Clarity

RG just left all dressed up like Johnny Cash in anticipation of playing his hammered dulcimer for the Yadkin Valley Wine Auction .  He was so handsome.  He's acting manager this week so he can wear his civilian clothes and that is a welcome change of pace for him.  

However, as I write this blog, I realize that the Auction is NEXT week the night before the wonderful Yadkin Valley Wine Festival. So I called Hugh Chatham Hospital Foundation who organizes and is the benefactor of the auction for clarity. They said:

The Auction is May 15th in Jonesville, the night before the Wine Festival at the Holiday Inn Express. 

(Note: Jonesville is named after a Rev. War Veteran, Hardy Jones. A study of names of townsin NC and probably SC should show that as the state has evolved, the Revolution was the most enduring memory of importance.  I wonder what kind of result I would get if I put that on Facebook and asked for people to find out where they are from and why their town or county or road or street or country road...has the name it has. All the maps would just shout Revolution.)

The wine festival is a fun event and if you are collector of fine wines, this weekend is your opportunity to see many of the finest wineries of the Yadkin Valley AVA.  So come out next weekend and spend the night, enjoy the auction and hobnob with the movers and shakers of Surry county Friday night, spend a day in the park at the wine Festival on Saturday listening to music and sampling and visiting. Visiting is the most important benefit of Freedom, don't you think.... As a side Note..(fa-la-la) the festival music will be beach and jazz habrids...  

Sunday, I invite you to my church.  Just come on and move to town and bring a business with you.

This weekend is Mother's Day Weekend, a Friends of the Lake Bluegrass Festival and thank-goodness, the Wine Festival is next weekend instead. His calendar stays booked. Sometimes we are topsy-turvy...

...Which works right into my title already written: CLARITY.

Yesterday, I sent a call to the NW counties and got some feedback, so thank-you J!  I felt I needed to clarify some items. 

The NPS will be a spark plug. You will then be the battery to keep the motor running on the economic development of your heritage area.  If I understand it correctly, there is an amount of money decided each year for heritage areas IF Congress so choses. 

This single amount of money is then appropriated to the heritage areas which show the greatest potential for resulting economic development. Not every area gets the same amount. Results equal funding.

If you are inside the area you can request consideration for funding from your local administrating body. If you are not in the area you can not. 

If there are a lot of counties, the money granted the Heritage area is split between them. If there are not a lot of counties, obviously then, there is more money available to partnerships whose counties made the most noise to be included and have the most effective looking plans. 

So getting into the National Heritage Area will not change the amount Congress appropriates up or down. The amount granted from the whole amount appropriated to our heritage area will vary depending on local requests and response to do work to create local economic projects.  And there will be still one more hoop to jump though - our own entity for administrating that money. 

I still think the National Heritage Area is a good idea. My concern is that the places I am most familiar with are places which do not show up on the map. I want them to know what's coming before July 1st.  The NW is already part of the Blue Ridge National Heritage Area and come to think of it, you can probably already request funds to enhance your cultural resources for heritage tourism including Martin Gamble's ride. Ah ha. You are covered. Good.

La voila!

Off to a part-time job....