Garner Business Resiliency Series
Join us for the Garner Business Resiliency Series - 4 weeks of free business webinars:
Nov 3: Cyber Security with Jay Strickland, CEO WingSwept
Nov 10: Dollars & Cents with Kevin Dick, CEO with Carolina Small Business Development Fund
Nov 17: Protect Your Investment - Active Shooter Training with Lt. Paul Caldwell, Garner Police Department
Nov 24: On the Ready with Matthew Poole, Chief of Garner Fire and Rescue
Join us for the Garner Business Resiliency Series - 4 weeks of free business webinars:
Nov 3: Cyber Security with Jay Strickland, CEO WingSwept
Nov 10: Dollars & Cents with Kevin Dick, CEO with Carolina Small Business Development Fund
Nov 17: Protect Your Investment - Active Shooter Training with Lt. Paul Caldwell, Garner Police Department
Nov 24: On the Ready with Matthew Poole, Chief of Garner Fire and Rescue
Garner Restaurants Offering TakeOut/Curbside/Delivery
Support oour local food establishments during the COVID-19 situation.
Restaurants Offering TakeOut/Curbside/Delivery
(Please call restaurants individually to confirm hours)
3 Olives Pizza & Deli
Alaksha's Curry in a Hurry
Alexander's Mediterranean Cuisine
Aversboro Coffee
Aversboro Restaurant & Sports Bar
Backyard Bistro
Big Ed's
Bojangles'
Buffalo Brothers
Buffalo Wild Wings
Caffe' Luna
Carolina Ale House
Chick-fil-A at Garner Towne Square and White Oak Crossing
City Barbeque
Denny's
Firehouse Subs - Garner, Clayton, Raleigh
Golden Corral Buffet & Grill
Golden Krust Caribbean Restaurant
How's It Bean
Kentucky Fried Chicken, KFC/Taco Bell
Kickback Jacks
La Cocina
Locked & Loaded Grill
Logan's Roadhouse
Longhorn Steakhouse
Lorraine's Coffee House & Music
McDonald's
1567 Hwy. 70 W Garner NC 27529
(919) 772-9496
101 Timber Dr. Garner NC 27529
(919) 662-9804
110 Carillon Dr. Garner NC 27529
(919) 771-2441
MoJo's Grill
Moonrunners Saloon
Panera Bread
Pizza Inn, Garner
Ragazzi's
Red Robin
Taco Bell
Toot-N-Tell Restaurant
Tropical Smoothie Cafe - Garner
Walking Crab
Yemen Kitchen
Zaxby's - Garner
Zaxby's - White Oak
Matthew Coppedge to lead the Garner Chamber as President & CEO
The Garner Chamber of Commerce will be under new strategic leadership very soon. After an in-depth national search by a six-person Search Committee and unanimous Board approval, Matthew Coppedge takes the President & CEO reins starting February 24th.
The Garner Chamber of Commerce will be under new strategic leadership very soon. After an in-depth national search by a six-person Search Committee and unanimous Board approval, Matthew Coppedge takes the President & CEO reins starting February 24th.
"The Chamber set out to find an exceptional individual who could take an already thriving Chamber and move it to the next level. Matthew is a highly skilled marketer with extensive management, community and economic development experience. His passion for development, for Garner and the entire region, aligned well with our next-level vision at the Chamber," stated Board Chair, Melissa Oliver.
Matthew is a native North Carolinian with strong ties throughout the Triangle and eastern North Carolina. He brings extensive marketing, nonprofit management, and economic development experience to the Garner Chamber, as well as experience in the private sector and hands-on savvy as an entrepreneur. He completed his undergraduate degree at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and earned his MBA from North Carolina Central University.
He devoted 12 years of his career to Downtown Durham, Inc - first as Director of Marketing and then his innovation and management skills earned him the role of Chief Operating Officer. For over a decade, Matthew was an integral part of the team that focused on Downtown Durham's revitalization. His vision, creative initiatives, leadership ability and partnerships with startups, retail & office tenants, arts & cultural communities, non-profits, elected officials and the public sector helped transform downtown Durham.
His marketing initiatives while in Durham generated national and international press including features in Tech Crunch, Fast Company & The New York Times and he has been a guest columnist & contributor for several publications. He was awarded for his creativity for The Smoffice, the World's Smallest Office space competition, which won a global award as "The Most Unconventional Chamber Project in the World" by the World Chambers Congress.
Matthew shared, " I'm honored and thrilled to lead the chamber into the future; the opportunities available to the Garner area are enormous. Garner is the kind of town that a difference can be made, where economic development and community development partner for results."
In addition to being active professionally, Matthew served on the Carolina Theatre Board of Trustees, SmART Grant Initiative Steering Committee, and Durham Cultural Advisory Board, among others. When not transforming and serving communities, he runs a popular Instagram account (Commandments of Style) focused on men's style with over 45,000 followers and has partnered with global brands including Brooks Brothers, Polo Ralph Lauren, Tallia Orange, Untuckit, Target and Samuelsohn. Personally, he and his fiancé, Tara, live in the Triangle and are tying the knot on the North Carolina coast in the Fall of 2020.
Oliver finished, " Our Chamber is coming to the end of an era after 14 wonderful years under Neal Padgett's leadership. Matthew is a driven individual with energy, knowledge, and presence. We're ready as a Board, a Chamber, and a community of keen business owners to get to work on the next chapter."
The Garner Chamber will host their annual Reverse Raffle & Taste of the Town Friday March 6th from 5:30 - 9:00 PM and invite members and the community to welcome Matthew and celebrate this new start together. Tickets available from Board members or by calling the Chamber Office at 919-772-6440.
Release via Garner Chamber of Commerce
Garner Chamber of Commerce Receive Coveted Accreditation
with Dean Faile, Neal Padgett and April Wall Wood.
What an exciting afternoon!! The Garner Chamber of Commerce received the accredited chamber award from CACCE. We are now one of 30 chambers in NC and SC to receive accreditation.
Garner Chamber Summit Awards Marks 10th Year and Looks to the Future
Community of Hope Ministries and Curry in a Hurry were double winners and Ron Smith of S&A Cherokee was the lifetime achievement award winner Thursday night in the Garner Chamber of Commerce’s 10th annual Summit Awards.
Community of Hope Ministries and Curry in a Hurry were double winners and Ron Smith of S&A Cherokee was the lifetime achievement award winner Thursday night in the Garner Chamber of Commerce’s 10th annual Summit Awards.
Image Credit: Garner Economic Development Corporation
Community of Hope, a 501(c) 3 corporation that assists families in need, was named the winner of the non-profit achievement award and the award for steady growth and achievement. Curry in a Hurry, which was a finalist in four of the six award categories, won for excellence in business and for vision and value
The other major award winners were Aversboro Coffee for an entrepreneurial spirit and Chick-Fil-A for creating value for its customers.
The awards presentation was filled with joviality as ABC 11 Eyewitness News’ Andrea Blanford returned for her second year as host.
“This is just so much fun,” Blanford told the capacity crowd at The Grand Marquise Ballroom. “It is so good to come and talk about all of the good things that you are doing.”
Ron Smith, Fay Gardner Lifetime Achievement Award recipient.
Smith received the Faye Gardner Lifetime Achievement Award for a lifetime of consistent contributions to his business, to his industry, to the Garner Chamber of Commerce and to the community.
“Business does so much for a community,” Smith said. “And our chamber is just amazing. The chamber and our businesses helped move Garner from being a bedroom community into a thriving community.
“When I came here 40 years ago, we had a population of about 5,000 and you couldn’t buy a suit here. Without businesses, a community can’t prosper.”
Smith said he was overwhelmed with the lifetime achievement award, especially since it is named for Gardner, one of his long-time friends.
“To be recognized by your community really makes an award mean more because it is being done by your peers,” he said. “No one gets involved in the community to receive praise, but it is nice to get a pat on the back.”
Chamber president Neal Padgett said Smith had been a mentor. Smith helped guide Padgett during his first years at the Chamber and in 2009 was instrumental in the Chamber beginning three major events: The Connect Conference to discuss business issues in Garner; the Summit Awards and the Broadway Voices concert series.
“And Ron was insistent that he and I meet on a regular basis with Hardin Watkins, who was then the town manager,“ Padgett said. “Ron thought it was very important for the town and local businesses to communicate and to work together when they could. The Connect Conference and Broadway Voices are examples of how the town, the chamber and local business can work together for the community.”
The three Summit Award finalists in each category and the winner were chosen by out-of-state judges from submitted nominations.
The red carpet was ground zero for selfies. Image Credit: Angela Davis
There also were People’s Choice Awards in 11 different categories. A record 22,000 on-line votes, up from 10,000 the last two years, were cast. Garner Chiropractic and Wellness Center, the winner in the Best Health Care category, received the most votes of the 57 finalists with 800.
The other People’s Choice winners were: Family Auto Service, Xerox/Carolina Office Systems, Garner Police and Athletic and Activities League, Chick-Fil-A, State Employees Credit Union, Carolina Glass & Mirror, Body Wellness Massage Therapy, Bryan-Lee Funeral Home, Be Home Realty and Garner Appliance and Mattress.
Neal Padgett received a special award for his years of service. Image Credit: Early Easley Iannello
Padgett, who has announced his retirement, was given a special award.
“I think it was our best awards ever,” Padgett said. “I went out on top.”
Faye Gardner Lifetime Achievement Award
Ron Smith, S&A Cherokee
Summit Award winners
Huebner Family McDonald’s Entrepreneurial
Jones Keystone Insurance Excellence in Business
First Citizens Forever First
Capital Chrysler Jeep Dodge Non-profit Achievement
La Cocina Steady Growth and Achievement
Wells Fargo Vision and Values
People’s Choice Awards
Best Automotive Services
Presented by CEI - The Digital Office
Best Business to Business Partner
Presented by Langdon & Company, CPAs
Image Credit: Garner PAAL.
Best Community Partner
Presented by BPG Management Company
Garner Police Athletic & Activities League
Best Eats and Drinks
Presented by Charles Ashley Mann, DDS & Associates
Best Financial Services
Presented by Matthews Motors
Best Healthcare Winner Garner Chiropractic and Wellness Center. Dr. Katie Lucht(L) and Betsy Young Blood (R).
Best Health Care
Presented by Be Home Realty
Garner Chiropractic & Wellness Center
Best Home Services
Presendted by State Farm-Lindsey Weaver
Best Personal Services
Presented by B.E.S.T. Inc. Commercial Roofing
Best Professional Services
Presented by Coastal Credit Union
Best Real Estate Experience
Presented by State Farm-Meg Hunter
Best Shopping
Presented by Turner Farms Self Storage
Reflections From the Chamber’s CONNECT Conference
Garner and the Triangle, aligning before our eyes
Planets align in rare but reliable and predictable patterns; not so certain are the economy, developers’ vision, or elected officials, whose action plays a key role in the quality of life here.
Garner and the Triangle,
Aligning Before Our Eyes
Opinion
By Amy Griggs - Consulting Editor
The Garner Chamber of Commerce’s 10th annual conference, “Connect & Plug in the Future” on Aug. 15, inspired attendees in ways that are hard to measure but plain to see.
The planets and stars are in alignment for Garner, it seems.
Now as everything aligns, consider this “breaking news” video announcement which began the conference: Startup of thegarnernews.com, and its role as a community builder.
Revealing the creation of the online newspaper was a natural for Connect; two years ago the conference featured a segment titled, “Is Garner a News Desert?” Attendees clearly craved a local paper, and now you are probably reading it online, evidence of the chamber’s on-point timing of a forum and follow-up efforts. More about this later.
Garner: The Next Frontier
The business community, abuzz from the promised conference agenda, left with even more than they bargained for: Retail wisdom from experts Laurie Pearson and Sarah Quinlan (many in Garner remember when there was virtually no retail here). Meaty information from consulting transportation engineer Greg Saur of WSP and Het Patel of the City of Raleigh, formerly of Town of Garner, on the opportunities afforded by the proposed Bus Rapid Transit system, which finds the southern corridor leading to Garner.
And discussion of the concept of opportunity zones, featuring attorney Lee Hodge of Ward and Smith, P.A., and Thomas Barker, senior tax accountant of Elliot Davis. Opportunity zones began as a federal incentive meant to spur investments in undercapitalized communities. Corporations and individuals are eligible for tax incentives to encourage those with capital gains to invest in areas typically featuring lower income residents, higher poverty and unemployment. Garner area OZs offer opportunities to developers, and residents stands to benefit, they say.
That segment provided a natural segue into the dynamic trio of John Kane, Billie Redmond, and Steve Malik, who are poised inject new life and vitality into Garner’s neighbor to the north—and by virtue of proximity, Garner—with a dream project causing quite the stir since their formal announcement in June.
Because John Kane’s story includes the city-changing, wildly successful redevelopment of Raleigh’s North Hills, his “Downtown South,” a $2 billion investment in a sports arena and entertainment venue; retail, restaurant and office space; and residential units promises another urban wonder of cultural offerings, employment opportunities and tax revenue. Malik is the soccer man, with a 40-year history with the sport in the Triangle and owner of NC Football Club and whose dreams include a Raleigh-based major league team. Redmond rounds out the pitch trio; she is founder of TradeMark Properties commercial real estate firm.
Clearly, the business-friendly conference-goers loved these three; spontaneous applause erupted early during their remarks. Garner business owners and residents couldn’t help but feel optimistic at what Downtown South could mean for Garner economically and culturally.
It looks like Garner’s turn to align with the planets and stars; this project sparks a thrill in many who remember the no-grow preference among old-timers mere decades ago, who have witnessed initiatives come and go, and visions wax and wane. They have anticipated and believed in Garner’s rightful place in the greater metropolitan area.
With a plethora of projects landing here over recent years, large and small, nothing says just–you-watch-us–now like a Downtown South at our doorstep – 55 acres at South Saunders Street to I-40 to Wilmington Street. It is truly a jaw-dropping proposal.
Community journalists will respond
Planets align in rare but reliable and predictable patterns; not so certain are the economy, developers’ vision, or elected officials, whose action plays a key role in the quality of life here.
By “here” I mean Garner of course, which after all, is what news coverage of this newspaper should be all about.
The first newspaper publisher I worked for, Ralph Delano, taught me a simple lesson I have never forgotten about community journalism.
Wise, humble, chipper, and quick to laugh, Mr. D spent a lifetime in the business, landing in Johnston County to own and publish the Benson Review, Four Oaks News and The Clayton News (later The Clayton News-Star.) He died in 2006 at age 90.
He also taught journalism at Campbell University, where he imparted wisdom he shared with me: Community journalism is all things local. “When a bomb drops in Raleigh,” he’d say, “we don’t cover that. The Clayton News reports on the ash falling in Clayton.”
So with the exciting development occurring and proposed in our area, someone, namely elected officials and local journalists, have to question the fallout.
And aren’t journalists watchdogs of governmental bodies? So questions will arise; give journalists credit for their efforts to be fair and to represent various points of view. Are tax incentives really necessary? Will arena events make U.S. 70/I-40 traffic unbearable, and what can be done about it? A swath of our residents worries about gentrification; should we worry in Garner?
Kudos to Garner Chamber of Commerce officials for the exceptional work they do for Garner, and to town employees who partnered with them to produce a first rate conference all about plugging into the future.
The stars are aligned. The future is here.
CONNECT Conference 2019
If you weren’t able to attend, The Garner News will have follow-up coverage of the Annual Connect Conference.
If you weren’t able to attend, The Garner News will have follow-up coverage of the annual CONNECT Conference.
Be sure to sign-up for email updates.
For more information on the agenda visit The Garner Chamber of Commerce website.
Operation 36 Gears Up Your Golf Game
Small tech start-ups aren’t just for big cities. Golf and tech collide to make golf more accessible and improve your game.
Voices of Garner—Matt Reagan, CEO and co-founder of
Operation 36 golf coaching, based in the Gearworks building in Downtown Garner:
“What coaches don’t understand is you need to have the marketing, you need to be tracking progress, you need to be printing reports to get people to come back. And that’s what we do with our technology to make it really easy—and that’s how we keep retention high, and that’s how we keep people in. Because families are like, ‘Oh, my kid started here, and I see that they shot a 50 from 25 yards away.’ And within eight months of this program, they’re now past two divisions and they’re at 100 yards and they’ve lost 40 strokes or something. And that’s what we do.”
This story was originally published by the Town of Garner on their Facebook Page here.
Town and Chamber Plan "Garner Station" Podcast
On May 3rd the town posted a teaser about an upcoming podcast in partnerships with the Garner Chamber of Commerce.
No details yet on its format, frequency, who will host it, or guests.
Big news ... We'll be rolling out our new podcast, called "Garner's Station," next week as part of the big slate of events for Small Business/Economic Development Week in Garner.
We'll be sharing the podcast on Facebook and making it available elsewhere. More details to come.
Source: Town of Garner Facebook Page