Steve McNair’s former restaurant reopens

The restaurant once owned by Tennessee Titans quarterback Steve McNair has reopened.

According to WKRN-TV, Gridiron9 is open again after Alexis Springer purchased it from McNair’s estate.

McNair was slain in July 2009 shortly after he opened the restaurant. His girlfriend at the time shot him in what police called a murder/suicide.

The restaurant had been closed since the slaying.

Restaurant officials said they would have a grand opening in November.

Source: Wate.com

GM recalling about 400 workers in Tennessee

A source familiar with the decision says General Motors is recalling about 400 idled union workers to its Spring Hill plant in Tennessee to build a four-cylinder engine.

An official briefed about the new jobs who declined to be identified because an official announcement is pending provided the count to The Associated Press on Tuesday.

GM spokeswoman Sherrie Childers Arb said a media advisory about a Friday announcement at Spring Hill was forthcoming but she declined further comment.

The Detroit Free Press first reported the decision citing an anonymous source.

GM laid off about 2,000 workers at Spring Hill last year, and about 800 of those workers have relocated to GM plants in other states.

Source: Wate.com

Furniture Deal Brings 200 Jobs To Burke

A joint venture between a Burke County furniture maker and a Michigan furniture retailer will bring 200 jobs to Valdese.

Carolina Artisan Group will design and build custom seating that will be sold by Michigan’s Art Van Furniture. The first six living room and family room chair collections will be available by mid-October.

Kellex Corp. of Burke County is the joint venture partner with Art Van.
“The opportunity to partner with an icon in the furniture industry, Art Van Furniture, not only made good business sense, the leadership style and commitment to the U.S. furniture industry matches the Kellex owners’ beliefs and values,” said Kellex owner Charlie Rice.

Burke Development Inc. President Scott Darnell has been in the job only a few months before the Carolina Artisan announcement. Darnell was head of economic development for the Cleveland County Chamber of Chamber.

Source: Charlotte Business Journal

NC to receive $298M to support education jobs

U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan today announced that North Carolina will receive $298 million to support education jobs.

“There is a huge sense of urgency to get these funds out the door,” Duncan said. “I commend North Carolina for being one of the first to submit their application and thank our team at the Department for making funds available within a matter of days. These education dollars will help North Carolina keep thousands of teachers in the classroom working with our students this school year.”

The $10 billion education fund will support education jobs in the 2010-11 school year and be distributed to states by a formula based on population figures. States can distribute their funding to school districts based on their own primary funding formula or districts’ relative share of federal Title I funds.

Over the last two years, the Department has been able to support 300,000 education jobs through stimulus funding provided by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. At this time, seven states have drawn down 100 percent of previously allocated jobs funding, while 18 states total have drawn down 80 percent or more. A July report from the independent Center on Education Policy found that 75 percent of school districts that received stimulus funds expect to cut teaching positions in the upcoming school year.

Source: Asheville Citizen Times

Roller skating rink plans November opening

Roller skating is coming back to the mountains.

There has long been a need for affordable family fun and entertainment in Haywood County and Jackson County and it’s finally here. The Smoky Mountain Sk8way, located next to the Waynesville Cycle Center on Great Smoky Expressway, is scheduled to open in November.

The skating rink and family entertainment center will offer public skating, birthday parties, video arcade, ticket redemption counter, pro shop sponsored by the WNC Sk8 Shop, concession area, and soft play area. The Sk8way will also be host to school, church and daycare center field trips as well as private events, fitness classes and/or skating lessons.

Robert and JoLynn Bryant, a local couple known for such ventures as the WNC Visitors Center, WaynesvilleLive.com and SylvaLive.com Web sites, and Haywood County Clothing Recycles, have begun construction in the remodel of the building at 19025 Great Smoky Expressway. The two tried to open a skating rink in 2006 but never found a free spanning building that was large enough.

“We spotted a business that was moving out and called to inquire about it just out of curiosity,” Robert said. “It turned out the owner of the building, Troy Muse, is also the same man responsible for building and operating a skating rink here some years ago. Mr. Muse is happy to help bring skating back to the mountains and has been an invaluable informational resource for us. Our goal is to bring some fun to the mountains, create a few jobs and fill whatever needs this community may have whether that is church outings, roller fitness or skating parties.”

The Sk8way team is selling advertising/sponsorship packages to help with the start-up costs and is asking the community and local businesses for their support. “We weren’t really ready to open a skating rink now but sometimes that’s the way the best adventures start,” JoLynn said. “The fact that we finally found a building big enough and that we can expand in is a sign to us to move on it now. Sponsorships are what will allow us to build the quality of skating rink that Haywood County and Jackson County deserve.”

Currently, the Entrepreneurship class at Haywood Community College is working on a business plan for the Smoky Mountain Sk8way and other businesses, such as The Print Haus and Cornerstone Builders, are getting involved. If you would like to be a sponsor or get involved in some other way, visit http://www.SmokyMountainSk8way.com or call 550-0122.

Source: Asheville Citizen Times

Does Your Cover Letter ASK for the Job Interview?

Job seekers all over the country miss their golden opportunity to land an interview for the job they want- often for one simple reason. They neglect to ASK for one. They write a great cover letter, listing their accomplishments, their abilities, and the accolades they received for the work they’ve done. But they leave out an essential sentence:
May I come in for an interview?

Or

I would love to interview for this position, can we schedule a time next week?

There is no question that you can and will be called for more job interviews if you take that one step- asking for the opportunity to meet in person. Without the question, your cover letter fails to fully work in your favor. So be sure that every cover letter you write includes a request for a job interview.

Twice is Nice!

Ask for an interview in the beginning of your cover letter and again towards the end. It’s fine to use a friendly tone, but don’t be afraid to be direct too. You’re asking the hiring manager to give you a call and invite you in to talk about the job you both want to fill. This is as basic as it gets. Asking is one of simplest and more effective job-search tips you will read anywhere at any time. I hope you’ll take it to heart, use it, and then watch the results pour in.

Source: OdinJobs

Five tips for keeping typos out of your resume

You know what they say: The difference between landing a job and not even getting the interview is inserting “Career break in 1999 to renovate my horse” into your resume.

Everyone knows how important it is to ensure your resume is error-free, but that’s often easier said than done. What you need are some tips and strategies for eliminating those embarrassing typos. Here are five surefire ones you should practice before the next job interview, as reported by The Washington Post.

1: Review it later

You can’t confidently correct a resume while you’re writing it, because you see what you intended to write, not what’s really on the screen. Wait several hours or, even better, a day or two.

2: Get someone else to edit it for you

Not a replacement for reviewing it yourself, but a second set of eyes is essential for seeing your words fresh and impartially.

3: Print it out

It’s easier to see many kinds of errors on the printed page that you’d miss on a computer screen.

4: Read it aloud

Just like a printed resume looks different from what’s on the screen, reading it out loud sounds different from reading it in your head. When you actually hear the words, you’ll notice that some things just don’t make sense.

5: Read it from the bottom up

Reading your resume out of sequence can disrupt the logical flow that helps your brain make sense of things that are grammatically incorrect or have other language problems. Also, you’ll see the end with fresh eyes, whereas ordinarily you’ll be burnt out by the time you reach the end and more likely to miss errors.

Source: TechRepublic

UT-K welcomes first MBA Entrepreneur Fellows

The University of Tennessee, Knoxville is kicking off its MBA Entrepreneur Fellow program this fall, where students are paid to start a business while earning their degrees.

According to a news release from the UT College of Business Administration, it is the only program of its kind in the country.

Each fellow receives a $30,000 scholarship – $10,000 for each of the program’s three semesters.

They must make satisfactory progress toward launching or growing their business idea to continue receiving funding.

This year, three students received the fellowships. They are: Paul Haymore from Marietta, Ga., and Matt Parton and Brian Mohney from Knoxville.

Mohney called the fellowship “a dream come true.”

Source: WATE.com

Lava opens fabric plant in York

Lava USA Inc. is spending $3.8 million to bring a 30-job fabrics operation to York.

The family-owned company makes knitted fabrics for mattress covers and has started production in the 100,000-square-foot former Sattler Plastics building at 601 Railroad Avenue.

Lava expects to have 10 employees by year end and reach 30 within five years.

Robert Jones is plant manager.

Buddy Motz, chairman of the York County Council, says the new jobs and investment are welcome in western York County.

“It is refreshing to see a globally competitive manufacturing operation added to York County’s rich textile history,” he says.

Founded in 1925 and based in Belgium, Lava also has manufacturing operations in Belgium. It has a sales office in Waterloo, S.C.
The company also makes mattress ticking.

Source: Charlotte Business Journal

American Textile Opens Davidson Office

Sometimes we need a reminder that textiles are still woven into the fabric of the Carolinas.

The American Textile Co., which is based outside of Pittsburgh, realized it when the company wanted to grow its bed-fashion product development and marketing segments.

Some of the best folks in those two fields hail from the Carolinas and specifically the Charlotte area, says Blake Ruttenberg, American Textile executive vice president of sales and marketing.

The new hires really didn’t want to leave the Carolinas so American Textile decided to open an office in Davidson. On Aug. 27, opened a four-person office in the Harbor Place development in Davidson.
“We said rather than trying to convince them to move to Pittsburgh, let’s just join them,” Ruttenberg says.

For example, Mette Odom, American Textile’s new vice president of marketing, is the former vice president of marketing at Springs Global US Inc. Others came to the company from the former Pillowtex Corp. and Sara Lee Corp.

The result of the new hires was most of the company’s product development and marketing leadership will be based in Davidson. Ruttenberg expects to add a fifth person to the Davidson office by the end of the year and perhaps more in the future, he says.

But don’t expect the company to move its 200-employee headquarters in Duquesne, Pa., Ruttenberg says.

American Textile is a big supplier of bed pillows, mattress and pillow protectors and pads. It has 400 employees.

Source: Charlotte Business Journal