Up and Coming Weekly is a weekly publication in Fayetteville, NC and Fort Bragg, NC area offering local news, views, arts, entertainment and community event and business information.
Issue link: https://www.epageflip.net/i/24822
CHAMBER UPDATE Chamber T Honors Chamber Announces Annual Award Winners he Fayetteville-Cumberland County Chamber of Commerce is pleased to announce the winners of the many prestigious awards giv- en at its annual award banquet. Te banquet was held at the Crown Coliseum on January 28, 2011. Over 360 people attended the semi-formal, sold out event. “Because we have so many talented individuals in our community, selec- tion was very tough this year,” said Doug Peters, President and CEO of the Chamber. “Te Chamber is proud to recognize so many who make our community such a great place to live and work. Volunteer of the Year: David Sessoms, Miller-Motte College Chairman’s Award: Vinnie Venturella, First Citizen’s Bank Leadership Fayetteville Alumni Award: Pam Gibson, FTCC, and Cumber- Business T sinessSpotlight land County Schools Young Professional of the Year: Kirk deViere, 219 Group, Circa 1800 Athena Award: Kalli Ziegler, Kalli Ziegler Properties Realtor Cup: Denver “Ralph” Huff, H&H Homes Business of the Year: Te Logistics Company Also announced at the event was the creation of a quarterly Small Business Award. Te award is part of a targeted effort by the Chamber to support small businesses in the area. A group of Chamber volunteers have been meeting for the past four months to formulate the criteria for the award and discuss other efforts to meet the needs of small businesses. PDI’s Fusion Grant to Award $65,000 for Economic Development he Partnership for Defense Innovation (PDI), a 501 (c)3 organization which promotes economic development, has increased the amount of economic development grant money being awarded through the PDI Call for Technologies Competition, from $32,000 to $65,000 in cash and client services. Tose companies interested in competing should have a working prototype or are currently developing a product or services for use in the areas of de- fense, security and intelligence. Te technologies and the companies will be screened for business potential, scientific merit and commercial viability, as well as the quality of the management team. Scott Perry, PDI President, stated, “We’re excited to make this a part of the NCDBA’s Annual Sympo- sium and Exposition. During a time of economic distress, it is important to continue to seek out technologies for our war fighter by infusing our small businesses to promote revenue and jobs for the state.” Initial executive summaries are due by Friday, February 25, 2011 by 5:00pm EST. Semi-finalists will be announced on March 7, 2011. All semi-final- ists will be required to submit a full business plan by Friday, April 8, 2011 by 5:00 pm EST. A total of five finalists will be chosen to give a presenta- tion on their technology to a panel of judges on Tuesday, April 19, 2011 at the NCDBA’s 1st Annual Symposium and Expo. First place award will be a $37,000.00 Fusion Grant awarded to promote economic development as well as a $13,000 client services package from the PDI DSTA program. Te second place award will be a $10,000.00 Fusion Grant awarded to promote economic development, as well as a $5,000.00 PDI DSTA client services package. Both awards will be announced live on Wednesday, April 20, 2011 at the NCDBA Symposium. To complete an application and for a complete list of eligibility rules and requirements, please visit www.ncpdi.org 10 UCW FEBRUARY 9-15, 2011 WWW.UPANDCOMINGWEEKLY.COM Te