| Black Mountain-Swannanoa Chamber of Commerce
E-News |
| March 18, 2008 |
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 Greetings from the Chamber...
The
Chamber would like to wish everyone a happy Spring! Please read on for news and
upcoming events. With warm weather around the corner, we hope you'll come out
and join us for Shopper's Expo, Business After Hours or one of the many other
events taking place in our community this Spring. |
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 Shopper's Expo
The Black
Mountain-Swannanoa Chamber of Commerce will host the 2008 Shoppers Expo on
Saturday, April 19 at Owen Middle School from 9 a.m.- 2 p.m. The Shoppers Expo
encourages residents to shop locally and features exhibits of over 50 local
merchants, service providers and non-profits.
There will also be door
prizes, refreshments and entertainment. Attendees receive a raffle ticket for a
chance to win a rocking chair and a free, reusable shopping bag to collect
giveaways from the various booths. The Owen Middle School baseball team will be
selling hamburgers, hot dogs, french fries and drinks. The Swannanoa Valley
Museum will have two antique cars on display along with vintage clothing that
guests can try on and have their pictures made.
This year’s Shoppers
Expo will feature a special Styrofoam recycling collection sponsored by Rainbow
Recycling. The community is invited to drop off their clean Styrofoam packaging,
whether molded, blocks or sheets, or “peanuts,” from 9 a.m. 2 p.m. Large
pieces and sheets of Styrofoam will be transported to a recycling facility in
Gaston County and used for making new Styrofoam pieces. Clean “peanuts” must
be in securely closed plastic bags and will be reused by The UPS Store in Black
Mountain for packing and shipping services. According to Marilyn Sobanski of
Rainbow Recycling, Styrofoam does not biodegrade so once in the environment, it
stays there.
The Shoppers Expo is free and open to public. There is a
small charge for exhibitors and sponsors. For more information or to register as
an exhibitor or sponsor, contact the Black Mountain-Swannanoa Chamber of
Commerce at 828-669-2300.
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Business After Hours
The
Chamber will host its next Business After Hours on April 24 at Asheville
Christian Academy from 5-7 p.m. Please join us for this opportunity to socialize
and network with fellow members. See you then!
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 Vickie Begley Fund
This
year’s Marathon and Challenge races were dedicated to Vickie Begley’s
memory.
Since the beginning eleven years ago, Vickie was a dedicated
supporter of the race. Her love of hiking will be memorialized in a climbing
wall at the Black Mountain Primary School gym. The wall will be painted as a
mural of the mountains surrounding Black Mountain. Landmarks will be labeled and
the summit will be Mount Mitchell! Estimated cost is projected at $7,000.
Donation checks should be made out to “Buncombe County School Foundation”
and earmarked for the “Vickie Begley Climbing Wall." Checks may be mailed to
the Black Mountain-Swannanoa Chamber of Commerce, 201 East State Street, Black
Mountain NC, 28711. Please help us make this wonderful memorial possible by
making a donation today.
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 Black Mountain Marathon and Mount Mitchell
Challenge
Race director Jay Curwen gives us a recap of this
year’s race:
The 11th running of the BMM&MMC was again favored
with some amazing weather!
The 7am start saw 40 degree clear skies with
the finish line sunny and warming into the high 50’s by mid-day! The Summit,
however, was not as kind. Mitchell, the 6684 foot highest point in the East, is
an unpredictable mountain and black clouds could be seen rolling in over the
ridgeline of the Black Mountain Range all day. The summit was socked in with
howling winds and temperatures in the high 30sEpic for sure!
The
men’s marathon was all Jared Crave. An Asheville resident, Jared comes from a
serious road running background and took command early to win the marathon
comfortably in 3:16:42. Former Challenge winner Annette Bednosky, recovering
from a slight injury, stepped down to the shorter distance this year to win the
marathon in 3:54:58. Master’s winners for the marathon were 11-time competitor
Mike Beamon (3:41:51) and Caroline Veronee (4:12:46).
In the 40-mile
Challenge, new faces dominated the men’s race. Jason Bryant from Elkin, NC,
Kevin Lane from Swannanoa, NC and Frankie Adkins from Asheville all looked
strong entering the single track on Mitchell after passing the marathon
turnaround. Bryant topped out first after running a slightly longer route to the
summit, but was caught by Adkins, an ultra rookie, on the descent. The lead was
changed again when Adkins faltered slightly at the 4 hour mark, but the gap was
only 2 minutes with 4 miles to go. In the end, experience beat raw foot speed as
Jason Bryant was able to pad his lead in the closing miles for the win in
5:16:49Adkins held on for a strong 5:22:12 in his first ultra. Kevin Lane and
Matt Kirk came in arm and arm for 3rd and 4th(5:29:07), while perennial top
finisher Drew Shelfer battled bronchitis to hang on to 5th in 5:33:00.
The women’s Challenge had no such drama. Asheville’s own multiple
national champion and USATF ultra-runner of the year, Anne Lundblad, took
control of the race from the gun and absolutely blistered the course, ripping
close to 12 minutes from the course record. Her 5:38:55 was 30 minutes in front
of second place Cynthia Arnold (6:08:16). Liz Bauer-Walker (7:14:35), Zsuzanna
Carlson (7:39:51) and Erinna Wever (7:55:04) rounded out the top five open
women. Master’s crowns this year went to Byron Backer (5:45:24) and Lee Bailey
(8:42:35).
Full results, newspaper article links and race photographs
can be found at www.blackmountainmarathon.com.
And a special thanks from
race management, to the volunteers that make this event what it is.
On
behalf of the sponsors Black Dome Mountain Sports, Black Mountain Savings, the
Town of Black Mountain, Mt. Mitchell State Park Thank you! We are always
pleased to host this event and are proud of the challenges and victories it
presents.
Black Mountain Marathon and
Mount Mitchell Challenge |
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 Tourist Report for February 2008
Numbers of visitors at the Black Mountain Visitors Center: 1095
Phone calls answered by volunteers: 537
1-800-number calls (calls
received on 800 number usually requesting information on visiting or
relocating): 68
TDA Postage (amount the chambers spends to respond to
requests for information on visiting or relocating): $686.27
E-Mail (number
of e-mail requests for information about the area): 148
Website Visitors:
28,325
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 New Chamber Members
Catawba
Falls Preserve and parent company Bluegreen Communities are our newest Chamber
member. Catawba Falls is located off of Highway 9 South approximately 15 miles
from town. The property features spacious home sites with breathtaking mountain
views. www.catawbafallspreserve.com. 919-542-5250.
Catawba Falls
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 Ribbon-Cutting at Michelle Salon
The
Chamber held a ribbon-cutting ceremony at Michelle Salon at The Village of
Cheshire at 5:00 p.m. on Friday March 14. Over 50 people attended to help
celebrate the grand opening. |
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 Thanks to the Correctional Center for
Women!
The Correctional Center for Women enjoy a My Fathers
Pizza lunch at the the Chamber of Commerce Visitor Center. We are thankful to
them for all they do to help keep our community clean and beautiful. The group
worked hard cleaning up around the visitor center for Spring |
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 Comments from our Visitors
Nice,
friendly people!
Lovely town!
Very nice helpful people and quaint town!
Most helpful Visitor Center ever visited!
Very helpful information.
Thanks for the tips!
Wonderful chamber people!
Photo courtesy of
Black Mountain photographer Rebecca D'Angelo.
Rebecca D'Angelo
Photography |
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Swannanoa Valley Museum Events
March 22:
Hike to Mitchell Falls
March 25: Swannanoa Valley Museum is sponsoring a
heritage tour to Italy this coming Nov. 3-16, and we are holding a
get-acquainted/planning meeting for that trip at the Museum on Tuesday, March 25
at 5:30 p.m.
April 5: Swannanoa Valley Museum Wildflower Hike to Bat
Cave in Nature Conservancy property, reservations required.
April 12:
Museum opens
April 19: Birding Hike
April 26-27: Second Annual
Civil War Living History Weekend at Black Mountain Primary School Field. Camp
life, a medical exhibit, demonstrations, plays, local history, a skirmish,
vendors with period wares, and a formal ball dance are highlights planned for
this weekend.
Swannanoa Valley Museum, 828-669-9566,
swannanoavalleymuseum.org.
Swannanoa Valley
Museum |
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Black
Mountain Center for the Arts Events
March 2:
Gallery Show Opening and Reception for the Annual Emerging Artists Show. Show
runs through March 25.
March 28: Upbeat Musical Heritage Concert - Jamie
and Renae Brame
April19: 3rd Annual Auction for the Arts
April
21: Allegra Huston Book Talk, thewritingssalon.net/salons.
April 22-25:
The Writing Salon workshop. 10am-6pm each day. 4-day intense writing workshop
with Allegra Huston, Allan Wolf & James Nave
April 25: Upbeat! Music
Heritage Concert 7:30pm Clearwater Connection, Bill Hansen 7 Doris
Sotirellis.
Black Mountain Center for the Arts, 828-669-0930,
www.blackmountainarts.org.
Black Mountain Center for
the Arts |
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 Thomas Lawton Architect Awarded "Home of the
Month"
Thomas Lawton Architect’s design of Chips Cottage, a
home in The Village of Cheshire, was recently chosen for the “Home of the
Month” series. “Shining a spotlight on examples of exemplary house design is
the intention of Home of the Month, a joint collaboration by The News and
Observer and N.C. State University’s College of Design. In its third year,
Home of the Month invites architects from across the state to submit their
finest residential designs for consideration in a yearlong series in The News
and Observer,” states The News and Observer article that announced the ten
finalists and ran on January 26.
Each month this year, one of the
designs selected will be the subject of a feature article in the Raleigh
newspaper. NC State School of Architecture faculty members, graduate students
and alumni will share their knowledge and emphasize the design issues and
strengths in each Home of the Month article.
Thomas Lawton Architect is
located in The Village of Cheshire, Black Mountain. For more information, call
828-669-8670 or visit Thomas Lawton Architect’s website at www.tlawton.com.
Thomas Lawton
Architect |
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 Tips from Rainbow Recycling
Rainbow
Recycling recently sent us these web addresses for waste exchange services.
Members are encouraged to check them out before throwing stuff out!
NC Waste
Trader, North Carolina’s marketplace for discarded or surplus materials and
products http;//www.ncwastertrader.org.
NC Biomass Trader, North
Carolina’s marketplace for biomass, bio-based feedstocks, and bio-based energy
products and fuels http://www.ncbiomasstrader.org.
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 Rowena Patton Receives Awards from Keller
Williams
Black Mountain resident Rowena Patton was awarded top
honors by Keller Williams Realty International, which employs over 70,000
agents, as the number three agent for international sales in her first year of
business. Patton also won the number one position for the Carolinas region in
the same category.
“We are very proud of Rowena’s success,” says
Mark Willis, CEO of Keller Williams Realty International, who recently presented
Rowena with the awards.
Pictured- Rowena Patton and Mark Willis.
For more information about careers at Keller Williams or selling your
home, contact Rowena Patton at 828-669-6671 / RowenaPatton@KW.com, or visit
www.comehometoasheville.com.
Rowena Patton
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