Welcome New Member, Gary Brant!
- Community Blood Center of the Carolinas, sponsored by Ed Woodall.
General Announcements
- Peter Barcus reminder us that the 2nd quarterly billing comes out the 2nd week in October. Oh, joy.
Presentation – Carolyn Carter, Residential Treatment Services of Alamance
- Services for people with mental illness and substance abuse addiction
- Residential treatment facilities include:
- 6 bed home for women
- 8 bed withdrawal unit for people detoxing from addiction
- 17-bed home for men who are recovering from alcohol and substance abuse
- Also works with families that suffer from people who are addicted to drugs.
- RTSA is constantly facing financial restraints because the only money they receive is from Medicaid
- Funds are used to provide housing, transportation to and from work, therapy, and send people back to school in order to give them their life back
- See people addicted to heroine, opiates some in their 20’s.
- People with mental illness suffer from hallucinations
Speaker – David Cheek, Mebane City Manager
Cheek, 52, is a graduate of N.C. State University, where he majored in accounting. He is a CPA.
Cheek and his wife, Tammy, have three children — Lauren Parrish, 26; DJ, 24; and Anna, 15. Tammy works at Burlington Christian Academy.
Cheek has a wealth of experience in local municipal and county government. He worked as manager of Alamance County for eight years before leaving to take a job as vice president of administrative and fiscal services for Alamance Community College. From there Cheek moved three years ago to the position of assistant city manager of Mebane.
Cheek, who graduated from Graham High School in 1978, had an interesting work history before landing a job with Alamance County. After graduating from N.C. State, he worked four years for the state auditor’s office and followed that with four years with the state controller’s office.
Cheek said he and his wife were ready to settle down and start a family and sought to return to Alamance County. Former Graham City Manager Bruce Turney was a family friend, Cheek said, and called former Alamance County Manager Robert Smith on his behalf. Cheek eventually landed a job as assistant county manager and moved to the position of manager when Smith retired.
- In the last 2 decades, our population has doubled.
- Top 10 Things that Put Mebane on the map:
- Unique location: Mebane is conveniently located to both Raleigh and Charlotte.
- Our proximity to Raleigh: The growth and development happening in Raleigh is overflowing into Mebane.
- Interstate Frontage: Traffic volume is about 90-100,000 cars a day along the highway
- 5 economic development zones/industrial parks in Mebane (NC Commerce Park, NC Industrial Center, Buckhorn Economic Development zone – in Orange County – Central Caorlina Industrial Center & Oakwood Business Center )
- Great value proposition: lowest taxes in Alamance County
- We have 2 economic developers: Mac Williams and Steve Brantley – the city is being more intentional about marketing
- Orange County passed a 40 cent sales tax to raise money for economic development and schools – and Mebane benefits from this because part of it is in Orange County
- NC Industrial Center and Samet: Turned a dairy farm into a vital economic engine for Mebane
- NC Commerce Park: Helps with the investment of property in the area
- Fast track permitting: Reduces obstacles to building and developing in Mebane
- The following companies have developed in Mebane:
- Walmart
- Cambro
- Morinaga
- Leedle
- Southern Seasons,
- Trivantage
- AKG
- Starbucks
- And these companies have created:
- 1100 jobs
- Average wages $42,000 is above average
- Annual payrolls $45 Million
- Although these companies received incentives to develop here, they are starting to put money back into the economy through jobs and wages and spending in the city
- Residential development: apartments and parks are being built in Mebane’s downtown area to provide a place for people to live and come for social activities.
Upcoming Programs
- October 13 – Betty Andrews
- October 20 – Phil Bower, Sustainable Alamance
Closing
At the conclusion of the meeting, we all stood to recite the Rotary Four Way Test, and the meeting was adjourned. Until next week…
Club Related Dates
District and Club Business
2nd Tuesday of Each Month: Board Meeting for officers and committee chairs, 11 am until Noon.
Birthdays and Anniversaries
Oct | Birthdays | Oct | Wedding Anniversaries |
19 | Sid Little | 2 | Tripp and Shaunda Hilliard |
20 | Micah Fox | 12 | Randy and Reida Perkins Stuart and Betsy Sioussat |
30 | Richard White | 21 | Carolyn Rhode and Mark Tosczak |
24 | Debbie and Chuck Porch | ||
30 | Peter and Cathy Sargent |