ECU College of Business well-represented at NEER event

Supporting local businesses and entrepreneurs at the North Eastern Entrepreneurial Roundtable banquet were, left to right, Jim Westmoreland, ECU College of Business associate dean for external affairs; Tommy Spaulding, ECU alumnus and bestselling author; Sherry Johnson, Rocky Mount Chamber of Commerce; Mayo Boddie, NEER chairman and ECU supporter; Stan Eakins, dean of the ECU College of Business; and Bill McDowell, professor in the ECU College of Business. (Photography by Garry E. Hodges)

Faculty, administrators and alumni from the East Carolina University College of Business were among the speakers at the 18th annual Entrepreneur of the Year Banquet sponsored by NEER (North Eastern Entrepreneurial Roundtable) at the Rose Hill Conference Center in Nashville, N.C.

Attending were College of Business Dean Dr. Stan Eakins and Associate Dean for External Affairs Dr. Jim Westmoreland, along with professor Dr. Bill McDowell. Keynoting the event was ECU alumnus Tommy Spaulding, the university’s first executive in residence for leadership and author of the New York Times bestseller, “It’s Not Just Who You Know.”

NEER supports business efforts in eastern North Carolina by providing a network of expertise in financial, legal, marketing and human resources information to help new companies succeed. The annual banquet recognizes eastern North Carolina entrepreneurs with businesses in Edgecombe, Nash, Halifax and Wilson counties.

This year’s recipient of the NEER Entrepreneur of the Year Award was Robert Zampardi, onwer of dC Automotive Company in Rocky Mount. Zampardi developed the company after he discovered a need for parts that would keep his first used Porsche operating. He purchased a second and then a third Porsche to obtain the parts he needed, then sold the parts left over from his rebuild. He grew the business into the largest dismantler of Porsche cars in the United States, meeting a high demand for used parts, sold through an online catalog, and providing the largest indoor recyclying facility for Porsches in the nation at his 140,000 square foot Rocky Mount plant.

ECU supporter Mayo Boddie Sr., NEER chairman, and Sherry Johnson, Rocky Mount Chamber of Commerce, were among the NEER members present at the banquet.