As we enter the holiday season, I would like to share our gratitude to the community for making 2016 such a positive year for the greenway movement in Buncombe County.
During the past year, our nonprofit initiated greenway walks, booths at local farmer’s markets, released a new video, and participated in dozens of activities (Open Streets, Brewing for Greenways, Fletcher Flyer, Cycle to Farm, Bike Month, Race to the Taps, Sunday’s Live at Aloft, and Asheville and Woodfin Bond Endorsements to name a few) to share our message, grow our membership, and raise funds for projects.
The collective efforts of our members, volunteers, collaborative partners, local governments, and business community is showing that we DO want to make greenways happen locally. On the November ballot, over seventy-one percent of voters in Asheville and Woodfin supported bond referenda to move forward greenway projects in some of our communities. What a milestone!
This upcoming year we plan on expanding our efforts by formalizing a grant program to assist our collaborative partners, set up a “Matching Funds” program for specific projects, expand our greenway walks program, move forward the Buncombe Turnpike Trail Network branding system, launch a new website, and continue to grow our educational and advocacy efforts.
We need to keep the momentum going so the reality of a community connected by greenways and trails is achieved. We all know that this will take time, but your support now can help shape the future for our beautiful mountains. How can you help? We ask for you to encourage your friends and local businesses to become a member or join us as a sponsor. This support, in turn, helps us assist in our efforts to support projects in Buncombe County, Black Mountain, Asheville, Woodfin, County, Enka/Candler, Weaverville, and other areas.
Wishing you much health and happiness on a greenway in 2017!
With Warm Regards,
Suzanne Molloy
President, Friends of Connect Buncombe
