News

City's 'Friends of Downtown' a model for volunteerism

By Bill Moss, Published: March 20, 2017

The North Carolina Main Street Conference for the fourth year in a row honored honored Historic Downtown Hendersonville for its volunteer  program.

The city received an “Award of Merit” during the annual Main Street Awards Ceremony for Best Volunteer Recruitment, Training & Recognition program for Friends of Downtown Hendersonville, a volunteer program.

“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,” said Lew Holloway Downtown Economic Development Director. In addition to the program award, the N.C. 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.

Slagel 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.

“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," said Downtown Promotions Coordinator Dalleen Jackson.
At the end of 2016 the city recognized our volunteers for contributing more than 1,800 hours of volunteer time, double the total logged in 2014.