News

LOCAL BRIEFS: Bear boosts housing, Dogwood donates ventilators, book sale, MADD

Sarah Grymes, Executive Director at Housing Assistance, and HAC board president Hilton M. Swing, Board President of HAC and real estate professional at Coldwell-Banker-King, accept a check from Patrick Harper of Coldwell-Banker-King.

By Lightning Reports, Published: November 17, 2020

Although Covid-19 has had an immeasurable impact on the scale of events this year, the virus could not stop the annual Bearfootin’ Art Walk Auction from being a success for the Housing Assistance Corp.
HAC’s charity bear, “Autumn,” painted by local artist Rich Prazan, was sponsored by local real estate company Coldwell Banker King. Autumn spent the season in front of the Coldwell Banker King Hendersonville Office at 130 South Main Street, and was a hit with visitors and locals alike.
“This was the first year we’ve sponsored one of the bears, and we received so many compliments and so much great feedback from Autumn this year that we knew we wanted to make it a permanent part of the Coldwell Banker family,” said Terri King, president and CEO of Coldwell Banker King. With hopes to purchase the bear at the ‘buy it now’ price of $7,500, and with that money going to support the Housing Assistance Corp.’s mission, Coldwell-Banker-King’s leadership team sprang into action. Hilton Swing, a real estate professional with Coldwell Banker King and board president of HAC, spearheaded the efforts for the company.
Numerous non-profit organizations benefited from the donations that stem from the annual fundraiser sponsored by Friends of Downtown Hendersonville.
“I just want to say thank you so much,” said HAC’s executive director, Sarah Grymes. “Thank you to Terri King, Patrick Harper, Hilton Swing and all of the Coldwell Banker-King agents who made this happen. We are so excited our bear found a home and we are continually thankful for this partnership.”

Dogwood Trust donates ventilators, hospital beds

Dogwood Health Trust provided funding for three ventilators and five hospital beds for Pardee Hospital, Pardee UNC Health Care announced. The gift will help expand the hospital’s capacity to respond to the emerging health care needs of the community.
“We are so grateful to Dogwood Health Trust for providing such high-quality equipment and additional support to our facility during these unusual times,” Chief Nursing Officer Carol Stefaniak said. “It means so much to our organization and community that we have the tools and capacity needed to meet any future surges, while also maintaining excellent care for our patients.”
With what appears to be a growing fall surge in Covid-19 cases in the region, Dogwood’s gift represents a significant boost to the hospital’s capacity to deliver top quality care. It also demonstrates the importance of supporting the work and needs of the hospital’s team of qualified providers. Pardee will replace five current beds with the updated equipment, and with the addition of the three new ventilators will now have a total of 27 ventilators available for use in the Intensive Care Unit.

Books for Good holding holiday sale

Books for Good, an all-volunteer nonprofit organization in Fletcher that sells items to benefit donor-specified charities, is holding its annual holiday sale on Friday and Saturday, Nov. 27 and 28.
More than 45,000 adult and children’s books, CDs and DVDs will be available at a 25 percent discount. Sale hours are from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Friday and 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Saturday.
Books for Good was established in 2013, and the store opened the following year. Since then, it has raised more than $150,000 for more than 100 charities, most of which are local. The store is located at 50 Heritage Park Drive in Fletcher behind the Subway at the intersection of Butler Bridge Road and U.S. 25. Regular store hours are Monday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday from noon to 5 p.m. and Saturday from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. For further information, contact Books for Good at (828) 989-4655, or visit its website, www.booksforgood.net.

Sports medicine group honors wellness leader

The American College of Sports Medicine recognized Aleen Dailey, wellness coordinator for the resident services team of Carolina Village, for her work with the organization.

As a member of the ACSM Certified Group Exercise Instructor Credentialing Committee, Dailey helps develop and maintain examination standards for ACSM. The group also sets the job task analysis standards that serve as the basis of the group exercise instructor certification exams worldwide.

“All too often ACSM’s subject matter experts are too humble to share the capacity of their volunteer work,” Kristin Belleson, ACSM CEO, and Francis Neric, ACSM National Director of Certification, wrote in a letter to Carolina Village Operations Director Jon Renegar. “We can say without hesitation that ACSM would not be where it is today without Mrs. Dailey’s leadership.”

Made up of more than 50,000 members and certified professionals from 90 countries, the ACSM Certification Board works to develop, maintain and administer accredited certification programs and provide top quality opportunities for lifelong career development.

Before joining Carolina Village in June, Dailey was assistant fitness manager at Gold’s Gym, associate director of fitness and facilities and adjunct faculty at University of North Carolina at Asheville, and clinical exercise specialist at Mission Hospitals HeartPath. She earned her Bachelor of Arts & Sciences in Anthropology/Archaeology and her Master of Science in Exercise Science from Appalachian State University.

‘Let’s Keep Talking’ scheduled on Nov. 22

On Nov. 1 more than 70 citizens gathered together for a multi-faith non-partisan virtual Vigil for Civility in the belief that the community needs civil dialog. Since then, 116 individuals and organizations signed a letter endorsing the mission of Live the Golden Rule effort: to lead, model and encourage conversations of mutual respect.

The reaction has inspired “Let’s Keep Talking!” At 4 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 22, a second virtual gathering will be held. It will bring the core teaching of the Golden Rule into our conversations. It will be a sanctuary for all voices to be heard. The public is welcome but needs to register in advance at www.wnclivethegoldenrule.com.

MADD ceremony remembers victims

An Evening of Remembrance will be held to honor those who have been killed or injured by drunk drivers on North Carolina highways on Saturday, Dec. 5. The ceremony and candlelight vigil will take place at 4:30 p.m. at the Henderson County Historic Courthouse plaza. Mothers Against Drunk Driving is hosting the ceremony in partnership with the Hendersonville Police Department.
“This evening is a way for families to remember those they have lost as we enter the holidays,” said MADD Senior Crime Victim Advocate Ellen Pitt. “When families are unable to attend, local law enforcement step up to represent the victims. It’s a moving sight when the community comes together to raise awareness and provide support to the families and friends of victims we have lost over the years.”
“Driving while impaired is a 100 percent preventable crime,” she added. “We don’t want anyone to take a chance that could lead to another person being honored at our vigil.” Questions about the Remembrance may be directed to Pitt at ellen.t.pitt@gmail.com.

The ceremony will be held outdoors and is open to the public. Attendees are encouraged to dress for the weather and practice Covid-19 precautions. The 100 block of Main Street will be closed to vehicular traffic for the Evening of Remembrance. LoveHendo Saturday will also be taking place in downtown Hendersonville that day with Main Street closed to vehicles and free-flowing traffic along the avenues. Handicapped parking for LoveHendo Saturday will be available at City Hall, 160 Sixth Avenue East.

Saluda Historic Depot raising money for lighting

The Saluda Historic Depot announced a holiday fund-raising campaign to raise money for lighting and storage shed. Better lighting in the Depot has always been needed to present displays and artifacts more effectively. A storage shed is needed to house seasonal items and collectibles that are rotated in the museum. The current storage accommodations are being displaced in the near future.

Through Jan. 31, Saluda Historic Depot will sell subscriptions to Our State magazine. Through a program titled Community Partners, Saluda Historic Depot will receive a percentage of each subscription sold.

Published since 1933, Our State is the only North Carolina publication devoted to beauty, nature, nostalgia, travel and food across the state. Learn more by visiting ourstate.com. https://www.ourstate.com/subscribe/. To subscribe visit SaludaHistoricDepot.com/fundraising. To help the Depot to raise money for storage and lighting in other ways, contact Judy Ward at 828-674-5958, or judyward537@yahoo.com.