Accolades

• #1 Best North Carolina City for Income Equality, Cary, American Community Survey (October 3, 2018) 
• #2 Best Tech Town, Raleigh MSA, CompTIA (October 23, 2018) 
• #4 Most Livable Mid-Sized City in the U.S., Cary, SmartAsset (October 21, 2018)

Small Business Liaison

We positioned Kenneth Caudle in the newly-created role of Small Business Liaison. Establishment of this role will allow Cary to be more proactive and supportive with our small business community, as well as focus on the strengths of staff to create opportunities. Kenneth has spent the majority of his career with Cary as a firefighter, and later as Chief Fire Inspector. Those technical skills, understanding the business permitting process, and his charismatic personality make Kenneth the right person for the job. Anyone who has met Kenneth knows that his charismatic, “never-met-a-stranger” personality makes him a perfect fit for this role. Kenneth’s proactive presence in the small business community, with over 30 unique visits this quarter, is already proving successful. 

Employees were recognized at “Celebrate the Best,” the Employee Recognition Reception at the Cary Arts Center and the Employee Recognition Luncheon at the Herb Young Community Center. With a spotlight on collegiality and camaraderie, the events honored 210 employees who reached anniversary milestones of 5, 10, 15, 20, 25, 30 and 35 years of service. Also honored were the Team and Individual Employees of the Year, chosen from a field of more than 12 nominees. The Team of the Year award was created for the first time this year to acknowledge the innovative and successful projects and coalitions. 

More than 700 current employees were joined at the Luncheon by over 70 retirees. With food and fun as the goal, both events featured games, awards and entertainment. Building on our heritage, Cary’s Employee of the Year program was established in 1989 to recognize employees who consistently perform well beyond what the job description requires. This year’s nominees truly embody the adaptive traits of the Town’s OneCary culture, exemplifying the spirit every day of being part of one of the greatest places in the world to work.

• On October 25, at the Fonteva Users Conference in Arlington, VA, Cary was presented with the Innovation Award for our groundbreaking effort to build a registration system on the Salesforce platform.

• The NC Department of Aging and Adult Services awarded a Certificate of Excellence to the Cary Senior Center.  This is the third time the senior center has been honored with this five-year certification.
• Zombiepalooza, a program of The Cary Theater, was presented with the NC Recreation and Parks Association’s Arts and Humanities Award at the annual conference held in October.

• The Duke Energy Foundation awarded the Friends of Hemlock Bluffs a grant of $9,700 for exhibit improvements at the Stevens Nature Center.
• Good Hope Farm received multiple awards this quarter including a $5,000 grant from UNC REX Healthcare, $3,500 from Duke Community Care Fund, $5,000 (in-kind) from Lowes Heroes, and $500 from the Cary Rotary. These grant awards help support the programming and small equipment needs at the farm.

Employees are our most important resource, and there are many ways Cary takes care of employees. The C-PHIT program addresses mind, body, and spirit throughout the year and this quarter’s offerings, featuring three monthly themes, were plentiful and supportive.

• October/Immunization Awareness
• November/ National Diabetes Month and the Great American Smokeout
• December/Staying Resilient and Eating Healthy 

Throughout the fall, hundreds of employees attended seminars with topics ranging from Mindfulness to Willpower to Stress, visited informational booths to learn about Healthy Holiday tips, participated in health coaching, got a flu shot at a multitude of onsite clinics, joined the Tobacco-Free Challenge, attended monthly Lunch-and-Learns, received lifesaving information on diabetes and breast cancer, and received financial information and resources. With the ultimate goal of facilitating Total Employee Health, our employees have the opportunity to take charge of their health and well-being through many offerings tailored for them.