• Ollie’s Bargain Outlet will celebrate its April 1 opening in Cary with a chance to meet NASCAR racer Kasey Kahne. The closeout retailer, whose catch-phrase is “good stuff cheap,” will start handing out tickets at 8:30 a.m. at the Village Square Shopping Center. The first 250 shoppers will be entitled to one autograph and one picture with Kahne inside the store, following its opening ceremony at 10 a.m. The Cary location is at 651 Cary Towne Blvd. There are 70 other Ollie’s Bargain Outlets nationwide.

• Genesis Marketing Partners, a public relations firm in Cary, announced it will be representing billiard champion Ewa Mataya Laurance. Known as the “striking viking,” Laurance is from Sweden and is the current International and World Cup Trick Shot Champion. Genesis specializes in casual dining, sports marketing, athlete representation, real estate, charitable organization and consumer product marketing. Contact them at 388-5886 or visit genesismarketingpartners.com.

People

• Rumley Marketing Group of Holly Springs announced two new hires: Betsey Hutton as a marketing assistant and Jennifer Shin as an account executive. Hutton is a senior at UNC-Chapel Hill and will be graduating in December 2009 with B.A. in communications. Shin graduated with a B.A. in English and linguistics from California State University, Northridge. Rumley, located at 2132 Braedenfield Lane, offers a free consultation for clients interested in a marketing plan. Contact them at 274-7344 or visit rumleymar ketingroup.com.

• Jaclyn Lucas has been named Allstate Insurance Company’s “Rookie of the Year” for North Carolina. Lucas has been an Allstate agent since October 2007. She can be reached at 367-2810. Allstate is the nation’s largest publicly held personal lines insurer.

Events

• On April 1, Eva Perry Library, 2100 Shepherds Vineyard Drive in Apex, will present, “JobSearch: Strategies for Helping You Get Back to Work.” Learn about print and online resources to help you land a new job. Call 387-2100 to register.

• On April 7, SCORE’s retired business executives will be on hand at Eva Perry Library to present, “How to Start a Small Business.”