Health and Wellness Vendors Invited to Participate in 2024 Cumberland County Employee Wellness Fair
Cumberland County Wellness Services is seeking health and wellness-related vendors to participate in the 2024 Cumberland County Employee Wellness Fair, which will be held Oct. 7 – 11 at the Crown Expo Center, located at 301 East Mountain Dr. The annual Employee Wellness Fair provides an opportunity for more than 2,000 employees of Cumberland County Government to learn about programs and services in County government and the community that can have a positive impact on all aspects of their health.
The deadline for vendors to register is Wednesday, Oct. 2. Tables will be provided and assigned on a first-come, first-served basis and the County reserves the right to limit the number of vendors allowed to participate and to turn away vendors it believes do not advance the goals of the Employee Wellness Fair.
To register, vendors must complete the online registration form, or contact Cumberland County Wellness Services Coordinator Jen Doyle at 910-433-3875 or jdoyle@cumberlandcountync.gov.
The hours for this year’s Employee Wellness Fair will be as follows:
• Mon., Oct. 7: 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.
• Tues., Oct. 8: 6 a.m. to 1 p.m.
• Wed., Oct. 9: 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.
• Thurs., Oct. 10: 6 a.m. to 1 p.m.
• Fri., Oct. 11: 6 a.m. to 1 p.m.
The County is seeking a variety of vendors to participate and provide County employees with information on health and wellness related topics and programs available to them to include, but not limited to, cancer, heart disease, diabetes, weight management, hearing, vision, tobacco cessation, physical activity and recreation, nutrition, stress management, behavioral health, safety, financial wellness, mental health, mindfulness and more. The goal of the Employee Health Fair is to encourage County employees to lead a healthier lifestyle and improve their overall health status.
Local health and wellness agencies may support this event by registering to send a representative to discuss the services they provide, including information about costs and any discounts available to County staff. Vendors are not permitted to solicit or sell products or services to employees during the fair.

Military and Overseas Absentee Ballots Sent Sept. 20; Others on Sept. 24
Cumberland County Board of Elections sent absentee ballots to eligible military and overseas citizens who requested them for the 2024 general election on Friday, Sept. 20, under a new schedule released by the State Board of Elections.
The State Board of Elections also set Sept. 24 as the date to start sending absentee ballots to other voters who have requested ballots by mail, including those who use the Visually Impaired Portal (VIP) to request and return their ballots.
This schedule ensures that North Carolina will meet the federal law requirement to distribute ballots to voters under the Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act (UOCAVA) by the 45th day before the election – Sept. 21.
Cumberland County Board of Elections was prepared to send absentee ballots out on Sept. 6, the deadline for absentee ballots to be sent under state law. However, rulings by the N.C. Court of Appeals and N.C. Supreme Court required election officials to remove the “We The People” Party line from the presidential contest on the ballot, including the party’s presidential nominee, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., and vice-presidential nominee, Nicole Shanahan.
In North Carolina, any registered voter can vote using an absentee ballot after submitting a request for the ballot. Voters can request their absentee ballot at votebymail.ncsbe.gov. The deadline for absentee requests is Oct. 29. However, election officials urge voters who wish to vote by mail to request their ballot soon so it can be completed and returned to Cumberland County Board of Elections by 7:30 p.m. Election Day – Nov. 5.
Through Sept. 19, more than 166,000 voters – including more than 13,600 military and overseas voters – have requested ballots in North Carolina.
State and County Board of Elections staff and voting system and printing vendors, have worked to code, design, proof and print new ballots without the “We The People” Party line. Staff have worked to devise contingency plans to ensure ballots are delivered as soon as practicable.
Due to the timelines for the printing, delivery and assembly of all absentee ballots in every county, the State Board concluded that the only way to meet the federal deadline for military and overseas citizens was to establish separate dates for distributing absentee ballots.
Election officials first focused on distributing the military and overseas citizen ballots, which is a smaller group of ballots. Currently, about 8% of 2024 absentee requests are from military and overseas citizen voters.
State Board staff arranged for special on-demand ballot printers to be positioned around the state to fulfill any orders for military and overseas citizen ballots for counties whose orders from their print vendors did not arrive in time for those ballots to be prepared for mailing by Sept. 20. These special printers can print any ballot style approved for use in the state. There are nearly 2,350 different ballot styles statewide for this election.
Meanwhile, staff will work to prepare the online portal for electronic delivery and return of ballots that is available for military and overseas citizen voters. Nearly 90% of military and overseas citizen voters opt for this electronic ballot delivery feature.
This plan allowed time for the much larger orders of absentee ballots for all other voters to be printed and delivered to Cumberland County Board of Elections in time for the County to prepare its outgoing absentee ballot packages for mailing on Sept. 24.
“This schedule is only possible because of the hard work of elections professionals across this state,” said Karen Brinson Bell, executive director of the State Board of Elections.
The State Board has received many questions about the statewide cost of reprinting ballots. Preliminary estimates show the costs vary widely by county, depending on how many ballots had to be reprinted and other factors. Estimates range from a few thousand dollars in some smaller counties to $18,000 in Caldwell County, $55,100 in Durham County and $300,000 in Wake County, home to the most registered voters in the state.
Here are key dates and deadlines for the 2024 general election in North Carolina:
• Sept. 20: Ballots distributed to military and overseas citizen voters who have requested them.
• Sept. 24: Absentee ballots distributed to all other voters who have requested them.
• Oct. 11: Voter registration deadline (5 p.m.).*
• Oct. 17: In-person early voting begins; same-day registration available.
• Oct. 29: Absentee ballot request deadline (5 p.m.).*
• Nov. 2: In-person early voting ends (3 p.m.).
• Nov. 5: General Election Day.
• Nov. 5: Absentee ballot return deadline (7:30 p.m.).*
Voter registration and absentee voting deadlines are different for military and overseas citizen voters. For more info, visit https://www.ncsbe.gov/voting/military-and-overseas-voting