Borrower Profiles
Impact: Job creation, downtown revitalization, sustainability
Kevin and Melanie Sandefur originally opened BearWaters Brewing in Waynesville, North Carolina, in 2012. After four successful years of operation, they knew they needed to expand; they set their sights on 101 Park Street in Canton, a historic building directly across from the town’s active paper mill.
Tyrone Williams’ 62-acre timber and crop farm, Fourtee Acres, in Enfield, North Carolina, has been in his family for generations. Connected to a larger family operation that includes cropland and rental properties, Fourtee Acres was named with dual meaning: a play on the “40 acres and a mule” that was promised to freed slaves during Reconstruction, and the four “T’s” in Tyrone’s family—himself, and his three sons Trevelyn, Tremaine, and Tyron. His wife Edna, according to Tyrone, represents the double “e,” with her energy and encouragement.
Pamela Powell started her child care center, Christian Prep Academy, in 1998, and has built a successful and profitable business over the past 19 years. The Academy carries a 5-star rating from the state of North Carolina—the highest rating a center can receive. Because of Christian Prep’s stellar rating, the center is able to receive higher reimbursement rates from the state, and is one of just a few centers in the state that has been awarded pre-K slots for at-risk youth. The center currently enrolls more than 60 youth, and has a maximum enrollment of 90.
Services: Physical therapy
Jobs Created: 7
Lymphedema is a treatable—but not curable—condition that can occur after cancer surgery or radiation affecting the lymph nodes. The condition causes considerable pain and swelling in the arms or legs. Fortunately, trained physical therapists can help relieve the symptoms by reducing patients’ pain and improving their mobility, often lessening the need for further surgery or the long-term use of prescription medications.
Laura Price grew up around horses. She first began riding in 1979, and has spent most of her adult life working with them in some capacity—whether riding, training or running a stable. It’s no surprise that Laura’s dream has been to own her own horse barn and boarding facility.
Partners: Appalachian Regional Commission, First National Bank of Williamson, Hatfield-McCoy Regional Recreation Authority
Jeff Davis, a former coal miner, was born and bred in Mingo County, West Virginia. He mined coal for eight years until 2006, when he opened up his own contracting business specializing in home remodeling and residential construction. While mines have closed in southern West Virginia, Jeff and his wife Anita have watched the Hatfield-McCoy Trails expand.
The eight co-founders of Earthseed Land Cooperative (ELC) have a vision: to use land to support the collective health, wealth and environmental sustainability of diverse communities in Durham, North Carolina.
NCIF Role: Working Capital Loan; Solar Energy Assistance
Stubble. Fade. Circle. Carved. Goatee. Van Dyke. Full. Mountain Man. These are just a few of the many styles of beards appearing on men all over the United States in the last few years, and the trend shows no sign of abating.
But as most women will tell you, with any hairstyle—including men’s facial hair—comes the need to take care of it, to keep it healthy and clean and smelling good. And this calls for “product”—in this case, beard balms, beard oils, beard washes, and special combs and brushes.
Jobs created or retained: 3
When Laila and Doug Mortimer moved to Robbinsville, North Carolina, Laila was moving home. She grew up in Graham County, and her family has been in the area for more than 200 years, so she knew all that it had to offer. But as they watched thousands of tourists come to Graham County—to enjoy hiking trails, multiple rivers for water sports, and the 11-mile “Tail of the Dragon” that draws motorists to drive along the scenic views offered by the Great Smoky Mountains and Cherokee National Forest—they realized Graham County was missing something.
Sustainable Solutions, LLC, uses an Ecosystem Services approach to provide a wide range of natural resource management services, including conservation contracting, prescribed fire solutions, ecological planning services and natural resource education and training.
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