Description

Why it matters: The event, started in 2003, recognizes and celebrates Gaston’s business leaders making significant economic and social impacts in Gaston County.

What's next: Three prestigious business awards will be presented during the event.

The Spirit of the Carolinas (sponsored by South State Bank), honors an individual behind the success of a company who has demonstrated leadership within their industry and citizenship within their community on a local, state, or national level. 

• Chris Peek, President and Chief Executive Officer of CaroMont Health: Under his leadership, CaroMont was recently named as one of the nation’s 100 Top Hospitals by IBM Watson Health. With eyes on the future, CaroMont Health is now poised for significant growth with major construction projects in and around Gaston County, including opening a second hospital and medical campus in Belmont.

• Peek has served on several community nonprofit boards, including the Boys and Girls Clubs of Greater Gaston, the Gaston Business Association and the Community Foundation of Gaston County, and is a member of the Board of Trustees for the North Carolina Healthcare Association.

The Spirit of the Economy award (sponsored by First Horizon) is presented to a company contributing to the overall economic development efforts in Gaston County and North Carolina.

• Belmont Abbey– Belmont Abbey College, Gaston County's only 4-year institution, is rooted in the Catholic Benedictine tradition. The Abbey fosters a welcoming environment where its students learn, seek, and thrive in pursuit of God’s purpose for their lives.

• As a regional partner serving local and regional businesses, Belmont Abbey College's numerous degree programs bring needed skills and leadership to the county's professional workforce development. Partnerships with local businesses include CaroMont Health’s new hospital scheduled to open this Fall on Belmont Abbey land. CaroMont Health was instrumental in the creation of new healthcare degree programs and will serve as the proving ground for a generation of new nurses. The Abbey will graduate students in all three of its nursing programs in May: BSN, RN to BSN, and MSN.

The Spirit of Main Street award (sponsored by MECA Commercial Real Estate) recognizes an established development project advancing shared prosperity, economic vitality, and quality of life in one of Gaston County’s numerous downtown districts.

• Alchemy CoWorking- founded by Keanu Trujillo, Preston and Somer Wilson, owners of the William Henry Ballard’s brand, and John Church. Alchemy was a vision Keanu had to create a place where business owners and entrepreneurs would share more than space, they would share purpose, growth, and impact.

• Alchemy CoWorking exists for this mission not only within its walls but for Downtown Gastonia and Gaston County as a whole. Inhabiting the old Smith’s Drugs building was a perfect fit as Smith’s was a place for connection, community, and service since 1932. The Alchemy partners have honored that history and seek to continue the legacy Smith’s Drugs has established.