Wilmington-based commercial construction company McKinley Building Corp., which spearheads major projects throughout the region, has promoted Chad Hodges, formerly chief operating officer, to the role of president, according to a news release. The previous president, company founder McKinley “Ken” Dull, will continue his active role as founder and chairman of the board, according to the release.
Duke Endowment commits $15M for Helene relief
The Duke Endowment is pledging $15 million to help meet immediate relief needs in western North Carolina and upstate South Carolina following Hurricane Helene.
Initial grants totaling $7.5 million will support two funds, the Charlotte-based endowment said. It will send $5 million to the Community Foundation of Western North Carolina’s Emergency and Disaster Response Fund, which serves 18 western N.C. counties through local nonprofits. Another $2.5 million will go to the Central Carolina Community Foundation’s One SC Fund, which works with nonprofit organizations in South Carolina.
“It has been overwhelming to see the devastation in Western North Carolina and upstate South Carolina,” endowment board chair Charles Lucas III said in a release. “Our hope is that these initial dollars will go towards addressing short-term and urgent needs for those affected. As the region transitions to recovery and rebuilding, this is the right way to start.”
The endowment staff will be studying groups that may receive the other $7.5 million, including for longer-term recovery and rebuilding, says Rhett Mabry, the endowment’s president.
“It is not hyperbole to say this is a once-in-a-century disaster,” Mabry said. “With so much work ahead to respond, recover and rebuild, our team continues to be in conversation with partners and other funders about how we can best work together to address the devastation in these communities.”
Many corporations and nonprofit groups have committed resources related to the Hurricane Helene recovery. The Duke Endowment pledge is among the largest to date. The Asheville-based Dogwood Health Trust has pledged $30 million.
Tobacco and textiles magnate James B. Duke formed the endowment in 1924. It has provided $4.8 billion in grants since then, much of it to universities and churches. The endowment had assets of $4.9 billion as of Dec. 31. It is distinct from Duke University, which has assets topping $12 billion.
SECU incumbent directors win re-election
Members of the State Employees’ Credit Union voted to re-elect four incumbent directors of the second-largest U.S. credit union. The election followed a contested campaign in which four self-nominated candidates sought board seats at the $50 billion institution.
Brooks Pierce names Jimmy Adams managing partner, succeeding Reid Phillips
As he prepares to take charge at Brooks Pierce, established 127 years ago in Greensboro, newly elected managing partner Jimmy Adams envisions artificial intelligence growing more sophisticated and creating increasingly complex legal issues.
“The challenge for us – as business people running our firm and as advisers to our clients – is figuring out the pitfalls, the challenges and opportunities with AI,” said Adams, succeeding Reid Phillips at the helm of the law firm next February. “It’s the same way we did when people went from writing on a typewriter to a computer.”
Harkening back to the typewriter era hints at Brooks Pierce’s legacy and drives home that Adams, 58, has been practicing law for a long time, but only at one place. The Georgetown University law school graduate joined Brooks Pierce 32 years ago, after moving to North Carolina to clerk for Frank Bullock, U.S. District Court judge for the Middle District of North Carolina.
Like Brooks Pierce’s more than 100 lawyers in Greensboro, Raleigh and Wilmington, Adams focuses on business law. “I’m obviously going to have to reduce my caseload work a little bit to be able to provide the leadership and strategic direction and management of the firm,” he said in an interview Tuesday. “But it’s my plan to continue to practice. I’ve got several long-term clients that are expecting me to continue to do so.”
The same approach applies to 72-year-old Phillips, the firm’s managing partner for nine of his 47 years at the firm. He plans to continue helping long-time clients while assisting in the leadership transition.
“After a while, it’s time for people with fresh ideas and new energy to step into that role,”
Phillips said in an interview. “I don’t think anybody ought to stay too long, and so I have had this in mind for a while. We’ve done a lot of leadership training for Jimmy and other folks, so there would be a good successor ready to go.”
Over the past decade, Phillips has led strategic efforts aimed at improving recruiting and retention of employees, navigating the pandemic workplace and updating technology. He also embraced diversity, equity and inclusion more forcefully, leading Brooks Pierce to appoint partner Justin Outling as the firm’s first director of diversity and inclusion.
Phillips said Brooks Pierce remains committed to DEI activities, even as some U.S. corporations pull back efforts, mostly LGBTQ focused, following the Supreme Court’s ruling reversing affirmative action in college admissions and pressure from conservative activists.
“We have not wavered and I hope we never will waver from that course,” Phillips said. “When I started practicing a long time ago, we were dealing with a pretty homogeneous corporate leadership structure, which doesn’t exist today. We have clients literally across the world speaking different languages and interested in doing things in new ways and bringing different perspectives. It’s important to us that our workforce also embraces that diversity and acts inclusively in the way we do things.”
As he prepares to take charge, Adams said he believes Brooks Pierce is facing some of the same challenges as other businesses, including the firm’s clients. “Businesses are always changing, technology is always changing and, for us in particular, the legal landscape is always changing.”
The emergence of artificial intelligence “is probably the No. 1 technology issue that everybody’s talking about,” Adams said. “And it’s big deal in the legal community. For actually practicing law, there will be AI issues for research and document preparation and things of that nature.”
For example, he said, some AI-generated legal research used in court proved fake. As the technology evolves, Adams said he envisions his Brooks Pierce colleagues “using the tool in a proper way within the bounds of professional responsibility and our ethics. We’ve navigated a lot of changes over the years, and we think we are positioned with our lawyers and our professional staff to continue to do that, no matter what the challenge is.’’
FEMA administrator pushes back gainst false Helene claims
Federal Emergency Management Agency Administrator Deanne Criswell pushed back against false claims about her agency’s response to Hurricane Helene as the death toll from the storm continued to climb. The cleanup and response to the storm that killed at least 230 people continued, while Milton strengthened rapidly into a Category 5 hurricane headed toward Florida.
Banner Elk urges voluntary evacuation due to sewer system damage
During a time when Banner Elk normally welcomes tourists to explore the Avery County resort area, local officials are asking visitors to stay away and for residents to evacuate if they have a safe place to go, as Helene cleanup continues. The sewer system is badly damaged leading to risks of creeks being contaminated by wastewater.
U.S. manufacturing contracts in September, 22nd decline of past 23 months
U.S. manufacturing activity contracted again in September, marking the sixth consecutive month of decline and the 22nd month out of the past 23 months to see a drop, according to the Institute for Supply Management in its latest report. The monthly index came in at 47.2, matching August’s number. Any number below 50 indicates a contraction.
CVS lays off 400+ at Aetna headquarters
CVS Health will lay off 416 employees at Aetna’s headquarters in Hartford, Conn. In a WARN notice, the company said 93 employees work at the Hartford facility. The other employees work remotely in several states and report to the facility. Most of the layoffs are effective Dec. 7. CVS laid off 600 Aetna employees in 2023.
Surf City rejects 99-unit development
A proposed residential development failed to garner support in Surf City after a council member raised concerns it could cause fire safety risks for residents. Surf City Council unanimously rejected the rezoning request to shift 20.2 acres of a parcel from the rural agricultural to conditional mixed-use district to build 99 townhomes on JH Batts Road.