CONTENT

6 Welcome

8 Board of Directors | Ex-Officio Seats

10 How Craven Community College got its Name

16 A ‘happy place’ for pets to stay

20 Work at Craven County Wood Energy

24 New Bern Real Estate

28 WCTI News 12

32 New Bern Painted Bears

36 MCAS Cherry Point

40 Membership Directory

Welcome

Dear Member Friends,

I’m looking forward to serving as your Chairperson of the New Bern Area Chamber of Commerce for 2025. Last year we celebrated our Chamber’s 125 years of accomplishments—there was a lot to celebrate! Without a moment’s pause, however, we embark on this new year filled with great expectations for helping local businesses to grow and prosper.

Our Chamber is the place for business leaders in our community to connect and to:

Develop personal relationships that engender trust between diverse business interests

Act as a forum for creating business collaborations and win-win partnerships

Stay current on emerging business trends and issues

Create lasting friendships that extend beyond the business sphere

Make newcomers feel at home and introduce them to all that is available in our community

Learn from each other and to incubate best business practices

We appreciate your membership and participation that continue to make the Chamber’s success possible. If you are not yet a Chamber member, I encourage you to take a look at all we have to offer—joining will be among the best business decisions you can make!

Most Sincerely,

Dr. Ray Staats

 Craven Community College, President

 2025 New Bern Area Chamber of Commerce, Chair of the Board

#TheChamberConnects

Farewell

Our 125th year as a Chamber of Commerce is coming to an end. I want to take this opportunity to thank all the Chamber Members for your support and participation in Chamber events. Our Board meetings (Executive Board, Board of Directors, Military Alliance Board, Non-Profit Board and the Young Professionals) would have been very boring and unproductive without your attendance and active involvement.

A special Thank You to all our members who hosted either a Business Before Hours, a Business After Hours, or a Midday Mingle. All great opportunities to network, renew friendships and make new ones. Speaking of new friendships, I can’t leave out all the new members and their fantastic “Ribbon Cuttings”, they all helped to expand the Chamber Family.

As I said in the beginning, the individual members are the Chamber of Commerce. Without you there would be no Chamber!

My time as your chair is quickly coming to an end, let me assure you that I thoroughly enjoyed it , it has been my Honor to serve you.

Thank you, Susan, Teresa, and Kevin, for your very professional and your personal assistance in my success as Chair.

I propose a toast to Dr. Ray Staats, our Chair elect and our 126th year!

Ed Hughes

2024, Chair of the Board

New Bern Area Chamber of Commerce

New Bern Area Chamber of Commerce 2025 Board of Directors

EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE

Ray Staats, Chair

Craven Community College

Ed Hughes,
Immediate Past Chair

Individual

Jim Robinson, Incoming Chair

Robinson & Stith

Dan Roberts, Treasurer

Edward Jones

Lindsay Sims

Mitchell Hardware

Chris Hayter

International Paper

Ross Hardeman

Sumrell Sugg

Kevin Roberts,
President & CEO

New Bern Area Chamber of Commerce

BOARD OF DIRECTORS

Term Expiring
December 2025

Andy MacLaren

BSH

Wendy McCoy

Union Home Mortgage

Tieghlor Melton

Thompson Home Group

Judy Pierce

CarolinaEast Health System

Brad Poirier

Bear City Impact

Dean Quadir

Persimmons

Cameron Stallings

Southern Bank

Term Expiring
December 2026

Suzanne Gifford

Partners in Education

Brynn Harms

Optimize Receivables

Manny Kahsai

Trent Cadillac

Grant Loftin

Hyundai of New Bern

Knox Proctor

Ward and Smith

Chrystal Regan

Tryon Palace

Bryan Wayne

Bryan Wayne Hair Salon

Term Expiring
December 2027

Tony Norwood

Moen

Joe Peters

Curtis Media Group

Mike Raines

Century 21 Zaytoun Raines

Andy Schneider

Chemac

Josh Taylor

Coastal Real Estate & Management, Inc.

Jill Thompson

Bradham’s Legacy

Lauren Wargo

Duke Energy

EX-OFFICIO SEATS

Voting: By Appointment

Melissa Riggle

Director, Craven County Tourism Development Authority

Andy Shorter

Director, Coastal Carolina Regional Airport

Karen Sullivan

Director, Swiss Bear, Inc.

Jeff Wood

Director, Craven County Economic Development

Voting: At-Large

Tarshi McCoy

Riverfront Convention Center of Craven County

Holly Tolston

Craven County Schools

David Wang

The Epiphany School of
Global Studies

Tom Braaten

Past Chair 2013

Nancy Alexander

Past Chair 2014

Tharesa Lee

Past Chair 2016

Jeff Medlin

Past Chair, 2022

Non-Voting

Foster Hughes

City Manager, City of New Bern

Rhonda Murray

MCAS Cherry Point, Community Plans & Liaison

Member Milestone Anniversary

Reading the blueprints: How Craven Community College got its Name

With a pencil and legal pad in hand, Dr. Thurman Brock sat down at a tiny desk on Aug. 15, 1961, and began his first day as the inaugural Director of Vocational Education for Craven County Schools.

The county’s forward-thinking decision to create this position for Brock was only matched in North Carolina at that time by larger school systems in Wilmington, Charlotte, Asheville and Greensboro.

Working in collaboration with Lenoir County Industrial Education Center (LCIEC) in Kinston, Brock, who would later become Craven Community College’s first president, provided the leadership needed to start holding classes at Brinson Memorial School. The first two classes offered were Basic Electronics and Blueprint Reading – ironically, these classes also provided the blueprint for what would eventually become Craven Community College.

The state’s Community College System was created in 1963, and a local advisory committee led by Lynn Kelso was already hard at work to develop plans for a college in New Bern. By Nov. 13, 1963, the Craven County Board of Commissioners had received $3,456 to begin a Licensed Practical Nursing program on the fourth floor of the old St. Luke’s Hospital building, located on the corner of Broad and George streets in downtown New Bern. The program still operated as an extension of the Lenoir County Community College, but Craven was on its way to independence.

On July 1, 1965, the North Carolina General Assembly issued a charter creating the Craven Industrial Education Center, a unit of LCIEC. This inaugural year marked the official start of Craven CC with 14 students in the Practical Nursing Program, 1,533 students in continuing education programs, 19 different classes, and a county budget of $17,376.

Needing room to expand, the college found a new home in downtown New Bern at the Harvey Mansion. Nursing was located on the third floor, business classes on the second floor, general classrooms on the first floor, and the student lounge was in the basement.

While the Harvey Mansion provided more classroom space than St. Luke’s, the educational center quickly outgrew this space as well. A group of local citizens, political leaders, public school officials and college staff met on Jan. 16, 1967, at the Holiday Inn in New Bern to develop plans for a technical institute in Craven County. These efforts resulted in Craven County voters approving a $5.5 million bond referendum that included a property valuation levy for operating expenses for the independent Craven County Technical Institute (CCTI). The process had taken six long years of planning and hard work by many citizens, including: Olin Wright, Executive Director of the New Bern Chamber of Commerce; D.L. Stallings; R.L. Pugh, H.J. MacDonald; Harry Vatz; Don Deichnann; Albert Salem; Lynn Kelso; Evelyn Haire; D.L. “Libby” Ward; Representative R.C. Godwin; Bill Dawson; and Donald Weatherington.

CCTI became an official independent institution as the newly constituted Board of Trustees held its first meeting on Tuesday, April 23,1968. At this organizational meeting, Kelso was elected as chairman, Salem was elected as vice chairman, Brock was elected as secretary to the board, and David Ward was elected as board attorney.

With a tremendous amount of business to consider during its first few meetings, one of the primary goals was to find the ideal location for a permanent campus that would serve the community’s growing needs. Several sites were considered, including: 1) Weyerhaeuser site on Racetrack Road, (2) the Bryan property on Pembroke-Country Club Road, (3) Dan White property on Highway 17 South, and (4) Elbert Cook property located 10 miles east of New Bern on Highway 70 (Riverdale community).

On July 9,1968, the Board of Trustees voted by a unanimous decision to purchase the Weyerhaeuser property as recommended by the site committee. The 100-acre site on Racetrack Road was chosen because of its proximity to the county’s population center and the planned four-lane bypass of Highway 70. The busy year continued for Craven with its first graduation ceremony held at Bridgeton School auditorium and a pinning ceremony for Practical Nursing graduates at Beach Grove Methodist Church, both held on Aug. 23, 1968.

Hoping to consolidate disparate classrooms into one location, the college soon hired architect John Peterson and officially held its groundbreaking ceremony on the new campus Nov. 12, 1969. The ceremony was held on a cool, rainy day in a small parking lot in front of Building “B.” As work progressed, the college underwent its first name change, converting from Craven County Technical Institute to Craven Technical Institute (CTI) on April 14, 1970. The CTI employees and students officially moved into the new campus the following April.

Classes were still being taught across the county, including college transfer classes at First Baptist Church on Middle Street in New Bern. The very first cohort of transfer classes was held 1970-71 and included two local students, David McFadyen and Tyler Harris, who enrolled in the co-op program with East Carolina University (ECU). Both graduated from ECU, with McFadyen going on to serve as the county’s district attorney and currently as major with the Craven County Sheriff’s office, while Harris served as Craven County manager and is currently president of the Craven CC Foundation board. The transfer classes were taught in collaboration with ECU, but CTI voted to develop its own transfer program on July 1, 1973. The change resulted in the college’s final name change, officially creating Craven Community College.

While Craven Community College has kept its name for 52 years, the college itself has continued to evolve. The New Bern campus has grown to include 10 buildings, while the Havelock campus has an Institute of Aeronautical Technology, STEM Center, and a unique partnership with NC State University’s engineering program. The college opened the Volt Center near downtown New Bern in 2019 for workforce and trades classes, and will begin construction on a new Public Safety Training Center this fall.

The college is continually looking forward to meeting the community’s needs, but it will also take the next few months to reflect on a significant milestone in its history—Craven CC will celebrate its 60th anniversary on July 1, 2025. There’s no way anyone could have predicted the legacy that unfolded over the past six decades, but it seems the blueprint had a solid foundation of community support, leadership, visions for a better tomorrow, and one tiny desk for the architect.

A special thanks to Craven CC’s first president, Dr. Thurman Brock, for his historical series Did You Know?: The History of Craven Community College.

Through the Years

On July 1, 1965, the NC General Assembly created Craven County Unit of Lenoir County Community College (LCCC).

The Craven Unit of LCCC relocated to 223 Tryon Palace Drive, currently the Harvey Mansion, in the fall of 1966.

Founder’s Day began as the first Board of Trustees meeting was held April 23, 1968, with board chairman Lynn Kelso.

Craven Board of Trustees voted on July 9, 1968, to purchase 100 acres of property on Racetrack Road, which would eventually become the New Bern campus.

College officially broke ground on the New Bern campus Nov. 12, 1969.

In April 1971, employees and CTI students made the physical move from Tryon Palace Drive to Racetrack Road.

In 1973, the State Board of Education granted community college status – Craven Community College is a reality.

The Craven Community College Foundation formed in 1977 to enhance the college’s educational mission through community fundraising.

Craven Community College joined the New Bern Chamber of Commerce in January 1980.

The Board of Trustees agreed to Dr. Redd’s plan to offer daytime curriculum programs for the Havelock-Cherry Point area.

WTEB 89.5 began broadcasting from the New Bern campus on June 4, 1984.

Dr. Lewis Redd became Craven Community College’s second president in 1990.

The concurrent enrollment of high school students in vocational curricula began in 1985 as the Step Ahead Program, an early version of today’s dual enrollment program.

Dr. Lewis Redd served as interim president until June 1990, when the State Board confirmed his selection as president.

The college’s men’s basketball team participated in the National Junior College Athletic Association (1980-2000) and reached the Sweet 16 in 1991.

Basketball team, coached by Si Seymour, beat the UNC-Chapel Hill junior varsity team in 1992.

College’s first Havelock Fund Drive raised more than $12,000 in 1995.

Craven’s AAS degree in Automotive Mechanics Technology began courses in the fall of 1996.

Paramedic classes are offered through Continuing Education.

Instructors Bob Husson and Valeria Truitt offered the college’s first online courses in 1998.

The Perdue building was completed in 1999, providing space for science labs, the nursing program, accounting and office systems technology.

Dr. Scott Ralls became the third president of Craven Community College in 2002.

The Havelock campus, including the new Institute of Aeronautical Technology, was dedicated on Nov. 11, 2003.

Si Seymour was named North Carolina Community College System Staff of the Year in 2004.

Craven Early College is established at the New Bern campus, and classes begin in fall 2006.

Lifetime Learning Center launched in 2007 with Claude Monet as its central theme.

Dr. Catherine Chew became the college’s fourth president on Oct. 1, 2008.

The Business & Information Technology (BIT) and Bosch Advanced Manufacturing Center buildings were completed in 2009.

Mark Best was named North Carolina Community College System Staff of the Year in 2011.

First Community Fabric Awards event held in April 2011 included the keynote address from Gov. Beverly Perdue.

The first cohort of NC State Engineering students graduated from the Havelock campus in May 2012.

Dr. Ray Staats became the college’s fifth president on July 20, 2015.

Veterans Memorial Park was dedicated on the Havelock campus Nov. 9, 2017.

Hurricane Florence made landfall Sept. 14, 2018, causing the college to remain closed through Sept. 30 as students, staff and the community recovered from the damage.

Volt Center opened as Craven’s first campus dedicated to workforce training in May 2019.

STEM Center was dedicated as the new home for NC State Engineering program on the Havelock campus in January 2020.

Greg Singleton, director of community workforce development, was named North Carolina Community College System Staff of the Year in January 2022.

State legislature passed a budget on Oct. 4, 2023, with $12 million in funding to build Craven Community College’s Public Safety Training Center, with construction set to begin in fall 2024.

The Business & Information Technology building was dedicated as “Bate Hall” on Feb. 20, 2024, in honor of the Harold H. Bate Foundation’s generosity over the past 30 years.

Four students begin the first cohort for NC State’s new Bachelor of Engineering with concentration in Electrical Engineering Systems program during the fall 2024 semester.

Member Milestone Anniversary

Lynaire Kennels A ‘happy place’ for pets to stay

By Mike Danahey

Linda Jarvis’ love of show dogs led to opening Lynaire Kennels & Crematory, Inc., which is celebrating its 30th year in business this Dec. 10.

“We had a Miniature Schnauzer prior to owning show dogs. But my husband traveled a great deal and wanted me to have a larger dog,” Jarvis said.

So, in 1983, Jarvis got an Airedale Terrier, in part because the breed doesn’t shed. Her first Airedalw turned out to be a champion that did a lot of winning.

“I was hooked. Everyone asked me who I was going to breed her to. That seemed like the next step,” Jarvis said.

Since then, Lynaire has been producing happy, healthy and conformationally correct Airedale terriers for several generations. She is a past president and current board member of the Airedale Terrier Club of America and remains very active in the world of show dogs, attending seminars and judging.

In turn, showing and breeding Airedales led Jarvis to open her own kennel.

“There was no place at the time where I could board my own dogs, so I saw a need,” Jarvis said.

Fittingly, she named her establishment Lynaire Kennels & Crematory, Inc. as a combination of her first name, and the Airedale breed.

Lynaire offers deluxe boarding and grooming, pet daycare, pet crematory services and pet training in a safe and secure facility that is double fenced, in a park-like setting on 20 acres. On top of that, Lynaire offers premiere suites as well as playtime and nature walks to keep dogs active and engaged.

The business has been named Best Kennel in the New Bern Sun Journal Community Choice Awards for seven consecutive years, which points to the success of the business.

Jarvis is also proud of how she and her crew were able to meet the challenges posed by this decade’s COVID-19 pandemic.

“Our top priority was keeping our employees safe. We didn’t let anyone else in the building. We checked pets in from our parking lot,” Jarvis said.

As such, Jarvis attributes her kennels’ success, perseverance and longevity to having a wonderful staff.

“Many of my 17 employees have been with me for 20 years or more. They love animals. When they walk through the front door, they always say, we treat them like our own,” Jarvis said.

For anyone choosing a place for boarding, grooming, daycare and cremation services for their dogs Jarvis said they should visit first to check for cleanliness, odor and to observe if the staff genuinely loves animals.

Jarvis said what differentiates Lynaire from other, similar operations is that it provides very large indoor and outdoor run spaces. And her facility does not offer group play.

“I consider group play dangerous. Our dogs play with a staff member,” Jarvis said.

As for what she enjoys about running her own business, Jarvis said it’s the caring staff she’s put together, the people she meets and their pets

“Ours is a happy place. People feel secure leaving their dogs with us when they are going on vacation or away on business. Then they are happy coming home, happy to see their pets have been well-taken car

“Many of my 17 employees have been with me for 20 years or more. They love animals.”

Linda Jarvis
Owner,
Lynaire Kennels & Crematory, Inc.

Celebrating 50 years

Work at Craven County Wood Energy helps stabilize the electrical grid

By Mike Danahey

Craven County Wood Energy has been up and running since 1990, providing the region a place for local loggers and mills to take their waste to be utilized to produce clean baseload electricity, voltage and reactive support.

“This helps stabilize the local electrical grid,” said Plant Manager Chase Shepherd. “The service we provide by taking such waste and keeping it out of landfills and waterways has helped with the facility’s longevity.”

The facility also takes waste from turkey brooder houses across North Carolina and adds that poultry litter to its fuel supply. This gives the state an option beyond using turkey waste as fertilizer – the option to use it at CCWE to produce electricity the year round, Shepherd said.

All told, on an average day CCWE receives 80 semi-trailer truckloads of waste wood and 20 loads of poultry litter, Shepherd said.

Over the course of a year, the plant generates nearly 360,000 megawatt-hours (MWh) of electricity and converts up to 121,000 tons of poultry waste into clean, renewable energy annually, according to the webpage for the plant. It is powered by more than 530,000 tons of wood waste each year.

Additionally, 20% of the plant’s fuel comes from burning the aforementioned poultry waste. According to published reports, North Carolina is the nation’s second largest poultry producer, making the recycling of bird waste important to the state.

The CCWE plant also provides the facility’s ash byproduct as a fertilizer substitute for liming area farmers’ fields, according to the plant’s webpage.

CCWE is owned by a partnership of Northstar Clean Energy and Atlantic Power & Utilities. Its electric output is sold in accordance with a power purchase agreement with Duke Energy. The facility can produce enough electricity to power nearly 50,000 homes.

“We also provide several ancillary benefits to the community, not just through having 30 full time employees, but also through the 100 truckers that pull through the gates each day, the crews in the woods producing the products, the local mechanics, welders, fabricators and others that we work with throughout the year,” Shepherd said.

As such, CCWE remains a vital part of the community, with millions of dollars invested annually through fuel procurement, equipment purchases, taxes and salaries.

“We are also very involved in the community, with donations made to and volunteers assisting with local events and causes,” Shepherd said.

Shepherd noted, though, that the current contract CCWE owners have to sell power to Duke Energy expires in 2027.

“We will need the community’s support to continue operations,” Shepherd said.

Shepherd has been with CCWE for about a year and has been employed in the energy industry for more than 20 years.

“I started out by sweeping floors while in high school and worked my way through that plant,” Shepherd said. He also took college classes to help keep moving up the ladder and had a couple of great mentors along the way.

As for what he enjoys about his line of work, Shepherd said, “You work on a little bit of everything, from troubleshooting mechanical issues to talking with state legislators. You never know what you’ll be getting into, so you never get bored.”

“The service we provide by taking such waste and keeping it out of landfills and waterways has helped with the facility’s longevity.”

Chase Shepherd
Plant manager,
Craven County Wood Energy

Member Milestone Anniversary

Donna & Team: New Bern Real Estate continues to succeed in an uncertain economy

By Mike Danahey

There’s a story behind the downtown building that Donna & Team New Bern Real Estate call home, a story that reflects the town’s history and the business operating there.

The firm is in the 100-year-old Eby-Maxwell house, which used to be located at 222 Broad St. In 1985, the New Bern Chamber purchased the building to preserve it and moved it to its current location along Middle Street in downtown New Bern.

“We have photos up in the office showing how they did that, literally moving the building downtown through our main street to Middle Street,” said firm founder Donna Harmatuk.

Earlier this year, Harmatuk had been looking for new digs for her growing business and jumped at the chance to move into the Eby-Maxwell house.

She was drawn to the history and the architecture of the structure, with its unique eyebrow dormers, high ceilings, hardwood floors and the authentic historic feel.

“Plus, it’s in the heart of downtown,” Harmatuk said. “From the upper office windows you can see the river and the Baxter Clock in the historic district.”

Being where the office is located, along with its eye appeal, means visitors frequently stop in to ask for directions to New Bern attractions and for recommendations on places to eat and play.

That suits Harmatuk, who started her career in real estate in 2000, just fine.

“I love houses, and I love people. That’s why I got into the real estate business,” she said.

For the first five years, Harmatuk worked as a solo agent, doing everything for herself.

“I learned over years, as I became busier and busier, that I needed to move beyond a one-size-fits-all approach, that I needed a team in order to provide quality service,” she said.

Harmatuk found a company that provided the model she needed, Keller Williams, the largest real estate franchise in the United States. With the Keller Williams approach, Harmatuk said she partners with people who have skills beyond those she has, from marketing to lead generating, which allows her to hone her focus on clients and their needs.

Being part of Keller Williams has also enabled Donna & Team New Bern to have more options in picking and choosing other professional partners with which they work, including photographers, house stagers, inspectors, pre-appraisal experts and lenders.

“Having a curated list of vendor partners streamlines the process, making everything from the first visit by car to the closing seamless,” Harmatuk said.

Like in many other areas of the U.S., New Bern area’s real estate market has seen a lack of inventory and shortages of new construction, tradesmen and supplies.

Even with an uncertain economy, “We’re holding our own,” Harmatuk said. “That’s in large part because people choose to live in New Bern.”

Long-time residents can tell you the list of draws. The riverfront city is just a 45 minute drive to the ocean and a 4-hour trip to the mountains. The town maintains an All-American Main Street look about it too, while overlooking the Neuse, which is the widest river in the U.S., Harmatuk said.

New Bern also remains affordable compared to other markets, with the average home sale price between $300,000 and $325,000.

“So we’re drawing a good many entrepreneurs here, where there’s not 10 of everything,” Harmatuk said. “And our market right now is split evenly between buyers and sellers, which is a balanced market.”

Given those favorable factors, Donna & Team New Bern has grown over the last 20 years to now have 10 real estate agents and 10 support staff. It is affiliated with the larger Keller Williams office in New Bern on McCarthy Boulevard, which has 225 agents, Harmatuk said.

Being part of Keller Williams has also put Harmatuk’s office on the map with the national platform it provides, Harmatuk said. That provides buyers and sellers a look at a market in a smaller town that they might not have otherwise considered.

“That’s been a gift,” she said.

Harmatuk said being associated with Keller Williams has provided an opportunity to attend workshops and other types of sessions across the country. From those she’s brought back new ideas to New Bern and a wider vision to her approach, not to mention the connections she has made in the business, nationwide.

“Meeting new people and developing professional relationships is what I love to do. I’d venture to guess that 80% of such relationships – and a good many friendships – began through my travels in real estate,” Harmatuk said. “Relationships are the gift of my career. There’s nothing else I would rather do for a living.”

Member Milestone Anniversary

WCTI News 12 has embraced change while reporting on history for 50 years

By Mike Danahey

Way back on Sept. 6 1963, The New Bern Pilot reported on an exciting happening in town.

Under a front page photo showing the building holding the city’s nascent television station, the caption noted that while many doubted New Bern would ever get a TV station of its own, Nathan Frank believed it would.

With an investment of $1 million, and years trying to get the station off the ground, Frank was about to launch WNBE TV on Channel 12.

“Aside from the fine ABC coverage it will provide the Old North State, its publicity value to our town is priceless,” the caption said.

Frank fought for 10 years to get an FCC license to launch the ABC affiliate in Eastern North Carolina, and on Sept. 7, 1963, he realized his dream.

According to a report marking the station’s 50th anniversary, WNBE TV gave way to WCTI in 1970, when Continental Television, Inc. bought the station. In fact, the call letters refer to Continental Television, said current WCTI News 12 General Manager, Allison Aldridge.

Bonten Media purchased the station in 2008 and remained the owner until September 2017, when Sinclair Broadcasting bought what has remained an ABC affiliate over the decades.

Of course, a lot has changed through the years in the way WCTI News 12 has been able to serve the community. Those milestones include:

Virginia Foye joined WCTI in 1976 and became the first African American news anchor in Eastern Carolina.

The addition of a new 2,000-foot tower in the early 1980s meant a sharper signal and a broader viewing area.

In September of 1982, WCTI became the first TV station in the market to have a computerized weather system.

Advances in technology have meant that there is no film at the station, as there was when it first went on the air. There’s no videotape either. Beginning in 2010, the station went tapeless, with video shot on memory cards and downloaded to computers.

Nowadays, with the ascendancy of social media, WCTI News 12 is meeting the need to deliver a product on multiple platforms in a way that the consumer is used to getting information, Aldridge said.

“It is crucial to deliver news, weather and content to as many of our viewers as possible,” Aldridge said. “We want to reach our viewers where they are and adapt to modern day consumer behavior.”

As such, Aldridge said WCTI News 12 is active on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube, TikTok and other portals. The station is also working on podcasting and exploring many other avenues for delivering the content it provides.

“We are much more than a TV station. We are a content center,” Aldridge said. “But the most important thing we do is fact check and deliver confirmed, truthful information that viewers can trust. Social media cannot do that.”

Through it all, the station’s focus has remained on holding the powerful accountable, Aldridge said. It hones in on key issues for the region such as education, the planning and future growth of the region and supporting the military.

“Our team works 24/7 to stay in touch with community leaders. We attend local meetings and our investigative team is a huge resource to the community,” Aldridge said. “We take viewer concerns directly to those in power.”

As an example, Aldridge said that when WCTI News 12 was made aware of the poor quality of water in Carteret County, the station took those concerns to the water company and got answers.

“In addition, we took concerns from those affected by and who are still recovering from Hurricane Florence (which hit in 2018) and who are working to rebuild North Carolina. These actions resulted in a change in leadership at the agency,” Aldridge said.

Aldridge sees community involvement, a focus on making the community stronger and the passion and dedication of each and every WCTI News 12 team member as a key to the station’s longevity and success.

As for her own role with WCTI, Aldridge said she started as an account executive at a local television station right out of college, after graduating with a communications degree from Clemson.

“I always knew I wanted to be in the media. I love what I do and am so thankful to be part of this team,” she said. “I truly think they are the best at what they do. I am proud every day of our product and dedication to our viewers and community.”

Aldridge noted that the WCTI News 12 team’s hard work has not gone unnoticed. The group was recently nominated for Radio Television Digital News Association of the Carolinas (RTDNAC) awards for best station, best website and weather coverage. According to its website, RTDNAC is a nonprofit, volunteer organization dedicated to showcasing the best broadcast journalism in North Carolina and South Carolina and supporting college students who aspire to a journalism career.

And she reminds those who watch that they are essential to WCTI News 12.

“Big thank you to all of our viewers. We love hearing from you,” Aldridge said.

Colorful Creations: The Whimsical

New Bern Painted Bears

Why is New Bern represented by bears?

New Bern was established by Swiss and German immigrants who named the settlement after Bern, Switzerland. Bern is a word that is derived from Old German meaning Bear. The story goes that this was the first animal they encountered here in their new home, and it went on to become our community’s proud symbol.

Is the program popular?

The program is wildly popular! It started out with a vision of 12 Bears—quickly grew to 50---and we recently unveiled the 100th! I currently am working on about 15 more to come that are somewhere in the process of either being discussed, designed, in process of being produced or painted, or finalizing finishing details for installation and unveiling.

Do you have any trouble finding sponsors for the bears?

The Bears are beloved members of our community now, and those who can sponsor one reach out regularly. There are businesses who sponsor Bears as well as various non-profits, neighborhoods, and groups of citizens who may want to spread a particular positive message that fundraise and work with me on finding a home for their particular Bear.

What have some of the bears been painted to look like?

The Academy Sports Bear was the first of two Bears that I have painted personally. (I repair Bears now, but I do not paint new ones, as it would be a conflict of interest, and my goal is to have Bears done by many artists in our community.) Anyway-what many may not know is that there are patches on the jersey of Katy the Sports Mama Bear, and each patch has cubs doing various sports. All of those cubs are real kids, mostly from ENC, whose parents sent me pictures of their kids doing their favorite sport or outdoor activity. We also have Mr. Jubilee the Juneteenth Bear, Jimmy, a nod to Jimmy Buffet, Welcome Bear, fashioned after Sandy, the founder of the Newcomers Club of New Bern, Bearista Bear donning the same hat as the baristas inside Crema Brew coffee shop, and of course Bearon De Graffenried, the leader of the first settlers of New Bern. Many of the Bears bring meaning into the design from messages of gratitude to fun elements matching their human counterparts.

Which is your favorite bear?

That is like asking me to pick a favorite child! I’m an artist and can’t even choose a favorite color. I do have a standout story about a Bear though.

A son from out of town emailed me because his family was wanting to honor their mother in some way after her passing. Their Father and Mother lived here in the

Greenbrier neighborhood after retirement, though the sons, daughter in laws, and grandchildren were dispersed all throughout the country, and so after their Mom’s passing, their Dad was here without family. The son’s thought was a park, somewhere that their Dad could go and sit and reflect, and be reminded of their Mom. They all loved the Bears. I asked about her hobbies, trying to get some background for design ideas and placement of the Bear. The process took some time as it was a family decision, and it was during the pandemic, which slowed manufacturing of the form. It turns out Mom was a quilter. I suggested a quilt design for the Bear, the Artist Lee Hood took on the task of creating quilt patches with the family that told memorable stories of places lived, beloved pets, favorite things and that quilt is wrapped around that Bear like a big hug. In the meantime, I was trying to figure out an appropriate home still for this Bear, one that their father could go and sit at, not necessarily busy entrance or spot with no place to sit. One day I got a call from one of our members who had a Bear in their neighborhood that was in grave shape, and she was inquiring about the cost to repair if possible or replace it to speak with their Board about raising the money. After inspecting it, it appeared that the Bear was going to be more costly to repair than replace. I asked how they would feel about having a different Bear donated to their neighborhood’s park? It turned out to be pure kismet that it was the very Greenbrier neighborhood that the Blais’ had called home after retirement. I’m not sure there were many dry eyes at that unveiling for Patches the Bear that tells the story of their lives, but also the lives of so many on those quilt patches. And it is a few blocks from the Dad’s house…with a bench nearby.

At the time of publication, there are slated to be 104 officially unveiled!

What is the deal with the 100th bear?

The 100th Bear was quite a milestone. When I started with Craven Arts Council & Gallery in December 2018, we had just taken over the program, and New Bern had over 75 Bears. So many have come to life since then and I have been honored to be part of making that happen! So, getting to 100 meant a lot to me personally, and I knew it meant a lot to the artists who started with it. I asked Ed Macomber, who painted some of the original 50 Bears, and has continued painting them all this time, not an easy feat mind you, to do the honor of painting the 100th. Bear Paw-Cet is located at the entrance of Moen, showering happily for all to see. Ed stated that this will be his last one that he paints, and I can barely believe it. He has helped so many newer artists, me included, and has been there for me through the years if I ever was stumped by a bear issue. The unveiling was a special one with Vickie Vitale and Ed in attendance, along with well over 100 Moen employees!

Can you talk about the work done by Craven Arts Council & Gallery?

The Craven Arts Council & Gallery is a local nonprofit that calls Bank of the Arts on Middle Street home, and our mission is to create an environment where the arts thrive, bring joy, and enrich the cultural experience in our community. What that looks like in day-to-day life in our community is that we have created public art with community volunteers such as the New Bern Postcard and New Bern Strong murals, Peace by Peace Sculpture, and the Unity Sculpture since 2020. We have also continued the Unity through the Arts Broad Street Banners, the Sculpture Garden on the corner of Middle and Broad St., and of course the Bear Town Bears Program. And that’s just some of the things that we do outside our walls- within the Bank of the Arts, we are not only a resource for artists, offering grant opportunities and support, but we are a public gallery open Tues-Sat from 10-5 offering free, rotating art exhibits for all to view at their leisure. Artists’ Receptions are held during our monthly ArtWalk, held on the 2nd Friday of each month, where visitors have the chance to view new exhibitions and meet the artists featured, as well as pick up an ArtWalk card so they can use the map to visit other stops downtown and check out other local businesses featuring the arts! We also offer our At the Gallery Concert Series and a Little Talks Lecture Series—check out our website for more details and dates on all upcoming exhibitions and events.

You know we have 3 full time staff members, and I can say without a doubt that we wouldn’t be able to accomplish what we do without the support of our volunteers, donors, and members of the Craven Arts Council & Gallery. I’m grateful to have been a small part of it for the past six years—and one of my favorite things about role is being the Bear lady—or as my former beloved coworker used to call me—“Dara Beara.”

MCAS Cherry Point

Marine Corps Air Station Cherry Point wrapped up the fourth quarter of Fiscal Year 2024 with a wide variety of key projects and events to highlight.

MCAS Cherry Point will soon have its first purpose-designed fitness facility that is on par with the needs and visions of the Marine Corps. Navy Facilities Mid-Atlantic awarded P658, Fitness Center and Training Tank (Pool) project to contractor Whiting-Turner Contracting Company at $57.6 million. The project will include construction of a fitness center with exercise rooms, areas for cardio and weight training, as well as equipment space. It also will construct an indoor training pool, including classrooms, locker rooms, storage, filtration, and mechanical spaces. The new construction will replace the “metal maintenance shed,” which houses the current fitness center. The project is estimated to be completed by mid-August 2026.

“This project was decades in the making for a purpose-built, quality facility that will aid our service members in keeping the required standards of fitness and ensuring our war fighters are physically ready to answer our nation’s call,” said Col. Brendan Burks, MCAS Cherry Point commanding officer. “We are excited that this project will raise the standard of fitness for the installation and will be a model facility that supports the high-caliber physical requirements of our Marines and Sailors.”

Also on the horizon is the installation being approved as a Department of Defense STARBASE site. It will serve surrounding school districts with a science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) outreach initiative. The initiative is aimed at supplementing fifth-grade curriculum while providing positive civilian and military role models through DoD-led STEM learning. The news was communicated during the summer, and the goal is to have to program operational by the spring of 2025.

“This program will help augment our public schools’ STEM programs and will go a long way toward ensuring the future, local job force has the skills necessary to continue making vital contributions to our national security,” said Burks. “Fleet Readiness Center East has been the driving force behind bringing the STARBASE initiative to America’s Air Station. We are hopeful of the investment this effort makes toward strengthening the coming workforce.”

Delivery of the first F-35C variant signaled continued progression of the air station’s transition to being the home of six F-35 squadrons. Marine Fighter Attack Squadron (VMFA) 251, Marine Aircraft Group 14, 2nd Marine Aircraft Wing, received its first F-35C Lightning II jet, Sept. 17, 2024. VMFA-251 is the Marine Corps’ first East Coast operational F-35C Lightning II Joint Strike Fighter squadron. The arrival of the aircraft marks the beginning of F-35C deliveries to MCAS Cherry Point, continuing 2nd MAW’s operational transition from legacy fixed-wing tactical aircraft to the F-35.

“The arrival of our first carrier-based, fifth-generation fighter-attack aircraft represents an enormous milestone for MAG-14, MCAS Cherry Point, 2nd MAW, and the F-35 community,” said Col. Benjamin Grant, commanding officer, MAG-14. “The one-two punch provided by the F-35C’s increased range and the F-35B’s short takeoff and vertical landing capability will give MAG-14 and the Marine Air-Ground Task Force a significant advantage in the future fight.”

Keeping with the time-honored service tradition and alongside other Marine Corps installations, veterans, retirees, and our neighboring communities, MCAS Cherry Point will celebrate the Marine Corps’ 249th birthday, Nov. 10, 2024. In the years since the Corps was initially founded in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, at Tun Tavern on Water Street, Marines have served as America’s elite fighting force, best-known for their innate desire to answer the nation’s call, being first to the fight, and continuing a legacy of having each other’s back.

The installation will see more progress with ongoing construction projects that will deliver a new, right sized and equipped fire station, training auditorium, the Provost Marshal’s Office headquarters, and a living shoreline that will dampen the effects of erosion and preserve the air station’s shores. Learn more about Marine Corps Air Station Cherry Point by visiting https://www.cherrypoint.marines.mil.