First Bank, North Carolina’s largest community bank, opened a branch in downtown Cary. Their new location is directly across from Town Hall at 315 N. Academy Street in the newly renovated and renamed First Bank Building, formerly known as the Cooper Building. Two new restaurants Chicken Salad Chick and Daybreak also opened their doors. Chicken Salad Chick, an Alabama-based restaurant chain with more than 170 locations, opened in Cary’s Waverly Place. Daybreak is located next door to its sister restaurant Crosstown Pub in downtown Cary. Daybreak offers breakfast, brunch, and tacos, and it fills an important gap in the downtown Cary food offering — a sit-down breakfast menu.

Much changed at the onset of COVID-19, so taking care of employees who found themselves unable to fulfill their typical day-to-day responsibilities due to closed facilities and cancelled programs was a key Q1 focus. Focusing on Cary’s core value of people first, an adaptive approach was taken to reach out to temporary Parks, Recreation, and Cultural Resources employees to see how their skills, interests, experience, and passions could be matched with organizational needs. This effort resulted in several temporary employees filling existing, full-time vacancies, which allowed them to continue to contribute and serve in meaningful ways. “We care about these people, and we know they’re an integral part of our organization,” Human Resources Consultant Russ Hughes said.

When Cary employees found themselves in need of motivation, encouragement, support, or accountability, they were not alone. Reintroducing Emily Medlin, WakeMed’s education specialist and Cary’s health partner, through virtual health coaching was a key initiative to help meet employees where they are in their personal and professional journeys. Sixty-three employees connected with her in Q1, many engaging with multiple visits. In addition, Human Resources provided Cary employees with weekly well-being tips.