| Martin Starnes & Associates, CPAs, P.A. attended the Catawba County Chamber of Commerce’s Annual Shareholders & Investors Luncheon on February 26, 2020 at the Hickory Metro Convention Center. Chairman of the Board, Philip Moore, opened the event. He spoke about the 2019 Annual Report that has been released with important information about Catawba County. An introduction to the new brand and name was made. The chamber is now called The Chamber of Catawba County. One of the highlights at the luncheon was the presentation of the Chamber’s Duke Energy Citizenship & Service Award. The award went to Mark Story, who had recently passed away. Mark was the CEO of K-64 and considered himself a serial tech geek. He strived to make K-64 the community model for workforce talent development. Mark had a great impact in Catawba County and education. His family proudly accepted the award on his behalf. Chairman Moore continued the luncheon with the 2020 Strategic Priorities. He spoke about new opportunities for entrepreneurs in Catawba County. Chairman Moore and Lindsay Keisler, President/CEO of The Chamber of Catawba County, spoke about being a catalyst. The chamber has launched “The Catalyst: Entrepreneurs Supporting Entrepreneurs.” More information on the monthly meetings and opportunities this provides can be found on the chamber’s website. Lindsay then introduced speaker, Thom Ruhe, CEO of NC IDEA Foundation. Thom gave the audience some insight into the history of the NC IDEA Foundation and what they do for the community. The non-profit has amazing opportunities to help entrepreneurs get established. He also moderated a panel of local entrepreneurs that consisted of five local founders of various types of companies. Thom asked several rounds of questions to each panelist to give the audience more information about their business, how they got started, why they became entrepreneurs, and what the future may hold for them. Some of the panelists spoke about NC IDEA and how it supported their company as it was starting up. The panelists gave the audience a sense of pride in businesses that are being developed and growing in Catawba County. As an investor in The Chamber of Catawba County, Martin Starnes & Associates, CPAs, P.A. was excited to hear all the great developments by the chamber. We look forward to what the future holds for all the new entrepreneurs. We will do our part to support the growth in the county by guiding clients in realizing their goals through mutual trust and our personal commitment. Submitted by: Cassie Wilson, Audit Manager |
