Historic Downtown Hendersonville is excited to announce that the local Main Street Program was once again, for the fourth year in a row, recognized with an “Award of Merit” during the annual NC Main Street Awards Ceremony.
Downtown was recognized for its efforts in 2016 in the area of “Best Volunteer Recruitment, Training & Recognition” program. The “Friends of Downtown Hendersonville” volunteer program is a reflection of the wonderful dedication and support that we receive from our community for downtown.
“We were grateful to receive this recognition and happy to bring attention to the nearly all volunteer crew that keeps the downtown program and the events we put on powering forward,” noted Lew Holloway Downtown Economic Development Director. In addition to the program award, the NC Main Street Conference provides programs with an opportunity to recognize their “Champions.” This year the program took advantage of that opportunity to recognize the chief “show up early and stay late” volunteer energy of Walt Slagel.
Walt has been working with the Friends of Downtown Hendersonville for a little over a year and half, but has used that time to make a big splash. Dalleen Jackson, Downtown Promotions Coordinator shares that, “Whether it is tearing down at R&B in a late evening rain storm or showing up on a cold morning to hang Christmas lights, Walt has found a lot of ways to make our lives easier!”
They couldn’t do the work of downtown without the energy and enthusiasm we get from the volunteers, and Walt is an example of a much broader trend. At the conclusion of 2016 they recognized their volunteers for a contribution of over 1,800 hours of volunteer time, a number that reflects a doubling of contributed time since 2014. We want to thank all of our Friends for helping us achieve this program award!
If you’re interested in becoming a part of the Friends of Downtown Hendersonville, visit our webpage at downtownhendersonville.org for more information or contact us at 828.233.3205.