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Event Held to Raise Money for Foothills Food Hub
In the spirit of Christmas, emerging group McDowell Young Professionals held their first public service event, a Chili Cook-off benefiting Foothills Food Hub, on December 21st, at Mica Town Brewing. The fundraising goal of $500 was exceeded, with a total of $583, through a combination of cook-off entry fees and private donations. Winners from each category were: Best Overall - Duncan Gant Best Traditional - Misty Cox Best Restaurant - Aaron Matthews Best non-traditional - John Jaan Best Cornbread -
Are Your Financial and Tax Advisors Talking?
Now that we’ve closed the book on 2019, it’s officially Tax Season. As you prepare your tax returns for the April 15 deadline, you might already start looking for opportunities to improve your tax-related financial outcomes in the future. And one important step you can take is to connect your tax professional with your financial advisor. Together, these professionals can help you take advantage of some valuable strategies: Roth vs. traditional IRA – If you’re eligible to contribute to a Roth IRA and a
Information or Action?
As a CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER TM practitioner (CFP®), I invest a lot of time to stay staying current on changes in planning strategies and changes in laws or rules. This is what differentiates me from a financial advisor or broker. My goal is to not just read or publish changes in tax code or laws but evaluate them and develop appropriate strategies to utilize the new rules to keep clients' plans up to date. This can be a challenge as these changes create unintended consequences if not updated. I
News Release: 1/20/2020
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New Exhibit Opens at Mountain Gateway Museum
OLD FORT, NC – What can be more satisfying on a cold winter day than a nice cup of tea?Mountain Gateway Museum & Heritage Center (MGM) in Old Fort will celebrate this centuries-old beverage with the opening on Saturday, Jan. 18, of a new traveling exhibit, Steeped in Time: Tea and Traditions. Developed by MGM’s sister museum, the Museum of the Albemarle in Elizabeth City, NC, the exhibit will run through the July 4th weekend at MGM, located at 24 Water Street in Old Fort. Admission is free.Steeped in Time
Business Owners: Plan for Next Phase of Life
As a business owner, you’re always thinking of what you need to do now. But you can’t forget about the future – yours and that of your business. So it may be a good idea to consider your personal retirement plan and business succession strategy. Let’s start by looking at a few retirement plan possibilities: Solo 401(k) – This plan, which is also known as an Owner-only 401(k), is available to self-employed individuals and business owners with no full-time employees other than themselves or a spouse. A Solo
Look for Changes in Retirement Plans
It might not have made the headlines, but a recently passed piece of legislation could affect the IRAs and 401(k)s of millions of Americans beginning in 2020. So, if you have either of these accounts, or if you run a business, you’ll want to learn more. The new laws, collectively called the Setting Every Community Up for Retirement Enhancement (SECURE) Act, include these noteworthy changes: • Higher age for RMDs – Under current law, you must start taking withdrawals – known as required minimum
Protect Yourself Against Long-term Care Costs
If you’re fortunate, you’ll live independently and in good health throughout your retirement years. However, if you ever needed some type of long-term care, such as a stay in a nursing home, would you be financially prepared? To answer this question, you may want to evaluate two variables: your likelihood of needing long-term care and the cost of such care. Consider the following: Someone turning age 65 today has an almost 70% chance of eventually needing some type of long-term care, according to the U.S.
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New Year New Opportunities
New Year New Opportunities With the New Year often comes resolutions and change. My inbox is full of articles that talk about what may happen this year. Each expert has their own unique opinion on everything from oil prices to retail sales. Don’t get me wrong, I am glad there are people that analyze these areas, but in the end, is it really any different from spinning a roulette wheel? They don’t know what will happen in the future and if you look at history their batting average is similar to Major League
Strategies For Keeping Assets In The Family
When you leave assets to your children, you may intend for the property to stay in the family for many generations. However, a number of events that are out of your control could cause the assets to end up in the hands of complete strangers. The following are some common ways that a portion of your assets could end up leaving the family: Your heir gets divorcedYour heir predeceases their spouseYour heir’s creditors collect on their assets Let’s look at a few examples to see how this can happen. How
Old Fort Museum and Gallery to Co-Sponsor High School Art Contest
OLD FORT, NC – Friends of the Mountain Gateway Museum (FOTMGM) and the Arrowhead Artists and Artisans League (A3L) in Old Fort are again cosponsoring an art contest and inviting high school-age youths in McDowell County to participate for the chance to win cash prizes and award ribbons. The theme for this year’s contest is “Emerging Artists of McDowell County.” The contest will be open only to McDowell County students in grades 9 thru 12, or the equivalent, including home schools, private schools, and
Scholarships Available for Farm Conference
Apply for a N.C. Agritourism Farm Tour & Conference Scholarship Today Exploring the addition of agritourism activities as a way to diversify farm income? Studying agriculture in high school or college? Is your farm working on its legacy plan? Apply for a scholarship to attend the annual gathering of agriculture operators that welcome visitors to their farms for education, recreation and entertainment. Apply now. Plan to join this conference where farmers learn and engage about the value of
New NC Tax Law Changes
The North Carolina General Assembly recently passed Senate Bill 557, Various Finance Law Changes, and the governor signed it into law on November 8, 2019. The bill includes several changes affecting NC taxes, including the following: • A 7.5% increase to NC’s standard deduction for individual taxpayers, effective for the 2020 tax year. • Enactment of market-based sourcing for companies selling products, services or intangibles to customers in multiple states, effective for tax years starting January 1,
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Miller Complex Flexes Its Muscles With New Gym
Clanking weights, bass-pumping tunes, and the occasional grunt are all welcome sounds at the McDowell Fitness Center (MFC) in the Larry D. Miller Business Complex. This full-service gym, owned and operated by Misty Morris and her husband William Morris (of Morris-Herron Heating & Cooling), provides everything from weight training and state-of-the-art equipment to crossfit and TRX Training. The Chamber of Commerce recently held a Ribbon Cutting to commemorate the opening of the new business where Misty and
The Sweet Sound of Success
Who says old is out of style? Not the judges at the 2019 Asheville Food & Wine Festival who awarded Marion’s Keeper’s Cut Meadery with Double Gold, Gold, and Silver awards for their exquisite, flavorsome honey wines. The winning meads, 2016 Amarena (Double Gold), 2016 Anann Te (Gold), and their 2016 Autumn (Silver) stood out at the awards table rising to the top with other regional winemakers. Vintners such as DeTerra out of Tennessee, Jones von Drehle Vineyards in North Carolina, and Whitebarrel out of
Falling for The Pond at Laurel Cove
The sun rested on the tops of the trees before descending over the mountain. Blazing streaks of reds, yellows, and oranges stretched across the water bathing the resident ducks in color. They clustered at the far corner of the pond shying away from the crowds at the grand farmhouse-turned wedding venue, The Pond at Laurel Cove. Old Fort residents and owners Lisa and Patrick Ellis were excited to host local dignitaries, Chamber staff, friends, and family for the official Ribbon Cutting held Tuesday,
Twisted Rod Tire Opens in Old Fort
You might say Nathan Jones runs on RPMs and motor oil. At his recent Ribbon Cutting with the McDowell Chamber of Commerce, Jones proudly introduced his staff and family to the crowd gathered at Twisted Rod Tire Co.—his second family-owned automotive service and repair shop in Old Fort. An admitted motorhead, Jones loves working on and customizing cars. The tire shop, located at 109 E. Main Street in Old Fort, sells tires, does inspections, transmission work, brakes, and oil changes. For larger jobs, Jones
New Address, New Look for Burkes Outlet
The line of eager shoppers flowed into the parking lot at the recent grand Re-Opening of the Burkes Outlet store on Thursday, October 10, 2019 at 9 a.m. Even Bigfoot attended the festive event. Store Manager Charlotte Hawley was thrilled to welcome guests along with city and county officials at the Chamber Ribbon Cutting. "It's great to see so many people from the community here to support us and we are thrilled to continue serving McDowell County residents with even better brands and pricing in our new
Putting Their Best Foot Forward
The Chamber board and staff joined city and county officials to welcome Shoe Sensation to the community at an official Ribbon Cutting on Wednesday, October 9, 2019 at 10 a.m. The new shoe shop, located in the Food Lion Center next to Harbor Freight, carries popular brands such as Keds, Clarks, Columbia, Converse, Crocs, CAT, Echo Bat, Easy Street, and more. This is the fourth location in North Carolina for the Indiana-based company. Since 1984, Shoe Sensation has focused on bringing America's top footwear
90 Years of Supporting McDowell County Families
It's rare in today's world of commerce for anyone to hold a job for 50 years. It not only takes a committed employee, it takes a business that is committed to the community, its product, and its family of employees. In a proud moment on Saturday, September 28, 2019 Lester Welch, WestRock's longest serving employee, cut the ribbon to commemorate the company's 90th anniversary of business in McDowell County. WestRock Marion began operations in 1929 as Etta Paper Box Company and was founded by local
McDowell County Announces Opening of Phase III of the Fonta Flora State Trail
County, chamber, and city officials gathered on Monday, September 16, 2019 to celebrate the opening of the Greenlee Park Section (Phase III) of the McDowell County Greenway Trails System. The new river-front greenway is also a connector section to the future Fonta Flora State Trail that was authorized in 2015 by the state legislature. The 2,000-foot Greenlee Park Section features a paved trail, renovated canoe launch, horseshoe pits, and a picnic shelter along the Catawba River. There is also a natural path
When Diplomacy Stunts Growth
We've all heard the old adage from Benjamin Franklin, "Honesty is the best policy." There was a time when this truth was as easily espoused in the workplace as it was in the home. But have workplace diplomacy and human resource policies handed down from corporate lawyers given honesty a bad name at the office. There will always be difficult workplace situations with which we must deal. It may be you don't get along with a certain co-worker and are asked to work with them on a project. It may be the new
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