Addington earns award

A Jay County resident was one of 10 nurses honored this week at a Richmond hospital.

Reid Health on Wednesday presented its 2021 Nursing Excellence Awards, including one to Tonya Addington of Jay County, as part of its National Nurses Week celebration.

Reid chose the honorees based on the care they provide patients, with a focus on “empathy, accountability, integrity and excellence.”

“This past year of the COVID-19 pandemic has been a constant reminder of the heroic work done by nurses,” said Reid vice president and chief nursing officer Misti Foust-Cofield in a press release. “This group is emblematic of the care and sacrifice of all those on the Reid team.”

Addington has been with Reid Health for a decade and serves as a registered nurse for patient continuum of care. She most recently served as the manager of the COVID-19 Kuhlman Center Vaccine Clinic.



Rubbelke honored

Former Commercial Review reporter Nathan Rubbelke this week was announced as the recipient of an honorable mention award in the Society for Advancing Business Editing and Writing 2020 Best in Business Awards.

He earned the honor for a trio of sports business stories he wrote for the St. Louis Business Journal. His stories featured coverage of how the pandemic was impacting the St. Louis Cardinals, St. Louis BattleHawks (XFL), Saint Louis FC (USL Championship), and by extension the city’s business community.

Rubbelke served as The Commercial Review’s county reporter in 2016 and 2017. He earned a second-place Indiana Associated Press Media Editor’s Award for The CR for best column in 2017.



Help is available

Federal funds are helping to implement the Re-employment Services and Eligibility Assessment program in Ohio.

The program, which helps those who are close to running out of unemployment eligibility, received $5.6 million through the U.S. Department of Labor, The Daily Standard (Celina, Ohio) reported. It is designed to improve job prospects by assisting with training, certifications, job referrals and other services.

Those interested in utilizing Re-employment Services and Eligibility Assessment services can call Mercer County Job and Family Services at (419) 586-5106.



Restaurant raising

McDonald’s announced Thursday that it will be raising wages for more than 35,000 employees by an average of 10%.

The increases are already underway as the fast-food company pushes its entry-level wages to $11 to $17 per hour. The new starting range for shift managers will be $15 to $20 per hour.

McDonald’s in a press release said its restaurants are looking to hire 10,000 new employees in the next three months.

“Our first value is taking care of our people, and today we are rewarding our hardworking employees in McDonald-owned restaurants for serving our communities,” said Joe Erlinger, president of McDonald’s USA. “These actions further our commitment to offering one of the leading pay and benefits packages in the industry.”



Invenergy investing

Invenergy and BW LNG have closed a $128.3 million financial package for a floating storage and regasification unit for a project in El Salvador.

The package, which was announced Wednesday, includes a 15-year contract. Invenergy, which is planning a solar project in northwest Jay County, will use the funds to buy and convert the BW Tatiana LNG carrier into a floating storage and regasification unit.

“The close of financing for the FSRU represents a significant step forward in the completion of the transformational EDP project, the foundation for El Salvador’s clean energy future,” said Meghan Schultz, senior vice president of Invenergy, in a press release. “This landmark, multi-component project is only made possible through the collaboration and support of our incredible partners.”



Subway hiring

Subway restaurants on Tuesday announced plans to hire 40,000 employees this month.

The plan is part of a nationwide effort to fill open positions at its more than 20,000 restaurants in the U.S.



DG donates

Dollar General on Thursday donated more than $10.5 million to support literacy and education.

The money will go to about 1,000 non-profit organizations, libraries and schools to fund summer, family and adult literacy programs.

“We understand the meaningful impact that the Dollar General Literacy Foundation investments and grants can have on local schools, nonprofits and libraries, and we are pleased to provide our largest one-day grant award to serve additional students this year,” said Dollar General CEO Todd Vasos, Dollar General’s CEO and Dollar General Literacy Foundation board member. “Our support of communities’ educational advancements remains unwavering. We are proud to champion the positive work by each of today’s recipients …”



Tyson reports

Tyson Foods on Monday reported that it had total sales of $11.3 billion for the second quarter of 2021.

Tyson’s sales went up by more than $400 million over the previous year. Its net income for the quarter was $477 million.



Announcing earnings

Walmart, Dollar Tree and Advance Auto Parts have announced conference calls to discuss first-quarter earnings.

Walmart will hold a conference call at 8 a.m. Tuesday to discuss financial results for the first quarter of its fiscal year. The event will be live-streamed at corporate.walmart.com.

Dollar Tree’s conference call is slated for 9 a.m. Thursday. It will be available via live stream at dollartreeinfo.com.

Advance Auto Parts will host its call at 8 a.m. June 2. The webcast will be available at ir.advanceautoparts.com.

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