As part of NC Litter Sweep, we held a cleanup at McGalliard Falls. In addition to cleaning, we also spread pine straw around the Girl Scout planting area that was added as part of the Bird Sanctuary. We also spotted irises coming up from past planting sessions.

You may recall, a Bird Sanctuary was created at McGalliard Falls park during the summer of 2016. The sanctuary was a group effort between Friends of the Valdese Rec, Councilman Gary Delp and his wife Phyllis and girl scouts Gunnar Hudson and Rachel Watts, of Troop 10645. As a part of their Silver Project, the girls set up a booth at the Valdese Festival selling sponsorships for the birdhouses. With the sponsorship money (and a donation of wood from Lowes Hardware of Morganton) they built and painted 50 birdhouses. They also landscaped 2 areas of the park with bird friendly plants (berries for eating, coverage, etc) – around the sign created for the space – Every Birdy Welcome and near the park entrance. Plants were provided by Settlemyre Nursery, Northwest Landscaping Inc. and the community. The project was unveiled on Saturday, Sept 17 with the ribbon cutting of the Grist Mill. Friends of the Valdese Rec had a BBQ Lunch that day.

Packets were mailed to our local state lawmakers Representative Hugh Blackwell and Senator Warren Daniel. In addition to letting them know that we have 2 state grants pending for the purchase of the lake land, the packets included the Valdese Lakeside Park Plan and information about Friends of the Valdese Rec. We have been called by both offices to tell inform us of their support.

June 2 Update: Add Congressman Mark Meadows to the list!

We have started a campaign called #PledgetothePark to gather testimonials from those who have pledged. Look for them on social media and our testimonials page.

Thanks to all these people and companies the red is rising for park amenities. However, more pledges are needed to show the grant boards that community supports this project and to build the best park ever.

The FVR Fundraising Committee met today and made plans for raising money for the Valdese Lakeside Park amenities.

We have committees for Gardening, the Young at Heart, Sports. Join us!

On Sunday evening, Citizen:Earth Media hosts Isaac Crouch and Sam Crouch interviewed Valdese Town Manager Seth Eckard and FVR President Beth Zimmerman Heile for their weekly podcast. Discussion covered Valdese Lakeside Park and all the great things happening in Valdese.

Download the podcast.

Friends of the Valdese Rec Annual Meeting was held this afternoon at the  Waldensian Heritage Winery.

Valdese Parks and Rec Director Doug Knight discussed the PARTF grant he will be applying for on behalf of the town for money to purchase the lakeside park land and asked FVR for a letter of support to the grant committee. We voted yes!!

Town Manager Seth Eckard gave an overview of the process once we receive the grant money.

Officers for 2017-2019 were voted in.

President- Beth Heile
Vice President- Roy Sweezy
Secretary- Don Brittain
Treasurer- Andy Byers
Members-at-large: Mark Rostan, Sonni Dyer, Sandy Terrell

At the Valdese Town Council Meeting, FVR President Beth Heile presented an update on the Valdese Lakeside Park. She reported that for the 300 acre land purchase – $1M in state grants are being applied for, $400k in pledges have been committed from the Rostan Family Foundation and Kellex Seating, and fundraising is ongoing for park amenities. Protecting this land has been a 2-year partnership between Town of Valdese, Foothills Conservancy of North Carolina and Friends of the Valdese Rec.