Tag Archive for: Vance County News

Local Chick-fil-A owner starts new VGCC Scholarship

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Josh Towne, the franchised restaurant owner/operator of the Chick-fil-A in Henderson, has established a new Vance-Granville Community College scholarship. When fully endowed, the “Chick-fil-A of Henderson Academic Achievement Scholarship” will be awarded to VGCC students meeting certain academic requirements.

A New Bern native, Towne has lived in Henderson since moving in 2005 to become the operator of the local Chick-fil-A restaurant. He has worked with the company for the past 20 years. He is also an alumnus of the North Carolina Community College System. After graduating from Cape Fear Community College with an associate degree, Towne completed a bachelor’s degree in Business Administration at the University of North Carolina at Wilmington with concentrations in marketing and management.

“I’m a big proponent of community colleges,” said Towne, who recently became a member of the VGCC Endowment Fund board of directors. He added that on the corporate level, Chick-fil-A also supports education through scholarships for its employees. He recommends employees for the scholarship and presents them each year. “I’ve been here a little more than ten years, and we’ve been awarding scholarships throughout that time,” Towne said. “Many of our employees receiving the scholarships are VGCC students. Some have already gone on to become nurses and to pursue other careers.” In 2015 alone, two VGCC students who work at the restaurant received $1,000 scholarships from the company. The franchise employs approximately 65 people, including both full-time and part-time staff.

Towne also supports education locally as a member of the Vance Charter School board of directors.

“We are fortunate and grateful to have the support and partnership of Josh Towne and Chick-fil-A of Henderson,” said Dr. Stelfanie Williams, president of VGCC. “As a community college graduate who has become a successful business leader, Josh inspires us all by demonstrating a commitment to helping the students of today and tomorrow.”

Through the Endowment Fund, VGCC has awarded more than 8,000 scholarships to students since 1982. Scholarships have been endowed by numerous individuals, industries, businesses, civic groups, churches and the college’s faculty and staff. Tax-deductible donations to the VGCC Endowment Fund have often been used to honor or remember a person, group, business or industry with a lasting gift to education. For more information about the Endowment Fund, call (252) 738-3409.

Chris Chung Delivers Chamber’s Keynote Address

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Christopher Chung, the Chief Executive Officer of the Economic Development Partnership of North Carolina, was the keynote speaker of the 2016 Henderson-Vance Chamber on Commerce banquet held on Thursday, February 4th. Chung is a graduate of The Ohio State University, and previously served as the President and CEO of the Missouri Partnership from late 2007 until 2014.

Chung opened by saying, “The organization that we represent does a number of things that are important for any state when it comes to economic development. I have been in economic development for a number of years now, and by my count now, it’s almost two decades. I have dedicated my entire professional life to the field of economic development. First, in Ohio where I’m from, and then for seven years in Missouri, and as of January of last year, here in North Carolina.”

It was easy to tell that Chung has the experience to help the State of North Carolina grow in the coming years.

Chung went on to say that there are five items that the State of North Carolina has in action when it comes to bringing in outside money to push the economy forward. “The most high profile job that we do is business recruitment,” said Chung. Chung also went on to say, “We are trying to position North Carolina as the ideal location for a growing, expanding or relocating business decides to go next. It’s that straight forward.”

New business recruitment is vital, however, Chung and the rest of the Economic Development Partnership of North Carolina understand that they must also take care of current businesses in the state.

Chung addressed the subject, “These are the companies that have already chosen to create jobs here. These are the companies that have already chosen to make an investment in North Carolina.”

Chung went on to talk about international trade, small business counseling, and travel and tourism.

Chung ended his address with a call to action, and told the banquet attendees, “We can only do so much at the state level. The State of North Carolina, and the hundred counties that make it up, that’s the product that we’re out there marketing and selling on a daily basis, and we can get companies or tourists or customers from overseas markets interested in North Carolina as a place to do business or a place to visit, but we ultimately depend on strong partnerships with the local communities that we team up with. As interested as a company can get in North Carolina, ultimately if they’re going to come here they have to drill down to a specific county, they have to drill down to a specific community. So we absolutely rely on strong partnerships with those local communities that we work with everyday.”

If you would like to contact Christopher Chung you can call his office in Cary at 919-447-7788. You can also email him at christopher.chung@edpnc.com.

Henderson PD Press Release

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Press Release- January 11, 2016

On Saturday, January 9, 2016, members of the Henderson Police Department Special Operations Unit and the North Carolina Alcohol Law Enforcement Agency executed a search warrant at 838 Eastside Drive, Henderson. Officers seized 47 bricks (2350 dosage units) of heroin, a firearm, and U. S. currency. The heroin seized in this matter had a street value of 23,500.00.

Vondell Tyshang Gregory, 27, 838 Eastside Drive, Henderson was charged with three (3) counts of trafficking heroin, possession of a controlled substance within 1000 feet of a school, maintaining a dwelling for keeping/selling a controlled substance, and maintaining a vehicle for keeping/selling a controlled substance. Gregory was placed in the Vance County Jail after failing to post a 300,000.00 secured bond. A preliminary hearing has been scheduled in Vance County District Court on January 19, 2016.

Anthony Languan Brame, 40, 726 State Street, Henderson was charged with three(3) counts of trafficking heroin and possession of a controlled substance within 1000 feet of a school. Brame was placed in the Vance County Jail after failing to post a 260,000.00 secured bond. A preliminary hearing has been scheduled in Vance County District Court on January 19, 2016.

Qwanisha Billenger, 24, 838 Eastside Drive, Henderson was charged with possession with the intent to manufacture, sell, or deliver heroin, possession of a controlled substance within 1000 feet of a school, maintaining a dwelling for keeping/selling a controlled substance, and maintaining a vehicle for keeping/selling a controlled substance. Billenger was placed in the Vance County Jail after failing to post a 74,000.00 secured bond. A preliminary hearing has been scheduled in Vance County District Court on January 19, 2016.

Authority: Chief Marcus Barrow