Business Milestones

Piedmont Financial Holding Company, the parent company of Piedmont Federal Savings Bank, has announced the receipt of all of the requisite regulatory approvals from the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System and the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency to complete the acquisition of Wake Forest Bancshares (OTC Pink: WAKE) and the related merger of Wake Forest Federal Savings and Loan Association into Piedmont Federal.

The transaction remains subject to the approval of Wake Forest Bancshares’ shareholders and the satisfaction of the closing conditions to the merger. Wake Forest Bancshares shareholders are expected to vote on the transaction at a special meeting of shareholders to be held on Dec. 15. The transaction is currently expected to close early in the first quarter of 2024.

Wake Forest University ranks third among doctoral U.S. colleges and universities in the percentage of students studying abroad, according to the Open Doors 2023 report published by the Institute of International Education.

Based on IIE’s methodology, 72% of Wake Forest undergraduates received credit for study abroad in the 2021-2022 academic year and summer 2022.

The Open Doors 2023 Report shows that during the 2021/2022 academic year, U.S. study abroad rebounded to more than half of pre-pandemic levels, with 188,753 students pursuing opportunities abroad for academic credit. The U.S. study abroad total reflects the 2021/22 academic year when travel and study abroad programming were still affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, especially during the fall and winter. The rebound signals a critical turning point in students’ ability to pursue in-person experiences abroad safely.

This year’s report also notes a 12% increase in international students coming to the U.S. The number marks a near-return to pre-pandemic levels and the fastest growth rate in more than 40 years.

This year, as part of International Education Week, Wake Forest’s Center for Immigration & Support hosted its first Scholar Symposium where international scholars shared their research with the University community.

International Education Week, Nov. 13-17, is an opportunity to celebrate the benefits of international education and exchange across the U.S. and worldwide. This joint initiative of the U.S. Department of State and the U.S. Department of Education promotes programs that prepare Americans for a global environment.

Lowes Foods celebrated on Nov. 16 the grand reopenings of its stores located on Robinhood Road in Winston-Salem and off Shallowford Road in Lewisville.

The Robinhood Road store will expand its Poppy Go Lucky Original that features a variety of fresh instore made popcorn. Flavors include the classic Butter Me Up, Let’s Get Cheesy and the popular All Mixed Up variety popcorn. In addition to Poppy Go Lucky, Lowes Foods has expanded the store’s Breadcrumb Original featuring fresh-baked artisanal breads that are hand-crafted, all natural and have no preservatives and has added a full service Sammy’s deli sandwich area.

In Lewisville, Lowes Foods has added Smokehouse, which offers a daily rotation of wood-smoked meats — including beef, pork, chicken, and salmon — using a variety of woods to infuse flavor. Smokehouse items are available ready to eat or to take home and heat. In addition, the Lewisville store has expanded to include a larger Cakery, with square cakes in all sizes that are assembled and topped with icing made fresh in-store with real cream and real butter and a bigger assortment of bread in the Bread Crumb.

Children’s Home Society of NC received several marketing communications awards. The MarCom Awards honor excellence in marketing and communications while recognizing the creativity, hard work and generosity of industry professionals.

• Platinum – “It’s Worth It Foster Family” commercial
• Platinum – “It’s Worth It Foster Family” campaign
• Gold – “Combatting the Shortage: Foster Family Recruitment” campaign
• Honorable Mention – “The Foster Care Education Video Series”

Additionally, The Institute for Family, an initiative of Children’s Home Society, won a gold award for their “Seen Out Loud” podcast.

With approximately 11,000 children in foster care in the state, and 450+ aging out each year, the society works to promote the right of every child to a permanent, safe and loving family.

For information, call 800-632-1400 or visit www.chsnc.org.

Six distinguished North Carolinians were presented the North Carolina Award, the state’s highest honor, by Governor Roy Cooper at a Nov. 9 ceremony at the North Carolina Museum of Art. The award recognizes significant lifetime achievements in the areas of fine arts, literature, public service and science.

The 2023 honorees are Honorable David Price, Honorable G.K. Butterfield and Fred A. Whitfield, all for public service, Marsha White Warren for literature, Patrick Dougherty for fine arts and Dr. Mandy K. Cohen for science.

For information, please visit www.dncr.nc.gov/NCawards. The awards are administered by the N.C. Department of Natural and Cultural Resources.

Attorney Donald R. Vaughan recently received the Greensboro Bar Association’s Distinguished Service Award.

Vaughan is a Greensboro native, Eagle Scout and Wake Forest University alumnus.

Vaughan’s private law practice over the last several decades has afforded him opportunities to help others, whether in the halls of traffic court or the cells of prisons, where he has devoted time in post-conviction clemency matters. Vaughan is an adjunct professor at Wake Forest and Elon Law Schools.

Piedmont Environmental Alliance awarded its Green Business of the Year Award to Second Harvest Food Bank Northwest NC.

The nonprofit is a member of PEA’s Green Business Network. They offer community-based solutions to food insecurity and food waste and divert tons of food and household waste from landfills every day. Some of the actions Second Harvest has taken to “green” their food bank include:

• Collaborations with local farmers to expand food waste diversion efforts.
• In-office composting with the use of compostable service ware, in partnership with Gallins Family Farm.
• Working closely with PEA to pursue projects like rooftop solar energy production, rainwater collection, and electric vehicle charging stations at their new Whitaker Park headquarters in Winston-Salem.

Six local parks and recreation projects across the state will receive grants totaling nearly $1.9 million through the N.C. Parks and Recreation Trust Fund, the N.C. Division of Parks and Recreation has announced. The N.C. Parks and Recreation Authority selected the recipients Nov. 3.

Local projects include: Double Bluff Recreation Area, $500,000; The Park at Seven Devils, $250,000; and London Park, $61,000.