Tag Archive for: #businessspotlight

The Local Skinny! Business Spotlight Shines On Autobrite Car Wash

/by

AutoBrite Car Washes Inc.’s location on North Cooper Drive features touchless washes, but Manager Patrick “Bubba” Glosson said there are a few extra features that make the business special.

Glosson spoke with John C. Rose on Monday’s Business Spotlight segment of The Local Skinny! and discussed how things are going so far.

They’ve been open for about four months, and patrons who bring their vehicles choose from four different wash packages – $10, $15, $20 and $25 – and then there’s the $40/month “Wash Club,” which allows customers to come every day if they choose.

All the selections include free use of the vacuums, Glosson said. “Anything you left under the seat, it will grab,” he said, adding that the vacuums are self-serve. There also are cloths and window cleaner available at the vacuum stations for patrons to use.

The only hands-on part of the whole process, he said, occurs before the actual wash. “We prep every car,” he said, “to remove mud, bugs – stuff like that. We try to get it off before it enters the wash.”

Glosson said he enjoys working with customers and he and staff are ready to help folks choose the type of wash that best suits their needs. And customers? “They see it’s a simple process and they love it,” he said.

“Prepping the cars is pretty fun,” he said, and admitted that he gets special satisfaction from helping to clean up vehicles that really muddy or that have been left sitting under trees for a while.

Once the pre-wash prep is complete, customers drive into the wash bay area, slip the vehicle into neutral, and the automated process takes care of the rest.

“The brushes are really soft…like a neoprene fabric, (and) hold no water, hold no dirt,” Glosson said, which helps to protect paint finishes on new cars and on older ones, too.

Glosson said he’s seen brand-new Corvettes pull in for a wash, and he’s also seen 60’s model Chevrolet trucks come in, too.

“Older or newer, it doesn’t matter,” he said.

AutoBrite Car Washes, Inc. is owned by Thomas Howell; Melanie Hutson is vice president.

Click Play

The Local Skinny! Business Spotlight: Satterwhite Pt. Marina

/by

The season is heating up on Kerr Lake as warmer weather brings out boaters and campers, and that’s just fine for Scott and Catherine Hughes, owners of Satterwhite Point Marina and Rudd’s Creek Marina near Boydton, VA.

The Hughes family is celebrating 30 years at Satterwhite Point Marina, and Catherine told John C. Rose Thursday during the business spotlight feature of The Local Skinny! segment that they work hard to provide good service to folks visiting the lake and they strive to be good community partners.

“It’s hard to believe that Rudd’s Creek has been open for eight years,” she said, adding that husband Scott basically duplicated at Rudd’s Creek what he’d built at Satterwhite.

The marinas have boat storage options in wet slips and she said the hope is to have Drystack storage at the Virginia marina in the next year or so. Right now, that option is only at Satterwhite Point.

Both marinas have lakeside stores with discount marine supplies, lake gifts, signs, snacks and more.

“We always try to support the communities in Henderson and in Mecklenburg County, VA as well,” Hughes said, “ and we appreciate the support we get as well.” She said great employees, great customers and a great place to work make for a winning combination.

“We think we’re lucky to be able to be able to work right on the lake,” she said. “Sometimes it can be demanding or stressful, but the majority of the time, it’s just beautiful.”

CLICK PLAY!

 

The Local Skinny! Nothing Bugs Mark Harrison

/by

It wasn’t a lifelong fascination with bugs or a high school biology insect collection project that catapulted Mark Harrison into the pest control business, but here it is, more than four decades later, and Harrison remains the chief Whitco “Bug Warrior.”

Harrison visited with Bill Harris as part of the Business Spotlight of The Local Skinny! Harrison and his son run Whitco Termite and Pest Control, based in Henderson.

“I would like to say it was always my life plan to be in the pest control business,” he told Harris Thursday. “But I kinda fell into it.”

He needed a job back in 1976, and answered an ad for a termite technician. And the rest, as they say, is history. He obtained his pest control license and in 1987 formed a business partnership with Aaron Whitley of Rocky Mount. They rented a small space in Henderson and then five years later purchased their current location, 123 E. Belle St.

Eighteen years ago, he bought out his business partner and now he and his son run the business.

The Whitco Bug Warriors team conducts quarterly pest control appointments with clients as well as termite control. They also can perform work in crawlspaces to eliminate humidity problems, he said.

One employee – a termite expert – has worked with Harrison for 25 years.

“I would match him up against any termite man in the state of North Carolina,” he said, (and) his customers would agree with me.”

Fire ants are becoming more of a problem in the area, and they get calls to treat athletic fields.

“We do a lot of football fields,” he said. The last thing a football player wants is to get tackled and land on a fire ant hill.

Harrison said ants in general are probably the most worrisome pest that this area deals with, but they don’t generate as big an “eww” factor as another pest that Harrison and his crews tackle: Bedbugs.

There is one team member whose sole job is working to eradicate bedbugs, he said.

“It’s the most difficult problem that people face – I would say it’s impossible to get rid of them yourself,” he said of a bedbug infestation. “Oh yeah, it’s big time.”

Secondly, the treatment isn’t cheap, so not everyone can afford to call a professional.

That means everywhere they go, they’re taking bedbugs with them – ‘cause they’re great hitchhikers.

Peak time for bedbug calls are after holidays, when people have either traveled or have had people come stay with them.

To learn more about the services they offer, contact Whitco at 252.492.2818 or visit their website www.whitcobugwarriors.com.

Click Play

The Local Skinny! Business Spotlight: Wedding Bells And More At Hudson Manor

/by

Spring is in the air and many plan weddings this time of year. However, according to Melissa Cogliati, owner and operator of Hudson Manor in the Moulton Community in Franklin County, anytime of the year seems to be good for the sound of wedding bells.

Hudson Manor is a rather imposing house built around 1911 by Charlie Thomas Hudson, but by 2004 it had begun showing signs of decline. Cogliati and her husband were looking to get out of Raleigh for something more rural where he could concentrate on catering and cooking and she could start a wedding venue when they found the home. The house needed some work. A rear section that was added in the 1970’s was removed and the front porch was rebuilt to the original specifications. The Cogliati’s later added to the rear portion of the house so they could live there. Along with them came children and parents. “It’s a family compound,” Cogliati said on the Business Spotlight segment of The Local Skinny!

Improvements have continued with the addition of a wedding chapel which allows Hudson Manor to host weddings no matter what the weather. “We had a wedding in the snow,” Cogliati said. This would have been a few weeks back on one of those wintery weekends. She described that wedding as particularly beautiful. She has had couples from Vance, Warren, Granville, Franklin and other surrounding counties to book the venue for weddings, but Hudson Manor does more than just get people hitched. Last year Hudson Manor hosted a bluegrass festival, and they are available for fundraising events. Hudson Manor is open all year round.

If you have a wedding or fundraising event you can find out more information at www.thehudsonmanor.com.

Click Play