Immedion Asheville Names Joshua Terry Director of Operations and Engineering

Immedion LLC, a provider of cloud, colocation, and data center managed services, announced this week the hiring of Joshua Terry as the Director of Operations and Engineering for their Asheville facility. Immedion’s Asheville data center is located in the Biltmore Park Technology Center. Joshua is responsible for Immedion Asheville’s day-to-day operations.

Joshua has an excellent background and comes highly recommended. Prior to joining Immedion Joshua was the Senior Information Technology Manager for the Cliffs Communities. He holds an MA in Information Technology Management as well as various IT certifications.

“Joshua is an excellent addition to our Asheville team,” shares Immedion COO, Rob Moser. “He is a talented guy and we’re glad to have him on board.” 

McKibbon Hotel Group to Present First Design Drawings for Haywood Street Property

The public invited to preview plans for mixed-use hotel, plaza/piazza, restaurant and retail development.

McKibbon Hotel Group, Inc. will present the first design drawings for their proposed development of the city-owned Haywood Street site, across the street from the Basilica of St. Lawrence and the U.S. Cellular Center on Tuesday, August 7 at 5:30 p.m. at the U.S. Cellular Center Banquet Room, 2^nd floor, 87 Haywood Street, Asheville. The meeting is open to the public, and doors will open at 5:00 p.m. for seating and preview of site renderings.

“Through meetings with the Basilica, the Asheville Design Cente,r and City representatives, we are prepared to develop a property that will enhance the neighborhood and complement the Basilica, which is such an important historic landmark for our city,” explains John McKibbon, Chairman of McKibbon Hotel Group. McKibbon will lead the 30-minute presentation, and will ask for public comment at the meeting’s conclusion.

In addition to the presentation of new site renderings, the meeting will include:

• McKibbon Company History, Previous Urban Projects and Company Involvement in Asheville Community – John McKibbon, Chairman
• Overview of the Haywood Project – Architects Buck Lindsay and Chad Roberson, Lindsay Pope Brayfield Clifford and Associates  
• Precautions That Will Be Taken to Protect Surrounding Buildings During Construction – Jill Heimburg, PE, AMEC Environment & Infrastructure, Asheville, NC

Steve Hill receives Tourism Leadership Award

At the 115th Annual Meeting, the Chamber honored nine community members with our annual leadership awards. This is the sixth installment in our series profiling the award winners.

Chuck Pickering & Dini Cecil Pickering present
the award to Steve Hill

Steve Hill received the 2012 William A.V. Cecil Tourism Leadership Award for his work of nearly 35 years at Thomas Wolfe Memorial State Historic Site. 

This award is named for William A. V. Cecil, whose dedication to travel and tourism exemplify the spirit of this award. 

Hill fell into managing the Thomas Wolfe Site after serving as a building guide for a short time. "The house and I grew up together," Hill said.

During his time, Hill secured funding and oversaw construction of visitor center as well as seeing the house through reconstruction after the devastating 1998 fire. As site manager, Hill displayed unmatched personal dedication to preservation of the site and provided strong, compassionate leadership for his staff.

Hill says he was most inspired by the people who came from across the globe in pilgrimage to the famed author or to learn more about the history of Asheville and literary works of Thomas Wolfe. Guiding people to discovering the history of the house and bringing Thomas Wolfe's writings to life were highlights of his career.

Hill retired last December. 

RiverLink's Expanded Volunteer Orientation Sessions Continue

Asheville, NC -- Everyone interested in the French Broad River or associated with RiverLink needs to know about Wilma Dykeman - the person for whom the Wilma Dykeman RiverWay is named. Jim Stokely, one of Wilma Dykeman's two sons, recently moved back to North Carolina last year from Massachusetts. On Wednesday, August 8, at 10:00 a.m., he will give a presentation on "Who Is Wilma Dykeman?" as part of RiverLink's volunteer orientation sessions. RiverLink will also host a volunteer information only session at 5:00 p.m.

Join us at the RiverLink offices at 170 Lyman Street to learn about volunteering at RiverLink and Wilma Dykeman, a pathfinding advocate for the environment, race relations,the use or misuse of pesticides in food production, Appalachia, birth control and more.

The August 8 information sessions will detail RiverLink's volunteer positions in a Powerpoint presentation. Volunteers will have a chance to fill out a volunteer application, and Volunteer Coordinator Dave Russell will be available to answer questions and help everyone find their best fit at RiverLink.

Please RSVP to Dave by calling (828) 252-8474, ext. 11 or via e-mail at volunteer@riverlink.org.

New Belgium site provides info on Asheville brewery

Over 250 turned out for the public presentation of the New Belgium brewery design concepts on last week. Chamber members can review the designs, provide input and stay abreast with happenings and events at the following site: http://www.newbelgium.com/Community/ashevillebrewery.aspx?ref=fb

Carowinds hosts Chamber Appreciation Days Aug. 1-19

Carowinds hosts Chamber Appreciation Days August 1-19, 2012. Corporate Affiliate Online Discount Tickets are $31.99.

To purchase discount tickets between August 1 – August 19, 2012, please go to www.carowinds.com/lc. Username & Password: LC (case sensitive). Place your credit card order then print out your e-ticket(s) and bring it with you to the park. There is a $5 processing fee per order.
These discounted tickets are not available to purchase at the gate.

For the most up-to-date Park information including hours, go to: www.carowinds.com

Doing Business with the Government: Is Your Business Ready for SAM?

Wednesday, August 22nd, 2:00 - 4:00 pm

Asheville Area Chamber of Commerce, 2nd Floor Board Conference Room

Get the basics of government contracting.  Presentation by the Small Business and Technology Development Center (SBTDC).

No fee to attend.

Registration required. To register or for more information, contact James Lee at 398-7927 or jameselee06@abtech.edu

Biltmore Culinary Career Day

Come see what Asheville's largest hospitality employer has to offer by attending Biltmore's Culinary Career Day event on August 7 at the Biltmore Staffing Center in downtown Asheville. You will have the opportunity to speak directly with members of Biltmore's culinary staff and Biltmore Chefs about current openings and career opportunities.

What: Job Fair for culinary job openings at Biltmore. Featured positions include Line Cook, Executive Chef, Sous Chef, Demi Chef, Pastry Cook, Cafeteria Attendant.

Who:  Job seekers interested in culinary and pastry positions at Biltmore are invited to attend

Where: First floor of Biltmore’s corporate office located downtown at 1 North Pack Square

When: Tuesday, August 7;  10 a.m. – 2 p.m.

Visit biltmore.com/careers to view open positions and apply online.