Surry Business

Surry County’s unemployment rate in September rose to 5.8 percent, 0.2 percent higher than in the preceding month and the highest level since February 2006.

Slightly more than 2,000 were jobless and seeking work in September, up 57 from August, the N.C. Employment Security Commission reported today.

The estimated size of the local labor force and the number of people employed both dropped a fraction of a percent to 34,852 and 32,939, respectively.

Surry County’s unemployment rate is up a full 1 percent from September 2006 when about 1,634 were jobless. Four apparel companies in Mount Airy have discontinued manufacturing operations in the past 12 months, eliminating more than 1,000 jobs.

Hanesbrands Inc. announced today that its third-quarter 2007 earnings were 23 percent lower than in the same quarter last year, but its revenue rose 3.1 percent.

The Winston-Salem-based underwear, outerwear and hosiery manufacturer said spinoff expenses cut into profits. Quarterly profit for the maker of Wonderbra, Champion and Playtex apparel fell to $38.9 million, or 40 cents per share, from $50.3 million, or 52 cents per share in 2006.

Hanesbrands’ third-quarter revenue rose to $1.15 billion from $1.12 billion last year. Outerwear sales were up, but sales of underwear, the company’s largest segment, fell. Hanesbrands cited weakness in children’s underwear and also in licensed male underwear sold through department stores.

Hanesbrands pointed to the 10 percent growth in its operating profit — the measure the company uses to assess its underlying performance — as a sign of better-than-expected cost savings.

“Our cost-reduction efforts are slightly ahead of schedule, which has allowed us to exceed our goal of offsetting the increased costs we have as a standalone company,” Hanesbrands Chief Executive Officer Richard A. Noll said in a statement.

The company said the primary reason for the decline in earnings was higher interest expense. Hanesbrands was spun off from Sara Lee in September 2006. Interest expense more than doubled to $40.3 million, from $17.6 million last year.

Hanesbrands Inc. has one manufacturing facility in Surry County. The plant is at 645 W. Pine St. in Mount Airy.

Hanesbrands (NYSE: HBI) stock was up 12.5 percent from Wednesday’s close to about $29 at midday today.

Southern Living magazine’s November issue features the Yadkin Valley American Viticultural Area, including three wineries in Surry County.

“The Yadkin Valley is like a treasure hunt,” Kim Myers of Laurel Gray Vineyards told Southern Living writer Annette Thompson. “Each winery is as distinct as its owner’s tastes.”

Thompson’s article continues, “Fog settles over the sleepy river valley in early morning, creating a striking November scene. The last few clusters of bruised purple grapes cling to vines, a treat for the birds more than the winemakers. Sound like France or California? Think again. This is North Carolina’s Yadkin Valley, home to some of the South’s finest vines and most creative winemakers….

“Some reside in plush châteaus with dozens of employees, while others are so small you meet the proprietors at the tastings. Welcoming first-timers and sophisticates alike, all the stops are hospitable.”

The featured wineries, along with some of their recommended wines, include Grassy Creek and Elkin Creek vineyards in Elkin and Shelton Vineyards in Dobson.

The Yadkin Valley American Viticultural Area was recognized by the U.S. Department of Agriculture in 2003. The Yadkin Valley AVA in northwestern North Carolina encompasses an area of approximately 1.4 million acres. It includes all of Surry, Wilkes and Yadkin counties and parts of Davie, Davidson, Forsyth and Stokes counties.

J.G. Coram Construction Co. Inc. of Mount Airy submitted the low bid, $3.04 million, for a new public building in Holden Beach, N.C.

After opening the bids this week, however, the town’s board of commissioners decided to postpone awarding the contract until it can obtain cost estimates on demolishing the current building versus renovating and incorporating it in the project. J.G. Coram’s bid included $415,000 for renovating the existing structure.

Holden Beach plans to add a two-story, 16,400-square-foot building adjacent to the town hall. The new structure will house the police department and other offices. The town, which is located midway between Wilmington and Myrtle Beach, has become a popular vacation site whose population swells to 10,000 in midsummer.

Town Manager Steve Wheeler said the bidding process won’t have to be repeated unless the commissioners decide not to renovate the current town hall.

VisitMayberry.com has a new look, new content and new features.

The Mount Airy Tourism Development Authority’s board of directors commissioned a redesign of the popular World Wide Web site — it drew 110,000 unique visitors in August and September — to emphasize the area’s historical, musical and recreational attractions in addition to Mayberry-themed sites and events. The original web site put more emphasis on Mount Airy’s connection to “The Andy Griffith Show” (actor Andy Griffith grew up in the city).

The site uses Flash to cycle through various photos of Mount Airy attractions. Another page contains a quick guide to the “Top 10” sites and destinations. One link lets people book hotel and motel rooms online and another provides a Trip Planner. Another feature lets visitors send personalized e-mail postcards to friends. The site’s calendar lists upcoming throughout Surry County. A directory of businesses includes places for dining.

The Tourism Development Authority spent $5,200 for the site redesign by Galax, Va.-based Professional Networks Inc. The authority receives its funding from a local hotel-motel occupancy tax. Jessica Icenhour is the director of tourism. Rich Kunkel is the TDA’s chairman.

To place events on the VisitMayberry.com web site, call or write Icenhour at the Chamber of Commerce of Greater Mount Airy, 202 N. Main, Mount Airy, NC 27030, (336) 786-6116 or 1 (800) 948-0949. Or e-mail tourism@visitmayberry.com.

Skybus Airlines confirmed this week that it will put its second base of operations at Piedmont Triad International Airport (PTI) near Greensboro and add nonstop, low-cost flights to seven cities.

The company is known for its promise to include 10 $10 seats on every flight.

Beginning Jan. 6, Skybus will add a second daily nonstop flight to Columbus, Ohio. Starting Jan. 15, Skybus will offer flights to Boston, with two flights daily through Portsmouth International Airport in Portsmouth, N.H.; to Jacksonville/Daytona Beach, Fla., through St. Augustine Airport; and to Fort Myers/Punta Gorda, Fla., with two flights daily through Charlotte County Airport in Punta Gorda. Beginning Jan. 17, there will be flight service to Fort Lauderdale, Fla., Gulfport-Biloxi, Miss., and the New Orleans area through Gulfport Biloxi International Airport, and to Hartford, Conn./Springfield, Mass., through Westover Metropolitan Airport in Chicopee, Mass. Service to Los Angeles through Bob Hope International Airport in Burbank will start Feb. 25.

Piedmont Triad International Airport is an hour’s drive from Mount Airy or Elkin in Surry County (and as little as 50 minutes from Pilot Mountain).

For more information about Skybus Airlines’ plans, see http://www.news-record.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=200771022038.

John W. Moore of Surrey Investment Services in Mount Airy, a registered representative with UVEST Financial Services, has earned one of PLANCO’s highest honors: membership in the 2007 Captain’s Club.

PLANCO, a wholesaler of investment and insurance products, gives Captain’s Club membership to representatives who produce more than $1 million in sales in a calendar year.

Moore has helped clients with their investment and retirement planning by strategically matching their needs with corresponding investment products offered by The Hartford, one of the oldest and largest insurance and financial services operations in the nation.

The Captain’s Club members, using the marketing materials, wholesaling resources, and the services of The Hartford and PLANCO to their fullest potential, not only make the selling process smoother, but are also able to make the client feel more at ease, said a company spokesman.

Moore’s office is at Surrey Bank & Trust’s main office, 145 N. Renfro St. His telephone number is (336) 783-3938.

The N.C. Department of Environment and Natural Resources (NC DENR) is suggesting ways that food service establishments can reduce water usage, as well as maintain safe food. To find out more, visit http://ncra.affiniscape.com/associations/2228/files/waterconservation%5Frestaurants%2Epdf.

Surry County natives Charlie and Ed Shelton will be inducted into the N.C. Business Hall of Fame on Nov. 15 in Charlotte.

The hall of fame recognizes men and women who have made a significant contribution to North Carolina’s economic development.

The Shelton brothers grew up in Mount Airy, N.C., across the street from the school they both attended from first grade through high school. Their father was a barber and their mother came from a farming family. The boys spent summers working on their grandfather’s tobacco farm.

Charlie, five years older than Ed, used money intended for his college education to build his first house when he was 18. After graduating from high school and one year at Lees-McRae College, Ed joined his brother in the homebuilding business. They borrowed $2,000 from their father to establish Fortis Homes in 1962 in Winston-Salem. In 1978, they started Shelco Inc. as a commercial development and construction company. They moved Shelco’s corporate headquarters to Charlotte in 1991. In 2003, the brothers sold the company to their management group.

In 1994, Charlie bought an old Surry County dairy farm at auction. The brothers gradually added nearby land until they had a total of 384 acres. The idea of creating a winery came to Charlie in 1998. Shelton Vineyards Inc. has become an award-winning winery. It produced about 28,000 cases of wine last year and also has become a major tourist attraction in the Yadkin Valley Viticultural Area.

The brothers’ newest venture is development of Shelton Village at Dobson, a mixed-use project on Interstate 77.

Inductees to the North Carolina Business Hall of Fame are recommended by a committee from North Carolina Chamber (formerly the North Carolina Citizens for Business & Industry). Honorees must be either retired from their business or at least 70 years old at the time of selection.

Criteria for inclusion in the NC Business Hall of Fame includes:
1) recognized by his or her organization and/or profession as having made significant contribution to its success;
2) served as a role model for others in business;
3) positively influenced the growth of subordinates; and
4) demonstrated a continuity of achievements, contrasted to a one-time effort.

Laureates also are recognized for their outstanding community contributions.

Laureates are inducted in November at the annual hall of fame dinner, the premiere business event in the state.

The N.C. State Board of Community Colleges has approved Dr. Deborah Friedman as the fifth president of Surry Community College in Dobson.

She is presently vice president for human resources at Fayetteville Technical Community College. Friedman has been in the Community College System since 1980, having also worked at Sampson Community College.

She succeeds retiring president Dr. Frank Sells.

Friedman will assume her new position Jan. 1, 2008.