NCCBI News

Hearn to Lead Council of Local Chambers

Danny Hearn of Statesville has been named the new chair of NCCBI’s  Council of Local Chambers, and Susanne Sartelle of Greenville has been named the new vice chair. Hearn began his 30-year chamber career in 1973 and has served as president of the Greater Statesville Chamber of Commerce since 1978. He also worked with chambers in Catawba County, Rockingham and Norfolk, Va. He is past president of Carolinas Association of Chamber of Commerce Executives (CACCE) and was named N.C. Chamber of Commerce Executive of the Year in 1991 and 2000. Hearn is a faculty member for the U.S. Chamber Institute for Organization Management program.

Sartelle has served as president of the Greenville-Pitt County Chamber since December 2001. She previously served as the Jacksonville-Onslow Chamber president for 10 years and prior to that worked with the South Brunswick Islands Chamber in Shallotte and the Myrtle Beach Area Chamber of Commerce. She is a former executive committee member of NCCBI and is currently serving her second term on the board of directors. She is also a past president of the CACCE and was named N.C. Chamber of Commerce Executive of the Year in 1993. She is past chair of the Board of Regents for Charleston Institute, a U.S. Chamber of Commerce Institute for Organization Management and served on that organization’s national board of trustees for three years.

The Council of Local Chambers includes executives from all local chambers of commerce that are NCCBI members. The group serves as a grassroots network to talk with legislators and other policymakers about policy issues that are important to the business community. The council meets quarterly to get updates on legislative and regulatory issues, to hear from state policy leaders and to exchange ideas.

NCCBI Joins Major Tax Case: The N.C. Court of Appeals has accepted NCCBI’s petition to file a friend of the court brief in the A&F Trademark Inc. v. Tolson case, a major tax case now pening before the appellate court. The case centers on whether companies are doing business in the state and, accordingly, subject to North Carolina’s corporate income and franchise taxes even though they have no physical presence in North Carolina. Such companies’ only connection to North Carolina is that they license intangible intellectual propertysuch as trademarks or computer programs to in-state businesses.

The only tax year in question in the A&F case is 1994. The state Department of Revenue imposed state taxes for that year based on an administrative rule it issued in 1992. For decades prior, the state had sought only to tax companies with a physical presence in North Carolina. Revenue’s administrative rules takes a dramatically different taxing approach based solely on the so-called “economic nexus” between the out-of-state company and North Carolina. NCCBI believes there is no change in the General Statutes to trigger or justify DOR’s new taxing approach.

NCCBI joined the legal brief for several reasons, including the fact that in order to attract and retain businesses, the state needs predictable tax statutes.

Charlotte leaders host reception: Dr. Tony Zeiss, president of Central Piedmont Community College, and Tommy Norman, CEO of Norcom Properties, hosted a membership recruitment reception on Feb. 18 at the City Club in Charlotte. Carroll Gray, president of the Charlotte Chamber of Commerce; Ed Rose, a member of NCCBI’s board of directors; Zeiss; and Norman cited NCCBI’s successes in the General Assembly and in leading statewide bond issues for education, highways, and economic development as three reasons for joining NCCBI. NCCBI President Phil Kirk was the keynote speaker.

New Members: Companies that joined or rejoined NCCBI during January and February include: Allen Tate Realtors, Allen Tate, Charlotte; Animal Medical Center of Garner, Nelson Haden, Garner; Avery/Banner Elk Chamber of Commerce, Glenn Grizzard, Banner Elk; Beasley Broadcasting, Danny Highsmith, Fayetteville; Beverly-Hanks & Associates, Neal Hanks Jr., Asheville; Brown and Caldwell, James Laughlin, Charlotte; Brunswick County Chamber of Commerce, Mitzi York, Shallotte; Brunswick County Tourism Development Authority, Debbie O’Brien, Shallotte; Campbell/Carlson, Cynthia Carlson, Charlotte; Charlotte Business Journal, Jeannie Falknor, Charlotte; Cohen and Green Salvage Co. Inc., Michael Green, Fayetteville; County of Camden, Randell K. Woodruff, Camden; Ellis & Winters, Alex Hagan, Raleigh; Enterprise Distribution Inc., C. Hardy Butler, Durham; Healy Wholesale Co. Inc., John Healy, Fayetteville; Hedrick, Eatman, Gardner & Kincheloe LLP, Lisa R. Woodie, Charlotte; Hendrick & Bryant LLP, T. Paul Hendrick, Winston-Salem; Impact Design-Build Inc., Colen Davidson, Cary; Lees-McRae College, Andy Jackson, Banner Elk; MAC Panel Co., Tom Craycroft, High Point; Mad Boar Restaurants, Kim Loyd, Wallace; Makin It Work - Pronto!, Jane Martin, Winston-Salem; Matthews Specialty Vehicles Inc., Brad Matthews, Greensboro; McRae & Associates Inc., Cameron McRae, Kinston; N.C. Office of the State Auditor, Ralph Campbell, Raleigh; Niblock Development Corp., William Niblock, Concord; Northampton Economic Development Commission, Gary Brown, Jackson; Office of Arnold Lakey, Arnold Lakey, North Wilkesboro; Office of Edward B. Bright, Edward B. Bright, Kinston; Office of H. C. Roemer, H. C. Roemer, Winston-Salem; Office of the Hon. Lucy T. Allen, Lucy Allen, Raleigh; Office of the Hon.Becky Carney, Becky Carney, Charlotte; Onslow County EconomicDevelopment/You, Inc., Bruce Gombar, Jacksonville; Pace Communications, Bonnie McElveen-Hunter, Greensboro; PharmaLinkFHI Inc., Albert J. Siemens, RTP; PPG Industries Inc., Jerry Strong, Lexington; RSM McGladrey Inc., Kurt Heinrich, Raleigh; Service Roofing & Sheet Metal Co. Inc., Hank Redecker, Raleigh; Shelton Vineyards Inc., George Denka, Dobson; Sims and Steele Consulting, Wilson Sims, Asheville; Southeastern Regional Medical Center, J. L. Welsh Jr., Lumberton; Southern Community Bank, F. Scott Bauer, Winston-Salem; Technologies Edge Inc., Charles Spruill, Concord; The Hispanic Group, Jose Isasi, Winston-Salem; The Signature Agency, R. Frank Timberlake Jr., Raleigh; The Steel Network, Michael Torres, Raleigh; Tippett, Padrick & Bryan, W. Lyndo Tippett, Fayetteville; United Plywood, Ralph Greco, Mocksville; University of North Carolina -Chapel Hill, James Moeser, Chapel Hill; Wind Channel Communications, Jim Crawford, Raleigh.


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