WEDNESDAY
May 7, 2014
Two Sections – 20 Pages
vINDEX
©2014 WOMACK NEWSPAPERS, INC.
Calendar
A2 School/Lifestyles A6-7
Classifieds
B3-11 Service Guide
A5
Features
A3 Sports
B1
Here & There
A5 Recipes
B12
May 11, 2014
Vol. 36 No. 29
v HOW TO REACH US
NEWS ROOM – CAROL BROOKS, 841-4933
FEATURES – NORMA B. DENNIS, 841-4933
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Jamestown, North Carolina
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w w w .j a m e s t o w n n e w s . c o m
Soap Lady
wins business
ethics award
By CAROL BROOKS
Staff Writer
Sometimes it’s the little
guy or girl who has the
loudest voice.
That was certainly the
case on April 29 when
Jamestown’s own The
Soap Lady was one of four
winners of the Piedmont
Business Ethics Awards
(PBEA).
“I’m very honored,” said
Soap Lady owner Susan
Stringer. “I was thrilled just
to be nominated.”
Stringer says she only
has a staff of “3.5” but
went up against businesses with upwards of 200
employees, including Flow
Automotive, Samet Corp,
Anderson-Moore Builders,
Airsoft R Us Tactical,
Duncan Exxon, Miss
Jenny’s Pickles, Planet
Fitness and Spevco. Flow,
Samet and Spevco joined
The Soap Lady in accepting this year’s awards.
The award was established in 2000 to honor
companies that demonstrate a firm commitment
to ethical business practices in everyday operations,
management philosophies
and responses to crises or
challenges. An independent
panel drawn from Piedmont
academia judged the nominees. The award is sponsored by the Greensboro
Chapter of the Society
of Financial Service
Professionals in partnership
with Davenport, Marvin,
Joyce & Co., LLP and DMJ
Wealth Advisors, LLC and
First Citizens Bank.
“It’s like doing the right
thing when no one’s looking,” Stringer said about
ethical business practice.
Although she doesn’t
know who nominated
her, this is the third year
Stringer has been nominated – and the first time she
placed in the top 10. She
did not fill out the paperwork the first year because
she found the 30-page form
overwhelming.
“You don’t usually
go around tooting your
own horn, so it is hard to
explain,” she said of the
application process. “It’s
about why people do the
things we do.
“I love to do for other
people but don’t like when
the spotlight is on me.”
Rather than fill out the
form herself this year,
Stringer learned she could
take advantage of a team
of students from an area
university to do most of the
work for her.
“They did a phenomenal
job,” she said of the threeperson team from UNC
Greensboro. “It was a challenge to write up such a
small business.
“It wouldn’t have been
possible without the girls
from UNCG.”
Stringer said the students
often just observed the
business during the day,
seeing how the staff inter-
Town goes
into yard
sale business
By CAROL BROOKS
Staff Writer
(Photo/Submitted)
Susan Stringer, The Soap Lady, second from right,
invited her student team from UNCG to the awards
presentation April 29 at Starmount Forest Country
Club.
acted with customers.
Judging criteria included
a clear demonstration of
the company’s executive
commitment to ethics to
employees and customers;
a corporate code of ethics or mission statement
which demonstrates the
company’s requirement for
honesty, integrity and compliance with the law; clear
means for employees, customers and others to bring
conflicts to the attention of
management; community
involvement; and a consistently high quality of products and services.
Past winners of the
Piedmont Business Ethics
Award have included
Replacements Ltd., New
Garden Nursery, Kavanagh
Homes,
Kindermusic,
Brown
Investments,
The Hearing Clinic, VF
Corporation and Blue
Ridge Companies.
Now that the local competition is over, Stringer
has volunteered to be a
mentor to business students
at UNCG.
“The way they teach
business in school is not
how it works,” she said.
“Students need to learn you
don’t have to go into debt
(to start a business.)”
Stringer began handmaking soap in her home in
1998, and opened her retail
location at 116 E. Main
St. location in Jamestown
a few years later. She said
the nominations speak well
of the ladies who work with
her.
She said the award is
almost like winning an
Oscar for “being one of the
most ethical companies in
14 counties.”
The next step for
Stringer? National competition for business ethics.
“Wouldn’t that be something (to win)?” she questioned.
Carol Brooks can be
reached at 336-841-4933
or jamestownnews@north
state.net.
Got some crafts or other
items you’d like to sell?
Bring them to the first-ever
Jamestown Community
Craft and Yard Sale on
Saturday, May 31.
The idea came from a
brainstorming
discussion
between
Town
Manager Chuck Smith
and Recreation Supervisor
Scott Coakley about ways
to bring the community to
Wrenn Miller Park.
But
Smith
knew
Jamestown
United
Methodist Church holds a
yard sale around the same
time.
“Terry Clark and his
Sunday School class do
a great job with drawing
folks in and having a great
sale at JUMC,” Smith said.
“I contacted Terry about
collaborating with them
and we agreed to work
across the Town Hall parking lot (so to speak) with
JUMC on Teague Drive
and Wrenn Miller Park on
Guilford Road. Folks can
park behind Town Hall and
shop both sales.
“We will be the one-stopshop location for crafts and
household treasures.”
Smith added that he
hopes others planning yard
sales that day will join the
Wrenn Miller event.
The entry fee is only $10
per 10’x20’ booth through
May 30. Organizers are
looking for a minimum of
15 spaces sold by May 22
to hold the event. Certain
items are excluded from
sale at the yard sale. A
list of these items may be
found on the application
along with other vendor
details.
“Holding the sale at
Wrenn Miller Park will
bring citizens and the surrounding community to one
of Jamestown’s greatest
assets and provide a venue
for us to come together and
have a little fun,” Smith
said.
“I would love to see
the Jamestown community support this event and
enjoy the many amenities
of the park,” Smith added.
“If this is successful, then
we will look to make it an
annual event.”
Want to
participate?
The
Jamestown
Community Craft and
Yard Sale will take
place from 7 a.m.noon on Saturday, May
31, at Wrenn Miller
Park, 101 Guilford
Road in Jamestown.
Register by May 22.
For more information,
call 454-1138, email
Parks@Jamestownnc.gov or check the
Town of Jamestown
Facebook page or www.
Jamestown-nc.gov for
application forms.
YMCA celebrates 10th year in current location
By NORMA B. DENNIS
Staff Writer
The front patio of the
Mary Perry Ragadale
Family YMCA was filled
with activity May 1 as
members and visitors
stopped by for the facility’s
10th Birthday Bash.
“Our goal was to have
a festive atmosphere and
showcase our youth as
being only 10 years old,
while still celebrating our
service to the community,”
Kevin Bottomley, executive director, said.
The birthday celebration
was filled with an array
of fitness challenges, kids’
basketball, snacks, music,
free raffles, games and a
very popular photo booth.
The occasion celebrated
the opening of the stateof-the-art facility in May
of 2004.
What some people may
not know, however, is that
with smartphone
scan here
(Photos/Norma B. Dennis)
Guests had fun dressing up for special birthday pictures, above, and trying their
hand at a game or two of corn hole.
the YMCA in Jamestown is Greensboro YMCA asked YMCA-USA.
really older than the build- Kim McKone, executive
Even without a faciling that houses all those director of a YMCA in ity, the new YMCA began
activities for children and Winston-Salem to come to conduct a number of
adults alike. It started long to Jamestown to join the programs including afterbefore the building existed. grassroots effort to start school care at Jamestown
Members of the Town an organization here. Elementary, a senior exerCouncil who wanted a full McKone, co-worker Terry cise group and various craft
program to serve citizens Matthews and volunteer and travel opportunities. In
from babies to older adults Nancy Sherrill began the 2003, ground was broken
originated the idea. They job of garnering commu- for the new YMCA buildfelt a YMCA would fit nity support. A Capital ing on Bonner Drive in
the need more than what Cabinet and Board of Jamestown, which opened
a parks and recreation Managers, of which, Kerry the following year.
committee might offer. Miller was the first chairBecause of a large donaThe Greensboro YMCA man, were established and tion from Mary Perry
was willing to work with the YMCA was on the Ragsdale before her death,
the town of Jamestown to road too reality. In 2000, the building was named
establish a Y in this area.
it received a Charter under in her honor and became
Joe Warwick, CEO the name Jamestown Area the Mary Perry Ragsdale
and president of the YMCA from the board of Family YMCA.
McKone felt that partnerships
with
other
community
organizations, including Guilford
Technical
Community
College, Family Services
and High Point Hospital
made the Ragsdale YMCA
even more special.
In December of 2010,
when McKone left to take
a newly created position as
the director of outreach for
the YMCA of Greensboro,
Kevin Bottomley became
executive director of the
Ragsdale Y.
See YMCA, PAGE A3