Being Bruce -: January 2009

Saturday, January 31, 2009

You Guys Are Awesome!


Find more videos like this on 3rd Street Plaza

If you can't see the video above, click on this link to hear why you're awesome!

Week 4 - WWAYTV3 Cape Fear Pride/ NBCC Business After Hours at Murray Art & Frame

If you know George and Phyllis Murray you for sure know they like to throw parties - and they do it well! Last night Phyllis and George, proprietors of Murray Art & Fram in the Waterford Shops located in front of Waterford of the Carolinas in the town of Belville hosted the Business After Hours for the North Brunswick Chamber of Commerce that was held in conjuction with Week 4 of WWAYTV3's Cape Fear Pride series focusing on north Brunswick County.

The party (oops, I mean event) started around 4:30 in the afternoon before and after the WWAYTV3 live news telecast and who knows when it ended cuz it was going strong when I left around 7PM.

This week's focus was on the Town of Belville (a surprise to some folks is the Waterford commercial section is located in Belville, while the residential section is in Leland). The ever-active and always-ready-to-party North Brunswick Chamber of Commerce held a Business After Hours event at Murray Art & Frame and a whole lotta folks turned out.

Belville Mayor Chuck Thurlow talks about his town to WWAYTV3 reporter Margo Gray and evening news anchor Steve Rondinaro.

Phyllis Murray went all out preparing and presenting the great eats for the event.

Carol Koenig, NBCC Exective Director Rhonda Norris, and Marge Brown of SendOutCards stopped networking for a moment for a fast photo.


In the photo above Frank Bullard from Bugsy's Cigars, NBCC President Peggy O'Leary of Premier Staffing, and host George Murray tested the food.

While we were networking and eating up a storm, the WWAYTV3 crew kept working.


Erin Alderman of Nationwide Insurance talked with Inan of Just for Dogs gourmet dog food store.


At one point Steve Rondinaro had everyone shout out their SuperBowl picks. Everyone paid attention then.

Mary Anne Fagerquest worked hard at the registration table for the event to be sure everyone had name tags and was entered in the drawings.


SunTrust Bank's Donna Cameron and Peggy O'Leary.

Greg Darrow of Image 8 Photography spoke with Erin Alderman and the crew from LogosDirect.

Speaking of LogosDirect, Scott Griffiths is the guy who actually creates their great stuff. He's sorta like a super-elf, I guess. He DOES have an impish smile!

This photo of Scott Griffiths the designer, the ever-affable sales rep Brian Matzke, marketing maven Brooke Dyson, and company owner John Dennison, all of LogosDirect, shows something I think is pretty interesting and something we see in our area fairly often. These folks run a local company with a worldwide reach - most of their business is from out-of-the-area because it's run via the Internet. In the meantime they're fine, affable folks who show up strong for a party (oops, event!).


Jeff Harvell, a North Brunswick developer and Chamber Board member, organized much of the Cape Fear Pride event from the Chamber side. In this photo he stood on a table to tell us all where to go - that is, when we were needed for a group shot.

Host George Murray also stood on a chair behind the table. To do the drawings for a dozen or so cool gifts (I won a BBandT blanket!) and to announce that this year's NBCC Musical Event will be on June 20 at the Odell Auditorium and will feature The Buckinghams (yeah, you remember, they recorded "Kind of a Drag", "Don't You Care", "Susan", and "Hey Baby (They're Playing Our Song)." Last summer's concert with the Lovin' Spoonful was a sold out success and because their friendship with the Lovin' Spoonful The Buckinghams agreed to come see what our area is all about. So mark your calendars.
The Tuzeos won one of the door prizes as well, a Murray-framed print from a local artist.

We closed the TV part of the evening with everyone outside.

Back inside after the cameras shut down, Laura Patterson of Mulch and More and Dr. Sheila Hanby of Capeside Animal hospital paused for a quick photo.

Justin Williams, publisher of NBM Magazine worked the bar all evening.

Last night was the fourth and final week of WWAYTV3's Cape Fear Pride series. If you'd like to see more slides from last night as well as slides from the first three weeks, click on this link for a YouTube video.

Wednesday, January 28, 2009

Brunswick County Sheriff John Ingram Speaks at NBCC

At the January 27, 2009 North Brunswick Chamber of Commerce monthly luncheon meeting, new Brunswick County Sheriff John Ingram spoke to an attentive crowd of approximately 30 chamber members and guests.

Sheriff Ingram spoke about new initiatives in the county for community involvement, proactive checkpoints to catch unlicensed and DWI drivers, work with youth via DARE, and other programs. He also addressed cooperation between local and regional law enforcement agencies.

It was good to meet Sheriff Ingram and get the insight into the department's plans, programs, and priorities. These monthly luncheon meetings are a great way to meet concerned business people in the North Brunswick area and to stay informed.

Tuesday, January 27, 2009

No photos in THIS post - but lookout!

Shortly, I hope later today, I'm going to post a blog entry (or is it "enter a blog post"?) about last Saturday's North Brunswick Business Expo. Heads up, it will be long, and it will have a gazillion photos (well, actually 76, but that's still a lot). When you see it, if you don't want to read it . . . don't.

I asked folks on Twitter (follow me there if you'd like, at http://twitter.com/brucebrownnc) about blog posting etiguette and guidelines, asking specifically if there was a reasonable limit to the number of photos to put in one post. Most folks wrote back that 1 or 2 was the limit and one pretty knowledgeable guy also suggested I remember the 400-700 word rule - which I'd never heard of. One very successful blogger wrote "It's YOUR blog, do what you want." When I wrote back I was talking about 76 photos she suggested I try http://slide.com and use captions.

Well, I spent a few hours on slide.com (mostly spent away from the computer while it uploaded the photos) and then tried writing some captions.

Nope, doesn't happen. Whatever voice I have doesn't come through in that format.

So, gentle Blog readers, when I put up a post about the NBCC Business Expo - please feel free to bypass. Also feel free to comment.

Sunday, January 25, 2009

NBCC Business Expo January 2009

[Warning This is a VERY long blog post - 76 photos with captions. If you're not from around here and don't know these folks, you probably oughta skip this one. Note, I didn't get to all the booths and I did my best with the names.]

OK, here we go. Last Saturday was the long-awaited day for the North Brunswick Business Expo. We had almost 80 booths and lots of visitors. I don't know the official count. I do know the day was successful for me. Most folks I spoke with agreed.





Craig Spafford and I did most of the setup and takedown of the Sea Coast Realty booth. He's a good guy.





Setting up is always fun, but sometimes the temptation to talk with freinds slows you down. Here Justin Williams talks with folks.


The North Brunswick Chamber of Commerce booth was ably handled and staffed by volunteers - thanks to all.





Matt Trostle and Bob Jenkins discussed social media and Internet marketing while setting up the BobtheTeacher booth.






Brian and John of Logos Direct acting like the Beatles while setting up their booth.




Brook and the graphics guy (ouch gotta find out his name) joined the fun.





Erin and Cynthia Alderman and Owen schlepped in materials for Cynthia's booth.

Owen helped Cynthia Alderman set up.













Meanwhile, out at the registration table, the volunteers kept everything moving. The guy leaning over the table is Don Gilbert, who was the chair for the Business Expo - thanks, Don.










Carolyn Pirnat of Asset Storage stopped for a moment to smile.








Sea-Comm media was a major sponsor for the Business Expo and Amy Besterfeldt hosted their booth. Thanks Sea-Comm.








Margie and Patrick Fairbrother of Brunswick County Today.










Lively Donna Baxter was at the Plus5 booth.













Frank Williams of Pioneer Strategy.













Tina and Albert Sikes of the Leland Copy Center.













Laura and George Patterson of Mulch & More with Michael Coufal of Creative Landscape and Aquascape Design (the guy in the yellow shirt).














Jim Tuzzeo of JT Financial Services answers questions.















Sloan Bodford of Harley & Associates. (I love her name, makes me think of a movie character, like, "Sloan Bodford, Private Eye" or something like that. Maybe she should consider?)









Just for Dogs dog gourmet shop in the Waterford shopping area is a family-owned and run business.







Cindy Kent, Lynne, and Tiffeney Bonhotel of U.S. Cellular.
















Noel Schuler and Mike Wyckoff of Flying Carpet Cleaning Services.
















Anna Murphy, Angela Milliken, and Tony Bryant of Brunswick Cove Living Center.












Sonny Russell and Jamie Thornton of Port City Fence.















Dr. Kevin Price and Alison Metts of Cascade Primary Medicine.












Erin and Cynthia Alderman at the Alderman & Alderman booth.












Kimberly Phillips and Beth McCorkle of JW Benefits.















John, the Graphics Guy, Brook, and Brian of Logos Direct - great, fun folks, super company, good products fast and at surpisingly low prices.










Joni Mitchem and Edie Walls of Brunswick Antiques. (Ethan Hall of Atlantic Coast Landscaping was visiting)












Dave Foster of Holmes Electric Security Systems.

















Farm Bureau Insurance.














Vince Lutheran of Cape Fear Engineering.




















Lisa Venek and Jack Heeter of Alco Home Improvement.












John Grimes of Leland Fire & Rescue visited with Karen Phillips of ATMC.

















Julie Hampson at the PC Solutions booth.











Debbie Richards, Melanie Myrick, and Victor Pearsall from Security Savings Bank.

















Jane and John Crowder, Faye Burckhalter and Diane Statler of the Local News Review.

















Bruce Brown (hey, that's me!) and Bob Jenkins (hey, that's him!) in front of the Logos Direct booth.















WWAYTV3 Reporter Margo Gray was doing double duty as camera operator and reporter.















Sarah-Gray Edwards and Stewart Davis of Palmetto Publishing.













Good buddy Angela Batchelor of Pointe South Realty. They market major new home communities including Waterford of the Carolinas, Palmetto Creek, and Compass Pointe. Angela works hard and does a great job.















Marilyn Turner of Walker Jackson Mortgage Corp.

















Art Klien of V2K Window Decor and More.















Jennifer Henthorn and Drew Roper of BB&T bank.

















Elaine Williams of Riegelwood Federal Credit Union.



















Jeff Hardison of American Vinyl.













Kimberlee Carter and Lee Roseburgh of On the Level Contracting & Design. Their booth won the award for Best of Show!














Scott Hardee of Hardee's Grassworks.

















Terrific threesome Kristy, Ava, and Justin Williams of NBM Magazine (for some reason Justin leaned waay forward).












So in this shot Justin leaned waaay back. Busy guy, that Justin, can't even stand still. Good thing Kristy is calmer (good for Ava anyway).
That would be THE Ava Grace Williams, by the way, still #1 on Google searches. Has been since birth.







Dale Albrecht of Atlantic Seaboard Corporation.





Chase Brewer and Zed Wampler of The Sunroom Store.













So Laura Patterson (of Mulch & More) stopped me and said, "You're taking everyone else's picture. Stop and I'm going to take yours." So she did. And here it is.















Two companies, three guys:
Doug Hill, Tim DeGrechie, and Ethan Hall of Atlantic Pool and Spa and Atlantic Coast Landscaping.







Diane Merritt of Manna Ministries





Extremely good guy Randy Rhodes of Rhodes Law Offices.

















Jim Fagan, Jenny Elliott, and MaryAnne Marion of Southeastern Healthcare.













Manager Dennis Boswell and Robert McIntosh of Dominos. (Try the Philly Cheese Steak pizza, wow!)



















Shauna Guyton of Therapeutic Kneads.













Dawn Baldwin-Ivey of the Brunswick County Literacy Council.

















Chad Nimz and Louisa Hickman from Brunswick Community College and their awesome new Aquatics Center - Wow, did we need that! Check it out.










David Shell of The Essential Home Handbook.














SCORE was ably represented by Sara Raleigh, John Cowan, and Louis Tranzillo. Fine folks. Great resouce for small businesses.




Two Janets.
Janet Wester and Janet Caviggia of WellCare.


















Lieutenant James Williamson of Leland Fire and Rescue - essential folks in service of our community. Thank you.



Bluegrass band.















1o1 Stone Chimney Place - a major meeting and conference facility in our area. Hey, you can even get married there! Sabrena Reinhardt and Cynthia Hansen.










Madge Matteo of Prep Ups - painting and more.












The ever-helpful Monica Clark of PrePaid Legal. If you need a dose of positivity and good will, call Monica.









John Fonvielle of 1-800-Pack-Rat. Good company, great guy.
















Jo and Donald Barnhouse of DB Plumbing, Inc. A plumber with a sense of humor. Very pleasant people.













John Norwood of Carolina Solar Security. Our company uses them for window protection and insulation.












Drs. Amy Betz and Chris Rizzo oof North Brunswick Chiropractic and Accupuncture.













Cromshaw Chiropractic Center










So I created this very long blog post, knowing I'd get some heat for it, but wanting to try it out. Comments welcome.