Business Milestones

Healthgrades, an online platform designed to help patients find “the right doctors, hospitals and care” for their families, recently awarded Novant Health Forsyth Medical Center’s orthopedic care with the top award for joint replacement surgery in the Triad and the second-highest rank in North Carolina.

Healthgrades also recognized Forsyth Medical Center with “America’s 100 Best Joint Replacement Medallion” for the third consecutive year. The medical center also earned “Five-Star” recognition for total hip and knee replacement surgery.

Novant Health performs more than 11,000 orthopedic surgeries each year in the greater Winston-Salem region. Of those, more than 2,500 are joint-related procedures.

To learn more visit NovantHealth.org/OrthoNow.

Bojangles recently gathered for its annual Biscuit Maker Challenge with celebrity judge Bryce Young of the Carolina Panthers. He had the opportunity to give out the ‘Bryce Young Spirit Award’ to the most passionate biscuit maker in the room—Mary Thompson from Forest, Va.

Finalists included Edith Chavez of Yadkinville, a franchise second runner up.

Truliant Federal Credit Union recently became North Carolina’s first financial institution to become a Family Forward NC Certified Employer. The designation is provided by the North Carolina Early Childhood Foundation.

Family Forward NC was launched in 2018 to improve children’s health and well-being and keep North Carolina’s businesses competitive. The certification designates employers that offer best-practice policies in one or more of five main areas, including paid leave, child care support, health and wellness benefits and more.

Its goal is to show potential employees, customers and stakeholders that workplaces have practices in place to support pregnant workers, parents and caregivers.

Mountain Valley, a hospice and palliative care organization, has announced a water feature donation from Pond Country. An unveiling of the new water feature was held on April 16 at the Joan and Howard Woltz Hospice Home in Dobson.

Pond Love is an annual event that is dedicated to celebrating Pond Country’s connections and compassion with water. This year, Mountain Valley was chosen as the recipient to extend the spirit of Pond Love beyond the realm of water, demonstrating this organization’s dedication to supporting essential community services.

Wake Forest University will welcome national, state and local experts to campus on April 24 for the inaugural 2024 Mellon Environmental and Epistemic Justice Summit.

Panel discussions will feature scholars and activists on the front lines of environmental justice. These guest speakers will dive into several topics, including how environmental laws and policies are impacting communities, what stories are unfolding and being reported by journalists, health equity and the health impacts of climate change.

The health panel will also present the findings of research conducted by Dr. Callie Brown at Wake Forest University School of Medicine about the impacts of the Weaver Fertilizer Plant fire.

This year’s keynote speakers are: Jalonne White-Newsome, White House Senior Director for Environmental Justice, and Peggy Shepard, co-founder and executive director of WE ACT for Environmental Justice. These nationally recognized experts will also take questions during a Q&A at the end of the program.

For information, visit tinyurl.com/mrxt8hua.

Appalachian State University has received $320,000 from Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina (Blue Cross NC) to expand the Aging Well program, an initiative by Appalachian Institute for Health and Wellness (App Well) housed in App State’s Beaver College of Health Sciences (BCHS) that aims to equip older adults to successfully navigate the aging process.

The Blue Cross NC funding creates resources to grow the existing program in the High Country and extend the program’s reach to the Greater Hickory area, with services mirroring those available in Boone.

As a community outreach initiative, the Aging Well program provides aging screenings that include gait and grip, cognitive, balance and nutritional assessments. Screenings are available by appointment at Levine Hall on the Boone campus and on the first floor of the App State Hickory campus building.

In addition, both locations host educational programming on topics of interest to older adults, including fall prevention, improving cognitive health, online safety, selecting a care facility and advanced directives.

This program is available to aging adults, caregivers and other individuals interested in learning more about healthy aging. Many of the services offered are free or low cost for participants.

For information, visit appwell.appstate.edu/agingwell.

The Piedmont Legacy Trails Mini Summit 2024, held April 10, marked a sold-out success with 90 enthusiastic attendees. Trail professionals and advocates from the Piedmont Triad area and beyond gathered for an educational half-day event, with presentations on leveraging funding opportunities, advocacy strategies and tactics to elevate trail systems. The summit served as a platform for networking and knowledge exchange among attendees, fostering connections to advance trail recreation in the Piedmont region.

Highlighting the summit were the Legacy Awards, recognizing the dedication of individuals and organizations to trail development and enhancement in the Piedmont Triad. This year’s recipients include:

• Uwharrie Trail Blazers for the “Piedmont Legacy Trails Group Award,” in recognition of their outstanding efforts maintaining and expanding trails in the Uwharrie National Forest, accepted on behalf of the group by volunteers David Craft and Jim Plant.
• Daniel White, director of Surry County Parks and Recreation, for the “Piedmont Legacy Trails Government Partner Award” for his significant vision, contributions and leadership for trails in Surry County.
• Representative Kyle Hall, for the “Piedmont Legacy Trails Government Leader Award,” honoring his continued leadership advancing trail-related policies and projects at the state level.
• The Reidsville Area Foundation, for the “Piedmont Legacy Trails Funder Award,” recognizing their pivotal role in providing essential financial support to trail projects in Rockingham County, including school trails and other projects, enabling their realization and impact.

Due to the success of the recent NC Year of the Trail campaign, the Great Trails State Coalition announced the dates for the upcoming Great Trails State Conference, scheduled for Sept. 11-13 in Winston-Salem. Building on the momentum of the mini summit, the statewide conference promises to be an invaluable opportunity for trail enthusiasts to gather, exchange ideas, and drive the future of trail recreation in North Carolina.

The Surry County Community College/Mt Airy Aktion Club, sponsored by Twin City Kiwanis, successfully sponsored a three-day theatrical performance of “Where There’s a Will, There’s a Murder.”

The activity raised $6,500 that the Aktion Club donated to Surry Animal Rescue. The check was presented at the Aktion Club’s April meeting with a special guest. Pandora, a husky, was rescued by Surry Animal Rescue after being found by the side of the road with two gunshot wounds. Pandora, having had the bullets removed and recovered, is available for adoption.

• Johanna M. Brown has been named chief curator and director of collections, research and archaeology at Old Salem Museums & Gardens and the Museum of Early Southern Decorative Arts.
• Visit Winston-Salem has announced tourism industry veteran Brandy Evans as its new chief marketing officer. In her role, Evans will oversee the strategic planning, development and implementation of Visit Winston-Salem’s marketing and advertising initiatives.
• Dalton McMichael High School has announced the new head football coach, Steve Tapely. Tapely has been teaching and coaching for more than 20 years with stints most recently at Northern Guilford, New Bern and Wilkes Central.
• East Coast Wings + Grill, a casual dining restaurant franchise, has hired Ashley Mitchell as vice president of marketing.
• TrueLook has appointed Tammy DesRosiers as the company’s chief sales officer.
• Surry-Yadkin Works has announced the appointment of Kara M. Parsons as the new director of Surry-Yadkin Works FLEET (Fostering Learning through Education, Employment and Trades).