NCCBI News for October 2004

10 Area Meetings on Tap This Month

The second half of this year’s area meeting tour begins this month with 10 events over the course of 12 days concentrated along the coast and in the Piedmont. Chair Barry Eveland and the NCCBI staff will be packing their bags for trips to Elon, Elizabeth City, Greenville, New Bern, Wrightsville Beach, High Point, Greensboro, Winston-Salem, Statesville and Salisbury.

If you live in one of those areas and haven’t already made plans to attend the meeting in your town, please do so. You can register in a matter of seconds through the NCCBI web site or by calling Marsha Lewandowski of the NCCBI staff at 919-836-1400. Remember, we encourage everyone to bring a prospective member to the meetings.

Large, enthusiastic crowds have turned out at the meetings held so far, and more than the usual number of members seem to be viewing the events as good opportunities for business development. A noticeable number of business cards have been exchanged amid conversations about an uptick in the economy. And this being an election year, several candidates for the legislature and statewide offices have been on hand, including several candidates for the Supreme Court, Court of Appeals and Council of State.

That particularly was the case at the Triangle area meeting held Sept. 9 at the Angus Barn. Three hundred fifty-four members and guests attended the event.

In his report to members, Eveland has hammered home the three priorities that the Executive Committee adopted for the association last year and reaffirmed for this year – economic development; a reduction in taxes, both corporate and personal; and efficiency in government. NCCBI President Phil Kirk has updated members on recent changes in the association which he delivers in the form of a quiz.

NCCBI again would like to thank the dozens of member companies who are serving as sponsors of the area meetings. They are listed in the program for each event, are acknowledged in sign boards and recognized from the podium.


Lobbyist Rankings: NCCBI’s top lobbyists – Vice President of Governmental Affairs Leslie Bevacqua Coman and President Phil Kirk, again were ranked as among the most influential lobbyists in the General Assembly by the N.C. Center for Public Policy Research. In fact, NCCBI was one of only four organizations statewide that had two lobbyists ranked among the most influential in the biannual survey. The rankings are based on a survey of all 170 members of the legislature, all 366 registered lobbyists and legislative liaisons based in the state and the 21 capital news correspondents.

Bevacqua Coman was ranked as the sixth most influential and Kirk was ranked 22nd among the 366 lobbyists who work in the General Assembly. Bevacqua Coman was ranked fifth in the 2001-02 session and seventh in the 1999-00 session. Kirk was ranked 14th in the 2001-02 session and eighth in the 1999-00 session.

The only other organizations or entities to have at least two representatives on the most influential lobbyists list were BellSouth, the N.C. Home Builders Association and the Governor’s Office.


New members: Companies that joined or rejoined NCCBI in August, along with the name of the key executive at each company, include: Advanced Energy, Robert Koger, Raleigh; Aramark, William Leonard, Philadelphia, Pa.; Atlantic American Properties, Lynne Scott-Safrit, Kannapolis; Carolina Human Resources, Michael Womble, Sanford; City of Kannapolis, Mike Legg, Kannapolis; Deloitte & Touche, J.R. Shearin, Raleigh; Development Management Inc., Ivon D. Rohrer Jr., Charlotte; Duke University, John Burness, Durham; E.B. Wall & Associates, Elizabeth Wall, Lenoir; Fidelity Investments, Wayne Douglas, Raleigh; Freeman Communication Services, Jef Freeman, Charlotte; Home Savings Bank of Eden, W. Thomas Flynt, Eden; North Raleigh Hilton, Fred Vanslyke, Raleigh; Office of Dr. Walt DeVries, Dr. Walt DeVries, Wrightsville Beach; Pro Line Printing Inc., Gerald Pfister, Pineville; R.D. Harrell Co., Dean Harrell, Matthews; R.H. Barringer Distributing Co., Mark Craig, Greensboro; Ralph Whitehead Associates, Inc., G. Stuart Matthis, Charlotte; Richard Gaylord Homes Inc., Richard Gaylord, Raleigh; Sanmina-SCI Corp., Jim Campbell, Durham; Seymour Support Council, Troy Pate, Goldsboro; Shaw University, Dr. Clarence Newsome, Raleigh and Watauga County EDC, Joe Furman, Boone.