Graham
Revitalization Economic Action Team Minutes
September
20, 2012
Location
and Sponsor: Snowbird Youth Center, Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians
Welcome/Introductions
A.
Welcome:
Yvette Carringer, GREAT Vice Chairperson welcomed everyone to the
meeting and recognized first-time attendees.
B.
Call Meeting to Order: Yvette Carringer, GREAT Vice Chairperson, called the meeting
to order.
General
Items
A.
Approval
of Minutes of Previous Meeting: The
minutes from the May 24, 2012 meeting were approved with a motion by Alicia
Parham and second by David Dodson.
B.
Approval of the Agenda: The
agenda was approved with a motion from Brenda Artiss and a second by Beverly
Whitehead.
Guest
Speakers
Tom
Luson, Director of the NC Foreclosure Prevention Fund, Gave
an overview of the program, which has prevented 480 homes from being foreclosed
on in 18 months. Handouts were also provided on the Women’s Financial
Empowerment Center.
Reports/Discussion
Items
A.
Committee Reports
Economic Development, Business and
Industry – No Report.
Education and Workforce Development –
Anne Eck
·
RHS Construction Technology class
has started work on their second house and RHS has added 2 new courses for
students this year. RHS had the highest graduation rate in the state of NC this
year, at 93.54%.
·
Alcoa Foundation awarded RMS/RHS
$22,000 for STEM education programs
·
Dolly Parton Imagination Library
has 323 students enrolled, with a goal of 400 enrollees. The age cohort that is
the least recruited is the 0-1 year olds. In 2013, the first cohort of students
enrolled will be in 3rd grade and a comparison of reading test scores
will be made between DPIL graduates and those who did not participate in DPIL.
190 students have graduated from the DPIL.
·
The medicine drop event on
September 29th resulted in 38,000 pills being collected by law
enforcement officials.
Health and Social – Kristen Shuler
·
90 Day Fitness Challenge is
recruiting participants for October start dates.
·
North Carolina Farm Bureau in
collaboration with the local medical community, will be sponsoring a health
screening event on October 5th with a goal of screening 150-200
people.
·
Melissa McKnight was introduced to
the group and gave an overview of the Community Transformation Project.
·
Leigh Pettus was introduced to the
group and spoke about food insecurity in Graham County. Charles Hooper, the
local food bank coordinator spoke about the need for food in Graham County.
Leadership
and Government – Eve Rogers
·
Knights of the Round Table (youth
leadership group) is recruiting 19-30 year old mentors to serve as the Board of
Directors for the Graham United Way Council to administer a $20,000 grant from
the NC Rural Center.
Recreation, Natural Resources and Water
Quality – David Dodson
·
Recycling is expected to launch in
Graham County within the next month.
·
Clean Sweep litter pick up is
planned for 9/22 – 10/6, with a Santeetlah lake clean up scheduled for 10/13.
Revitalization and Infrastructure –
Brenda Artiss
·
18 revitalization projects have
been planned for the Town of Robbinsville and some have already commenced,
including wi-fi on Rodney Orr Bypass.
·
A streetscape meeting is planned
for 10/1, and then tree planting will begin.
Tourism and Mountain Culture – No
report.
B. GREAT Financial Report—Pam Shaffer
C.
County/Town Updates were
provided by Andy Cable, Graham County Economic Development Director, and Jessica
Cooper, Town of Fontana Administrator.
D.
Regional Updates were
provided by Sandy Zimmerman with Congressman Shuler’s office and John Mitchell
with Senator Burr’s office.
Announcements
Director’s
Report—Rick Davis
·
NC Rural Center Forum –
Enterprising Communities, October 16-17, 2012,
·
Next GREAT meeting November 15,
2012 at Meadow Branch Fire Department, sponsored by Alcoa.
Adjourn
Graham
county is a place where traditional Appalachian culture lives, people flourish
and businesses thrive and prosper.