News and Updates

Copies mailed or delivered to all Chamber members

Click to read the directory online

All members of the Montcross Area Chamber had their business contact information delivered today to the homes and offices of more than 23,000 subscribers to The Gaston Gazette. The Chamber's 2017 Member Directory, a 48-page, full-color publication, was produced and printed by the Gazette and published as part of today's issue of the newspaper.

Information about more than 530 Chamber members is organized by business category to make it easily accessible to consumers, who will use it throughout the year to find Chamber members providing needed products and services. 

The directory also includes a review of recent Chamber activities and accomplishments, a look ahead to 2017 and articles and photos on recent Chamber award recipients.

A copy of the directory has been mailed, or personally delivered, to every member of the Chamber. Copies also are available at the Chamber office in the Stowe Building at 100 N. Main St., Belmont.

The directory soon will be available on the Chamber website. 

Edward Grubbs cuts the ribbon with his wife Diane and grandson Edward to his right and his son Brandon and granddaughter Jessalyn to his left. Also on the front row, from left are Chamber Board member Melia Lyerly of Lyerly Agency, Chamber Board Chair Bill Ingram and Chamber Board member Chris Kennedy of Kennedy Business Solutions. 

Edward Grubbs, surrounded by family members and Chamber members, cut a ribbon on Thursday, Feb. 23, 2017, to symbolize the opening of Belmont Hearing Center in downtown Belmont. The Center is located in Suite 123 of the Stowe Building at 100 N. Main Street.

Chamber members and friends welcomed Belmont Hearing and enjoyed refreshments during a reception in the Stowe Building lobby. They also had an opportunity to visit the center and learn about the hearing testing and other services available there.  

Before he became a hearing aid specialist, Edward Grubbs was a patient, who was diagnosed with profound hearing loss at age 36. Hearing aids changed his life, and now he is in business at Belmont Hearing Center helping change the lives of others who are experiencing hearing loss. 

Edward has been in the hearing aid profession for 15 years and has owned his own practice since 2007. He relocated from Florida to Belmont last year to be near children and grandchildren.

At Belmont Hearing Center, services include hearing evaluations, ear canal examinations through video otoscopy, hearing aid fittings, follow up service, ear molds, wireless technology and tinnitus treatment. 

For more information, visit www.belmonthearing.com, or call 704.860.7795.

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Heather and David Pierce are at right on the front row, with (at left) Chamber Board member Melia Lyerly of Lyerly Agency. On the back row, from (from left) are Chamber Board members Jeff Lee of The Vintage Nest, Jim Crisp of Clearbrook Advisory Services and Brad Rivers of Gaston College. (Photo by John Jacob.)

Chamber members and friends learned about two businesses while, making new business contacts and enjoying great food and beverages on Thursday, Feb. 9, 2017, when Chic Boutique and Graphic Hound Studios at 128 E. Central Ave., Mount Holly, hosted "Network After Work." Food for the reception was provided by H&M Catering of Mount Holly.

Heather and David Pierce own Chic Boutique, a clothing consignment shop for the full-figured female. At Graphic Hound Studios in the same building, David specializes in graphics and design, displaying his work on t-shits, car tags, signs banners and a wide variety of other applications. He does custom illustrations and design, logos, digital color separations, screen printing and embroidery, business cards, brochures, vinyl graphics, stickers and more. 

Heather says Chic Boutique offers gently used and new clothing starting at size 14 W and accessories are in stock. Shoes start at size 8. Aside from the large selection of clothing, from t-shirts to formals, the shop carries name brand purses, wallets, evening bags, scarves, jewelry, hats & handkerchiefs.and much more.

For more information on Chic Boutique, call 704.820.8635 or visit www.chicboutiqueplus.com. For more on Graphic Hound Studios, call David at 704.820.8429. 

Adam Lee and his wife Kristi, with their daughters Aubrey, Makenna and Brooke, cut a ribbon at the celebration of Adam's new State Farm office in Mount Holly. Also on the front row are agency team members (from left) Robert Nichols, Tony Merida and Davis Crawford. Holding the ribbon are Mount Holly Mayor Bryan Hough (right) and City Manager Danny Jackson. 

Chamber members and friends and Mount Holly city officials joined clients and family members to celebrate the opening of Adam Lee's new State Farm Agency at 247 W. Catawba Avenue in Mount Holly. A Chamber ribbon-cutting ceremony kicked off an open house featuring tours and refreshments and opportunities to meet the State Farm team and learn more about the business. Mount Holly Mayor Bryan Hough participated in the ribbon-cutting and welcomed the new business to Mount Holly.

The agency offers a wide variety of products and services including auto, home, property, business, life and health insurance. Adam Lee has been a State Farm agent since 2008 and opened his office in Mount Holly in November. For more information, call 980.277.2700, or visit www.agentadamlee.com.

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CHAMBER AWARDS for 2016 - Presented Feb. 2, 2017, at 57th Celebration 

(Photos by Dodie Huffman of Image Gallery Photography)

Business of the Year: The Vintage Nest

Jeff Lee and his wife Tricia founded The Vintage Nest in 2011 in a 650-square-foot space in Mount Holly. Now in it's third location, The Vintage Nest occupies 7,000 square feet and is attracting customers from far and wide to downtown Mount Holly. Painted vintage furniture is the shops specialty, but the inventory includes a large line of other home accessories. The Vintage Nest is making a major contribution to improving customer traffic and building the economy of downtown Mount Holly. In the photo above, Janet Sarn of Park Sterling Bank is presenting the Business of the Year Award to Jeff Lee.)

EPIC Award: Jay Pithwa of Tastebuds Popcorn

Jay Pithwa founded Tastebuds Popcorn five years ago in a small space in downtown Belmont. From the beginning, he envisioned Tastebuds growing to many additional locations, and he has made that vision a reality. Today, there are six Tastebuds locations in North Carolina and Virginia, with more on the drawing board. A large production facility in North Belmont provides popcorn to serve all of the outlets, plus a large number of online customers. The Chamber's EPIC Award is given annually to a Chamber member who exhibits that he or she is Entrepreneurial, Progressive, Innovative and Collaborative. In the photo, Timothy Roberts (right) of Cottage Keepers is presenting the award to Jay Pithwa.

Public Service Award: Gaston EDC Director Donny Hicks

Donny Hicks has devoted his working life, more than 33 years, to serving Gaston County by recruiting new industry and other businesses to bring jobs here and by retaining existing local companies and helping them to expand and create new jobs. He has been responsible for bringing more than $600 million in investment to Gaston County. He has developed and recruited businesses to locate in two major business parks. Twice he has been named North Carolina's top economic development executive. For his deep commitment to serving his home county and his major contributions to economic development, he was named recipient of the Harley B. Gaston, Jr. Public Service Award for 2016. The award is named for the late Harley B. Gaston, Jr. of Belmont, a long-time attorney and judge who was a founder of the Chamber of Commerce. Presenting the Award to Donny Hicks is Shannon Thomas of Creative Solutions Special Events.

Bill Ingram (right) will lead the Chamber Board of Directors in 2017. Other officers elected are on the back row (from left) Past-Chair Walter Payne of ImageMark Business Services, Secretary Ryan Clarke of Allstate Insurance, Chair-Elect Carey Roberts of Carey Roberts Design, Treasurer Jim Crisp of Clearbrook Advisory Services. New Board members elected for 2017 are on the front row (from left) Robert Larrison of Carolinas HealthCare System, Clif Calvert of McKenney Family Dealerships and Chris Kennedy of Kennedy Business Solutions. Justin Hannon of Hannon Orthodontics also was elected to the Board. In the photo below are Bill Ingram (right) and Walter Payne at the Celebration. 

Major Chamber awards also were presented at celebration

(All Photos by Dodie Huffman of Image Gallery Photography)

A sellout crowd of more than 260 members and friends registered to attend the 57^th Celebration and Annual Meeting of the Montcross Area Chamber of Commerce in the Grand Hall of the Mount Holly Municipal Complex on February 2. CaroMont Health was the presenting sponsor for the celebration, which included a reception, silent auction, award presentations, dinner and program. 

Officers and Board members were elected, and Bill Ingram, market president at Wells Fargo Bank in Gaston County, accepted the gavel as Board chair for the next year. Walter Payne, CEO of ImageMark Business Services received an appreciation plaque as the outgoing Board chair and will remain an officer as Board past-chair. Carey Roberts of Carey Roberts Design was named Board chair-elect, Ryan Clarke of Allstate Insurance became Board secretary, and Jim Crisp of Clearbrook Advisory Services was re-elected to a second term as treasurer. 

Four new members were elected to Board seats. They are Robert Larrison of Carolinas HealthCare System, Chris Kennedy of Kennedy Business Solutions, Clif Calvert of McKenney Family Dealerships and Justin Hannon of Hannon Orthodontics. 

Three major awards were presented. The Vintage Next of Mount Holly received the Business of the Year Award, which was accepted by owner Jeff Lee and presented by Janet Sarn for sponsor Park Sterling Bank. Jay Pithwa of Tastebuds Popcorn in Belmont received the EPIC Award for entrepreneurship, presented by sponsor Timothy Roberts of Cottage Keepers. Gaston County Economic Development Commission Executive Director Donny Hicks received the Harley B. Gaston, Jr. Public Service Award for more than 30 years of recruiting businesses to create jobs in Gaston County.

Dr. Llana Smith backed up by her husband Terry and staff member Lauren cut a ribbon celebrating opening of her new practiec in Belmont. Chamber members filled the hallway outside her office for the ceremony. Holding the ribbon are Elaine Dimeo of George Stowe Insurance (left) and Chamber Board member Dr. Rachael Wruble.

A historic downtown Belmont building has become the new home for Smith Chiropractic & Nutrition. Dr. Llana Call Smith relocated her practice from Matthews recently and celebrated on Jan. 27, 2017 with a Chamber ribbon-cutting and open house. 

Dr. Smith is a Clinical Master in Nutrition Response Testing and is one of only a handful of practitioners in North Carolina to have achieved this level of training. Nutrition Response Testing is a non-invasive technique that allows analyzing of the body to help patients regain good health naturally.

She opened her first office in Illinois in 2005 and practiced there 10 years until moving to North Carolina.

Dr. Smith chose to locate her Belmont office on the second floor, Suite 207, of the former Bank of Belmont Building at 32 North Main Street, where Wells Fargo Bank now is the largest tenant. Built in 1927, the building is noted for its beautiful architecture, marble entrance and its classic elevator complete with a wooden door and sliding metal grate.

For more on Smith Chiropractic & Nutrition, call 704.817.4745, or visit www.drllanacallsmith.com.