Lenoir News

Western North Carolina Gravity Games Soapbox Races Showcase Engineering, Science

2011-12-02T13:23:00.000-08:00

Donning jackets, hoodies and gloves, more than 200 hundred spectators lined Church Street in downtown Lenoir, N.C., to support competitors in the first-ever Western North Carolina Gravity Games Soapbox Races on Saturday, Nov. 19. Google and Appalachian State University (ASU) co-hosted the event.

The event was a success! So much so that we're gearing up to do it again in April 2012.

Thirty-four teams - nine high school, 23 middle school, and two in the open division for university or corporate entries - from Alleghany, Avery, Burke, Caldwell, Catawba and Watauga counties competed to be the fastest car on the hill, all vying to win prizes including Android IdeaPads, trophies, medals and other goodies from both Google and ASU.

Soapbox cars are motorless vehicles capable of racing downhill, using just gravity and potential mechanical energy as the only propulsion mechanisms.

The Church Street race track was 650-feet long and some cars topped speeds at 30 miles per hour. The average speed was 17 miles per hour.

Each car competed in two event categories within its division: Speed and Creativity. With a time of 26.213 seconds, Hudson Middle School won the speed category in the middle school division beating 22 other teams. Caldwell Career Middle College won the speed category in the high school division, defeating 7 high school teams with a time of 26.962. Hudson Middle School also won the People’s Choice Award, given to the car the attendees voted as their overall favorite. Each team entered a car that was either custom-built or was created from an approved kit.

In the Creativity category, Jacobs Fork Middle School and St. Stephens High School took home top honors. In the open division, ASU’s North Carolina Center for Engineering Technologies won for its two-bicycle design. A list with all winners and participating schools is below.

ASU’s physics, technology and design graduate students, and Googlers from the data center in Caldwell County, served as mentors for the teams.

View the complete results and event photos at www.ncgravitygames.com.

Please continue to visit this blog for more details about the next soapbox race. We're going to expand it to include more counties.

Winners
Creativity - First-place winners only
Middle School: Jacobs Fork Middle School
High School: St. Stephens High School
Open: North Carolina Center for Engineering Technologies (NCCET) at ASU

People’s Choice Award: Hudson Middle School

Speed:
Middle School
First Place: Hudson Middle School
Second Place: William Lenoir Middle School (#31 car)
Third Place: Mountain View Elementary School

High School
First Place: Caldwell Career Center Middle College
Second Place: Newton-Conover High School
Third Place: Hickory High School

Open
First place - Google
Second place - ASU

Participating schools include the following:

Alleghany County
Alleghany High School
Piney Creek Elementary School
Sparta Elementary School

Avery County
Avery County High School
Cranberry Middle School

Burke County
East Burke High School
Freedom High School
East Burke Middle School

Caldwell County
Caldwell Career Center Middle College
Collettsville School
Hibriten High School
Hudson Middle School
Granite Falls Middle School
William Lenoir Middle School

Happy Valley School
Oak Hill School
King's Creek Accelerated Elementary School

Catawba County
Hickory High School
Newton-Conover High School
St. Stephens High School
Jacobs Fork Middle School
Newton -Conover Middle School
Northview Middle School
Mountain View Elementary
Catawba Rosenwald School
NCCET/Appalachian State University

Watauga County
Green Valley Elementary School

Western North Carolina Gravity Games Soapbox Race Rolls into Downtown Lenoir

2011-09-26T12:21:00.000-07:00

Google and ASU are seeking teams with brains and guts for engineering feat

Western North Carolina—do not start your engines. Huh?

Come Saturday, Nov. 19, Google and Appalachian State University (ASU) will be co-sponsoring the first-ever Western North Carolina Gravity Games Soapbox Race in downtown Lenoir, starting at 8:30 a.m.

Only the best, brightest and most courageous teams from area middle and high schools, colleges and businesses will use their engineering skills to design, construct and race in their own custom-built soapbox cars.

Competition will be fast, fun and fierce. The soapbox cars are motorless vehicles capable of racing downhill, using just gravity and potential mechanical energy as the only propulsion mechanisms. So, no engines allowed. But colored wigs and helmets are a must.

Google and ASU are seeking teams from Alleghany, Avery, Burke, Caldwell, Catawba and Watauga counties. The event is free and open to the public. Prizes and trophies will be awarded based on speed and creativity.

The Gravity Games tie into ASU and Google’s support for science, math, technology and engineering (STEM) initiatives. Google is committed to developing North Carolina’s future workforce through its community relations activities and STEM initiatives. The Gravity Games will be a fun, educational, inspirational and competitive hands-on activity on basic engineering. ASU physics and technology graduate students and Googlers from the data center in Lenoir will be mentors for the teams. The Judging Committee will be comprised of representatives from Google, NC, Appalachian State University, Lenoir public officials and Caldwell County public officials.

Though we want everyone to be as creative as possible, soapbox cars will need to comply with designated safety and design standards. Safety first!

So if you think your team has what it takes to win, please call Carla Ramsdell at 828-262-8475 or email her at gravitygames@appstate.edu. Oct. 19 is the deadline to register a team. There will be a limit of 20 teams per division. The divisions are middle school, high school and the open division for university, corporate and private teams.

Details:

WHAT: The Western N.C. Gravity Games Soapbox Race
WHO: Middle school, high school and college students, business leaders, ASU representatives, Googlers from the N.C. data center
WHERE: At Church Street (between the First United Methodist Church’s parking lot and Harper Avenue) in downtown Lenoir, N.C.
WHEN: Nov. 19, 2011 at 8:30 a.m.

National Digital Literacy Tour Heads to Lenoir

2011-05-03T03:53:00.000-07:00

Google is a leader in our approach to provide our users with a safe online experience. So much so that we're taking the show on the road!

Google, partnering with the iKeepSafe Internet Safety Coalition, will host two free workshops on May 12 at the J.E. Broyhill Civic Center as part of the Digital Literacy Tour.

The first event for teachers will be held in the afternoon.

The evening event, set from 6 p.m. to 7:30 p.m, is targeted toward parents and their children. These events will provide families with information and best practices for being safe online.

iKeepSafe representatives will provide insight and useful tips on how attendees can easily implement an Internet safety program in their homes.

Google Operations Manager and Lenoir resident Enoch Moeller and iKeepSafe President Marsali Hancock will lead the presentations. The invitation includes all of the details and please RSVP to digital-literacy-tour@google.com. 

Please feel free to share the invite with any of your friends and family.

We look forward to seeing you!

Construction ramps up on second data center building

2010-11-23T13:53:00.000-08:00

Demand for Google's search, email, documents, maps, video and other services have been growing rapidly. So much so that we’re happy to announce that we will be ramping up construction on the second data center at our facility in Lenoir/Caldwell County, N.C. Work on the facility should begin in 2011.

This is a part of our original data center construction plan. Google completed its first data center and constructed the shell for the second data center building in 2008. Build out and limited testing of the second building should begin in the first half of 2011 and the center should be fully operational by the end of 2011.

We continue to hire talented people to support our data center operation and as the second data center becomes operational, we will hire people to meet those needs. We’re currently advertising for the following positions:

For updates about happenings at the data center, please continue to visit www.google.com/lenoir.

Google Lenoir Receives Statewide Tech Love

2010-11-16T14:12:00.001-08:00

The team at the data center in Lenoir is proud to call Caldwell County/Lenoir home. So much so that NCTA (short for the N.C. Technology Association) recently honored Google with the 2010 Corporate Citizenship Company Award. Enoch Moeller, operations manager for the data center; Addison Nuding, administrative assistant and Erian McKinley attended the awards event on Nov. 10 in Raleigh.

“This year’s 21 Awards truly showcase the best technology and innovation that our state has to offer,” said Brooks Raiford, president and chief executive officer of NCTA. “We couldn’t be more pleased to have congratulated Google as a company that is leading North Carolina’s technology industry, and we are proud to recognize them as a winner of the Corporate Citizenship Company Award."

To learn more about NCTA, please visit http://www.nctechnology.org/about/.

Healthy Living Festival Second Annual Community Block Party Benefit Set for Downtown Lenoir

2010-09-17T12:09:00.000-07:00

“Bridge to Bridge 2010”

All proceeds will be donated to area nonprofits that support healthy lifestyles

(Lenoir/Caldwell Co., N.C.) – Grab your sneakers, water bottles and pedometers. More than 25 nonprofit organizations are joining forces to support healthy lifestyle choices at the Second Annual Community Block Party Benefit and Healthy Living Festival, on Saturday, Sept. 18 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. in downtown Lenoir.

Sedentary lifestyles and poor nutrition choices plague our nation and community causing health care concerns that impact us all. To address this startling trend, the Caldwell County Chamber of Commerce and Google are co-sponsoring the Healthy Living Festival, which is a part of the official “Bridge to Bridge 2010” cycling challenge activities.

The Caldwell United Way and other area nonprofits will lead event activities and compete against each other in contests, which will focus on ways adults and young people can learn how to eat healthier and move more.

Activities include a 5K run, spin bike challenge, hula-hoop competition, jumping jack challenge, healthy snack tasting, health screenings, jump rope competition, “Minute To Win It” competitions and more. There also will be live music from area bands, a bouncy house, face painting, balloon art, a bike rodeo, raffle and other surprises.

Raffle tickets for a drawing to win Google-branded T-shirts, fold-up chairs, solar chargers, small toys, bags and Flip Video Camcorders can be purchased at the event. Raffle prizes are provided by Google. For more information about the Healthy Living Festival, please visit http://www.google.com/datacenter/lenoir.

WHO: The people of Caldwell County/Lenoir, community leaders, representatives from Google Inc., the Caldwell County Chamber of Commerce, Caldwell Friends, CIS of Caldwell County, Shelter Home of Caldwell County, Appalachian RSVP, Lenoir Fire Department, 4-H of Caldwell County, Caldwell Memorial Hospital, Caldwell Rotary Club and the Hibriten High School Band and JV Cheerleaders, to name a few.

WHAT: Second Annual Community Block Party Benefit and Healthy Living Festival
WHEN: Sept. 18, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
WHERE: Throughout downtown Lenoir

EVENT DETAILS:
Parking: Will be available in downtown Lenoir.
Participation Fees: The event is free and open to the public.

WHY: According to the National Centers of Disease Control and Prevention, 36 percent of North Carolina adults are overweight– higher than the national average. It is important for everyone to be more vigilant about making healthy living choices. Adults need to be role models for young people to help them learn about proper nutrition and the importance of incorporating exercise into daily routines.

About the Caldwell County Chamber of Commerce
The Caldwell Chamber is a non-profit whose mission is to encourage economic prosperity by promoting business and enhancing the quality of life in the community. For more information about the Chamber and its work, visit www.caldwellcochamber.org or www.explorecaldwell.com.

About Google Inc.
Google's innovative search technologies connect millions of people around the world with information every day. Founded in 1998 by Stanford Ph.D. students Larry Page and Sergey Brin, Google today is a top web property in all major global markets. Google's targeted advertising program provides businesses of all sizes with measurable results, while enhancing the overall web experience for users. Google is headquartered in Silicon Valley with offices throughout the Americas, Europe and Asia. For more information, visit www.google.com.

Caldwell County High School Team Rock Rookie Year at FIRST® Robotics Competition

2010-07-01T13:27:00.000-07:00

In April, two Caldwell County School teams participated in the NCFIRST Robotics competition. FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology) is a prestigious annual competition that challenges high-school students—working alongside professional mentors— to design and build a robot of their own, and compete in a ‘varsity sport for the mind’ that measures the effectiveness of each robot and showcases the power of teamwork and collaboration. Students build and program their own robots against a field of competitors and experience the excitement of science, engineering, technology and innovation.

Enoch Moeller, operations manager at the N.C. data center, and other Googlers provided technical assistance and were mentors for the teams.
Teams from the South Caldwell High School and a team comprised of students from Caldwell Career Center Middle College and Caldwell Early College competed in the competition.

The South Caldwell team placed 10th at the North Carolina Regional NCFIRST Competition, winning the Top Rookie Seed Award. The Caldwell Career Center Middle College and Caldwell Early College team placed 17th out of 44 teams in the regional competition. The Caldwell County teams were sponsored by Google and the Education Foundation of Caldwell County, Inc.
For more information, please visit http://www.ncfirstrobotics.org/frc/nc-frc-teams.html.

Pictured above: Rookie team the Knight Riders made repairs to the front wheels that had been damaged in a previous round of competition. Right: Team members Tyler Greer (standing part of transport team), Josh Tarr and Nathan Roberts (mechanical and pneumatic team); Background:Trevor Parrish (robot driver looking for tool); Center:Mentor Fred Wolf (retired defense engineer);Left: Ethan Hicks team member looks on, Freda Parker Lead mentor working and Kyle Wilcox transport team member looks on.
Photo credit: Kim Poole, mentor

The City of Lenoir and Google Team-Up on Wi-Fi Project

2009-12-20T07:59:00.000-08:00

CONTACTS

Kaye Reynolds, City of Lenoir

828-757-2177 (work)

828-850-5696 (cell)

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Dec. 15, 2009

The City of Lenoir and Google Team-Up on Wi-Fi Project

Bridging the Digital Divide with Free Wi-Fi Access in Downtown Lenoir

(LENOIR/CALDWELL COUNTY, N.C.) – A group of school children with laptops were joined by representatives from the City of Lenoir, Caldwell County Schools and Google to announce the first-ever launch of the free Lenoir Municipal Wi-Fi Network. This latest development is part of a continuing effort to provide the community with the most cutting-edge technological resources, making Lenoir a leader in its approach to successfully bridging the digital divide.

“Downtown Lenoir will continue to be Western North Carolina’s latest hot spot with today’s announcement,” said Lenoir Mayor David Barlow. “By providing visitors and locals with this free service, they can easily visit our shops, enjoy a cup of coffee, access the Wi-Fi and stay connected, which is increasingly important in our busy lives. What also makes this special is that the Wi-Fi can be accessed from outside sitting on a park bench. Unleashed Internet connection is different than typical Wi-Fi systems. This shows that our town is making a commitment to being a step ahead. With the work from our City employees and having a corporate citizen like Google in our community, the tools and know-how to make this announcement possible was truly a team effort.”

Funding for the Lenoir Municipal Wi-Fi Network, was made possible through a Google gift to the City of Lenoir of $110,348 for the project’s capital costs, which includes the radios, equipment needed to run the network and extra bandwidth for the users. Google also made a separate payment of $15,000 to allow Google to host the Wi-Fi’s landing page (http://wifi.google.com/lenoir/) for three years, and include links to information about organizations in the city as well as Google services. The City is responsible for both the operation and the running of the Lenoir Municipal Wi-Fi Network.

The Wi-Fi announcement is a continuation of Caldwell County Schools’ (CCS) commitment to incorporating computers and technological expertise in the classroom. In February, 150 refurbished, Wi-Fi ready laptops were donated for CCS’ “Lending Laptop” program through a Google Community Grant to seven CCS schools – Davenport A+ Elementary, Lower Creek Elementary, Valmead Elementary, Whitnel Elementary, West Lenoir Elementary, William Lenoir Middle and Hibriten High School.

“Our students must be ready to compete in this 21st century knowledge-based

economy,” said Dr. Steve Stone, Caldwell County Schools Superintendent. “The free Wi-Fi, combined with the “Lending Laptop” program, provides our students with a real-life demonstration for our students to highlight the active role that technology plays in our day-to-day lives. Our efforts have now come full circle.”

The Wi-Fi nodes cover a one-half-mile radius (one-mile diameter) roughly centered at the intersection of West and Main Streets. There are currently 13 access points deployed around Lenoir. When you connect to the Wi-Fi, your browser will take you to a landing page and there, you’ll see instructions and terms of service to access the Wi-Fi.

“Google is strongly committed to providing our data center communities with access to the most up-to-date information and resources,” said Tom Jacobik, Google’s Operation Manager in Lenoir. “Putting in the Wi-Fi program is a team effort, involving our many community partners and the Googlers at the data center. The families, school children and visitors to our community will benefit greatly from this new service, which we are thrilled to have funded. Employees with the City of Lenoir will do a great job operating and servicing the Wi-Fi network.”

The Lenoir Municipal Wi-Fi Network was made with the support of several city and county staffers and departments, including the City of Lenoir’s Public Works Department, which provided the facilities and labor to perform the installation and placement of all access points. Caldwell Hospice and Palliative Care, Caldwell County EMS, the Lenoir Police Department and the Lenoir Fire Department allowed their buildings to be used as access points.

For more information about Lenoir Municipal Wi-Fi Network, please visit http://wifi.google.com/lenoir/. For more information about Google, please visit www.google.com/lenoir.

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Inaugural Community Block Party Benefit Raises Awareness, Funds

2009-09-23T14:31:00.000-07:00

Nearly $1,000 raised and more than 2,300 canned foods donated to support the Lenoir Soup Kitchen and the Caldwell County Yokefellows, Inc.

The first-ever Community Block Party Benefit, held Sept. 19 in downtown Lenoir, connected local families and friends together for fun, food and charity. The result was a stronger community and nearly $1,000 raised to feed and clothe those in the region who need it most.

Google and the City of Lenoir co-hosted this inaugural event to help stock the shelves at the food bank and raise awareness of the needs of those in the community. Proceeds benefited the Lenoir Soup Kitchen and the Caldwell County Yokefellow, Inc., area non-profit organizations, which are experiencing record increases for their services. More than 2,300 canned/boxed food items were collected.

Though the event, which included live music from area bands, a bouncy house, face painting, balloon art, a raffle and other surprises, was free and open to the public, attendees were strongly encouraged to donate canned or boxed-food items. Each item was redeemed for a ticket towards activities. Those who brought 10 canned/boxed food items, received a wristband. If they forgot to bring a food donation, select downtown businesses sold wristbands for $5 each.

Several hundred raffle tickets were purchased to win an iPod, a Netbook, Wii, solar device charger and gift baskets, to name a few. The raffle was sponsored by the Caldwell County Yokefellow, Inc. and the Lenoir Soup Kitchen. Raffle prizes were provided by Google that matched proceeds from the raffle at $1,000 for each organization.

The Caldwell County Chamber of Commerce, the Caldwell County Economic Development Commission, the Lenoir Uptown Business Association (LUBA), representatives from the City of Lenoir's police, fire, emergency management and health departments were among other community organizations that provided assistance for the event. Abigail's, Corner Creamery, Chix with Stix, F. Futs and Company, Java Joe's, Rococo Rionel and Kicks-FM 103.3 radio are among companies that also contributed to the success of the event.

For photographs from the event, please visit http://idek.net/Vhh.

About the Lenoir Soup Kitchen

The Lenoir Soup Kitchen serves between 70 and 130 plates a day. From January to August of this year, 19,000 plates have been served, an increase of 2,000 plates from last August. For more information, please call 828-758-1411.

About the Caldwell County Yokefellow, Inc.

The Caldwell County Yokefellow, Inc. provides low-income citizens with emergency food, clothing, household goods and financial assistance primarily for fuel, utilities, rent and medical needs. This year, the Caldwell County Yokefellow, Inc. has made more than 8,700 assists (681 financial assistance assists; 670 food donations; 217 clothing vouchers and 7,200 clothing and household items sold at the thrift store) – up 30 percent from last year. For more information, please call 828-754-7088.

Caldwell County Nonprofit for At-Risk Youth Receives Google Community Grant

2009-09-16T14:17:00.000-07:00

Caldwell Friends, Inc. (CFI), a nonprofit organization that provides programs for at-risk youth, has received a $15,000 Google Community Grant from the Google Inc. Charitable Giving Fund at Tides Foundation to purchase computers, equipment and supplies to support its technology literacy and mentoring programs.

“With the Google Community Grant, we will be able to provide young people in our community with an updated computer lab to assist with their homework and research projects," said Tana Murray, executive director of CFI. "Our youth come from homes where access to computers and the Internet is not always available. It is our goal that these tools will assist youth in developing their computer skills and their knowledge of the Internet for future success.”

With the supervision of the youth's adult mentors, the computer lab will be available for their use during afterschool and weekend hours. CFI hopes that the computer lab will also increase the grade point averages and the computer literacy skills of their participants. CFI is an after-school one-on-one mentoring program in Caldwell County and the only mentoring resource for the area's court system. Adult mentors and the staff provides assistance to youth by enhancing their social skills, improving their cognitive skills through dialog and listening and serving as role models and advocates.

"CFI is just another example of how successful programs, involving area community partners, can be an effective tool to help our young people who need it most,” said Tom Jacobik, Google's Operations Manager for North Carolina.

The Google Community Grant comes from the Google Inc. Charitable Giving Fund at Tides Foundation, which offers donor-advised funds and other grant-making vehicles, as well as professional philanthropic advice.

For more information about the Google Community Grants Program, go to www.google.com/lenoir and visit the "Community Outreach" page. Interested parties can submit an online application through this Web page on or before the first day of each quarter (January 1, April 1, July 1 and October 1). All grant applications must be submitted online.

ABOUT CALDWELL FRIENDS, INC.

Caldwell Friends, Inc. (CFI) is a community-based 501C3 nonprofit organization providing adult mentors to at-risk youth ages 6 to 17. CFI was established by a grant from the N.C. Department of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention in July 1983, with a mandate to serve 17 to 22 youth per year. In July 2006, CFI began providing the mentoring component for the Juvenile Crime Prevention Council, which expanded the program to 21 to 26 youth per year. Sixty percent of the youth are referred by juvenile court, law enforcement or school resources.

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Entrepreneurship Program for Caldwell County

2009-04-09T18:20:00.000-07:00

Philanthropy Journal
April 9, 2009
Communities In Schools of Caldwell County received $30,000 from Google Inc. Charitable Giving Fund at Tides Foundation. In partnership with Caldwell County Chamber of Commerce, Caldwell County Schools and Caldwell Community College & Technical Institute, grant will be used to develop community's first school-based entrepreneurship program, "Business 101: A Blueprint for Teen Success."
http://www.philanthropyjournal.org/nc/nccharitablegiving/entrepreneurship-program-caldwell-county

Caldwell Arts Council Receives Google Community Grant

2009-03-01T18:29:00.000-08:00

N.C. Arts Council
March/April 2009
The Caldwell Arts Council received a $7,000 Google Community Grant from the Google Inc. Charitable Giving Fund at Tides Foundation.
The Google Community Grant will be used to provide technology education to arts non-profits in the region. The Caldwell Arts Council will be trained in the use and application of the many Google products and in turn will become the trainer of the products to other arts non-profits across Western North Carolina.
The Caldwell Arts Council is a nonprofit organization whose purpose is to establish and maintain an awareness and appreciation of cultural arts in Caldwell County by encouraging participation in a variety of arts events, promoting the arts, by cultural planning for the community, and by offering various educational opportunities and administrative services in support of artists, arts agencies and audiences. www.caldwellarts.com
http://www.ncarts.org/email/MarApr09/

Caldwell County Schools "Lending Laptop" Initiative

2009-02-24T20:56:00.000-08:00

WHKY
Feb. 24, 2009
Google is teaming up with the Caldwell County School District to provide laptops for students on an overnight check out basis. This effort is part of our mission to make sure that data center communities receive technological assistance and resources that we can provide. Google donated 150 laptops for the “Lending Laptop” pilot program that is being developed by the Caldwell County School District. The school district will be in charge of the program's oversight and implementation. Google will provide technical assistance and advice, as needed.Read more at http://www.whky.com/news.asp?mode=detail&articleID=6187.

Shelter Home of Caldwell County Receives Google Community Grant

2009-02-16T08:00:00.000-08:00

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

FOR MORE INFORMATION:
Ken Thomas
KennethDThomas@Gmail.com
336-455-3619

Lenoir, Caldwell Co. Nonprofit Receives Award for Technological Upgrades

(CALDWELL COUNTY/LENOIR, N.C.) – Feb. 16, 2009 – Free Internet access and computers are now available to those in Caldwell County who are in need of a helping hand. The Shelter Home of Caldwell County, a nonprofit organization that serves the needs of domestic violence and sexual assault victims, received a Google Community Grant of $12,000 from the Google Inc. Charitable Giving Fund at Tides Foundation. The Google Community Grant was used to acquire 10 computer systems, two printers and network equipment.

The new hardware was purchased from Lenoir-based ComputerScope (www.computerscope.com) and Google data center employees Don Dresser, Enoch Moeller and Nicholas Snowden installed the systems.

Shelter Home’s Executive Director Melissa Teague explained that seven of the new systems replaced obsolete and incompatible computers that were being used by the shelter’s staff, and three are being used to provide basic computer training to residents of the shelter.

“These systems will help make our staff much more efficient in the future - but we’re especially excited to be able to provide, for the first time, the benefits of Internet access to our clients," said Teague. "This opens opportunities for job training, educational advancement and house hunting for our clients as they work to build a new life.”

Ken Thomas, a member of Shelter Home’s Board of Directors, explains “We are also exploring ways that Shelter Home can use some of Google’s other offerings, such as Google Applications and applying for Google AdWords. When we launch our new Web site, we think it could be a good product to increase our organization’s exposure in our education, recruiting and fundraising efforts."

Caldwell County resident Tom Jacobik, Google's Operation Manager for North Carolina, adds "Through the Google Community Grants Program, local nonprofits like Shelter Home of Caldwell County, can benefit from the technical know-how of our data center employees. We are committed to helping to address the needs of our local community that supports our data center."

The Google Community Grant comes from the Google Inc. Charitable Giving Fund at Tides Foundation, which offers donor-advised funds and other grantmaking vehicles, as well as professional philanthropic advice.

For more information about the Google Community Grants Program, go to www.google.com/lenoir and visit the "Community Outreach" page. Interested parties can submit an online application through this Web page on or before the first day of each quarter (January 1, April 1, July 1 and October 1). All grant applications must be submitted online.

Attached Photo: Press Release Photo - SHCC-07FEB09.jpg
Photo Caption: From left to right - Google volunteers Don Dresser, Nicholas Snowden and Enoch Moeller are pictured with Melissa Teague, executive director of the Shelter Home of Caldwell County.

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The Cool Gig at Google

2009-02-10T06:40:00.000-08:00

The Charlotte Observer

The Cool Gig at Google

By Jen Aronoff
Feb. 8, 2009

LENOIR- It has twentysomething guys in jeans and T-shirts playing pool and video games within view of a beer tap, abundant racing-themed decor and some of the tightest security imaginable.

Is it a bar? Someone's top-secret man cave? Nope. It's a workplace: Google's data center here in the N.C. foothills, about 70 miles northwest of Charlotte.

And amid economic upheaval, it's evidence that distinctive workplace cultures and perks can persist, even as a range of companies sacrifice benefits and look to cut costs.

“We are very cognizant of the economy, and we have done a bit of scaling down,” data center manager Tom Jacobik said. “But it hasn't prevented us from giving employees the right tools to do their jobs.”

In Google's culture, that goes beyond a desk and a computer, as a recent visit to the Lenoir workspace made clear. It marked the first time the Mountain View, Calif.-based Internet search giant had opened one of its highly private data centers to a media tour.

That's partly because of an ongoing effort to be more open, and also because the Lenoir work area was not completed until December, said Matt Dunne, the company's U.S. manager for public affairs. The warehouse-sized hall of computers processing search requests and other data remained strictly off-limits, in a burly-guys-in-polo-shirts-guarding-the-doors kind of way.

The center, which was announced in January 2007 and held an opening ceremony in May, is expected to eventually employ about 200 people. The company declined to say how many work there now. It's one of at least four rural centers Google has and was lured with more than $250 million in state and local incentives.

The bright, open work area is located on the building's second floor, with large windows offering a view of the Blue Ridge mountains. It's accented in red, blue, green and yellow, and has a racing theme in homage to Carolinas heritage – think checkered flags, race car pieces on the wall and conference rooms named for NASCAR tracks. The setting is a far cry from the furniture and textile plants that long formed the economic backbone of the area, which has struggled with high unemployment most of this decade.

Employees can play Rock Band on an Xbox and 46-inch flat-screen television, shoot pool at a locally made custom table, play pingpong and foosball, shoot Nerf guns or sit in a black leather massaging chair. Free snacks, drinks and coffee are always available, and lunch from a different local restaurant arrives around 1 p.m. On Friday afternoons after work, Googlers can gather at a bar area and chat with colleagues over company-provided beer.

Employees say the laid-back atmosphere offers stress relief and socialization. For the company, it leads to workers that are devoted and focused during long hours, keeping hundreds or possibly thousands of computers humming with hardware, software, ventilation and electrical acumen.

Such a tradeoff gained favor in the dot-com boom of the late 1990s, but in years since some firms have winnowed their perks. Google has kept them, with officials noting the upfront costs of buying games and decor and the recurring food and drink expenses are small compared to the long-term payoff.

The benefits encourage the creativity that will keep the company moving forward, Jacobik said. “That's what has gotten us to where we are now,” he said. “We didn't want to lose that startup feel.”
Google has been comparatively spared by the recession. Its revenue increased 31 percent to $21.8 billion in 2008. Earnings were roughly flat at $4.2 billion.

But it isn't immune. The company's stock is down about 26 percent in the last year, compared with 30 percent for the Nasdaq as a whole. The company has also reined in hiring, laid off members of its recruiting staff and delayed the opening of a data center in Oklahoma. It's also trimmed some lightly used perks such as the 4 p.m. tea at its New York office and the high-end video production studio at its headquarters, Dunne said.

More dramatic cuts, however, would alter Google's identity and not help it survive in the long run, Dunne said.

Companies across the country are grappling with the same dilemma, trying to hold onto what defines them while also weathering the economy. Often, they have little choice but to cut: 92 percent of human resources executives surveyed last month by placement firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas said their companies were initiating cost reductions.

Several other local companies known for distinctive workplace cultures said they, too, were trying to preserve their amenities.

Mitchell Gold + Bob Williams, a Taylorsville furniture manufacturer, continues to offer a chef-run cafeteria, free gym and indoor walking track, and a concierge-like center that offers services such as car service drop-off, cards, gifts and DVD rentals for its more than 650 employees. The on-site day care just celebrated its 10th anniversary, spokeswoman Eloise Goldman said.

The benefits have helped attract and retain high-quality workers, she said, and remain worthwhile even as the home furnishings industry has been hit hard and people might be willing to accept lesser working conditions.

“If you started stripping away some of those things, it would take away who we really are,” Goldman said.

Tech-oriented companies have led the way with relaxed workplaces. Those such as LendingTree and Microsoft, both of which have local offices, say that remains a key part of their culture. Neither plans changes right now: LendingTree's bean bag chairs, pool and foosball remain, spokeswoman Allison Vail said, though employment at its Ballantyne office is down to 450, from a peak of about 1,200.

Back at Google, a Boston terrier belonging to data center technician Jennifer Crump rocketed by – yep, dogs are allowed here – while employees gathered for lunch. Among them was systems administrator Aaron Joyner, who had just wrapped up a videoconference with three other offices.

Joyner, 30, a Kernersville native, has worked for Google about four years, including at its headquarters in California. In addition to analyzing software problems, he's developed formidable foosball skills (“to the point that no one will play me,” he notes).

Googlers get plenty of free T-shirts, and his feeling about the atmosphere, he said, is best summarized by one he wore when recruiting employees for another data center. “When,” it says, “was the last time you wanted to jump out of bed and go to work?”
http://www.charlotteobserver.com/business/story/522587.html

*Photo credit: Technicians Logan Anderson (shooting) and John Hall (left) play a game of pool to unwind and refresh during work at the Google Data Center in Lenoir. Google employees' workspace is littered with toys and diversions. The goal is to foster creative discussions among the technicians. PHOTOS BY JEFF WILLHELM

A Glimpse Inside Google

2009-02-03T11:44:00.000-08:00

Lenoir-News Topic
A Glimpse Inside Google
By Paul Teague
Jan. 29, 2009

A pool table with the company name emblazoned on the felt. Offices designated by the names of NASCAR race tracks. And, yes, security akin to the protection of the coveted treasures at Fort Knox.

Google offered local media representatives a first peek inside its Lenoir data center Wednesday, providing a glimpse of the work - and play - of the people who are the driving forces for the Internet search and applications giant.

Located off Morganton Boulevard along Harrisburg Drive and Overlook Drive, the data center is a part of Google's planned $600 million investment in Caldwell County. From the outside, the alabaster facade is punctuated on one side by the building's intricate cooling systems for Google's banks of computer servers and an outdoor basketball hoop on the other.

Beyond the walls, the Lego-inspired colors of the company accent the railings and the furniture of the second floor home of the Googlers. A racing theme dominates the sprawling, convertible area that blurs the line between where the labor ends and the mental relaxation begins.

Google Operations Manager Tom Jacobik said the NASCAR motifs - which include sheet metal from Sprint Cup and Nationwide cars, a cutout photo of the late Dale Earnhardt and a copy machine known as Junior Johnson - serve a purpose.

"We've tried to really be adaptive to some of the things that are intrinsic to this area," Jacobik said. "This provides an opportunity to get a local feel to our area."

Jacobik noted that Google has made an effort to purchase products, including the "Google-Lenoir" felt-lined pool table, from local businesses. The catered food in the break room, delivered this day from downtown Lenoir eatery Piccolo's, also is provided by local companies. Google, which received generous tax breaks from Caldwell County, Lenoir and North Carolina to locate here two years ago, also has made itself a part of the community in other ways with grants to local charities and civic organizations.

"We're trying to keep things in the local area," Jacobik said. "It's more beneficial for us to do that. The community has rolled out the red carpet for us, and we know that."Of course, life at Google does not revolve solely around bank shots, Nerf gun battles, XBox 360 video games and Lucy, a staff member's Boston terrier who roams the floor. The employees spend a majority of their time in the intensive, in-depth world of computer code and applications processing. And what might appear to be play, Jacobik noted, also could be the inspiration to the solution of complex conundrum.

"We believe the conversations that take place (on the floor) are just as beneficial as the ones in the conference rooms," Jacobik said. "If you don't give them some other outlet, they are going to fry on what they do."

When meeting times arrive, Google personnel assemble around tables with yellow- and red-backed chairs, sort of like a grade school lunchroom for techies. Known as the Garage, the area can be cordoned off by an automatic overhead door to conduct internal seminars or video conferences with other locations in Google's worldwide network, including the mother ship in Mt. View, Calif.

The challenge for Google, as with all companies fighting through the severe national recession, is to remain on the cutting edge of the Internet age. The company still dominates Internet search, grabbing a 70 percent share of the domestic market in December, more than triple struggling rival Yahoo. Meanwhile, Google's stock price, which fell more than 60 percent from its all-time high, has rebounded in recent days thanks to another solid earnings report."We know the dynamic of technology is changing," Google U.S. Community Affairs Manager Matt Dunne said. "We need to be prepared at lightning speed."

And in examining Google's meteoric rise from a Stanford University dorm room to the pop-culture phrase, "I Googled it," perhaps the racing ideal indeed does fit. In little more than a decade, the company has lapped better-known or now-defunct challengers, many of whom arrived at the track far earlier. While the pace at first blush may seem oddly pedestrian to the uninitiated outsider, the reality of Google's turbo-charged, 24/7 operation within an ever-evolving Internet shows no sign of reaching anything close to resembling a finish line.
http://newstopic.southernheadlines.com/index.cfm?section=86&story=10308

Google Acquires Additional Property at Data Center Site

2008-12-15T10:00:00.000-08:00

Google is expanding its 220-acre site in Lenoir with the acquisition of six parcels of land west of the main site, totaling approximately 60 acres, company officials announced today. The acquisition has been part of Google’s plan since the company decided to construct a $600 million data center in Caldwell County/Lenoir. Google’s North Carolina campus will total approximately 280 acres.

“Google’s additional purchase of land is a great sign of their commitment to Lenoir and Caldwell County,” said Lenoir Mayor David Barlow. “Since coming to town, Google and their employees have been active members of our community. We are proud that Google calls this community home and we’re glad that they are here.”

Ben Griffin, chairman of the Caldwell County Board of Commissioners, noted, “The people of Caldwell County are continuing to find Google to be a very good neighbor and an excellent addition to our community. We’re excited about the news of the purchase of additional property and are thrilled that the data center calls our community home. This new purchase will be a welcomed addition to our community’s economic base.”

Google purchased the property for $3.13 million. Though there aren't any near-term plans for the property, some tentative uses for the property could be to support the needs of the data center operations and the gradual expansion of data center capacity consistent with previously announced plans for the Google campus.

Tom Jacobik, manager of the data center in Lenoir, added, “Everyone at Google is very happy about our North Carolina operation. We’ve been working hard and really appreciate the community’s support. This is a strategic location for our company. We look forward to a long and active presence here. Lenoir and Caldwell County are great places for us.”

Greenhouse to Greenhouse: Caldwell County, Google and Greenhouse Gas Services Would Turn Landfill Methane into Energy and Education Asset

2008-09-17T09:48:00.000-07:00

A public-private project in Caldwell County may use greenhouse gas to power a research greenhouse. The initiative, approved in concept by county commissioners, would mark the first time Google has co-developed such a project in the United States from the very inception, working through every step of the process.

Spearheaded by county officials, the proposed project would capture methane gas - one of the most potent forms of greenhouse gas emissions - at the Mount Herman landfill. Google, a champion of renewable energy, and Greenhouse Gas Services LLC (GHGS) would use the capture to generate greenhouse gas (GHG) credits. The credits would help to fund the development of a new research greenhouse at Caldwell Community College and Technical Institute (CCC&TI).

Areas of study involving the greenhouse would include new horticulture technologies, tissue culture propagation and an expansion of the horticulture curriculum. Caldwell is one of the state's top three counties in nursery agricultural production. Officials expect that the N.C. Agriculture Extension Service, which assists the nursery industry, would also benefit from the greenhouse.

The Greenhouse to Greenhouse project would follow a series of steps:

As part of the first emission reduction co-development project in the U.S., GHGS would invest, design, build and operate the facility to capture landfill gas for more than 120,000 CO2 equivalent tons over ten years.

GHGS would then retire the credits on behalf of Google, which plans to add these offsets to its carbon portfolio and advance the goal of company wide carbon neutrality.

The captured methane gas would be flared -- destroying the greenhouse gas before it enters the atmosphere -- or converted as a power source for the new greenhouse.

Stay tuned for more developments. And thank you to all the great folks involved in this project!

Governor, Local Officials, Community and Google Open Lenoir/Caldwell County Data Center

2008-06-03T10:31:00.000-07:00

Whether you're shopping for shoes, planning a trip or watching a funny video, you probably don't think much about where that website you're on actually "lives." Though they seem just to exist in some "cloud" out there in "cyberspace," all websites are actually hosted on computers, similar to the one you have at home or work. But millions of websites processing terabytes of data every day -- all of those shopping and video queries -- require much more than a single machine, and they need to be housed somewhere. While some webmasters may run their website off of a small server in their basement, more commonly websites are run off of a stack of computers (a server rack), which lives in a warehouse-type building called a data center. Almost any company that stores or processes information either owns data centers or leases space in them, including banks, insurers, airlines and of course, technology companies. To process the millions of searches, emails, documents and more that come across our servers every day, and to keep all of our services both fast and reliable for our users, we require significant computing power, and have invested heavily in servers and data centers across the world.

On May 21st, an official ribbon-cutting ceremony marked the opening of our newest data center in Lenoir, North Carolina. The Lenoir facility has set a precedent for Google community involvement: hundreds of our closest friends -- the citizens of Caldwell County -- came on site for what we called a "Googley BBQ." Along with pulled pork from the locally-acclaimed Hannah's, attractions included Google-colored snow cones, cotton candy, a local cover band, Google demo stations, a "Meet-a-Googler" tent, and a kiddie area with face painting, stickers, crafts, and (of course) a bouncy house in Google colors.

Lenoir sits in the heart of Caldwell County, which is known for its spectacular views of the beautiful Blue Ridge Mountains, its close-knit communities, and its hard-working citizens, and is along the famous "20 miles of furniture" on N.C. highway 321. Though many furniture industry jobs in the area have been lost in recent years, now technology companies are moving to the region, and a focus on technology education is helping to usher Caldwell into the 21st century.

Several speakers at the ribbon-cutting, including the Mayor of Lenoir, David Barlow; County Commissioner Herb Greene; and the Governor of North Carolina, Mike Easley, voiced this sentiment, each hopeful that other technology companies will consider Google's presence and set up shop as well. What's not to love about an area with a beautiful landscape, a home-town feel, and such a wonderful and welcoming community? Yeah, we couldn't find anything either.

Lenoir Googlers are still floating on at least cloud seven or eight about playing host at our new site. We couldn't have done it without the local firefighters, police, Chamber of Commerce and government representatives who went out of their way to make sure everyone had fun that day -- helped, of course, by the hundreds of folks who joined us in celebrating. But what's more, we are excited that we will soon be bringing this newest data center online, as another step to ensure that our services remain lightning fast and nearly 100% reliable, no matter where on the planet you may be.

To view pictures from the days event please visit our Picasa Web album.

Cloud Camp Comes to Charlotte

2008-04-22T07:39:00.001-07:00

The Google Apps team is setting up shop today, April 22, at a Backyard Burgers restaurant in Charlotte, N.C. to celebrate the cities recent honor as one of the top four most entrepreneurial cities in the country.

The Backyard Burgers restaurant chain is just one of many small businesses to benefit from using the free applications offered by Google.

The team is hosting a Cloud Camp to show small business owners how they too can benefit from Google applications like Gmail and Google Documents.

The event is being held at the Conlan Circle Backyard Burgers in Charlotte and will be occurring from 10 a.m. until 6 p.m. The event is free and open to the public. Food and refreshments will be provided by Backyard Burgers.

Backyard Burgers
13736 Conlan Circle
Charlotte, N.C.

Lenoir Data Center Featured in Western North Carolina Magazine

2008-03-25T12:58:00.000-07:00

Western North Carolina magazine featured the Lenoir data center in its March/April edition. Writer Jess Clarke interviewed individuals from the community, Google and Caldwell Community College and Technical Institute to craft the article, "The Package Deal: How Lenoir landed a second career."

You can read the article here.

A New Hope With a New Industry

2008-03-07T11:48:00.000-08:00

Over the past 26 years in Lenoir and Caldwell County, Paul Bowman has witnessed a transformation.

An economy once tied directly to the furniture industry struggled for years with one of the highest unemployment rates in North Carolina after manufacturing jobs moved elsewhere.

Paul, whose parents grew up in Lenoir, was laid off not once, but twice from manufacturing jobs in the area.

“Just a little more than a year ago it looked like the job market was all but drying up and no new industry would come to the area,” says Paul. “I was looking at a two-hour commute each way to find a job.”

Then came Google’s announcement that it would build a $600 million data center in Lenoir and Caldwell County and with it came a new belief that manufacturing was not the only industry for this can-do community. Paul had been interested in electronics since he was just a boy and Google’s presence in the community reinvigorated his old desires.

“We are witnessing the Google announcement jumpstart this community, as more and more 21st century businesses are taking a second look at us,” says Paul. “Folks are going to school to learn the skills needed so they can compete for these new high-tech jobs. Enthusiastic competition fueled by new industry, that’s something we haven’t seen in awhile.”

For Paul, wife, Tonya, four children and 11 pets, Lenoir is home and while it may have been easier to find a job elsewhere, they never considered leaving. After hearing Google’s announcement, Paul decided to return to school and enrolled in Caldwell Community College & Technical Institute’s inaugural IT Institute where he found the work challenging, but excelled to the top of his class. He has joined Google’s Lenoir Data Center team as a Data Technician Assistant.

Mother Returns to Workforce at the Lenoir Data Center

2008-03-06T12:10:00.000-08:00

For Jennifer Crump, Google’s Lenoir, N.C. data center is the most recent in a long list of blessings and hard decisions that helped keep her family in the town they call home.

A lifelong Morganton resident, Jennifer grew up in a close knit community so typical of Western North Carolina. A community she never once considered leaving, even when times were tight.

Jennifer says she counts herself lucky as plant closings, a lack of opportunities and decrease in morale had little affect on her husband, Eric, and two young children. “Many friends and family members faced layoffs at local plants, but our faith helped guide us through tough times,” says Jennifer.

As a stay at home mom, Jennifer dedicated herself to the development of her sons, Aaron, 13, and Daniel, 9, but made the promise to herself that as soon as her youngest son entered school, she would find a job to help support her family.

“The same day I took my youngest son to school, I went to Western Piedmont Community College and enrolled in the Internet Technologies program,” says Jennifer. “The summer I graduated from the program was the same time rumors began circulating about Google coming to Lenoir. Of course, this made me very excited, especially since the skills I had learned were perfect for Google.”

Jennifer made it her personal goal to be one of the first employees to work at the Lenoir data center.

She enrolled in the Caldwell Community College & Technical Institute’s inaugural IT Institute and earned her position today as a Google Data Technician Assistant.

"Silicon Valley Meets Catawba Valley"

2008-02-05T08:52:00.001-08:00

The City of Lenoir, Caldwell County and the Google data center were recently featured in an article in the Jan. 24 edition of The Charlotte Observer. Observer reporter Jen Aronoff covers the Catawba Valley and spent many hours speaking with the community to write the article, "Silicon Valley meets Catawba Valley: Google, Lenoir settle in with each other."

Data Center Aids Ambitious Google Cloud

2008-01-09T08:14:00.000-08:00

Google’s data centers, including the one going up in Lenoir, are central to the company’s bold vision of ‘cloud’ programming. To learn more about what the ‘cloud’ is and how it would use the power of data centers, visit Business Week’s Dec. 13th cover story.

Businessweek, Google and The Cloud

Google AdWords Seminar Aids Local Organizations

2007-11-20T14:28:00.000-08:00

Google AdWords, an Internet marketing tool, was the subject of a special community seminar designed to support businesses and non-profit groups in Lenoir and Caldwell County.

Google specialists were on hand at the J.E. Broyhill Civic Center on Thursday, Nov. 15 to explain the capabilities available through the online advertising service.

Google's Lindsay Stradley and Matt Dunne presented separate no-cost seminars, one for businesses and one for nonprofits. They surprised business people attending with $100 gift vouchers to use for their AdWords campaigns.

Non-profit groups, as always, are eligible for special Google Grants, a program supporting organizations that share Google's philosophy of community service in areas such as science and technology, education, global public health, the environment, youth advocacy, and the arts.

"The Google Grants Program is a tremendous opportunity for nonprofit organizations in our community to deliver their messages to the masses," said David Barlow, mayor, City of Lenoir, who addressed attendees at the seminar for non-profit organizations.

Designed for 501(c)(3) non-profit organizations, Google Grants offers free AdWords to organizations that apply to the program. Google facilitates AdWords seminars in major cities throughout the United States and teaches nonprofits how to apply to the Google Grants program. Google's new data center in Lenoir prompted the company to bring the Google Grants program and AdWords seminar to Caldwell County.

Available to all types of businesses, AdWords allows companies to deliver messages on the Internet to as broad or specific an audience as possible by utilizing Google's search engine—the most popular in the world. For example, American Meadows, a Vermont-based supplier of flower seeds, used AdWords to make sure individuals searching for words like "wildflowers" and "wildflower seeds" saw its advertisement. The company has grown from a local business to one of the largest suppliers in North America.

"We're glad they've taken the initiative to share their ideas with others here in Lenoir and Caldwell County," said Faye Higgins, chairwoman, Caldwell County Board of Commissioners, who briefly addressed attendees at the seminar for local businesses.

As in all of its places of business, Google is committed to giving back to the community in a number of ways, including special events such as the AdWords seminar.

"This community has done so much to welcome Google," said data center manager Tom Jacobik. "It's a pleasure to now welcome community members to learn more about how Google's services can help them."

To apply for Google Grants, non-profit organizations can visit www.google.com/grants. At the bottom of that page, click on 'Program Details.' Please review the 'Who is Eligible' section.

Community and Google Honored for Economic Strides

2007-11-06T11:20:00.000-08:00

Google’s data center in Lenoir and Caldwell County was in the spotlight at the annual AdvantageWest banquet at the Grove Park Inn & Resort in Asheville, N.C. on Nov. 1. Rhett Weiss accepted the Golden Eagle award for Community Impact “for [Google’s] positive impact through investments and job creation on behalf of the people of Western North Carolina.” Rhett noted that the project was a team effort and profusely thanked the leaders of Lenoir and Caldwell County.

Rhett was on hand to accept the award and to deliver the keynote address at the banquet. His presentation, “Creating Tomorrow: The Web, The World and Western North Carolina,” highlighted Google’s history, corporate culture and societal impact. In addition to information regarding Google, Rhett explained exactly how the Lenoir/Caldwell County data center fit into Google’s overall Web strategy.

"The AdvantageWest staff and I have received a tremendous response from Rhett Weiss' address. His thoughtful remarks, multi-media presentation and entertaining wit held the attention of our audience of more than 525 citizens from across the region,” said Dale Carroll, CEO, AdvantageWest Economic Development Group. “It was extra special to conclude the evening with Google receiving our prestigious Golden Eagle Award for Community Impact and to have Rhett with us in person to accept on behalf of the new data center in the AdvantageWest community of Lenoir in Caldwell County."

Since announcing that Lenoir and Caldwell County would become the home of a $600 million Google data center earlier this year, the community has seen an upswing in new business and job creation. Working together, Google and the community have created a new buzz about an area once struggling due to the exportation of its established economic engines.

Community Leader, Data Center Manager Share Their Google Stories

2007-10-22T10:30:00.000-07:00

Tom Jacobik, Google's data center manager in Lenoir, recently spoke to the Happy Valley Ruritans Club. Tom received a welcoming introduction by the chairperson of the Caldwell County Commissioners, Faye Higgins.

Faye's commitment to the future of her community was instrumental in bringing Google to Caldwell County. She and other local leaders made a strong case that their area was right for a data center. She was tireless in her efforts -- but somehow still made time to be a wife, mother and grandmother.

A native of Caldwell County, Faye just received the Distinguished Woman of the Year award from the Caldwell Council for Women. These excerpts from her introduction of Tom offer a good idea of how she approaches progress and opportunity:

As you all know, the datacenter has been quite the talk in our community and for good reason. Google anticipates hiring up to 100 workers -- direct and contract -- over the first year of actual start up. The plan is to hire approximately 200 people for the Lenoir data center. These employees will get good salaries plus benefits. That's great for the people who'll work at the data center. But it's also good for everyone in Caldwell County. The Googlers of Caldwell County will pay taxes, shop at local stores, eat at local restaurants and contribute in many other ways to the richness of our local life.

Beyond the jobs, the data center diversifies our economy. This organization - the Ruritans - has long championed the economic engines that made our community and our state great. And together, we're keeping those industries strong. Not only that, we're strengthening our overall economic picture by ushering in new business and industries to stand beside those that have served us so well for so long. The data center puts a big piece of the so-called 'new economy' right here in Caldwell County. And that bodes well for our future.

So, in the spirit of the Ruritans' slogan "Fellowship, Goodwill and Community Service," I am pleased to introduce to you now, Tom Jacobik. Tom is the site manager for the Google datacenter in Lenoir. Prior to joining Google, Jacobik was director of tactical operations for the Oracle Corporation and has served in IT leadership positions throughout his career and has more than 15 years experience in the technology industry.

Tom is like his colleagues at Google. He's down-to-earth and easy to like. At the same time, he wants to succeed. Not just as an individual, but as a team. And that team includes the people of Caldwell County.

I'd like to also say that Tom's skills as a manager are proven out by the fact that he's the father of seven children, including a set of triplets. The fact that the man could even get up this morning shows just how tough he is.