Watson Flooring and Appliance, LLC, downtown Columbus retailer of home appliances and floor coverings, recently celebrated the completion of its second, full-store remodel in 2 years, by hosting the Carolina Foothills Chamber of Commerce Business After Hours.

The event, co-hosted by the Tryon Fine Arts Center and catered by Larkins Carolina Grill, was attended by over 125 business, government and community leaders from the Carolina Foothills region as well as reps from a number of appliance and floor covering suppliers.

According to Watsons GM and Operating Partner, Dave Herbert, the remodel was completed in order to bring the store into compliance with the display requirements of its new floor covering partner, Abbey Carpet and Flooring.

We figured since we had to re-do our displays anyway, we might as well go ahead and do some upgrading to the store itself, which wed wanted to do for a while, said Herbert. Our new alignment with Abbey gives us a significantly larger presence in floor coverings than before. We now have a much broader selection of carpet, hardwood, laminate and vinyl, ceramic, stone and other flooring products than weve ever had. And since were now one of over 2,500 Abbey members nationwide, all bound together for buying power, our pricing is every bit as good or better than our competitors, including the big box stores.

The remodel was accomplished over a five-week period starting in late September. During the remodeling process, all of the stores existing floor coverings were replaced and upgraded, walls moved and new doorways put in, storage and other new display cabinets added, new Silestone countertops installed, new lighting added, an upgraded Electrolux appliance display installed and the bathroom completely gutted and upgraded with new tile and new fixtures. &bsp;

The store really is beautiful, said Herbert. We worked our butts off to bring the Carolina Foothills region the kind of shopping experience you normally find in much larger markets. But even though weve done what weve done to the store, we still understand that we have a broad range of customers to serve so weve made sure we have a wide selection of products in all price ranges to offer.

Watsons now features flooring products marketed under the Abbey brand including carpeting by Shaw, Mohawk and Beaulieu, vinyl from Armstrong, laminate from Mohawk and Wilsonart, hardwoods from Anderson, Mohawk, Mirage, Bruce and Shaw, ceramic and stone from American Olean, Daltile, Florida Tile, Arly, Marazzi and Orchid as well as granite and Silestone countertops. &bsp;

Watsons also offers a full selection of state-of-the-art home appliances from Whirlpool, KitchenAid, JennAir, Maytag, Amana, Electrolux and GE Monogram.&bsp; Watsons offers in-house floor covering and appliance installation as well as kitchen design services.&bsp;&bsp; Watson Flooring and Appliance, LLC is located at 191 East Mills Street in Columbus, NC and is open Monday through Friday from 9:00AM to 5:00PM and on Saturday from 9:00AM until 1:00PM.

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St. Lukes Hospital Auxiliary plans to expand and relocate the current St. Lukes Thrift Shop operations to the former Isadoras building in downtown Tryon. The move is expected to take place in early January, according to Jean Shumway, president of the St. Lukes Hospital Auxiliary.

We are looking forward to enlarging the St. Lukes Thrift Shop to offer great bargain shopping. And with the downstairs space, well be able to accept and sell larger donations such as furniture, Shumway said.

Thanks to the tremendous support from our community, weve outgrown our space, Shumway said. Our shop will continue to operate in the current location at 62 N. Trade Street until we relocate. Were open for business as usual.

The Auxiliary has been operating a re-sale shop since the late 1950s, when it originally began as a consignment store. All proceeds from the sales of the Thrift Shop and the hospital-based Gift Shop are used to help purchase needed equipment throughout the hospital. Most recently, the Auxiliary purchased more than $62,000 of capital equipment to benefit St. Lukes patients.

The Auxiliary leased the building on 62 N. Trade from St. Lukes Hospital, and various options are under consideration for the best use of that location.

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Jerry P. Allen of Tryon has been named district general agent for the Upstate S.C. and Western N.C. district of Colonial Life & Accident Insurance Company. Allen is responsible for building a sales team.

Before joining Colonial Life, Allen was a representative with New York Life Insurance and president of The McAllen Group in Tryon. A graduate of the University of Mississippi with 10 years of experience&bsp; in the insurance industry, Allen is a member of Christ Community Baptist Church. He and his wife, Edie, have three children.

Colonial Life is based in Columbia, S.C.

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Plenty of Fish Seafood Restaurant in Tryon introduced a new menu this week featuring new lower prices, $5.99 senior citizens menu and a new wine list. They are open Wednesday thru Sunday from 4:30 pm until 9:00 pm. Daily specials are offered by the chef featuring fish, chicken, steaks and more. Now accepting reservations for holiday parties. Call 828-859-0177 for reservations or more information.

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Upstate Forever, a land conservation organization, announced last week that its office building in Greenville was awarded LEED Platinum status. Executive Director Brad Wyche spoke during a press conference along with representatives from the Johnston Design Group and the U.S. Green Building Council.

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Andrew Rackoff, M.D., a gastroenterologist with Carolina Mountain Gastroenterology, will discuss gastro-esophageal reflux disease (GERD), its causes, and treatment options during a free presentation at the Pardee Health Education Center on Wed., Nov. 18, from noon until 1:30 p.m. &bsp;

GERD is a condition in which food or liquid travels backwards from the stomach to the esophagus.&bsp; This action can irritate the esophagus, causing heartburn and other symptoms.

Dr. Rackoff will offer time for questions after the presentation.&bsp; Registration for this free presentation is required by calling 1-866-790-WELL (9355).

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Mary Black Memorial Hospital was recently recognized by Advance, a magazine for nurses, as one of six select Southeast hospitals out of 455 earning the title, Top Pick. Advance asked their readers to rank hospitals based on their performance in the following areas:&bsp; quality of care, organizational culture, communication, and professional development and retention efforts.

Other Top Picks to join Mary Black in the elite six were:&bsp; Piedmont Hospital of Atlanta, Randolph Hospital of Asheboro, N.C., University of Alabama Health System, Birmingham, AL, Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center, Winston-Salem, N.C. and WakeMed Health and Hospitals of Raleigh, N.C. &bsp;

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Katherine Volatile, M.D., an ophthalmologist with Looking Glass Eye Center, will discuss the causes, anatomy and current treatment for cataracts in a free presentation at the Pardee Health Education Center on Tue., Nov. 17, from 12:15 until 1:30 p.m. &bsp;

A cataract is a clouding of the normally clear lens of the eye.&bsp; Clouded vision can make it more difficult to see especially at night.&bsp; Cataracts commonly affect distance vision and cause problems with glare.&bsp; Fortunately, cataract removal is generally a safe, effective procedure. &bsp;

Dr. Volatile will offer time for questions after the presentation.&bsp; Registration for this free presentation is required by calling 1-866-790-WELL (9355).