News

LOCAL BRIEFS: Honoring artists, Boy Scout volunteers; Jazz Appreciation month

Doodle Do, an oil painting by Jennifer Mills Grabosky, this year’s Betty Taylor Memorial Fund winner. The Arts Council will honor Grabosky during an open house next week.

By Bill Moss, Published: March 1, 2019

Arts Council holds open house, honors Grabosky

The Arts Council of Henderson County will hold an open house at its new office at 2700A Greenville Highway, Flat Rock, from 3 to 7 p.m. Thursday, March 7.
At 3:30 p.m. a special presentation will be held to honor the third Betty Taylor Memorial Fund award winner, artist Jennifer Mills Grabosky. Administered by the Arts Council of Henderson County, the Taylor Award is funded by the Community Foundation of Henderson County and designed to promote emerging artists in need of financial support and studying in the field of visual arts and crafts.
 
“Learning is as much fun as painting,” says Jennifer Mills Grabosky, the 2018/19 Betty Taylor Award Recipient. “I thrive on studying talented artists, their methods, and mindset. This extremely generous award offers me the opportunity to take a huge step forward as a new artist working under the tutelage of some of the country’s finest talent.”
 
During the open house Grabosky will display pieces of her current artwork throughout the Arts Council’s new office space. A former television host, Grabosky also received a Regional Artist Project Grant award that recognizes her work as an emerging artist.

Top Scouters honored

Scoutmasters, troop committee members and other volunteer adult leaders were honored recently at the annual banquet of the Terrora District, which is made up of Henderson and Transylvania counties. The top volunteer award, District Award of Merit was awarded to Robin Williams (left) and Melissa Rector. Williams and Rector volunteer at the Cub Pack and Boy Scout Troop level and at Terrora District and Daniel Boone Council special events.

Nick Litsas (left), Cubmaster of Pack 618 at Hope United Methodist Church, accepted the Pack of the Year Award, while John Lampley, Scoutmaster of Troop 628 at Hendersonville Presbyterian Church, accepted the Troop of the Year award. The Boy Scouts thanked Troop 622 (Mills River United Methodist Church) for serving as the host troop. Retired Henderson County schools Superintendent Stephen Page served as the master of ceremonies.

Jazz Appreciation Month 
features performances

The Arts Council of Henderson County, in association with the Center for Art & Inspiration, presents the inaugural Henderson County Jazz Appreciation Month (JAM), featuring local and national artists across multiple venues in Henderson County. The JAM appears in conjunction with the Smithsonian’s Jazz Appreciation Month throughout April.
The schedule:
• The Center for Art & Inspiration, held at Blue Ridge Community College, 7:30 p.m. Thursday, April 4, In The Mood: A 1940s Big Band Musical.

• Sanctuary Brewing Company, 1 p.m. Sundays, April 7, Michael Jefry Stevens Quartet; April 14, Derek McCoy Duo; Sunday, April 21, Wayne Banks Trio; April 28, Mr. Jimmy.

• Southern Appalachian Brewery, 6 p.m. Wednesday, April 3, Ruth Cooney Quartet; Sunday, April 7, The Dan Keller Trio; 6 p.m. Wednesday, Joseph Herbst Quartet; 6 p.m. Wednesday, April 17, Wendy Jones Quartet; 6 p.m. Wednesday, April 24, Jukebox Night.
• Saint Paul Mountain Vineyard at Flat Rock, 3 p.m. Sunday, April 7, Elise Pratt and Mike Holstein.

For more information please contact the Arts Council at acofhc@bellsouth.net or 828-693-8504 or visit www.acofhc.org.

Foundation announces 
$122,000 in community grants

The Community Foundation of Henderson County has awarded $122,000 in community grants and made a $15,000 WINS (Women In Need of Support) award.
During this most recent grant cycle, CFHC provided the following support:
• $42,000 to Veterans Healing Farm to purchase a mobile office
• $40,000 to Blue Ridge Community Health Services for the purchase of a Pediatric Electroencephalogram
• $25,000 to Vocational Solutions to match an anonymous gift and aid in the much needed roof replacement
• $12,000 to Park Ridge Health Foundation for the purchase of a portable Vapotherm unit, used to provide respiratory relief
• $3,000 to Bullington Gardens for necessary renovations to the Bullington House/Outreach Facility
In 1989, seven dedicated women in Henderson County established the Women in Need of Support Endowment Fund, dedicated to helping women improve their lives. Most recently, the WINS endowment awarded a $15,000 grant to Project Dignity of Western North Carolina. Established in 2017, Project Dignity provides feminine hygiene and related products to girls and women in and around Hendersonville who are homeless, low-income, or victims of domestic abuse.
Community Foundation of Henderson County has four competitive Community Grant cycles, with applications due March 1, June 1, Sept. 1 and Dec. 1. Community grants are awarded from unrestricted, field of interest and donor advised funds to improve the quality of life in our community.
Questions or requests for additional information regarding the grant application process can be obtained by contacting Senior Program Officer, Lee Henderson-Hill at the Community Foundation office at (828) 697-6224 or by emailing Lhenderson-hill@cfhcforever.org.
 

Creative Beginnings 
holds open house

Creative Beginnings Christian Preschool at Hendersonville Presbyterian Church,
699 N. Grove St., will hold an open house for the community from 5-7 p.m. Wednesday, March 27. A family friendly dinner is available at 5:25 p.m. for a charge of $10 per family (2 adults and children), and $4 for each additional adult. Please RSVP for the dinner by noon Tuesday, March 26, by calling 828-692-3211. Otherwise, drop in anytime from 5 to 7 p.m. for a tour of the preschool, meet the teachers and learn about our unique programs.

Linens for Lent
 helps the needy


During the season of Lent, March 6 through April 30, many people in the Trinity Presbyterian Church family are choosing to give blankets, towels, sheets and other linens to neighbors in need instead of giving up something for Lent.
The community is invited to remember the words of St. Francis of Assisi, “It is in giving that we receive,” and join in Linens for Lent by donating new and clean, gently used linens to children and adults of all ages through Trinity and IAM, the Interfaith Assistance Ministry. Anyone wishing to participate is invited to bring linen gifts to Trinity and place them in the green tubs labeled Linens for Lent. The items will be delivered weekly to IAM. Trinity Presbyterian Church is located at 900 Blythe St.

Congregational Church Bible study resumes

A Bible study at First Congregational United Church of Christ will resume Wednesday, March 13, 5-6:30. Led by the Rev. Barbara M. Rathbun, the study is centered on Luke 16. All are welcome. No pre-registration is required. For more information visit fcchendersonville.org or call 828-692-8630.

Congregational Church 
invites all to Ash Wednesday

First Congregational United Church of Christ, 1735 Fifth Ave. W., Laurel Park, invites all to its Ash Wednesday service at 6:30 p.m. March 6. There will be distribution of ashes, as well as music and prayers. Ash Wednesday starts 46 days of Lent by focusing on repentance and prayer. For more information visit fcchendersonville.org or call 692-8630.

Congregational Church
 announces forum topics

First Congregational United Church of Christ (1735 Fifth Ave. W., Laurel Park) invites all to its weekly Adult Forums in the Felix Building at 9 a.m. Sundays. Here’s the schedule:
• March 3- Healthy Living for Your Brain and Body-Part 2. Ralph Miller will discuss some strategies to age well in the areas of physical health and exercise, diet and nutrition, cognitive activity, and social engagement. Miller has completed graduate work in business, philosophy and education, worked in technical industries at both the corporate level and as an entrepreneur and founded a non-profit organization that focused on health education.
• March 10- ”Witness.” Interactive discussion and review of screening with film authority. This forum follows the showing of “Witness” at 2 p.m. Saturday, March 9, in the Fellowship Hall. Admission is free.
• March 17- The Epicurean Jesus: Part 1. Earle Rabb will lead exploration of the relationship of Jesus and the Greek philosopher Epicurus and what that means for Christianity in today’s world. A retired United Methodist minister, Dr. Rabb is an associate member of the Jesus Seminar, and author of “The Case of the Missing Person: How Finding Jesus of Nazareth Can Transform Communities and Individuals Today.”
• March 24-The Epicurean Jesus: Part 2.
• March 31-Global Warming: Part IV. Jim Nourse. Fourth in a series of FCUCC Adult Forums inspired by Matthew Fox’s recent book, The Order of the Sacred Earth. A spiritually-oriented psychologist and acupuncturist with a long standing interest in Eastern and ancient approaches to understanding and addressing human conditions, Nourse has been in practice 44 years and sees clients in Hendersonville and Brevard.
• April 7- Writers Forum. Rand Bishop. Four times a year the Writers Roundtable, made up of church members and community folks who meet monthly, offer their work at the Adult Forum. Listeners are, of course, very welcome. To sign up to read or for more information, contact Rand Bishop at randbishop33@gmail.com.