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NCCBI will lead a coalition
focused on major reforms of the workers’ compensation system during the 2005
session of the General Assembly.
The NCCBI Coalition on Workers’
Compensation Reform has been established with representatives of several
industry sectors. Coalition members will lobby the legislature, supported by
the strategic planning efforts of a professional team. Don Beason and Lisa
Piercy with the Capital Group, Bill Scoggin of Kennedy Covington and George
Teague of Nelson Mullins have been retained to lead the lobbying and
planning effort, courtesy of contributions from coalition members.
Workers’ comp issues are
dominating discussions across the state. The Legislative Bulletin recently
had articles citing examples of problems within the current system. This
month’s North Carolina
Magazine focuses on the issue.
“The North Carolina Workers’
Compensation Act should be fully restored to its original intent as a simple
and efficient system of compensating employees injured in workplace
accidents while protecting employers from civil litigation and unlimited and
unpredictable compensation liability,” President Phil Kirk said.
Specifically, NCCBI supports:
--streamlining the administration
of the act to reduce the need for costly litigation;
--procedural, evidentiary and
medical reforms which give clear guidance to the Industrial Commission in
its decision-making; and
--limiting payment of workers’
comp benefits only to those who are physically unable to work as a direct
result of their workplace accident.
Companies participating in the
worker’s comp coalition are the American Insurance Association; Bank of
America; Capital Associated Industries; Carolinas AGC; Capital Group;
Cranfill, Sumner & Hartzog; Duke Energy Corp.; Insurance Federation of N.C.;
Kelly-Springfield Tire Co.; Kennedy Covington Lobdell & Hickman, LLP; Law
Office of Robert Kaylor; Liberty Mutual; MCIC; Murphy-Brown LLC; N.C.
Association of Self insurers; N.C. Automobile Dealers Association; N.C. Home
Builders Association; N.C. Forestry Association; N.C. Medical Society; N.C.
Retail Merchants Association; N.C. Trucking Association, N.C. Association of
Defense Attorneys; N.C. Farm Bureau; Nelson Mullins Riley & Scarborough;
Poyner & Spruill LLP; Progress Energy; Teague, Campbell, Dennis & Gorham;
and Weyerhaeuser.
If you are interested in joining
the Coalition on Workers Compensation Reform, please contact Rolf Blizzard
at 919-836-1406 or by email at rblizzard@nccbi.org.
Reaching Out to Minorities:
More than 50 persons attended a membership recruitment/retention reception
designed to involve more minorities in NCCBI on Feb. 17 at Progressive
Business Solutions in Raleigh.
Tim Catlett, co-owner of
Progressive Business Solutions, along with his wife Sonya, and a member of
NCCBI’s Small Business Advisory Board, served as host and welcomed the group
to his business.
NCCBI Chair Barry Eveland and
Chair Emeritus Jim Hyler discussed the roles NCCBI plays in influencing a
positive business climate in North Carolina. Andrea Harris, President of
the North Carolina Institute of Minority Economic Development, and Julian
Brown of Carolinas Minority Suppliers Development Councils Inc. gave
testimonials about the value the minority community receives from being
active in NCCBI. Networking opportunities, along with NCCBI’s lobbying,
were emphasized.
NCCBI President Phil Kirk urged
those present who are already members to get more involved in the
committees, meetings, and programs which NCCBI offers. Also attending were
Ralph Shelton of Greensboro, a member of NCCBI’s board of directors and
executive committee; Lew Myers, former chair of NCCBI’s economic development
committee; and Dr. Clarence Newsome, president of Shaw University.
Membership News: Companies
that joined or rejoined NCCBI during January and February, along with the
name of the key contact, include: Advanced Vehicle Research of N.C.,
Richard Dell, Raleigh; Arts & Science Council — Charlotte/Mecklenburg,
Lee Keesler, Charlotte; Bassett Furniture Industries Inc., Rob
Spilman, Bassett, Va.; Brinkley Insurance Agency, Jim Brinkley,
Valdese; Carolinas Minority Supplier Development Councils Inc.,
Julian Brown, Charlotte; Charlotte Regional Visitors Authority,
Timothy E. Newman, Charlotte; Decision Support Inc., Anita Doran,
Matthews; Edgecombe-Martin County Electric Membership Corp., Eddie
Stocks, Tarboro; Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co., Richard L. Ellis,
Statesville; Granville County Chamber of Commerce, Ginnie D. Currin,
Oxford; Hendrick Automotive Group, James F. Huzl, Charlotte; High
Point University, Dr. Nido R. Qubein, High Point; Hutchison & Mason
PLLC, William Wofford, Raleigh; Kemper Strategy - Business Growth
Solutions, David Kemper, Asheville; KMD Construction, Kyle Davis,
Salisbury; McNairy & Associates, Jim McNairy, Greensboro; Morris,
Manning & Martin Attorneys, Keith Burns, RTP; NFIB/ NC, Gregg
Thompson, Raleigh; N.C. Manufacturers Association Inc., James M.
Bell, Raleigh; Nucor Corp., Dan DiMicco, Charlotte; Office of
Barbara K. Allen, Ms. Barbara Allen, Raleigh; Ollivierre Capital
Projects, Lance A. Ollivierre, Charlotte; Onslow Container Service,
Al Hill, Deep Run; Our State Magazine, Amy Wood, Greensboro;
Rotterman & Associates, Marc Rotterman, Raleigh; Salem Senior Housing,
William Benton, Winston-Salem; Selectron Corp., Chet Coates,
Morrisville; Shanahan Law Group, Kieran J. Shanahan, Raleigh;
Showplace LLC, Joanna Easter, High Point; SilkRoad Technology Inc.,
Barbara Cannon, Winston-Salem; Swiss Bear Downtown Development Corp.,
Susan Moffat-Thomas, New Bern; TEK Systems, David McCall, Raleigh;
Total Lubricants USA Inc., Eugene B. McLaurin II, Rockingham;
Trammell Crow Co., Curtis Grantham, Charlotte; and Triarch Capital
Partners LLC, Brett Bond, Charlotte.
Mitchell's Best
Advice: Give Back to the State
Henry Mitchell, a partner in the
Smith, Anderson, Blount, Dorsett, Mitchell & Jernigan law firm in Raleigh,
decided to become an attorney because he “enjoys helping individuals,
organizations, and business entities in identifying and solving legal
problems affecting their interests and in resolving legal disputes.”
That same line of reasoning
applies to his involvement in NCCBI as our long-time general counsel. “I am
a member of NCCBI because we are the premier association of business leaders
in North Carolina, and we have a signficant influence on major policy issues
in our state,” Mitchell said. His more than 20 years of service to NCCBI has
earned him the designation of “Volunteer of the Month” for the organization.
Mitchell practices law in the
areas of corporate, insurance, and administrative law. He regularly
represents clients concerning general corporate and business matters
including advice on a broad range of issues from litigation strategy to
governmental relations. He currently serves as general counsel to the
Governor’s Business Council and formerly served as deputy general counsel of
the Export-Import Bank of the United States. He is a graduate of Guilford
College and the Wake Forest University School of Law.
In addition to being a member of
the NCCBI Board of Directors, he is chairman of the board and executive
committee of Lawyers Mutual Liability Insurance Co. of North Carolina and a
member of the board and executive committee of Georgia Lawyers Insurance Co.
He serves as vice chair of the N.C. Symphony Board of Trustees. He is state
chair of the Fellows of the American Bar Foundation, past president and
member of the board of directors of the American Counsel Association and
vice president and member of the board of governors of the N.C. Bar
Association.
Well respected by his fellow
lawyers, Mitchell has been recognized in Business North Carolina’s “Legal
Elite” and is listed in Best Lawyers in America. He is married to Helen Heck
of Salisbury and they have three children, Henry III, Michael, and Martha
(Mrs. John) Peterson, all of Raleigh, and they are the proud grandparents of
four granddaughters. When not performing volunteer service for the
professional boards of interest, he enjoys travel, hiking, photography, and
reading.
“Henry is the type of volunteer
leader who is efficient and extremely helpful,” NCCBI President Phil Kirk
said. “He is someone whose judgment is top-notch, and his opinions are
sought because we know they will be helpful in focusing NCCBI on meeting the
challenges facing us a lobbying group and as a non-partisan,
membership-driven non-profit.”
Magazine Names
Travel Editor
Renee Wright of Charlotte joins
North Carolina magazine as its
new travel editor this month.
Wright replaces Bill Hensley, who
retired as travel editor in 2004. Wright will continue to write the Tar Heel
Travels column, which she has handled since February. She also will write
the magazine’s periodic travel features, beginning with our May tourism
issue.
Wright, 54, a veteran traveler,
has covered North Carolina and the Southeast for a wide variety of books and
magazines for the past 20 years. She wrote both the Charlotte and Triad
Guest Guides from 2000 through 2004 published by Lone Wolf and
distributed as hardcover books in regional hotels. She also wrote the
Charlotte and North Carolina chapters for the 2004 edition of Insight
Guides’ USA: The New South.
Her travel articles, on subjects
ranging from Lowe’s Motor Speedway to Blowing Rock, have been published in
magazines that include Digital South, Charlotte VIP, Square Dancing Today,
In the Spotlight, Charlotte’s Best Magazine, Charlotte Magazine, and others.
Although her published articles
cover destinations across the country, she especially enjoys writing about
her home state. “I watched Charlotte grow from a small city into a major
player on the national scene and was lucky enough to be able to write about
all the exciting changes,” she says. “I look forward to the challenge of
covering the state’s booming travel industry”
Wright has written
business-related travel features for magazines such as Charlotte Business
Quarterly, Charlotte Business Journal, and the web sites LocalTechWire.com,
and CarolinaConnoisseur.com.
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