Dr. Charles Oswald, who teaches within Walker College, was recently named an inaugural member of the North Carolina Bar Association Pro Bono Honor Roll for his work in the community providing legal services to those unable to pay.

Justin Gomez '04 MKT recently accepted a position at Winston-Salem Journal/ Media General as marketing director. He recently was employed at Downtown Winston-Salem Partnership as director of marketing and operations.

Todd Batchelor '95 MS ACC was recently named a partner with Cherry, Bekaert & Holland, L.L.P. (CB&H), one of the nation’s largest public accounting and consulting firms. Batchelor has served clients ranging in size from de novo startups to holding companies with assets in excess of $30 billion.

Shawn Vincent '94 MGT has been appointed Vice President of Partnerships and Strategic Affiliations for Georgia Health Sciences Health System.

John Divine '11 FIN recently accepted a position at Grandbridge Real Estate Capital located in Charlotte as Loan Documentation Analyst. John recently was employed at Merrill Lynch Wealth Management as a paid intern.

Scott Mendenhall '96 MGT has been named a consumer banking manager with CommunityOne Ban

k. Mendenhall previously served as a branch manager and has more than 16 years of banking experience.

Jim Rabon '03 ITOM was recently promoted to Manager of Web Development, Marketing Operations at NetApp, Inc. located in Research Triangle Park.

George Baldwin '83 MKT, the managing director government relations and sustainability for Piedmont Natural Gas in Charlotte, has been recognized by the Charlotte Business Journal as a 2012 Energy Business Leader Award recipient.

You can read more Class Notes - and submit your own with photos - in the Gold Book.

Ever had a business idea but no platform to present it? Need a little push to make a big leap? Now is your time to shine.

The annual "Pitch Your Idea in 90 Seconds" contest is now accepting potential business plans from Appalachian State students. Maybe it's a music festival. Or selling socks online. Your idea could be judged strong enough for a $1,000 top prize.

The business bullpen is now open.

The morning of March 23, 2012, during the Celebrate Entrepreneurship at ASU event, the Center for Entrepreneurship will hold the annual Pitch Your Idea in 90 Seconds Contest. If interested:

1. Come up with an original business idea (for profit or non-profit). It can be any business, any size, anywhere, but no franchises.
2. Develop a creative name for your business, a brief description and an explanation as to why you think it is a good idea. Prove that this is a good idea with a little outside research.
3. Submit your entry online no later than Friday, March 2, 2012.

The best 20 ideas will be selected and contest participants will be notified by Friday, March 9, 2012. Each of those 20 students will make their 90 second pitch on Friday, March 23 to a panel of entrepreneurs who will then vote on the best idea. The winner will receive $1,000! Other monetary prizes will be awarded to runners up ($500 for 2nd place, $250, 3rd place, and $250 for best presentation). Awards will be deposited into your ASU student account. For students who win awards and receive financial aid, award monies may be directly applied to those loans.

Here’s a worksheet to sharpen your acumen. [DOC] 

For more information, contact Contact Julia Rowland Boone in the Transportation Insight Center for Entrepreneurship (262-6196, rowlandja@appsate.edu / Raley 1016). Please note: All entrepreneur judges will be under non-disclosure to protect your idea.

BB&T Leadership Development Program Director Will Sutton (right) presents a check to Walker College Dean Dr. Randy Edwards

The first installment of a $1 million grant from BB&T was presented Jan. 31 to Walker College of Business Dean Randy Edwards on the campus of Appalachian State University.

The $200,000 check was presented during a job interviewing workshop, coordinated by Center Director Meg Spivey and led by BB&T Leadership Development Program Director Will Sutton.

The pledge was made in 2011 and is payable over a five-year period.

The funds have made possible the BB&T Student Leadership Center, housed in Thelma C. Raley Hall.

There was standing room only for the job interviewing workshop at which Will Sutton demonstrated the DOs and DON’Ts of professional interviewing.

“The workshop was very productive for our students,” said Spivey. “We are hopeful Mr. Sutton will present this material each semester for our business students.”

The Center fosters leadership development in business students through assessment tools, co-curricular leadership training, one-on-one executive mentoring, and an annual leadership conference at Appalachian featuring nationally recognized leaders.

The BB&T Student Leadership Center at Appalachian is modeled after the BB&T Leadership Development Program in Winston-Salem, NC, which has operated successfully since 1964.

BB&T Corporation (NYSE: BBT) is one of the largest financial services holding companies in the U.S. with $159 billion in assets and market capitalization of $18.7 billion, as of June 30, 2011. Based in Winston-Salem, the company operates approximately 1,800 financial centers in 12 states and Washington, D.C., and offers a full range of consumer and commercial banking, securities brokerage, asset management, mortgage and insurance products and services. A Fortune 500 company, BB&T is consistently recognized for outstanding client satisfaction by J.D. Power and Associates, the U.S. Small Business Administration, Greenwich Associates and others.