Tag Archive for: #gatewaycommunitydevelopmentcorporation

TownTalk: Way To Grow Festival Is This Saturday

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The Way to GROW festival unfolds this weekend in downtown Henderson, putting the crowning touch on a week of activities to promote entrepreneurship in the community.

Heather Joi Kenney, president of Gateway CDC, is expecting more than 50 vendors to set up shop along Garnett Street, as well as along Breckenridge Street, as part of the celebration.

There will be plenty of vendors on site, serving up food and beverages and more. Two DJs are providing music throughout the day and several groups will perform live during the afternoon. Real Entertainment, based in Henderson, takes the stage first, followed by Jim Quick & Coastline and The Queen’s Court of Charlotte, who will entertain the crowd through the afternoon.

Hosting the festival is Vance County native Chanel Scott, herself an entrepreneur who is an author and FOX Soul talk show host.

The event is a way to showcase local businesses, but Kenney said it’s also a way to show off downtown Henderson.

“It draws people in and shines a light on downtown,” she said. The downtown district has plenty of room for future entrepreneurs to open up their business ventures. “Henderson can become an entrepreneurship hub,” Kenney mused.

“At first, it was just going to be a stand-alone festival,” Kenney said on Thursday’s TownTalk. But she took an idea from a local bank representative and created a weeklong series of workshops for new business owners and for others who are interested in learning starting their own business.

About 30 entrepreneurs have attended the workshops over the course of the week, representing a wide range of businesses – from restaurants and boutique clothing to women farmers and medical billing.

Just as with entrepreneurship, planning a street festival requires lots of planning, creativity and support. Kenney said city officials have been helpful during the planning process since the idea for the festival first germinated.

With a grant from NC IDEA to support businesses in underserved, low-income communities, Kenney and fellow organizer Tracy Mosley from Helping All People Succeed, the festival has moved from the planning stage to the moment everyone’s been waiting for: Festival Day.

Kenney emphasizes that Way to GROW is for the entire community.

“This festival is for all members of the community,” she said. “Henderson needs this,” she continued. “We plan to continue it into the future.”

 

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TownTalk: ‘Way To GROW!’ Festival Coming To Downtown Henderson

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Say you’re organizing an event – complete with food, music and more – and you really want everyone to come out and enjoy themselves. One sure-fire way to make sure the whole community feels invited and welcomed is to get key leaders involved and interested.

Two people who fit that description in the Henderson area are Heather Joi Kenney and Tracy Mosley. They, along with other community partners, are introducing a street festival called Way to GROW! to focus on all aspects of entrepreneurship.

Kenney is president of Gateway CDC and Mosley is director of Helping All People Excel, a local nonprofit whose focus is access, exposure and opportunity for all youth.

They were guests on Thursday’s TownTalk to provide details about the Aug. 12 festival.

Actually, the week leading up to the Aug. 12 event is Entrepreneur Week at Gateway CDC, which is hosting a variety of workshops Monday through Thursday from 5:30 p.m. to 7 p.m. to share information about becoming a successful, sustainable entrepreneur.

Because of her love for this community, “the beauty of its people and of the downtown area,” Kenney said she applied for – and ultimately received – a grant from NC IDEA, a statewide nonprofit whose mission is to support entrepreneurs and entrepreneurship across the state. The Way to GROW! festival “provides an opportunity for people to be entertained and to shop” among dozens of vendors who are themselves entrepreneurs.

A plus for the vendors is that there’s no fee to participate, she said.

Once she had the grant funding, “Tracy came to mind immediately,” Kenney said, adding that if anyone could make it successful, it was Mosley. “She can make it happen!”

“I’m an event planner – I love events,” Mosley said. “It’s a passion of mine and I love Henderson and the community.”

The plan is to block off Garnett Street between Orange and W. Montgomery streets for the festival. The Breckenridge Street area to Chestnut Street, as well as Wyche Street, also will accommodate pedestrian-only traffic that day.

The idea is to show prospective entrepreneurs that it’s possible to take a passion and turn it into a successful and sustainable business.

It’s one way to create and support the idea of community, Kenney said. “We are responsible for one another…Henderson’s way to grow is collectively.”

Join the fun on Saturday, Aug. 12 at 11 a.m. for food, music, vendors, and more at the Way to GROW! festival in downtown Henderson. The Queens Court of Charlotte, Jim Quick & Coastline, DJ AK and DJ Scoop, along with Chanel Scott of CheMinistry are just some of the groups providing entertainment.

To sign up to volunteer or to become a sponsor, contact Gateway CDC at 252.492.6298.

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TownTalk: Gateway CDC April 12 “Social” To Discuss What’s Next For Henderson Revitalization Efforts

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Any type of social gathering is likely to create opportunities for folks to take part in conversations on a variety of topics and to share their unique and collective perspectives. Heather Joi Kenney, president and CEO of Gateway CDC in Henderson, wants the entire community to come out to what she’s calling a community social on April 12.

Southern Charm Event Venue is the gathering spot, and Kenney said on TownTalk that the social will take place from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m.

“We’re hoping to see everyone come out and talk about Henderson,” Kenney said. Of course, it’s always good to hear what’s great about a community, but Kenney said it’s important to know what’s not so great, too. If the community can observe problems and look at them as opportunities to improve, that’s half the battle.

Kenney is a real “glass half full” person, and she and her organization are interested in revitalization – of properties, of mindsets, of attitudes – that have a real impact on Henderson and its future.

“The Henderson Vision” is one tangible facet of this revitalization. Established through $25,000 in grant funds from Duke Energy’s Hometown Revitalization program, Gateway was able to help downtown businesses with microgrants to pay for façade improvements, as well as some interior renovations, Kenney said.

That money is long gone, but Kenney said she expects more money will be coming in, through grantors like Duke Energy, but also from local government support and from collaboration with other community partners.

Downtown revitalization has been a recent focus, but Kenney said it’s important to include areas near the city’s heart as well – William Street, Chestnut Street, as well as areas like Flint Hill and West End.

“We are working to raise some more funds so we can help additional businesses,” she said.

Kenney challenged city and county officials – as well as absentee landlords – to step up to show support for small business owners and entrepreneurs.

“It’s important to get our act together…when we support these businesses, it shows them that we care.”

She applauds local governments for the support they’ve given. “They are doing great work,” but she’d like to see them give “a little bit more” in more tangible ways to promote building ownership and pride in the community.

Gateway’s Small Business Development program helps aspiring entrepreneurs and existing small business owners learn about and access resources that could prove helpful to them.

Providing support and a desirable atmosphere to encourage small business owners goes a long way toward giving the community places to eat, shop and relax. But it also is a way to attract visitors. Visitors, tourists and guests who spend money here, adding to the local tax coffers.

“Henderson IS the destination,” Kenney said, an upbeat note in her voice. “We just have to make sure that other folks know that as well.”

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