Biz
No carbs, sweets for Al
Triangle Business Journal - Staff Reports
Everyone knows Al Gore is trying to distance himself from Bill Clinton for the 2000 presidential election. He might as well start with his waistline.
At his campaign stop in Raleigh May 13 at the home of Wallace and Jeanette Hyde (and while everyone else was stuck on the Beltline or Interstate 40), Gore eschewed Bubba burgers to stick to his no-carbohydrate, no-sugar diet.
Raleigh-based Catering Works prepared Asian spice grilled pork tenderloin with tomato cucumber sauce, fresh asparagus and a mixed green salad with Miso dressing.
And the Veep ate by himself in the kitchen under the watchful eyes of the Secret Service before mingling with the guests.
The fund-raiser itself was also under the microscope. Before caterers could set up, staff members had to pass a background check. The Secret Service went over every inch of the facility just before the event, leaving Catering Works only 40 minutes to set up for an outdoor event.
"It was a little high pressure," said owner Jill Albanese.
As Gore pulled into the driveway, the skies opened up. Her catering staff had to rush to move the party inside. Fund-raiser attendees feasted on heavy hors d'oeuvres.
This wasn't the first time Albanese fed the vice president. While on the campaign trail in 1991, Albanese and her team served him on a plane.
During Gore's visit to the Triangle, he met with a group of local executives organized by the North Carolina Electronics and Information Technologies Association (NCEITA). They had a chance to ask Gore a few questions. But master marketer Matthew Szulik, president of Red Hat Software, couldn't resist a plug.
When Szulik offered Gore one of his company's prized red hats, the vice president noted that he wasn't sure if he could accept the gift for ethical reasons. Szulik responded that the hat was free, just like the Linux software that Red Hat packages in hopes of someday putting a hurt on Microsoft's Windows NT product.
Industry-rating magazine Consumer Reports gives kudos to Midway Airlines Corp. in its June issue, where it reviews the deteriorating state of air travel.
Midway was one of three airlines rated as a "superior value" by the magazine's researchers, with a customer satisfaction rating of 71 percent, above-average on-time performance and generally low fares.
The other two airlines that received Consumer Reports' highest ranking were Hawaii-based Aloha Airlines and Southwest Airlines, which starts service here next month.
President Bob Ferguson said Midway likely will note the findings in an upcoming advertising blitz to counter Southwest's drum-banging over its low fares. The Morrisville-based carrier already combines low fares with solid service, he said.
"Why do you need anybody else?" Ferguson said.
Was it a gem show, or was it a shareholder meeting? Fake diamond maker C3 Inc. made its May 17 annual meeting a bit of both.
After listening to Chief Executive Jeff Hunter talk about the company's performance last year and its prospects for 1999, shareholders got an up-close view of the company's moissanite gems at tables set up in the back of the meeting room. A line of salespeople was on hand to ring up purchases of rings, necklaces, bracelets and other jewelry containing the artificial gemstone.
That's one way to add to C3's bottom line and meet Hunter's goal of profitability by the fourth quarter.
Wall Street powerhouse Morgan Stanley Dean Witter & Co. apparently has its eye on the Triangle.
The investment bank recently opened a regional office in Atlanta, and officials say they plan to push their services among the super-rich and corporate clients in a few Southeast markets, including the Triangle, according to the May 19 Wall Street Journal.
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