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University of North Carolina Wilmington Chancellor Gary Miller and Cape Fear C.C. President Ted Spring

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Gary Miller- University of North Carolina Wilmington

Dr. Miller is the fourth chancellor and seventh leader of the University of North Carolina Wilmington. A dedicated educator, Dr. Miller brings extensive academic and administrative experience to UNCW. His professional expertise incorporates the breadth and depth of American higher education, from his own learning experiences as a student at the College of William and Mary and as a faculty member at Mississippi State University, Weber State University and the University of Mississippi to his work as a dean at the University of the Pacific and, most recently, as Provost and Vice President of Academic Affairs and Research at Wichita State University.

At UNCW, Dr. Miller is leading a campus-wide initiative to reaffirm important university values to meet strategic goals in uncertain economic times. Building on nationally recognized academic and research programs, Dr. Miller is promoting community partnerships, entrepreneurship and innovation as ways for the university to “Invent the Future.”

Dr. Miller is active in national organizations. He serves on the American Association of State Colleges and Universities (AASCU) Committee for Economic and Workforce Development. He participated as a member of the task force that developed the student learning outcomes component of the Voluntary System of Accountability, a joint project of the Association of Public and Land-Grant Universities (APLU: formerly NASULGC) and the AASCU. He is a member of the North Central Regional College and University Advisory Council of the Educational Testing Service (ETS).

He is married to Georgia Nix Miller. They have three grown children and three grandchildren.

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Ted Spring-Cape Fear Community College

Dr. Spring became president of Cape Fear Community College in November of 2012. Before coming to CFCC, Dr. Spring served as the president of New River Community and Technical College in West Virginia for seven years. He has over four decades of experience in higher education and a great enthusiasm for the mission of community colleges.

Throughout his career, he has served as a vice president of academic affairs, executive vice president, academic dean and department chair. Early in his career, Dr. Spring taught at both the community college and university levels.

He is a first generation college student and a graduate of a community college. He earned an Associate in Applied Science Degree from Adirondack Community College in New York, a Bachelor of Science degree from Castleton State College in Vermont, a Master of Education degree from Bowling Green State University in Ohio. and a Ph.D. from the University of Maryland in College Park. He and his wife Andrea live in Wilmington. They have two grown children and two grandchildren.

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The Wilmington NC Chamber of Commerce Special Edition: Voice of Business

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The Wilmington NC Chamber of Commerce‘s first show featured Connie Majure-Rhett, Chamber President and CEO, as host. Connie welcomed into the studio Mayor Bill Saffo, Jana Jones Halls, and Rickey Godwin. The conversation was centered on the impact of youth violence on business in Wilmington and what the city is doing about it.

About The Blue Ribbon Commission:

The Blue Ribbon Commission Action Teams continue to work toward developing processes and programs that will reduce youth violence, reduce drop outs, increase graduation rates and increase community participation in the Commission’s efforts.

Mayor Bill Saffo- Blue Ribbon Commission Chair

A native of Wilmington, Saffo graduated from Hoggard High School in 1978 and went on to receive a bachelor of arts degree from UNC-Wilmington.  He is a real estate agent with Seacoast Realty in Wilmington.  Bill’s civic involvement includes the Community Boys and Girls Club and the Rotary West Club in Wilmington.  He is a member of the St. Nicholas Greek Orthodox Church.

Bill’s parents are first generation Greek immigrants.  He loves to spend time with friends and family.  Bill finds it very satisfying to serve as Mayor of his hometown.

Executive Director- Jana Jones Halls

Jana Jones Halls has just been hired as the new Executive Director of the Blue Ribbon Commission. Mrs. Jones Halls received a Bachelor of Arts Degree in English from Christopher Newport University in Newport News, Virginia.  She has been an integral part of the Cape Fear community for a number of years where she was an educator at the Friends School of Wilmington, and has taught at DREAMS of Wilmington.  Prior to accepting this position, Jones Halls was an Americorp HandsOnSchools VISTA volunteer and community outreach coordinator at D.C. Virgo Preparatory Academy, Wilmington, where she restructured and created a volunteer, enrichment, mentoring and community outreach program.

As the Executive Director for the BRC, Jones Halls will provide leadership in the ongoing development and implementation of their strategic plan to address youth violence in the Youth Enrichment Zone.  She will serve as the liaison between the BRC and D.C. Virgo Preparatory Academy and will educate and engage the community around the issues of youth violence.

Rickey Godwin

Godwin is a partner at McGladrey LLP, a provider of assurance, tax and consulting services with more than 6,700 employees in 75 cities nationwide. He obtained his Bachelor of Science in Accounting from East Carolina University and has 25 years of experience providing tax compliance and advisory services to corporations, partnerships and LLCs. Godwin was a partner with a large regional firm prior to joining McGladrey and now serves as one of the leaders of tax services for the Wilmington location.

Godwin currently serves on the board of directors for the Landfall Foundation, New Hanover County Community Foundation, and Community Boys and Girls Club. In addition, he serves on the UNCW MSA/Accounting Advisory Board. His Chamber experience includes a term as the First Vice Chairman. He will also serve as a member of the Chamber Education Foundation Board and on the Wilmington Business Development Board of Directors as the Chamber’s representative.

Attorney At Law, William Mason and Vanessa Marttinen with American Marketeur

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William Mason

After graduation from The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and Wake Forest University Law School, William Norton (Bill) Mason began his career in law in 1977 as an Assistant District Attorney in New Hanover and Pender Counties.

During the next four years, he prosecuted many types of cases in the State District and Superior Courts, including Driving While Impaired, Drug Offenses, Property Crimes, Embezzlement, Assaults, Rape and Murder. In 1981, he left the District Attorney’s Office and entered the private practice of law. While in private practice, he represented individuals charged with criminal offenses as well as individuals who were involved in civil litigation.

The criminal defendants he represented were charged with offenses ranging from Driving Offenses, Drug Offenses, Property Crimes, Embezzlement, Assaults, Rape and Murder. Civil cases he handled included divorces cases, contract disputes, property disputes and personal injury and wrongful death cases. In addition, Mr. Mason has prepared Wills and Trusts and assisted individuals with the administration of decedents’ estates.

In 1990, while still in private practice, he was appointed part-time United States Magistrate Judge. In that position, he presided over misdemeanor criminal cases in federal court and detention hearings in federal felony cases. He also issued warrants and search warrants. In 1995, Mr. Mason was appointed full-time United States Magistrate and served in that position until 2003.

In 2003, he was certified as a Superior Court mediator by the North Carolina Dispute Resolution Center and later certified as a mediator in federal court for the Eastern District of North Carolina. Since 2003, he has continued in the practice of law and serving as a mediator in state and federal court cases.

Vanessa Marttinen

From 25 years of experience in marketing, business development & sales, the founder of American Marketeur developed a unique process to create successful marketing strategies for any business category or professional practice. Use us to gain control over the success of your marketing with a plan created just for your specific business.

American Marketeur is an independent LLC with the ability to provide completely unbiased consul to our clients. We never take mark ups on media buys in order to maintain our mission. American Marketeur includes a huge network of marketing providers including artists, graphic designers, web developers, mobile app programmers, database managers, social media experts, traditional media experts, printers, public relations professionals, communications gurus & copywriters. When you choose to use American Marketeur to implement your marketing strategy, you get the best solution for your needs.

Connect with American Marketeur on Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter

Shari Porter and Alexis Hinds with Sea Coast Staffing Inc and Andrew Gray with Tayloe Gray Kristof

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Alexis Hinds-Sea Coast Staffing Inc

Owner, Alexis Hinds, has been in the staffing industry for over twenty-five years.  Originally from the San Francisco Bay Area, Alexis relocated to Wilmington in 2004.  She has been networking in the greater Wilmington area for 10 years and has enjoyed building client and candidate relationships locally.  Alexis is passionate about recruiting and staffing and is committed to providing the highest level of service to both her candidates and her clients.  In her spare time she serves on the Board of Directors of the Good Shepherd House, enjoys spending time at the beach, plays a mean game of tennis and thoroughly enjoys celebrating life with family and friends!

Shari Porter-Sea Coast Staffing Inc

Shari Porter has had a number of careers to date, including human resources, corporate finance, marketing, recruiting and preschool teacher.  She and Alexis have been friends and volunteer colleagues  for ten years so Shari jumped at the opportunity to work with Sea Coast Staffing.  In addition to helping with the day to day operations of the firm, Shari focuses on marketing, social media and outreach programs.

Connect with Sea Coast Staffing on Facebook and Twitter

Andrew Gray- Tayloe Gray Kristof

As Founder and CTO of two real estate data management startups in the late 1990’s, Andrew managed technical teams and oversaw continuous software development. Today, Andrew’s energies are focused primarily on content management systems, email deliverability and software development while continuing to stay current on emerging technology and trends as a contributor to the Greater Wilmington Business Journal. Andrew was Co-Founder of TayloeGray from 2009 until 2013, when the company partnered with The Marketing Agent[c] to become TGK.

TGK evolved from combining forces of two existing agencies, TayloeGray and The Marketing Agent[c]. TayloeGray was founded in 2009 by founders Nathan Tayloe and Andrew Gray. TayloeGray established itself as one of the area’s leading technology and web development firms. The Marketing Agent[c] was founded by Bryan Kristof in 2009 and focused primarily on brand strategy. The two companies began collaborating on client projects from their inception and after dating for three years, they decided to move in together and officially blend operations, forming Tayloe Gray Kristof (TGK).

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Jordan Watson with National Speed and Tom Looney

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Jordan Watson

National Speed is headquartered in Wilmington, North Carolina and operates state-of-the-art performance shops. They are venture backed, and will be setting the standard for the modern performance shop as they roll out additional locations over in the coming years.

Jordan is passionate about the performance industry. Not only is automotive performance his top priority, he is committed to others who love the automotive performance world. Jordan’s depth of automotive knowledge and understanding creates powerful, confident builds every time that always leave the customer satisfied (and wanting more!).

Connect with National Speed on Twitter and Facebook

Tom Looney

Education:
Mount St. Mary’s University, MD
Basketball Scholarship (’79-82)
Student-Athlete award ‘82
B.S. Business & Finance; (’81) MBA (’83)
Adjunct Faculty, Statistics (’83-’87)
Distinguished Alumni honoree (’92)
Athletic Hall-of-Fame induction (’08)
Brute’ Medal recipient (’12)

Work:
Oracle Corp 1897-1990
Next Inc. 1990-1996
Active Software 1996-2000
NextChannel Partners 2002-2005
Microsoft 2005-2008
Seahawk Innovation 2013-2014

Boards and Advisory Roles in Wilmington NC:
Cape Fear Academy
UNCW School of Business
UNCW Entrepreneurship Center
UNCW Center for Innovation & Entrepreneurship
Multiple System Atrophy (MSA) Coalition

Connect with Tom Looney on LinkedIn

Kate Miller with Rountree Losee LLP Law Firm

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Primary Areas of Practice:

Admissions:

  • North Carolina State Bar, 2007
  • U.S. District Court Eastern District of North Carolina, 2013
  • U.S. District Court Western District of North Carolina, 2013
  • U.S. District Court Middle District of North Carolina, 2013

Education:

  • Valparaiso University School of Law, Valparaiso, Indiana, J.D., 2007
    • Honors: Magna Cum Laude, Full Tuition Scholarship
  • Radford University, Radford, Virginia, 2003
    • Honors: Magna Cum Laude
  • Tulane University, New Orleans, Louisiana, 2000

Representation:

  • Counseled clients and family through all aspects of all types of criminal cases; including misdemeanors, DWI’s, traffic/driver’s license issues, sex allegations, and death penalty murder cases
  • Assisted clients through all aspects of domestic and family law matters
  • Counseled clients through personal injury and worker’s compensation matters

Professional Associations and Memberships:

  • New Hanover County Bar Association
  • 5th Judicial District Bar
  • Carolina Beach Police Advisory Committee Member

To connect with Kate: LinkedIn and visit Rountree Losee LLP Law Firm

Jonathan Rowe with nCino

 

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As Director of Marketing and Research for nCino, Jonathan Rowe is responsible for all aspects of the nCino brand, business development, and strategic marketing and research efforts including nCino University. Prior to nCino, Jonathan was a professor in the Cameron School of Business and the director of the Entrepreneurship Center at the University of North Carolina Wilmington. Before beginning his academic career he served as a project manager at IBM Global Services for enterprise software integrations in the United States and Europe. He worked on his doctoral thesis at the University of Auckland and has a Masters of Business Administration from Babson College.

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Randall Johnson with North Carolina Biotechnology Center

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Randall Johnson-Executive Director, Southeastern Office

Randall Johnson serves as the North Carolina Biotechnology Center Southeastern Office Executive Director to strengthen the regional economy and to improve the quality of life across North Carolina, through economic development action related to marine biotech, industrial biotech, renewable bioproducts/energy, clinical research, and agricultural biotech.

Johnson has extensive experience in local and regional economic development, with a focus on entrepreneurship and knowledge sector development.  He graduated cum laude from Wake Forest University with an undergraduate concentration in psychology, and he holds an MBA from the Babcock Graduate School of Management at Wake Forest University, where he concentrated in IT Management, Operations Management, and Entrepreneurship.

He serves on the boards of business, civic, and arts-related organizations in the region and state, including the NC Economic Developers Association, NC Sustainable Energy Association, Institute for Emerging Issues Environments Council, and the Advisory Committee for Biotechnology in Southeastern North Carolina, which he helped found.  His work with statewide partners led to the creation of NC’s Marine Bio-Technologies Center of Innovation and the NC Coast Clinical Research Initiative.

Johnson is a graduate of Leadership North Carolina Class XV and was awarded the U.S. President’s Volunteer Service Award, a national honor award recognizing individuals who have answered the call to make a lifelong commitment to volunteer service.

He and his wife Leigh and newborn son Wallace live in Wilmington, NC.

Connect with Randall on LinkedIn and Twitter

Jason Arnold with The Wilmington Hammerheads FC and Corey Heim with DryCase

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Jason Arnold- Wilmington Hammerheads FC

Jason Arnold is entering his inaugural USL PRO season with the Wilmington Hammerheads as General Manager of the club. Arnold comes to Wilmington following his role as Executive Director of USL Youth Leagues in Tampa, FL. A three-time NCAA College Cup Final Four participant with the University of Maryland, Arnold joined USL in 2010 as USL PRO and MISL Director of Operations and was named Senior Director of USL Youth Leagues in March 2012. Arnold graduated from University of Maryland in 2004 with his BA.

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Corey Heim- DryCase

Corey settled in Wilmington, North Carolina in 2002 to attend the University of North Carolina at Wilmington. In May of 2006 he graduated Magna Cum Laude with both a B.A in Spanish and B.S in International Business. He also spent 6 months studying and traveling in Spain in a joint program through the Universidad de Cantabria in Santander. He was also awarded the Mary McDuffie Walker Scholarship as well as the Stephen and Kathleen Kelbley Scholarship for being and outstanding scholar. After graduation Corey started working for Dry Corp, LLC working on expanding the company and helping launch new product lines.

In 2007 Corey was promoted to Chief Operating Officer at Dry Corp, LLC a niche medical distribution company that sells four unique types of waterproof body protection for wound care, casts, bandages, prosthesis, PICC lines and Ostomy. Dry Corp’s products are sold in over 32 countries. He directly handles all international business development, in addition to his duties as Chief Operating Officer of the company.

In the summer of 2009 Corey co-founded DryCASE, a spin off of the Dry Corp Company.  The DryCASE is a waterproof case for phones, cameras and MP3 players that works on a patented vacuum seal technology. He helped take the DryCASE from the idea phase to product design, sourcing, manufacturing and on to marketing and distribution. After only 3 years on the market DryCASE products are distributed all over the world and the brand is recognized atop the outdoor/ consumer electronic markets.

Corey currently resides at Wrightsville Beach. When he’s not working or traveling he enjoys a variety of outdoor and water related activities including surfing, mountain biking, free diving and paddle boarding.

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Jimmy Pierce with Kids Making It and George Edwards with Historic Wilmington Foundation

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Hand made earrings by Kids Making It

Jimmy Pierce- Kids Making It

Jimmy Pierce is a native of North Carolina.  He received his BA degree in 1975 from the University of North Carolina, his JD degree in 1979 from the LSU law school, and is a member of both the North Carolina Bar and the Louisiana Bar.  Inspired by his sons, he left his successful law practice in 1996 to establish the Kids Making It Woodworking Program, a national award winning program now open 7 days a week, year-round, serving youth from 8 – young adulthood in a long-term mentorship program, teaching vocational skills, providing entrepreneurship opportunities for youth to earn income, and entry-level paid employment to youth transitioning into successful adulthood through the KMI Apprenticeship Program, designing and creating custom woodworking products in quantity utilizing traditional cabinet shop tools and three production machines, a laser engraver, CNC router, and hydraulic copy lathe.

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George Edwards-Historic Wilmington Foundation

George W. Edwards joined the Historic Wilmington Foundation as their 6th Executive Director in November of 2004.  Edwards is a professional preservationist with more than 28 years of experience in managing local and statewide nonprofit preservation and downtown revitalization groups.  He directed Main Street and economic redevelopment programs in Arkansas, Wisconsin, and Virginia.  In addition to these experiences, Edwards served as the chief executive for the Atlanta Preservation Center, the Preservation Alliance of Minnesota, and the Preservation Alliance of Virginia.

The Historic Wilmington Foundation is a non-profit historic preservation organization with more than 800 members that focuses its efforts on preserving the architectural heritage of Wilmington and the Lower Cape Fear region. Since its formation in 1966, the Historic Wilmington Foundation has successfully saved more than a 100 historic properties from demolition.  Their mission is to protect and preserve the irreplaceable historic resources of Wilmington and the Lower Cape Fear Region through educational programs, workshops, advocacy and community involvement, a preservation easement program and revolving fund activities.  Edwards has initiated an annual most threatened historic places program with HWF, which also includes a traveling exhibit seen annually by more than 40,000 people.  He also has created a partnership with the New Hanover County schools that trains and provides guides for the third graders’ Tar Heels Go Walking program which recently completed its fifth year of leading students on tour of downtown.  The tours have introduced 12,000 third grade students, 500 teachers and 1000 parent volunteers to our history, architectural and cultural resources.

Historic Wilmington Foundation is the regions only professionally staffed historic preservation education and advocacy organization and it partners with local government, property owners and developers to promote historic preservation as a community value and quality of life issue.  The restoration of private property in the City has conservatively resulted in more than $50 million dollars of private investment over the last forty years and the creation of thousands of jobs.  Government, churches and non-profits have also spent millions on the restoration of buildings.  The rehabilitation of property has generated millions of dollars of new tax revenue and substantially raised the value of property throughout the City.  Renewed historic residential and commercial areas helps the City present a vibrant and vital image to prospective new residents and businesses and helps make the City very attractive to visitors, tourists and convention business

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