Wanted: Nominations for Asheville’s hidden influencers

Xpress staffers Virginia Daffron and Max Hunt earned accolades from the North Carolina Press Association. In all, Xpress won five awards from the NCPA 2016 contest.

Mountain Xpress is working on a special upcoming issue about Asheville’s new influencers: The next wave of people who are making the city and county a better place to live.

We want nominations from individuals who are embedded in the community to help us identify residents who are creating positive change at the grassroots level.

We’re looking for nominees who’d rather roll up their sleeves than receive an award. We want to make sure we don’t overlook people who are off the radar, the oft-involved but seldom recognized, the young and the new arrivals.

While we appreciate the folks who are often at the forefront when we talk about the area’s most influential people, they already get enough ink. Instead of the popular politician, we’re looking for that unrelenting but overlooked bureaucrat helping to make her department run smoothly for citizens. Rather than focus on the high-profile business leader, we hope to shine a light on the one silently using his resources to help underserved populations. Rather than applaud the school system’s Teacher of the Year, let’s celebrate the service staff member who helps keep the school running and puts a smile on the students’ faces. You get the picture.

Xpress is looking for people in the following categories:
•    Politics/Government
•    Business
•    Education
•    Philanthropy
•    Civil rights and activism
•    Environmental stewardship

Nominating a candidate is easy! Just email us at dhesse@mountainx.com:
1.    Name of person
2.    Name of their organization
3.    The person’s role, e.g., whether they volunteer, work for or are the
founder of the organization
4.    Category for which you’re nominating the person
5.    Nominee’s contact information
6.    A brief statement about how you think the person is influencing Asheville

Please send nominations by Friday, Sep. 2.

Our judges will make the final decision and highlight 12 winners in an upcoming issue.

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About Dan Hesse
I grew up outside of Atlanta and moved to WNC in 2001 to attend Montreat College. After college, I worked at NewsRadio 570 WWNC as an anchor/reporter and covered Asheville City Council and the Buncombe County Board of Commissioners starting in 2004. During that time I also completed WCU's Master of Public Administration program. You can reach me at dhesse@mountainx.com.

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10 thoughts on “Wanted: Nominations for Asheville’s hidden influencers

  1. Peter Robbins

    I’d nominate some commenters on this website. If they’d promise to become hidden.

  2. The Real World

    I’d be willing to nominate a few from here but they’d have to agree to a lobotomy first. It won’t hurt, promise!

  3. boatrocker

    I agree but they’d have to spell kkkorekktly and stop randomly using lolz and CAPS and telling everyone how little they know if they’d only open their eyes.

  4. Big Al

    Sounds like a variation on the “Best of WNC” effort. More advertising, only for political rather than commercial customers.

  5. CLW

    Anyone but Sir Cecil of Bothwell… a once serviceable voice when progressives were still part of the political minority… now transformed into an egocentric, power tripping narcissist.

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