BUSINESS MILESTONES Business Milestones

Achievers

Alliance Insurance Services has been selected 11 years to be part of an elite group of independent insurance agencies around the United States participating in the Independent Insurance Agents & Brokers of America "Best Practices" Study Group.

The agencies comprising the study group are selected every third year through a comprehensive nomination and qualifying process and awarded a "Best Practices Agency" designation. The selected Best Practices agencies retain their status during the three-year study cycle (2022-24) by submitting extensive financial and operational data for review each year. During the 2023 Study year, only 264 independent agencies throughout the U.S. qualified and retained their status as a Best Practices agency.

The Best Practices Study was initiated by IIABA in 1993 as the foundation for efforts to improve agency performance.

The Alliance Insurance Services was founded in 2004 and offers a wide range of insurance products including personal, commercial and health.

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Dr. Julie Freischlag, chief academic officer and executive vice president of Advocate Health, chief executive officer of Atrium Health Wake Forest Baptist, and executive vice president for health affairs of Wake Forest University, was recently named chairwoman-elect of the Association of American Medical Colleges Board of Directors. Her one-year term as chair begins in November 2024. Freischlag also will serve on the 2023-24 AAMC Board of Directors.

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Bradley G. Taylor, '13, High Point University's senior director of alumni engagement, was recently selected by The Boy Scouts of America Alumni Association as Alumnus of the Year for national service territories 7, 8, 14, 15 and 16.

A native of Clemmons, Taylor earned the Arrow of Light in 2002 and became an Eagle Scout in 2005. He now serves as an assistant council commissioner with a combined total of 26 years of youth and adult Scouting service. Taylor is a national committee member of the BSA's Alumni Association, serving in various roles within council support, communications and national programs. He is a lifetime member of the National Eagle Scout Association and an active reviewer on the Southern Territories NESA Scholarship and Adams Award Selection Committee.

Taylor also serves as an elected council member for Clemmons and works on the North Carolina Department of Transportation's regional Metropolitan Planning Organization. In addition, he is an active member of both the Lewisville-Clemmons and High Point chambers of commerce.

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Triad Business Bank has announced the appointment of Jonathan Lee Kelly as the newest member of its board of directors.

Announcements

Greater Winston-Salem's Minority Business Enterprise Grant fund will soon be accepting applications for the 2024 grant cycle. The fund provides Black- and Latinx-owned small businesses with up to $25,000. Businesses must be located in Forsyth County and in operation as of Jan. 1, 2023, to qualify. Businesses with one to 25 full-time employees and under $1 million in gross annual sales are eligible.

An information session is set for 10 a.m. Aug. 24 in English and at 4 p.m. Aug. 24 in Spanish.

For information, visit tinyurl.com/2bzvranh.

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United Fund of Surry has developed a new partnership with local businesses in Surry County to help supplement the fundraising needs of the agency.

"We are thrilled to announce that 17 new business partners have agreed to lend us financial support. Those include gold level partners Alliance Insurance Services and Altec," said Melissa Hiatt, executive director of United Fund of Surry.

Currently, United Fund of Surry financially supports 26 agencies who assist more than 29,000 residents in Surry County.

Other partners include:

Bray Properties, Coram Construction, First Community, PTC & Cooke, silver levelPerkins & Associates, Pine State/Surry Chemical, Rick & Carol Vaughn Family, Royster & Royster, Simcon, bronze levelGranite City Group, Northern Hospital, Carport Central, American Building, friend level

For information, visit www.unitedfundofsurry.org.

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The Triad Minority and Women's Business Expo is set for Aug. 24-26 at various locations in Winston-Salem.

There will be a business mixer, a wealth building empowerment summit, expo, artist showcase and more.

For information, visit www.triadminorityandwomensbusinessexpo.com.

Awards

Dr. Alejandro Rodriguez, associate professor of urology at Wake Forest University School of Medicine and director of minimally invasive surgery and program director of the urology residency program for the Department of Urology, recently received the Honorary Membership Award at the European Association of Urology Congress held in Milan, Italy.

Honorary membership is awarded to urologists and other individuals who have had an important influence on European urology.

The EAU represents the leading authority within Europe on urological practice, research and education. More than 18,000 medical professionals have joined its ranks and contributed to its mission to raise the level of urological care throughout Europe and beyond.

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The National Terrazzo & Mosaic Association presented a 2023 Honor Award to the David Allen Company of Raleigh for its 48,000-square-foot installation in High Point University's Nido and Mariana Qubein Arena and Conference Center.

The award was announced at the trade association's 100th annual national convention in Lake Como, Italy. Entries are judged on aesthetics, craftsmanship and scope.

Installation was specified to reduce life-cycle costs significantly in the LEED-certified facility. In the concourse, it provides durability to withstand heavy foot traffic for many years.

The project architect was Kathleen Warner of CJMW Architecture of Winston-Salem.

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Dr. William Huang, professor of dermatology at Wake Forest University School of Medicine, was recently awarded the American Academy of Dermatology's Professionalism Award.

This award recognizes a medical professional or organization that has exemplified the highest standards of professionalism and medical ethics over their career. Huang was selected for his ongoing dedication to modeling and teaching professionalism to medical students, residents and professional colleagues.

The AAD was founded in 1938 and is the largest, and most representative, of all dermatologic associations. With a membership of more than 20,500 physicians worldwide, the AAD is committed to advancing the diagnosis and medical, surgical, and cosmetic treatment of the skin, hair and nails.

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Three Atrium Health hospitals are among 10 nationwide being recognized with the 2023 Sustainability Champion Award, presented by the American Society for Health Care Engineering, which is part of the American Hospital Association. Atrium Health Lincoln, Atrium Health Mercy and Atrium Health Union will be honored at the organization's annual conference in San Antonio this month. As part of a program called "Energy to Care," the award recognizes hospitals that demonstrate strong leadership in becoming more sustainable facilities, using saved resources to support patient care.

These three hospitals, as well as nine other Atrium Health hospitals, are among 31 hospitals that will receive the ASHE's Sustained Performance Award. Those include Atrium Health Cabarrus, Atrium Health Cleveland, Atrium Health Kings Mountain, Atrium Health Pineville and Atrium Health Stanly in the areas in and around Charlotte; Atrium Health Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center and Atrium Health Wake Forest Baptist Wilkes Medical Center in northwest North Carolina; and Atrium Health Floyd Medical Center and Atrium Health Floyd Polk Medical Center in Georgia.

Grants

Duke Energy has awarded $1 million in grants to support community assistance programs across North Carolina.

Locally, Crisis Control Ministry in Winston-Salem received $80,000.

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At the August 2023 meeting, the Golden LEAF Board of Directors awarded $2,778,721 to support 24 awards in the first round of projects funded through the Food Distribution Assistance Program.

The N.C. General Assembly appropriated $10 million to Golden LEAF for the Food Distribution Assistance Program. This program is funded by federal State Fiscal Recovery Funds through the North Carolina Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services.

Local recipients included:

$28,800 to Hope of Winston Salem for the upfit of shipping containers for cold storage including electrical upfit/installation, insulation, AC Unit, CoolBot System and commercial rolling racks.$250,000 to Thomasville Community Ministry (Cooperative Community Ministries) for building renovations.$151,293 to the Winston-Salem Rescue Mission for a walk-in freezer/cooler, associated building upfit, electrical upfit and temperature monitoring equipment.

On the Move

United Way of Forsyth County has named Stephen J. Sills as chief impact officer. Sills previously was a research scientist for the Office of Research and Engagement at UNCG and a senior vice president at the Research, Policy & Impact Center at the National Institute of Minority Economic Development in Durham.

Scholarships

Five students, including Joey Chaney of Advance, have been awarded $1,000 scholarships from Association Management Group in Greensboro, one of the Carolinas' largest professional homeowner association managers, representing more than 30,000 property owners. The program, which grew from four to five scholarships this year and memorializes the lives and contributions of exceptional AMG individuals, provides education funds to outstanding scholars in the AMG service area on the brink of their academic journeys who are committed to strong communities.

Open to the families of residents and vendors of AMG properties, as well as AMG employees, the fourth annual AMG College Scholarship Program selected the honorees based on short videos the students produced highlighting what community means to them.

Chaney won the Ron Erickson Scholarship.

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