Morrisville, NC – You could win $10,000 in the Morrisville Chamber of Commerce Reverse Raffle. And, you’ll be supporting one of the area’s finest business organizations.

Win $10,000

Proceeds from the raffle support the fine work of the Morrisville Chamber of Commerce, a burgeoning force for business in the Triangle. Tickets cost $100.

The Reverse Raffle will be held on Thursday, June 21, from 5:30 to 8 p.m. at Four Points by Sheraton located at 1200 Claren Circle, in Morrisville.

It is a fun opportunity to network, win fabulous raffle prizes and support the Morrisville Chamber’s programs.

The Odds Are Good

Only 300 tickets will be sold for the grand prize. That makes your odds 1:300.

By comparison, the the odds of winning the Mega Millions lottery are 1:175,000,000 according to mathematician Aaron Abrams.

Get together with a couple of friends and pool your money. You do not have to attend the raffle drawing to win. Buy a ticket.

Buy a Ticket

To purchase tickets:

Morrisville Chamber Reverse Raffle
Call – (919) 463-7150
Email - chamber@morrisvillechamber.org
Online - Buy a ticket
Ticket Cost: $100

Event Details:

Raffle Drawing
Thursday June 21, 2012
5:30 – 8:00 PM

Four Points by Sheraton
1200 Claren Circle
Morrisville, NC

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Community coverage on CaryCitizen is sponsored in part by Thai Spices and Sushi of Cary.

Story and photos by Hal Goodtree.

Cary, NC – “How was it?” Lindsey asked. I had just gotten home from the Cary Chamber 50th Anniversary Celebration. ”Lots of fun” I answered. “Unexpectedly moving.” 

The Tonight Show with Steve and Howard

Tuesday May 22, 2012 was the 50th Anniversary Celebration of the Cary Chamber of Commerce.

After some stellar appetizers and a couple of glasses of Merlot at Cary Arts Center, the crowd filed into the theater.

The Moonlighters Orchestra played big band classics on the stage. Angela Hampton from ABC-11 warmed-up the crowd for co-hosts Howard Johnson and Steve Zaytoun.

The production was modeled (loosely) after the old Tonight Show. Howard played Ed McMahon while Steve held down Johnny Carson’s job.

Steve brought his madcap style to the top banana role. And Howard did a fine job as the sideman.

All-Star Line Up of Guests

Of course, any talk show is about the guests. Johnny and Ed Howard and Steve got some great guests for their retrospective of the Cary Chamber.

Jerry Miller and Dick Ladd talked about the early days of the Chamber and Jerry explained a little about starting the first Lazy Daze festival. The sequence ended with a rapid-fire montage of dozens and dozens of Jerry Miller’s drawings around and about Cary.

The band played and former Mayor Koka Booth came out and waved to the crowd.

Then Howard recognized former chairmen (and chairwomen) of the Chamber – almost two dozen people stood up in the audience. It was a pretty impressive display of Cary’s tradition of leadership.

John Sall

The next guest was John Sall, a co-founder of SAS.

Dr. Sall talked about the early days at SAS and how they picked Cary based on a statistical analysis of where all the employees lived. The center point was Cary. “But we got it all wrong,” Sall quipped. “Cary was a place to live, not a place where people worked.”

The bedroom community was turning into a boardroom community.

Cary’s Most Decorated Veteran

After John Sall, Colonel Hal Shook came out to chat with Steve and Howard.

Steve asked Colonel Shook to describe flying over Normandy Beach as a fighter pilot on June 6, 1945. “Low clouds,” Shook said, “but then they parted. I could see about 7,000 ships, all near the beach. The guns from the battleships were all firing at once, it looked like a line of fire on the water.”

A Proclamation

The Steve and Howard show resumed with a humorous video in which Cary Mayor Harold Weinbrecht tries to beg off the event in favor of a little tennis.

Then the Mayor came out (tennis racket in hand) and read a proclamation from the Town Council congratulating the Chamber on 50 years of success.

The Ashworths

The last guests of the evening were the Ashworths – Ralph, Gary and Paul.

Steve started by talking to Ralph. “My first job was behind the counter at Ashworth’s,” Steve said. “You paid me two bucks an hour.”

“I think I paid too much,” Ralph said.

Gary talked about playing in the Town band, and Steve picked on him for his cluttered office. Paul talked about his love of bow ties and how grateful he is to work in the business started by his mother and father. Ralph, Gary and Paul all did their time as chairmen of the Chamber.

“Looking back on fifty years of Chamber history,” Steve asked Ralph, ”what’s your advice for the future?”

“It’s about attitude,” Ralph said. “Be positive.”

The Ashworths left the stage to a huge round of applause. Howard and Steve traded banter for a moment, but were interrupted when Cary Police Chief Pat Bazemore burst into the theater. Without so much as a howdy-do, she cuffed Zaytoun and led him off stage. Howard smoothly slid into Steve’s chair. He looked good as top banana.

The Second 50 Years

The house lights came up and we wandered out into the night. The next 50 years in the history of the Chamber had begun.

The show made me proud of my Chamber membership, brief though it has been. I found out it’s more than just an organization. It’s an idea.

Story and pictures by Tam Richert.

Two hours by train from Cary, the town of Salisbury, North Carolina is steeped in history and small town charm.

Arriving in Salisbury

For my first trip to Salisbury, I stepped through the 1908 train station and headed to the Visitor’s Center (204 E. Innes Street , left out of the station and right on Innes).

I continued up Innes to Main Street and Tastebuds Coffee and Tea (106-A N. Main St). This purveyor of organic coffee has just the right balance of friendly advice, wood and upholstery to sit a spell, sip and strategize.

Navigating

Town is divided into 4 Squares for easy navigation with the intersection of Main Street and Innes Street at the center.

Both streets have plenty of interesting architecture and shopping. Literary Bookpost is a well-stocked independent bookstore with the appropriate creaky wooden floor and tin ceiling (110 S. Main Street. Say hello to Sasha the resident cat at Stitchin’ Post Gifts (104 S. Main Street).

For a leisurely town overview, try the Historic Salisbury Trolley Tours from the Visitor Information Center ($8 adults/$5 children 4-10) that begin at 11 a.m. and 1 p.m. Saturdays from April to October (VisitSalisburyNC.com).

History

The town goes back to 1770. Some of General Cornwallis’ men never left. They lie still in the English Cemetery. During the Civil War, there was a Confederate prison in town.

Historic Preservation and adaptive reuse are business as usual here. The train station is a conference center and downtown housing is interspersed with retail. Walking Tours are available online.

Food and Drink

Salisbury is the home of Cheerwine. The old-fashioned soda fountain inside Innes Street Drug (112 S. Main Street) was the perfect place for my first taste of the cherry beverage.

For over 25 years, Hap’s Grill (116 1/2 N. Main Street) has been THE place for quick hot dogs. The building is narrow and was built in an alley so standing room only here.

Sweet Meadow Cafe (118 W. Innes St.) offers an eclectic menu using fresh local produce. The aroma was intoxicating.

Simply Good Natural Foods (128 E. Innes Street) is a good choice for a picnic or snack for the return train ride.

Go for Day Trip, Return for a Weekend

The hustle and bustle of Main street gives way to cool tree-lined Bank Street and the grander living of another era. You might find yourself wanting to linger a little longer. The Bed and Breakfast historic houses on South Fulton Street can oblige.

I have a long list of places yet to see in Salisbury. I’ll be back. For 3 hours, a whole day, or a weekend, Salisbury is a great trip by train from the downtown Cary station.

Cary NC – This week in our S.T.E.M. video series, we show a woman who is paralyzed controlling a robotic arm with nothing but her thoughts. Kids with an interest in science will find this video more inspiring than Futurama.

Controlling a Robot with Your Thoughts

It sounds like science fiction: controlling a robot with nothing by your thoughts. But that’s the big buzz this week, in a video that shows Cathy Hutchinson, who is paralyzed in all four limbs, controlling a robotic arm with her thoughts to get a sip of her morning coffee.

The research was done at Brown University and publish in the journal Nature.

The Science

Leigh Hochberg, Director of the BrainGate clinical study at Brown, described three components of a brain-to-robot-arm system:

1. Sensor
2. Decoder
3. Assistive Device (robot arm)

The sensor, which is implanted in the motor cortex at the top of the brain, connects through a wire to a computer. The computer “decodes” the electrical impulses of the motor cortex and sends instructions to the robot arm.

Cathy, who has been paralyzed for fifteen years, thinks about grabbing the tumbler of coffee. She literally moves the robot arm with her thoughts.

Future studies may focus on developing a wireless system and refining the complex movements of robotic hand, elbow and shoulder to be more nuanced and life-like.

Video: Paralyzed Woman Moves Robot with Her Mind

Of course, this video is more than a technology demo – it’s a profound human interest story. Cathy’s smile, getting herself a sip of coffee for the first time in 15 years, and the reaction of the scientists, speak to the deep human desire for dignity.

You can also see this video on YouTube.

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The  S.T.E.M. video series is sponsored by Citizen Websites, the website design arm of CaryCitizen.

Cary, NC – Green Kangaroo is an e-commerce custom stationer with a store front in a new Downtown Cary location. Unlike other businesses in our local market, they don’t rely on foot traffic to do business. When they opened in March, I was curious to learn what resided behind the frosted windows down the street from our CaryCitizen office.

Green Kangaroo – Everyday Magic for Weddings

What I found behind the sign was a quietly intense work space of graphic designers who create magic every day for brides all over the country.

Owner Kristen Klett started the Green Kangaroo in 2002 inside her home where she designed custom ideas for weddings and other events. Her stationery goes way beyond pretty invitations, to include  placecards, signage, logos, menus and wedding program designs.

The Green Kangaroo moved to the new location after several years in offices within Ashworth Village’s second floor shops. The new space has given her greater visibility and the opportunity to grow in the future with a second floor. Design, production, order fulfillment, customer service and shipping take place in the Cary office. Printing is handled locally in a separate location.

Real People Behind the Website

What makes her business different from other invitation shops is the ability to accommodate special request items. Many times a customer may see a design they like, but it might be square or a shape that will require additional postage when mailed. Her shop can redesign the invitation to a rectangular shape at no extra charge. Another plus for the online customer is that there are REAL people that can be called to discuss any questions.

Kristen notes that “Brides pay special attention to all the details of their weddings, and don’t want to feel as if they have settled. ” The Green Kangaroo lets them have the detail of design that they can carry through the entire wedding. Many designs are even translated onto the wedding cakes.

Every Color in the Rainbow

Designs range from custom monograms to floral designs and type.  She keeps a large supply of  colored papers and special folded envelopes for use as samples. The office is lined with shelves bursting with samples of every shade in the rainbow.

Orders take about 2 days to receive a proof and after approval, production can be as fast as 5-7 business days. Complex custom orders may take as long as 15-20 days.

More than 90% of the Green Kangaroo’s business is done outside of this area. But local folks should know that Kristen is only a phone call away for personal appointments and consultations. There are no walk-ins.

Weddings and More

Although weddings make up the bulk of the business, Kristen also designs holiday cards, birth announcements, thank you notes and more. A good portion of her customers are satisfied repeat clients.

Why Green Kangaroo?

Kristen explained that as a child she and a friend were middle children in their families. The Judy Blume book “And the One in the Middle is the Green Kangaroo” stuck with her. She liked that imagery and decided to use it in her business. She also uses the initials TGK Designs as an abbreviation.

So there you have it, another Cary Business revealed.

Story and photo by Lindsey Chester.

Cary, NC – The Luihn Family has been a force in the Cary business landscape for years, operating all of the Taco Bell and KFC restaurants in the area. Their latest venture, Hurricane Grill & Wings in Cary, breaks the mold with a sit-down family friendly atmosphere located in a long vacant spot on Kildaire Farm Road near Trader Joe’s.

Hurricane Grill Brings Beachy Style to Cary

This is the first Hurricane Grill in North Carolina and owner Cindy Luihn Toma hopes after the Cary location gets established they will roll out to more locations. The franchise is based out of Florida and has a decidedly laid back beachy style. The emphasis is on the grilling more than the wings, although those are hugely popular and offered in a jumbo size.

Why did she choose to open this particular franchise in Cary? Cindy told me that the family has strong ties to Florida. One year, they ate at a Hurricane restaurant during a Florida vacation and the family was hooked. When they wanted to expand their business, they thought the Hurricane concept would be a good fit for Cary. Cindy’s oldest brother, Jody, looked into the franchise and decided to get the exclusive rights to Wake, Durham and Wilmington areas.

Best Burger

The Luihn  family liked the variety and the unique atmosphere that Hurricane offers its customers. There are surf boards on the walls and mahi mahi on the menu. One of the most popular menu items is the 100% angus beef burger which manager Susan Miller recalls a customer calling “the best burger he’s ever eaten!” The restaurant offers a full bar with 20 beers on tap.

With her degree in restaurant and hotel management, Cindy always wanted to open a full service restaurant. With Hurricane Grill she got her wish. The space had sat empty for over 3 years as first a bank and later a mattress store tried to make the location work, but ultimately walked away. As the former Applebee’s was already zoned for a restaurant and this franchise had no need for a drive thru, the location was a perfect fit. In December they started renovations and opened in March. It’s handy that Dad also runs a contracting business as part of the Luihn empire.

Luihn Foods – Cary Restaurant Powerhouse

Luihn Foods is a family business: Cindy’s Mom and Dad, Donna Mae and Al Luihn,began opening Kentucky Fried Chicken and Taco Bells back in 1965. Now brothers, Jody and Jamie, and sisters Cindy and Sandy, are all involved with managing over 85 restaurants in North Carolina, Florida and Virginia.  Jody is the current president of the Franchise Association for Taco Bell Nationally. Cindy’s twin daughters work as hostesses at Hurricane.

With over 2500 people employed by Luihn Foods, they are one of the biggest employers in North Carolina! Next time you pass a KFC in Cary, you’ll know its owned by Cary natives.

Story by Lindsey Chester photo courtesy Davis Drive Middle School.

Cary, NC – Bullying among school kids may be a disheartening fact of life, but one Wake County School created their own program to empower students using positive reinforcement for good behavior coupled with technology. They got results, and recently won the Cary Chamber Entrepreneurial Award in Education for 2012.

Davis Drive Middle School is known for its high achieving students, but what 7th Grade Vice Principal Richard Williams and Lead Guidance counselor Phillip G. Echols saw last school year was a school with bully problems and a student body that was becoming  dysfunctional. They decided to do something about it through a new character education program they created called Stand Up.

Stand For Something

“If you don’t stand for something, you’ll fall for anything.”  Their goal is to promote character education, exemplify school spirit, and to substantially decrease bullying at Davis Middle.

In their own words: After a challenging year of increased suspensions, staff burnout, and student distress the pair decided there was a need  to create an effective reminder of why we all enter the school building every morning.  We needed to be reminded that respect is a two-way street and that we are all in this together.  Stand-Up has evolved into our very own display of admiration for our Davis Drive community.

Using Technology

To promote the program, video footage from a wide range of school events (i.e. pep rallies, sporting events, guest speakers, performing arts, and hallway transition), is edited, set to music, and produced into a 2-minute clip that plays every Wednesday during homeroom. The monthly character trait message is emphasized in these weekly videos, but also reinforced with posters, fliers, bulletin boards, guest speakers, and classroom guidance lessons.

The result: Stand-Up has improved school climate, as well as the working environment for staff.

Stand Up Videos

These videos were shown as part of the Stand Up program last fall. Please watch and share with your friends and family.

• Stand Up week 10 – Anti-Bullying
• Stand Up Week 9

You can also visit the DDMS Stand Up Channel on Vimeo. How cool is that?

Highlights the Positive

The program highlights monthly positive character traits and makes use of video taken of students “caught in the act” of displaying positive behavior. Rewards that include rubber wrist bands are handed out to students who exhibit positive behavior and these bands became status symbols within the student body.

Examples include “Words Hurt” during Anti-Bullying month and “Stop and Think” for Good Judgment.  Each month has its own wristband which displays the color, as well as the slogan or character trait of the month.  Wristbands are not given frivolously, but they are earned through teacher recommendation, displaying the character trait, or by participating in the weekly Stand-Up video.

Counselor Echols told CaryCitizen:

Our nation is faced with a bullying epidemic and our community needs daily reminders that kindness, courage, and respect for others is the path to making things better.  We are using technology and social media to connect our community, promote positivity, and to raise awareness.  As we move forward in the 21th century, we are excited to see what the future holds for our motivating initiative, Stand-Up.

Wouldn’t you like to see this  initiative  at your school? Or perhaps rolled out to all of Wake County and beyond? Email Echols or Williams, or better yet, the Board of Education.

This program speaks to kids on their level as no amount of preaching ever will.

Congratulations Davis Drive Middle on the well-earned award.

Photo by Hal Goodtree.

Cary, NC – It’s been a great run – 44 years. But Circus Restaurant on East Chatham Street has announced that it will be closing it’s doors for good this Friday.

Farewell Circus

We waxed eloquent about Circus in a Go Local column back in May of 2010. “We’re talking hand-dipped cones in chocolate, cherry or butterscotch. Milk shakes and malteds – yes, malteds – it’s like waking up in 1962. Fabulous flavors, fresh ingredients and seasonal items including a pumpkin milkshake in the autumn.”

But, sadly, the management has announced that their last day will be Friday, May 18, 2012.

We might have to swing by one more time for a burger with freshly chopped onions and a tall Orange Creamsicle milkshake.

Story by Hal Goodtree. Photos by Brooke Meyer and Hal Goodtree.

Cary, NC – National Train Day rolled into Cary on Saturday. The weather was perfect, the band played, flags snapped to attention and the enthusiastic crowd cheered as the big train pulled into Cary.

National Train Day in Cary

Cary has had a train depot since Frank Page got a railroad siding in 1854. But this year was the first celebration of National Train Day in Cary. Previously, the event had been in Raleigh, a suburb of our fair town.

The Town Band filled the air with railroading songs and Americana as spectators streamed into the train depot. It was a mass influx of parents and kids, strollers and bicycles, grandmas and grandpas, elected officials and Amtrak representatives flooding in from all sides.

The enthusiastic crowd packed the platform from one end to the other. Children sat on the shoulders of their parents, blowing wooden train whistles supplied by the NC Railroad.  As the Carolinian rolled into the station, a big cheer went up from the crowd.

I don’t know what kind of reception they had previously received in Raleigh, but the train conductors seemed surprised – even shocked – by the size of the crowd in Cary. At it’s peak, Train Day in Cary appeared to have drawn upwards of a thousand people.

The crowd eyed the gleaming railcars, heaving and shuddering above the platform, a living leviathan of steel and ingenuity. Slowly, the train departed from the platform and the crowd let out a collective sigh of appreciation.

Afterward, elected officials, community leaders and Amtrak representatives made a few remarks under the cloudless sky, a perfect Carolina blue to match the mood of the day.

Inside the station, games, amusements and information did a brisk business. There was a model railroad and a train table, face painting and balloon bending. A new Downtown Cary brochure produced by the Heart of Cary Association found its way into many hands.

As the morning stretched into midday, spectators wandered off to visit Page-Walker or strolled to Ashworth Drugs for a hot dog at the lunch counter.

Pictures: National Train Day in Cary

Photos by Brooke Meyer and Hal Goodtree.

Story by Lindsey Chester. Photo by Hal Goodtree.

Cary, NC – The Ritmo Latino Festival moves its Latin rhythms to Downtown Cary this Saturday, May 19th.

Ritmo Latino Festival

David Flores, president of Diamante,  said that the organization had “listened to feedback from past patrons who said that August was very hot and that the past location in Bond Park limited the festival’s visibility”.

When Lyman Collins, the Town’s Cultural Arts Manager, approached the group to move to Downtown they really liked the idea. Diamante normally holds a book fair during the Spring, so switching that indoor event to the hot month of August, and the outdoor Ritmo Latino to the cooler month of May made a great deal of sense.

Whats in A Name?

“Ritmo” means Rhythm in Spanish, and through music the festival focuses on sharing the Latin Culture with the community, hence “Ritmo Latino”. A full day of music and dance performances highlighting many different Latino cultures is planned on Academy Street between Dry Ave and Park, where the street will be closed to traffic between Noon and 7pm.

Part of Downtown Rejuvenation

Part of the push for more festivals in the streets downtown, the Diamante group is also excited to be more visible and hopes to continue to attract a diverse population to take part in experiencing Latino culture. David added that the group is excited to “support the rejuvenation of the Downtown area” and that he is pleased that the Town “asked us to be downtown.” He added they have given Diamante tremendous support as the main sponsor of their event.

Two Performance Stages

Two stages will be set up, one in front of the Cary Arts Center on Dry Ave will hold seven musical acts and a second stage near Park Street will have dance performances. In addition to the performing stages, fifty vendors will be selling crafts and art and several food vendors will be selling authentic Latino foods for patrons to sample.

A Kids Zone will be set up with free face painting and bounce houses. Cary Creative Reuse Center will show kids how to create crafts from recycled materials. A first for the area will be outdoor laser tag from Extreme Kombat, a company owned by a Diamante board member.

Unique Children’s Group To Perform

The Children’s Philharmonic Orchestra (Kidz Notes) from Durham will take the stage during the day. This group teaches over 150 underprivileged children to play classical music including violin, cello, and violas at little to no cost. Twenty of the group’s musicians perform on Saturday.

Soccer Clinic Too

The RailHawks plan a free soccer clinic from 2-3pm in the grassy area across from the Cary Arts Center. Kids can sign up on the spot to learn from the pros. Swoops the mascot should make an appearance as well.

Special Concert Friday Night

Singer Jenny La Voz will perform Friday May 18, as a prelude to Ritmo Latino, and part of the Starlight Concert series at the Page-Walker. This free concert night is usually the most popular of the Starlight series. Grupo Sarangue will also perform music that is a mix of Meringue and Salsa.

Event Info

Ritmo Latino
Saturday May 19 Noon- 7pm
Academy Street from Dry to Park (street will be closed)
Cost: Free

Also Starlight Concert

Jenny LaVoz and Grupo Sarengue
Friday May 18th, 7pm
Page-Walker Arts and History Center ‘s Outdoor stage, 119 Ambassador Loop
Cost: Free