Laurie Clowers, director of public relations at Wake Technical Community College in Raleigh, said the Fostering Bright Futures program was awarded the Youth Pursue Higher Education Grant by the Women’s Network of Wake County.

Natasha Baldwin-Garcia, coordinator of Lifelong Learning in the Wake County Public School System, announced that A Step to Gold International Ballroom has partnered with American DanceWheels to bring the first wheelchair ballroom dancing course to the Triangle.

Evita Broughton announced that The Grove School, a preschool, will open in Cary next year.

Betsy Smith of Cary co-wrote “Second Blooming for Women: Growing a Life that Matters After Fifty,” a book that coaches women as they navigate through life’s stages.

Joan Caviness is the new director of audience and fund development at Raleigh’s N.C. Theatre.

Jeannette Brossart of Durham was commissioned by Spectrum Properties to create a large-scale mosaic made of recycled glass at City Center Green in Uptown Charlotte.

Maureen Sherbondy of Raleigh received the Carrie McCray Memorial Award for her poem “The Poet Appears on a Game Show.”

Eileen Batson of Raleigh’s Batson Group Marketing and PR, is the publicist for author Lee Kessler’s latest novel, “White King Rising.”

Nancy Baughman, president of Raleigh-based eBizAuctions, and her husband, Daren, wrote their first book, “Buy It, Sell It, Make Money.” 

Marcy Correw wrote “Miz Hazel Tells It All,” a one-woman show, and performed it at the Halle Cultural Arts Center in Apex.

VACO Raleigh, a placement and consulting firm, announced:
• Tracy A. Thompson is the new practice development director in the resources division.
• Crystal Hughes Suazo, a partner, is featured in the 2010 Woman’s Advantage Shared Wisdom Page-A-Day Calendar. 

Raleigh’s Salon Moxie announced the addition of stylist Selina Bazemore.

The DiLeone Law Group of Raleigh hired attorney Mary Carolyn Hackney.

Howell, Merrell & Partners, the Raleigh-based branding firm, announced:
• Nicole Curtis was promoted to senior account executive in the public relations department.
• Carrie Riggin joined the firm as an account coordinator in the public relations department.

Cindy Heath, principal of Five Star Staffing & Accounting Recruiters, is serving on the Small Business Department Board of the Greater Raleigh Chamber of Commerce as chair of the roundtable program.

Donna Corbett, executive director and founder of Raleigh’s Amazing Grace Etiquette, was awarded an honorary doctorate of divinity in ethical and theological humanitarian from Moriah Institute of Christian Studies in Fayetteville.

Laura A. Schoppe, president of Apex consulting firm Fuentek, is featured in the 2010 Woman’s Advantage Page-A-Day Calendar.

Heidi Lassiter Permanent Cosmetics in Raleigh is a sponsor of the Sheldrick Wildlife Trust, an international organization that rescues and cares for orphaned animals in Kenya.

Lana Calloway, president of Exhibit Resources, a display design agency in Raleigh, announced that Amy Burke joined the agency as an account executive.  

Gray & Creech Water Systems, a distributor of drinking water and coffee systems in Raleigh, announced that Terri Gray is the new sales account manager.

Raleigh-based architectural firm BJAC announced:
• Jenna Geigerman, chief operations officer, was named treasurer of the Triangle Commercial Real Estate Women, a trade group, for 2010.
• Christina Graham, construction administrator, earned the Certified Construction Contract Administrator designation from the Construction Specifications Institute.

CPA firm Hughes Pittman & Gupton, located in Research Triangle Park, announced:
• Amy Stafford, a tax-in-charge accountant, received the Rookie of the Year Award from the Raleigh chapter of the National Association of Women in Construction.
• Liz Broadway, senior manager of the tax team, is a member of the 25th Leadership Raleigh class presented by the Raleigh Chamber of Commerce.

Lori Burgwyn, owner of Franklin Street Yoga Center, sponsored The Eve Ball, a Halloween costume party/fundraiser for the Eve Carson Scholarship at UNC-Chapel Hill.
Diana A.V. DaPontes, of DianaVera Designs, joined Carolyn’s Bead Addiction in Raleigh as an instructor as well as the design and marketing manager.

Elizabeth Livanos opened KaryoLogic, a chromosome analysis company, in Research Triangle Park. 

Carrie Christiano, a career consultant with Right Management in Raleigh, received her Certified Professional Resume Writer credential through the Professional Association of Resume Writers.

Hampton Inn of Chapel Hill hired Rosalyn Williams as its sales manager.

Danielle Kaspar was promoted to director of community relations and executive club at Durham’s Washington Duke Inn & Golf Club.

Olalah Njenga, CEO and senior marketing analyst at YellowWood Group, a marketing firm in Raleigh, was selected as a finalist for the International Stevie Awards Women in Business. She was also selected as a member of the Business & Industry Advisory Board for Wake Technical Community College.

Durham’s Posh The Salon announced the addition of stylists Brittany Caviness and Tiffany Gillis.

Jessica Williams, owner of Raleigh’s Lather Hair Salon, announced:
• The salon was featured in Canada’s Rouge Magazine.
• The salon celebrated its first anniversary in business.

Cary’s La Farm Bakery, owned by Missy Vatinet and Lionel Vatinet, celebrated its 10-year anniversary.

Lorana Price, CEO of Cary’s Holy Cow Branding, spoke at a Chix in Business meeting in Raleigh.

Durham’s DesignHammer completed work on the new Web site of the Raleigh Rescue Mission, according to the firm’s marketing analyst, Caroline Silver.

Sharon Hill, president of Chapel Hill’s Sharon Hill International, released a new podcast series, “Points of Perspective,” that deals with diversity in the workplace.

The YWCA Academy of Women Awards honored the following for their leadership in the Triangle: Beth Wright, a dance faculty member at Peace College; Nelle P. Hotchkiss, an employee at the N.C. Association of Electric Cooperatives; Gail Perry, co-founder of the first woman-conducted symphony; Julia Ann Carpenter, a UNC-TV trustee and board member; Ann Denlinger, present of Wake Education Partnership; Laurie Bronson Stradley, director at Be Active North Carolina; Muriel Offerman, deputy chair of the N.C. Employment Security Commision; Penella Washington, chief executive officer at Wake Health Services; Mandy Carter, co-founder of Equality N.C.; Carol Getker Shores, staff physician at UNC School of Medicine and WakeMed; Stephanie Macon, a student at Millbrook High School who is an active fundraiser and volunteer.

Gov. Bev Perdue appointed Susan E. Jackson, executive director of WakeMed Physician Practices at WakeMed in Raleigh, to the N.C. Commission on Workforce Development.

Stephanie C. Powell, an attorney at Raleigh-based K&L Gates, was appointed to the board of directors for Downtown Durham Inc., an organization that serves as a catalyst for revitalization in the area.

N.C. Secretary of State Elaine F. Marshall commemorated Notary Public Day during a program at the State Capitol in Raleigh.

Diane Dennis, event co-chair for the Big Bad Ball, benefiting the Hospice of Wake County, announced the event raised $95,000 from a silent auction, raffle ticket sales and other donations.

The Eastern N.C. chapter of the National Multiple Sclerosis Society presented the Norman Cohn Hope Award to volunteer Beth Rudisill, director of rehab hospital services at WakeMed in Raleigh.

Trudy Smith, executive director of the Executive Service Corps of the Triangle, a consulting firm, was elected chair of Executive Service Corps Affiliate Network.

Jill Staton Bullard, co-founder and executive director of Inter-Faith Food Shuttle, based in Raleigh, announced:
• CBL & Associates Properties and World Hunger Year began a Santa Feeds America campaign in Raleigh that provides meals for those in need.
• Mars Snackfood U.S.’s Snickers Brand teamed up with Feeding America and Inter-Faith Food Shuttle to raise $25,000 by encouraging donations through Facebook and texting.

Raleigh Convention Center attained the Silver Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design Certification from the U.S. Green Building Council, said Laurie Okun, director of marketing.

Coldwell Banker Advantage announced:
• Martha Fay joined the Cary office.
• Karen Conley joined the Raleigh office.
• Jennifer Hicks obtained the e-PRO certification from the National Association of Realtors.

Savvy Homes of Raleigh announced:
• Kathleen Snyder was hired as the on-site sales associate for Wake Forest’s Saddle Run.
• Naomi Choe was appointed the on-site sales associate for Keystone Crossing.

HHHunt Homes of Raleigh employed Brie Bokern as on-site sales associate for Athens Grove.

Cynthia Diehl, M.D., owner of Diehl Plastic Surgery in Raleigh, was interviewed about cosmetic surgery for the Spanish television program “Vida Carolina” on the Univision channel.

The John Rex Endowment, which supports activities, programs and organizations that improve the health of underserved youth in Wake County, announced:
• Jill Wright, M.D., was selected as a board member.
• Leah Devlin, D.D.S. was elected board chair.

Camille Lambe, a nurse practitioner at Horizons Palliative Care in Wake County, earned the Advanced Certified Hospice and Palliative Nurse certification from the National Board for Certification of Hospice and Palliative Nurses.

Eileen Slutsky and the staff at Aesthetics by Eileen in Raleigh volunteered at the Big Bad Ball benefiting Hospice of Wake County, and they donated to its silent auction.

Dr. Anna Abernethy, Dr. Jill Sonner and Dr. Anita Wells, partners in Raleigh’s Renaissance Dental Center, hosted a community event called “The Smiles Over Raleigh Renaissance Festival” along with Raleigh’s Hart and Wells Orthodontics.

Nancy McFarlane, president of MedPro Rx, a Raleigh pharmacy, announced that Jane Newman joined the company as an account executive.