An impressive amount of achievement in this week’s buzz. Duke Energy is expanding its solar power capabilities. Asheville School is an Apple Distinguished School. Park Ridge Health has received its 5th “A” grade for safety in a row. And Robin Worrell of Pisgah Legal has been elected chairman for the North Carolina Housing Coalition. Congrats all!
Achievement
Asheville School has been recognized as an Apple Distinguished School for 2018–2021 for its use of technology to prepare students for college and for life and its commitment to teaching students Apple’s Swift programming language during its co-ed summer app development camp. Apple Distinguished Schools are centers of innovation, leadership and educational excellence that use Apple products to inspire creativity, collaboration and critical thinking.
Managing Attorney Robin Merrell has worked at Pisgah Legal for over 18 years, advocating for people living in low-income in need of legal assistance. In October she was elected chairman for the North Carolina Housing Coalition where she will be advocating for statewide policies to increase the supply of safe, affordable housing and decrease the number of homeless residents.
Himanshu Karvir, president and CEO of Virtelle Hospitality was recently appointed to the NCWorks Commission by Governor Cooper. Karvir’s nomination doubles our region’s members on the NCWorks Commission as he joins Brock Ashburn of Highland Brewing Company.
Park Ridge Health achieved an “A” grade in the Leapfrog Group’s Fall Safety Grade, released today. This is the fifth consecutive “A” grade for Park Ridge Health. With the Hospital Safety Grades, Leapfrog assigns an A, B, C, D or F grade to hospitals across the country based on how safe they are for patients.
Announcement
WNC Woman is launching a new brand in January with Oh! Woman. This has inspired them to also come out with their very first Women in Business Magazine. The WMTOB magazine will be inserted inside the January issue with extra copies of just the WMTOB that they will distribute at all local events, conferences, network events etc for 2019. Advertising opportunities for this magazine are available until December 5th.
The Commission on Cancer (CoC), a quality program of the American College of Surgeons (ACS), has once again granted three-year accreditation to the cancer program at Pardee UNC Health Care. Pardee has continuously earned CoC accreditation since 1996. To earn voluntary CoC accreditation, a cancer program must meet 34 CoC quality care standards, be evaluated every three years through a survey process and maintain levels of excellence in the delivery of comprehensive patient-centered care.
Expansion
With the help of funding from Buncombe County Commissioners and the Community Foundation of WNC, YWCA Asheville’s Early Learning Program renovated and expanded four classrooms this summer, giving them the capacity to serve an additional 42 children. They also have completed a much-needed kitchen renovation, allowing them to better serve healthy meals to the children. The next phase of the expansion is now underway: renovating the playground to incorporate more natural elements, and commissioning a mural honoring Thelma Caldwell, Executive Director of YWCA of Asheville from 1965-1975.
Summit Design & Engineering has so much to celebrate! The one year anniversary of its Asheville office, the opening of the Marshall branch for State Employees’ Credit Union. And thanks to its clients, a year of impressive growth. Now with nine locations across NC and VA, Summit is excited to be an integral partner with the communities of western NC.
Hire
Park Ridge Health Cancer Services is excited to introduce you to new Medical Director, Velmalia Matthews-Smith, MD. Dr. Vel, as she prefers to be called, is a Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center physician who is part of a collaborative care effort with Park Ridge Health. She will spearhead the Park Ridge Health Cancer Program which integrates the clinical expertise and scientific research of Wake Forest Baptist’s internationally recognized oncologists with the needs of patients throughout Western North Carolina.
Innovation
Duke Energywants non-residential customers to have another option to install solar power on their premises. The company recently filed to be a certified solar lessor with the North Carolina Utilities Commission (NCUC). Duke Energy Clean Energy Resources (DECER), a non-regulated affiliate of Duke Energy, will build, own and operate on-site solar facilities that will allow customers to access renewable energy without a large upfront investment.
Opportunity
Friday Staffing is looking for a Milling and Lathe Machine Operator, Material Handler, Dishwasher, Warehouse Worker, Order Puller, and Coldform Operator. For more information, call Angela Paskus at 828-684-8700 or go to www.friday-staffing.com.
Outreach
Avadim Health, Inc. is pleased to announce today that the Second Annual Avadim Health/Heath Shuler Fall Golf Invitational raised $140,000 to benefit Eblen Charities. The event took place October 22-23, 2018, with a Monday evening auction followed by a Tuesday golf tournament at The Cliffs at Walnut Cove in Arden, NC. Avadim Health would like to thank the 27 teams and more than 30 sponsors, and nearly 30 volunteers who came together to make this event possible.
Resources
The Asheville Independent Restaurant Association (AIR) has compiled a list of special holiday hours for AIR Restaurant Members – from Thanksgiving buffets to ringing in the New Year! These will be updated often, so please check the link below throughout the season.