We asked Barbara Volk, mayor of Hendersonville, to reflect on the city she helps run.
- Hometown feel: We strive to maintain a hometown feel, especially in our downtown and Seventh Avenue districts. We are challenged to sustain growth while keeping our small-town ambiance.
- Hospitality: Visitors are met with a culture of care. This is demonstrated regularly by city staff, as well as merchants, those working in service industries and regular people walking down the street.
- Community involvement: We are a community where it is easy for citizens to get involved. People give back through the city’s boards and committees and through numerous, varied nonprofit organizations.
- Opportunity to make a difference in a big way: Hendersonville has a children’s museum and the only aquarium in Western North Carolina, both located downtown and both founded by women who perceived a need and rallied the community to establish them.
- Respect for our history: As we grow and evolve, we honor our past and preserve pieces of history that made our city what it is today. We recognize individuals who have made an impact through our annual Walk of Fame program and also work to preserve and revitalize historic structures. The most recent example of the latter is the transformation of Grey Hosiery Mill into downtown apartments, a project that took insight, patience and collaboration.
6. We’re almost Asheville.
7. We’re definitely not Asheville.
8. We’re a town run with logical sensitivities, not PC BS!
That would be No. 6.