Business Milestones

■ Dean Price of Stokesdale and Gary Sink of Thomasville, the owners of Red Birch Energy, based in Bassett, Va., participated in an Energy Leadership Briefing on Aug. 24 at the White House. They were among a select group of regional and national energy leaders invited to the briefing to discuss the country's energy future with the Obama administration. They met with cabinet secretaries and their staffs, and White House representatives. Red Birch Energy designs and builds Red Birch Country Market Biodiesel Truck Stops with adjacent biodiesel production operations. The biodiesel operations produce B-100 biofuel and transfer the fuel directly into the fuel tanks of the Country Market Biodiesel Truck Stops where it is sold.

■ Russell Reid, an administrator at Abbotts Creek Care and Rehabilitation in Lexington, was recently chosen as Administrator of the Year by SunBridge Healthcare Corp. The award recognizes outstanding employee contribution, unit performance and innovative ideas in fulfilling the company's mission and core values that focus on serving residents, their families, fellow co-workers and the operations as a whole. Reid has been an administrator for Abbotts Creek since 2005 and has served in the health-care field for 15 years.

■ Katie Sellers of Clemmons has received the Top Performance Cluster in Personal Sales and Personal Recruiting award from The Pampered Chef, a direct seller of kitchen tools and entertainment pieces. She is an independent advanced director with The Pampered Chef. Consultants who receive an award for personal sales have reached a minimum of $45,000 in commissionable sales. Consultants who receive an award for personal recruits have recruited and qualified 12 new Pampered Chef consultants to their teams.

■ Jessica Dauray said she has opened The Studio in the Home Design Emporium at New Garden Village in Greensboro to fill a gap for a wholesale-fabric resource in the Triad. The Studio is an interior-design showroom that is open to the interior-design trade. The showroom offers fine fabrics and upholstery, some of which are from local North Carolina mills and factories. It has eco-friendly fabrics and upholstery, and products from local artisans, such as custom-painted lampshades and artwork. The showroom also provides specialty services such as portfolio packages with before and after photography, and AutoCAD services, for creating kitchen layouts, floor plans and built-in design.

■ Allan F. deGuzman was recently elected as a Fellow of the American Association of Physicists in Medicine. He is a vice chairman and chief physicist in the Radiation Oncology Department at the Wake Forest University School of Medicine.

■ The Greensboro Merchants Association has changed its name to Guilford Merchants Association, reflecting its broader concentrated membership base that includes Greensboro, High Point, Summerfield, Oak Ridge, Jamestown, and other Guilford County communities. A portion of the association's membership also extends into other parts of North Carolina and Virginia. The organization will still use the acronym GMA. The name change was accelerated by the association's June 2008 merger with the High Point Merchants Association.

■ The Children's Home in Winston-Salem has earned re-accreditation from the Council of Accreditation. The Children's Home was first accredited by the council in 2005 and every four years must apply for re-accreditation. This process involves a detailed review and analysis of both an organization's administrative operations and its service-delivery practices.

■ Fuller Architecture in Mocksville said that three of its professional staff members have achieved the United States Green Building Council's Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design Accredited Professional status. They are John Fuller, Tom Britt and Kevin Marion. Accreditation recognizes individuals in the building industry who are knowledgeable of the LEED rating system, which provides building owners and professionals with standards for applying and maintaining green technologies and practices during building design and construction.

■ Tencarva Machinery Co. said that it has contracted with John Crane Inc. to add the territories of North Carolina, South Carolina and Virginia for representation of the John Crane line of mechanical seals and support systems. Tencarva, based in Greensboro, is a distributor of fluid handling, compressed air and vacuum systems and related products.

■ Trident United Way in Charleston, S.C., has hired Scott Labarowski, a native of Winston-Salem, as a summer loaned executive. He has years of experience with nonprofit organizations, including the Gaston County United Way and on the Leadership Council of the Gaston Chamber of Commerce.

■ Lia sophia, a fashion jewelry company, has made several promotions in Winston-Salem. The company has promoted Lori Hall and Sandy Bowen from advisors to unit managers. They have earned this level through personal sales accomplishments and by motivating others to achieve success.

■ Bill Davis has been named the associate dean for the Working Professional MBA programs at the Wake Forest University Schools of Business. Davis has been a faculty member at Wake Forest University for more than 12 years. He teaches negotiations, management communication, human-resource management and leadership. In his new role, he will oversee the Working Professional MBA programs in Winston-Salem and in Charlotte.

■ Inmar Inc., a logistics and promotions-management solutions company in Winston-Salem, has made these promotions: Pat Sullivan, Reverse Logistics, to vice president of business development; Tammy Virnig, Revenue Recovery Services, to client services director; and Sharon Wahrmund, Promotion Services, to senior product-development manager.

If you have an announcement for this column, send it to the Winston-Salem Journal, P.O. Box 3159, Winston-Salem, NC 27102, or e-mail to business@wsjournal.com. Please include a spokesman's name and contact number. Announcements must be received by noon the Wednesday before publication.