local community

Description

The Local Business Movement Panel at the Net Impact Club's Sustainability Symposium at the Appalachian State University Broyhill Inn and Conference Center on April 21, 2010. *** The Panelists: *** Andy is a non-traditional ASU student studying local government and public policy, and has been involved in local Boone issues for the past several years. He currently serves as a resident member of the Boone Board of Adjustment, as a member of the Academic Policies and Procedures Committee at ASU and as President of the Watauga County Young Democrats. *** Franya Hutchins serves as an advocate for local farmers in her role as coordinator of the multi-farm project High Country Community Supported Agriculture (CSA). She lives at Maverick Farms in Valle Crucis, a non-profit center for food and farming that facilitates the High Country CSA. Born and raised in Watauga County, NC, Ms. Hutchins works in the local food movement in an effort to expand, diversify, and strengthen the local economy. She also serves at Appalachian State University as Research Assistant for the ASU Wine Initiative. *** Debi Golembieski, of Green Mother Goods, works with two other moms, Meredith Anders and Christie Fredenburg, juggling children and business to run Green Mother Goods ~ a family friendly eco-store in Boone. The store carries a wide variety of sustainable and sweatshop-free/fair-trade products like eco-friendly apparel, school supplies, toys and baby items, global handcrafts, and a growing catalogue of local products. After working with several environmental non-profits, Debi teamed up with her two partners to start the business in 2007; and they decided to forge a model for how a for-profit business could make a positive difference in the world. *** Quint David is the Program Director for the Watauga Green Business Plan; a collaboration between Watauga County and the ASU Energy Center. His work includes market, workforce, and industry implementation activities focused on increasing knowledge and demand for green practices. Through collaboration with local community partnerships, Quint works to design and distribute educational opportunities for the public to learn about sustainability and technology as well as promote our region as a leader in the movement towards a more sustainable future. *** Eric Henry, President of TS Designs is one-half of the dynamic duo that owns TSD. Alongside his business partner and TSD CEO Tom Sineath, Eric has been in the screenprinting business for over 30 years. Outside of TS Designs, Eric devotes much of his time volunteer organizations, serving on the boards of several community associations. He founded the Burlington Biodiesel Co-op and has run his car on biodiesel (or straight vegetable oil) since 2004. His latest project is working to establish Company Shops Market in downtown Burlington, a local co-op grocery whose goal is to reconnect local agriculture to Alamance County. In 2010 he will be serving on the board of both the Alamance County Chamber of Commerce, and the Burlington Downtown Corporation. *** Eric Mathis of the Jobs Project