THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, December 22, 1994 TAG: 9412220556
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B1 EDITION: NORTH CAROLINA
SOURCE: BY BETTY MITCHELL GRAY, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: Short : 42 lines
What do former Republican congressional candidate B. Tommy Pollard of Jacksonville and seamstress Bea Harrell of Elizabeth City have in common?
They both have been picked to sell their products on television.
Pollard and Harrell are two of 20 North Carolina entrepreneurs selected by QVC Inc., a home-shopping television channel, to display exhibits on a show in the first week of March featuring North Carolina ware.
QVC chose a lawn edger made by Pollard, the former owner of a chain of grocery stores, developer and former state senator, and angels and a Christmas tree topper made by Harrell of Elizabeth City's Sew Fine Fashions.
The program is a joint effort by the state Department of Commerce and QVC.
Other eastern North Carolina products to be featured include seven sauces by Carolina Swamp Stuff Inc. of Morehead City, fishing memorabilia by Fishing Legends of Welcome, a self-watering starter kit for plants from Weeks Seed Co. of Greenville, and pork barbecue with all the trimmings by Carolina Oink Express of Kinston.
Also chosen were Moravian ginger cookies, a stone-ground cornmeal and grits combination package, driveway safety reflectors and decorative glass balls.
The products were selected by QVC from among more than 200 entries by North Carolina-based small businesses and entrepreneurs who displayed their wares at trade shows in Asheville on Dec. 5 and Greenville on Dec. 6.
``North Carolina is known for some of the greatest products in the U.S.A. and we saw many of them at the shows,'' said Bill Lane, director of new merchandise development at QVC. ``The winners combined mettle and conviction with a keen understanding of the market.''
``With national exposure and a sophisticated distribution system, they'll have a real shot at the American dream,'' he said.
The North Carolina products will be featured as part of QVC's ``Quest for America's Best,'' which will display products from all 50 states over a 50-week period in 1995. by CNB