How to Market Your Business With Facebook

If I had a list of frequently asked questions in my job, this would certainly be near the top of the list: "How can I use Facebook or other social media to market my business?"  Now I am not an expert on the topic but there are many in our community who are.  To get you started on your path to this new school of marketing here is a link to a NY Times article on using Facebook to Market your Business.

Asheville's Eigth Brewery to Open Soon!

After months of patiently waiting Craggie Brewing Company is ready to open its door and let the taps flow.  Below is a press release about the opening, stop in and check it out. They are also hosting a Chamber night and ribbon cutting on Monday, November 23 at 5:30 please come and join us.

Craggie Brewing Company will celebrate the opening of its Public House at 197 Hilliard Avenue, downtown Asheville on Friday, November 20th and Saturday, November 21st from 4:30-10:30pm.


In November 2007, Bill Drew and Jonathan Cort partnered to create a hometown brewery, with passion for quality craft beer and strong community values. Two years to the date Craggie opens for business with its Battery Hill Bitter and a seasonal pale ale on tap. Solshine and Swannanoa Sunset will be ready the following week and Craggie brew will hit select watering holes Thanksgiving weekend.


Regular Public House hours are Wednesday through Saturday evenings from 4:30-10:30pm. The Craggie crew is available to discuss private party rental, schedule brewery tours, and handle your retail keg needs.


Please refer to craggiebrewingco.com for further detail about Beer City USA's newest microbrewery.

Enka Hills receive Housing North Carolina Awards

The Asheville Area Habitat for Humanity received one of five statewide awards  this week at the Affordable Housing Conference in Raleigh.  The award was for the Enka Hills development that is wrapping up, I believe the last house is under construction now.

Five affordable housing developments will receive Housing North Carolina Awards on Nov. 3 during the N.C. Affordable Housing Conference at the Raleigh Convention Center.  Sponsored by the N.C. Housing Finance Agency, the awards recognize outstanding affordable properties that can serve as models for other communities. More than 500 people are expected to attend the 20th annual awards luncheon. 

This year’s winners range from Wilmington to Asheville and include two neighborhoods of energy-efficient homes that are affordable for lower-income buyers.  Other winners include a large apartment development that replaced public housing and a shelter and transitional apartments in two central North Carolina communities that help families move from homelessness to self-sufficiency.    
Housing North Carolina Award winners are:  

• Barrington Village, a neighborhood of 24 single-family homes in Raleigh, developed by Builders of Hope.
• Enka Hills, a community of 55 single-family homes in Enka, developed by the Asheville Habitat for Humanity, with funding from the City of Asheville, the Janirve Foundation, and the W&S Charitable Foundation.  
• The Pointe at Taylor Estates and Robert R. Taylor Senior Homes, adjacent apartment communities for families and seniors in Wilmington, developed by Housing and Economic Opportunities, Inc., with funding from the City of Wilmington. 
• Families Together in Charlotte, townhome apartments for homeless families with children, developed by YWCA Central Carolinas, with funding from the City of Charlotte and Christ Church. 
• Fifth Street Shelter in Statesville, a homeless shelter that was developed by Diakonos, Inc., to replace the longstanding existing shelter.
  

The winners were selected for affordability; design (attractiveness, energy-efficiency); contribution to the community; sustainability as affordable housing; and features such as services for residents and creative partnerships.

More about Enka Hills:
Enka Hills is a 55-home community developed by the Asheville Area Habitat for Humanity that is part of Buncombe County’s master plan for affordable housing. Located near Enka’s athletic park, the homes are designed in the Arts and Crafts style, with full front porches, to reflect other neighborhoods in the Asheville area.
 
The homes have two, three and four bedrooms and range in size from 884 to 1,494 square feet. They all incorporate energy efficiency measures, including SystemVision, and all are NCHealthyBuilt Homes. Buyers can purchase an energy-efficient front-loading washer/dryer combo at a substantial discount, and if needed, can finance the purchase through their mortgage at $1.75 per month.
 
The homes all have storage units and parking pads. Several homes are handicap-accessible, and the exterior design allows for minor retrofitting to add a ramp should one be needed at a later date.  Homeowners all take a landscaping class through the N.C. Cooperative Extension, and they provided most of the labor for the community’s landscaping.
 
The homes were built with the homeowners’ “sweat equity,” as well as with volunteer labor during several Homebuilder Association blitzes. The City of Asheville and the Janirve Foundation provided funding to acquire the site and for infrastructure development, and the W&S Charitable Foundation also contributed.
 
The homes cost $140,000 to $175,000. The N.C. Housing Finance Agency provided gap financing to the Asheville Area Habitat that provides $25,000 of financing at zero interest for each homeowner.
Contact: Lewis Kraus, executive director, Asheville Area Habitat for Humanity, 828-251-5702.

Local Photographer Releases Coffee Table Book

I got an email from a local photographer, John Fletcher.  I know John takes photos for the Citizen-Times and has Fletchpix.com.  I have been an admirer of his work for quite some time.  This coffee table book should be great.


Poet Laura Hope-Gill and I have been collaborating on a coffee table book of Appalachian poems and photographs, and we would love to have you join us for our book launch party this Saturday evening. Here is an Asheville Citizen-Times article about the book and event:

http://www.citizen-times.com/article/20091101/LIVING/911010315


And here are the details:
What: Reading and signing of “The Soul Tree: Poems and Photographs of the Southern Appalachians,” with poet Laura Hope-Gill and photographer John Fletcher Jr.
When: 7 p.m. Saturday. Free.
Where: Malaprop's Bookstore/Café, 55 Haywood St.
To learn more: Visit our website at www.TheSoulTree.org.

Two River Cleanups this Weekend with Riverlink!

RiverLink Adopt-a-Stream Teams are conducting two cleanups this weekend - come out and join them in making a difference to cleanup the French Broad River!

Saturday, November 7th 10am - join the Underground Church team for their cleanup of the Swannanoa River along Thompson St. Meet at the intersection of Glendale and Thompson St. All cleanup supplies will be provided including safety vests, gloves, trash bags and pick up litter sticks.

Sunday November 8th 8:30am - join the UNCA Outdoors Program team for their cleanup of Hominy Creek. Meet in the Hominy Creek Park parking lot at the end of Hominy Creek Rd. All cleanup supplies will be provided including safety vests, gloves, trash bags and pick up litter sticks.

To participate in one or both of these cleanups, please RSVP by Friday noon November 6th to Rachel Doebber, Volunteer Outreach Coordinator, at volunteer@riverlink.org or 828-252-8474 ext. 118