Chow Chow, the 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization committed to celebrating and enriching the foodways of Southern Appalachia and Asheville’s creative economy, announced earlier this week the appointment of Melissa Scheiderer as Executive Director. The organization has also announced that its flagship Chow Chow Food + Culture Festival will take place September 7–10, 2023. An immersive lineup of dinners, workshops, performances, tastings, talks and demonstrations will take place across the city of Asheville, anchored in the heart of downtown at Pack Square Park by a main stage and maker’s market. As Executive Director of Chow Chow, Scheiderer is focused on celebrating and building support for Asheville’s local, independent food community and creative collective, in order to empower economic resilience. In 2023, the organization is reverting back to its original long-weekend festival model and packing the days and nights with memorable experiences. They’ll also offer a wide array of low- and no-cost programming in order to make room for everyone at the table. Tickets for the festival’s signature tasting events, chef dinners, and workshops are slated to go on sale in April. Learn more.
Openings:
Mission Health’s CarePartners celebrated the $5.2 million expansion of the PACE center with a ribbon-cutting ceremony held last week. PACE (Program of All-inclusive Care for the Elderly) is a unique kind of care that has helped thousands of seniors continue living safely at home in our community. This expansion will now allow PACE to double their daily census and to serve close to 400 people in Buncombe and Henderson counties. PACE is a program for people age 55 or older that need support to remain safely at home. It provides community-based care and services for people who might otherwise need a nursing home level of care. A PACE program works to promote and sustain the independence of seniors, and help those who want to live at home, stay at home. Read more.
Opportunity:
Mission Health is accepting applications from throughout the community for the Kesha Young Health Careers Scholarship , with the aim of supporting the education goals for high school seniors and college students of color from Western North Carolina who are pursuing careers in healthcare. For more than 25 years, Mission Health has been awarding the Kesha Young Health Careers Scholarship, with more than $1 million given to make college more affordable for high school seniors and college students of color from Western North Carolina who are pursuing careers in healthcare. The scholarship is named in honor of Kesha Young, a 22-year-old, bi-racial woman who was born with mental and physical disabilities and underwent multiple surgeries at Mission Hospital. Kesha died just months before she was scheduled to earn her high school diploma. Despite her health struggles, Kesha was described by her adoptive parents as embodying the characteristics that are vital to how healthcare team members engage with patients, families and visitors, with a strong spirit, warm smile and positive encouragement. The completed application, along with all additional materials, must be received by 5 p.m. on Friday, April 14, 2023, for consideration. Recipients will be notified in early May and invited to a reception at Mission Hospital on Wednesday, June 7. Learn more and apply.
Relocation:
Bunnell-Lammons Engineering (BLE) has relocated its Asheville, NC office to 30 Park Ridge Drive in Fletcher, NC. The new location will provide additional office space for an expanding staff and for the Asheville office’s construction materials laboratory. “In the past few years, demand for our services has increased significantly. We simply needed more space for expansion,” said David Loftis, PE, who has served as Branch Manager of the Asheville office since January 2022. BLE’s Asheville office has been in operation since 1997. BLE provides engineering and environmental solutions for projects in commercial, industrial, institutional, and infrastructure markets. BLE’s services include environmental consulting and engineering, geotechnical engineering, construction engineering and inspections, and construction materials testing. The firm maintains a full-service in-house geotechnical and materials testing laboratory. Utilizing a team approach, BLE provides clients with the technical expertise required to successfully complete each project. Learn more about BLE.
Report:
The Better Business Bureau has released its 2022 Scam Tracker Risk Report that uses data submitted by consumers to BBB Scam Tracker to shed light on how scams are being perpetrated, who is being targeted, which scams have the greatest impact, and much more. A few report highlights include: Online purchase scams maintained the top spot as the riskiest, making up 31.96% of all scams reported to BBB Scam Tracker in 2022, with 74% reporting a monetary loss, home improvement scams climbed to the fourth riskiest scam type, with a median dollar loss of $1,500 and scammers continue to target people using text message, up 39.6% from 2021. Read more.