Meeting with Surry County Officials

Barry Sink, Mack McCray, and I presented the Yadkin Valley Career Academy plan to a group of local officials today. Among the group were Surry County Commissioners Stanley and Buck; David Hauser, the CEO of the North Carolina Logistics Center; Earlie Coe, the Surry County Board of Education Chairman; and Ashley Hinson, superintendent of the Surry County school system.

During the meeting each attendee agreed to publicly support the Career Academy initiative. Furthermore, the Surry County Board of Education signed a memorandum of understanding to participate as a partner with the Career Academy.

The meeting was extremely positive and we are very happy to be working with such a wonderful group of partners. Thank you to all for your support!

Lexington City Council Meeting

I attended the Lexington city council meeting today as representative of the Uptown Lexington, Inc. board. The main topic of the meeting was the recent city census and its effects on city government.

As always I enjoyed working with citizens and city officials on the issues that impact our city. It is important work that I look forward to continuing in the coming months and in the years ahead.

Lexington Housing CDC Open House of Erlanger Village

The Erlanger Mill Village represents an outstanding effort by the Lexington Housing Community Development Corporation. They have done a wonderful job revitalizing a significant community asset.

I had a wonderful time visiting Erlanger Mill Village today with my wife, Jennifer, and daughter, Eleanor. Eleanor may have had the most fun of all playing on the beautiful swing set! Thanks to the CDC for their important work!

Tour Charles England/Dunbar for Academy Options

This afternoon I met with Dr. Fred Mock, Mack McCray and Barry Sink at the Charles England/Dunbar School site on Smith Avenue. Mack is the project director for the Yadkin Valley Career Academy and Barry is my co-chair. We toured the site on Smith Avenue as a potential future home for the Career Academy. The steering committee is strongly considering the Lexington area as they work through the site selection process.

The Career Academy will do much to bolster education and economic development in Lexington. I believe that our community will embrace the Career Academy and I look forward to its success in the coming years.

Lexington Strategic Planning Committee

Today I attended the second meeting of the Lexington Strategic Planning committee. We had a terrific turnout for the meeting and are in the process of developing a long term plan for Lexington. We were briefed by the city manager and assistant city manager on the role of the city government. I am very encouraged by the commitment of this group to the future of our city. I would like to specifically thank Amy McNeil, Dr. Keith Curry, Chad Hodges, Dan Briggs, Ann Hoffman, and Elizabeth Shive.

Uptown Lexington, Inc. Annual Meeting

Uptown Lexington had a wonderful annual meeting today. Several outstanding uptown businesses were recognized for their excellence. I am especially happy that Chris Phelps at High Rock Outfitters and Tommy Davidson at Mission Pottery for receiving awards. I have known Chris and Tommy for many years. I am very happy for them and grateful for what they bring to Lexington. Congratulations to all!

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Davidson County Home Builders Association

Today I was invited to give a presentation on the Yadkin Valley Career Academy to the Davidson County Home Builders Association. I briefed roughly twenty attendees on the history of the career academy and on our plans for the future. I was very happy to share the news that the Yadkin Valley Career Academy has been identified as one of 20 schools in North Carolina eligible for Race to the Top funds. The curriculum, funding plan and timeline for the career academy were received very positively by the members of home builders association. I am very thankful for the opportunity to present and answer questions about a project that I believe will be extremely valuable to Lexington.

First Baptist Fund Raiser Breakfast

This morning the First Baptist Church Brotherhood held a flapjack fundraiser breakfast. At the breakfast I was fortunate to spend several hours talking with members of the congregation and Minister Herbert Miller. I was very interested to hear about their citizens’ concerns for Lexington and visions for the future our city. I am excited to continue to collaborate with members of the congregation as we work to build a better Lexington.

HOPE Meeting

Citizens for HOPE Meeting

Citizens for HOPE is an wonderful organization working to address often overlooked issues in our community. HOPE works collaboratively with the community in order to improve quality of life in Lexington. Their current project is to build a community youth activity center in Lexington.

Thanks to Connie and Gerald for meeting with me this morning and briefing me on the organization and its goals. I am excited both about their current project and future projects in Lexington. I look forward to working with HOPE for years to come!

Ward Walks

We visited every ward in town today to meet voters and listen to their concerns.