This Week's Wins
Here are some things worth celebrating this week at Foothills Regional Commission and in our region!
- Foothills Regional Commission is pleased to introduce our new Finance Director, Charlotte Sullivan.
 A Polk County native, Mrs. Sullivan is a certified government finance manager with more than 25 years’ experience in account reconciliations, streamlining accounts and financial planning.
Her background includes more than 15 years as Polk County Schools’ finance director, three years as Asheville City Schools’ executive director of finance and, most recently, three years as Land of Sky Regional Council’s finance director.
Mrs. Sullivan obtained a bachelor's degree in business management, with a minor in accounting, from Shaw University and a master’s in management from Indiana Wesleyan University. She lives in Saluda with her husband, Dan, and their “furbabies,” a Boston terrier and yellow lab. Her daughter is an emergency room nurse in Greensboro.
We’re thrilled to have Mrs. Sullivan on the team and wish her a very warm welcome!
- Gov. Roy Cooper announced last week that Forza X1—a company that makes electric-powered boats—will invest $10.5 million to establish a new manufacturing plant in McDowell County. The company will create 170 jobs in the City of Marion. Read the governor's full release on the subject here.
Got a "win" for the region or FRC that you'd like to see celebrated? Send it to Mackenzie Wicker at mwicker@foothillsregion.org to have it included in our next newsletter.
|
|
Save the Dates: Public Review of Draft Consolidated Housing Plan for Foothills Region
The Foothills NC HOME Consortium, a group of governments coming together to receive Home Investment Partnerships Program (HOME) funds from HUD, will soon seek public input on the first draft of a Consolidated Housing Plan for Cleveland, McDowell, Polk and Rutherford counties.
The draft plan will be available Monday, Aug. 15-Wednesday, Sept. 14 for perusal on FoothillsRegion.org and McDowellGov.com. Physical copies will be available at the Foothills Regional Commission Office, 111 W. Court Street in Rutherfordton, and the McDowell County Administrative Offices, 69 North Main Street in Marion.
The Consortium will be accepting public input during that time via email at mwicker@foothillsregion.org. A public hearing on the plan also will be held at the McDowell Administrative Offices during the County Commissioners’ meeting Monday, Sept. 12, at 5 p.m.
The HOME program supports decent, affordable housing for low-income households and capacity expansion for non-profit housing providers. HOME funds can be used for:
- New construction
- Rehabilitation
- Down payment assistance
- Rental assistance
- Site improvements
- Acquisition of property
- Relocation costs
- Project related soft costs
- Activities of Community Development Housing Organizations (CHDOs)
- Program administration, planning, capacity building
Please don’t miss the upcoming opportunity to share your thoughts on this important document!
|
|
ARC Launches New Capacity-Building Initiative, Seeks Nonprofit Applicants for Fall Term
The Appalachian Regional Commission (ARC) has announced the launch of READY Appalachia, a community capacity-building initiative offering flexible funding to Appalachian nonprofit organizations, community foundations, local governments, and Local Development Districts (LDDs), and free cohort-based learning and hands-on training to the Appalachians who work for them. Eligible participants can apply for one of READY Appalachia’s 10-week learning tracks, the first being READY Nonprofits, which is now accepting applications until August 19.
This initiative is part of ARC’s larger investment priority of building community leaders and local capacity to effect long-lasting economic change and is supported by funding through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. You can learn more on the ARC webpage here.
|
|
Good Reads: Coates' Canons Law Blog
As North Carolina nears the Aug. 15 ending of a state-level State of Emergency dating back to the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic, local governments may find this post from last year on the UNC School of Government's Coates' Canons NC Local Government Law blog helpful: Public Meetings After the Lifting of the State-Level State of Emergency.
The blog also has several more recent posts—some of which are on the same topic—that may be of interest to our local folks. Click the titles below to check each one out.
|
|
ICYMI: You're Invited to a Foothills Meet & Greet
Foothills Regional Commission cordially invites you, our friends and colleagues, to a Meet & Greet! FRC will be hosting this event to warmly introduce our new Executive Director, Danna Stansbury, and Finance Director, Charlotte Sullivan. Danna joined us July 5 and Charlotte came on board Aug. 1. Both ladies are new to the region. We would love for everyone to come by, introduce themselves and share a few things about the county or town they represent.
The Meet & Greet will take place Aug. 10 from 10 a.m.-12 p.m. at the Rutherfordton Clubhouse at 241 Clubhouse Drive, Rutherfordton, NC 28139. Light Refreshments and drinks will be served. RSVPs are greatly appreciated and should be directed to Candice Johnson at Cjohnson@foothillsregion.org. We hope to see you there!
|
|
Local Event: Open House for Outdoors Economic Development Initiative
The MADE X MTNS Building Outdoor Communities will kick off a new outdoors-driven community economic development initiative in which FRC is participating on Friday, Aug. 12 at 10 a.m. at the Rutherford County Administration Offices, this event will provide an opportunity for interested groups and individuals to learn, network and ask questions. Please RSVP here.
The Building Outdoor Communities program focuses on capacity building, technical assistance, training, connectivity and education for communities seeking to advance their outdoor economy goals. Applications are live and due by Friday, Aug. 26. Everyone who applies will be accepted and there is no cost to participate! The schedule of events, application details and event registration are all available on the initiative's webpage.
|
|
More Upcoming Events
- *HAPPENING TODAY*: AARP's Livable Appalachia Summit - Aug. 4, 2-3:30 p.m. Virtual event for NC, VA, and TN communities. More info and registration here.
- From A-Z: Using ARP/CSLFRF to Directly Fund a Capital Project - Aug. 10, 8 a.m.-5 p.m. via Zoom. Free, but registration required. More info and registration here.
- Hometown Heroes Hiring Event - Aug. 11, 1-5 p.m. at Isothermal Community College. Visit the Facebook Event Page for more info.
- LeverageNC Webinars - See all and register here.
- Aug. 17, 10 a.m. - Building Healthy Places
- Sept. 7, 10 a.m. - 10 Critical Elements That Will Make Tomorrow’s Communities
- Sept. 14, 10 a.m. - A Community Guide to Business Recruitment
- Sept. 21, 10 a.m. - The 12 Advantages of a Destination Business in Your Community...
- Considering Quality of Life in Transportation Planning and Development - Aug. 25, 12:30-2 p.m. Details and registration here.
- Foundations for Outdoor Businesses - Sept. 7-Oct. 19, 6-8:30 p.m. Zoom course presented by Mountain Bizworks. $375. More info and registration here.
- ARPA in Appalachia Learning Exchanges - Hosted by the Appalachian Regional Commission and Environmental Protection Agency. Registration limited to 30 per session. Early sign-up encouraged. Only one session per participant is allowed. RSVP here.
- Water & Sewer Infrastructure in Focus - Sept. 13, 11 a.m.-12 p.m.
- Meeting Broadband Demand - Sept. 20, 11 a.m.-12 p.m.
- Strategic Planning in Local Government - Sept. 14, 9 a.m.-5 p.m. at UNC School of Government. Learn more and register here.
- NADO 2022 Annual Training Conference - Oct. 15-18 in Pittsburg, PA. More information available here.
- Appalachian Regional Commission 2022 Conference - Oct. 17-19 in Flintstone, MD. More information is available here.
- Development Finance Initiative Toolbox Training - Dec. 6-8 via Zoom. Presented by the UNC School of Government. More info and registration here.
|
|
|
|
|
