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Pride of Kinston Board Strongly Endorses Kinston’s Bid to Become a 2009 All-America City
In a statement issued Tuesday afternoon, the board said it “congratulates the City of Kinston for its nomination to be a 2009 All-America City, and endorses without qualification its election to that distinguished honor during the All-America City competition in Tampa, FL June 17-19, 2009.” Kinston learned March 31, 2009 that its All-America City application was one of 25 in the nation selected to compete in the final round of judging to be held June 17-19, 2009 in Tampa, FL. A panel of judges convened by the National Civic League, sponsor of the All-America City award, will meet with representatives of the 25 contending communities to determine the ultimate winners. A team of 29 Kinston individuals will travel to Tampa to participate in the awards competition. More than $40,000 has been raised from private sources in the community to finance the trip. Kinston Mayor Buddy Ritch will lead the local team. Pride’s work to spur revitalization in downtown Kinston was referenced in the Kinston application which focused on three key community partnership initiatives:
Pride Leaders Honored By Chamber of CommerceKey Pride of Kinston leaders were honored May 21, 2009 by the Kinston-Lenoir County Chamber of Commerce at its annual distribution of awards hosted by the Kinston Rotary Club. Honored were:
Alison Merrit, chair of Pride’s Board of Directors, won the 2009 Small Business Award for her company Alison & Company Salon and Day Spa. Long active in Kinston civic affairs, Ms. Merritt was praised for being among the first new businesses to locate on Herritage Street, and for recently sponsoring a hair cut day in her parking lot at 408 N. Herritage, donating the proceeds to the American Red Cross. She is also actively involved in Mitchelltown preservation activities.
Agnes Ho, director of the Kinston-Lenoir Public Library, long-time member of the Pride Board of Directors, chairing the organization’s Marketing and Promotions Committee. Ms. Ho, presented with the 2009 Pinnacle of Achievement Award for a female leader, was cited for her leadership in promoting and securing a $2.6 million bond issue to expand the library, located at 510 N. Queen Street. When the architect’s plans came in $300,000 over budget, Ms. Ho helped raise an additional $750,000. She has serve on State-wide library boards and is involved in the annual Lenoir County READ program.
New FacesTwo new faces have joined the Pride team:
Brooke Jones, student in North Carolina State University’s Environmental Design in Architecture curriculum with an economics minor, is a summer intern for Pride. Ms. Jones, a 2004 graduate of Arendell Parrott Academy, is working to develop a streetscape plan in connection with Pride’s South Queen Street initiative. In that connection, she will help craft a design for the proposed new entrance off Queen Street into historic Maplewood, Cedar Grove and Hebrew cemeteries. The ultimate objective is a complete make-over for the South Queen Street entrance into downtown Kinston.
Danny Parker: When summer strikes, flowers and plants in downtown landscapes and floral containers beg for mercy and the soothing balm of cool water. For the second consecutive summer, Pride has found a remedy: thanks to Mills International, a bright yellow cub cadet equipped with a 150-gallon water tank plies the streets three days a week to quench the flowers and plants thirst. This year the watering guy is Danny Parker, a man with a sunny personality and a passion to save our flowers. |
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The Board of Directors of Pride of Kinston, Inc. sent a message to the City of Kinston Tuesday strongly endorsing the city’s bid to become a 2009 All-America City.
