Commissioners, Ladies, Gentlemen:

 

I’m Ben Fishback, President Bethel Rural Community Organization.

 

Commissioners thank you for your support here tonight, and your assistance this past year in managing the two North Carolina Rural Economic Development Center Grants, impacting the Bethel area.

 

2006, has seen some changes for our community and organization, and a continuation of fund raisers and programs necessary to implement our mission.

 

Since January we have participated monthly in the Manna Food Bank Distribution, in partnership with the Bethel Baptist Church. And since this summer we have been exploring a mutually beneficial partnership with the Bethel Presbyterian Church, to make use of their facilities. Bethel has also participated this year in the Haywood County Citizen Corps and Community Emergency Response Team.

 

And in 2006, as in years past, we successfully sponsored and profited from our two primary fund raisers:  “The Cold Mountain Heritage Tour” and “The Bethel Half Marathon and 5K”.

 

These two fundraisers helped finance:

 

  1. $1000 for the Bethel Middle and Elementary School Christmas Funds

 

  1. $750 for the Bethel Middle School Track Lighting Fund

 

  1. $700 for the Lake Logan-Cecil and Center Pigeon Volunteer Fire Departments

 

  1. $400 for the Francis Mill Preservation Society

 

 

 

Beyond our two local schools, our organization’s most important work is maintaining and preserving the rural nature of our Valley.  Our Rural Preservation Committee, in conjunction with George Ivey and Haywood County, while implementing two North Carolina Rural Center grants, has been busy doing just that:

 

  1. Conducting a telephone opinion survey to assess Bethel community attitudes about land use.

 

  1. Assisting the Lake Logan-Cecil Volunteer Fire Department in providing a building and power source for a new emergency communications repeater.

 

 

  1. Producing brochures and a video promoting Bethel Rural Community Organization

 

  1. Developing radio ads to encourage local support for local agricultural products.

 

  1. Assisting with efforts to fine-tune a plan for a new county land conservation foundation

 

  1. Submitting grant proposals to support additional work related to farmland preservation

 

Additionally, the Rural Preservation Committee and George Ivey have acquired two grants this year:  The Pigeon River Fund of $20,000 and The North Carolina Farmland Preservation Trust Fund of $9,750; and secured funding of $120,000 under the Hurricane Recovery Act to help design and implement a rural preservation plan for the Upper Pigeon River Valley

 

 

Again, thank you for the funding made available to us by the County.