• The U.S. House of Representatives passed a resolution "Recognizing North Carolina Central University on its 100th Anniversary."
• Aaron Houghton and Ryan Allis, Co-Founders of iContact, were named Corporate Volunteers of the Year by Business Leader Magazine.
• Durham-based Cree, Inc. has made a three-year, $1.5 million pledge to provide high-efficiency Cree LED downlights for the kitchens in all new Habitat homes built in the United States.
• The Daily Beast ranked Durham, NC as the #4 Best City for College Graduates.
• Durham Academy Senior Mollie Pathman was honored as the 2009-10 Gatorade National Girls Soccer Player of the Year. Pathman will play for Duke next season.
• Jackie Randell, a Jordan High School student, was awarded first place in the Columns category of the National Federation of Press Women competition.
• E.K. Powe Elementary School was chosen for a "READesign Library Makeover" from The Heart of American Foundation and Target.
• The Durham Literacy Center is celebrating its 25th anniversary.
• Preservation Durham is celebrating its 35th anniversary.
• LabourLove Gallery is celebrating its first anniversary in Golden Belt.

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• The Durham, NC MSA was ranked #1 by Forbes for the Best Mid-Sized Cities [sic] for Jobs.
• Buddy Guy, the legendary blues guitarist, will headline the 23rd Bull Durham Blues Festival, on September 11, 2011 at DPAC.
• A team of students from the North Carolina School of Science and Mathematics beat out 104 other teams from 42 states to win the 2010 U.S. Department of Energy National Science Bowl.
• Tom Berry, a Durham native, was honored as North Carolina's sportswriter of the year by the National Sportscasters and Sportswriters Association.
• The 2010 All-ACC Women's Golf team included Duke University freshman Lindy Duncan as ACC Player and Freshman of the Year, while senior Alison Whitaker earned All-ACC honors for the third time in her career.
• Papa Mojo's Roadhouse and Watt's Grocery are finalists for the Best Dish in North Carolina's Casual Dining category sponsored by the N.C. Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services and Our State magazine.
• Three students with Durham ties were chosen as 2010 U.S. Presidential Scholars; Megan E. Mikhail, Durham Academy Upper School, Saumil A. Jariwala, N.C. School of Science and Mathematics, and Kelley A. Katzenmeyer of Durham.
• The St. Joseph's Historic Foundation, Inc. was awarded a grant in the amount of $100,000 from GlaxoSmithKline to support the GlaxoSmithKline-Charles 'Chuck' Davis Endowment to support dance programs, collaborations with the African American Dance Ensemble (AADE) and the naming of the dance studio at the Hayti Heritage Center in honor of the AADE founder.

Five ways to use this information. For more great things, visit www.wheregreatthingshappen.com.

• The King's Daughters Inn earned Green Plus Certification from the Institute for Sustainable Development, bringing the total number of certifications in Durham to four (including the Durham Convention & Visitors Bureau, Mez Restaurant, and Riley Life Industries.)
• The Durham City's Fiscal Year 2008-2009 Comprehensive Annual Financial Report merited recognition for the 25th consecutive year by the Government Finance Officers Association of the United States and Canada.
• Duke Chapel is celebrating its 75th anniversary this weekend with a series of special events.
• Foster's Market is celebrating its 20th anniversary in May.
• The Durham, NC MSA ranked as the 23rd Best Place for Business and Careers according to Forbes.
• The Republik of Durham was awarded Best of Show by the regional chapter of the American Advertising Federation in the annual ADDY Awards.
• The Durham Police Department's clearance rate has risen in the past 20 years, making its improvement among the best in the nation.

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• A new iPhone app features Duke's Mike Krzyzewski giving tips to players as they compete in races through Durham and other places while dodging Cameron Crazies and other impediments.
• Ryan Allis and Aaron Houghton, Co-Founders of Durham-based iContact, are featured in the April issue of Entrepreneur Magazine for the way they are helping others while growing their business.
• The N.C. Central University Institute for Homeland Security and Workforce Development has been awarded a grant of $238,992 to design and test an emergency planning management model that can be used by faith-based and community organizations.
• Baseball America selected Durham Bull's outfielder Desmond Jennings for the cover of the 2010 Minor League Preview scheduled for release next week.
• Durham native Chris Hendricks will kick off a 2 month mega-tour as the opening act on the "Life and Faith Tour" which includes Amy Grant, MercyMe, Diamond Rio, Israel Houghton, and others.
• The Kiwanis Club of Durham is celebrating its 90th anniversary this year.

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• Durham Mayor William V. Bell was elected as chair of the North Carolina Metropolitan Mayors Coalition, a group committed to advancing North Carolina's urban centers.
• The city of Durham secured a $500,000 grant from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's Climate Communities Showcase grant program to expand its Neighborhood Energy Retrofit Program.
• Al Gore will give the 2010 spring Duke Environment and Society Lecture at Duke University on April 6.
• Seth Wescott, born in Durham, won the gold medal in the 2010 Vancouver Olympics in the snowboard cross event; his second Olympic gold in the event.

Five ways to use this information. For more great things, visit www.wheregreatthingshappen.com.

• The Durham, NC MSA ranked #22 on the Gallup Poll's Overall Well-Being Composite Score for Medium and Small Metro Areas.
• The Latino Community Credit Union brought home the Southern Growth Policies Board's 2010 Innovator award in recognition of its efforts to improve economic opportunities and quality of life in North Carolina.
• Durham Public Schools will continue to close the achievement gap between African-American male students and their peers with help from a grant secured from the NEA Foundation for the Redefining Futures for African-American Males Initiative.
• iContact was ranked the #1 Email Marketing Service Provider and Resource for Web professionals according to Website Magazine's 2010 Top 50 rankings.
• The City of Durham's sound financial management of its water and sewer operations has been rewarded through affirmation of its 'AAA' bond rating from Fitch Ratings allowing the City to borrow money at the lowest interest rates available.
• The Hillandale Golf Course golf shop earned a spot among the "100 Best Golf Shops" for the 23rd consecutive year and was one of 25 public facilities honored according to Golf World.
• RTI International has developed a revolutionary lighting technology that is more energy efficient than the common incandescent light bulb and does not contain mercury, making it environmentally safer than the compact fluorescent light (CFL) bulb.
• Durham Pastor Laurie Hays Coffman's 30-minute film, "Coming Out, Coming In: Faith, Identity, Belonging," earned the distinction of Topical Documentary of the year as awarded by the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences.

Five ways to use this information. For more great things, visit www.wheregreatthingshappen.com.

• DPAC - Durham Performing Arts Center made the list of the top 100 theater venues on the planet according to Pollstar magazine's Top Worldwide Theater Venues.
• Sara Foster, of Foster's Market, earned Restaurateur of the Year and Michael Martino, of the Sheraton Imperial Hotel and Convention Center, was honored as the Lodging Operator of the Year from the North Carolina Restaurant and Lodging Association.
• North Carolina School of Science and Mathematics senior Lanair Lett is one of 40 finalists nationwide and the only finalist from North Carolina in the 2010 Intel Science Talent Search.
• Durham, NC got an A rating and placed 94th on the list of America's 100 Drunkest Cities indicating that Durham is one of the most sober in the country.
• Durham-based SportsMedia Technology Corp. provided the technology to broadcast the timing, scoring, and statistics for the Super Bowl on Sunday for the 10th year.

Five ways to use this information. For more great things, visit www.wheregreatthingshappen.com.

• Golden Belt is the First Gold-Certified LEED Historic Campus in the Southeast as recognized by the U.S. Green Building Council in recognition of its exemplary sustainable practices.
• Self-Help Credit Union has taken over California's Kern Central Credit Union increasing its assets by 50%. Combined, the nonprofit now manages 19 credit union branches with $600 million in assets and more than 50,000 members.
• The consumer version of Durham-based BioSignia's Know Your Number technology will be featured on NBC's "The Biggest Loser."
• The Sarah P. Duke Gardens were part of the daily double question on "Jeopardy" asking contestants to identify the "Stately Botanical Gardens."

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• Hope Valley has been designated on the National Register of Historic Places according to the National Park Service.
• The Duke University women's tennis team will start the 2010 season as the nation's #1 team.
• North Carolina Central women's basketball coach Joli Robinson notched her 200th career win as the Eagles coach.
• Duke basketball's John Scheyer is one of 20 students in midseason consideration for the 2010 Bob Cousy Award.
• HGTV selected Courtney James, with Urban Durham Realty, and her clients, Sanjay Premakumar and Jodi Koviach to appear in an upcoming episode of House Hunters.

Five ways to use this information. For more great things, visit www.wheregreatthingshappen.com.

• Daniel Bradford, Publisher of All About Beer Magazine is featured on the front cover of Folio Magazine and in an article about independent niche magazine publishing.
• Cameron Indoor Stadium is celebrating its 70th birthday this year.
• Sue Anne Lewis is working with the North Carolina School of Science and Mathematics to set a world record for food donations gathered at one place over a 24-hour period by a non-charitable organization on Saturday, March 20.
• Durham Academy senior Mollie Pathman picked up many soccer awards recently including: NSCAA national scholar-athlete player of the year, first-team National Soccer Coaches of America Association high school All-America, NSCAA academic All-America team, Parade magazine All-America, a Rise/ESPN All-America, and the Gatorade player of the year for North Carolina. She will play soccer at Duke University next year.
• Jorge Garcia is one of 11 North Carolina teens named to the Statewide Youth Council, a new initiative of the North Carolina School Community Health Alliance.
• Durham based Shodor, a national resource for computational science education, received a grant from RBC Bank for its Computing MATTERS program.

Five ways to use this information. For more great things, visit www.wheregreatthingshappen.com.