Big Bad Ball: A Huge Success

The 5th Annual Big Bad Ball was a great success with many people coming together to enjoy the atmosphere and the nuiances that is the Capital City Club. A black tie event, the Big Bad Ball saw many distinguished guest bid on silent auction items, eat great food, drink fine wine, and support a great cause, Hospice of Wake County.

Karl Swink, general manager of the Capital City Club of Raleigh commented that the event went very well and initial figures place the proceeds at or very near last year's record mark of $120,000.

With silent auction items such as dinner with Mayor Meeker of Raleigh, cruises, and autographed UNC & NCST basketballs, the funds raised through the silent auction were dramatic. A hockey stick autographed by the members of the Stanley Cup Champion Carolina Hurricanes raised around $1600.

"Due to the (NCST) football game on the same evening of the event we probably lost a little bit on the silent auction since many of the big spenders were at the game", stated Brian Propst, Chairperson of the Young Executives. The Young Executives created this event as a philanthropic endeavor to benefit the local Hospice chapter.

Steven W. Nelson, a local Realtor, member of the Capital City Club and officer with the Young Executives expressed his pleasure with this event. "It is a great way to reach out to the community. We have all had people who have been faced with end of life decisions and Hospice has been there for many of them. I personally have an aunt who spent more that three years on Hospice care before she passed and they were tremendous in their servicing of her personal needs during the fleeting moments of her life. I cannot think of a better organization to support." An angel sponsor, BBB committee member, and the Philanthropy Chair for the Young Executives, he has spent much time over the past 8 months to assist this event.

Much thanks should go to the two people who were most instrumental in bringing this great event the success it has seen this year. Brian Hollingsworth of Deloitte Touche is the Chairperson of the Big Bad Ball Committee for the last 3 years and has worked tirelessly to secure the major sponsors and coordinate the events of the evening. Additionally, Jessie Gani, Members Relations Director at the Capital City Club is a resource to the club that will be hard to replace if and/or when she ever leaves. "She is unbelievable", stated Steven when talking about her importance to this event.

For more information about this great event and its sponsors, you can check out there website.

Two area Utility companies among nation's best

The two major area utility companies, Progress Energy and Duke Energy Carolinas have been ranked among the best by Site Selection Magazine's Top Utilities.

Site Selection announced its findings in the September 2006 issue which listed 11 of the countries utilities based upon job creation and capital investment in their prespective areas.

As one of the largest utilities, Progress Energy operates in the Carolina and Florida and according to Site Selection, covers 54,000 square miles of service territory, maintaining 11,000 miles of transmission lines and 99,000 miles of distribution lines with about 8700 employees.

To earn its stripes, Progress Energy help attract 10,178 new jobs and $1.52 billion in facility investment, according to Site Selection. London-based GlaxoSmithKline, which has dual U.S headquaters in Research Triangle Park and Philidelphia are planning to expand its Wake County pharmaceutical plant, adding about 200 jobs and approximately $92 million in capital investment.

Duke Energy Carolinas saw more than 5,400 jobs created in its service territory last year and $1.15 billion in capital investments in the Carolinas. Among the largest announcements was Cree's 300-job, $300 million plant investment in Durham County and Dell's 1,700-job, $100 million investment in Forsyth County.

When asked, Steven W. Nelson, a local real estate agent with Keller Williams revealed that this is "simply another sign that the Triangle is the place to be for business and raising a family. The greatest problem facing Wake County at this time is the influx of students which makes it nearly impossible to build schools fast enough to keep up with the new students moving into the area. It is not a bad problem to have" He went on to say that the increased interest in this area for relocating or expanding business will mean that the housing market will continue to be strong and home prices continue to rise.

For more information about the area and relocating to the area, you can contact Steven W. Nelson through his website at www.StevenNelsonHomes.com.