Local News

Michael Nagowski, longtime Cape Fear Valley Health CEO, announces retirement

Details

Tuesday, 10 February 2026

Written by Bill Kirby Jr., CityView Today

Michael Nagowski, chief executive officer of Cape Fear Valley Health, will retire this summer after 18 years leading the region’s largest health system, which includes Cape Fear Valley Medical Center, Highsmith-Rainey Specialty Hospital, and hospitals in Bladen, Hoke, Harnett, and Johnston counties.
Nagowski, 60, announced his retirement to the 19-member CFVH board of trustees on Friday.
“I’m excited I will get to spend time with my family,” he told CityView. “It’s with mixed emotions, but I’m excited.”
The board immediately voted to appoint Dan Weatherly, CFVH’s chief operating officer since 2015, as interim CEO.
Nagowski’s retirement, effective July 1, comes as the health system prepares to welcome its first residency students to the Methodist University Cape Fear Valley Health School of Medicine, located behind Cape Fear Valley Medical Center. The milestone follows years of expansion under his leadership, including the $33 million Medical Education Center & Neuroscience Institute, opened in 2023, and a $110 million Valley Pavilion expansion in 2025 that added two floors and 100 beds.
While proud of the system’s growth, Nagowski said the credit belongs to the physicians, nurses, and staff.
“I’m most proud of our team,” he said. “They’re the ones who show up every day, 365 and 24-7.”
‘He Left an Indelible Mark’
As news of his retirement spread, health care leaders praised Nagowski’s leadership and impact.
“Mike Nagowski has been a tremendous asset to our region and community, particularly to health care, and has transformed Cape Fear Valley Health in a way few leaders ever achieve,” said Dr. Sam Fleishman, CFVH’s chief medical officer. He described Nagowski’s leadership as grounded in authenticity, humility, and a deep commitment to people.
Fleishman said Nagowski possessed “a rare gift for building meaningful relationships,” connecting with people sincerely and personally. His presence—marked by a gregarious laugh, humor, and an ability to put others at ease—helped build trust and strengthen collaboration across the system.
“We are deeply grateful for all that Mike has done to elevate the quality of care for the people we serve,” Fleishman said. “His impact will be felt for generations through the systems he built and the culture of excellence and trust he fostered.”
A Transformational Leader
Susan Dees, CFVH’s chief nursing executive, said Nagowski’s vision guided the system’s growth and strengthened its role in the community.
“He believed in this health system and shared that vision with us. His passion and dedication set a high standard for all,” she said.
Retired gastroenterologist Rakesh Gupta, who helped recruit Nagowski in 2008, said Nagowski’s leadership reshaped health care across Cumberland and surrounding counties.
“He is without doubt an incredible driving force who has been truly transformational,” Gupta said. “We would not have accomplished this degree of expansion, the residency program, and now the medical school without his vision and dedication.” Gupta called him “a once-in-a-lifetime health care leader” whose legacy will endure.
“Our community owes him a huge gratitude,” he said.
Cumberland County Board of Commissioners Chair and CFVH trustee Kirk deViere echoed that sentiment, noting that influence extended beyond hospital walls.
“Throughout his entire time in our community, I have had the privilege of working alongside him,” deViere said. “Under his leadership, we have seen tremendous growth in our health system’s capacity and reach.”
DeViere emphasized Nagowski’s commitment to workforce development, citing partnerships with Fayetteville Technical Community College, Fayetteville State University, Methodist University, and others.
“His dedication to improving health care access and outcomes for our region has been unwavering,” he said. “His legacy of service, innovation, and workforce development will continue to benefit Cumberland County for years to come.”
Compassion, Innovation, and Philanthropy
Sabrina Brooks, vice president of the Cape Fear Valley Health Foundation, credited Nagowski with elevating the role of philanthropy in the system’s growth.
“For the past 12 years, I’ve had the privilege of working alongside Mike,” Brooks said. “His leadership guided our hospital through extraordinary growth and transformation while always focusing on improving the lives of the patients and communities we serve.”
She said his belief in the power of generosity strengthened the foundation, expanded partnerships, and inspired donors to invest in health care excellence.
“Programs, facilities, and initiatives that will benefit southeastern North Carolina for generations were made possible because of his vision,” she said.
Brooks described his legacy as one of compassion, innovation, and unwavering commitment to local health care.
“We extend our deepest gratitude for his many years of dedicated service,” she said. “We wish him the very best as he retires.”
Bill Kirby Jr. can be reached at billkirby49@gmail.com or 910-624-1961.

Editor's note: This article has been edited from its original for space considerations. To read the article in full, visit https://www.cityviewnc.com/stories/michael-nagowski-longtime-cape-fear-valley-health-ceo-announces-retirement/

(Photo: Michael Nagowski has been the CEO of Cape Fear Valley Health for 18 years. He has been a part of creating the Methodist University Cape Fear Valley Health School of Medicine and expanding services across the CFVH health system. Photo courtesy of Cape Fear Valley Health)

Revel in spirit of Milano Cortina Olympics

Details

Tuesday, 03 February 2026

Written by Aly Hansen

The 2026 Milano Cortina Olympics kick off on Friday, Feb. 6, with opening ceremonies being televised by NBC at 8 p.m. EST. However, the Olympics actually start before, on Feb. 4, when the qualifying rounds for curling begin. Hockey kicks off on Feb. 5, and before the opening ceremony on Feb. 6, the figure skating team event gets underway.
I’ve been an Olympics junkie since 1994. That was the year of Nancy and Tonya. But while we were all distracted by Nancy’s attack and rehabilitation and Tonya’s blade and skate lace issues during the event, Oksana Baiul, a 15-year-old phenom, was making her case to be Olympic Champion. I watched with my grandma. I was 8 years old, and I was hooked.
The Olympics are a celebration of human exceptionalism, a time when we can see the limits people can push themselves to. It’s the time when we all become experts in niche sports for three weeks and then promptly forget that knowledge for the next four years. Team USA has several notable names to watch for in these games.
Lindsay Vonn is back. At 41 years old, Vonn is looking to add another gold to her name. Her first Olympic gold medal was won back in 2010. She last competed at an Olympic Games in 2018. She’s looking to add to her trophy case in the downhill and Super G events. A wreck the weekend before the Olympics doesn't seem to be keeping her out.
Alysa Liu is a 20-year-old figure skater and current world champion. She competed in Beijing in 2022, where she placed sixth overall. She competed at the World Championships that year, where she took third place. Liu’s career to that point had been on an upward trajectory. She had been national champion, she was the youngest female skater to land both a triple axel and a quad lutz in the same program. But after the World Championships in 2022, she decided to step away from the sport and she retired.
Liu decided she missed the adrenaline rush of competition, and she came back in the 2024-25 season. After a slow start, Liu made it to the top of the world at the World Championships in Boston in 2025. This season, Liu also won the Grand Prix Final, one of the most prestigious and difficult titles in figure skating. Liu is a favorite for the podium, but will be up against tough competition in teammates Amber Glenn and Isabeau Levito, and Japanese National Champion Kaori Sakamoto and her teammates Ami Nakai and Mone Chiba.
Jessie Diggins will be competing in her fourth Olympics, and searching for her second Olympic gold medal in the 10km freestyle cross-country event. Diggins is the most decorated cross-country skier in history.
Erin Jackson is back in her third Olympics. She became the first Black American to medal in speed skating, and the first Black woman to win an individual gold medal in Beijing. She will be competing in the 500m race.
Back to figure skating, we have the Quad God, Ilia Malinin. Malinin is the only person in the world to have landed a quad axel, a jump with four and a half revolutions. With 2 World Championship titles, three Grand Prix Final titles and four National Championship titles under his belt, Malinin is already quite the decorated skater. This will be his first Olympic appearance, and he is the heavy favorite for individual gold in the men’s event.
Team USA in men’s hockey is looking to make a splash, with a strong roster going to Milano Cortina. They will have to overcome the juggernaut of Canada and hope to finish higher than their previous Olympic outings. On the women’s side, the USA hasn’t finished lower than third place since women’s hockey was introduced to the Olympics in 1998. Women’s hockey has grown exponentially in the U.S. over the last several years with the creation of the Professional Women’s Hockey League.
The Olympics will be live-streamed throughout the entirety of the event on NBC’s streaming service, Peacock. The competition will be fierce, and we’ll be cheering on the athletes as they show us all what being exceptional means.

Bounty Grows: Fayetteville’s new farm-to-table spot expands

Details

Tuesday, 03 February 2026

Written by Anna White

High-level hospitality in a casual dining setting—that’s how Chris Beal, owner of Bounty Farmhouse Kitchen and Tap at 4150 Sycamore Dairy Rd., describes their dining experience. The spot opened in September 2025, introducing the Fayetteville area to a seasonally rotating menu defined by locally sourced ingredients. Now, they’re bringing “a true taste of North Carolina” to Southern Pines with a second location opening right next door to the Target shopping center.
Their farm-to-table approach gathers inspiration from what’s available within a 50 mile radius of the restaurant. Farmers whose practices align with sustainable, regenerative ideals are handpicked and become an integral part of the dishes that ultimately make it onto customers’ plates. These personal relationships and connections keep the restaurant supplied with fresh meat and produce year-round. Bounty’s vision was born part of passion, part of necessity.
Beal, a fifth-generation Chatham County native, says he’s been passionate about farming for a long time. Growing up around farms fueled that passion, and after falling in love with business in college, he entered the restaurant scene. Best known for Tribeca Tavern, a 15-year Cary fixture that serves gourmet burgers, Beal’s journey to raise and source local ingredients began during the COVID-19 pandemic, as the restaurant struggled to secure the right meat cuts. Meat processors had begun butchering more retail cuts for grocery stores and fewer restaurant cuts, seeing that consumers were staying at home. As a result, Beal and his team improvised and ultimately founded Chatham Meat Company.
“During Covid, we couldn’t find beef, so it allowed us to think outside the box. We started buying whole animals and having them butchered. That opened the doors to Chatham Meat Company, which, in turn, led us to want to continue down that farm-to-table concept, which is where Bounty came from,” he explained.
Throughout the transition, they learned just how much meat comes from national and international sources and processing times from slaughter to consumer. For major restaurant suppliers, the length of time from slaughter to consumer is between 60 and 90 days, according to Beal. Alternatively, meat used in both Tribeca Tavern’s and Bounty Farmhouse Kitchen and Tap’s burgers has been slaughtered, aged for two weeks, then butchered and delivered to the restaurant the same week.
“It’s just a much safer, more sustainable alternative,” explained Beal. “With a lot of ground beef that’s sent to restaurants from major suppliers, there’s DNA from a couple hundred different animals. In ours, that ground beef is from that animal.”
When looking for suppliers, Beal says they look for "someone who is willing to commit to the sustainable model of pasture-raised beef and not utilizing feedlots.”
Bounty Farmhouse Kitchen and Tap currently works with 20 local farmers to supply both meat and produce. Beal says their mission with produce and meat is the same.
“We’re trying to look for folks that are going back to regenerative style agriculture—a lot less use of pesticides and herbicides. And folks that are able to keep up with what we’re doing and understand that we have to change the menu quite a bit.”
The changing menu has been one of their biggest challenges so far, but has earned some of their most faithful patrons. When working with local farms, ingredient supply fluctuates not only on a seasonal basis but on a weekly basis.
“We may not have asparagus one day, or we may not have sweet potatoes, but we may have them next week,” Beal said of the fluctuations. “It’s definitely an uphill battle making folks understand that.”
Initially, Beal said they received some negative feedback regarding unavailable menu items. He takes the time to reach out personally and address such concerns.
“It has really been remarkable how few and far between that negative feedback has been. And 99% of those folks turned out to be huge fans of what we were doing once they understood. I mean, we’ve had folks return to dine with us 20-30 times. It’s just unbelievable.”
The Southern Pines location is set to open in early 2026.
“We’re really excited to keep growing,” said Chloe Butler, director of restaurant operations. “But we're never going to grow so much that we forget what we're doing and don’t have a handle on really supporting the community.”
While the Southern Pines location is much smaller than the Fayetteville location, Beal thinks it’s a perfect fit.
“We were approached by the landlord at Southern Pines, who was developing the center near Target, looking for a local company that had the ability to operate at a higher level. With our experience with Tribeca, we explained to them that we were opening a new concept, and it really caught their attention,” he shared. “I think people are really starting to become aware of what they're feeling in their bodies, and I feel like we're in the right place at the right time.”

(Photos courtesy of Bounty Farmhouse Kitchen and Tap)

The Remarkable 48‑Year Journey of Joe Thigpen

Details

Tuesday, 03 February 2026

Written by Bill Bowman

In every community, there are people whose work becomes more than a job. Their dedication becomes a standard. Their relationships become a legacy. Their presence becomes part of the fabric of the place they serve. For nearly half a century, Joe Thigpen has been one of those rare individuals—steady, humble, loyal, and deeply committed to the people of North Carolina’s beverage industry.
As Joe prepares to close out his extraordinary 48‑year career on Feb. 27, his story stands as a testament to perseverance, gratitude, and the power of genuine human connection.
Joe’s journey began in 1977 with Pepsi, where he started as a Sales/Delivery Driver. It didn’t take long for his work ethic and natural leadership to shine. Within three years, he was promoted to Route Manager, a role he would hold for the next 15 years. Those years were formative—not just professionally, but personally.
He learned from seasoned veterans who shaped his understanding of the business. He built friendships that would last a lifetime. And he took on major responsibilities, including overseeing the Fort Bragg military base and managing fountain sales and full‑service vending operations across eight counties. Even then, Joe wasn’t just delivering beverages—he was delivering reliability, trust, and service that people could count on.
In 1992, Joe stepped into a new era with Atlas Distributing, an Anheuser‑Busch distributor. As Route Manager, he oversaw grocery and convenience store accounts with the same steady hand and personal touch that had defined his Pepsi years.
When Atlas was purchased by Worth Harris of Harris Wholesale, Joe transitioned into the On‑Premise Sales Manager role. It was a natural fit. Joe thrived working in the hospitality industry—people, bars, restaurants, and special events—places where relationships mattered and his reputation for honesty and follow‑through made him a trusted partner.
Even as the company changed hands again and became Jeffrey’s Distributing, Joe stayed the course. He remained loyal, dedicated, and committed to serving his customers with excellence.
After 27 years in the Anheuser‑Busch distribution world, Joe faced something he had never experienced: job loss. When Jeffrey’s was sold, Adam’s Beverage chose not to retain him. For the first time in his career, Joe found himself walking away from a company without a plan for what came next.
But life has a way of opening the right doors at the right time.
As Joe walked out that day, his phone buzzed twice—two text messages from longtime competitors, Healy Wholesale, then owned by Mac and Fritz Healy. They didn’t hesitate. They didn’t wait. They reached out because they knew the kind of man Joe was.
And Joe knew exactly what that meant.
“God truly is good,” he says.
What began as friendly competition became a place of belonging. At Healy Wholesale, Joe found not just a job, but a home. Working alongside Brent Matthews and Paul Odom became one of the great blessings of his career. He speaks of them with deep gratitude and admiration, crediting them for teaching him, supporting him, and allowing him to finish his career with pride.
As On‑Premise Sales Manager, Joe experienced something rare and meaningful. The bartenders, managers, and owners he served didn’t just buy from him—they believed in him. Their loyalty created events, placements, and successes that made it look like Joe “sold it,” but he insists he didn’t.
“It was them,” he says. “Their trust, their appreciation, their generosity. They made me feel like a superhero.”
That humility is exactly why they trusted him.
If Joe makes it to the end of February, he will have spent 48 years in the beverage business—and, as he jokes, “he’s only 30 years old.” It’s a miracle indeed. But the real miracle is the impact he leaves behind.
Titles or territories do not define Joe’s career. It’s defined by the people he lifted, the friendships he built, and the respect he earned across an entire industry. From Fort Bragg to Fayetteville, from grocery stores to nightclubs, from Pepsi to Healy Wholesale—Joe has been a constant source of integrity, kindness, and professionalism. As he closes this chapter, Joe offers sincere gratitude to everyone who trained him, supported him, worked alongside him, and believed in him. He carries each of those relationships with him, and he credits them for shaping the man and professional he became.
His story is one of resilience, loyalty, and grace. It is the story of a man who showed up every day ready to work, ready to serve, and ready to make someone’s day a little better. And now, as he steps into retirement, the community he served for nearly five decades stands ready to honor him—not just for the career he built, but for the life he lived while building it.

(Photo: Joe Thigpen's 48 year career and retirement will be celebrated by the community on Feb. 15 at the Gates Four Country Club. For more information, see page 4. Photos courtesy of Bill Bowman)