. McCrea, Durham Gary T. McDermott McDermott Law, Waxhaw Heather Dawn McDowell Ellinger & Carr, Raleigh

Jennifer M. Hall Wyrick Robbins, Raleigh

Daniel Adam Merlin Alexander Ricks, Charlotte

James Bryant Haynes Brooks Pierce, Greensboro

Erin Cowan Mosley Maynard Nexsen, Greensboro

Thomas Patrick Hockman Maynard Nexsen, Greensboro

David William Murray Murray Law Firm, Charlotte

Anthony J. Barwick Brooks Pierce, Raleigh

Scott Morgan Holmes Murchison Taylor Gibson, Wilmington

Alexander R.W. Paschal Roberts & Stevens, Asheville

Evan Michael Bass Moore & Van Allen, Charlotte

Allison Dixon Howard Stallings Law Firm, Raleigh

James B. Stephenson II Stephenson Law, Cary

Susan R. Benoit Hutchens Law Firm Fayetteville

Jeffery Stoddard, McAngus Goudelock & Courie, Wilmington

Jonathan M. Bogues Michael Best & Friedrich, Raleigh

Justin K. Humphries The Humphries Law Firm, Wilmington

Samuel A. Slater Wyrick Robbins, Raleigh Allen Smith Hedrick Gardner Kincheloe Garofalo, Charlotte Eric Spengler Spengler & Agans, Charlotte Luther D. Starling Jr. Daughtry Woodard Lawrence & Starling, Smithfield

Walter L. Tippett Jr. Williams Mullen, Raleigh Christopher Donald Tomlinson Moore & Van Allen, Charlotte

Charles N. Anderson Jr. Ellis & Winters, Raleigh Charles V. Archie Wyrick Robbins, Raleigh Mary Burgett Ashley Ashley Law Firm, Charlotte

Scott Kenyon Burger Allen Stahl + Kilbourne, Asheville Margaret Shea Burnham Maynard Nexsen, Greensboro

Allen Nelson Trask III Ward and Smith, Wilmington

Alison R. Cayton Manning Fulton & Skinner, Raleigh

Anna Claire Turpin Henson Fuerst, Raleigh

Barbara R. Christy Schell Bray, Greensboro

Jason Nolan Tuttle Everett Gaskins Hancock Tuttle Hash, Raleigh

Louis Penn Clarke Longleaf Law Partners, Raleigh

Jennifer K. Van Zant Brooks Pierce, Greensboro

Nathaniel H. Cook Block Crouch Keeter Behm & Sayed, Wilmington

Jessica Blair Vickers Manning Fulton & Skinner, Raleigh

Joseph B. Dempster Jr. Poyner Spruill, Raleigh

Stephen Brian Walker Garrett Walker Aycoth & Olson Attorneys At Law Greensboro F. Marshall Wall Cranfill Sumner, Raleigh

James Scott Efird St. Amand & Efird, Charlotte Susan Y. Ellinger Ellinger & Carr, Raleigh Don T. Evans Jr. Clark Newton Evans, Wilmington

Susan K. Irvin Irvin Law Group, Cornelius Peter U. Kanipe McGuire Wood & Bissette, Asheville

Brian Thomas Pearce Maynard Nexsen, Greensboro Christina Freeman Pearsall Schell Bray, Greensboro Jeanne A. Pearson Johnston Allison Hord, Charlotte James K. Pendergrass Pendergrass Law Firm, Raleigh Stephen J. Perry Wyrick Robbins, Raleigh

John W. King Jr. John W. King, New Bern

Samuel S. Price Stephenson Law, Cary

William B. Kirk Jr. Kirk Palmer & Thigpen, Charlotte

Robert J. Ramseur Jr. Ragsdale Liggett, Raleigh

William F. Kirk Regent Law, Charlotte

Jonathan Scott Raymer Black Slaughter & Black, Greensboro

Benjamin R. Kuhn Ragsdale Liggett, Raleigh Amy C. Lanning Blanco Tackabery & Matamoros, Winston-Salem

Holden Reaves Reaves Law, Fayetteville John F. Renger III Renger Reynolds, Charlotte

Parker Cheatham Lee Person & Lee, Fayetteville

Shayla Christine Richberg Richberg Law, Durham

Robert George Lindauer Jr., Johnston Allison Hord, Charlotte

John R. Rose Goosmann Rose Colvard Cramer, Asheville Christopher T. Salyer Hutchens Law Firm, Fayetteville

G. Grey Littlewood Littlewood Law, Raleigh

J A N U A R Y

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tax & estate planning heidi royal Heidi E. Royal Law Hometown: Memphis, Tennessee Undergrad: Rhodes College (Memphis) Law school: University of Georgia School of Law, 2004 Practiced Law: 20 years Family: Dog Mom to 14-year-old Annie and lots of extended family in Tennessee.

loyal & candid FIRST JOB: My parents opened a franchise yogurt store when I was in middle school. I was in charge of payroll. My grandmother taught me how to calculate withholdings, which were recorded in an old school ledger, and to write the paychecks by hand.

WORKING SMARTER: I quit saying “Yes” to everything. There is not enough time to do everything, so I focus on the people and things that are most important in my life.

FAVORITE NORTH CAROLINA PLACE: Spa at the Grove Park Inn. MISSION ACCOMPLISHED: An amazing trip to Patagonia.

STILL ON BUCKET LIST: Too many places that I want to visit to list!

STRESS RELIEVER: A massage or a nap.

WHY I BECAME A LAWYER: I always wanted to be a doctor, and I majored in biology in college. I later became interested in marine biology, but, as my father pointed out, I was not sure I could support myself studying coral reefs. I decided to go to law school because I thought it would give me many different career paths.

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ALTERNATIVE CAREER CHOICE: Private investigator YOUR EDGE: Excellent mentors, especially Christy Reid at Robinson Bradshaw, who passed away in 2014. I would not be where I am without Christy or my years at Robinson Bradshaw.

2025 MILESTONES: Hopefully a new puppy to keep Annie company. Eighth year of private practice with my own firm. I started by myself and now there are four.

FAVORITE PASSIONS: Travel and live music.

LAW SCHOOL IN 2 OR 3 YEARS: Three. You have the rest of your life to work as a lawyer.

ABOUT HEIDI E. ROYAL LAW FOUNDED: 2017 OFFICE: Charlotte MANAGING PARTNER: Self HOW MANY ATTORNEYS, STAFF: Four attorneys, five staff KEY SPECIALTIES: Trusts and estates

C A R O L I N A

12/19/24 10:07 PM

Scott Andrew Schaaf Womble Bond Dickinson, Winston-Salem Lawrence J. Shaheen Jr. Singh, Davidson Douglas John Short Manning Fulton & Skinner, Raleigh Kyle Abraham Smalling Capital City Law Wake Forest Chris Stevenson Kirk Palmer & Thigpen, Charlotte Thomas E. Terrell Jr. Fox Rothschild, Greensboro Lindsay Parris Thompson Van Winkle Law Firm, Asheville Anna Hartzog Tison Brooks Pierce, Raleigh Katheline Tran McCall Law Firm, Raleigh David Eric Wagner K&L Gates, Raleigh Cameron Todd Ware Johnston Allison Hord, Charlotte Eric A. Vernon Wyrick Robbins, Raleigh Nikhil Vyas Vyas Realty Law Raleigh Robert Wall II Brady & Kosofsky, Charlotte William H. Weatherspoon Jr. Weatherspoon & Voltz, Raleigh

Joshua D. Bryant Smith Anderson, Raleigh Diane Blackburn Burks Katten Muchin Rosenman, Charlotte David Allen Burns Wyrick Robbins, Raleigh

Cristine Rose Dixon Craige Jenkins Liipfert & Walker, Winston-Salem

Reed J. Hollander Young Moore And Henderson, Raleigh

Doris Jordan Dixon Schell Bray, Chapel Hill

Timothy William Jones Jones Branz Whitaker, Raleigh

David T. DuFault Sodoma Law, Charlotte

Jill Lynn Peters Kaess Lee Kaess, Wilmington

Stephen T. Byrd Charles Joseph DelPapa Manning Fulton & Skinner, Raleigh Wyrick Robbins, Raleigh

John G. Kelso Van Winkle Law Firm, Asheville

David R. Chambers Chambers Ennis, Raleigh

Adam Gates Kerr Kerr Law, Greensboro

Ansley Chapman Cella Smith Anderson, Raleigh John R. Cella Jr. Ragsdale Liggett, Raleigh Christian P. Cherry Crisp Cherry McCraw, Charlotte Lynn F. Chandler Shumaker Loop & Kendrick, Charlotte

Jordan L. Faulkner Young Morphis Bach & Taylor, Hickory Daniel Brinson Finch Envisage Law, Raleigh Elinor J. Foy Wyrick Robbins, Raleigh Kara Gansmann Cranfill Sumner, Wilmington Edward Weede Griggs Womble Bond Dickinson, Winston-Salem

Sandra M. Clark Manning Fulton & Skinner, Raleigh Mary Robinson Hervig Roberts & Stevens, Asheville Thomas H. Cook Jr. Wyrick Robbins, Raleigh Robyn Hicks-Guinn Hicks-Guinn Law, Charlotte Thomas A. Cooper Austin Cooper Legal, Charlotte Mark J. Hale Jr. Baddour, Parker, Hine & Hale, Stephanie Daniel Goldsboro Kirk Palmer & Thigpen, Charlotte John Randolph Hemphill Janice L. Davies Hemphill Gelder, Raleigh Davies Law, Charlotte

Joseph A. Kimmet Wyrick Robbins, Raleigh Amy S. Klass Fox Rothschild, Greensboro Meghan Naomi Knight Lynch & Eatman, Raleigh Margaret Troy Kocaj Kocaj Consulting, Charlotte Jennifer LJ Koenig Schell Bray, Greensboro Paula Alyse Kohut Kohut Adams & Randall, Wilmington Richard Alan Kort McGuire Wood & Bissette, Asheville Harris M. Livingstain McGuire Wood & Bissette, Asheville Paul H. Livingston Jr. Schell Bray, Greensboro

Cameron Clark Winfrey Ward and Smith, Raleigh

TAX & ESTATE PLANNING

HEIDI ELIZABETH ROYAL Heidi Royal Law, Charlotte

Abby Lund Adams Kohut Adams, Wilmington S. Kyle Agee Johnston Allison Hord, Charlotte David Eric Anderson David E. Anderson, Wilmington Jackie W. Bedard Bedard Law, Cary Brian Carl Bernhardt Fox Rothschild, Charlotte Chris N. Bobby Manning Fulton & Skinner, Raleigh Julie Marion Bradlow DarrowEverett, Charlotte Gwendolyn C. Brooks Kennon Craver, Durham Stephen Aaron Brown Young Moore And Henderson, Raleigh J A N U A R Y

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young guns carlie smith Manning Fulton & Skinner Hometown: Salt Lake City Undergrad: BYU Law school: J. Reuben Clark Law School - 2019 Practiced Law: 5 years Family: Husband

practical & focused FIRST JOB: Testing literacy software for bugs in high school.

WORKING SMARTER: I’ve learned the value of making phone calls rather than defaulting to email.

FAVORITE NORTH CAROLINA PLACE: Western North Carolina mountains MISSION ACCOMPLISHED: See a Broadway show in New York City STILL ON BUCKET LIST: Visit Italy STRESS RELIEVER: Outdoor walk with an audiobook.

WHY I BECAME A LAWYER: To solve problems and help people build their businesses.

ALTERNATIVE CAREER CHOICE: Teacher YOUR EDGE: Supportive family and friends.

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2025 MILESTONES: 2025 milestones are growing the Raleigh chapter of the Women’s Franchise Network and hosting the 14th annual Manning Fulton Franchise Success Summit.

FAVORITE PASSIONS: History and musical theater.

LAW SCHOOL IN 2 OR 3 YEARS: Three years is acceptable if there were more opportunities for practical classes in the third year.

ABOUT MANNING FULTON & SKINNER FOUNDED: 1955 OFFICES: Raleigh and Durham MANAGING PARTNER: Judson Welborn HOW MANY ATTORNEYS, STAFF: 40 attorneys, 35 staff members KEY SPECIALTIES: Commercial real estate, complex and commercial litigation, condemnation and eminent domain, corporate law and mergers and acquisitions, employment law, franchise and distribution.

C A R O L I N A

12/19/24 10:07 PM

Tyler Dean Nullmeyer Mullins Duncan Harrell Russell, Greensboro

Robert D. Lyerly Jr. Maynard Nexsen, Charlotte

Bradley T. Van Hoy Moore & Van Allen, Charlotte

Tahlia D. Cypress Ragsdale Liggett, Raleigh

Lauren Campbell Maxie NC Planning, Cary

Jeneva Alicia Vazquez Bray & Long, Charlotte

Vince Eisinger Cranfill Sumner, Raleigh

William Thomas McCuiston Jr. McCuiston Law Offices, Cary

Robert Hammock Wall Akerman, Winston-Salem

J. Ford Eubanks UNC School of Law, Chapel Hill

Blaire McClanahan Law Offices Of Cheryl David, Greensboro

Carter Webb Van Winkle Law Firm, Asheville

James Brandon Freeman Allen Stahl + Kilbourne, Asheville

Nathaniel J. Pencook Nelson Mullins Riley & Scarborough, Raleigh

Jonathan Charles Windham Essex Richards, Charlotte

Stephen Charles Gambill Ragsdale Liggett, Raleigh

Kyle Adam Pierce Moore Law Group, Graham

Beth Ann Wood Law Offices Of Beth A. Wood, Charlotte

Grace Glover Gean Wake Family Law Group, Raleigh

Jasmine Michelle Pitt Akerman, Winston-Salem

Matthew Eric Gerber Johnston Allison & Hord, Charlotte

Alaina Taylor Prevatte Rech Law, Charlotte

William S. Graebe Morningstar Law Group, Raleigh

Jackson Connelly Pridgen Johnston Allison & Hord, Charlotte

Lawrence D. Graham Manning Fulton & Skinner, Durham

Preetha Suresh Rini Robinson Bradshaw & Hinson, Raleigh

Brian Donald Gulden Van Winkle Law Firm, Asheville

Sarah Mokhtar Rozek Fox Rothschild, Greensboro

Karl Stephen Gwaltney Maginnis Howard, Raleigh

Jamie Elizabeth Rudd Lewis Brisbois Bisgaard Smith, Raleigh

Mitchell Kemp Mosley Narron Wenzel, Raleigh Lawrence Moye IV Womble Bond Dickinson, Raleigh Caroline Corry Munroe Blanco Tackabery Attorneys At Law, Winston-Salem Michael Christian Murray Murray Moyer, Raleigh Andrew Lamberson Nesbitt Nesbitt Law, Charlotte Richard P. Nordan Wallace Nordan, Raleigh Holly Berry Harris Norvell Johnston Allison Hord, Charlotte Tanya Nicole Oesterreich Oesterreich Law, Concord Jason R. Page Law Office Of Jason R. Page, Wilson Jonathan M. Parisi Spangler Estate Planning, Greensboro Bailey Patrick Jr. K&L Gates, Charlotte Erin Bray Patterson Erin Patterson, Charlotte Gregory T. Peacock Ward and Smith, New Bern Abigail Elizabeth Peoples Law Firm Of Abigail E. Peoples, Greensboro Christian L. Perrin Perrin Legal, Charlotte Allie Petrova Petrova Law, Greensboro Jennifer Marshall Roden Craige & Fox, Wilmington

Keith A. Wood Carruthers & Roth, Greensboro Bradley Wooldridge Longleaf Law Partners, Raleigh Paul Anthony Yokabitus Cary Estate Planning, Cary

YOUNG GUNS

CARLIE ANNE SMITH Manning Fulton, Raleigh

Hailey Nichole Amico The Sodoma Way, Charlotte Brianne Van Apeldoorn Irons & Irons, Greenville Patrick H. Archibald McCollum Law, Cary Carly Grace Baker Wake Family Law Group, Raleigh

Justin Tyler Hill Ward and Smith, Raleigh Mallory G. Horne Law Office of Mallory Horne, High Point Kristen Marie Kirby McGuireWoods, Raleigh X. Lightfoot Ward and Smith, Raleigh Avery Locklear Ward and Smith, Raleigh Lauren Hinzey O’Malley Triangle Smart Divorce, Cary

Ashley B. Oldfield Rayburn Cooper & Durham, Charlotte

S. Collins Saint Brooks Pierce, Greensboro Joseph Robert Shealy Katten Muchin Rosenman, Charlotte Shaefer Shepard Jetton & Meredith Law, Charlotte Troy Shelton Dowling, Raleigh Olivia Smith Wallace & Graham, Salisbury

Anna Christina Majestro Allen Chesson & Grimes, Charlotte

Kendra Nicole Stark Gordon Rees Scully Mansukhani, Raleigh

Clark S. Martin Manning Law, Raleigh

Dale Virginia Stephenson Ward Family Law Group, Cary

Sarah Ashley Barnett Maynard Nexsen, Charlotte

Agustin M. Martinez Brooks Pierce, Greensboro

Sheldon McCurry Stokes Johnston Allison Hord, Charlotte

Gavin Adams Bell Flannery | Georgalis, Charlotte

Kelsey Nicole Hendry Mayo Poyner Spruill, Charlotte

Kevin Giese Sweat Lord & Lindley, Charlotte

Sophia V. Blair Wyrick Robbins, Raleigh

Melissa Li Hua McKinney Blanco Tackabery & Matamoros, Winston-Salem

Ashley H. Terrazas Parker Poe, Raleigh

Angela Christiana Baldwin Manning Fulton & Skinner, Raleigh Christina Jansen Banfield Harris Creech Ward & Blackerby, New Bern

Maria Magdalena Satterfield Satterfield Legal, Charlotte

Ross Joseph Bromberger Rosenwood Rose & Litwak, Charlotte

Joseph D. Shealy Johnston Allison Hord, Charlotte

Kara Marie Murphy Brunk Smith Anderson, Raleigh

Lucy Siler Johnston Allison Hord, Charlotte

Payton Collier Bullard Ward and Smith, Raleigh

Rebecca Lane Smitherman Craige Jenkins Liipfert & Walker, Winston-Salem

Matthew C. Burke Young Moore and Henderson, Raleigh

Adam Brook Snyder Wyrick Robbins, Raleigh

Andrew Parks Carter Maynard Nexsen, Greensboro

Kimberly Quarles Swintosky Smith Anderson, Raleigh

Ashley Barton Chandler Fox Rothschild, Greensboro

Adam Patrick McInnis Tarleton Brooks Pierce, Greensboro

Kevin Cline NC Republican Party, Raleigh

Bryan Thompson Surratt and Thompson, Winston-Salem

Carter B. Cole Hannah Sheridan & Cochran, Raleigh

Sarah Sparboe Thornburg McGuire Wood & Bissette, Asheville

Chamberlain Elizabeth Collier McAngus Goudelock & Courie, Raleigh

Marianna Baggett McMurry Ward and Smith, Raleigh Joseph Walton Milam III Rosenwood Rose & Litwak, Charlotte Lauren Trask Millovitsch Creamer Millovitsch, Davidson Worth Mills Longleaf Law Partners, Raleigh Jacob M. Morse Milberg Coleman Bryson Phillips Grossman, Raleigh Matthew P. Muntean Manning Fulton & Skinner, Raleigh Virginia S. Mutter StephensonLaw, Cary Alexander Nibert, Johnston Allison Hord, Charlotte Jane Francis Nowell Ward and Smith, Greenville

Brian Zachary Taylor Jr. Manning Fulton & Skinner, Raleigh Philip Ryan Thomas, N.C. Republican Party, Raleigh Lindsey Umin David Self Law And Mediation, Cornelius Brianne Van Apeldoorn Irons & Irons, Greenville Alexa Marie Voss Godley, Glazer & Funk, Cornelius Caitlin Hale Walton Essex Richards, Charlotte Reagan Elizabeth Warren Hayes Williams Turner & Daughtry, Dunn Sarah Warren Trinity Partners, Morrisville Brooke E. Webber Howard Stallings Law Firm, Raleigh J A N U A R Y

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LAWYER PROFILES

8 86 6

B U S I N E S S

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N O R T H

C A R O L I N A

12/19/24 10:07 PM

J A N U A R Y

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HALL OF FAME

ANTITRUST Matthew W. Sawchak, Ellis & Winters, Cary (2002, 2003); Rodrick J. Enns, Enns & Archer, Winston-Salem (2004); Larry B. Sitton, Smith Moore, Greensboro (2005); Everett J. Bowman, Robinson, Bradshaw & Hinson, Charlotte (2006); Douglas Wayne Kenyon, Hunton & Williams, Raleigh (2007); Mark W. Merritt, Robinson, Bradshaw & Hinson, Charlotte (2008); Mark J. Horoschak, Womble Carlyle Sandridge & Rice, Charlotte (2009); Jennifer K. Van Zant, Brooks, Pierce, McLendon, Humphrey & Leonard, Greensboro (2010); Catharine B. Arrowood, Parker Poe Adams & Bernstein, Raleigh (2011); Jonathan Heyl, Smith Moore Leatherwood, Charlotte (2012); Noel L. Allen, Pinnix & Nichols, Raleigh (2013); John F. Graybeal, Parker Poe Adams & Bernstein, Raleigh (2014); Press Millen, Womble Carlyle Sandridge & Rice, Raleigh (2015); W. Andrew “Andy” Copenhaver, Womble Carlyle Sandridge & Rice, Winston-Salem (2016); Stephen Feldman, Ellis & Winters, Raleigh (2017); Brad Evans, Ward and Smith, Greenville (2018); Henry “Hal” L. Kitchin Jr., McGuire Woods, Wilmington (2019); Brian Hayles, Bradley Arant Boult Cummings, Charlotte (2020); Alan Duncan, Turning Point Litigation, Greensboro (2021); Dhamian Blue, Blue, Raleigh (2022); Denise M. Gunter, Nelson Mullins Riley & Scarborough, WinstonSalem (2023); John A. Price, Calhoun, Bhella & Sechrest, Durham (2024); Cassandra Creekman, Wyrick Robbins, Raleigh (2025) APPELLATE Matthew Nis Leerberg, Smith Moore Leatherwood, Raleigh (2018); Toby Hampson, Wyrick Robbins / N.C. Court of Appeals, Raleigh (2019); Drew Erteschik, Poyner Spruill, Raleigh (2020); Beth Brooks Scherer, Fox Rothschild, Raleigh (2021); MichelleD. Connell, Fox Rothschild, Raleigh (2022); Angela Farag Craddock, Young Moore and Henderson, Raleigh (2023); Troy D. Shelton, Fox Rothschild, Raleigh (2024); Matthew Sawchak, Robinson Bradshaw, Raleigh (2025).

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BANKRUPTCY J. Michael Booe, Kennedy Covington, Charlotte (2002, 2003); Gregory B. Crampton, Nicholls & Crampton, Raleigh (2004); Richard M. Hutson II, Hutson Hughes & Powell, Durham (2005); C. Richard Rayburn Jr., Rayburn Cooper & Durham, Charlotte (2006); Terri L. Gardner, Nelson Mullins Riley & Scarborough, Raleigh (2007); John A. Northen, Northen Blue, Chapel Hill, (2008); Holmes P. Harden, Williams Mullen, Raleigh (2009); Christine Myatt, Nexsen Pruet, Greensboro (2010); Gerald A. “Jeb” Jeutter Jr., Gerald A. “Jeb” Jeutter Jr. Attorney at Law, Raleigh (2011); Kenneth M. Greene, Carruthers & Roth, Greensboro (2012); Trawick H. “Buzzy” Stubbs Jr., Stubbs & Perdue, New Bern (2013); Benjamin Kahn, Nexsen Pruet, Greensboro (2014); James S. “Charlie” Livermon, Poyner Spruill, Rocky Mount (2015); Richard S. Wright, Moon Wright and Houston, Charlotte (2016); Heather W. Culp, Essex Richards, Charlotte (2017); William P. Janvier, Janvier Law Firm, Raleigh (2018); Richard D. Sparkman, Richard D. Sparkman & Associates, Angier (2019); George Sanderson, The Sanderson Law Firm, Raleigh (2020); John “Woody” C. Woodman, Essex Richards, Charlotte (2021); Rebecca Finch Redwine, Hendren Redwine & Malone, Raleigh; (2022); Matt Tomsic, Rayburn Cooper & Durham, Charlotte (2023); Jeffrey E. Oleynik, Brooks Pierce, Greensboro (2024); Jason Hendren Hendren Redwine & Malone, Raleigh (2025).

BUSINESS Russell M. Robinson II, Robinson, Bradshaw & Hinson, Charlotte (2002, 2003); Doris R. Bray, Schell Bray, Greensboro (2004); J. Norfleet Pruden III, Kennedy Covington, Charlotte (2005); William M. Flynn, Hunton & Williams, Raleigh (2006); Robin L. Hinson, Robinson, Bradshaw & Hinson, Charlotte (2007); Peter C. Buck, Robinson, Bradshaw & Hinson, Charlotte (2008); Gerald F. Roach, Smith, Anderson, Blount, Dorsett, Mitchell & Jernigan, Raleigh (2009); Mark Davidson, Brooks, Pierce, McLendon, Humphrey & Leonard, Greensboro (2010); Stephen M. Lynch, Robinson, Bradshaw & Hinson, Charlotte (2011); Amalie L. Tuffin, Whitmeyer Tuffin, Raleigh (2012); Grayson S. Hale, Morningstar Law Group, Morrisville (2013); David D. Beatty, Myers Bigel Sibley & Sajovec, Raleigh (2014); Charles S. Baldwin IV, Brooks, Pierce, McLendon, Humphrey & Leonard, Wilmington (2015); James R. Forrest, Forrest Firm, Durham (2016); Gregory S. Connor, The Connor Law Firm, Raleigh (2017); John Babcock, Waldrep Wall Babcock & Bailey, Winston-Salem (2018); M. Keith Kapp, Williams Mullen,

N O O R R T T H H N

Raleigh (2019); Matthew Marcellino, Marcellino & Tyson, Charlotte (2020); George Stephen Diab, Murchison, Taylor & Gibson, Wilmington (2021); DanielStephen Trimmer, Skufca Law, Charlotte (2022); John M. Cross Jr., Brooks Pierce, Greensboro (2023); Heather Culp, Essex, Richards, Charlotte (2024); Milton “Heath” Gilbert Jr. Baucom, Claytor, Benton, Morgan & Wood, Charlotte (2025).

CONSTRUCTION James A. Roberts III, Lewis & Roberts, Raleigh (2004); Jeffrey J. Davis, Moore & Van Allen, Charlotte (2005); John L. Shaw, Poyner Spruill, Raleigh (2006); Dudley Humphrey, Kilpatrick Stockton, Winston-Salem (2007); James S. Schenck IV, Conner Gwyn Schenck, Raleigh (2008); Michael Wilson, Johnston Allison Hord, Charlotte (2009); John B. “Jack” Taylor, Nexsen Pruet, Charlotte (2010); Peter J. Marino, Smith, Anderson, Blount, Dorsett, Mitchell & Jernigan, Raleigh (2011); William H. Gammon, Nelson Mullins Riley & Scarborough, Raleigh (2012); Richard D. Conner, Conner Gwyn Schenck, Greensboro (2013); Joseph H. Nanney Jr., Meynardie & Nanney, Raleigh, (2014); Bob Meynardie, Meynardie & Nanney, Raleigh (2015); Harper Heckman, Maynard Nexsen, Greensboro (2016); Nan E. Hannah, Hannah Sheridan Loughridge & Cochran, Raleigh (2017); James Johnson, Smith Terry & Johnson, Asheville (2018); Tracy James, Hamilton Stephens Steele & Martin, Charlotte (2019); Jason James, Bell, Davis & Pitt, Charlotte (2020); Bentford “Ben” Martin, Hamilton Stephens Steele & Martin, Charlotte (2021); Erik Rosenwood, Rosenwood, Rose & Litwak, Charlotte (2022); Arty Bolick II, Brooks Pierce, Raleigh (2023); Greg C. Ahlum, Johnston Allison Hord, Charlotte (2024); Neale T. Johnson, Fox Rothschild, Greensboro (2025) CORPORATE COUNSEL James E. Creekman, First Citizens Bank & Trust Co., Raleigh (2003); Douglas R. Edwards, Wachovia, Charlotte (2005); Stephen K. Coss, Sonic Automotive, Charlotte (2006); Keith Smith, Carolinas HealthCare System, Charlotte (2007); John Taggart, Genworth Financial, Raleigh (2008); B. Judd Hartman, Pharmaceutical Product Development, Wilmington (2009); Gaither M. Keener, Lowe’s, Mooresville (2010); Meredith B. Stone, NACCO Materials Handling Group, Greenville (2011); Lisa D. Inman, Waste Industries USA, Raleigh (2012) Robert Wicker, General Parts International, Raleigh (2013); Michael A. Springs, Bank of America, Charlotte (2014); Santiago Estrada, Quintiles Transnational Holdings, Durham (2015); Jeffrey M. Davis, Lincoln Financial Group, Greensboro (2016); Gerald L. Walden Jr., The Fresh Market, Greensboro (2017); Andrew Spainhour,

Replacements Ltd., Greensboro (2018); Chris Matton, Bandwidth, Raleigh (2019); Jennifer Venable, Capitol Broadcasting, Raleigh (2020); Greg Murphy, Nucor, Charlotte (2024); Christopher Buchholtz, RTI International, Durham (2025) CORPORATE LAW Russell M. Robinson II, Robinson, Bradshaw & Hinson, Charlotte (2002); David L. Ward Jr., Ward and Smith, New Bern (2004); John M. Cross Jr., Brooks Pierce, Greensboro (2021); Jonathan Jenkins, Jenkins Haynes, Greensboro (2022); Rob Rust IV, Moore & Van Allen, Charlotte (2023); John David Love, Michael Best & Friedrich, Raleigh (2024); Anne Elizabeth Croteau, McGuireWoods, Raleigh (2025) CRIMINAL Wade M. Smith, Tharrington Smith, Raleigh (2004); James F. Wyatt III, Wyatt & Blake, Charlotte (2005); David Freedman, White and Crumpler, Winston-Salem (2006); Joseph B. Cheshire V, Cheshire, Parker, Schneider, Bryan & Vitale, Raleigh (2007); James P. Cooney III, Womble Carlyle Sandridge & Rice, Charlotte (2008); Stephen T. Smith, McMillan, Smith & Plyler, Raleigh (2009); T. Patrick Matus II, Essex Richards, Charlotte (2010); David S. Rudolf, Rudolf, Widenhouse & Fialko, Charlotte (2011); Locke T. Clifford, Clifford Clendenin & O’Hale, Greensboro (2012); Peter C. Anderson, Beveridge & Diamond, Charlotte (2013); Michael J. Greene, Goodman, Carr, Laughrun, Levine & Greene, Charlotte (2014); Robert K. Corbett III, Law Offices of Harold Cogdell Jr., Charlotte (2015); Ryan T. Smith, RTS Law Group, Charlotte (2016); George V. Laughrun II, Goodman, Carr, Laughrun, Levine & Greene, Charlotte (2017); Les Robinson, Robinson Law Firm, Greenville (2018); Wes J. Camden, Ward and Smith, Raleigh (2019); Kearns Davis, Brooks Pierce, Greensboro (2020); Cristopher L. Oring, Oring Law, Wilmington (2021); Elliot Abrams, Cheshire Parker Schneider, Raleigh (2022); Rob Heroy, Goodman Carr Laughrun Levine & Greene, Charlotte (2023); Caitlin Poe, Williams Mullen, Raleigh (2024); Russell Babb, Tharrington Smith, Raleigh (2025) EMPLOYMENT Philip M. Van Hoy, Van Hoy, Reutlinger, Adams & Dunn, Charlotte (2002); George J. Oliver, Smith Moore, Raleigh (2003); Penni Pearson Bradshaw, Constangy, Brooks & Smith, Winston-Salem (2004); Jonathan R. Harkavy, Patterson Harkavy, Greensboro (2005); Patricia L. Holland, Jackson Lewis, Cary (2006); Louis L. Lesesne Jr., Essex Richards, Charlotte (2007); Robert M. Elliot, Elliot Pishko Morgan, Winston-Salem (2008); Sarah J. Kromer, Sara J. Kromer,

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Charlotte (2009); Susan Brown Grady, SPX, Charlotte (2010); Lisa Grafstein, Disability Rights North Carolina, Raleigh (2011); N. Renee Hughes, Essex Richards, Charlotte (2012); W. Randall Loftis Jr., Constangy, Brooks & Smith, Winston-Salem (2013); Amie F. Carmack, Morningstar Law Group, Morrisville (2014); Nicole Gardner, Gardner Skelton, Charlotte (2015); Mike Okun, Patterson Harkavy, Chapel Hill (2016); Bryan L. Tyson, Marcellino & Tyson, Charlotte (2017); Susie Gibbons, Poyner Spruill, Raleigh (2018); Denise Smith Cline, Law Offices of Denise Smith Cline, Raleigh (2019); Kyle R. Still, Wyrick Robbins, Raleigh (2020); David C. Lindsay, K&L Gates, Charlotte (2021); Meredith Jeffries, Alexander Ricks, Charlotte (2022); Patti W. Ramseur, Ramseur Maultsby, Greensboro (2023); Alex Maultsby, Ramseur Maultsby, Greensboro (2024); William A. Oden III, Ward and Smith, Wilmington (2025) ENVIRONMENTAL Charles D. Case, Hunton & Williams, Raleigh (2002; 2003); H. Glenn Dunn, Poyner Spruill, Raleigh (2004); George W. House, Brooks Pierce, Greensboro (2005); William D. Dannelly, Hunton & Williams, Raleigh (2006); Benne C. Hutson, Helms Mulliss & Wicker, Charlotte (2007); Amos C. Dawson III, Williams Mullen, Raleigh (2008); Richard C. Gaskins Jr., Catawba Riverkeeper Foundation, Charlotte (2009); Stephen W. Earp, Smith Moore Leatherwood, Greensboro (2010); Ramona Cunningham O’Bryant, Smith Moore Leatherwood, Greensboro (2011); William Clarke, Roberts & Stevens, Asheville (2012); Grady L. Shields, Wyrick Robbins, Raleigh (2013); Craig A. Bromby, Hunton & Williams, Raleigh (2014); Garry S. Rice, Duke Energy, Charlotte (2015); Sean M. Sullivan, Troutman Sanders, Raleigh (2016); Carol Jones Van Buren, Van Buren Law, Charlotte (2017); Steve Berlin, Kilpatrick Townsend & Stockton, Winston-Salem (2018); Keith Johnson, Poyner Spruill, Raleigh (2019); Amy Wang, Ward and Smith, New Bern (2020); Susan H. Cooper, Womble Bond Dickinson, Charlotte (2021); Mary Katherine Stukes, Moore & Van Allen, Charlotte (2022); Amy Rickers, Johnston Allison Hord, Charlotte (2023); Natalie D. Potter, Essex Richards, Charlotte (2024); F. Bryan Brice Jr., Law Offices of F. Bryan Brice Jr., Raleigh (2025) FAMILY John H. Parker, Cheshire, Parker, Schneider, Bryan & Vitale, Raleigh (2007); Carlyn Poole (retired), Tharrington Smith, Raleigh (2008); Richard D. Stephens, Dozier, Miller, Pollard & Murphy, Charlotte (2009); Lana S. Warlick, Law Office of Lana S. Warlick, Jacksonville (2010); Michael F. Schilawski, Wake Family Law Group, Raleigh (2011); D. Caldwell

Barefoot Jr., Barefoot Family Law, Raleigh (2012); Stan Brown, Hamilton Stephens Steele + Martin, Charlotte (2013); Lori M. Vitale, Vitale Family Law, Raleigh (2014); Kimberly Bryan, Cheshire Parker Schneider & Bryan, Raleigh (2015); Rob Blair, Essex Richards, Charlotte (2016); Afi S. Johnson-Parris, Ward Black Law, Greensboro (2017); Chris Eatmon, Eatmon Law Firm, Wake Forest (2018); Kristin M. Hampson, Hampson Family Law, Raleigh (2019); Mariana Godwin, Barefoot Family Law, Raleigh (2020); Cary Close, Close Smith Family Law, Raleigh (2021); Richard Gantt, Gantt Family Law, Raleigh (2022); Ketan P. Soni, Soni Brendle, Charlotte (2023); Heidi C. Bloom, Wyrick Robbins, Raleigh (2024); Janet Haney Amburgey, GHMA Law, Asheville (2025) IMMIGRATION Laura Edgerton, Edgerton Immigration Law, Raleigh (2018); Gerard M. “Gerry” Chapman, Chapman Law Firm, Greensboro (2019); Murali Bashyam, Bashyam Shah, Raleigh (2020); Gigi Gardner, Gardner Gordon, Charlotte, Raleigh (2021); Devon Senges, Dummit Fradin Attorneys at Law, Greensboro (2022); Benjamin A. Snyder, Chiesa Shahinian & Giantomasi, Charlotte (2023); Laura Deddish Burton, Fox Rothschild, Greensboro(2024); Ana S. Nuñez, Fay Grafton Nuñez, Raleigh (2025) INTELLECTUAL Mitchell S. Bigel, Myers Bigel Sibley & Sajovec, Raleigh (2002; 2003); Kenneth D. Sibley, Myers Bigel Sibley & Sajovec, Raleigh (2004); Wesley Thaddeus Adams III, Adams Evans, Charlotte (2005); J. Scott Evans, Yahoo!, Charlotte (2006); Philip Summa, Summa, Allan & Additon, Charlotte (2007); Susan Freya Olive, Olive & Olive, Durham (2008); David M. Carter, Carter & Schnedler, Asheville (2009); David M. Krasnow, Smith Moore Leatherwood, Raleigh (2010); William J. Mason, MacCord Mason, Wilmington (2011); E. Eric Mills, Ward and Smith, New Bern (2012); Anthony Biller, Coats & Bennett, Cary (2013); Larry L. Coats, Coats & Bennett, Cary (2014); Sarah E. Nagae, Triangle Trademarks, Raleigh (2015); Maury M. Tepper III, Tepper & Eyster, Raleigh (2016); John C. Nipp, Additon, Higgins & Pendleton, Charlotte (2017); Matthew Ladenheim, Trego, Hines & Ladenheim, Charlotte (2018); Julie H. Richardson, Myers Bigel, Raleigh (2019); Russ Racine, Cranfill Sumner, Charlotte (2020); Rick McDermott, McDermott IP Law, Charlotte (2021); Rebecca Crandall, McGuire Wood & Bissette, Asheville (2022); Kimberly Bullock Gatling, Fox Rothschild, Greensboro (2023); John R. Owen, Coats & Bennett, Cary (2024); David Sar, Brooks Pierce, Greensboro (2025)

LITIGATION James T. Williams Jr., Brooks Pierce, Greensboro (2002; 2003); Clarence W. Walker, Kennedy Covington Lobdell & Hickman, Charlotte (2004); Gary S. Parsons, Brooks Pierce, Raleigh (2005); William K. Davis, Bell, Davis & Pitt, Winston- Salem (2006); Dan J. McLamb, Yates, McLamb & Weyher, Raleigh (2007); Robert D. Walker, Walker, Allen, Grice, Ammons & Foy, Goldsboro (2008); J. Donald Cowan Jr., Ellis & Winters, Greensboro (2009); G. Gray Wilson, Wilson, Helms and Cartledge, Winston-Salem (2010); James H. Kelly Jr., Kilpatrick Townsend & Stockton, Winston-Salem (2011); Daniel L. Brawley, Williams Mullen, Wilmington (2012); Lee M. Whitman, Wyrick Robbins, Raleigh (2013); Michael J. Byrne, Byrne Law, Raleigh (2014); Jonathan D. Sasser, Ellis & Winters, Raleigh (2015); Jean Sutton Martin, Law Office of Jean Sutton Martin, Wilmington (2016); Greg Merritt, Harris, Creech, Ward & Blackerby, New Bern (2017); Ward Davis, Bell, Davis & Pitt, Charlotte (2018); Elizabeth Scott, Williams Mullen, Raleigh (2019); Clay A. Campbell, Marcellino & Tyson, Charlotte (2020); Kristen L. Beightol, Edwards Kirby, Raleigh (2021); Fred W. DeVore III, DeVore, Acton & Stafford, Charlotte (2022); Ross Fulton, Rayburn Cooper & Durham, Charlotte (2023); W. Scott Jones, Searson, Jones, Gottschalk & Cash, Asheville (2024); J. Scott Flowers, Hutchens Law Firm, Fayetteville (2025) REAL ESTATE Alfred Adams, Womble Carlyle Sandridge & Rice, Winston-Salem (2004); Barry D. Mann, Manning, Fulton & Skinner, Raleigh (2005); Brent A. Torstrick, Robinson, Bradshaw & Hinson, Charlotte (2006); Samuel T. Oliver Jr., Manning, Fulton & Skinner, Raleigh (2007); Charles Gordon Brown, Brown & Bunch, Chapel Hill (2008); C. Steven Mason, Smith, Anderson, Blount, Dorsett, Mitchell & Jernigan, Raleigh (2009); Timothy G. Sellers, Sellers, Hinshaw, Ayers, Dortch & Lyons, Charlotte (2010); Frank M. Bell Jr., Bell, Davis & Pitt, Winston-Salem (2011); George W. Sistrunk III, Hamilton Stephens Steele & Martin Charlotte (2012); Robert Charles Lawson, Williams Mullen, Raleigh (2013); Michael G. Winters, Ellis & Winters, Raleigh (2014); Holly H. Alderman, Schell Bray, Chapel Hill (2015); Brian W. Byrd, Smith Moore Leatherwood, Greensboro (2016); Anna P. McLamb, Wyrick Robbins, Raleigh (2017); Beth Voltz, Weatherspoon & Voltz, Raleigh (2018); Annika M. Brock, The Brock Law Firm, Asheville (2019); Allen York, Smith Anderson, Raleigh (2020); Diana R. Palecek, Fox Rothschild, Charlotte (2021); Philip Hackley,

Wyrick Robbins, Raleigh (2022); Joanne Badr, Ward and Smith, Asheville (2023); Julian Robb, Blanco, Tackabery & Matamoros, Winston-Salem (2024); Marc Isaacson, Isaacson Sheridan, Greensboro (2025) TAX & ESTATE PLANNING Robert C. Vaughn Jr., Vaughn Perkinson Ehlinger Moxley & Stogner, Winston-Salem (2002; 2003); W. Curtis Elliott Jr., Culp Elliott & Carpenter, Charlotte (2004); Ray S. Farris, Johnston Allison Hord, Charlotte (2005); Elizabeth L. Quick, Womble Carlyle Sandridge & Rice, Winston-Salem (2006); James W. Narron, Narron, O’Hale & Whittington, Smithfield (2007); E. William Kratt, Herring Mills & Kratt, Raleigh (2008); Christy Eve Reid (died May 8, 2014), Robinson, Bradshaw & Hinson, Charlotte (2009); Michael H. Godwin, Schell Bray Aycock Abel & Livingston, Greensboro (2010); Maria M. Lynch, Lynch & Eatman LLP, Raleigh (2011); Graham D. Holding Jr., Robinson, Bradshaw & Hinson, Charlotte (2012); Andrew H. Veach, Edwards Craver Veach, Winston- Salem (2013); Robert H. Haggard, Van Winkle Lam, Asheville (2014); Michael A. Colombo, Colombo, Kitchin, Dunn, Ball & Porter, Greenville (2015); Jason Walls, The Walls Law Firm, Apex (2016); Debra L. Foster, Foster Royal, Charlotte (2017); Elizabeth “Liz” K. Arias, Womble Bond Dickinson, Raleigh (2018); Jean Gordon Carter, McGuireWoods, Raleigh (2019); Rudy Ogburn, Young Moore and Henderson, Raleigh (2020); Jessica Mering Hardin, Robinson Bradshaw, Charlotte (2021); Brooks Jaffa, Cranford, Buckley Schultze, Tomchin, Allen & Buie, Charlotte (2022); Michael Cory Howes, Strauss Attorney, Raleigh (2023); Amy H. Kincaid, Schell Bray, Greensboro (2024); Heidi Royal, Heidi E. Royal Law, Charlotte (2025) YOUNG GUNS J. Christian Stevenson, Kirk Palmer & Thigpe, Charlotte (2012); George Mason Oliver, Oliver Friesen Cheek, New Bern (2013); Michael F. Easley Jr., McGuireWoods, Raleigh (2014); Alvaro R. De La Calle, Calle Law, Greensboro (2015); Aaron Lay, Hamilton Stephens Steele + Martin, Charlotte (2016); Elie Foy, Wyrick Robbins, Raleigh (2017); Matthew T. Marcellino, Marcellino & Tyson, Charlotte (2018); Nancy S. Litwak, Rosenwood, Rose & Litwak, Charlotte (2019); Antonia A. “Toni” Peck, Nelson Mullin, Raleigh (2020); Holden B. Clark, Holden B. Clark, Attorney at Law, Gastonia (2021); Carl Burchette, Rosenwood, Rose & Litwak, Charlotte (2022); Keith Boyette, Director of State Government Relations, North Carolina Healthcare Association, Raleigh (2023); Katarina “Katie” Wong, Brooks Pierce, Raleigh(2024); Carlie Smith, Manning Fulton & Skinner, Raleigh (2025)■ A N N U U A A R R Y Y JJ A

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As president of Pfeiffer University, it is my pleasure to welcome the readers of Business North Carolina to Stanly County – known for our beautiful Uwharrie Mountains, Morrow Mountain State Park, and hardworking, caring people who are a cornerstone of North Carolina’s piedmont.

Founded in 1885, Pfeiffer University is blessed to be anchored in Stanly County – with campuses in the northern village of Misenheimer and in the county seat of Albemarle.

Business leaders, physician assistants, occupational therapists, nurses, teachers, local restaurant owners, realtors, lumber company executives, and bankers all call Pfeiffer “alma mater.” So does North Carolina’s Secretary of Commerce, multiple bishops of the United Methodist Church, and many leaders throughout our state.

Why has a small university had such a large impact? I believe the roots run back to two words: small towns. At Pfeiffer, innovative professors and students live alongside each other both inside and outside of the classroom. They come to understand each other – and no matter what they major in, they come to understand the motto of Pfeiffer’s founder, missionary Emily Prudden: Others before self. What could be more needed in today’s world?

Pfeiffer’s employees, who deeply impact students by day, have the pleasure to live and raise our children in a rare community: on Monday evenings our local leaders gather, working to recruit new industries – and new jobs. Our local bank champions small business owners and risk-taking entrepreneurs. Citing a dedicated local workforce, Charlotte Pipe and Foundry decided to build its newest plant here in 2023-2024.

Similarly, last year, after seeing the beauty of the rolling foothills, visiting our strong community college, and meeting the hardworking people of our lakeside town of Badin, a submarine pipe manufacturer from New Jersey re-located here.

Unique, and unselfish, in Stanly County we believe our neighbor’s success is our success. We welcome you to come and visit. And stay if you like.

Sincerely,

Scott W. Bullard, Ph.D. President

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Downtown Albemarle is undergoing changes, including more housing, educational opportunities and public space. They’re opening the door to more events such as last fall’s Stanly County Chamber of Commerce dinner.

THE SWEET SPOT Mostly rural Stanly County is only a hop, skip and jump from the state’s most-populous city. It’s investing in a future that supports growing businesses and expanding population while protecting its natural and cultural wonders.

PHOTO CREDITS: STANLY COUNTY CHAMBER

Stanly County has had a couple busy years. Albemarle Paper Supply broke ground on a $3.5 million expansion — a 30,000-square-foot warehouse — in its namesake city in May. And Floridabased Quality Enclosures announced a $1.5 million factory expansion, which will add 36 jobs during the next five years, in Albemarle in June. They came on the heels of what Stanly County Director of Economic Development Elizabeth Underwood labels “the largest company announcement in Stanly County history” in 2019.

Charlotte Pipe and Foundry stepped outside the Queen City, where it started more than a century ago, to build what it calls one of the world’s biggest and most-modern foundries. “The move to Oakboro will spur growth of other businesses, including vendors who supply and support the plant, opening a new window of economic growth for Stanly County,” CEO Hooper Hardison said in 2023, when the foundry opened. “Even better, the region is already home to many of the company’s

associates, who will benefit from reduced commute times and increased amenities within their work environment.”

The foundry, a $460 million investment, employs about 530 people and is serviced with a rail spur. That connects it with Aberdeen Carolina & Western Railway, a short-line that joins with two Class 1 railroads, opening rail access to North Carolina’s ports and Midwest. Charlotte Pipe, along with Albemarle Paper Supply and Quality Enclosures, are only three examples of investment and construction that mark Stanly County’s transition to an education and technology hub with a diversified industrial base. That’s a big change from a history firmly rooted in agriculture and textiles.

Underwood, who took her position about six months ago, says regionalism makes Stanly County attractive to businesses. “We find value in being part of the Charlotte Regional Business Alliance’s 14 counties, and we really use that to our advantage,” she says. “Say a business wants to be in the Charlotte

area, but they aren’t a good fit, or they don’t want to be in Lake Norman and be in traffic for an hour. Why not take an hour to come here and have a beautiful drive? We have something really special here, with our small-town charm.”

The EDC promotes Stanly County with a straight-forward phrase: “Close to Charlotte. Even Closer to Perfect.” The county, whose 2023 population of 63,752 was a fraction of Charlotte’s 911,609, according to N.C. Office of State Budget and Management, is just up the road from the state’s mostpopulous city. “You can be anywhere and everywhere in an hour or so,” Underwood says. “We also have the lowest tax liability in the Charlotte-metro region. We have lower prices, and we have land. You can own several acres here, and the price is about the same as a townhome in Charlotte.”

Stanly County Manager Andy Lucas says maintaining a rural identity within the hustle and bustle of the Charlotte region is important to residents and local elected officials. “The J A N U A R Y

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Albemarle has earned awards for its strategic planning (1). It includes bolstering park and recreation opportunities and industrial site preparation such as Albemarle Business Center (2). It’s a tact that the newest city council (3), which was sworn in Dec. 2, will continue.

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sense of community that living in a rural area brings is paramount,” he says. “Neighbors not only know one another; they are friends and often family. Our residents have access to multiple different housing options, including a rural landscape, suburban neighborhoods and lake living. Stanly County has one of, if not the lowest, costs of doing business in the Charlotte region when you consider median wage rates, land values, tax rates and local incentives. We have sites that offer efficient access to I-485, I-85 and I-77 and the Charlotte Douglas International Airport. Further, our rail infrastructure and access to intermodal and port facilities is significant. All of this coupled with the ability to attract over 1 million potential employees within a 30-minute drive time provides a solid business proposition for any business, industry seeking to locate in the Charlotte region.”

PREPPING ATTRACTIVE SPACE Stanly County is putting out the welcome mat. Michael Ferris, who retired as 92

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Albemarle city manager in February after a nearly 30-year career in local government, says in order to control its economic future, the region must stay relevant. “You have a lot of buildings and adaptive re-uses, but the requirements for the manufacturing industries are a lot different now, with buildings needing stronger floors, higher walls, that kind of thing,” he says. “So, a lot of places may be missing out on opportunities.

The city purchased the [Albemarle Business Center’s] 282-acres and began developing the park, and it’s something that will support the city’s future long term. You can control your destiny.”

Albemarle Business Center stands at the crossroads of U.S.52 and N.C. 24/27.

It’s the latest hot-ticket item on the block, completing its first site about a year ago. “The utilities are in, the roads are in and it looks great,” Underwood says.

“We’re 55 miles from Greensboro, so we’re really close to the Toyota battery plant, and we’d be a great location for domino products, manufacturing and suppliers. And since we’re an hour away, it wouldn’t be the same workforce.”

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Lindsey Almond, Albemarle’s economic development director, says ABC’s approach is forward thinking. “This 282 acre modern industrial park offers robust infrastructure that appeals to industries such as advanced manufacturing, logistics, technology and professional services,” she says. “We aim to attract companies that share our vision of sustainable growth, job creation and community partnership.”

Stanly County offers industrial sites beyond ABC, including Badin Business Park, which has 50 acres of shovelready land and 535,000 square feet of buildings. Lucas says Riverstone Industrial Park in Stanfield, 55 acres of greenfield served with utilities and within an easy commute of Mecklenburg County’s Interstate 485 and Charlotte Douglass International Airport, has welcomed two tenants since 2020. They are expected to make $11.1 million in taxable investments and create 120 jobs. “Further, there has been additional interest in the remaining available land in Riverstone,” he says. “We have multiple active projects evaluating this park as a potential option.”

STRIKING A BALANCE Stanly County had 649 farms on 109,164 acres — 43.1% of the county — according to U.S. Department of Agriculture’s 2022 Census of Agriculture, the latest available. Top crops and

PHOTO CREDIT: CITY OF ALBERMARLE

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The ABC provides electric, water and wastewater services, so prospective companies can streamline their setup process, says Albemarle Mayor Ronnie Michael. “We offer one-stop shopping for prospective tenants,” he says. “For years, it’s been challenging to attract industry due to a lack of suitable properties. We recognized the need to address this issue to create greater economic opportunities for our residents. With the Albemarle Business Center, we now have space to attract industries offering careers not just jobs. The center can accommodate anything from a 20,000-square-foot facility to a million-square-foot facility, with parcels ranging from 5 to 121 acres.”

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PFEIFFER

IS HOME Pfeiffer University, a mainstay in Stanly County, is educating healthcare professionals, teachers, business leaders and entrepreneurs who are making a difference across North Carolina.

Pfeiffer – a small university with a big impact.

“”

To support Pfeiffer, and make our state stronger, go to pfeiffer.edu/give

PHOTO CREDIT: CITY OF ALBERMARLE

or scan the QR code.

Community makes all the difference, and Pfeiffer University is a great place to live, learn and grow.

- President Scott Bullard

“” CONNECT WITH US

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livestock are soybeans and chickens, and agriculture makes a $91 million annual economic impact. “Both livestock and row crops are a significant part of our economy,” Lucas says. “The actual farming, feed and seed companies, farming equipment suppliers, cotton gin operations, milling operations, poultry and cattle production and sales, and much more, such as vineyards, honey bee hive management and agritourism, definitely impact our economy.”

Even with industry recruitment, population growth and other factors, there is a plan to contain clutter and congestion. Michael says the county is updating its Comprehensive Land Use Plan, which will guide land use and development for the next 20 years.“[It] outlines goals, policies and a vision for the community’s future, helping us manage growth in a way that aligns with residents’ needs,” he says.

“Additionally, we’re working on a

parks and recreation master plan to help us prioritize upgrades to existing parks, new facilities and expanded programs,” Michael says.

Lucas says the Land Use Plan, which was approved in November 2022, emphasizes rural land preservation.

“The rural preservation area extends to most land outside of a municipal area,” he says. “This new rural preservation area requires a 3-acre minimum for new land subdivisions.

The goal is to limit subdivision sprawl into rural areas that do not have the infrastructure to support the growth.”

Businesses and people are picking Stanly County for reasons other than economic. “In addition to affordability, we’re blessed to be surrounded by natural beauty,” Michael says. “Morrow Mountain State Park is minutes from downtown, the Uwharrie National Forest is nearby, and we have two beautiful lakes, Badin Lake and Lake

Tillery, right in our backyard. It’s an outdoor enthusiast’s paradise.” Add to that hiking trails, campgrounds and wineries. They’re summed up in a second slogan: “Water. Air. Land. Success.”

Stanly County’s attractions, which also include history museums and railroad museums in Albemarle, Badin, Locust, New London and Norwood, helped bring $108.2 million in visitor spending in 2023 — 4.2% more than the year prior — according to Visit North Carolina, the state’s tourism booster. That puts it 52nd among the state’s 100 counties.

“Our natural resources provide ample opportunities for outdoor recreation such as hunting, fishing, golf, boating, kayaking and so on,” Lucas says. “Yet, we are only a short drive from accessing the Charlotte Douglas International Airport and all the conveniences it offers. Additionally, our residents and businesses can access the Charlotte market for a plethora of entertainment, shopping and dining options.”

THE ‘PFEIFFER EFFECT’ Stanly Community College in Albemarle serves almost 10,000 students annually in curriculum and continuing education courses and offers programs in business, computers, engineering, health and public service. Its apprenticeship program works with several local businesses in fields of automotive, child care, education and emergency services.

A similar journey is being made in Stanly County’s northwest corner, where Pfeiffer University’s main campus in Misenheimer offers 27 undergraduate programs; the most popular are business, education and nursing. Its four-year students participate in a mentorship — Pfeiffer Journey. “Seminars, retreats, faculty and peer mentors, and community connection are all a part of the program outline,” says Gary Veazey, the university’s interim director of marketing and communications.

“The Pfeiffer Journey culminates in senior year career preparation, ensuring graduates can confidently step into their professional lives.”

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tte, drive from Charlo Less than an hour ly opulous city, Stan the state’s most-p ct residents the perfe Count y of fers its ss ce ac d ltown life an mix of quiet smal n ca es. Residents to big city ameniti n Plaza in downtow stroll Courthouse Pfeiffer University Albemarle, where es. r for Health Scienc opened its Cente usic at Food They also enjoy m ity Lake Park.

Truck Fridays in C

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PHOTO CREDITS: CITY OF ALBEMARLE

Uwharrie Brewing , Albemarle’s first brewery, opened in 2023. It has become a popular destination and meeting spot for residents.

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In 2020, Pfeiffer opened its Center for Health Sciences on East Main Street in Albemarle, two blocks from from the community college’s Small Business Center. “The addition of Pfeiffer University [downtown] has spurred a revitalization known around here as the ‘Pfeiffer Effect,’” Michael says. “We’ve seen new places to eat, shop and live. For instance, the historic Albemarle Hotel, once vacant, has been fully renovated and now features over two dozen apartments, a restaurant and retail space. The former Lowder Hardware building has also been renovated and now provides new residential and retail spaces. Moving forward, we’d like to continue seeing underutilized storefronts and spaces repurposed.”

PHOTO CREDITS: CITY OF ALBEMARLE

Ferris says talks with Pfeiffer about a downtown location began about 2015.

“They knew it was in their best interest to invest in our downtown,” he says.

“When people think about a city, they think about a downtown. It sets the tone

for the community. Every area of a town is important, every neighborhood and commercial area. With Pfeiffer, if other businesses are looking at Albemarle’s downtown, they can see the college’s presence and see that someone cared and supported that investment.”

Lindsey Almond says Albemarle has welcomed small businesses, cultural activities and community events during the past five years. “Albemarle is evolving into a vibrant live-work-play destination, with an energy that’s attracting college students, young families and professionals,” she says.

“Our vision is a city where everyone feels a sense of belonging and opportunity, no matter their stage of life.”

mid-December, when she accepted a similar role with the state. “ The Pfeiffer Effect’ continues to be a tremendous asset to our downtown,” she says.“The graduate students at the Center for Health Sciences have different needs from a traditional college student, as the demographic is largely adults in their early 20s. I have gotten acquainted with several students here who have shared some of their experiences with me. A comment I have heard from more than one graduate student is that they feel more comfortable continuing their studies in a smaller city like Albemarle.”

The city of Albemarle is designated a North Carolina Main Street Community, accredited by Main Street America.

“The ‘Pfeiffer Effect’ continues to be a tremendous asset to our downtown,” says Joy Almond, who served as the city’s Main Street Manager until

The industry is evolving, and we’re leading the way. Our new foundry in Oakboro, North Carolina, is a $460 million investment set on about 700 acres — making it one of the largest and most modern foundries in the world. The opening of this state-of-the-art foundry ushers in a new era of growth for Charlotte Pipe and Foundry and demonstrates our care and commitment to our associates, the plumbing industry, and American manufacturing.

Scott Bullard, Pfeiffer University president

Learn more at CharlottePipe.com/Oakboro-Foundry

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COMMUNITY CLOSE-UP

STANLY COUNTY

INVESTING IN ALBEMARLE Albemarle’s Downtown Catalyst Grant Program began in 2022. “[It’s] a gamechanger for entrepreneurs and small businesses looking to call downtown Albemarle home,” Lindsey Almond says. “This program provides critical support to help businesses launch, expand and thrive in our historic downtown.”

Joy Almond says the grant money accomplishes several goals. “Grant supported improvements that encourage reuse of vacant or underutilized properties can improve the appearance

of existing buildings, improve seating and productivity, and support the longterm viability of downtown Albemarle,” she says. “Over time, the taxable valuation of the improved properties increases, which leads to the availability of additional funds available to continue the revitalization of downtown Albemarle. On another level, we saw the Downtown Catalyst Grant Program as a chance to help entrepreneurs take their businesses to the next level. The program is another tangible way for the city to demonstrate our strong support for the renewed vibrancy of downtown.”

Several businesses already have benefited from the Catalyst Grant program. It funded interior and exterior remodeling at 704 Photography, a patio renovation and seating expansion at Second Street Sundries and new equipment and expanded operations at Albemarle Sweet Shop.

The federal American Rescue Plan Act is funding a project in Albemarle.

“Courthouse Plaza is Albemarle’s newest public gathering space in a former alleyway, which stretches from West Main Street to King Avenue,” Joy Almond says. “[It] is part of a downtown streetscape masterplan, which has produced several upgrades to the downtown area, including new navigational signage, new banners on light poles, new outdoor furnishings and other beautifications.

The project was completed in June of 2024; we celebrated the grand opening on June 15 with a ribbon cutting and an art walk featuring artists from the Stanly County Arts Guild.

Courthouse Plaza was funded with ARPA money as well as contributions from ElectriCities and Albemarle Downtown Development Corporation.”

The Albemarle City Council approved about 4,000 housing units during the past few years. Michael says while they all might not be built, the potential is there if needed. “People see Albemarle as a destination because of the quality of life we offer,” he says. “Our city council and city staff have worked hard to maintain a low tax rate and affordable fees for services. Our electric rates are also low, because we’re a public power provider, meaning we’re not for profit and can put customers first without focusing on shareholders or investors.”

Location is key to Albemarle’s success, as it is countywide. “Being just 40 miles from Charlotte, our residents enjoy the best of both worlds — a peaceful community-focused lifestyle with easy access to the opportunities and amenities of a bustling metropolis,” Lindsey Almond says. “For those commuting to Charlotte or Mecklenburg County, the drive is manageable and allows them to return home to a serene and supportive environment. Our proximity to Charlotte enhances our appeal for businesses and families looking for a close-knit community near major urban centers.” ■ — Kathy Blake is a writer from eastern North Carolina.

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In the City of Albemarle, there’s opportunity for everyone.

From the 282-acre Albemarle Business Center, for large-scale manufacturing operations to our historic downtown, where you can follow your small business dreams.

We‘re here to help you find the opportunity that fits you.

Let’s get started today. Call 704-984-9419 or Email econdevelopment@albemarlenc.gov

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PROJECTPLANS ››› Insights on the state’s growth

TIER TALK

Despite Toyota’s record investment, Randolph County slides in the state economic rankings.

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he N.C. Commerce Department’s annual ratings of the economic status of the state’s counties involved 18 changes this year, causing some head-scratching not unlike the debate among college football fans over who should make up the 12-team College Football Playoff.

State officials use these rankings to shape economic incentive packages, with 20 counties in the best-off Tier 3 required to share part of any recruiting aid with their 40 worse-off counterparts in Tier 1. Another 40 are in Tier 2.

The rankings consider four factors: a county’s average unemployment rate, median household income, population growth percentage and adjusted tax base per capita.

Perhaps this year’s most surprising result was Randolph County’s slide from Tier 2 to Tier 1, suggesting it is among the state’s mostdistressed counties. The Piedmont county and its county seat, Asheboro, are best known as the home of the N.C. Zoo. But the county is also the site of the biggest corporate expansion in state history. Japanese automaker Toyota is investing about $14 billion in a massive complex to produce batteries for electric vehicles and hybrids, starting this year. Employment at the site 20 miles south of Greensboro is projected to eventually Zeb Holden reach 5,100.

Such a high-profile project isn’t typical of Tier 1 counties. But, commerce officials attribute Randolph’s slide to a decline of 11 positions in its per-capita tax base and a 14-position decline in median household income, relative to other counties.

At $90,480 per person in the county of about 148,000 residents, Randolph’s tax base is the 10th-worst of North Carolina’s 100 counties. Edgecombe County in eastern North Carolina is at the bottom at $78,238 per person.

A factor in the tax base calculation is the timing of county valuations, however. Randolph is in the middle of a four-year revaluation cycle, with current values taking effect in 2023. Toyota

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started grading the factory site in early 2022, so there’s some lag.

County Manager Zeb Holden’s recent budget requests show that the Randolph tax base increased 30% in 2023 to $16.6 billion, from $12.8 billion during the previous cycle. The fiscal 2024-25 request was the first to credit Toyota with increasing Randolph’s tax base, which now stands at $17.2 billion. Toyota accounts for almost $1.1 billion, or about 5.8%. The factory generated an additional $1.6 million of revenue, helping balance Randolph’s budget at a level 11% higher than before, without a tax increase.

“A new era is about to begin for Randolph County,” Holden says in his budget message.

Tax base is also a big factor in Granville County, as the percapita number there is $129,003, ranking 50th in the state. That was an increase of 14 places. Still, Granville remained among the 20 counties in the most-distressed Tier 3 ranking.

Granville benefits from spillover growth from the Triangle, mainly around Creedmoor and Butner, but also now impacting Oxford. A revaluation this year caused its tax base to rise nearly 60% to $8.7 billion. Its population was about 61,000 in 2020.

North Carolina’s most-distressed county is Scotland County, around Laurinburg on the border with South Carolina. It has bottom-10 rankings in three measures, and the state’s worst unemployment rate of 6.4% between November 2023 and October 2024.

Conversely, Currituck County topped the state list, aided by soaring beach property values in the coastal county that touches Virginia. It had top-10 rankings in three categories, and ranked 12th for median household income.

Nine counties moved up in the latest rankings. Cherokee, Chowan, Duplin, Gates, Haywood, Jones, Onslow and Pasquotank counties each moved from Tier 1 to Tier 2. Haywood joined Granville County in Tier 3, on the strength of its median household income. Its population is about 32,000.

Conversely, nine counties slid in the rankings. Along with Randolph, they were Alexander, Caldwell, Camden, Cleveland, Davie, McDowell, Montgomery and Surry. Camden and Davie counties dropped out of Tier 3, making way for Granville and Haywood. ■

PHOTOS CREDIT: RANDOLPH COUNTY

BY RAY GRONBERG

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