NCCBI News for February 2003

Policy Committees Complete Work on Legislative Positions
NCCBI policy committees met regularly over the past four months developing position statements on public policy issues that are being evaluated by the Executive Committee. Some of the position statements address immediate needs of the state’s business community. Others address long-range goals that will require long-term strategies during the upcoming legislative session and beyond. Some of the positions address issues that may need to be considered through administrative rather than legislative channels.

The Executive Committee is carefully considering these position statements as the state’s business’ agenda is set for the 2003-04 legislative session.

The committees have put in many hours of hard work developing the position statements, particularly the chairs and vice chairs of the groups. The NCCBI staff thanks these volunteers for the time they have devoted to the process and would like to thank them publicly. They are:

Economic Development: Chair Lew Myers of Durham, president of LHM Associates.  Vice Chair Watts Carr of Greensboro, former assistant secretary of the N.C. Department of Commerce.

Education: Chair Clark Plexico of Raleigh, president of Clark Plexico Consulting Inc. Vice Chair Larry Seigler of Greenville, a retired executive who formerly served as vice president of corporate affairs with Catalytica Pharmaceuticals.

Environmental Concerns: Chair Ed Scott of Winston-Salem, an independent consultant and lobbyist and a retired executive with RJ Reynolds Tobacco Co. Vice Chair Jerry Coker of New Bern, area regulatory manager for Weyerhaeuser.

Health Care: Chair Carla DuPuy of Charlotte, director of environmental affairs for Crescent Resources Inc., a business group within Duke Energy Corp. Vice Chair John Peterson of Raleigh, account director with Capital Strategies Inc.

Legal Issues and Workplace Policies: Chair George Teague of Raleigh, partner with the law firm of Moore & Van Allen. Vice Chair George Suddath of Raleigh, vice president of corporate affairs with Pepsi Bottling Ventures LLC. Suddath  is relatively new as a leader of the committee but has been an active member who worked diligently to help block an ergonomics standard in North Carolina. He is a member of the executive board of the N.C. Soft Drink Association; a board member of N.C. FREE; a member of the Governor’s Council on Mentoring and a member of the N.C. Professional Lobbyists Association. Before joining Pepsi Bottling, he was vice president of operations for the Raleigh division of PepCom Industries, vice president and general manager of the Rocky Mount division of PepCom; and plant manager of Seven-Up Bottling Co. in Raleigh.

Tax and Fiscal Policy: Chair Lucius Pullen of Raleigh, an attorney in private practice.  Vice Chair Lyman Cooper of Raleigh, regional vice president for CSX Corp.

Transportation: Chair Marshall Henry of Rocky Mount, chairman of c.s. Henry Transfer Inc. Vice Chair Christie Barbee of Raleigh, executive director of the Carolina Asphalt Pavement Association.

Council of Local Chambers: Chair Connie Majure-Rhett of Wilmington, president of the Greater Wilmington Chamber of Commerce. Vice Chair Danny Hearn of Statesville, president of the Statesville Chamber of Commerce.

Small Business Advisory Board: Chair Steve Zaytoun of Cary, president of Zaytoun & Associates Inc. Vice Chair Pickett Council Wadsworth of Lake Waccamaw, an executive with Council Tool Co.

Young Executives Forum: Chair Tracy Crevar of High Point, director of marketing and business Development for Dixon Odom PLLC. Vice Chair Harry Williams of Boone, associate vice chancellor at Appalachian State University. Both Crevar and Williams are new leaders of the committee. Crevar served as vice chair last year and succeeds Jeff Benson, with Kilpatrick Stockton in Raleigh, whose term ended in December. Crevar has served as Firm Director of Marketing and Business Development for Dixon Odom PLLC, Certified Public Accountants and Consultants, for over a decade.  Crevar joined Dixon Odom as its first marketing director and has been responsible for building a marketing culture within the firm and developing a marketing and business. She oversees all marketing and sales initiatives for the firm’s 16 offices across the Southeast. Crevar is president-elect of the Association for Accounting Marketing and will begin her term as president on July 1. A resident of Greensboro, she holds marketing and management degrees from Appalachian State University.

As associate vice chancellor at Appalachian State University, Williams is responsible for implementing the univer-sity’s diversity plan. He has held posts in admissions since 1988. Previously, he served as director of admissions at N.C. A&T State University. He is a member of the State Board of Residency Appeals in North Carolina and an NAACP Student Chapter advisor.  He received the National Panhellenic Council Oustanding Service and Commitment Award in 1997. He holds a doctorate of higher education administration from Tennessee State University.

In a recent change in the NCCBI bylaws approved by the board of directors, the chairs of the Young Executive Forum and the Small Business Advisory Board had been added to the association board.

New Members: Companies that joined NCCBI in November and December, along with the name of the key executive at each company, include: Asplundh Tree Expert Co., Robert G. Atherton, Clayton; AT&T, John Policastro, Raleigh; Automatic Bankcard Services, Kay Field, Cary; B & M Contractors Inc., Karen Brite, Elizabeth City; Bank of Wilmington, Cameron Coburn, Wilmington; Belmont Land & Investment Co., Bip Carstarphen, McAdenville; Bode Call & Stroup, LLP, John T. Bode, Raleigh; Carolina Marine Terminal Inc., Michael McCarley, Wilmington; Carter & Associates, Marcus Jackson, Raleigh; City of Conover, Rick Beasley, Conover; Clinton-Sampson Chamber of Commerce, Linda Williamson, Clinton; CM Black Construction Co., Emmitt Black, Concord; Computer Service Partners Inc., William Riddick, Raleigh; Conestoga-Rovers & Associates Inc., Jerry Eplin, Charlotte; Office of Dallas Clark, Dallas Clark, Greenville; Fields and Co. Real Estate and Investments, Hugh Fields, Linville; FN Thompson Co., Bob Ferguson, Charlotte; Gerrard-Hasty Heating & Air Conditioning, Kendall Gerrard, Goldsboro; Idealliance, William Dean, Winston-Salem; Independence Hummer, Bill Ingram, Charlotte; Intracoastal Realty, Susie Toole, Wrightsville Beach; Lumberton Area Chamber of Commerce, Cindy Kern, Lumberton; Moncure Properties Inc., Andrew Weathersbee, Charlotte; NC Society of Surveyors, Melissa Beard, Raleigh; North Carolina Motorsports Association, Ed McLean, Clemmons; Office of Edwin Beam, Ed Beam, Lenoir; Olmsted Village Co., Marty McKenzie, Pinehurst; Pinehurst Southern Pines & Aberdeen Area CVB, Caleb Miles, Southern Pines; Realo Discount Drug Stores Inc., Bob Bizzell, Kinston; Rich Commercial Realty Inc., Michelle Rich, Raleigh; Southeastern Hospitality, Don Angell, Clemmons; Southern Produce Distributions Inc., Stewart Precythe, Faison; Strayer University, Ann Berger, Arlington, Va.; Strickland Insurance Group Inc. , Robert Strickland, Goldsboro; The Gaston Gazette, Duane McCallister, Gastonia; The Planning Group Inc., Robert Andrews, Wilson; The Reserves Network Inc., Nancy Nichols, Elkin; and The Workers’ Compensation Law Firm, Sherman Lee Criner, Wilmington.

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