Dr. Courtney Aman will officially begin seeing patients at Southern Smiles Orthodontics on Monday. Today served as the grand opening and ribbon-cutting for the business located on Gregory Drive.

“Thank you,” Roanoke Rapids Mayor Pro tem Carl Ferebee told Aman. “We don’t always have the opportunity to have a new business come in. We appreciate this business, the new jobs and the opportunity. We appreciate one of our own coming back to invest in the city.”

Charles Guerry of the Roanoke Valley Chamber of Commerce told those gathered to celebrate the grand opening, “We want to welcome Courtney back.”

Halifax County Board of Commissioners Chairman Vernon Bryant told Aman, “Thank you for returning to the area. I know Scott and Renee are so proud of you and all you have accomplished. It behooves to support Courtney and Eric.”

(Southern Smiles will be open on Mondays, Tuesdays and Thursdays from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Wednesdays from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.)

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Aman told those gathered, “Many of you have followed this project’s progress from the start and I’d like to thank you for your continued interest and support. Having so many members of my community here means a great deal to me.”

Today’s event, she said, was a long time in the making. “Having spent a decade away from the Roanoke Valley while pursuing my education, it is with excitement that I can finally put my credentials to use and embark on my orthodontic career in this beautiful office.”

While her educational pursuit was long, the design and completion of the building was quick, beginning with an initial email to AR Chesson last March 13. Construction began after six months of design collaboration with Chesson and Atlanta Dental. Groundbreaking occurred in September “and here we are five months later. That’s 11 months during which we have seen this project from inception to completion.”

Chesson, she said, “Did an outstanding job of keeping pace and I would like to commend them for getting the job done quickly and for being patient with my last-minute changes and additions.”

She thanked the subcontractors involved in the process. “It is amazing to see the talents and skills of so many local businesses come together on a job like this.”

There was love and support of family and friends during the journey to reach her educational goals and becoming a business owner. “I would like to give a special thanks to my husband, Eric (Nicholson) as he put his career on hold while I pursued additional education. And as of the initiation of this project, he has spent many early mornings and late nights listening to my ideas and offering requested opinions.”

She thanked her parents, Scott and Renee. “Their love and encouragement has been unwavering. I must give extra thanks to my dad. His expertise in construction projects was quite an asset. I had a vision and he helped to see that vision become a reality.”

She expressed thanks to other members of her family and to Arthur & Nicholson Dentistry. “They shared their dental office with me as I awaited the completion of my building. Not only did they share their space, but also their knowledge of operating a successful and well-respected dental practice.’

She thanked her staff and talked about coming back to her hometown. “Eric and I have chosen to return to the community where I grew up and it is with purpose that we did so,” she said. “He and I had many choices when deciding where to settle, but ultimately chose to build our businesses and family life in the town that has served me so well. We both look forward to embracing all the positive aspects that a small, close-knit community has to offer and in turn giving back to our community.”