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Our
Annual Report, Christmas card, and newsletter – all wrapped into
one—has become a tradition so here it is once again. As we work
day to day, festival to festival, flower basket to Christmas
wreath, to make Alderson a better place to live, we can sometimes
forget to add it up to see all that we have accomplished in just
one year. It could not have been done without all of you who work
with us on small tasks and large. Thank you for all you have done
this year!
We could not do nearly as much without the help and support of the
Town of Alderson. The Town owns the properties we work with,
co-sponsors events and provides insurance coverage for those
properties and events. Without their support, we would need to
raise a great deal of money just to provide insurance.
Thanks also to our sister organizations who work to improve
Alderson and provide great activities for our citizens and
visitors. The Alderson July 4th Committee, Alderson Community
Center for the Arts and Humanities, Alderson Lions Club, Alderson
Volunteer Fire Department, Alderson Women’s Club, Renaissance
Corporation, and others all join us in working toward the same
goal—a more attractive, economically viable town in which to live.
Web site: We continue to appreciate the work of Barry Worrell who
maintains and updates our web site. It regularly has our agenda
for meetings, our minutes, news releases, photos of recent events,
and more. If you haven’t visited, go to www.min7th.com/ams/ and
check it out.
Alderson Town Flag: Tod Hanger designed a flag for the Town of
Alderson when he was still in high school but it had never been
produced. Thanks to the help of Myrna Dembowski and CRW Flags, we
were able to have two sizes of the flag made as a fund raiser. Tom
Dameron came up with the great idea of numbering the first 10 of
the large flags and auctioning them as “limited editions.” What a
success! We sold all of the small flags and had to order more so
you can still get yours at Alderson’s Store or the Wolf Creek
Gallery.
Alderson Alumni Park and Flag and Flagpole Dedication Ceremony:
Alderson Alumni Park continues to improve. More plantings were
added this year and the second group of bricks was laid in the
sidewalk. The campaign to sell bricks is in its third phase. We
would like to sell 100 before we order again. The funds they raise
will help finish the landscaping and add other final touches. We
were thrilled with our flag dedication ceremony on July 3rd. A
wonderful group of alumni and citizens gathered to dedicate the
first town flag, two flagpoles, and present the first Alderson
Alumni Scholarship. The benches were installed and provide
comfortable spots to view the river. Tom Dameron and many
volunteers are to be thanked for their continuing work on this
project.
Alderson Depot and Museum: Main Street continues to oversee this
landmark. Bill Jarvis has agreed to provide the close monitoring
and minor maintenance any building needs to keep it from
suffering. We have requested proposals from architectural and
engineering firms to help us prepare specifications for the new
roof and to repair and repaint the outside. We hope to select a
firm and begin work right after the first of the year. We still
need $7000 in matching funds for this project.
Flower Baskets: Again, Main Street acquired donors, ordered, and
hung the flower baskets along Riverview Drive and Railroad Ave.
Judy and Luther Lewallen kept them watered.
Greenbrier River Interpretative Center: Wow! What a change! We
were able to have all the exterior work done including new
sidewalks, black top, underground utilities, etc. We also got
another grant from Transportation Enhancement which should enable
us to complete the interior in 2010. We still need some matching
money for this grant as well.
Flower Festival: We held the second Flower Festival with Judy
Lewallen as Chair. Held the Saturday after Mother’s Day, we had
approximately 200 people attend. Plants, food, and crafts were
available for sale and everyone enjoyed themselves. We were very
disappointed in the low attendance and do not plan to continue
this festival in 2010.
Civil War Sign: A sign commemorating the role “Alderson’s Ferry”
played in the Civil War was installed at Alumni Park. In
partnership with the Town of Alderson, this sign will be promoted
in literature and on the internet to draw more visitors to
Alderson.
Smith Mountain Oral History Project: Main Street is partnering
with Ralph Johnson and Belinda Anderson to create a oral history
of this Monroe County mountain.
Christmas Decorations: Main Street members Judy Lewallen, Barbara
Taylor, and Judy Hoover brightened the town by decorating the
Depot and Gazebo and its fence and the shrubs on the Greenbrier
County side of the Alderson Memorial Bridge. Main Street also made
a monetary contribution to the Christmas decorations.
Money: We received grants, sometimes through the Town of Alderson,
from the Greenbrier County Commission, the Greenbrier County
Convention and Visitors Bureau, the Division of Highways’
Transportation Enhancement Grant program, the West Virginia
Development Office’s Governor’s Community Participation Program,
and the Daywood Foundation. Contributions from individuals through
brick sales support Alderson Alumni Park. The cookbooks donated by
Tom and Neta Roush continue to bring in money and the town flags
paid for themselves and are generating a return. Dues are an
important source of funds! Matching money for our grants is sorely
needed. No grants were written this year because we still need to
match the ones we have. Please help us do more with your
contribution. We are a 501 c 3 entity which means your
contribution is deductible in accordance with tax law.
All in all, we have had a very good year! Your hard work has paid
off with more visitor traffic and great publicity for Alderson. We
can’t “rest on our laurels”, though. Next year is coming up fast
and we have much to do to keep up with what we have established
and add new projects.
We are taking a bit of a break and will not meet in December or
January, so we’ll see you in February ready to go again! May 2010
bring the joy of hard work and pride in what we accomplish that
benefits others.
ALDERSON MAIN STREET
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