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Volunteer profile: Gordian “Bo” Boteilho, Interfaith Assistance Ministry

Henderson County Life

Volunteer profile: Becky Varnadore

Becky Varnadore Historic Johnson Farm   What do you do in your volunteer job?  “Oh my goodness, anything that needs to be done. I’m the secretary of our advisory board and I am involved in any kind of activity we do in an ongoing basis. I help with field trips, any other programs and activities we have. We do different things throughout the year — the Teddy Bear Tea Party, fall events, Lunch and Learn, and I’m available for anything that needs to be done. I’m real involved in the festival coordination, our Christmas festival and our spring fest. I help do anything on the grounds that needs to be done, like restoration of old artifacts and tools. It’s great because it’s promoting the legacy of the Johnsons and the farm.” How long have you been volunteering? “We lived there when Leander was alive in 1978 and then after Leander passed away we had a home next door to farm in 1987. I’ve volunteered forever, ever since Leander died” and left the farm to the Henderson County school system for education. Why do you volunteer? “The farm is my main area of volunteerism and it is because the farm means so much to me personally. I want to promote the farm, to carry on the legacy of Vernon and Leander and what they intended their farm to be — a treasure and resource. It’s very satisfying work.” What’s the best thing about volunteering? “I think the best thing is seeing, just the interaction, particularly with children and families and seeing what joy a farm brings to them. It’s like a step back in time for kids and young parents that may never have had the farm experience. They’re getting away from the hustle and bustle and technology and getting back to earth and nature and things that Vernon and Leander loved so much.” If someone is interested in volunteering, what is the best advice you would give based on your own experience? “My advice would be to pick a volunteer area that you love and that you’re passionate about. (Pick a cause) that you’re really willing to give yourself to because when you do, it is something you will nurture and love and then all those qualities and characteristics are projected to those people. It just to have the passion and the love for the area you choose to volunteer.  That’s what we need in the world today — passionate people doing their work or volunteering.   Read Story »

Edneyville Life

Greenway plan envisions 71-mile network of trails

Henderson County has been talking formally and informally about greenways since the early 1990s and even had a greenway commission that adopted a map depicting 200 miles of bike and walking trails.   Read Story »

Edneyville Life

Local nonprofit wins grant to continue David Holt's State of Music

The Hendersonville-based Will & Deni McIntyre Foundation has been awarded a $15,000 grant from the Perry N. Rudnick Endowment Fund of the Community Foundation of Henderson County to help fund the fourth season of David Holt’s State of Music, an Emmy-nominated public TV series that premiered on North Carolina Public Television in 2015. The show is distributed nationally by PBS. “David Holt’s State of Music features real talent in real locations around our region,” says the show’s director, Deni McIntyre, who lives in Hendersonville. The program’s third season, which will air on UNC-TV beginning in December, features mandolin legend Sam Bush, IBMA Guitar Player of the Year Molly Tuttle, young country blues artist Jerron “Blind Boy” Paxton, champion fiddler and step dancer April Verch, mid-life breakout artist Joe Newberry, and Dobro master Jerry Douglas. The season was shot on location at the Haw River Ballroom, the Hayti Cultural Center in Durham, the Asheville Guitar Bar, Andrew Jackson’s Hermitage outside Nashville, The Down Home in Johnson City  and historic Hachland Hill Farm in Joelton, Tennessee. Series host David Holt is a four-time Grammy Award winner who lives in Asheville. The Will & Deni McIntyre Foundation was established in 2009 to raise the profile of the arts and selected non-profits through creation of videos, books, and photography for websites and related media. The foundation is a 501(c)(3) charitable organization.   Read Story »

Henderson County Life

Award-winning duo
 perform old-time music Nov. 17

Award-winning old-time musicians David Holt and Josh Goforth will perform a Mountain Music concert at 7:30 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 17, in Thomas Auditorium on the campus of Blue Ridge Community College as part of Keeping the Fires Burning, a series of the Center for Cultural Preservation.Recognized as one of the nation’s foremost folk musicians and storytellers, Holt has been collecting and performing the music of the old-time Southern mountaineers for 35 years. A Madison County native, Goforth is a Grammy Award nominee and is descended from many of the old-timers that Holt learned from in the late 1960s in Lonesome Mountain. For David, combining forces with Josh is coming full circle. “Josh is one of the finest musicians in North Carolina and is helping bring the music that is his birthright into the 21st century,” says Holt, a four-time Grammy winner. “Our show is about folk traditions that are exploding with creative energy and fun.”Tickets are $25 and $20 a person. To order, visit www.saveculture.org or call the Center at (828) 692-8062. The Center’s next program will be a concert featuring the Kruger Brothers on Jan. 26. Tickets are now available online at SaveCulture.org   Read Story »

Henderson County Life

Hot dog fundraiser aids fellow court clerks hit by Florence

When Henderson County Clerk of Superior Court Kim Gasperson Justice heard about the troubles for a fellow clerk and his staff in Eastern North Carolina, she decided to hold one of the office's specialties — a hot dog lunch.   Read Story »

Hendersonville Life

ECCO's 'virgin birth' could make a splash in shark world

Kortney Clark used a pair of ordinary looking scissors to execute an extraordinary bit of marine animal surgery. Peering through a couple of inches of aquarium saltwater, she carefully cut an egg casing the thickness of a fingernail that enclosed a baby shark. When the painstaking process was complete, so was the virgin birth — one that potentially would make a splash in the world of shark research.   Read Story »

Hendersonville Life

James Volk, pediatrician, volunteer and city's 'First Man,' dies at age 72

Dr. James Volk, a pediatrician who expanded children’s medical care in Hendersonville and treated hundreds of patients during numerous medical missions abroad, volunteered in civic endeavors at home and stood steadfast with Mayor Barbara Volk as Hendersonville’s First Gentleman, died early Saturday of pancreatic cancer. He was 72.   Read Story »

Saluda Life

LOCAL BRIEFS: Honoring Etheredge, Train Tales, tractor pull

Mineral industry is focus at Saluda Train Tales SALUDA — Laura Fields will talk about the mineral industry in North Carolina during Saluda Train Tales at 7 p.m. Friday, Oct. 19, at the Saluda Historic Depot, 32 W. Main St., Saluda. Although the topic may seem a little “off track,” the mineral industry is one of the reasons the railroads were built to Western North Carolina. Laura will explore the NC mineral industry over the past 200 years till today. She will show some of the rocks our mountains produce and how they are used. After a successful career in real estate and serving as the town’s commissioner, Laura now has time to turn her passion for collecting unique rocks, minerals, and gems into a business on Main Street in Saluda. The Mineral Spirits gallery has evolved with this need in mind and the collection is not only beautiful but presented in groups by their Chakra Colors. Saluda Train Tales is a free monthly event to educate the community about the importance of Saluda’s railroad history and the Saluda Grade. For more information, contact Cathy Jackson at 828-817-2876 or cathy@saludalifestyles.com.   Art League show honors Etheredge The 2018 Annual Member Show of the Art League of Henderson County will pay tribute this fall to its founder, Grace Etheredge. Sixty years ago Etheredge organized a public exhibit of her students’ work in the lobby of the Skyland Hotel. Subsequent exhibits moved to the sidewalk and were open to all artists, growing over the years to the exhibit now known as Art on Main. The Member Show will return this year to its roots, downtown Hendersonville, and will be hosted by CANVAS Artspace at 212 S. Church St.   Categories for professional and non-professional artists will showcase the artistic talent of the area. The show will include a wide variety of subject matter and medium. The judge this year is local artist and teacher Cathyann Burgess. A native of Augusta, Georgia, Etheredge began work in the late ‘50s on her dream of teaching art in the Blue Ridge. Her first venture was with the Opportunity Group, formed in 1957 at the First United Methodist Church for the purpose of fellowship and to encourage the teaching and exhibiting of arts and crafts. She taught classes there and on learning that art was not taught in local schools, she volunteered to teach art on Saturdays in Henderson County schools. Soon after, the school system added art to its regular curriculum. Etheredge along with a number of local artists formed the Art League in 1960. Etheredge (1905-1993) was honored this past year with her selection to the Henderson County Walk of Fame for her founding of the Art League and helping found the Opportunity House.The exhibit will be on display Nov. 1-Nov. 10 after an opening from 6 to 8 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 1. Gallery hours are 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday. For more information visit www.canvaswnc.com or www.artleague.net or email junekal60@yahoo.com.   21st Toy run is set for Saturday, Nov. 17 For the 21st year, motorcycle riders will meet at Bill Moore Community Park in Fletcher to collect gifts for the foster and underprivileged children of Henderson County and participate in the annual Henderson County Toy Run. Universal Health Care of Fletcher, 86 Old Airport Road, Fletcher, is serving as the collection site for toys Nov. 1-15. This year’s Toy Run is Nov. 17.Bring a $15 toy or $15 cash donation during regular business hours. All proceeds will be given to Department of Social Services Child Protective Services. For more information about making a donation call Lynn Cordell at 828-654-9060. For more information call Linda Wright at 828-702-2307 or visit the Facebook page. Fall Harvest Days showcases tractors The 33rd Annual WNC Fall Harvest Days and Antique Engine and Tractor Show will be held Oct. 18-20 at the Western North Carolina Agriculture Center, 1301 Fanning Bridge Road, Fletcher, and will feature all brands of farm equipment, antique tractors, hit n’ miss engines of all sizes, tractor pulls, and a parade at 2 p.m. daily weather permitting. More than 250 vendors/exhibitors, tools, antiques, collectibles, toys and more will be on hand. Sponsored by the Apple Country Engine and Tractor Association, the festival is held 8 a.m.-5 p.m. all three days. Admission is $8 a day or $20 for a 3-day pass. Children under 12 are admitted free with paid adult. Rotary Club announces charity golf tournament The Rotary Club of Hendersonville will host a Captain’s Choice 18-hole golf tournament Friday, Oct. 26, at Cummings Cove Golf Club. The tournament includes a hole-in-one opportunity to win a car, courtesy of Hendersonville Dodge, Ram, Jeep dealership, prizes on all par 3 holes, door prizes, goodie bags and surprises along the way. Tee time is noon. Lunch will be provided and a buffet dinner served at the awards celebration. 
The club’s goal is to raise $10,000 to fund a variety of programs benefiting children in Henderson County including educational grants to classroom teachers and the Gift of Knowledge dictionary project. To be involved as a hole sponsor, golfer or volunteer, contact Kim Hinkelman at 828-233-2700 or Kimerly.hinkelman@pardeehospital.org.
     Read Story »

Mills River Life

Deer Dash Saturday benefits First Contact Addiction Ministry

A few months after his father’s death, Rick Bryson got a call from Greg Price, his old cross country coach. Price and other schoolteachers wanted to hold a 5k to raise money in honor of Thomas A. “Tommy” Bryson, who was murdered in July 2017.   Read Story »

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