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Ed Foundation honors Hall of Fame inductees

Henderson County News

McGrady pledge nudges IAM close to capital goal

Interfaith Assistance Ministry is on the last leg of its $2.6 million capital campaign for its new facility, thanks to a matching grant pledge from state Rep. Chuck McGrady.   Read Story »

Hendersonville News

Mud Creek dump may reach homes, city says

The city of Hendersonville has notified 11 private property owners that a long-abandoned landfill near Green Meadows could encroach on their land.The city will hold a drop-in meeting next week during which residents can ask questions about the old Mud Creek dump, a site of eight acres or more that was used for solid waste before the early 1970s. The meeting is from 6:30 to 8 p.m. at the City Operations Center.At least two in-depth studies have attempted to define the boundaries of the old dumps and to find out exactly what’s buried in them but they’ve never been cleaned up. The area is mostly woods and thick underbrush and until recently uninhabited. Now there are lots of people around the old dump because it’s close to the popular Oklawaha Greenway.City officials have known about the old landfill since the early 1970s but there has been disagreement about whether cleaning it up was worth it. When the Hendersonville Housing Authority was building the Green Meadows neighborhood, officials considered grading and compacting the site, covering it with two feet of dirt and turning it into a park.Three years ago, when the city was running a new sewer line along Mud Creek, contractors discovered buried material beyond the previously identified boundaries of the dump, said City Manager John Connet. That triggered a fresh look at the problem, which has now stretched into a three-year grind involving an environmental consultant that is under contract with the city but gets guidance from the state Pre-Regulatory Landfill Program, a part of the Department of Environmental Quality. The state reimburses costs associated with delineating and cleaning up the Mud Creek dump through the Pre-Regulatory Landfill Program.City attorney Sam Fritschner has worked out agreements with the potentially affected property owners to allow soil boring and vapor testing to find out what, if anything, is underground. So far, no hazardous waste or harmful vapors have been identified.“As we have moved up the hill, those were the sites that were identified as potential locations of landfill matter,” Connet said. “Most of it as we understand it is in the area near the greenway. There was never an exact boundary” of the landfill. “We are once and for all trying to determine where it is, what it is, and are there any potential issues of concern from a public safety and public health issue. At this time, we have no indication that there is any public safety and public health issue. We’re trying to get to the bottom of it once and for all.”Even though the dump has been studied off and on for seven years, the city and state still don’t know the extent of it. That study is under way now, through a Charlotte-based contractor that has broad experience in hazardous waste cleanups and landfill closures. It’s not been decided yet whether to try to excavate the contents of the dump.The 39-acre site was part of the 80-acre Northeast Urban Renewal Project, which involved the demolition of dilapidated housing and clearing of land for Green Meadows in the early 1970s. Officials knew about the dump then and even tried to get help from the TVA to clean it up.“Our budget does cover the cost of clearing the sites but in no way does it cover the high cost of clearing and filling the dump areas,” Executive Director Ruth G. Last wrote on Jan. 11, 1972. She appealed for help on the grounds that the dump was a “breeding grounds for rodents” and impossible to police even with signs prohibiting dumping. Removing the dump “would make life far more livable for the project residents. … We are obligated to find some way of accomplishing the necessary clearance, compaction and grading of these dump areas as quickly and economically as possible.”But Marshall Staton, the city’s director of sanitary engineering, said at the time that removing the waste would worse than doing nothing.“This area has been used for many years and there is a large concentration of municipal solid waste that would create a major problem if it were attempted to remove it from the site,” Staton said. The most economical way to convert the land into a park or playground would be to grade it and cover it with two feet of compacted dirt, he said. “This method has been used in many areas of the state and it does provide excellent facilities for park and playground purposes.”There are no drinking water wells on the site. At least 29 structures, including duplexes, single-family homes and a daycare center, were a part of the study site. The site is bounded by thick woods and underbrush on the north and south, Mud Creek on the east and Lincoln Circle on the west.“These were in municipalities all over North Carolina,” Connet said. “Our particular city dump was on a list in this group.” The Mud Creek dump site didn’t get much attention because “they deal with the ones that are the greatest public health risk first.” * * * * * The public drop-in meeting on the Mud Creek dump is 6:30 to 8 p.m. Tuesday at the City Operations Center on Williams Street.   Read Story »

Henderson County News

Rain forecast postpones Bear Reveal

A forecast of rain has prompted the city to postpone the 2017 Bear Reveal from Friday to Monday, May 15. The National Weather Service office in Greer, S.C., forecasts showers and thundershowers on Friday and Friday night. The forecast for Monday is sunny with a high of 79. The event at the First Citizens Bank Plaza starts at 5 p.m. with music followed by the bear unveilings and recognition of artists and sponsors.   Read Story »

Henderson County News

Candidates, physician to speak at 'Missing Meadows' town hall

Two political candidates, a physician and an environmental activist are scheduled to speak when Hendersonville Indivisible holds its "Missing Mark Meadows" town hall at 10 a.m. Saturday at Jackson Park. Meadows has declined to hold a town hall meeting to hear constituents' concerns about health care and other topics. His office says that he is maintaining his usual practice of holding town hall meetings during the August recess of Congress. Speakers at Saturday's event include Dr. Brian P.Mitchell and local writer Leslie Boyd, who will speak about health care;Henderson County Young Dems Chair Amber White and environmentalist and educator Tate MacQueen, who will address environmental concerns; Matt Coffay, a Democratic candidate for the 11th Congressional District seat; and Norm Bossert, a candidate for state Senate District 48.For more information, contact coalition activist Gayle Kemp at 828-551-6169 or gaylekemp@gmail.com.   Read Story »

Flat Rock News

Playhouse supporters celebrate old and the new

Local folks know of the early days of the Flat Rock Playhouse on the Great Flat Rock — the circus tent, the Lowndes House and then the performance barn still used today. But the theater founder’s plunge into drama was 80 years ago, when young Robert William Smith boarded a ship in Liverpool for Baltimore.   Read Story »

Hendersonville News

Moss column: And they said we wouldn't make it

They said we wouldn’t make it five minutes, five weeks or five months but here we are, celebrating our fifth birthday.After we created our company in February 2012, we went live with HendersonvilleLightning.com on April 24 and debuted the print issue on Wednesday, May 9, with coverage of the Tuesday primary.That issue was chock-full of news because we had gotten a head start on reporting. Since we had launched the website three weeks earlier, I had been on the street reporting for six weeks when the inaugural issue went to press.The launch gets ahead of the story.People ask me why I made the Lightning. So many ask, in fact, that’s it the topic of my standard stump speech when civic clubs invite me to speak. I made a stab at answering why I made the Lightning in a column on our second birthday, in May 2014.I recalled how I plunged back into covering news during my consulting job in 2010 and 2011 fixing broken newspapers. I had forgotten how much fun on-the-ground reporting was.At the risk of a rerun for longtime readers, here’s part of what I said then:“Because they see me at so many meetings, fundraisers and news events, people ask me if I ever sleep. Yes, I do. But I’m more excited than ever to get up early and go scout for news. Armed with nothing more than a pen, a pad and a Canon, I might fill a notebook and snap a hundred frames before noon. To me it’s fun work but also important work. Local news matters.“How come I made the Lightning? Because I wanted to try and practice a brand of journalism that was as good as our extraordinary community deserved.”I think it’s worked. What matters more is the number of people who take the trouble to tell me it’s working. I keep them all in a document called Yay Lightning! I’m now on Yay Lightning 2. It’s 4,007 words. Yay Lightning 1 was 4,748 words.Here are three recent comments:• “Thank goodness Hendersonville has the ‘Lightning.’ It is the ONLY access we now have to LOCAL news. The news is clear, concise and honest. No worries here about ‘bias’ in any form. Thank you to the entire staff!”• “In re your editorial on Walk of Fame. That took courage, Bill. Thanks.”• My favorite paper to read!!!! I like knowing what’s going on around Henderson County, not so much the whole country. Great job at covering the most important things that matter to the natives of Henderson County.” * * * * * But enough about me.We could not have done it without the Friends of the Lightning, the angel investors who took a chance and provided the working capital back in late 2011 and early 2012. I prayed that we would make payroll, cover expenses and turn the corner and we did before 2012 ended. When the Hendersonville Lightning was nothing more than a concept and a prospectus, attorney Sharon Alexander of Prince Youngblood & Massagee guided me through the process of organizing a company and trained me in corporate governance.I remember thinking, She’s a darn good business lawyer; that must be her specialty. Wrong. She’s a savvy, tough and skilled general practitioner. If I had a First Amendment emergency, she was right there. She didn’t just have good answers and good advice. She had the steel nerve to defend and advocate for the Lightning against any legal threat that might come our way. * * * * * We could never have started the Lightning without Denise Ward as our original news designer and Zollie Ward as distribution coordinator for the first three years. Paula Roberts built up our roster of advertising partners for the first 4½ years of our existence. She’s succeeded by Melanie Matteson, who is becoming a terrific advertising and marketing consultant for our advertising partners.Jan Chapin is now in the role of news designer, receptionist, office manager, legal advertising coordinator. John Dunn is our reliable and always hard-working distribution coordinator. John is the one who’s out in the predawn cold, rain and snow filling the racks so the Lightning is on the street before first light on Wednesday.Finally, our marketing and advertising sales consultant Ruth Birge has helped us in too many ways to list. I told her once I have a button on my phone that says “Panic!” It calls Ruth. If there were ever any hazardous shoals, Ruth was there to help steer.Hundreds more people deserve credit for the Lightning’s success. I don’t know all their names. They are our readers and advertising partners. Without them, the Lightning would not have made that five-week or five-month lifespan I mentioned at the top. So, thanks, y’all, for reading the Lightning and supporting the Lightning. * * * * * I’ve been lucky in my newspaper career over 41 years to have had stops at newspapers that weren’t in it primarily for the money. The first was the Salisbury Post, owned at that time by the Hurley family, and the second was the St. Petersburg Times, a half-million circulation daily that’s owned by a nonprofit journalism think tank. A newspaper that’s not in it for the money is really hard to find these days. One of my great joys is the Quixotic fight against that convention. Because we’re independent, we can’t be bossed, bullied or bluffed. We make news decisions based on what’s right for the readership and the community, not what’s right for Wall Street. Wall Street has no appreciation for one of my credos: Good journalism is good business.In my Lightning stump speech, I explain our commitment with a declaration followed by a question.“I’m the creator, founder, owner, chairman, president, CEO, publisher, editor, photographer and reporter of the Hendersonville Lightning,” I tell the audience. “Which one of these titles is the most important?”And you know what?The audience always gets it right.Reporter.It’s the job I’m proudest of. It’s the Lightning’s gift to the community, not just on our fifth birthday but every day.Plenty of towns have a newspaper that has reporters.Hendersonville has a reporter that owns a newspaper.     Read Story »

Henderson County News

Chamber honors Athena Award winner

Roxanna Pepper, professional development coordinator at the Children & Family Resource Center, is the recipient of the Henderson County Chamber of Commerce’s 10th annual Athena Award, announced Wednesday at a luncheon at Kenmure Country Club. Pepper shed tears, covered her face and embraced her husband, Ronnie, before walking to the stage to accept the award. She declared that she was “speechless, and if anyone knows me, I am not speechless." She started by giving “honor to God, the head of my life” and to her husband Ronnie and her nominator, Elisha Freeman, the executive director of the Children and Family Resource Center.“I am honored to be in the company of such incredible women,” Pepper said. “I’m gettin’ my grip here now … I love my community and I live for my community.”Pepper recited her mantra of encouragement for the women she works with: “I tell them to look in the mirror every day and say, ‘I look good, I feel good, and I am good.’” She exhorted the audience to stand and repeat those words after her.“You can’t do anything without touching someone else," she said. "I am overwhelmed. I can’t believe it. I am speechless.”The Athena award is presented in memory of Vanessa Y. Mintz, who was instrumental in establishing the award and who died tragically six years ago. Major sponsors of this year’s luncheon were Pardee Hospital, Morris Broadband and Judy Stroud/State Farm Insurance and the chamber. Twelve women were nominated for this year’s award, which honors individuals who strive toward the highest levels of professional and personal accomplishment, who excel in their chosen field, devote time and energy to their community in a meaningful way and forge paths of leadership for other women to follow.Guest speaker was Martha Mayhood Metz, who founded Athena 35 years ago. Metz spoke about Athena’s guiding principles and the collaborative leadership styles that women employ. She encouraged the women in the audience to “challenge yourself, to find your way into your own kind of leadership.”Besides her work with the Resource Center, Pepper is a health and wellness instructor at Henderson County YMCA and a certified life coach. She is an integral part of the Center’s child care resource and referral team, providing professional development and training for the early childhood workforce in Henderson County. She also trains and mentors teachers of young children which is primarily a female workforce. She spent 14 years as a teacher with the Head Start program before joining CFRC in 2003. She has volunteered with the African American Cultural Committee, United Way, Hendersonville First Baptist Church, United Religions Initiative and the Henderson County Partnership for Health. On her own time, Pepper also mentors young women who are transitioning into their adult lives, engaged and married couples and teen girls and their parents.The 11 other nominees honored Wednesday were:Tanya Blackford, nominated by Laresa Griffin. As the executive director of Safelight for 13 years, Blackford has moved Henderson County’s domestic violence organization to the forefront of nonprofits locally, regionally, and even nationally. Her visionary leadership over the past 13 years has led to monumental accomplishments and sustainable change in the care, treatment and training of clients and their families who are affected by interpersonal violence. Late last year, Blackford led the Safelight organization to a new empowerment model. As a result, clients are now more invested in their own life changes and know more about how to care for themselves, their families and other clients in similar situations. Passionately committed to the clients she serves and the team she has built at Safelight, Blackford maintains a genuine care for others and continually provides a voice for underserved populations. Blackford is a wise strategist who sees the big picture and changes that need to be made in order to improve conditions for all. She is a leader on community issues, not confined to domestic violence, but also including collaborations, advocacy, education and awareness that will bring systemic change to benefit individuals, organizations and communities. The most outstanding example of how Blackford helps women in reaching their full potential is the creation of the Dandelion Eatery and job training program. This program assists women in reaching their potential through job training, placement and self-sufficiency. In addition to her work with Safelight, Blackford serves on the boards for Western Carolina Community Action and the Mountain Community School. She is a member of the Henderson County Partnership for Health and the Community Child Protection and Fatality Team. In 2016, she was recognized for her contributions as the recipient of the Dr. P.J. Moore Jr. & Dr. Arthur A. Pearson Award of Excellence from Park Ridge Health.Alice Cochran, nominated by Marianna Michelin. Cochran has been a leader in the real estate industry for years. She has spent almost half of her life doing what she loves – helping hundreds of people fulfill their dreams and goals of becoming a home owner. She has been a top producer within her company for the past six years and finished in the top one percent of the Hendersonville Board of Realtors in 2015. Cochran has consistently given back to her chosen industry, serving as past secretary of the local Board of Realtors and as a member of the ethics committee. She has also served on the professional standards committee for the Hendersonville Board of Realtors. She is an active member of Mud Creek Baptist Church, the Hendersonville Board of Realtors, the North Carolina Association of Realtors and the National Association of Realtors. Perhaps her largest influence is through her family. Cochran is the matriarch of a wonderful Christian family including three sons and eight grandchildren.Dr. Joanne Helppie, nominated by James H. Kelly. Dr. Helppie is an internal medicine and geriatrician who has been practicing medicine for more than 34 years. She was an early adaptor of “concierge medicine,” personalized patient care model. As a geriatrician, she spends the extra time needed to evaluate, treat and make recommendations, looking at the individual as a whole. As a practitioner, Dr. Helppie found that more and more patients, advocates and family members were seeking readily available resources to allow them to stay at home as they age. This was especially true for long-distance family members who wanted to be able to access local resources to provide assistance for their parents. In 2009, Dr. Helppie had an idea and gathered a consortium of nonprofits, for-profits and community volunteers that met for over two years to develop a resource rich website that could be accessed no matter where you lived, providing information to patients, caregivers and community organizations – www.AgingProjectsInc.org. Initially serving only Henderson County, the project expanded in 2017 to include Polk, Transylvania and Buncombe counties. On Sept. 17, Dr. Helppie’s organization will host the Fourth Annual conference on “Aging in Place, It’s in Your Future,” featuring national, regional and local experts. Dr. Helppie is sought after nationally to speak on the importance of expanding home care services for the elderly. In 2014, she was recognized and honored as the WNC Women Founder and Chairperson of the Year at the Women’s Business Conference held at Blue Ridge Community College.Lynn Killian, nominated by Cindy Walker. Killian says, “I save the places you love forever.” As the development director at the Carolina Mountain Land Conservancy, she works to raise the funds necessary to preserve our areas natural settings, woodlands and land for future generations. She is an accomplished musician and plays violin with the Hendersonville Symphony Orchestra and the Brevard Philharmonic-spanning a period of more than 25 years. In 2010, as a first year director of community relations and development for Pavillon International, a residential treatment center for alcoholism and drug addiction in Mill Spring, Killian grew gifts and pledges by 252 percent and brought in 124 new donors. She serves as the head of the finance committee for the Hendersonville Symphony and ensures that the orchestra has strong financial footing. For 12 years, she also served the healthcare community as executive director of Park Ridge Health Foundation. In addition to her work with the symphony, Killian also serves on boards for CooperRiis Healing Farm, Wake Forest University (where she received her BA), Carolina Village and First United Methodist Church. Killian has volunteered with United Way and YMCA. As a certified fundraising professional (CFRE), she is always willing to help individuals in need with her six grant writing and development skills. In the implementation stages of the Park at Flat Rock and Park Foundation, Killian provided invaluable counsel to the formulation of the foundation and the park’s early development.Denise Medved, nominated by Jill Hill. Medved was told at a very young age that she would not be able to walk very long and that she would live most of her life in a wheelchair. However, a physician pulled her aside and said she should walk out that door and never look back and to move every day. She took his advice and made exercise her career. She created an exercise program and after seven years of research she launched Ageless Grace, LLC. Partnering with the WCU Graduate School of Nursing Gerontology Certificate program & hands-on pilot programs at Pardee Hospital, Ageless Grace is a brain-body fitness program based on the cutting-edge theories of neuroplasticity, which activates all five functions of the brain and addresses all 21 physical skills necessary for lifelong function. Medved has worked nonstop to get this information out to the world, and the program has expanded from Hendersonville to 50 states and 16 countries. She has developed a team of more than 50 trainers worldwide and together they have trained more than 1,600 people, 99 percent of whom are women (with Medved training more than half of them herself) to be educators or instructors for the program. She truly believes in giving back and has given to Big Brothers Big Sisters, The Loan Closet, Salvation Army, and teaches volunteer classes at IAM, local schools, area retirement living communities, Safelight, Professional Women’s Network (PWN), Philanthropic Educational Organization (PEO), Mission Hospital and Pardee Hospital. Eighty percent of the income from the classes goes to the trainers. By doing this, Medved believes she empowers women not only to have their own business but also to truly excel and create abundance for themselves and their families.Elizabeth Moss, nominated by Dot Marlow. Moss is director of community affairs and outreach for Pardee Hospital. Most recently she played a leadership role in development of the print, billboard and broadcast campaign publicizing Pardee Hospital’s Consumer Report recognition as the best and safest hospital for surgery in North Carolina. Prior to her position at Pardee Hospital, she held editorial positions with a local newspaper where she managed and planned daily news and feature content, graphics, photos and special interest publications. She managed and encouraged female reporters and freelance writers while producing a financially successful and award-winning coffee-table magazine. With her experience as a reporter and editor, she counseled young reporters through the stress -illed environment of a daily newspaper newsroom. Moss has won journalism awards for her work with the “St. Petersburg Times,” “Florida Trend” magazine, the “Boston Globe” and the “Miami Herald.” Moss serves on the boards of the Kiwanis Club of Hendersonville, the United Way of Henderson County, the Henderson County Chamber of Commerce, Safelight, Hendersonville YMCA, and the Henderson County Education Foundation, among others. She is active in First Presbyterian Church of Hendersonville. She served as this year’s co-chair of Women United, a philanthropic arm of United Way designed to engage women in the community to give back through financial contributions and service projects.Dot Moyer, nominated by Callie Davis and Kimerly Hinkelman. Moyer served on the board of Four Seasons Compassion for Life in the late 1990s and, it is a fact that her leadership during that time is one of the reasons Four Seasons is the organization it is today. She persisted when healthcare, regulations and reimbursements seemed impossible. She has been instrumental in being a leading example to new board and committee members. She helped recruit and orient the entire board of directors of the newly formed Four Seasons Foundation two years ago. Moyer has devoted much time and attention, coaching and training into making sure that Four Seasons CFL is represented well in the public eye. She is invaluable as a board member and supporter. In addition to her extensive work with Four Seasons CFL, Moyer has been involved with the boards of Flat Rock Playhouse, Foothills Equestrian Trails Association, Henderson County Habitat for Humanity, Hendersonville High School Band Boosters, and Grace Lutheran Church among others. Moyer and her husband Bill were recently recognized in 2016 as Pardee Hospital Philanthropists of the Year for their outstanding commitment and philanthropy to the improvement of healthcare in our communityPaige Posey, nominated by Don Bryant. Posey came to the Flat Rock Playhouse as a young apprentice in 1982 while still in college and eventually became the company manager. She provided her leadership and was the director of every major main stage musical from 1999 through 2011. She also starred in many of the Playhouse’s productions. While at the Playhouse, Posey hired Lisa Kanoy as an apprentice. After pursuing a career as an actress, Lisa Kanoy came back to Flat Rock Playhouse and slowly rose in the ranks of leadership. Under Posey’s teaching, mentoring and help, Lisa Kanoy Bryant is now the producing artistic director at the Playhouse. This is just one example of how mentoring can work. With Posey as the board president, the Playhouse has seen positive movement in tickets sales, community investment and is now in the best fiscal shape it has been in since Posey left in 2011 after a record season as managing director. Posey has joined her husband, Mark Warwick, at WTZQ Radio where she is co-host of the morning show “The Breakfast Club” and is the station’s business manager. Posey continues to be active on the board of trustees of the Flat Rock Playhouse along with volunteer work with the Arts Council of Henderson County, United Way of Henderson County and the Community Foundation. In 2015, Posey, Warwick and WTZQ won the Henderson County Chamber of Commerce Small Business Leader of the Year. Also in 2015 Posey served as co-chair of the local United Way Campaign bringing a successful fundraising effort to $1.8 million total.Amanda Stansbury, nominated by Stephanie Hall. Stansbury is the supervisor of the Henderson County Public Schools’ child nutrition program. Under her leadership, the Summer Feeding Program has expanded to include more sites and to serve more children meals that free to them. In 2016, she worked with community programs and school administrators to expand to Patton Park Pool, Edneyville Community Center and Mud Creek Church Preschool Program. She has spent countless hours meeting with potential donors and coordinating vendors. This summer, Meals on the Bus will enable HCPS to reach many more children in outlying areas of the county, who might otherwise go hungry. Stansbury also introduced Munchables to elementary schools lunch programs. This program helps ensure that students who might normally bring lunch from home are receiving the healthiest meal possible. Stansbury received the “Best Practices” award from the Department of Public Instruction for streamlining the “Universal Breakfast” program (where every child in school may have a free breakfast). She also received the Summer Nutrition Champion Award for increasing summer meal service for 2016. She is involved with the School Health Advisory Council, which serves as an advisory committee regarding student health issues. In addition to her work with the Henderson County Public Schools, Stansbury also works at Transylvania Community Hospital.Hollie Storrier, nominated by Blair Halstead. In the summer of 2016, Storrier was promoted from Heddles Hideaway to general manager of Broadmoor Golf Links. Both golf courses are running at a profit and Broadmoor has seen a boost in revenues since she has been there. In addition, she has improved the customer experience and has put an emphasis on training her staff. Storrier has been a consummate team player by leading other GMs and spearheading sales efforts of the regional Carolina Players Card, a discount amenity offered to players. Broadmoor revenue is up $80,000 compared to the year before. Storrier has allowed the women, as well as all staff, at Broadmoor to reach their full potential. Halstead, her nominator, was promoted to event coordinator soon after Storrier’s arrival. Halstead said, “She has trained (me) to be one of the leaders in sales. She’s taught me how to work well with corporate suggestions and aggressively go after recommended target markets.” Broadmoor will now be one of the few courses to meet their events goals and will finish 10 percent up compared to other years. Storrier has been a big part of the culture change at Broadmoor. For the second time, Storrier was awarded General Manager of the Year. This award recognizes the General Manager that has contributed most to the success of their course and Warrior Asset Management. This year, Broadmoor Golf Links has made major strides in customer service, sales focus and course conditions. It will finish in the company’s top three in total revenue because of her leadership. A native of New York, Storrier attended college there and volunteered with Senior Living Facility in the areas of arts, crafts and events. She also was involved with the Spartanburg Chamber of Commerce before moving to Hendersonville.Fair Nabers Waggoner, nominated by Candi Guffey. Nabers Waggoner serves as city president of United Community Bank. One of the great qualities she displays is her innovative ability to create 10 unique events, awards and activities that draw attention to an area where she has determined there needs to be recognition, both in her work and community life. There have been several times she has had a “Big Picture” idea or identified a need and then created a way to make it a reality or focus. Her willingness to take something from concept to successful creation is a unique quality that draws people not only to want to be participants, but also to seek her out for input and development on their ideas and desires. Leading by example and setting a stage to show others how to take things to an optimal level is a trait that Nabers Waggoner exudes. These ideas serve as educational opportunities for the participants, fundraisers for the intended and an entertaining way to bring it all together. Two of her most notable ideas are the annual Henderson County Chamber Camp Field Day, which draws attention to the economic impact of the summer camp industry on Henderson County, and the Apple Farm of the Year Award presented by United Community Bank. She is very involved in her community: past President and board of directors for the Henderson County Chamber of Commerce, Camplify, Henderson County AgriBusiness, United Way, Kiwanis Club of Henderson County, and the March of Dimes, among others. Recently, she developed a specialized, affordable volleyball team that works with its team member’s schedules and encourages their lives outside of volleyball.Past Athena award winners are Judy Stroud, State Farm Insurance (2016); Judith Long, Free Clinics (2015); Caroline Long, St. Gerard House (2014); Annie Fritschner, First United Methodist Church (2013); Myra Grant, Pardee Hospital Foundation (2012); Joyce Mason, Four Seasons Compassion for Life (2011); Pat Shepherd, Pat’s School of Dance (2010); Ragan Ward, Carolina Alliance Bank (2009), and Robin Reed, Bares It All (2008).Sponsors of the Henderson County Chamber’s Athena awards are Mandy Atkission; Carolina Blue Design Group; Community Foundation of Henderson County; Marcia Cunningham; Jay and Jen Egolf; Myra Grant; Heart-4Art-Creations by MaryAnn Baldwin; Lee Henderson-Hill and daughter, Brittney; Highland Lake Inn & Resort; Hulsey Media; Melissa Johnson; OnTrack Financial Education and Counseling; Stephanie Lively; Sean and Shena Mintz; Kathi and Don Mixon; St. Gerard House; United Community Bank; Vanessa’s Vision; Wingate University Hendersonville Health Sciences Building.For more information about the awards, call the Chamber of Commerce at 828-692-1413.# # #   Read Story »

Henderson County News

Don't miss this week's Hendersonville Lightning (131)

You won't want to miss this week’s Hendersonville Lightning.   Read Story »

Henderson County News

Clifton Shipman award goes to Tom Cooper

The Hendersonville Merchants and Business Association honored Tom Cooper, of Cooper Construction Co., as the 2017 recipient of the Clifton J. Shipman Community Service Award.Now operated the second and third generation, Cooper has served the general contracting, utility and HVAC needs of private and public clients in North Carolina, South Carolina and Tennessee.The construction company was founded in 1967 by James W. “Tommy” Cooper, who had been one of the founders three years before of Industrial Maintenance Overflow Corp. (IMOCO) in Fletcher, a contractor that specialized in industrial and mechanical construction.After graduating from East Carolina University in 1974, Tom Cooper joined his father’s company, ascending to the role of president in 1985. After attending Brevard College, Tom’s brother, J. Michael “Mike” Cooper joined the company as executive vice president. Tom and Mike Cooper became sole owners in 1997.The company now has a third generation of leadership. Kelly Ford, a graduate of Elon University, joined the company in 2003. Her husband, N.C. State University graduate Trey Ford, joined the company in 2004. Tom’s youngest son, Zach, joined the company after graduating from Clemson University in 2008.The company has completed more than 1,700 projects since 1967. As president and CEO, Tom Cooper devotes most of this time to project management, communications and business development. As operations officer, Mike Cooper oversees field activities and holds the contractor licenses under which the company operates. Along with senior staff, the brothers manage contract negotiations and sales for larger negotiated projects and design/build work.Past winners of the Shipman Award, from 2002 through 2015, were Clifton Shipman, Doris Eklund, Steve Easler, Carson Calton, Boyd “Bub” Hyder, Sammy Williams, Doc Moore, Sandra Walker, Don Holder, Chat Jones, Danny Williams, Pat Shepherd, Melissa Maurer and Jeff Miller.   Read Story »

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