On Thursday, January 29, employees of the North Wilkesboro’s Public Works Department Street Division were honored as 2008 Main Street Champions at the North Carolina Main Street Annual Awards Dinner in Statesville, N.C. They were selected for this special recognition by Historic Downtown North Wilkesboro in appreciation of their exceptional contributions to the downtown revitalization process. Along with Champions from 35 other communities, the street division employees received a certificate commemorating their designation, presented by N.C. Secretary of Commerce J. Keith Crisco, Assistant Secretary of Commerce Cleveland Simpson, Main Street Assistant Coordinator Teresa Watts and Office of Urban Development Director Liz Parham.
Each of the state’s active Main Street programs is given the opportunity annually to recognize a local Main Street Champion. The dedication and hard work of countless volunteers is required to make a local Main Street program successful, and the Main Street Champion designation acknowledges the extraordinary efforts of those persons who have played pivotal roles in the revitalization of their downtowns.
“Main Street is a grassroots effort and, in order to be successful, every local program must utilize its community resources—both financial and human,” said Parham. “The human resources come in a number of forms: volunteers, Main Street board members, city staff, elected officials and others. There are no greater supporters of Main Street than those people who we honor here tonight, individuals who have taken their dedication to downtown to the next level—our 2008 N.C. Main Street Champions.”
“Main Street Champions are the people who take on the early tasks, the pioneers who go where others often fear to tread, who step forward when others are stepping back, who make the tough calls and those risky investments. They embody the term “community leader”, and they do this because they love their communities. There would be no Main Street successes without Main Street Champions,” she said.
In nominating the North Wilkesboro Public Works Department Street Division for this honor, Historic Downtown North Wilkesboro offered the following:
Historic Downtown North Wilkesboro is proud to honor the Town of North Wilkesboro Public Works Department Street Division’s employees as 2008 Main Street Champions. When we ask members of the community what they value most about our downtown, two of the most frequent answers are the beautification of our streets with flags and plants and our community events. Neither of these projects would be possible without the dedication of the street division, headed by Randy Bell.
Bell and the entire street division crew, have contributed a substantial amount of time and effort to the betterment and improvement of our organization and downtown. They take great pride in their work and go above and beyond the everyday job requirement, working with enthusiasm to help ensure that our streetscapes have a positive visual impact on our community. During community events, they will often come down on their days off to make sure that everything is running smoothly.
The entire street division shares a strong desire to see downtown North Wilkesboro flourish and grow. However, what makes them our North Carolina Main Street Champions is not just that they care about our downtown, but that they have stepped up and made a difference with their time and actions, which will impact our community for years to come.
Historic Downtown North Wilkesboro proudly recognizes the Town of North Wilkesboro Public Works Department Street Division as our 2008 North Carolina Main Street Champions.
Main Street is a downtown revitalization program for smaller towns based on economic development within the context of historic preservation. The North Carolina Main Street Program, which provides technical assistance to its communities, is part of the Office of Urban Development in the Department of Commerce’s Division of Community Assistance.
In 1980, North Carolina was one of six original states, selected from 38 that applied, to launch the work of the National Trust for Historic Preservation’s National Main Street Center. The North Carolina Main Street Program began working with its five original cities – New Bern, Salisbury, Shelby, Tarboro, and Washington – in September 1980 and has since grown to include 57 communities across the state.
For more information about the North Wilkesboro Main Street Program please visit www.DowntownNorthWilkesboro.com.
Picutured from Left to Right above are N.C. Secretary of Commerce J. Keith Crisco, Streets Dept Supervisor Randy Bell, Mike Shew, Jeremy Billings, Albert Bowlin, and Assistant Secretary of Commerce Cleveland Simpson. Photography by Garry E. Hodges.
|
Wilkes County Cruisers
