Business Buzz: 3/20/20

March 20, 2020

If you need a break from COVID coverage, look no further. Today in Business Buzz, Fermented Nonsense Brewing and Craft Centric merge, Asheville receives a new best-of ranking, and several new hires are announced in the City of Asheville.

Award

  • According to a new ranking of cities from Reservations.com, Asheville is the #4 “Wanderlust-Inspiring New Age cities” in the country Cities were ranked based on factors including community unity, yoga/meditation centers, creativity and more.

Expansion 

  • Fermented Nonsense Brewing and Craft Centric Taproom have announced that they will merge their businesses and rebrand as Fermented Nonsense Brewstillery and expand their taproom area. After the expansion is completed in the distillery and taproom, guests will be able to see the distillery and watch the process of fermentation. The Brewstillery will still continue to carry a small, carefully curated selection of cans and bottles for on-site consumption and carry out, as well as a couple of guest taps.  Fermented Nonsense Brewstillery expects to complete the expansion by this summer.
  • Avadim Health, Inc.  reports that it is expanding into the Education Channel with initial sales over 200 schools with Theraworx Protect for T-Zone cleansing (eyes, nose mouth) with the industry leader, School Health.  “This is a difficult time in healthcare,” said Rob Rogers, President of School Health Corporation. “We have experienced an unprecedented demand for sanitizing and hygiene products. Adding Theraworx Protect to our product line gives us a tested and proven hospital-grade resource for the school-based healthcare professionals we serve.”
  • MountainCare is excited to announce that the Seating and Wheeled Mobility Clinic will reopen as their newest service line. MountainCare is a newly formed nonprofit developed when HCA purchased Mission Hospital, and works to maintain critical, not-for-profit services which have existed for decades within our community, including Adult Day Services, Grief Support, Music Therapy, Rathbun House, and now the Seating and Wheeled Mobility Clinic

Hire 

  • A-B Tech announced that John D. Gossett, Ed.D., has been named the college’s seventh president. Mr. Gossett currently serves as president of McDowell Technical Community College in Marion. Gossett, 57, succeeds Dennis King, who retired January 31. He was selected on March 9 by the A-B Tech Board of Trustees from a pool of more than sixty candidates and three finalists.
  • Buncombe County will merge the Soil & Water Conservation and the NC Cooperative Extension to form the Agriculture and Land Resources Department. The new Ag and Land Resources Department’s goal is to streamline administrative processes and improve collaboration. Both of these departments operate valuable programs that complement each other, and the merge offers an even greater impact on our community. Jennifer Harrison has been appointed as the head of this new department. Ms. Harrison comes to Buncombe County from Ohio State University, where she received a Ph.D. in Environmental Science and researched sustainability metrics in Ohio’s organic dairies. She will begin her new role on May 23rd.
  • The WNC Regional Air Quality Agency has approved the appointment of Ashley Featherstone as Director of Air Quality. She has been serving as interim director since November and working with the agency for 18 years. The Western North Carolina Regional Air Quality Agency is one of three county-based air quality programs in the state responsible for monitoring and regulating air quality.

Opportunity 

Resources

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