-Information courtesy Rev. L.T. Harris, Joy In The Lord Baptist Church
Joy In The Lord Baptist Church will host a gospel singing featuring “The Watchman Quartet” from Rocky Mount, NC on
Saturday, March 9, 2019, at 6 p.m.
Everyone is welcome to attend.
The church is located at 1238 Debnam Avenue, Henderson, NC.
-Press Release, Henderson-Vance County Chamber of Commerce
The Henderson-Vance Chamber of Commerce is pleased to announce that Vanessa Jones has been named as interim president.
“I look forward to working with our members and the Chamber staff and board as we continue to move our community forward,” Jones said.
Jones has extensive knowledge of both Chamber operations and the community. She previously served as a dean and vice president at Vance-Granville Community College. Jones is a past board chairwoman for the Henderson-Vance Chamber of Commerce. She later joined the Chamber staff and has been with the organization since June 2015.
The Henderson-Vance County Chamber of Commerce names Vanessa Jones as interim president. (Photo Credit: The Daily Dispatch)
“There is no better person to help us move forward and continue to grow our membership during our search for a permanent president than Vanessa Jones,” said board Chairwoman Nancy Wykle. “Vanessa is extraordinarily well-regarded in the community and by the Chamber staff. She has built extensive relationships with members and other key stakeholders over the years. I am thrilled that she was willing to take on this role as we search for a new permanent president.”
In addition to assuming responsibility for the day-to-day Chamber operations, Jones will also continue her responsibilities with the Chamber as the Work First program coordinator.
Jones replaces John Barnes, who resigned from the chamber February 19.
-Press Release, Triangle North Healthcare Foundation
Triangle North Healthcare Foundation’s Board of Directors has announced the launch of its 2019 grant cycle, now open through May 17, 2019.
The Foundation seeks programs and projects that will provide positive results in one or more of the five focus areas: Chronic Disease, Mental Health and Substance Use Disorders, Nutrition and Physical Activity, Reproductive Health, and Success in School as related to Healthy Lifestyles. Nonprofit organizations, government agencies, and schools are eligible to apply.
The link to the Foundation’s online grant application is available at the website: www.tnhfoundation.org
Triangle North Healthcare Foundation, a regional healthcare grantmaking organization based in Henderson, NC, is a health legacy foundation that was established in 2011 following the merge of Maria Parham Medical Center and Duke Lifepoint.
The Foundation’s mission– to encourage, support, and invest in quality efforts that measurably improve health in the Triangle North area— is achieved through funding strategic initiatives, programs, and projects that focus on improving health. The Foundation also supports programs that build capacity and develop leaders for nonprofits in the region.
The Foundation has launched a grant cycle each year since its grantmaking began in 2013. To date, the Foundation has invested over $1.5 million in over 60 projects serving the four counties in the region, Franklin, Granville, Vance, and Warren.
According to the Foundation’s Executive Director Val Short, the Foundation Board’s hope is that through grantee organizations and the people they serve, the Board’s vision for the future of our region will be realized…“to live in a healthy community.”
“Our hope is that the Foundation’s investment of grant funds in our communities will result in long-lasting improvements in the health and wellbeing of our children and adults,” Short said.
The Foundation staff is currently available to discuss ideas for grant projects or to assist with grant writing. Call 252-598-0763 to schedule an appointment. Information about current and past funded programs and projects is available on the website at www.tnhfoundation.org.
-Information courtesy Turner A. Pride Jr., County Extension Director, NC Cooperative Extension
This year the Vance County Cooperative Extension Office is turning our focus to the women in agriculture in our area. As integral parts of the agriculture community, we want to provide support for their endeavors and push them to the forefront.
In the spring of 2019, the team is planning to offer a program to cultivate and honor the women in agriculture in Vance County. This program is called the Vance County Women in Agriculture Leadership Program. Our office will put together a nomination committee to select five to six women with strong agricultural ties to participate in the program. This could be a teacher, farmer, ag business worker/owner, backyard gardener, etc.
By offering a collaborative learning experience we hope to strengthen agricultural ties of the women in Vance County, provide an opportunity to share and learn from each other and to promote a future for agriculture in Vance County.
While in the program these women will have the opportunity to network with and learn from some of the leading women in agriculture from around the state through numerous “lunch and learn” sessions. Some of the topics covered will include agriculture resources and programs, business development, marketing, time management and more. We want this group to receive a worthwhile and empowering experience, as well as the opportunity to tap into the various resources available around the state.
To culminate their time together and celebrate their contributions to agriculture in Vance County, we will be hosting a banquet at the Vance County Regional Farmers Market in May. At that time, we will recognize all of these women and the nominated winner for the Vance County Woman of the Year in Agriculture.
As we prepare for the kick-off of this program in April, we want to reach out to the community for your thoughts. If there are individuals that you may feel would benefit from this opportunity, please contact County Extension Director Turner Pride at (252) 438-8188 or tapride@ncsu.edu.
-Information courtesy Rebuilding Hope, Inc.
The variety of backgrounds among Rebuilding Hope, Inc. volunteers includes a retired teacher, David “Doc” Ayscue.
After 31 years of teaching high school health and physical education in Vance and Granville counties, Doc was invited by friend, fellow church member and RHI volunteer Steve Cannon to visit the ministry.
“I’ve been here ever since,” said Doc, who left the classroom in 2010. “And it’s been fun.”
Doc, a Henderson native, said he was attracted to the ministry because it helps others, and the volunteers are “good Christian men to work with.”
David “Doc” Ayscue named Rebuilding Hope’s March 2019 Volunteer of the Month. (Photo Credit: RHI)
Encouraging others to volunteer, Doc said, “There is no other way to get the feeling you get by helping someone.”
Doc, who also coached middle and high school baseball, basketball and football in Vance, recalls one special experience.
“We were fixing up a mobile home for someone, and I painted every room a different color,” he said. “I called it the Joseph house.”
At RHI, Doc, now a self-employed painter, runs the paint room, helps build ramps and replace roofs, does a bit of carpentry and is a runner during SOS.
“I try to work at least one day a week at RHI,” he says. “Seeing the expressions on homeowners’ faces and knowing I’ve been able to help someone is rewarding.”
Doc’s voice is familiar, too. He’s a WIZS sports commentator on Monday afternoons and broadcasts Friday night football games.
A member of New Sandy Creek Baptist Church, Doc is a deacon, a member of the choir and the building and grounds and counting committees.
Doc and wife Brenda have been married for 40 years. They have three children and a grandchild.
Pam Hester and Norman Dickerson, director and assistant director, respectively, with the Vance County Tourism Development Authority, were on Thursday’s edition of WIZS’ Town Talk program to discuss the importance of tourism dollars.
With warmer temperatures and spring weather on the horizon, the tourism office has turned their attention to upcoming fishing tournaments on Kerr Lake. With 10 tournaments already booked for this year, the tourism development authority is well on their way to matching or topping the 16 tournaments they were involved in for 2018.
“Those 16 tournaments brought in $1.1 million to Vance County last year, so we think fishing tournaments are extremely important to our local economy,” Hester said.
Norman Dickerson (left) and Pam Hester (right) with the Vance County Tourism Development Authority talk with WIZS about upcoming tourism events. (WIZS photo)
According to Hester, the average visitor spent $115 a night on a hotel room and $156 a day when traveling from out-of-town to fish on Kerr Lake in 2018.
Hester said she and Dickerson are also in the early stages of bringing a regional fishing tournament to the area for October 2020 and a national tournament to the lake by April 2021.
With potential prize draws such as $50,000 cash, boats and vehicles, the goal is to attract fishermen from other states who would stay longer, and thus spend more tourism dollars in Vance County.
Recently, Kerr Lake added to its reputation as a must-experience fishing destination with its inclusion on Fishing University, an internationally televised, Emmy-nominated television show. Hosted by Charlie Ingram and Ray Brazier, the 30-minute episode filmed on the lake and in various locations around Vance County first aired January 7-13, 2019.
“After the first quarter segment aired, Vance County Tourism received a mailing list from Fishing University with 38 different organizations or people, from 17 different states, who had requested information about Kerr Lake. We consider that a success,” Hester explained.
According to a previous press release issued by Fishing University, the Vance County episode will air 10 times in each quarter of 2019. WIZS will update our listeners and viewers when specific broadcast dates are released.
In addition to fishing, Hester said Kerr Lake offers camping, boating, water/jet skiing and so much more. “Vance County has a goldmine with the body of water that we have,” said Hester.
In addition to fishing tournaments, Fourth of July fireworks and the Show, Shine, Shag & Dine Car Show held in downtown Henderson each fall, Hester and Dickerson are looking into new ways to increase tourism spending.
Tourism dollars are especially important when one considers the money they save Vance County taxpayers. “For 2017, the most recent year figures are available, vendor spending reached over $50 million,” Hester said. “According to the NC Dept. of Commerce, that saved every taxpayer $100.”
In the meantime, Hester reminded listeners that Vance County has a lot to offer residents and visitors alike by way of “entertainment venues, great, locally-owned restaurants, historic museums and, of course, Kerr Lake.”
Please check out the Vance County Tourism Development Authority’s Facebook page by clicking here or following them on Twitter at #vancecountytravelersdiscoveralot.
To hear the Town Talk interview with Hester and Dickerson in its entirety, please click here.
-Press Release, Vance County Schools
Pamela Perry, a member of the faculty at Vance County Middle School, has been selected to participate in the prestigious 2019 Energy Literacy Fellows Program for this year through the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Institute for the Environment.
Perry begins her participation in this statewide program with fellow educators in early March. As an Energy Literacy Fellow, she will receive benefits including:
Perry will be able to participate in lots of on-site professional development sessions and several virtual sessions with educational colleagues across the state.
“I’m so excited to be chosen to participate in this program,” said Perry, who will be among the third cohort for the Fellows Program. “I see this as a great opportunity to use my training as a teacher in science and math to network with other educators and to bring back strategies and practices that will benefit both my students and my colleagues. Since we have our zSpace and MakerSpace labs here at the school, I think this experience will be a wonderful way to learn more about how we can use these innovations in our everyday instruction.”
Pamela Perry, a member of the faculty at Vance County Middle School, has been selected to participate in the prestigious 2019 Energy Literacy Fellows Program for this year through the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Institute for the Environment. (Photo courtesy VCS)
-Information and flyer courtesy Tara Goolsby, Henderson-Vance Recreation and Parks Facilities Supervisor, Aycock Recreation Center
Henderson-Vance Recreation & Parks Department announces the return of adult winter basketball for 2019. This league is designed for adults who enjoy the game of basketball. Games will be played on Tuesday and Thursday nights with game times depending on the number of teams that register.
The registration deadline has been extended to Friday, March 8, 2019! $420 entry fee per team.
Each team will be guaranteed at least eight regular season games. A double elimination tournament will follow the end of the regular season.
For more information, please contact Steve Osborne at 252.438.2670 or sosborne@ci.henderson.nc.us or Victor Hunt at 252.438.3408 or vhunt@ci.henderson.nc.us.
