Burke businesses mark milestones

AMOREM CELEBRATES FIVE YEARS

A Burke County-rooted nonprofit that provides hospice, palliative care, and grief support across Western North Carolina is marking five years under the AMOREM name after serving thousands of patients and families, expanding services and continuing care regardless of a patient’s ability to pay.

AMOREM said its team has provided hospice and palliative medicine services for more than 44 years, first as Burke Hospice and Palliative Care and Caldwell Hospice and Palliative Care, then as AMOREM following the 2021 merger of the two organizations.

For Burke County families, the anniversary is more than a milestone. It reflects the continued presence of a local nonprofit provider in a field where families often need medical care, grief support and practical help during some of the hardest periods of life. AMOREM says it remains the only nonprofit hospice provider licensed by the state to operate hospice facilities in Burke and Caldwell counties.

According to the organization, during its first five years as AMOREM it served more than 6,300 hospice patients and families and more than 5,700 palliative medicine patients and families. It also reported providing hospice grief support to 12,991 people and community grief support to 1,274 others.

The organization also said it provided more than $8.2 million in unreimbursed care over the past five years. During the same period, it reported receiving more than $12.3 million in donations and grants and nearly $1 million in cash donations and sales from Thrifts & Gifts, its thrift store.

— AVN

SOUTH MOUNTAIN DISTILLING SALUTES 10 YEARS

South Mountain Distilling Company has spent the last decade honoring the moonshine legends of North Carolina, blending time-honored techniques with modern craftsmanship.

Along the way, South Mountain Distilling has collaborated with moonshine legends, preserving the spirit of moonshine history.

South Mountain Distillery’s owner, Don Smith, is a fourth-generation moonshiner. He’s the first in the family to take the operation legal but he uses the same recipes his family has always used.

South Mountain’s first release was Table Rock Rum on Dec. 31, 2016. The selection has grown tremendously since then and its moonshine can also be found in liquor stores across this state as well as South Carolina, Tennessee, and West Viriginia.

The public is invited to visit the facility and tour the distillery. And, of course, enjoy a taste of moonshine while there. South Mountain Distilling Company is at 1027 Malcolm Blvd. in Rutherford College.

— AKC