— press release from the Downtown Development Commission in Henderson, NC
The Downtown Development Commission is hosting four interns through the NCWorks NextGen Program this Summer, providing support to downtown merchants, events and city and county departments.
The program provides a respectable wage to new bachelor’s degree graduates for an internship placement of up to 480 hours in their selected career field.
The first intern, Quintin Davis of Warrenton, started Monday and will staff the Arts Council at 233 S. Garnett Street Monday through Thursday from 9-2. Davis graduated from Warren County Early College High School and attended the University of Mt. Olive where he earned his B.S. degree in graphic design.
“I love that I get to gain more graphic design experience while working in the arts field,” shared Davis who also participated in UMO’s concert choir. “I look forward to helping Henderson with its marketing and branding efforts.”
His first projects include signage for Vance County Veterans Services and a photo shoot of locally produced products for the county’s Economic Development Commission.
Downtown Development Director Kaine Riggan provides supervision for the interns and is selecting the candidates to strategically fill key posts for downtown attractions, adding vibrancy to the central business district.
“The Croatan Club and the Emrose Gallery are the gold standard for how we want our historic buildings to look” shared Riggan. “Being able to staff it for regular hours says that we are ready for visitors and open for business.”
While Davis’ post will run through September, other recent graduates will start in May and stagger staffing needs throughout downtown for the next fiscal year.
Riggan also hopes to utilize new NCWorks interns for staffing the Bennett H. Perry Jr. Museum on Church Street and the Classic Car Showroom on Horner Street throughout the summer season.
Downtown merchants, city and county departments and planners of downtown events may submit requests for assistance to Kaine@DowntownDevelopment.org or call (252) 820-9785.