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Walter Williams – Owner of William’s Stone Masonry

1. Could you tell me a little bit about yourself?
My name is Walter Williams; I am a 51-year-old man that has been involved in stone masonry for the majority of my life. I was born and raised in Fairview, North Carolina and have always been an athlete. I always try to enjoy life and I like talking to people. I consider myself a hard worker and believe in doing a good job for all customers. My favorite activity is spending as much time with my grandson as I possibly can.

2. Can you tell me how you got involved with Stone Masonry?
When I was 17 I observed some Stone Mason’s laying rock and decided that was a trade I wanted to pursue. I started as a laborer and after 7-8 years I felt that I had mastered the trade. The trade is nothing but hard work. When I originally started there were no stone yards to pick up your rocks, you had to go out into the mountains and dig them up, carry them to the truck and haul them to the job site. When you’re doing a large home it takes a lot of rocks, 1 ton covers 30-35 square feet. I like the trade because it keeps me in shape and I love the thrill of heights. I had a mentor named Raymond Pressley who not only taught him the trade but inspired me and drove me to success.

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Introduction:

Hello, my name is Shannon Moser. I am a graduate student at Western Carolina University’s Masters in the Science & Technology curriculum. I’m here at KRW with Ken Wilkes, CEO of KRW & Smart-bottle. Our interview started with a shop tour. The first thing I noticed was there was a lot of room for expansion. That shows me he’s always thinking of expanding; never satisfied with present business levels.

The shop is set up into roughly 5 areas;

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When I think of innovation, the first person to come to mind is Louis Foreman, founder and chief executive of Enventys (www.enventys.com).  The company is an integrated product design and engineering firm which under one roof provides the services needed for a person to take an idea to the marketplace.   Enventys is based in Charlotte, N.C. but also has offices in Hong Kong and currently has 65 employees.  You may have seen Louis on the Emmy® Award winning PBS-TV show, Everyday Edisons which he created and continues to serve as executive producer and lead judge.

Louis graduated from The University of Illinois with a Bachelors of Science degree in economics. His interest in starting businesses and developing innovative products began while a sophomore with his first company founded in his fraternity room, called Competitive Edge Sports, where he sold lacrosse equipment.  Over the past 20 years he has created five successful start-ups and has been directly responsible for the creation of dozens of others. A prolific inventor, Louis is the inventor of nine registered U.S. Patents and his firm is responsible for the development and filing of well over 150 more.

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Vaune Charles is an accomplished dance historian, technician, choreographer, instructor, performer, storyteller, costume designer and seamstress.  Vaune is a graduate of the Cincinnati School for the Creative and Performing Arts and Alvin Ailey American Dance Center.  Additional training affiliations include: University of Cincinnati Corbett Center of Performing Arts, Southern Illinois University Dunham Dance Department, CoSaan African Dance Company, International African American Ballet, Muntu Dance Theatre & African American Dance Ensemble. She received extensive training in Ballet, Horton, Graham, traditional and contemporary Jazz and African, Dunham & Tap dance techniques. She has worked extensively within the arts for many nonprofit organizations for over thirty years and was the program director of arts education for Muntu Dance Theatre of Chicago for 12 years. Awards and special recognition include: Black Women’s Caucus honoree for Academic Excellence, Black Theatre Alliance best costume design Fat Tuesday & All That Jazz, Rites & Rituals, and Woloba for Muntu Dance Theatre, City of Aurora Certificate of Appreciation. Memorable performances include: Jacob’s Pillow with Muntu, the movie “Believers” director John Schlesinger, Anti-Apartheid dancer for Stevie Wonder Circle Tour, Cervatino Festival in Vera Cruz Mexico, Brighton Festival in England, Dance Festival in Scotland, Ghana Panafests.

Tell me a little about yourself?

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