From the Indy website:
Vote for your favorite businesses, people, locations, and more in these 7 major categories – Wine & Dine, Music & Clubs, Out & About, Goods, Services, Media and our Comment section.
The Comments box is at the end of the survey. It’s not required, but if you’d like, tell us some details about a couple of your favorite picks. We’ll print some of these comments in the June 13th edition, which follows our Best of the Triangle issue on June 6th.
Keep your ear to the ground for news about our big Best of the Triangle party in June.
The polls close April 15th.
Now, we’re not going to tell you what to vote for, but we will definitely suggest with great gusto that you go and take a few moments to fill out some of these categories with your favorite Chatham County businesses.
The survey has 259 questions, but you only need to answer at least 20 for your entry to count (but don’t stop there! There are more than 20 Chatham County businesses that deserve nods!).
Let us know how you vote!
Update: There are a few businesses that are vying for certain categories:
Starrlight Mead: Best Place to Chill in Orange/Chatham County (though we think Local Wine Store on page 4 would be a good category too)
City Tap: Best Neighborhood Bar
Chatham County Continuing Education is hosting a training series designed for supervisors and individuals wanting to learn management techniques. This 16-hour credit course will meet four times from February through March. Coursework will utilize group discussion, video and case studies with participants practicing new skills and receiving instructor feedback. Workbooks with exercises will be provided for each session.
Course Outline
Week 1 February 7, 2012: Developing Goals and Standards
Providing managers with the specific methods necessary to establish measurable, attainable, results –orientated, and time-framed performance standards. The session provides the steps that gain team member agreement and commitment to those performance standards.
Week 2 February 21, 2012: Providing Performance Feedback
This module demonstrates how evaluation is done by the experts. Each team member is requested to evaluate their performance against the standard. This accomplished, the stage is set for a summary evaluation by the supervisor that will be clear and credible to the team member.
Week 3 March 6, 2012: Improving Work Habits
Provides the tools necessary to address work habits such as Absenteeism, Repeated Tardiness, Disruptive Conduct, Dress Codes and much more. Addressing issues in a way that will correct the problem and improve team member self-confidence often lost by just quoting company policies.
Week 4 March 20, 2012: Effective Discipline
Giving team leaders an effective method of discipline that will preserve team members’ self-respect and ego while changing the unacceptable behavior. The process encourages self-discipline and motivates team members to achieve company goals.
Cost: $260.00 includes workbooks and all materials.
Location: Pittsboro Campus, 764 West Street, Pittsboro, NC 27312, Conference Room 2
Time: 1:00 – 5:00 p.m.
Contact: Continuing Education at 919-542-6495 ext. 8044
Last day to register is January 31, 2012
Co-Sponsored and endorsed by the Chatham Chamber of Commerce
Last night the EDC hosted its quarterly Joint Elected Boards meeting in Siler City. A quick recap:
- Joe Glasson, chair of the EDC board, greeted the crowd of about 50
- Dianne Reid presented the results of the EDC’s branding project and encouraged interested parties to participate in implementation
- Members of Siler City’s STEP leadership team (Ann Bass, Diana Hales, Pam Hawe, Donna Sivulka) presented the projects the volunteers will be working to implement
- Paul Horne, the parks planner for the town of Pittsboro, talked about the Small Town Main Street program and its importance for downtown Pittsboro
- Goldston Mayor Tim Cunnup updated the group with good news about the town’s sewer infrastructure
- Superintendent Robert Logan presented the latest growth figures from Chatham County Schools
- Siler City Mayor Charles Johnson, Chatham Board of Commissioners Chair Brian Bock, and Pittsboro Town Manager Bill Terry each gave short updates and words of encouragement for all of the work everyone has been putting in to make Chatham County a great place to live and do business
Edit: We were informed some people cannot see the embedded presentation, particularly when using Internet Explorer. Here is a direct link to the presentation.
Central Carolina Community College’s Small Business Center in Chatham County is partnering with the N.C. Rural Economic Development Center to make loans of up to $25,000 available for the startup or expansion of rural businesses.
The Center’s N.C. Microenterprise Loan Program encourages self-employment and small business development by combining loans with business planning and technical assistance. It often works with individuals who have sound business ideas but may not qualify for traditional bank loans.
Loans are available for $500 to $25,000, with terms of one to five years, depending on the loan amount and use of funds. Interest is charged at prime plus 4 percent. Lower rates are available for loans supporting the use of clean energy sources, energy conservation and waste reduction.
CCCC’s Small Business Center in Chatham County will assist prospective borrowers in completing loan applications, provide other technical assistance and, as needed, provide referrals to business resource professionals for additional technical assistance. It serves entrepreneurs and small businesses in the greater Chatham area.
Here's a sneak peek of the interior renovations
If you’ve driven through Pittsboro in the past (nearly) two years, you’ve seen a sad sight in the center of town: the skeleton of our once very lovely historic courthouse. It caught fire in March 2010, and since, has stood behind a chain link fence, waiting to be repaired.
Renovations and restoration efforts began in late 2011 by local company Hobbs Architects, and the exterior progress has been fun to watch. Lucky for us, Hobbs is tracking the progress on their blog so we get a peek of what’s going on inside too!
Here’s an excerpt from their latest blog post:
One of the famous court house legends surrounds a secret tunnel under the building. During recent excavation a brick arched opening has been uncovered in one of the primary south side bearing walls. The opening is now crudely filled in with masonry, but it is clear that a tunnel type opening existed at one time.
Are you kidding me? A secret tunnel? That. Is. Awesome.
Follow this link to continue reading and see pictures of the mysterious tunnel and more. Unearthing (literally!) local history is so cool.
