Club Business
President Mary Thomas Gilbert brought the meeting to order. Cliff Parker led us in prayer and the pledge of allegiance to the US flag. Mary Thomas related one of her “senior moments”. We had several guests this week. Randy Perkins introduced Marta Moos from LabCorp and her friend Cliff Craviotto. Phil Brown’s son Paul, from England, was here, visiting his Dad following his mother’s death. Carolyn’s guests were Mayor Kelly Allen from Haw River and HR’s Town Manager, Sean Tencer.
Micah said he has received 17 responses to his recent survey regarding our recent fundraiser. Please take a few minutes to do this. It will provide us with some valuable information going forward.
Ryan Risko has the program next week.
Click here to see all scheduled program dates and responsibilities.
March Birthdays and Anniversaries
3 | Jwan Johnson | 8 | Francois and Andrea Masuka |
11 | Matt Patel | 27 | Joseph and Susannah Williams |
30 | Susan Watson | ||
Happy Dollars
- Brooke Carpenter encouraged us to show our support for Rotary’s 4-Way Test Speech Contest which will take place this Saturday at GTCC in Jamestown, NC. Fifteen students will participate. Among them will be a student from Western, competing for the first prize of $1000.
- Dick O’Donnell said that he and Richard Atkins attended a Rotary event together last week and exchanged some great ideas for growing the club. He also encouraged us to attend the upcoming 100th Anniversary of the High Point Club on March 24.
- Micah Fox took his four-year-old daughter to a father-daughter evening out on Valentines, where he coaxed her into dancing with him. He realizes giving her away to some young man is closer than he thinks. It was a memorable and important time for them.
- Randy Perkins wants the entire club to join him in Myrtle Beach for the District Conference.
Person Responsible for This Week’s Program
Carolyn Rhode had the program this week. Although she has a full-time job at ACC, her position as club secretary takes a good deal of her time. She is from Minnesota, but has lived in the area since 2003. She thinks she qualifies as a Southerner, having purchased clothing at Cracker Barrel. She has been in NC for 25 years. She is blessed with a husband and two teen girls, aged 13 and 16. She is a Paul Harris Fellow and has been part of our club since 2005.
Program: Mike Hill – Lofts on Haw River
Newly elected Haw River Mayor Kelly Allen spoke first. She served on HR’s town council for ten years
prior to becoming mayor. She also has been president of the historical association. She told us that Haw River is the oldest town in Alamance County and was once the wealthiest, when the mills were booming. Granite Mills, run by the Cones, was the town biggest employer and taxpayer. When it closed, the town suffered. She used this as a segue to introduce our main speaker.
Mike Hill served as Vice President and General Counsel for Capitol Broadcasting Company from 1991-2007. While at Capitol, Mike was directly responsible for the development of greater than 1.2 million square feet of real estate projects, including the largest historical rehabilitation project in the history of the State of North Carolina. Mike also developed new ballparks for Capitol’s minor league baseball teams in Durham, North Carolina and Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. Mike left Capitol Broadcasting Company to form D3 Development in October 2007.
D3 Development, Inc. is a real estate development company focused on owning, developing and operating real property that promises a reasonable return to investors and that creates a positive impact on the community. These projects typically are located in downtown development zones or historically under-utilized areas and frequently use creative financing sources such as Federal and State historic tax credits, new markets tax credits, and public-private partnerships. Our goal is to develop projects that will be a source of pride for local communities in both how projects are executed and the impacts those projects have upon the local communities in which they are located.
Mike began his talk by sharing with us the enormous impact the renovation of the old American Tobacco campus has had on Durham, NC. More recently, his company took on the old White Furniture building in Mebane, successfully converting it into apartments. At its grand opening in 2016, Mike took investors to Red Slide Park in Haw River to view the dilapidated Granite Mills campus from across the river to impart vision for the next project. D3 is creating 175 apartments, many of which will have a river view. In addition the campus will provide commercial space for restaurants and a coffee shop, along with such amenities as a postal service, fitness area, pet washing area, and club room. People will begin moving in May 1. Mike said adjoining mill property, across Main St., has also been purchased by D3, which has plans for further residential and commercial development.
Mike said the entire Granite Mill project cost 44 million dollars, which came from several sources, including 8 million in tax credits. He thanked Steve Ross and Rick Gunn for their help in making this possible.
Conclusion
Jim Cartner held the winning ticket but drew the two of Diamonds instead of the Ace of Spades. 44 cards remain in the deck. Mary Thomas led us in a recitation of Rotary’s four-way test before we adjourned. See you next week!