Introducing the Spirit of Boone Community Award Honorees for 2026

The Boone Area Chamber of Commerce hosts Spirit of Boone, its 77th annual membership gathering, September 24th in the Grandview Ballroom at Kidd Brewer Stadium.

The full slate of honorees was announced on WATA's Mark in the Morning show on August 11th, marking the beginning of the storytelling about the accomplishments of this year's class. 

On this week's Mind Your Business, we unveil this year's list of honorees, and talk about what made them a choice for this year's spotlight. We also reconnect with Ashley Galleher, the 2025 Kathy Crutchfield Citizen of the Year award recipient, and we'll hear how ZRC Skate has been impacted over the last year by more through community awareness of this unique business.

Mind Your Business is written and produced weekly by the Boone Area Chamber of Commerce. This podcast is made possible thanks to the sponsorship support of Appalachian Commercial Real Estate.

Catch the show each Thursday afternoon at 5PM on WATA (1450AM & 96.5FM) in Boone.

Transcript

SPEAKER_03 0:02

The spirit of Boone is a little over a month away, and this year we introduce the nine community award winners that we'll recognize as part of this year's celebration. From the Boone Area Chamber of Commerce, this is Mind Your Business.

SPEAKER_01 0:19

Mind Your Business. Brought to you by Appalachian Commercial Real Estate, providing professional commercial real estate services. Visit Appalachian CRE.com.

SPEAKER_03 0:30

Hello and welcome into Mind Your Business. I'm David Jackson, President and CEO of the Boone Area Chamber of Commerce. Thanks for joining us once again this week, whether that's through the airwaves of WATA here in Boone, or as a subscriber of the podcast version of the program, which is made possible each week by our good friends at Appalachian Commercial Real Estate. If you have not yet subscribed, that is not an issue. Just search for Mind Your Business wherever you get those podcasts, gain access there to full archives, occasional bonus content, extended episodes, and plenty more as we connect you with the business news that you can use from right here in the mountains of Western North Carolina. Those of us at the chamber absolutely love this time of year. Spirit of Boon is just around the corner, and we are back in storytelling mode. As part of our annual membership gathering, our 77th, by the way, we get a chance to honor and recognize nine community leaders and businesses who are among the high country's tone setters. They lead by doing, they support the most vulnerable areas of our economy. They innovate. They find ways to collaborate on large endeavors. They offer a helping hand, and collectively, they never back down from a challenge when bettering the high country is possible. For the last several years, we've taken the opportunity to tell our annual story through the connected experiences of these nine honorees. Last year's theme was understandably hurricane recovery focused, and we sought to introduce those that were working to restore the areas of the high country that you might not have seen on a regular basis. It's in these spaces, hurricane impacted or otherwise, where some of the most genuine and community forward work takes place. There are no lights, there are no cameras, just an unwavering sense of community, or providing opportunity in a way that lifts others and infuses hope and possibility into our daily lives. On this week's Mind Your Business, we will unveil this year's nine Community Award winners, the first of several opportunities for us to talk about these folks over the next few weeks. Earlier this week, we used the airwaves of WATA and Mark in the morning to publicly announce this year's class of honorees and tell a little bit of history about this annual event. So we will revisit that conversation with Mark Norris coming up in just a bit. We'll also visit with one of our past honorees. That's Ashley Gallagher of ZRC Skate. She was last year's Kathy Crutchfield Citizen of the Year honoree as she used her business as a supply depot for the western edge of Watauga County, one that was cut off near the state line for some time immediately after the storm. It was her action in that moment that inspired others to do the same. Working from church basements, car ports, any flat lot they could find, people helped their neighbors because someone helped them. Ashley is one of those great inspirational silver linings that came out of Hurricane Helene, and we'll check in with her and her business to see how ZRC skate continues to impact those around the state line. We'll get to all of that when we come back after this commercial break. You are listening to mind your business.

SPEAKER_00 3:48

Are you a young professional looking to expand your network? The High Country Young Professionals, affectionately dubbed the High Country YoPros, is a dedicated group of 200 plus professional young adults under the age of 40 serving in various industries across the high country. Join us for our casual networking event on the first Tuesday of each month from 5 to 7 p.m. As we visit locations across the high country. Events are free of charge. However, donations are appreciated. Not a chamber member? That's okay. No membership needed to join us. You just have to be under 40. Learn more about High Country YoPros at Boonchamber.com slash H C Y P.

SPEAKER_03 4:28

Welcome back to Mind Your Business. I'm David Jackson. Before we unveil our nine spirit of Boon honorees, let us recognize a local business that's ready to roll out the red carpet in the direction of your next great commercial space. That's James Milner and Appalachian Commercial Real Estate. They solve simple and complex commercial real estate problems in and around the Boone area and beyond. Whether you own or lease commercial real estate, regardless of the property type, have an advocate on your side, along with the expertise and experience to assist you and your business. For more information, check them out on the web, AppalachianCRE.com. Spirit of Boone, the Chamber's seventy-seventh annual membership gathering takes place on September twenty-fourth in the Grandview Ballroom at Kid Brewer Stadium on the Abb State campus. The evening will include some time to mingle with friends and neighbors and colleagues from across the high country. We'll share a few reflections about the chamber's scope of work for the year, but mostly this event is about honoring the nine community award winners that we recognize as part of this year's celebration. Earlier this week, we unveiled the group for the first time on WATA's Mark in the Morning Show.

SPEAKER_02 5:38

Without further ado, nine award winners. I'll let you just take it away and present them however you want to.

SPEAKER_03 5:49

This award is named after him for his long service not only to the chamber, but he was one of the founding fathers, really, of what we know Boone to be today from a banking perspective. So the Alfred Adams Economic Development Award, or Award for Economic Development, will go this year to Stick Boy and Hatchet. That is one of the largest private businesses in our community with north of 150 employees across a couple of different businesses. Carson and Mindy Coatney started with a dream of a coffee shop back in the early 2000s and now have that carb empire. If you consume a carb in this community, it likely came from them. But uh they have also been a model employer over time too, uh taking growth and growing businesses, acquiring businesses that have become part of their family, but they do it in a way where their business continuity is and employee retention is second to none. So we're excited to have them as our economic development award winner. Um the Baker Jones Woman of the Year Award uh is named after Gillian Baker, who was a longtime um director of public relations for uh now UNC Health Appalachian, um, and Susan Jones, who was Heidi Reagan's predecessor as the Wataga District Manager for Blue Ridge Energy. Those two were involved in chamber leadership together. Uh, and so we have named our Woman of the Year Award after them. And this year's Woman of the Year is Missy Harrell from Fosco Companies. Missy is another one that's involved in a ton of projects, um, not only involved in running Fosco companies, who have been a tremendous benefactor to a variety of community entities. You know, I just saw the announcement the other day that they have funded all the student tickets again for Wataga High School Athletics. That is Fosco Companies, that is Missy, right? Missy's been a uh a tremendous childcare advocate as well. Uh, going back to some experience that she had when her boys were young and and really seeing that as an industry that she personally has invested in. But, you know, she's been involved in the new Mountaineer Tavern down the street. She's um heavily involved in fundraising for App State. She is um uh I don't know how she has the time on the schedule to do the things that she does, but she's somebody that I think as people get to know what she does uh a little bit more, they will be um certainly motivated by that. So that's our Woman of the Year award. Our Citizen of the Year award is uh um uh named after Kathy Crutchfield, you know, just a couple of days after Back to School Festival, here we are talking about Kathy again. Uh, you know, she obviously had a very selfless work ethic, and we worked with with Brian to name this award after her several years ago. This year's award winner, uh, the citizen of the year is Dave Brewer. Wow. And that is one that I think probably brought some chill bumps to some arms uh from high country music aficionados, certainly, or anybody that's ever eaten any good food in Fosco, right? Uh Dave has been he's been involved in more than than anybody will really ever know uh in this community. He has been a supportive voice thinking about his role during COVID, keeping the gig economy going. Same thing in Helene, uh business ventures. Um, you know, he's in every band in town somehow or another. Um Dave is just Dave is just boon, right? When you think of the boon person, I think Dave Brewer is like the picture in the dictionary. So he is our Citizen of the Year Award winner this year. We're we're awfully excited about that. Um my predecessor, Dan Meyer, on his way out, we named the Dan Meyer Partnership Award after him. Dan was a great convener of folks in the community and really taught me a lot as I came into the chamber about the value of convening. So uh the Dan Meyer Partnership Award this year will go to the partnership that helped create Howard Knob Park, and that is Destination by Design, Explore Boon, Watauga County, and Stitch Design Shop. All four of those entities, of course, locally um uh sourced here, especially Explore Boon and Watauga County. Uh, but all four of those had to come together to come up with the vision for that park rehab, the beautiful um uh observation area up there, but then all of the the really kind of complete redesign of that park uh came from those four getting together over time and and going through that process. So congratulations to them. Uh I'm gonna save our tourism award for last, our community involvement award uh this year, and and you know, kind of to define what community involvement looks like. Uh this is the Wade Brown Award. And you know, Wade Brown was a longtime uh you know central figure in in the town of Boone elected. Uh, you know, he he had he was an attorney. I mean, he had all kinds of uh uh similar to Alfred Adams. He was kind of one of the founders of this community uh and was very passionate about finding ways to connect to the community. This year, Ashmont Title is the winner of that award. And again, Ashmont Title is way more than a title insurance company. They put hundreds of thousands of dollars into this community uh in sponsoring uh various things on the education side, community betterment. Uh, and and I think this is another one of those stories it's gonna be great to tell folks because you might not know unless you're attached to one of those projects, just how deeply involved they are and what they support. Um we look now to the Elizabeth Young Award for community leadership. Uh, this one is is near and dear to me. Elizabeth was a board member of the chamber when I joined and was one of the most supportive board members, I think, any board could ever want to have. We know what she's meant to our community. So anybody that's got their name attached to this list um knows community like Elizabeth New Community. And this year's honoree will be no different. That's Tasha Roundtree. Tasha works for Blue Ridge Energy as their community relations uh director, but Tasha is also one of the most civically minded people I think I've ever met. Um I've I've served on the Wataga Opportunities Board with her before. Any board assignment she takes, any community project she gets behind, uh, that gets the full weight of Tasha Roundtree. She's been very involved in Heart of the Pioneer, uh, which is the opportunity for kids to get those free health screenings for physicals for athletics. That was kind of a brainchild of her and some others. So we'll be happy to teach you more about Tasha. Three more to go here. We'll we'll try to do them uh quickly. Our uh Special Services Award is named after Ben Suttle, another one of those uh great former Boontown councilmen and and uh kind of organizers of what we know Boone today as. This uh Ben's like lasting legacy was volunteerism. He found ways to get people outside of their businesses, outside of their normal daily activities, and find a way to connect to communities. So uh this year's Volunteers uh award, uh special services award goes to Judith Phoenix. And Judith is a uh a treasure in in our community. Uh Blue Ridge Women in Ag, Blue Ridge Conservancy, Farm Cafe, those are just like the top three that I can think of off the top of my head. But Judith is deeply involved in so many things here and brings people to the table, brings resources, brings ideas, energy. She was the very first person that met with me when I became the chamber CEO 10 years ago. She came in with a stack about a foot high of pamphlets, and she drops them on my desk and says, All right, you need to learn all this. And it was Blue Ridge Women and Ag. That was the seeds of the High Country Food Hub were starting then. Uh the Conservancy was going forward with the Middle Fort Greenway, and she stayed until I like read them all. So Judith is a great community connector, and we we love working with her. Um, two last awards, the Evergreen Award for Sustainability is going to Dr. Lynn Gibbard uh at Appalachian State. Uh, she has been one of the founders of the Frontline to Farm program over there. And thinking about uh Dr. Gibbard is has done so much to connect the veteran community to Appalachian State and find opportunities for them as they come to our community to get immersed in our community. And this Frontline to Farm program was one of the things that that immediately stood out. It's been a nationally recognized program. And again, as her being one of the founders of that, we're gonna learn more about um exactly how those connection points were made and how that story has resonated outside of our community and been a motivator for some others. Last but not least, our uh annual tourism award, named after the great Sue W. Wilmouth. Um Sue was uh a chamber director for years and and really kind of set the standard in this market for what a chamber um uh should be, uh, and had a lot of involvement, certainly, with the radio station back in the day. Um this award this year is gonna go to Governor Josh and Anna Stein, uh, First Lady Stein. And the reason for that is the deep and personal intentionality that the Stein family has placed on being visible and bringing attention to Western North Carolina in the past year and a half. Um, they will be here for the event. Uh, we are we are happy to host them for that. It's actually going to kick off their visit to Western North Carolina for the two-year anniversary of the storm. Um, but it it's gone outside of Helene. You know, they were up here at Apski Mountain in the winter. They have gone rafting. Uh, First Lady Stein helped cut the ribbon on Western North Carolina being open for business. They have returned to Lansing a couple of times. They've been everywhere. And when they're there, they're intentional and they're also, while they're on, they're they're not on. You know, it's not about being the governor, it's about being two people who Western North Carolina means something to them from a family perspective. They really met and and the the roots of their marriage started uh down near Asheville. Um, but it means something to them to see this part of the of the area heal and they have connected, no matter what political affiliation might happen to be, they have connected with with R's and D's and those in between in businesses small and large across this region uh consistently for two years. And that needs to be recognized. It needs to be recognized that when we have needed attention, we pick up the phone, we call that office, and they say, All right, we'll be there. And not everybody has remained that consistent over the last couple of years. So we're uh honored to have them join us and uh and and be a part of the event and certainly recognize them again for everything that they've done. So that is the nine winners uh of these awards, and uh we certainly hope that you all can join us to to celebrate, which is uh uh another amazing class this year.

SPEAKER_02 16:03

People are burning up Boon Chamber right now by the way.

SPEAKER_03 16:05

I hope so. I hope so. That'll that'll help us, but but also um I I reiterate again, if you know any of these folks, the cats out of the bag now, please go and pat them on the back and and shake their hand and and um celebrate them. You know, and I I know you're gonna do, you know, your your mark in the morning magic and and help talk to some of these folks over the next few weeks. And we certainly appreciate the partnership that you all have had on this event for the last several years. Um, you know, this is the fun part for us now. It's not as much about, you know, yeah, we'll hand them a plaque and that'll be great. It's about telling everybody about these wonderful businesses now. And that's that fuels us. You know, we're we're excited now to be able to share this and not like who did we tell? We we can't tell this person, they'll tell everybody. You know, so so now it's out wide. Uh, it'll be on our social media channels later. We'll repurpose this interview too, I'm sure, and and we'll get it out there for everybody to hear.

SPEAKER_02 16:57

The power of a story and getting getting to hear the stories of all of these people is gonna be an incredible night. So boonchamber.com, get your tickets.

SPEAKER_03 17:05

Thanks to Mark Norris and High Country Radio for being such a supportive force behind this event. Mark will soon begin conversations with each of these honorees, which will be featured on his program over the next few weeks. As for the event itself, as of the 13th of August, we have right around a hundred tickets remaining for this event, and they have been moving rather quickly. If you plan to join us, please head to Boonchamber.com and get your tickets. The proceeds from this event go to the chamber to fuel our work for the year. This is our largest annual fundraiser, and its impact supports the mission and vision of not only the chamber, but our foundation as well. And you'll hear about some of the plans for the year ahead while you are enjoying the experience of this year's Spirit of Boom. When we return, we'll connect with the 2025 Citizen of the Year Award winner, Ashley Gallagher of CRC Skate out near the state line. Find out what's going on with her business in 2026. You are listening to Mind Your Business.

SPEAKER_01 18:05

Appalachian Commercial Real Estate provides professional commercial real estate services in the Boone area. They provide sales, leasing, consulting, and appraisal services to owners and users of commercial real estate. For more information, go to their website at Appalachian CRE.com.

SPEAKER_03 18:22

Welcome back to Mind Your Business. I'm David Jackson. As we mentioned earlier, last year's spirit of Boone honorees shared the common tie of hurricane response. Out in Zionville, near the Tennessee border, many residents were cut off from supplies from both states, as a matter of fact, and needed a gathering point where they could access necessities and information. Ashley Gallagher, owner of ZRC Skate, had a functional building, and soon after she had a community to care for. A place where they they don't necessarily have to see transportation as a barrier to get to. And with everything that that goes on right there at the state line, that is a very busy part of the community that many people might not know about, but you you have got now an anchor business that brings people together in that spot. What's that been like to see really kind of two states converge on you in a couple of different communities just because of where you're physically located?

SPEAKER_04 21:49

Uh a lot of my regular skater kids are Western Watauga kids. They're Mabel students, they're you know, kids that went to Mabel that are now at Watauga High School. Um, you know, I've got some. Johnson County, Tennessee kids. I've got a couple kids that come from Banner Elk Avery County area. You know, um, their parents used to bring them, and now they're 16, 17, they've got their driver's license, they're coming out. That's been really cool to see also, you know, how how far. I mean, I've got a group of kids from Hickory and Spruce Pine, teenagers that come to hang out, and that just illuminates to me like that there is a great need for hangout spots. And if you're familiar with the the the idea of the third place, right? Barbershops, coffee shops, McDonald's in the morning, Hardy's in the morning, you see people gathering. Uh, there's not a lot of third places for young people anymore that we don't see a lot of youth centers and places like that. Um and to to watch ZRC become that for a lot of different user groups has been really fun. You know, I've been doing a lot more live music since the storm, and that is a totally different crowd. I would say less than five percent of the attendees care anything about skateboarding, but because I'm an all-ages venue that's not a bar, they can come and hear music. You know, I get a lot of teenagers and kids that are 18, 19, 20 that can't go see a band at Boone Saloon and other places. They come to me. Um, and they've been really grateful for that community space. And a lot of them will thank me as they're walking out the door. They offer to help clean up at the end of the night, they want to take out the trash, they want to it's this overwhelming, everyone wants to be a part of a community, however they can. And seeing that there's such a need for that has been really cool. And also it's been very eye-opening to learn what are my own limitations, what am I truly capable of providing while also trying to get this business to a point of financial stability and sustainability. And that has been interrupted, you know, massively twice, once by Helene, and then again, now with the most recent development or uh incident. Um but I will say now I understand why small businesses just suddenly close and face, you know, it's like when you get hit with these challenges time and time again, you make decisions out of exhaustion. I'm fatigued, right? Uh, you know, the at fault party's insurance is wanting to give me a check. And I I'm like, no, I'm not, I'm not happy with the terms. This is way, way, way lowball. But I could see where a business owner who's under more financial strain and stress might see that bait and grab it, and that will ultimately sink them in the long run, right? Is making an impulsive decision out of necessity to get yourself through today, and then make because you made that decision, you're not going to be able to make it six months from now. So it's like I'm in the trenches right now, I gotta, you know, figure out how to keep fighting this a little bit longer so that I do get put back together in a very full way where I was when I went to bed before that incident. Um and like you said, through no fault of my own, Helene was no fault of my own. But I will say, like, the visibility brought about by both of these incidents, I'm trying to see that in a positive light and see that this will turn more eyes to my business. And in the long run, I'll be better for it. But right now, it is really hard.

SPEAKER_03 25:24

Well, uh, if if you could give a kind of a quick overview of what did happen for those that might not be aware and and how you have set up a couple of different things now for people to help support you in this time through what you do and and do best, and that's bringing people out to your facility.

SPEAKER_04 25:41

Yeah. So a um highly intoxicated underage driver veered off the roadway, crashed on my property into my commercial vehicle, which was a 15-passenger van that I parked in front of the building. Um, he came off the roadway at a very high rate of speed in a 2500 diesel pickup truck, smashed into the van, sent the van flying 25 plus feet into the building. So just the totaled van would probably be pretty easy problem to fix. But that combined with structural damage to the building, um, means I'm dealing with multiple insurance entities. Obviously, there's it's clear and undisputed liability on the part of the driver, and that's been confirmed by law enforcement, but that doesn't help me on the financial side, and it doesn't help me on the civil side with the insurance. Um, and it being summer camp season, these last three weeks of camp have been really, really tough. It's taken me away from the kids, it's taken me away from my mission. I've hired extra staff to be with the kids because I'm constantly taking phone calls and emails and trying to trying to advocate for myself so that I don't have to take the bait that they're offering me right now. And I see why that's tempting from his insurance, but I also have done enough research on my own to realize that that's not in my best interest to settle right now. It's not gonna put me back together fully. People ask all the time. I think the people that ask this have never really been involved in a in a complicated insurance claim, but they're like, Don't you have insurance? Like, yes, I do. I have a deductible. Um, my rates are going to increase, even though this is of no fault of my own. Um I need to put my building back together in a way that's structurally sound and safe so that my liability doesn't increase, so my property value doesn't decrease. You know, yes, I could put a band-aid over this, but it's going to come back and bite me later, and it will become a more expensive problem later, which is why I see the trajectory of why businesses fail. They take the payout and then they can't fully get put back together later. The totaled van, I got a killer deal on it from a church. They gave me a great deal because they knew it needed some work, and I put all that work in to the tune of, you know, close to four grand is what I put into it. And then I got the commercial wrap, which I just got done on literally June 1st. I paid to have a vinyl wrap so that the van would essentially be a mobile billboard for my business. And it was incredibly impactful. When we traveled in the van with the kids, we got comments all the time. People were walking up to us in the parking lot to scan the QR code on the on the side of the van. Um, it was a really cool tool for my business that I was able to slowly over the. I bought it last July and I got it on the road June of this year. So it took me a while to get it ready because I wasn't financially prepared to buy a vehicle, but the opportunity was too good to pass up. So now I'm in the position where I can't replace what I had and what they want to give me for total loss. And that's what insurance companies do, right? They're gonna give you what the blue book or JD Powered Associate, whatever the market value of this is, but it's hard to put a price tag on a on a vehicle that that did so many different things for my business. Uh, you know, it opened up summer camp in a way that was so much fun. We could hop in the van, go to Valley Cruises Park, we went to Farm Cafe and took the kids to lunch, and and we were able to integrate ZRC skate camp more into the community than ever before. And now I am tasked with doing that all over again. And I'm not in a good financial place. No one is in the beginning of business years after a hurricane. You know, I'm I I'm only in year three and I've already had these challenges that mean I don't have a great safety net financially. You know, my my asset is the building, it's the real estate, and that's not a fruit that you can squeeze any juice out of. I can use the building to make money, I can use the van to make money, but when both the van and the building are damaged, that puts me at a disadvantage. And that's not even counting the time spent advocating for myself to keep my costs down but fix the building correctly, not have my insurance jack up my rates, which they're going to, and that's a whole other conversation. But I've learned a lot, but I don't want to be an expert on this. I want to be an expert on community building and teaching kids how to live and move with resilience and and be how to teach them how to be good community members. And unfortunately, I haven't been able to do that these last three weeks. You know, I've luckily have amazing staff that I can bring in that are these staff just happen to be more available in the summer because they're either high school or college students. Um, but still, I feel like it's it's robbed the the camp kids of of my presence and my my ability to run the camp just the way I want to. Or I get I stay super involved with camp and let this insurance situation swallow me, which I'm not willing to do. So I had to make some a lot of difficult choices. Um, and I know I'm going on and on and on, but it's just like it's such a complicated process and it's so hard to explain that when people say things like, Well, that's why we have insurance, and I'm like, Yeah, but they're gonna pay me for using it. Like, well, they're gonna charge me for using it. Like, we have this, we pay into it every month, but when it comes time to make a claim, you're still spending money out of pocket. You're not gonna be reimbursed fully for all your costs. I mean, I'm gonna have to go play pay title taxes and registration on another vehicle, and I'm not gonna be able to find the same deal I had before. So my fees, my insurance, everything will go up, you know, just to have the van insured to haul the kids around. I'm gonna have higher premiums on everything. So looking down at that is like, oh, it's so overwhelming. But the community has had my back and that feels incredible. Uh, the GoFundMe has been incredible. I've been able to pay contractors, I've been able to pay an engineer to do a structural report on my building and a full assessment so that I can sleep at night, knowing that the structural damage can be repaired. The bowl that sits above the load-bearing wall that was taken out is is fine. We're gonna have to fix the wall underneath. You know, I got a big construction project coming up now that I have to manage. But the fact that I've been able to pay contractors and vendors up front instead of making them wait on the insurance payout, that makes me feel good that I can, you know, I can still be a good community member and uh not everyone has to take take a loss or wait for payment on a situation like this because the community has my back. Part of me feels a little like I wish, I wish I didn't have to rely on this, but that's what community is there for. Um, and I think people wouldn't help if they couldn't or they didn't want to. So that feels good too, that I'm not begging, I'm not out here saying, please someone rescue me. People jumped in and wanted to help and suggested a gofundme and said, you know, people who'd been in a situation said, Why don't you start a GoFundMe so you're not spending as much out of pocket? People want to help you. That's a tough pill to swallow, too, from a pride standpoint. I don't want to be a GoFundMe recipient. I want to be a successful, stable, sustainable business. You know, I worked in the nonprofit world for more than a decade, and there are aspects of ZRC that run very much like a nonprofit, but ultimately to keep it to keep it going, it has to be profitable. And the way I do that is through camps and programming. Um so yeah, the ways people can help would be to if if you can, I would obviously the GoFundMe support's incredible, coming out next Friday, the 21st, to Sunrise Mountain Mini Golf. Um, I'm friends with the owners there, and they they called me right after the accident and were just devastated. They had come into Bistro Roca and ate a lot, um, which is where I worked for the last eight years. Bistro Roca and the ownership there really made ZRC Dream possible, having a backup in the restaurant industry and being able to make that money. And then Bistro Roca burned down in January. So I kind of lost my my financial safety net there. Um, but the connections I made at Bistro Roca have benefited ZRC and helped me clean up after this mess. So Ian and Lisa Hunter are offering Sunrise Mountain mini golf for ZRC for the day on the 21st. So our staff and volunteers from ZRC will be running it, but they're gonna let us keep all the proceeds, which will be incredibly helpful and will enable me to keep doing kind of what I've been doing since the hurricane, which is my summer camps and my programs. I basically run all of the kids stuff on a sliding scale. And most business owners would say that's insane, but because I have a long background in the nonprofit world, I I know that I can get some help on the back end. There are people that want to support summer camp scholarships and want to support programming for kids that don't care that I'm not a nonprofit. They just want to see a benefit for the community. So that enables me as a business owner to say, hey, you know, I'm I'm in touch with these families. I know where people are at since the storm, before the storm, and to be able to offer that privately and discreetly and say, hey, I want your kid at camp. We have a scholarship available, fill out this form, sliding scale, pay what you can. And families have been incredibly honest with that process, and which has enabled the money to stretch even further. So that being said, when you support ZRC, yes, I'm not a 501c3. One day I'd like to create a foundation that assists, but I gotta get the business stable and financially secure first before I create a nonprofit. But people can still support and know that you know uh the money's not going anywhere except for right back into ZRC or right back into kids in the community in the form of camp scholarships, sliding scale for after school programming and things like that, and anything above and beyond what it takes to fix the building in the way that is satisfactory to me, um, is going to Blake's backyard, which we intend to pour that concrete for that ramp next month. And that's been a memorial project that's been in place since right after Helene, uh, in memory of a very special young man that worked for me and was a big part of our community and took his life at after Helene a few months after. So honoring him, you know, there's there's a a place for any funds that are raised in excess of what it takes to put me back together, is gonna go right back into the community and serve the same user group that's already being served by ZRC and more.

SPEAKER_03 36:38

Again, encourage people to go to ZRCskate.com. You can find the link to the GoFundMe there. And um, yeah, Ashley, I know that that you mentioned a minute ago uh you don't necessarily want to be in this position, but it was because you were in this position for others that I know that they will rally to your aid as well. So best of luck with all of this and and keep us posted and and we look forward uh to seeing you get past uh these hurdles and and continue to offer such a great resource to our community out in Zionville.

SPEAKER_04 37:06

Yeah, thank you so much. And yeah, just thank you to the community and everyone that's supported thus far and and and reached out with such kind words and encouragement. And uh once this all gets put back together, I will recognize those people in a more meaningful way. But uh right now, just know that it means a lot. And it it really, you know, when uh my grandma used to say that like, you know, when you're tired like this, you gotta you gotta find a way to put more gas in the tank. And sometimes you have to let other people do that for you. And that's been incredibly humbling for me to learn that lesson um so quickly after the relief effort to now be the recipient of help. Um, but that's you know, we get the lessons we need. So um I appreciate everyone so much and thanks for your time.

SPEAKER_03 37:47

Thanks to Ashley for spending some time with us. Make sure you head over to CRCSkate.com. You'll find a link to their CoFundemy to help with the building renovation. You'll also find a calendar of skate events, live music, and plenty more. You'll soon find out that CRC Skate is not just about skateboarding and physical activity, it's also about creating community. Thanks to people like Ashley, Dave Brewer, and others, community support is found all across our beautiful high country. You are listening to mind your business. Each fall, the Boone Area Chamber of Commerce leads a celebration of community. The people and businesses that make us unique, the leaders that make the high country strong. This celebration captures the spirit of boon. Join us Thursday, September 24th, from 5:30 to 9 o'clock in the Grandview Ballroom at Kid Brewer Stadium as the chamber hosts Spirit of Boo. Connect and network with nearly 400 fellow business and community leaders. Enjoy a delicious dinner, roof to the live sounds of Watonga County's own Adam Church, and help us celebrate the accomplishments of the Chamber's annual community award on a reads. Spirit of Boon is the chamber's largest fundraiser of the year with event proceeds that fuel our mission-driven work, programs, and projects. Seating is limited, and this event has sold out in past years. Tickets and corporate tables are available now at Boonchamber.com. Join us as we celebrate the Spirit of Boon. Serve your seats today at Boonchamber.com.

SPEAKER_01 39:19

Mind your business. Brought to you by Appalachian Commercial Real Estate, offering sales, leasing, consulting, and appraisal services. Visit Appalachian CRE.com.

SPEAKER_03 39:31

Some updates of the community and chamber variety to bring you this week. First, a welcome to Hank Perkins, the new interim manager of the town of Boone. Perkins is an industry veteran, having spent decades in local government, including manager roles in Lewisville, North Wilkesboro, and Lake Fluor, among others. Hank Perkins replaces Dale Presnell, who served as the interim town manager since the beginning of the year. Presnell will now move back into his previous position as the director of human resources for the town. Perkins assumes his new position next week. Now, in the meantime, the town of Boone will continue its search for a permanent manager. Mayor Dalton George told Wataga Online earlier this week that the town is taking the time necessary to ensure that the next permanent manager is the right fit for the town of Boone. In the meantime, we're pleased to welcome Mr. Perkins to the role and in interim capacity and excited to see what he will bring to Boone. That again, a quote from Mayor Dalton George. Welcome again to Hank Perkins, the new interim manager of the town of Boone. Speaking of the town, something we've all noticed over the last couple of weeks, it has rained. It has rained a lot. Enough, in fact, that the town has lifted its stage two water restrictions and is moving back to stage one voluntary water restrictions, as Watauga County still remains in moderate drought status. More information available about those voluntary restrictions at townofboon.net. Finally, a chamber event note. We are excited to host our second Policy and Pints event that's coming up August 25th at the Cardinal from 5 to 7 p.m. Policy and Pints is a social series from the Boone Chambers Advocacy Task Force, a chance to catch up, network, and hear about key advocacy work that relates to the Chamber's annual legislative agenda, which you can view anytime at Boonechamber.com. This quarter we'll be talking about child care wins in Raleigh and what those mean for Wataga County. Especially relevant with more shifting of centers in the community as of late. This event is available first to advocate level chamber members and above. We do anticipate having some public seats available for sale middle of next week, so you can keep up with those details at Boonchamber.com. Future policy and pints events will include an election recap, conversation around workforce development as it relates to state policy, especially, certainly some housing discussion coming soon. This is a great way for businesses and individuals to keep up on these key discussions that relate to business success and quality of life, and doing so in a more casual setting. This is also a perk of those elevated membership tiers. Access to conversations like these that can be helpful to you and your business. And again, for more details on our advocacy work, visit BooneChamber.com. And finally, it is at that website you will find information next week related to our annual Watauga County Meet the Candidates Forum, which will be held Thursday, October 1st at the Appalachian Theater in downtown Boone. We will hold public conversations with candidates running for Watauga County Board of Commissioners, the Watauga County Board of Education, and those running for State, House, and Senate offices. Three races in total in that category. More details about times and order of candidate forms will be announced next week. Now, for the U.S. House, Watauga County Sheriff, and Watauga County Clerk of Port, we will use Mind Your Business to create some conversations with each of these candidates. Another reason to subscribe to the podcast version of the show, as this definitely qualifies as bonus content for sure. More details again on the candidate forum coming up soon at Boonechamber.com. We are back to wrap the show right after this. You are listening to Mind Your Business.

SPEAKER_01 43:14

Appalachian Commercial Real Estate provides professional commercial real estate services in the Boone area. They provide sales, leasing, consulting, and appraisal services to owners and users of commercial real estate. For more information, go to their website at Appalachian CRE.com.

SPEAKER_03 43:37

Less than 100 tickets remain to Spirit of Boone at the 77th annual membership gathering. Check out details and get your tickets today at Boothchamber.com. That does it for this week's Mind Your Business. The program is written and produced each week by the Food Area Chamber of Commerce. Thanks to WHTA for putting us on the Airwave Seek in every week. And thanks to Mark in the Morning for hosting us earlier this week to unfail those award winners. That was surely a fun time and more to come. Tune in to Mark in the Morning. Today here leading up to Spirit of Mood. You'll hear more about those winners and the event as well. We'd also like to thank James Milner and the team at Appalachian Commercial Real Estate for always making the podcast version of this program possible. If you're not a subscriber, make that happen today, especially with bonus content coming up soon. You can search for Mind Your Business wherever you get your podcast. You can also visit us online anytime at bootchamber.com. Until next week, so long, everybody.