The Van Winkle Law Firm has announced that attorney Robert H. Haggard has been honored as a recipient of the NCBA Estate Planning and Fiduciary Law Section’s Distinguished Service Award. Established in 2018, the award honors attorneys with expertise in the area of estate planning and fiduciary law who have provided exemplary, outstanding, and distinguished service to the section, the North Carolina Bar, its practitioners, and the public. The award was presented on Thursday, July 21st, at the section’s annual meeting and CLE at Kiawah Island, S.C. Robert “Bob” Haggard was a partner with The Van Winkle Law Firm’s Trusts, Estates, and Elder Law practice for over 40 years, before his retirement in 2019. During his tenure with the firm, he was a Board Certified Specialist in Estate Planning and Probate Law. Read more.
Community:
On July 18, members of Mountain Housing Opportunities (MHO), the Housing Authority of the City of Asheville, and the community, along with City Council Members, Antanette Mosley and Kim Roney, gathered to celebrate the energization of four new solar arrays at Maple Crest at Lee Walker Heights, an affordable housing apartment property in downtown Asheville. MHO and Asheville Housing partnered with Pisgah Energy and Eagle Solar & Light to design, develop and install the roof-mounted solar arrays totaling 176kWdc/144kWac. Serving as on-site electrical generation for the apartment complex, the renewable energy produced by the arrays will help offset the energy usage of four apartment buildings. These buildings now have a total of 425 solar panels that will augment their power. The systems will produce approximately 243,372 kWh of renewable energy annually, offsetting over 172 metric tons of carbon dioxide emissions every year. This impact is equivalent to the annual energy usage of 22 homes or driving a 2021 Tesla Model 3 coast-to-coast over 390 times. Read more.
Happenings:
Dogwood Health Trust has announced the availability of a comprehensive Early Childhood Education (ECE) Assessment of Western North Carolina – the first focused exclusively on WNC. The research and analysis, conducted by North Carolina-based child care services leader and advocate, Child Care Services Association focused on both the early childhood education ecosystem, as well as a review of the T.E.A.C.H. Early Childhood Scholarship program and its impact on the ECE workforce. Dogwood has invited Marsha Basloe, president of CCSA, and members of the research team, to present the findings to the region in a webinar on Aug. 2 beginning at 12 p.m. Both reports and an executive summary are available for free download on Dogwood’s website. Anyone interested in supporting the vision of a stronger early childhood ecosystem is invited to attend and may register here.
The Asheville Area Arts Council has announced the inaugural Arts AVL Town Hall Series! This series will allow arts advocates to mingle and learn where candidates stand on important issues impacting the local creative sector. State Candidates will be on September 7, County Candidates on September 28, and City Council candidates on October 12. Learn more about the series.Sponsorship opportunities are available! Contact Caroline Crupi at Caroline@ashevillearts.com for more information.