Phil Kirk, who has done just about every job in Raleigh except run the Zamboni machine at Carolina Hurricanes games, has a new job.

Kirk will go to work in July for Brady Services Inc., an energy services company specializing in heating, air conditioning and energy efficient buildings in Morrisville, reports Rob Christensen. He will work as new business development/corporate marketing leader for the company’s energy services group.

Kirk is a former president of the N.C. Chamber, former chairman of the N.C. State Board of Education, former state secretary of Health and Human Services, former chief of staff to two governors and a former state legislator.

Most recently, he was vice president for external relations at Catawba College. He currently serves as chairman of the board for the Public School Forum of North Carolina.

SALISBURY — Charlotte Mayor Pat McCrory helicoptered across the state Saturday, reminding voters of his pledge to overhaul Raleigh and work with both parties.

McCrory, the Republican candidate for governor, started his day in Concord. He  stopped at his alma mater, Catawba College, joking: "I found the library" as he spoke from in front of the building, Mark Johnson reports.

He accused Lt. Gov. Beverly Perdue, the Democratic candidate of lying in her ads.

"She's trying to win this election by not telling the truth," McCrory told a crowd of about 75.

Running ahead of schedule, McCrory asked the helicopter pilot to land at 11:30 a.m. in the Wal Mart parking lot in Mocksville, where he shook hands.

"I need your vote, now," he said, sticking his hand in a car window to greet a voter.

Tuition has increased by 56 percent at Catawba College since Bill Graham joined the board of trustees.

When Graham became a trustee in 2000, tuition at the private college in Salisbury was $13,330, or roughly $16,050 when adjusted for inflation. Each year since, tuition has gone up between 5 and 9 percent, to $20,836 this year.

Aaron Lay, a Graham spokesman, said the increases were necessary to keep Catawba competitive.

"They've got to keep up with everyone else," he said.

Lay said that the school has had to pay for major renovations and build new dorms and noted that Graham, a wealthy attorney and alumnus, has given more than $1 million since joining the board.

"He's using his personal income and helping find donations to help keep tuition down," Lay said.

Catawba College's tuition is at the higher end of private schools ranked similarly by U.S. News & World Report in North Carolina: $17,880 at Belmont Abbey College, $18,000 at High Point University and $20,690 at Lenoir-Rhyne College.

Charlotte Mayor Pat McCrory joined the college's board of trustees in 2005. The tuition that year was $18,750.

The debate Thursday was also something of a college reunion.

Republican gubernatorial candidates Pat McCrory and Bill Graham both went to Catawba College, a small liberal arts college in Salisbury, and serve on its board of trustees.

Graham, who has given more than $1 million to the college, was elected to the board in 2000 and serves on its executive committee. In October of last year, a new dorm, Graham Hall, was named for him and his wife, Shari, both members of the class of '83.

McCrory, class of '78, became a board member in 2005 and serves on the development committee, which oversees fundraising. He is also involved with recruiting new students.

The two candidates also worked together on U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Dole's campaign and attended the Republican National Convention in New York City.

Catawba College was rated 16th by U.S. News and World Report in the class of "Best Baccalaureate Colleges in the South," below High Point University (No. 6) and Lenoir-Rhyne College (No. 13).

Phil Kirk has been elected chairman of the Public School Forum of North Carolina.

Kirk, vice president of external relations for Catawba College, will succeed state Sen. Katie Dorsett, a Greensboro Democrat, as chair of the group.

Kirk is a former president of N.C. Citizens for Business and Industry and former chairman of the State Board of Education.

The former head of a business lobby has won a leadership award.

Phillip J. Kirk Jr., who headed the N.C. Citizens for Business and Industry from 1989 to 2005, won the Jay Robinson Leadership Award from the Public School Forum of N.C.

Named for a former chairman of the State Board of Education, the award comes with a $5,000 cash prize funded by BB&T and an anonymous donor.

A former state senator, Kirk served in the administrations of Republican Govs. Jim Martin and Jim Holshouser and was named by Democratic Gov. Jim Hunt to head the State Board of Education.

He now works for Catawba College and runs a speaking and consulting firm. NCCBI is now known as the N.C. Chamber.