Several local residents involved in entrepreneurship were recognized for the roles in startup communities in the state.
 
GrepBeat held its inaugural Rising Stars honors this month in Durham, recognizing 10 honorees out of about 100 nominations, according to the tech-focused online media outlet.
 
The local names were:
 
• Jack Fleming, lead organizer for 1 Million Cups Wilmington, a weekly entrepreneurship platform, and founder and CEO of Phrayz; 
 
• Nannette Stangle-Castor, founder of IVT and a mentor with University of North Wilmington’s Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship (CIE); and 
 
• Lydia Thomas, program manager at UNCW’s CIE who last year worked on the Ocean Innovation Conference that drew over 300 attendees and focused on fostering innovation in sustainable ocean technology
 
UNCW CIE director Heather McWhorter served as one of the five judges who made the selection.