The Business of the Year Award recipient is OE Enterprises. OE Enterprises contributes to the Community by employing disabled and special needs residents of Orange County.  They make the community a better place by offering a safe, healthy environment for residents
to be gainfully employed and to gain skills and confidence in themselves. As a Community Rehabilitation Program (CRP), the services they offer to area businesses is only matched by the good done for these residents and their families.

Among the many services offered by OE Enterprises are residential and business cleaning, packaging and shipping, assembly and shredding.  They have partnered with Orange County’s Solid Waste Management and several Chamber members to offer free shred-a-thons to the community. In addition, OE participants fulfill several tasks within area businesses, such as mail distribution services for Orange County government.

OE Enterprises staff are also quick to offer their services to the Chamber, as active members of the Ambassador and Education committees.

The Chamber’s Business Person of the Year award goes to Dee Shankle, Shankle Sound Reinforcement.  Dee Shankle has been providing sound and lights for Hog Day for the past 10 years. During that time, his role in the planning of Hog Day has grown
exponentially.  Dee is always ready to ask one of his musician friends to perform for us (at a great discount), to pitch in to donate his services for the Chili and Salsa Cookoff, Education Committee Entrepreneurial Breakfast, luncheons, whatever.  He has kept his price for services low and manageable and is fully invested in the Chamber’s special events.

In addition to all he does for the Chamber, Dee is a respected contractor in the community, the go-to person for the Hillsborough Arts Council for its Jazz Festival, and the main contractor for the Carrboro Music Festival.  He provides his services to many municipalities and, while many are tightening their belts, he continues to provide excellent service for an excellent price

The 2011 Helping Hand Award was awarded to both an individual, Kaye Williams Crawford; and a group, the Hillsborough Arts Council.

Kaye Williams Crawford grew up in downtown Hillsborough.  She and her brother Paul Williams, who was the President of CCB for many years, attended Hillsboro High School.  After college, Kaye taught in Orange County Schools for many years, before deciding to attend the
Southeastern Theological Seminary in Wake Forest and receiving a Doctorate’s of Divinity.  She held the minister’s position at the  Hillsborough United Church of Christ in Hillsborough for several years before retiring.

Recently, Kaye organized a reunion for all the graduates of old Hillsboro High School, from the 1920′s to 1964.  It was attended by well over 200 graduates and many more wanted to come. She is also a welcome speaker at events honoring Hillsborough natives and is dedicated to preserving the stories and history of the town as she and other lifelong residents remember it.

Kaye served on the Board of the Historical Foundation of Hillsborough, which merged with the Hillsborough Historical Society four years ago, but rotated off the Board in order to spend more time on a program for the Orange County Historical Museum called Stores and Stories.  Assisted by her husband Joe Crawford, St. Matthews Episcopal Church Rector Brooks Graebner and about 25 “Old Hillsboro” Natives, she has planned and presented many events celebrating the history of Hillsboro and its future.

Stores and Stories events 2010-2011:

Hillsboro Stores and Stories 1940-75

The Mill Villages with Beverly Webb, The Superintendent’s Son

The Mill Villages with a Panel of Former Residents

The Great Adventures of James and Maxine Freeland

The Early History of Eagle Lodge and Its Association with UNC

Grady Brown, a Man for All Seasons

General Julian S. Carr and the Magical Occoneechee Farm

The Museum also plans to do an event on John Berry and his Hillsborough buildings.

The Hillsborough Arts Council is the official Hillsborough, NC Arts Council endorsed by The Town of Hillsborough and The North Carolina Arts Council.  For over twenty years, the Hillsborough Arts Council volunteers have been serving the arts and cultural needs of the Hillsborough community through a diversity of initiatives and services.  Their mission is “enriching our community through the arts.”

In addition, the council supports the arts and enhances the community through education and by organizing events that feature local artists for the enjoyment and education of the general public.

Some of the Arts Council’s Programs Include:

• Hillsborough Last Fridays
  • Music, crafts, performers, film, and visual art on the Last Friday of every month.
• Hillsborough Handmade Parade
  • A walking theatrical performance. A spectacle of art, creativity, and public theatre.
• Parlor Concerts
  • Classical, jazz, and folk set in historic homes in Hillsborough, NC
• Regulators Traditional Music Series
  • Folk, gospel, Cajun, Celtic, Latin and contemporary music
• Creative Expression
• Junior high and high school students are matched with local artist mentors
• Childrens Opera:  Quality opera performances tailored to K-5 age groups
• Community outreach programs:  With a focus on at risk and under-served youth in our community
• Art Space Planning
• Working with the community to envision potential art spaces in town
• Hillsborough Downtown Arts and Crafts Show
  • A juried show and sale of local arts and crafts in the spring of each year
• Hillsborough Arts Council Gallery
  • Monthly exhibits Featuring artists from throughout the region.
• Creative Writing Workshops
  • Providing the opportunity to study with published authors
• Visual Arts and Creativity Workshops
  • A series of workshops with professional artists for all skill levels

The programs are funded, in part, by grants from the North Carolina Arts Council, the Hillsborough Tourism Board, The Town Of
Hillsborough, NC other state funded agencies and by individual donations. This support allows the council to offer numerous arts related educational services, workshops, community events, programs and exhibitions

Margaret Wood Cannell, Executive Director of the Hillsborough/Orange County Chamber of Commerce, said “We are fortunate in Orange  County to have companies, individuals, and organizations that are willing to be involved in the community and be good corporate citizens. Our recipients are in good company and we welcome the opportunity to recognize these fine folks.”

Schedule a 15-minute portrait session at Studio P (by appointment only) any time between now and October 31.  Voting will begin on November 1 and end November 8.  The winners will be announced on November 9.  Special package pricing will be available.

Call 919-245-1110 to schedule!

The Orange County Board of Commissioners is recruiting citizen volunteers for the following advisory boards. 

• Adult Care Home Community Advisory Comm.        Three (3) At-Large Vacancies
• Advisory Board on Aging                                                     Two (2) At-Large Vacancies
• Affordable Housing Advisory Board                               Four (4) At-Large Vacancies
• Animal Services Advisory Board                                      Three (3) Vacancies: One (1) Town of Hillsborough and Two (2) Animal Advocacy
• Arts Commission                                                                      Four (4) At- Large Vacancies
• Carrboro Board of Adjustment                                          One (1)  County Appointee ETJ
• Carrboro Northern Transition Area Adv. Comm.      Two (2) Northern Transition Area Vacancies
• Carrboro Recreation and Parks Commission               Two (2) County Appointees
• Commission for the Environment                                     Two (2) At- Large Vacancies
• Human Relations Commission                                            Nine (9) Vacancies:  Six (6) At- Large, One (1) Town of Chapel Hill,  and Two (2) Town of Hillsborough
• Joint Orange Chatham Community Action Agency  One (1)  County Appointee
• Mebane Board of Adjustment                                             One (1) Mebane (Orange County) ETA Vacancy
• Nursing Home Community Advisory Committee      Three (3) Nursing Home Admin. Vacancies
• Orange County Board of Adjustment                              One (1) Orange County Vacancy
• Orange County Parks and Recreation Council            Three (3) Vacancies: One (1) Chapel Hill Township, One (1) Little River Township, and One (1) Hillsborough Township
• Orange Unified Transportation Board                            Two vacancies:  One (1) Cheeks, and One (1) Little River township.
• Solid Waste Advisory Board                                               One (1) Vacancy: At Large

Please visit the Orange County Web Site at http://www.co.orange.nc.us/boards to see a complete list of Advisory Boards and vacancies.  You may complete an application online or download an application. 

For additional information, contact the office of the Clerk to the Board, Jeanette Jones at (919) 245-2125, (jjones@co.orange.nc.us) or Donna Baker at 245-2130, (dbaker@co.orange.nc.us) .

With over 30 different boards and commissions, volunteers appointed by the Board of County Commissioners have an opportunity to influence the way of life in Orange County.

Please consider including a few extra items for the OCIM Pantry during your next shopping trip.  Food donations can be dropped off at OCIM (300 Millstone Drive), the Saratoga Grill (108 South Churton Street) and here at the Chamber Office (102 North Churton Street).  You can also drop donations at any OCIM congregation.

For more information on how to help, please email Kay Stagner at ocimsrm@embarqmail.com

Items needed immediately include:

• Soup
• Canned Corn, Peas, Mixed Vegetables, Tomatoes
• Canned Pinto Beans
• Canned Fruit
• Applesauce
• Canned Tuna and Chicken
• Mayonnaise
• Jelly
• Potato Flakes
• Pasta
• Rice
• Cereal

Thank you for your support!

The Orange County Sportsplex is hosting a Women’s Self Defense Workshop on Saturday, August 13th.  This two and a half hour class begins by developing non-physical ways to establish a safe zone and works toward a full hands-on segment using defensive moves against a trained instructor.  Learn simple and effective strikes to vulnerable areas on the victim’s body, and gain confidence in your ability to defend yourself in a worst case scenario.  This course is great for young women going off to college.  

Instruction for this course is provided by Carolina Self Defense using the FAST defense method.

The workshop will be held in the group exercise room from 10:00am-12:30pm on Saturday, August 13th.  The course costs $50 and is open to all women ages 14 and up.  This workshop is not exclusive to members so be sure to bring a friend.  Visit http://www.trianglesportsplex.com/ for more information. 

We hope to see you there!

-Sportsplex Management

Here’s how it works -

1. You decide on a compelling offer (at least 50% goods or services) from your business
2. The deal is promoted on WCHL 1360, by email blast, by social media (Facebook, Twitter, etc.) and Chamber Website
3. Customers purchase and print gift cards
4. You get a check for your share of the total revenue (for Chamber members, this is 65% of total sales!!)
5. Customers redeem gift cards at your business.  The overwhelming majority of these customers will be local folks, giving you a great opportunity to acquire new, and repeat, business!!!

This is a great way to attract new customers from the WCHL listening area, which extends to Alamance County, Chatham, Durham and Wake Counties, as well as Orange Counties.  You can select which day your deal is advertised, as well as how many gift cards will be sold, the length of the offer (good for 60 days, six months, two weeks – YOU decide). 

If you’re interested, call Michelle Hoover at 919-357-5894 or email at mkhoover05@gmail.com.

Click our local deal to download a flyer about Our Local Deal!

“This is an opportunity to enjoy an afternoon of golfing, meet with old friends, and make new contacts within the business community,” said Danny Lloyd, Chair of the Classic Committee.  “And, while we’re having fun, we’re influencing the future of Orange County by helping local residents meet the costs of college.”

Proceeds from the 2010 Golf Classic resulted in  the award of three $1000 scholarships, to Cedar Ridge High School student Patrice Bagby (attending UNC-Charlotte), and Orange High School students Tomasina Hill (attending UNC-Wilmington), Victoria Knight (attending NCSU) and one $500 scholarship to Morgan Yates (attending Alamance Community College).  This year’s tournament will fund not only potential scholarships but also the initiatives of the Chamber’s School/Business Connection Education Committee.  Initiatives include receptions for educators and assistance with the Speakers’ Bureau, Lunch Buddy program and several other opportunities. 

The 17th Annual Hillsborough Chamber Golf Classic will be held on Friday, October 14 at Occoneechee Golf Course in Hillsborough.  The cost to play is a great deal, and there are advantages to signing up early! Before August 31, pay the Extra Early Bird Price: $60 Chamber members or $75 non-Chamber members (Foursome: $225 members,  $235 non-members)

Before September 30, pay the Early Bird Price:  $70 members or $85 non-members (Foursome: $250 members,  $265 non-members).  After October 1, pay The Worm Price: $80 members,  $95 non-members (Foursome: $265 members, $300 non-members.  This fee includes your round of golf, a goody bag with lots of freebies and an awards dinner.  Sign up to play before October 2 and you’ll save even more.  You may register to play as an individual, pair or team.  Total team handicap must be at least 40.  For more information call 919-732-8156.

Sponsorship opportunities are also available for the Classic.  Sponsors so far are BB&T,  Blue Cross Blue Shield of North Carolina, PHE, Inc. Sports Endeavors, Piedmont EMC, UNC Health Care, Performance AutoMall and Summit Consulting Engineers. 

In addition to prizes for the winning team, awards will be given for “Closest to the Pin,” “Longest Drive,” and other achievements, as well as door prizes and silent auction items.

Education Committee Chair Libbie Hough Displays Plaque

On Monday, June 6, the Hillsborough/Orange County Chamber was recognized by the Orange County Board of Education for its commitment to Educational Excellence.  Education Committee Chair Libbie Hough and Margaret Cannell accepted the award on behalf of the Chamber. 

The Chamber, and the Education Committee in particular, was recognized for their assistance with providing assistance to the schools in many different ways, including providing speakers on particular topics for classrooms, conducting mock interviews, providing items for goody bags for teachers, and supporting fundraising efforts by schools, teams and clubs within the system. 

“One of the things the Chamber is most proud of is our scholarship program, which is funded by the annual Golf Classic,” said Margaret Cannell.  “The Classic, by the way, has been scheduled for Friday, October 14, 2011.”

Libbie Hough recognized the efforts not only of the Education Committee but also of the Central Office staff who participates with the Committee to provide leadership.  Staff involved includes Dr. Denise Morton, Chief Academic Officer, and Patricia Harris, CTE Director.

The Hillsborough/Orange County Chamber of Commerce staff has worked closely with Orange County Solid Waste Management to maximize waste diversion strategies.  Now, it is all but mandatory that food vendors use serving-ware that is either compostable or recyclable.  This year virtually all of the vendors were in compliance, and if there was an item that was not correct, Chamber staff provided the vendors with a compostable alternative.

“This is not your backyard compost”, explains Muriel Williman, Education and Outreach Coordinator for the event. “Hog Day contracts with Brooks Contractors, a commercial compost facility based in Chatham County. They can handle meat, dairy, and these high-tech corn based plastics that require high heat over several weeks to really break down.”   The Friday night cookers who volunteer their time and talent to cook BBQ all night to be sold the following day contribute the greatest weight of the waste, with heavy bones and fat and other leftovers from the cooking process. Not even the grease is wasted; Brooks takes that too to convert into bio-diesel.

Orange County Solid Waste Management organized and staffed 9 trash sorting stations, with the help of over 30 volunteers from local schools, scout groups, and the community, along with additional recycling staff.  Event goers could easily sort their wastes, aided by helpful volunteers staffing the stations, into one of 4 categories: recyclable bottles and cans, recyclable lemonade cups (known as “rigid plastics” in our local program), compostable food and paper waste, and true trash.  Volunteers even collected plastic bags to be recycled separately.

“At the end of the day, it is SO exciting to see the Hog Day area virtually waste-free. Muriel Williman and her volunteers do such a great job collecting recyclables that the venue practically cleans itself!  Their huge effort makes everything easier for the rest of us while keeping items out of the landfill at the same time,” said Hillsborough/Orange County Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Margaret Cannell.  Ken Hines, Public Works Supervisor, acknowledged the amount of material being recycled is greater than in previous years, reducing the workload for his staff during the event.  Williman agrees, “This year was the best ever in terms of cooperation, organization, public support, and the sheer volume of materials diverted.  It is a huge effort and we couldn’t do it without the organizational support from the Chamber and the help of volunteers. I couldn’t be more pleased with the results!”   

Throughout the day, you could hear the emcee on stage doing his part to publicize the waste effort too, pointing out the trash sorting stations and giving appreciation to all the recycling volunteers.  “We recycled over 1000 pounds of waste last year, this year we can do better!”  And so we did. Here are the numbers:

2011 Hillsborough Hog Day Waste Diversion Statistics

Garbage=432 lbs total waste

16 carts of comingled bottles and cans (MOSTLY crushed cans) =1602 lbs.

2 carts full of lemonade cups and other non-bottle rigid plastics= 45 lbs.

Compostable food and paper waste= 1490 lbs

Used oil 25 gallons = 93 lbs

Plastic bags and other film = 18 lbs

Total recycling/composting weight= 3248

Total refuse weight=3680

Waste diversion rate= 88%

WAY TO GO!!!  It’s not ZERO waste, but it is DARN CLOSE.

 Libbie Hough, Chair of the Chamber’s Education Committee, said “We are so fortunate to have had a successful golf event in 2010.  We have a substantial amount of money to give away this year to applicants.”

Emphasis is placed on the applicant’s financial need. Other factors considered include a personal essay, community service, work experience, and/or other extra-curricular activities, two letters of recommendation (it is preferred that one letter be from a current Chamber member), and academic performance (school transcript). Scholarship finalists will also participate in a brief interview.  Each application must include the application form, which is available from school guidance offices and Career & Technical Education Coordinators or click here: ChamberScholarshipApp2011. 

The deadline for submittal of applications is 5:00 pm on Friday, April 29, 2011. Applications must be submitted to the Chamber office at 102 North Churton Street, Hillsborough, NC  27278.

The 17th Annual Chamber Golf Classic will be held in October, 2011 at Occoneechee Golf Course in Hillsborough.  Danny Lloyd, Chair of the Tournament Committee said, “The Chamber Golf Classic is a great opportunity to network with other business people and while we’re having fun, we’re influencing the future of Orange County by helping local residents meet the costs of college.”  Sponsorship and player opportunities are available now!