Cary hosted the PONY 14U and 12U fastpitch softball tournament July 17- July 22

CaryCitizen photos by Tom Mousseau

CARY, NC –Softball’s future stars played for a national title in the PONY National Fastpitch Softball Tournament which began Saturday, July 17 and continued until July 22. Champions were crowned after games held throughout Cary and in Holly Springs. Representing 13 states and 2 countries, 120 teams qualified for the 12 & Under and 14 & Under age divisions. This year’s tournament was hosted in part by the Town of Cary and the Raleigh Jaycees, in partnership with the Greater Raleigh Convention and Visitors Bureau.

$2 Million for Local Business

Sporting events are always a welcome economic benefit to the region. Last year, an estimated 5,000 people came to the area for the tournament, infusing over $2 million in revenue locally through lodging, food purchases, shopping and other expenditures. This year’s bonanza appears to be even greater.

Games were played at various fields in Bond Park, Thomas Brooks Park, Middle Creek Park and Green Hope High School in Cary, as well as Womble Park in Holly Springs.  All proceeds benefited the Raleigh Jaycees.

PONY, Protect our Nation’s Youth, is a non-profit corporation that is an administrative body for baseball and girl’s softball. This is PONY’s 34th year of involvement with girl’s softball. During this tournament, about 450 games by 3000 players were played in the six-day time period.

The winning teams in each category

Pony- 14U:

Bronco- 12U:

Tournament Pictures

More of Tom Mousseau’s Pony Softball pictures on Flickr:

• 14U Pictures – Flickr Set
• 12U Pictures – Flickr Set
  

News on CaryCitizen is sponsored by Great Harvest Bread Company

Cary, NC – Hard on the heels of acquiring Memex, SAS, headquartered here in Cary, has made another acquisition. This time, it’s VSTI, a move that aims to help the U.S. intelligence community speed predictive analysis and decision making to ultimately “defeat and deter threats and save lives”. 

VSTI is a provider of advanced software systems that assist with analytic discovery and information dissemination,  particularly within the US federal government intelligence community. It was founded in 1997 and is based in Ellicott City, MD. VSTI employs 60 people.

Customers include the U.S. Department of Defense, Navy, Air Force and the State of Maryland Consulting and Technical Services. All VSTI staff and the current management structure will be retained, according to the SAS announcement.

News on CaryCitizen is sponsored by SAS Championship

Cary, NC – Don Parker, Chief Financial Officer of SAS, the leader in business analytics software and services, has been presented Triangle Business Journal’s 2010 CFO of the Year Award for Giant Private Companies in the Triangle.

“Don played a critical role in helping SAS achieve record profitability in a terrible economic climate,” said SAS CEO Jim Goodnight. “I applaud Don’s strong emphasis on integrity, quality counsel and customer service.”

Triangle Business Journal honored Parker and other outstanding finance executives with its CFO of the Year Awards for 2010 for various types and sizes of companies across the Triangle. Winners were chosen by a panel of judges based on nominations submitted to TBJ.

News on CaryCitizen is sponsored by SAS Championship.

Cary, NC – Come out this Thursday for the 3rd Annual Extra-Innings Triangle Networking Event hosted by USA Baseball.

Food, Fun & New Friends

From 5:00-7:30 p.m., enjoy a one-of-a-kind networking opportunity, all you can eat food and drinks (both alcoholic and non-alcoholic), and fun for the whole family.

Baseball

Be sure to stick around after the event to see the USA Baseball Collegiate National Team take on Korea at 7:30 p.m.

Free

Admission to “Extra Innings” and the baseball game is free to members of one of participating chambers of commerce and networking groups.

Register

• Cary Chamber of Commerce
• Apex Chamber of Commerce
• Morrisville Chamber of Commerce
• Garner Chamber of Commerce

Full list of participating organizations at USA Baseball.

Event Info

Extra Innings Triangle Networking Event
Hosted by USA Baseball
Thursday July 15
5:00-7:30 p.m.

National Baseball Training Complex
Thomas Brooks Park
200 Brooks Park Lane, Cary, NC 27519
Directions

News on CaryCitizen is sponsored by Yes! solar solutions.

Cary, NC – SAS has acquired Memex, an intelligence management solutions company working to help improve intelligence processes, enhance public safety, and prevent and deter crime, terrorism and other threats, the company tells the CaryCitizen.

Memex has a presence in the law enforcement and homeland security markets. SAS is already a player in the worldwide public security and safety markets and intends to carve out a global leadership position, according to SAS CEO Jim Goodnight. Ian Manocha, Managing Director, SAS UK and Ireland will serve as Memex Chairman.

“The Memex acquisition is a key element of our global initiative to enhance our law enforcement, criminal justice, homeland security and intelligence offerings. I want SAS to be the first company public security organizations call to help them apply analytics to solve crime and protect citizens.”

With the acquisition SAS plans to be able to target the emerging market for fusion centers, which combine the resources of multiple law enforcement agencies. Several US states and major cities have fusion centers that are using Memex technology.

Ian Manocha

The move is consistent with SAS’ strategy of acquiring companies with crucial technologies that enhance or extend SAS’ own product line.

Within the past two years, according to their media feed,  SAS has also aquired Teragram – a 40-person firm headquartered in Cambridge, MA, expanding SAS’ analytical portfolio with natural language processing and advanced linguistic technology and IDeaS Revenue Optimization, a 200-person Minneapolis firmworking on analytics, business intelligence and industry-specific solutions for the travel and hospitality industries.

Both SAS and Memex are privately held. Financial terms of the acquisition are not available.

Cary, NC – The Top 100 North Carolina Small Businesses for 2010 were named by Business Leader Magazine at an awards ceremony in Raleigh on June, 24. Winners were selected for demonstrating significant business achievement, community involvement and business advocacy.

The winners from Cary making the top 20 were:

East Coast Wings (not HQ’d in Cary) – Number 8

Franz Automotive Center – Number 13

Ellis and Winters, LLP (One location in Cary) -  Number 17

“It is an extraordinary honor to be recognized as one of the top small businesses in North Carolina,” said Don Frantz of Franz Automotive Center. “We are especially grateful to all of our customers and employees who have contributed to our success.”

Congrats to all!

Story by Lindsey Chester. Photo by Hal Goodtree.

Cary, NC- This is the second in our continuing series about large companies you may not know, operating right here in Cary.

Recently, it was reported that HCL, located at 11000 Regency Parkway, would be hiring more than 400 new employees over the next couple of years. Excited to hear such good economic news, I decided to contact them to learn more about the business they conduct in their Cary Delivery Center.

I met with Rajiv Swarup, Corporate Vice President, in HCL’s spacious office on Symphony Lake in Regency Park.

What Does HCL Do?

Rajiv was quick to point out that they do not manufacture a product, but instead help their clients handle their business processes more efficiently.

For example, many corporations purchase other businesses in their efforts to grow. In so doing there may be duplication of accounts payable and supply chain operations. These can be consolidated and outsourced. That’s where HCL comes into the picture.

They relocate this work to their this HCL office, or manage remotely at their headquarters in India. For many US clients, having the Cary office is very desirable. If issues arise, Cary’s location in the mid-Atlantic makes travel to US clients on the East Coast a one day trip.

Why Cary?

HCL spent 2-1/2 years researching their 3rd US delivery Hub - their other US locations are Sunnyvale, CA and Florham Park, NJ.

• Location: Cary is located near RDU Airport which makes travel easy for day trips to East Coast clients. Rajiv  said their “Focus (was) on where service can be delivered best”
• Weather: The weather here is good most of the year, not too hot, not too cold, and very little extremes of inclement weather holding up travel or work days
• Cost of Living- not only for the business, but also for their average employee. Cary was very affordable.
• Educated Workforce: The 3 major universities are great resources for educated  employees. Many residents here are tech savvy
• Customers: And some of HCL’s customers were already located right here in the Triangle, Cisco for example. HCL also works with state governments on IT and Raleigh is right down the road.

I took a tour of their location (63,000 square feet). They have 5 spacious conference rooms and then many large offices which are dedicated to their various customers.

Several of these were open as “flex space” awaiting new customers. These offices will then be customized to their clients needs. That’s where the new hires come from.

HCL has continued to grow at 30% per year even in the current recession.

Who Are They Looking to Employ?

HCL is looking for recent grads who have a background with IT networks; computer science majors, and people with a background in economics and business processes. It is very important for potential employees to be well spoken and good problem solvers.  They all wear headphones and are on their computers solving problems all day in this Service Delivery Hub.

HCL believes in “Employees first and clients second.” A seemingly contradiction in a customer service oriented business. But Rajiv explained the philosophy like this: The work force is empowered to satisfy the customers’ needs on their own to speed solutions.

Stats:

HCL employs 90 people in Cary, with 4,000 total in the US, 5,000 in Europe and 45,000 in India with 62,000 worldwide. Total revenue is $5 billion. Operations are located in 26 countries. Their Infosystems businesses are located in India and their R &D and Technologies are located in their Global markets.

Some businesses require a lot of customer service. Government and ITAR (International Traffic and Arms Regulations) for instance need high security clearance and a great deal of personal service. To that end, HCL provides private offices within their location completely dedicated to these clients. Their hubs operate 24/7 with second and third shifts that come into HCL with their own security codes.

My visit took me to a place I didn’t even know existed as Rajiv spoke about IT and customer solutions. Who knew that a business that doesn’t actually MAKE a physical product could become a $5 billion dollar enterprise? Welcome to the 21st century!

Another Hidden Giant revealed.

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CaryCitizen is grateful for the support of Koka Booth Amphitheatre. This week:

• Wed June 9th – Styx/Foreigner/Kansas
  
• Fri June 11 – Phoenix

Story by Brenda Larson

Cary, NC – What a great town Cary is! Business people are popping up all over the place, ready to get their pink on next week to help promote awareness for this year’s Triangle NC Race for the Cure, to raise funds for breast cancer research through the Susan G. Komen Foundation.

Show Us Your Inner Pinkness

Last week, I challenged you to find your inner pinkness at your business or service, whether it’s by wearing pink one day (email me a picture!), displaying a poster for this year’s Race for the Cure, which is June 12 at Meredith College in Raleigh, printing your menu on pink paper, putting together a Race for the Cure team with your employees and colleagues.

Me? I’m wearing my pink sequin Chucks as often as I can next week. They’re fabulous.

Cary Citizen is working on a pink surprise … no, I’m not going to spoil it. Hal and Matt are very creative people.

Businesses Stepping Up

No sooner had my blog been posted last week than the emails started coming in from Cary business people. Here’s a sample of what you’re planning to do to  raise awareness:

The Dorcas Shop, 1231 NE Maynard Rd., near Chapel Hill Road: Howard Manning, the executive director of Dorcas Ministries, a 40-year-old human service organization whose mission is to provide residents with emergency assistance for essential human needs, sent me a note, offering the agency’s help in getting the word out. The thrift shop, which supports the community work of Dorcas Ministries, will display posters. Be sure to drop by and see the shop, get some pink info, and support Dorcas Ministries.

Edward Jones, 919 Kildaire Farm Rd.: Branch Office Administrator Karen Klein says her office has a team in the Race for the Cure. “It’s a wonderful event!” she wrote, adding that her financial adviser Karena Bagwell and the office staff would be delighted to display one of the Komen Race posters at their branch. You’ll be able to get information there.

BB&T Cary branches: Christopher Ragone, financial center leader/assistant vice president, is based at BB&T’s branch in Stone Creek Village, 81 Cornerstone Dr. Chris offered to help us get the word out by displaying posters in all of the BB&T Cary branches. We’re delighted with BB&T’s assistance in getting the message out. You’ll be able to see race posters at any of the six Cary locations.

Thanks to Delancy Carroll at the Cary Chamber of Commerce and Keith Bliss and Terry “Doc” Thorne of the Heart of Cary Association, along with downtown entrepreneur Sheila Ogle of MRPP and The Matthews House and downtown businessperson Joy Pike of Apple Auto Insurance, for helping to spread the word.

Send Us Your Pink Pix

If you’re going to pink it up next week, be sure to send me some photos, brenda.larson@carycitizen.com. We’d love to have them to share with our readers.

Story by Hal Goodtree. Photos by Reed Mangino.

Cary, NC – Even during the depths of the downturn, construction and development have continued in Cary and surrounding areas.

Residential & Commercial on the Move

In the last month or so, dirt’s started to move once again on several commercial and residential area projects.

Trees have been cleared on a multi-acre plot at the corner of Old Apex and West Chatham to make way for Phillips  Swift Creek luxury garden apartments.

At the corner of Davis and High House, earth is moving behind Stone Creek to build a Standard Pacific community called Enclave, town homes starting in the $200s.

Across the street, Carolina Legacy Allstars (CLA) is building a permanent cheer gym behind Cornerstone. CLA was an early spin-off from Impact Athletics.

Economic Data Shows a Strong Rise

In related news, the Commerce Department said construction spending climbed 2.7% in April, the biggest gain in nearly a decade and a sign the struggling housing market is gaining some traction.

Economists had expected the report to be flat in April after a 0.2% rise in March, according to Forbes.

Story & photo by Brenda Larson

Cary, NC – These are my pink sequin Chucks.

Bet you didn’t see that coming, did you? But I’m wearing the pink sequin Chucks for a good reason. I’m hoping that my pink sequin Chucks (let’s call them PSCs, just to make it easy) will motivate my friends and colleagues in Cary’s business community to get their own pink on.

The Cause: Curing Cancer

The week of June 6 to 12 will be Go Pink for the Cure in Cary Week and I’m going to do what I can to encourage local businesses to pinkify (is that a word?) to help raise awareness for the Susan G. Komen Triangle NC Race for the Cure on June 12 at Meredith College, 3800 Hillsborough St., Raleigh.

The event will bring runners and walkers of all ages together to help raise funds for breast cancer research. There’s a competitive 5k event, a fun run, a women’s only run, in addition to a celebration of survivors. It’s a touching, incredible event.

There’s also an amazing photo exhibit in Raleigh that you don’t want to miss. There’s info on all of these components to this year’s race at the website.

Going Pink in Cary

My good pal, Kevin Boyd, has been a longtime Triangle affiliate volunteer and, this year, he asked me to help him with his work. He’s leading the Go Pink for the Cure awareness week campaign. When he asked me to help, I knew the business community in Cary would rally around the cause, because Cary cares.

Within minutes of sending out my first email, I had a response from Joy Pike, who works at Apple Auto Insurance on East Chatham Street. “Send me posters,” she said. “We’ll display them. And the staff will wear pink that week.” Awesome!

Sheila Ogle of The Matthews House and MRPP shot back another note right away, voicing her support and saying she’d spread the word to all the downtown merchants she knows through the Heart of Cary Association.

Here at CaryCitizen, we’re going pink, too. And the Cary Chamber is going pink, courtesy of our good friend friend Delancy Carroll.

I’ve even asked the Town of Cary for permission to tie pink ribbons on lamp posts downtown. (I haven’t heard back yet, but I’ll keep you posted. )

Ways You Can Show Support

Here are some ideas for you to pinkify your business to support this year’s Triangle Race for the Cure:

• Tie pink ribbons or a pink bow to the front door of your business.
• Display a Komen race poster (just email me to get one) or distribute race information for the cause.
• Have your employees wear pink one day (make sure you take a picture and send it to me).
• Restaurants could print their menus on pink paper. They could offer a special pink drink (how about a ta-ta-tini?) to celebrate the cause.
• Employees could create their own Komen team to enter the race.
• Businesses can offer a discount to customers who arrive wearing pink one day.
• Replace your night light bulbs with pink ones, so that your storefront will glow softly pink through the night. (Oh, I’d love to see that all along Chatham Street.)

Share Your Pink

Remember, if you’re going to pink it up to raise awareness for the cause, you have to let me know. Take a picture and send it to me. I want everyone who reads CaryCitizen to know that you are a good corporate citizen and that you care about helping fund research into this disease.

Be sure to send this post to anyone you know in Cary who has a business or service and who would be willing to make Cary a sea of pink June 6 to 12.

Now, if you see me out and about that week, I will likely be sporting my PSCs. Raising awareness for breast cancer research by wearing my PSCs is a style statement that goes with everything.

Let me know what’s up with your pink, brenda.larson@carycitizen.com.