Crystal Graham: Join AFP at Taste of the Town
I got a feeling Jonathan Hunley does not know what I’m talking about.
My friend Teresa and I have been busy prepping for the Taste of the Town benefit for WDDI on Tuesday night.
We’ve been up to our elbows in garlic, onions, jalepeno peppers and green peppers for most of the morning. I even made Teresa cry when she was peeling onions. Read more
AFP taking part in Taste of the Town
Augusta Free Press vice president Crystal Graham will square off with News Virginian editor/general manager Jonathan Hunley in a cook-off in the 13th annual Taste of the Town event on Tuesday, March 27.
The event is sponsored by Waynesboro Downtown Development Inc.
Graham will pit her Moroccan White Bean Turkey Chili against Hunley’s Butternut Squash Soup in the Best Culinary Newshound competition.
The Taste of the Town event is 5-8 p.m. at the Waynesboro Country Club.
WDDI seeks help on new Fish-Deck
Waynesboro Downtown Development Inc. is working on plans for a riverside observation deck downtown – and is asking for your help to bring the project to reality.
The effort to build what will be called the Waynesboro Fish-Deck has already won approval of grants from CSX and Virginia Main Street to the tune of $7,500. WDDI is now working to raise $20,000 in corporate and community donations.
The deck is planned for the area of the Dominion Virginia Power Pavilion in Constitution Park. The observation deck will be built into a moderately sloped, lightly wooded riverbank location. The deck will be sited about 30 feet behind the Dominion Pavilion and 15 feet inland from the river’s edge. The Pavilion hosts several popular riverfront festivals each year, including Riverfest, the Virginia Fly Fishing Festival and numerous other special events, corporate gatherings and picnics.
The deck has been artfully designed in the shape of a fish native to South River. Plans include interpretive signage for fish/wildlife resources as well as sponsor signage crediting CSX and other sponsors. A professional engineer has prepared detailed drawings of the deck, including color renderings and construction plans.
The deck will be built using high quality Trex composite lumber. The Trex Transcends product specified is well-known for its attractive appearance and overall durability. In addition to a long life span, this product does not cup or warp, is stain-resistant and can accommodate curved banding and other special features.
Upon completion, the city’s Parks and Recreation Department will maintain the deck. It will also be widely promoted to local and regional visitors by the city tourism department.
Contact Tom Carlsson (540.946.9230, t_carlsson@wrha.org) to explore how your organization might help WDDI bring this exciting new project to fruition.
Free business seminar, assessment will tell it like it is
Marc Wilson isn’t in the business of sugarcoating.
“I’m not related to you, and I’m not necessarily your friend. So when I leave, you’re going to get the truth, but you might not like hearing it,” said Wilson, a retail industry consultant at the Virginia Small Business Development Corp. and 35-year veteran of the retail business, who will be in Waynesboro on Thursday and Friday to lead a Holiday Retail Seminar in conjunction with Waynesboro Downtown Development Inc.
Wilson’s visit begins with a free seminar at 8:30 a.m. Thursday at City Hall in the City Council Chambers, “From bah-humbug to booming business, or Bah-To-Boom!” The seminar will cover all aspects of holiday retail sales, including sales approaches, merchandising, window dressing, cash-flow management and customer-traffic management.
Aimed at retail and restaurant establishments, the focus of the talk will be on helping small-business owners develop strategies for maximizing sales and profitability in the fourth quarter of the business year.
The rest of his time in Waynesboro on the two-day visit will be spent with individual owners doing 90-minute on-location evaluations that Wilson said is “literally a physical of their operations.”
“I’m another set of eyes and ears. I’ve been in the retail business for 40 years. I’ve seen an awful lot,” said Wilson, who preaches to small-business owners the value of differentiation.
“Are you the only, are you the best, do you have the best product selection, do you have the best price, do you have the best people, do you have the best shopping experience? It’s all about the diffentiation,” Wilson said.
RSVP for the confidential business assessment at wddidirector@ci.waynesboro.va.us.
Story by Chris Graham. Chris can be reached at freepress2@ntelos.net.
WDDI announces staff cut
Edited by Chris Graham
freepress2@ntelos.net
Waynesboro Downtown Development Inc. has laid off its events coordinator after the board of directors of the business-improvement organization voted this week to eliminate the position due to funding issues. Read more
The parade is, sorta, kinda, back on
Story by Chris Graham
freepress2@ntelos.net
At least the floats will be on display, thanks to Waynesboro Downtown Development Inc., which is organizing an exhibit of floats that were to have been in the canceled Dec. 5 Waynesboro Christmas Parade.
The exhibit will be part of the two-day Christmas in the River City event scheduled for Friday, Dec. 18, and Saturday, Dec. 19. The display will be set up in the parking lot at Constitution Park the night of Friday, Dec. 18, WDDI events coordinator Rick Moyer said. Read more
Focus | Moving downtown forward
WDDI discusses work plan for 2010
Story by Chris Graham
freepress2@ntelos.net
With AFP Audio
The downtown-revitalization effort in Waynesboro has been teetering for the past couple of years with the clear shift in focus of economic activity in Waynesboro to the West End on the economic side and questions about ongoing commitment from City Hall to downtown improvements on the political side.
The good news on the City Hall front from the past week regarding the newfound interest of City Council in finishing streetscape improvements on Main Street qualifies as positive momentum against that backdrop, even if the project hinges on approval of a federal-grant request and wouldn’t get going until the spring of 2011 at the earliest with that approval in hand. Read more
