The 13 local recipients of microgrants through the Mount Olive Community Development Corp. were recognized by the Mount Olive Town Board at its Dec. 13 session. The source of the funding was the Duke Energy Foundation. From left are Corp. president and town Commissioner Steve Wiggins; Corp. secretary and town Commissioner Barbara Kornegay; Mckale Barfield of Garris Funeral Home; Derrick Remer of Duke Energy; Roberta Copple of the ACIA Thrift Store; Julie Beck, president of the Mount Olive Area Chamber of Commerce; Bryce Ficken of Ficken Insurance and Realty; Ryan Roberts of R&R Brewing; Perry Carlton from Kan-Seek Services; and Pierre Pognon of Sylvia Thrift Store (Steve Herring|mountolivetribune.com)
Several Center Street businesses were able to continue their ongoing recovery from economic challenges initially triggered by the COVID pandemic thanks to microgrants funded through the Duke Energy Foundation.
Earlier in the year, the Foundation distributed $500,000 in grants to help small businesses across North Carolina.It is the second year that Duke Energy has provided targeted grants in support of downtowns throughout the state.
The program awarded $25,000 grants to 20 nonprofits, each representing a specific community.Each nonprofit was required to establish a small-business support microgrant program and deploy the funding within their local community by January 2023.
The microgrants range from $500 to $2,500 per individual business.
The Mount Olive Community Development Corp. was one of the nonprofits awarded a $25,000 grant.The corporation served as a pass through for the money that was awarded as microgrants to individuals who own businesses on the Center Street area.
The grants could be used for anything that they may change in their facilities to accommodate the COVID situation during the pandemic, said Mount Olive Town Commissioner Barbara Kornegay.
Several of the local grant recipients were recognized by the Mount Olive Town Board at its Dec. 13 session.
“They made changes like putting up plexiglass surface areas to protect the customers and their employees,” said Kornegay, who is also the Mount Olive Community Development Corp. secretary. “They set up outdoor seating so that people would have a place to wait or people would have a place to have a meal.
“They also made other alterations to online presence that they may have, made sure they had special cleaning done in their business regularly.”
Kornegay thanked Derrick Remer of Duke Energy for his efforts in helping to secure the grant for Mount Olive.
Remer attended the Dec. 13 meeting.
The Mount Olive Community Development Corp. made 13 microgrants.
“There we a few other applicants which were ineligible, according to the Duke Energy regulations,” Kornegay said. “However, we were able to distribute the entire $25,000 to qualified applicants.”
GRANT RECIPIENTS
– Parker Drug Co. probably made the most extensive facilities changes creating a front window pass through, Kornegay said.
“They re-wired their communications system from the rear store to front, they purchased a new refrigerator for vaccines, put in new floors and counters, and did more social media marketing,” she said. “They never closed the store, even when only two employees were not down with COVID and they gave thousands of COVID immunizations.
– Sylvie Thrift Store and God’s Grace Convenience Store were both affected by the December 2021 fire in the downtown area, she said.
“They created plexiglass customer windows and outdoor seating when they were up and running after the fire,” Kornegay said
– Rosy Pulido of Four Seasons Alterations put up a plexiglass service window to keep customers and employees safe. The business does alterations for weddings and proms and also works on uniforms.
– Ficken Insurance and Realty, managed by Bryce Ficken, engaged a special cleaning service which came monthly to clean all offices and customer service areas. The business has been in operation since 1917.
– R&R Brewing LLC, owed by Ryan Roberts, modified its physical space and added outdoor seating. Technology for canning its own beer, so that the company could sell to grocers and retailers while the taproom was closed, was another innovation during COVID.
– Garris Funeral Home Inc. renovated the interior of the main building and purchased furniture for the reception area. The business is run by three generations of the same family.
– The ACIA Thrift Shop is a volunteer-operated enterprise. The store purchased sanitizers and gloves for customers and employees, and hired someone in the off hours to help with sorting clothing. The company also purchased a thermometer for customer scanning.
– Kan-Seek Services, a fire extinguisher supplier, replaced and painted part of its building. The business replaced molding and gave its business a face lift.
– Debbie Jordan of Debbie’s Hairstyling is the business’ only employee. She bought paint, ladder, brushes and rollers so that she could give the inside of her business an upgrade. She did all the work herself.
Jordan also purchased sanitizer for use after every customer along with special laundry materials. She purchased masks, thermometer and other preventative materials.
– Hilltop Insurance, run by Patricia Hill, elected to operate from home for part of the pandemic. This plan required the purchase of desks and other office supplies. One of their employees also attended a special insurance course during the pandemic.
– The Mount Olive Area Chamber of Commerce repaired the front of its building, updating it with vinyl. The Chamber also created a new website that is more customer friendly with online business capability. Chamber members worked with one of their member businesses to hold their reverse raffle, as an outdoor drive through event.
– Pool Dash LLC modified the outdoor lot next door to its business, so that it had outdoor seating and well as a patio. This change was made in time for the N.C. Pickle Festival, thus giving tourists a place to sit during the festival.
