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Media:
'Carlie C' Named Entrepreneur Of Year
My Daily Record - Dunn, NC 11/16/2006
Carlie C. McLamb was named Entrepreneur of the Year by The Center for Entrepreneurship at Methodist College at its 33rd annual Economic Outlook Symposium held Nov. 1 in Fayetteville.
Mr. McLamb, founder of the Carlie C's IGA grocery chain, is the largest IGA retailer in North Carolina and among the largest IGA dealers in the nation.
"'Hometown Proud' is no exaggeration for Mr. Carlie C. McLamb," said Dr. M. Elton Hendricks, president, Methodist University, in presenting the award to Mr. McLamb. "He puts the Lord first, his family second, and good citizenship and service to his community next."
Mr. McLamb and his wife, Joyce, opened their first store in 1961, and in 1962, moved the store to Dunn. That location was expanded in 1965, and underwent two more expansions over the next seven years.
By 1983, the family had opened two more stores, but a fire destroyed the original store in 1984.
Though the business was uninsured, the McLambs, with the help of local businesses, employees and friends, reopened it a short time later as an IGA store.
The purchase of two more stores in Dunn brought the chain to five stores by 1988.
The growth continued into Benson, Lillington, Angier, Spring Lake, Hope Mills and Fayetteville, and today Carlie C's has 12 stores located in three counties.
"While he's been referred to as mild-mannered and soft-spoken," Dr. Hendricks said of Mr. McLamb, "he has also proven that a small, independent food store could compete with the giants and succeed.
"If Mr. Carlie C. has any fault, it's notably his inability to say no," Dr. Hendricks said, citing Mr. McLamb's extensive involvement with Leslie Methodist Church, Central Carolina Community College Foundation, Dunn Area Planning Board, the Chamber of Commerce, the School Advisory Board, the Averasboro Fire Department, the Mary Stewart Lions Club and the Betsy Johnson Regional Hospital Board of Trustees.
Dr. Hendricks also listed a number of distinctions, among them Dunn's Man of the Year, Small Business of the Year, the Melvin Jones Lions award and Campbell University's Presidential Medallion Award.
"Congratulations, Mr. Carlie C., family and employees, for 45 years of service to your customers and fellow citizens. We are privileged to bestow upon you the Entrepreneur of the Year Award," Dr. Hendricks said.
The 12th store of the Carlie C's chain opened in Fayetteville in July of this year, in the Cedar Creek shopping center.
Carlie C's president and son of the company's founder Mack McLamb, called it their "flagship store," and "a step into the future for our company."
The largest store in the chain yet at 45,000 square feet, that location features a restaurant, pharmacy and digital photo lab, a full-service seafood department and a large assortment of both organic and ethnic foods.
A 5,000-square-foot expansion is planned at the chain's Erwin store, with renovations inside and out.
The expansion will allow for additional grocery departments, and the site may feature a retail food franchise such as Subway.
Guest speakers for the Symposium include Kirk deViere, owner of deViere Management Group and chair of the Cumberland County Business Council, and Walter McDowell, chief executive officer, Carolina-Virginia Banking for Wachovia Bank, N.A.
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