Celebration Reception

Community working together to make something happen was the theme of Friends of the Valdese Rec’s Celebration Friday, Nov 3rd.
The reception was held to thank all those involved with helping the Town of Valdese acquire 300 acres of land on Lake Rhodhiss for a passive park. Though the primary partners in this 2.5 year project are Friends of the Valdese Rec, Town of Valdese and Foothills Conservancy of NC, it has taken the help and support of many people and organizations along the way. Each speaker during the evening touched on the importance of community involvement that led to the success of getting to $1.4 million (in grants and donations) to purchase the land.
The program included remarks from Valdese Mayor Chip Black who spoke about the economic impact the park would have on the area. He noted Valdese Lakeside Park was in line with the strategies recently released in the WPCOG’s Comprehensive Economic Development Strategy. Mayor Black was first approached by Beth Heile and Roy Sweezy in February 2015, just a few weeks after being appointed mayor, to ask for his support for the project.
Representative Hugh Blackwell, who was thanked for writing letters of support to the grant officials, stated he was impressed with what a community working together could accomplish.
Major donor Chris Rice, Kellex President, said he made the decision to support the park project after he attended a town luncheon in February 2017. With several members of the Kellex family present for the celebration, Mr. Rice talked about how the completed park would help with recruitment of talented staff and that it was the right thing to do for Kellex’s local workforce, the citizens of Valdese and the environment.
Recruitment was also a reason Carolinas HealthCare System BlueRidge COO Jon Mercer stated for the hospital’s backing of the park. Key factors also included, their goal of working to create healthy citizens and following their slogan of Friends and Neighbors taking care of Friends and Neighbors.
In addition to politicians and donors, professionals in the field of conservation shared their thoughts on the project. Foothills Conservancy of North Carolina’s Tom Kenney played a major role in guiding the Town and FVR through the land acquisition. He helped design a funding plan, negotiated the purchase contract and wrote the Clean Water Trust Fund Management Grant that provided $673,247. From the beginning, Tom was impressed with the beauty of the property and the long view down Lake Rhodhiss to Table Rock.
Damon Hearn, Western Field Representative of the Clean Water Management Trust Fund Grant traveled from Asheville for the event. He said he has never seen a community work so hard together and it showed Valdese really wanted the park land. His team felt this project was perfect for funding with the recreational opportunities that will be available for the region.
Doug Knight, Valdese Parks and Recreation Director, thanked organizations such as FVR, Town Council, Grant Officials and specifically noted the Rostan Family Foundation. The Foundation continues to give back to make our community better with the recent Valdese Family Splash Park and now Valdese Lakeside Park.
Beth Heile, Friends of the Valdese Rec spoke about what is next in the process. She said even though we have worked hard to reach this major milestone, we can’t stop now. We must continue to raise money for amenities and find ways to complete Valdese Lakeside Park by Fall 2020. The urgency is the take advantage of new jobs coming to the area (NCSSM opening in 2021, Continental’s 160 new jobs over next 5 years, Meridan’s 25 new jobs over 5 years, the new Kellex Hogan Street factory will add 35-50 associates) and be a prime choice for that workforce’s home. Studies show people like to live near greenspace and with 300 acres, Valdese will have that to offer.
Mrs. Heile said the master park plan is under way by Destination by Design. In March, those who have donated to the park will be able to review a draft and make suggestions. Prices of features will be included to show how items could be added in phases or how it may be more cost effective to add everything at once. Proposed features include a 2-mile trail connecting McGalliard Falls Park to future picnic area near Wastewater Treatment Plant with exercise stations and benches, mountain bike trails and pump track, disc golf course, kayak launch, picnic area, dock for views and fishing, outdoor classroom.
The evening was not all presentations. A social started the event with hors d’oeuvres, punch and wine made by FVR members and friends. During the social, a slide show thanking people and aerial footage of the park by Tony Glenn were shown. The décor was an outdoor theme – with log slices, sedum, pine cones, leaves and moss as centerpieces and throughout. Door prizes were given at the end of the evening.
On the wall, paper leaves around trees acknowledged the donors. Along with the large pledges for the land from Rostan Family Foundation ($300,000) and Kellex ($100,000), CHS-BR has pledged $50,000 for park amenities. When you include the amount of donations from 70 individuals, $100,000 has been raised so for for amenities. Again, this shows the community working together to make something happen.
If you would like to donate to Valdese Lakeside Park amenities, visit the group’s web site for the form to mail in or the Paypal link.
The purpose of Friends of the Valdese Rec, an all-volunteer, 501(c)(3) tax-exempt nonprofit corporation, is to support the Valdese Parks and Recreation Department with volunteer hours and fundraising for the betterment of the Department, while at the same time benefiting the town, the citizens and the environment. Board members are Beth Heile, Roy Sweezy, Mark Rostan, Sandy Terrell, Don Brittain, Sonni Dyer and Andy Byers.

Join us on Friday, November 3 to celebrate the acquisition of 300 acres on Lake Rhodhiss. We want to recognize and thank all those who believed in this project and energize those who are still learning about the park.

We will start the evening at 5:30 socializing with drinks and hors d’oeuvres. During this time, be sure to check out the Aerial Video of the land by Tony Glenn, the wall of donors and the slide show.

At 6:00, we will start a short program with speakers-

Doug Knight, Parks and Rec Director at Town of Valdese
Tom Kenney, Land Protection Director at Foothills Conservancy
Jon Mercer, COO at Carolinas HealthCare System Blue Ridge
Chris Rice, President at Kellex Seating
Beth Heile, President – Friends of the Valdese Rec, Inc.

We will close the night with door prizes (wine, books, outdoor supplies) and more socializing.

 

Friends of the Valdese Rec, Inc. is a 501(c)3 organization. Donations are tax-deductible.

Event Location: Valdese Old Rock School, Waldensian Room

Grand Marshal of DHS Homecoming Parade

Friends of the Valdese Rec was selected as the Grand Marshal of the Draughn High School Homecoming parade.  The school is excited about what the Valdese Lakeside Park will bring to them for educational, athletic and service opportunities. We were thrilled to be recognized with this honor and rode the Lovelady Fire Department Fire Truck!!

For the homecoming and parade full store

 

Destination By Design Chosen for Master Park Plan

At the October Council Meeting, Eric Woolridge of Destination by Design presented their service options and what they could offer the Town of Valdese in a Master Park Plan. Beth Heile, President of Friends of the Valdese Rec, spoke in support of selecting DbD as the design firm. The Valdese Town Council voted in favor.

Friends of the Valdese Rec, Inc. and the Town of Valdese will split the cost of the Master Park Plan.

Why do we need a master park design plan?

  • To ensure we follow the restrictions of the grants – ex: clean water – we cannot upset areas with endangered plants. If we break the restrictions, we will forfeit the money.
  • To be eligible for future amenities grants – agencies want to see a master plan to show that you know where the money will be used.
  • To make the park a “destination” that people will want to visit again and again. The plan will include branding, styling and a cohesive look.
  • To be able to host regional and state events for disc golf, cross country, mountain bike and the like by meeting specs of each organization.
  • To help with fundraising – know cost of large items for naming rights, unique display of individual donors.
  • To have a layout for volunteers to come in and do the manual labor – if you had every group on the land trying to build their own trail (bike, hike, disc golf) – it would be chaos.

Tennis Courts Demolished

After more than a year of discussion, at the October Council meeting, the vote passed to tear down the courts. The tennis courts at McGalliard Falls have now been demolished (pic Oct 20) and grass will be planted. The courts could not be repaired  – rebuilding was the only option for courts  – which is very expensive. With courts at the Rec and at DHS, the town did not feel the courts needed to be replaced.

The town did look for other options. In September, 2016 FVR brought Deno Contos from Benchmark Trails to quote putting a pump track in the space. However, the cost of tearing up the courts was too much in addition to the cost of the pump track. (The pump track will hopefully be a feature of the Valdese Lakeside Park.)

Before that, in June 2016, FVR presented theses ideas with detail pros and cons for each…

Cover up/Remove the existing surface – Pump Track, Move Volleyball Court and have larger grass area at Picnic shelter, Dog Park

Patching and painting the surface – other net sports, mini-soccer (futsel), multi-use as is, basketball, four square, shuffle board, putt-putt

Valdese Lakeside Park Update – Sept

Where are we now?

We have the money to purchase the 300 acres on Lake Rhodhiss. The closing on the land will be by January 31, 2018.

  • The Town of Valdese was awarded 2 grants from the state – PARTF ($300K) and CWMTF ($676K).
  • The remaining amount needed to purchase the land will be covered by the Rostan Family Foundation ($300K) and Kellex Seating ($100K).

What is next?

  • Meetings will be scheduled to gather input from donors and the community on what features the park should include.
  • A master park plan will be created including amenities desired with pricing and time line for completion.
  • Continue Fundraising for Park Amemities

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Valdese Parks are Gems in More Ways Than One

Valdese parks (our hidden gems) are used everyday for recreation and relaxing – nothing new. The recent crowds at our parks are new. This is thanks to the phone app Pokémon Go. In the game, several of our parks serve as Pokémon  Stops (where virtual goodies are collected) and Pokémon Gyms where battles against Pokémon characters are fought.

In July, the feature of a group raid was added. Depending on the strength of a Pokémon, winning a battle may require up to 20 people to be on location working together.

These group raids, taking 5-20 minutes on site, have brought people together from all walks of life. From kids to war veterans to business owners to line workers to hospital employees to teachers.

With players meeting almost daily over the past weeks, bonds have been created as they learn more about each other. Some players spill their story upon a first meeting. Some take weeks to share a single detail. Players then run into fellow Pokémon trainers (as they are called in the game) at work, school and while running errands. They have helped each other get jobs, learn about different life options (from tips to starting middle school to joining Toastmasters), and reach other personal successes.

The social time with these new and unexpected friendships has been an amazing “feature” of the game.

Thankfully, the Town of Valdese and the Parks and Rec Department are welcoming to the players.  Folks from Valdese and Morganton enjoy spending time at these gyms.  And, Valdese is benefiting from their need of gas and snacks while they are here.

Summer Raffle Winners

 

 

 

The drawing for the winners of our Summer Raffle took place on Saturday, August 13 at 2pm. $1250 was raised for the Valdese Lakeside Park Project. Thanks to Appalachian Mountain Sports for donating the mountain bike (value $350), Wal-Mart for donating the $75 gift card and Rural King for donating the $25 gift card.

The first ticket drawn went to Steve Kiddy. As the first ticket, he had his choice of any of the 3 items and selected the gift card combo.

Bud Sweezy’s ticket was the second drawn and he wanted the mountain bike – which was his dream prize.

The last ticket was that of Gene Tucker and he received the kayak. FVR members delivered the kayak to his home.

Thank you to all those who purchase a raffle ticket (or several) this summer.