SHELBY, N.C. — The state launched Count on Me NC last year during the height of the pandemic.

A Griffin Pottery in Shelby relied on Count on Me NC

It still uses a lot of the tools it learned from this training

Owner Susan Jones says the certification process allowed her to open safely 

This joint initiative between state officials and health officials guided businesses on how to create a safe environment for their customers.

Susan Jones, who owns A Griffin Pottery in Shelby, is one of those business owners.

She went through the certification process last summer, saying it educated her on what she can do around her store to make it a healthy environment.

"Unless you have a background in health care, I didn’t know what I needed to do to keep people safe,” she said. "It gave me a lot of peace of mind to open safely."

Although restrictions have changed since the initiative was first launched, Jones finds she is still able to use a lot of things she learned.

“As soon as the other potters and I were fully vaccinated, then it was OK to be in the studio together to not be masked,” she said. "But the minute a customer walks in, I mask up to go interact with that customer.”

Count on Me NC shows more than 4,000 businesses have participated in this initiative.