SBWire

These days people let their fingers do the walking, not through a phonebook, but rather online as they search for home improvement options and companies to perform those projects. Pro-Built Construction recently launched a new website, aimed at giving customers all the information about its specialty services: screen porches and 3 season rooms.

Blue Sky Services has closed the purchase of another tract of land, this time in Belville, NC. This prime location, adjacent to the Brunswick and Cape Fear Rivers stands at the Gateway to Wilmington, its deep water, container seaport and numerous destination beach communities. The transaction was initially contracted with The Pantry, Inc. of Cary, but was consummated by Circle K as a successor of The Pantry through their acquisition and merger earlier this year. Nikita Zhitov of Blue Sky Services Real Estate facilitated the transaction on behalf of Belville Funding, LLC, affiliate of Preston Development, with Beverly Keith of Avison Young, Raleigh Office, who represented Circle K interests.

Poll finds that 83% of Americans believe they are more capable of paying off debt than the government

The North Carolina Veterinary Medical Association has announced that it will host the 16th Annual North Carolina Veterinary Conference from Friday, Nov. 4 through Sunday, Nov. 6 at the Raleigh Convention Center, located at 500 S. Salisbury St. The NCVC will cover a wide range of topics, including small animal, equine, ruminant and practice management topics, public practice, animal welfare, and poultry and swine medicine tracks. There will also be an option for veterinarians to attend the diversity in veterinary medicine track, or topics for technicians specializing in small or large animals. Practice managers will have their own meeting as well.

Joy Stroud Ruhmann, president of Level Up Leadership a Raleigh-based management consulting firm that positions companies for success through values assessments, strategic execution management, and the strengthening of executive and organizational culture, has announced the release of a podcast on the topic of cultural entropy. In the podcast, Ruhmann discusses what cultural entropy is and how it negatively affects organizational performance, and explains how building a positive organizational environment with strong leadership can accelerate business results.

Janice Cutler, president and owner of North Raleigh Florist, has announced that two of the shop’s floral designers were recognized at the 2011 Wake County Florist Association Designer of the Year competition. Samantha Bunn, shop manager, garnered top honors and was named the Wake County Designer of the Year 2011 and received a $1,000 scholarship to further her education. Floral designer Venetia Gentzler was second runner-up in the competition. Lead designer Brandi Dennison previously won Wake County Designer of the Year in 2009.

Bruce Clarke, president and CEO of CAI, a human resource management firm that helps organizations maximize employee engagement while minimizing employer liability, has announced the firm’s newest partnership with Job Ready Services, an industrial rehabilitation facility providing post-offer employment and functional-evaluation testing in determining the ability of employees to safely perform their jobs. The partnership’s goal will be to assist North Carolina employers in their efforts of reducing workplace injury and workers’ compensation costs, ensuring a fit and productive workforce. Services offered by Job Ready Services, including fit for duty testing, job analysis, post-offer employment testing, work conditioning and ergonomic assessments, will benefit members of CAI and provide a resource in addressing overall risk reduction.

Melissa Essary, dean of the Campbell University Norman Adrian Wiggins School of Law, has announced that Professor E. Gregory Wallace participated in “Conversations on the Constitution” held at N.C. State University on Oct. 10 in celebration of Constitution Day. He spoke as a panelist on the impact 9/11 has had on constitutional issues of war powers, civil liberties, privacy, and security. He addressed the changes and challenges of the past decade on interpretations of the Constitution advanced by the President, Congress, and the Supreme Court. Constitution Day is observed nationwide every year as a way to celebrate the U.S. Constitution and to educate students about how this document impacts them as citizens.

Crystal Suazo, partner at Vaco Raleigh, LLC, an executive placement and consulting firm, has announced that Christiaan Heijmen has joined the firm as a managing director of executive search. In his new role, Heijmen is responsible for assisting CEOs, presidents and directors, in identifying, evaluating and recruiting C-level executives and managers for their respective organizations as well as building Vaco Raleigh’s executive recruiting practice.

Dan Fields, AIA, principal and CMO at BJAC, pa, an architectural firm offering services for specialized, complex institutional projects, has announced that the firm has signed with Longistics, a full-service provider of global logistics solutions, as well as Rare Bird Trading Company, to showcase its services at the Suzhou Industrial Park International Commodities Exhibition Center in Suzhou, China. BJAC specializes in healthcare, K-20 education, research, museum projects and municipal projects, and plans to participate in the medical and academic medicine construction market in China using US facility and technology models at the Exhibition Center, which will celebrate its grand opening in late fall 2011.

Lee Hortman, vice president of operations at Gray & Creech Water Systems, Inc., a distributor of drinking water systems, has released a podcast discussing water filtration systems. In the podcast, Hortman addresses the variety of innovative water systems available to businesses, and how Gray & Creech can assist customers in choosing the system that best fits their office needs.

Patty Briguglio, president of MMI Public Relations, a Raleigh-based full-service public relations firm, has announced that the firm has been recognized by the National Association of Students Against Violence Everywhere (SAVE) with the Gary N. Brown 2011 Outstanding Volunteer Award. The award is presented each year to an organization that provides outstanding service to and support of SAVE’s vision, mission and goals. SAVE strives to decrease violence in schools and communities by promoting student involvement, education and service in order to provide safer environments for youth. MMI Public Relations has donated space for the organization to host board meetings, as well as public relations expertise and resources to student leaders. Kate Catlin, senior account manager at MMI, is a member of the National SAVE board of directors and has been an ambassador for the organization since 2007.

Sepi Asefnia, president of SEPI Engineering & Construction (http://www.sepiengineering.com), a firm which provides civil engineering and planning services to private and public sector clients across the Southeast, has announced the addition of Don Carmen as quality control manager and federal program manager. In his position, Carmen will be responsible for ensuring the delivery of quality products and growing the SEPI Federal Sector Program.

William Peace University, a private four-year university located in downtown Raleigh, hosted a “Back to Broadway” concert featuring Jason Dula, musical theatre professor, and Courtney Balan, Broadway performer, on Oct. 6 in Kenan Theatre. The concert was held in celebration of the commencement of William Peace University’s new Bachelor of Fine Arts programs in Acting and Musical Theatre.

Diane Kuehn, president and CEO of VisionPoint Marketing, a Raleigh, N.C.-based, full-service, online marketing firm, has announced that the firm will be a sponsor for the Greater Raleigh Chamber of Commerce’s annual golf tournament to be held on Monday, Oct. 17 at Prestonwood Country Club in Cary, N.C. More than 300 golfers, all key decision-makers from across the Triangle, will play simultaneously on three courses for the tournament

MedPro Rx, Inc., a provider of specialty pharmacy services to clients with chronic illnesses who need clotting factor, IVIg and other medication, has announced that President Nancy McFarlane was elected as Mayor of the City of Raleigh, N.C. in the October elections.

Leader In Endoscopic Spine Surgery Raises Awareness And Offers Solutions For Back And Neck Pain Sufferers.

Laura A. Schoppe, president of Fuentek, LLC, a local consulting firm that provides intellectual property (IP) and technology transfer services, has announced the release of the company’s white paper, Digital Media Guidelines for Tech Transfer Offices. Written by Schoppe and senior consultant Jack Spain, the paper provides comprehensive guidance for all aspects of digital media for tech transfer.

North Carolina Beach Destination Features Affordable Weekend Trips And Extended Stays.

Strategic Event And Meeting Management Company Awarded For Its Mint Museum OpeningGala Wine Pairing Dinner And Duke Children’s Health Center 10th Anniversary Production.

ABC11 Eyewitness News has announced its participation in the upcoming 5th annual Project Homeless Connect event on Thursday, Oct. 13, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Durham Bulls Athletic Park located at 409 Blackwell St., near the American Tobacco Campus in Durham, N.C. ABC11 Eyewitness News Reporter Tamara Gibbs will serve as mistress of ceremonies at Durham's Project Homeless Connect, which is a one-day, on-site center designed to provide homeless people with a wide range of necessary services for free. This year, the goals of Project Homeless Connect are to house 20 households in need, employ 10 people and recruit 550 volunteers. Over the past four years, Durham's Project Homeless Connect has connected 1,000-plus volunteers to 1,000-plus of Durham's at-risk and homeless community.

SfL+a Architects has announced that Elinor Angel has joined the firm as architect intern. In this position, Angel will work in conjunction with a project architect to develop drawings from schematic design through construction documents, as well as follow a project during bidding and construction phases and occasionally participate in marketing proposals. In addition, she will manage and coordinate the design team’s efforts for specific projects involving the LEED certification process.

Deborah Todd, president of STATE Contracting, Inc., has announced that the privately held firm, specializing in site development and roadway improvement, has finished among the Triangle area’s top specialty subcontractors on a list by Triangle Business Journal. Rankings were based on the number of full-time employees in the Triangle held by the companies. STATE Contracting has 25 full-time employees based in the region.

David Finch, president and CEO of ATCOM Business Technology Solutions, a communications solutions provider, has announced that the company has partnered with the City of Kannapolis, a rapidly evolving city in North Carolina. ATCOM provided the City of Kannapolis with system redundancy, IP phones to all city locations, centralized unified messaging and system management, and upgrades to network switch infrastructure. Additionally, ATCOM supplied the City with a dvsAnalytics enterprise voice recording solution for both E911 console and police department patrol car radio traffic.

The Chef’s Academy, the Culinary Division of Harrison College, a 108-year-old, nationally accredited institution that offers 38 degree programs in five schools of study, celebrated the grand opening of the school’s North Carolina division on Sept. 29 with more than 400 guests in attendance. In conjunction with September’s Hunger Action Month, a national movement of the food bank networks to end domestic hunger, the event hosted a Triangle Chef Showdown which raised funds and awareness of local hunger through the donation of 85,902 meals. All proceeds received were donated to the Food Bank of Central and Eastern North Carolina.

Regency Office Products, an independently owned office supply company and print and promotional products distributor, announces today that Print Solutions magazine has named Regency the “2010 Fastest Growing Print Distributor” in the nation. Regency’s print department doubled in sales during 2010.

North Raleigh Florist, located at 7457 Six Forks Road, has announced the release of a podcast offering advice on floral gifts and arrangements for Boss’s Day, a holiday for employees to show appreciation to their employers that is being observed this year on Monday, Oct. 17. In the podcast, Janice Cutler, president and owner of North Raleigh Florist, discusses popular choices for Boss’s Day arrangements, what flowers and plants thrive in an office environment, and appropriate gift choices for the employee on a budget.