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Community Public relations pro puts on her dancing shoes by Kara Lopp kara@matthewsminthillweekly.com Angela Prince goes ballroom dancing five days a week. But no, she’s not a professional. The Matthews resident owns AF Prince Associates, a public relations and marketing firm with clients ranging from professional athletes to nonprofits. But in her off time, Prince is at south Charlotte’s Piper Glen Ballroom practicing the tango. Though she’s passionate about her hobby, Prince said she’d never consider trying to make it as a professional dancer. Since 2007 she’s also been the volunteer director of public relations for USA Dance, Inc., the national governing body of DanceSport, an organization that promotes dancing as a sport and hosts competitions. USA Dance is a driving force in the push to make ballroom dancing an Olympic sport. Prince’s work with the Cape Coral, Fla.-based organization recently earned her its first USA Dance President’s Award. Peter Pover, USA Dance president, and Carrie Ann Inaba, a judge on ABC’s “Dancing With the Stars,” presented the award to Prince at the 2009 National DanceSport Championships in Baltimore Angela Prince with Carrie Ann Inaba (right), celebrity judge on ABC-TV’s “Dancing With The Stars.” Convenience under one roof Prince, who was at the championships to assist media, said she didn’t know she was in the running for an award. In fact, she was sick on the evening of the awards ceremony and considered not going. “(Pover) said he wanted me there to help. There’s a video of me saying ‘You tricked me’ to him when I was called up for the award,” she said. The popularity of shows such as “Dancing With the Stars” and “So You Think You Can Dance” has pushed the athleticism of dancing to the forefront, Prince said. But USA Dance’s efforts to make dancing an Olympic sport started at least 10 years ago, she said. “People say dancing? Olympics? Yeah,” Prince said. “You have to stay fit. There’s a lot of athletic training involved.” (more on page 13) New showrooms now open 100 galleries, stores and outlets 1000 reputable premier manufacturers High quality furniture at discounted prices Professional design assistance available Exceptional customer service Bring this ad to the Mart Monday-Saturday, 9am-6pm through July 26, 2009 and turn it in to a Guest Services Representative for your chance to win our Personal Shopper Package. This package includes a dedicated day of furniture shopping with a private personal shopper, coffee for two at Taste Full Beans coffeehouse, lunch for two at Grapevines gourmet café, a wine basket from Casa Vino wine gallery and a $500 shopping spree valid at any Hickory Furniture Mart showroom. Visit our Annual Furniture Festival & Clearance Sale! JULY 24 th - 26 th Interact with furniture craftsmen and local artisans from the region as they demonstrate their unique skills throughout the Mart. Customer must bring in this original ad (no photo copies accepted) to a Guest Services Representative at the Mart in order to register for the personal shopper package. One entry is allowed per person during promotional period ending July 26, 2009. Winner must be at least 21 years of age. Winner will be drawn and notified on Monday, July 27, 2009. Page 10 • July 10-16, 2009 • Matthews-Mint Hill Weekly Value•Service•Reputation FROM CHARLOTTE: I-77 North to I-40 West to Hickory, Exit 126. Left off ramp, right onto Hwy. 70. Mart on left. 2220 Highway 70 SE Hickory, NC 28602 800-462-MART www.hickoryfurniture.com Prince tangos with Max Maleshko, a professional dancer at Charlotte’s Piper Glen Ballroom, at the Heritage Classic DanceSport Championships in Asheville in March. The duo, who had never competed together before, placed fourth overall in the Closed Silver Championships. www.matthewsminthillweekly.com Photos courtesy of Angela Prince
Editor’s note: This summer, Matthews-Mint Hill Weekly is featuring profiles of two outstanding, new graduates from each of the towns’ high schools. The young man and woman featured each week were chosen by their principals based on their exemplary academic and extracurricular performances. Matthews-Mint Hill Weekly congratulates these exceptional students and wishes them success in the future! Grace Academy Matthews Dora Peed Hometown: Waxhaw Age: 19 High school activities: Peed played forward and middle in soccer and forward on the volleyball team. She received awards for excellence in both sports. College Plans: She plans to attend Central Piedmont Community College and studying business. “I want to go back to Africa some time and help people and teach people to manage business,” she said. What she’s most looking forward to about college: “I’m a little scared. I won’t lie,” she said. “I think it’ll be fun meeting new people.” Future Dreams: Peed hopes to have a family and a job that serves people. “It’s one of my dreams to help little kids,” she said. High school highlight: Peed enjoyed making friends after she moved from Monrovia, Africa. “When I first came, it was hard for me,” she said. “They accepted me for who I am and where I came from.” Grace Academy executive assistant Kelly Queen’s comments: “Dora is an excellent student with an interesting background,” Queen said. “She was adopted from an orphanage in Liberia. She excelled academically and was a leader in girls soccer and girls volleyball.” Most important lesson learned: “Be yourself. … Focus your mind. Achieve your goals. You can do it.” Advice to freshmen: Peed says everyone should be themselves. “Everyone needs to work really hard. They shouldn’t listen to other people and what they are saying about them.” Joshua Kirkland Hometown: Indian Trail Age: 18 High school activities: Kirkland played forward in soccer. He was conference MVP and the national tournament MVP when his team won the championship in its division. He also ran cross country, led Charlotte Eagles summer camp programs, volunteered with inner city sports outreach and participated in speech, debate and leadership programs. College plans: Kirkland will Community The best of Matthews-Mint Hill’s 2009 high school grads Fast-growing Five Guys Restaurateur prepares to open Arboretum location – and doesn’t plan to stop there by Kara Lopp kara@matthewsminthillweekly.com If something isn’t up to par at one of Rick Fisher’s Five Guys Burgers & Fries restaurants, he hears about it – from his family. The Alexandria, Va., resident owns seven – and soon-to-be eight – Five Guys franchises in the Charlotte area, including Matthews, at 3335 Siskey Parkway in the McKee Farms Shopping Center. He relies on his father, three siblings and nine nieces and nephews, all of whom live in Charlotte, to be extra eyes in the field. “They’re always the most critical, too,” he said. They give the 45-year-old district sales manager for an information technology company regular updates on the restaurants’ cleanliness, service and food. And they’re honest – especially his 8- and 10-year-old nieces, who pay particular attention to the overhead music. “I hear, ‘Why is the music so low, Uncle Rick?’” he said. “Usually a week doesn’t go by without getting some call or comment. I encourage the good and the bad.” Since the first store opened in 1986, Arlington, Va.-based Five Guys has gone from a local haunt to a hip burger joint that has developers clamoring for a location in their projects. If the franchise succeeded in the Charlotte area when it began in 2005, Fisher thought he’d open five locations in five years. Now in his fourth year here, Fisher is preparing to open an eighth location Aug. 10 at The Arboretum Shopping Center in Charlotte. There are about 45 Five Guys locations in the Carolinas. A customer first Fisher, who once vowed never to get into the restaurant business, had his first taste of Five Guys in the mid-1990s as a customer. Then the restaurant had a few locations, all in the Washington, D.C., area. “At the time it was what looked like a greasy-spoon restaurant but only served burgers, fries and hot dogs,” he said. Soon after, Fisher invested in Five Guys and the restaurant started franchising. When he and wife, Patti, decided to launch a burger joint, they picked Charlotte because of its attend Bryan College in Dayton, Tenn. “I really like the school,” he said. “It has a very good atmosphere. The professor-student interaction seems very involved.” He received the president’s merit and soccer scholarships and plans to study pre-med and biology. What he’s most looking forward to about college: “I’m looking forward to playing soccer and all those relationships I’m going to make.” Future dreams: He’d like to own a medical practice and be able to set his schedule. position as “an emerging metropolis” and its “overall growth potential,” Fisher said. Their first store opened in 2005 in Steele Creek. Today Fisher also owns Ballantyne, Blakeney, Galleria, Matthews, Monroe and South Boulevard stores. In the next three years, look for at least one more Five Guys location in Union County, too, Fisher said. He envisions a total of as many as 15 Five Guys locations under his ownership here. More locations, same quality Despite the rapid growth, Fisher said he won’t sacrifice service or quality. From his Alexandria office, Fisher can watch any of his stores “live” through video cameras. “The cornerstone of the Five Guys locations, since they sell so few products, is the hospitality. It has to be excellent every time and if it isn’t, we really encourage the customer to let us know, and we’ll make it right,” he said. Five Guys has regulars, too, Fisher said. Before he moved to Florida more than (Left) The dinning room at the Mathews store fills up at lunch time. (Right) Mandi Wallace, assistant manager, finishes a burger order. Mike Slade/MMHW photos He’d also like to do sports and medical mission work overseas. High school highlight: “When my soccer team won the NACA national championship my senior year,” he said. “The hard work and commitment we had put into the season came together, and we finished the year and my last high school soccer season with an unbelievable result.” Grace Academy executive assistant Kelly Queen’s comments: “Joshua came to Grace Academy from a home-school background,” Queen said. “He transitioned and emerged as a leader academically and was a captain on the boys soccer team.” Most important lesson learned in high school: “Keep up with the time and what needs to be done,” he said. “Learning to plan out your day and prioritize items relieves a lot of stress and usually provides a much more productive day.” Advice to freshmen: “Manage your time well,” he said. “Finish everything that is a must … before you go on to the things that are fun or extra. It will allow you to accomplish way more than you would otherwise.” q -Compiled by Elizabeth Jensen a year ago, a retired man stopped at the Steele Creek location daily after golf for a burger with fried onions and extra mayo. And then there’s the guy who recently walked into the South Boulevard store, asked for (and ate) a burger with eight extra beef patties. That’s 10 patties, totaling about 2.5 pounds of cooked beef. Details matter At Five Guys, details matter. Corporate stays on top of details through frequent directives, Fisher said. He recently had to buy digital thermometers to test food temperatures, he said. And no more peanut shells on the tables – the nuts are available for snacking while waiting for food. Fisher had to buy biodegradable peanut “boats” for the shells. “They keep raising the bar,” Fisher said. “There are times I begrudge that, but I say 99 percent of what they ask us to do is well thought out about the products, the customer, the franchise and the franchisee.” The recession also has meant higher prices for the foods Five Guys uses most – beef and potatoes. Fisher said he’s paying about 20 percent more for beef today than this time last year. The cost of potatoes – he can only buy them from Idaho – has seen about the same increase. Cheese and tomatoes also cost more, he said. Despite the increases, the restaurant hasn’t raised prices or decreased portions, Fisher said. “We’ve resisted. It’s kind of our way of sucking it up on the behalf of the customers.” q www.matthewsminthillweekly.com Matthews-Mint Hill Weekly • July 10-16, 2009 • Page 11
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