Volunteer duo Tricia and Charlie Franck of Weaverville, NC were recently recognized for their extensive commitment to volunteer service with Asheville Area Habitat for Humanity. At the August 15th Buncombe County Board of Commissioners Meeting, the Francks received the Governor’s Medallion Award for Volunteer Service. Annually since 2006 this honor is bestowed to the top 20-25 volunteers in the state, and is the highest level of recognition among the Governor’s Volunteer Service Awards. Medallion recipients are nominated at the county level and a statewide panel reviews and evaluates all these nominations to determine the award recipients. Tricia and Charlie have been volunteering for Habitat for Humanity, locally and internationally, for more than 15 years. Since moving to Buncombe County in 2010, the Francks have been involved with many different volunteer opportunities at Asheville Habitat. They call their service with the organization their “retirement passion.” Read more.
AdventHealth Hendersonville has announced the newest recipient of its Sunshine Award – Sherry Fox, a member of the of the Environmental Services Department. Sherry earned the award because of her dedication to going above and beyond to make sure patients are comfortable and their rooms are clean. A recent patient nominated Sherry for the award. She says, “She (Sherry) was so wonderful. Our room was clean, and we enjoyed her positive energy and friendly conversation. As I walked the halls for my exercise, I could hear her bringing the same sunshine and cheer to other patients. I can tell her work is not just a job; she truly cares about others!” Read more.
Certification:
Hello Computer recently became Asheville’s only member of the Apple Consultants Network (ACN), a group of professional service providers and technology consulting firms specializing in Apple and third-party solutions. With this designation, Hello Computer is a great local source for Apple-certified technical professionals, with a focus on delivering on-site professional service and support on all Apple platforms to homes and businesses. Hello Computer has been offering professional support services for Macs for over 20 years. Their goal is to ensure that your devices are secure, up-to-date, and functioning optimally, whether you have one computer or a fleet of 100. Learn more about Hello Computer.
Community:
This fall, as kids return to school, OpenDoors Asheville proudly supports over 120 local, economically disadvantaged students from kindergarten through graduate school, and their 89 families. A 14-year community partner, OpenDoors works with students and their families to develop a solid educational foundation and enrichment opportunities that nurture academic success and curiosity. This school year, OpenDoors aims to build on its continued efforts, breaking records and barriers for its students. Since 2009, OpenDoors students have graduated high school at a higher rate than their local and national peers at 92%. OpenDoors is expanding beyond Asheville, working to establish programs in neighboring counties. With 16 students in college and grad school, and 11 rising high school seniors, OpenDoors is looking at its most significant college cohort yet! By providing tuition assistance and through-college mentorship to these hard-working and committed students, OpenDoors helps narrow opportunity and achievement gaps. Find out how you can get involved and learn more at opendoorsasheville.org.
Happenings:
Chow Chow Food + Culture Festival is happenings September 7th – 10th! The festival is put on by Chow Chow is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization committed to celebrating and enriching the foodways of Southern Appalachia and Asheville’s creative economy. The Festival is the organization’s annual flagship celebration, designed to conveys a rich sense of place through four days of immersive and delicious programming in the heart of Downtown Asheville. This year’s festival features a Food Truck Rodeo, Tasting Bazaars, Seminars, Dinners, Performance and more! Learn more and get tickets.
Pink Dog Creative will host a show of 20 new paintings, Everything is Endlessly Vast, by Layton Hower from August 25 – September 24. There will be a special celebration of the show on Saturday, September 9 from 5 – 8 p.m. at the Pink Dog Creative (located at 348 Depot St.). “Painting, simply, helps me make sense out of being alive,” says Hower, who works as the Vice President of Finance & Operations at the Asheville Chamber. “It is an exploration of seeking and trying, a repetitive process of unmasking something that is both so obviously present and completely unknowable.” If you would like to read more about Hower’s path as both an artist and an accounting professional, check out this recent Mountain Express article. Learn more about Pink Dog Creative.
The Magnetic Theatre presents The Splatter Play! October 6 – 21 on Thursdays, Fridays, Saturdays & Sundays. It’s the day of the open house for Tina’s childhood home, which also happens to be her deceased mother’s evil laboratory. Determined to turn the terrors of the lab into selling points, Tina and her optimistic realtor parade a cast of unsavory potential buyers through the home, tormented all the while by the resident creepies and crawlies who aren’t quite as ready to move on as Tina would hope. *Note: this is an immersive experience and there will be blood, so much blood. *Content notification: language; violence; blood; gore; strobe light effects; audience-immersive scenes that may include audience members being splattered with stage blood and gore. Get tickets!
Ticket sales and registration just opened for Pisgah Legal’s 13th Annual Justice Forum, and already more than 100 people have signed up to attend the October 17th event at UNC Asheville’s Sherrill Center, Kimmel Arena. This year’s speaker is Matthew Desmond, the Pulitizer-Prize-winning author of Evicted: Poverty and Profit in the American City, whichtransformed our understanding of inequity and economic exploitation in America. Desmond, a professor of sociology, MacArthur “Genius,” and the founder of the Eviction Lab at Princeton University, was launched onto the national stage as an expert on contemporary American poverty with the publication of his bestseller. The Justice Forum is scheduled for Tuesday, October 17 at 7:00pm and is FREE and open to the public. An Advance Reception will be held at 5:30pm with tickets available for $125/person. Advance registration and ticket sales are open. The event will also be live-streamed! Sponsorship opportunities are available.
Carolina CiderFest is back! Enjoy ample tastings of hard cider, mead, apple wine, and seltzers along with artisanal food, live music, and more at McCormick Field. Shay & Company is partnering with the North Carolina Cider Association to host the annual cider festival on October 21 from 11:30 a.m. to 3:00 p.m., with VIP hours starting at 10:30 a.m. The 2023 event is expected to draw another sell-out crowd to sample sips from a diverse mix of local and national cideries. In addition to tasting cider and mead, attendees can enjoy food by McCormick field as well as bites of artisanal food including local cheeses, baked goods, caramels, ice cream, and more! Bottles and cans of cider for takeaway will also be for sale. VIP tickets will be available again this year, offering early entry, VIP parking and additional snacks in one of two areas. VIP ticket holders may even have the opportunity to sample specialty, small-batch or limited-release ciders and meads that won’t be available during the regular event. Learn more here.
Hire:
AdventHealth has welcomed Chris Rominger to the role of Director, Human Resources Business Partner for AdventHealth Hendersonville. Rominger brings his extensive experience in strategic Human Resource leadership, labor relations, and talent acquisition and retention to his new role at AdventHealth Hendersonville. Rominger earned his bachelor’s degree in Criminal Justice from Western Carolina University in Cullowhee, NC and went on to become a Professional in Human Resources (PHR). He recently served as the Director of Labor & Employee Relations at HCA Healthcare in Asheville, NC, where he effectively executed labor relations strategy, and consulted on key issues surrounding the WNC workforce. Read more.