On June 2, Academy Park Hospitality, LLC. purchased The Mayton Inn. The partners include a number of downtown developers and investors, including Bill Zahn, George Jordan, Steve Knier, Jordan Gussenhoven and Grant Yarber. Two additional partners in the group are Craig Spitzer and Craig Shipley, founders of Early Bird Night Owl, the operators of The Durham Hotel in downtown Durham. The partners share the belief that The Mayton will play a vital role in the future of downtown Cary, the Downtown Cary Park and other future development taking place in the area. The Early Bird Night Owl partners will manage and operate The Mayton Inn. 

Amazon became a corporate citizen of Cary with its announcement to open a delivery station, a facility where orders are prepared for last mile delivery to customers. Amazon anticipates the creation of hundreds of jobs with this facility paying a minimum of $15 an hour. The delivery station will occupy about 300,000 square feet of existing space in Cary. The addition of the Cary site is expected to improve Amazon delivery times in the Triangle. 

Circle Graphics, a Colorado-based graphics company that produces large-format, digital graphics, signed a long-term lease of 153,990 square feet at 501 Innovation Avenue near RDU. The company operates 407,000 square feet of manufacturing facilities across the country and prints more than 431 million square feet of material per year. The company is based out of Longmont, Colorado.

Raleigh Brewing Company opened a location in Cary — Raleigh Brewing at the Arboretum. Raleigh Brewing opened in 2013 by Kristie Nystedt, who is the first woman to own a brewery in North Carolina.  

As work shifted from in-person to virtual, the Organizational Development division adjusted to accommodate by offering virtual article discussions weekly as a way for employees to connect with on 
another through learning and reflection. Nearly 50 different employees from 12 departments participated in at least one of these discussions with most people participating in two or more sessions. Articles ranged in publications and topics, including adapting to working from home, how countries respond to coronavirus, and showing compassion while navigating such an unknown time. The sessions spurred both thoughtful discussions and new relationships between colleagues across the organization. Employee response has been overwhelmingly positive with participants sharing numerous points of satisfaction, including the diversity of voices, authenticity, candor, respect and more. 

Diversity, inclusion and equity efforts are more important than ever as our nation deals with two pandemics simultaneously: COVID-19 and racism. With most Cary facilities remaining closed and employees continuing to telework, staff found adaptable ways to keep employees engaged during this unpredictable, and often disturbing, time. “Woke Wednesdays with Tru,” short video content featuring Tru Pettigrew from Tru Access, was posted every Wednesday on Chatter. These weekly video snippets provided valuable information that led to the first virtual rap sessions on “Unconscious Bias and Cognitive Diversity.” In June, the series topic transitioned to “Courageous Conversations” as staff had very difficult, heartfelt and impactful conversations on racism that stemmed from the events in Minneapolis. Weekly virtual conversations were held on a Heart-Head-Hand method as staff discussed their feelings on racism while sharing ideas and possible actions that could be assessed both personally and within the organization to be more inclusive. Staff shared information, resources and events on Chatter to continue engaging, listening and learning to better understand one another.

With restricted access to Cary facilities, modifying the annual FY 2021 Open Enrollment for benefit-eligible employees was critical. HR evaluated the traditional process and offered a passive enrollment, where employees were automatically enrolled in medical and dental benefits and only required to reenroll in their voluntary medical and dependent care flexible spending accounts. This process was easier for employees and allowed HR to focus on customized outreach — over 500 employees who made a change for the new plan year were contacted. 

To continue promoting healthy lifestyles, HR strategically modified the Healthy Rewards Program. The goal was to continue encouraging healthy behavior and to offer opportunities to make a lifestyle change. Of the 95 employees who did not earn the reward, a total of 28 engaged in the virtual health coaching option. An amazing 100 percent of participants completed or are on track to complete the program with nearly 20 percent staying engaged with the WakeMed health coach. This option further customized the Healthy Rewards program and allowed employees to individually customize a health and well-being action plan with a personalized health coach.

To keep up employees’ momentum in various health and well-being programs, the Total Employee Health team modified several challenges, made them virtual and extended the timeframes. In the 2020 Choose To Lose Weight Loss Challenge, more than 180 employees across all departments participated. Participants lost more than 400 pounds with some individuals losing more than 20 pounds and 5 inches from their waist. At the same time, more than 115 employees from all departments participated in the Wellable Challenge, where our employees traveled more than 6,000 miles via biking, swimming, walking and more. Finally, virtual health coaching continued strong with 30 employees continuously engaging with our WakeMed health coach. 

Supporting employees while they work remotely, in the field or in the Emergency Operations Center, is paramount to taking care of one another. The Total Employee Health team, in partnership with WakeMed, developed a custom program, “Finding Your Center,” to help employees focus on self-care and integrating easy, daily activities for physical, mental and emotional well-being. With 41 employees from almost all departments registered for the program, 71 percent completed the program. Concurrently, Cary offered expanded virtual behavioral health visits, and within the last quarter, 202 behavioral health visits were held, an increase from seven in Q3. Cary staff will continue to partner with benefit vendors to identify additional mental and emotional programs to continue specialized support during the pandemic and beyond.