SPONSORS

Catawba Valley Community College

CVCC is the area’s premier provider of technical and academic instruction and preparation for life-long success. A long-time supporter of entrepreneurism, talent development for business and industry and a driver of innovative, forward-looking change in how higher education is viewed, President Garrett Hinshaw, is a founding supporter of GFB Connect and serves on its Board.

City of Hickory

The City of Hickory, NC is for “doers and makers” seeking a well-rounded and always improving quality of life.

Alex Lee Corporation

Alex Lee Corporation is an 89-year old, Hickory, NC based corporation which now includes Merchants Distributors, LLC and Lowes Foods, LLC. Their Mission and Purpose says it all: “Customers are the focus of everything we do.” “We support growth. We create opportunities. We grow community.”

Pepsi Cola Bottling Company of Hickory, NC

Pepsi Cola Bottling Company of Hickory is a diversified and major Business Service and Foodservice Distributor for Western NC with a long history of superb community support.

Kontane Logistics

Kontane Logistics is a Catawba County-based corporation founded as Kontane, Inc. in 1975 as a manufacturer of wooden crates used to move and store household goods. Started by entrepreneur Ed Byrd, Kontane became a leading packaging designers and suppliers in the Southeast. Further transition of the business model led to Kontane Logistics, a dedicated third party logistics provider with four operations in NC and SC and exports to several countries around the world.

Catawba Valley Medical Center

CVMC is the region’s largest not-for-profit community hospital and “exists to heal and comfort patients, to promote and foster a healthier community, and to ensure access to healthcare to all who need it.” Providing a wide array of medical specialties and highly trained staff, CVMC has become known for its caring environment and staff, its impressive technology, its alliances with physicians and – notably – one of Catawba County’s largest employer.