Monday, August 11, 2008

Week in Review 8/4/08-8/10/08

I’d like to start off this week’s blog entry by thanking the dozens of folks who have contacted me over the last couple of weeks to offer their support and appreciation regarding my opposition to allowing folks to keep chickens in Cary. Numerous citizens have called, spoke to me at work or out in the community, and have even stopped me in the store to say “thanks” for voting against the initiative. I really appreciate that. I realize not all are happy with my position, but I believe the majority of Cary is.

On Tuesday morning we received a very exciting phone call at work. The National Federation of Independent Business owners (NFIB) - the voice of small business - have selected our business to host a very special event regarding a particular race in this fall’s elections. While I can’t let the cat out of the bag, what I can say is NFIB will officially endorse a candidate at my business this Friday at 8:45 am. What’s that? You want to know who??? Well come by Friday morning and see for yourself. The candidate, representatives from NFIB, and other honored guests will be in attendance.

Tuesday evening was National Night Out and I had the privilege visiting the Silverton and Weston Pointe neighborhoods with numerous Cary police officers. I must say a caravan of police cars with the lights and sirens going is a hoot! – Especially when they aren't coming after you ;-)

I had a great time speaking with the residents of both neighborhoods and the officers really seemed to enjoy themselves as well. No one had as much fun as the kids however. Seeing the looks on their faces as they climbed in to a patrol car and played with the lights and radios was priceless. Everyone really appreciated the opportunity to speak with officers regarding issues and crime trends in their neighborhoods.

Thursday was a very busy day. In the morning I attended the Heart of Cary Association’s (HOCA) monthly meeting at the Cary Chamber of Commerce building. For those of you that may be unfamiliar with the HOCA, they are a group of downtown business owners, property owners, and residents whose mission is to preserve, protect, and enhance the character and charm of downtown while ensuring it remains a vibrant, prospering community of businesses and residents. I had the honor of serving as the association’s president in 2006-2007 prior to joining the council. I am still a proud member. The meeting mainly focused on the upcoming Lazy Daze festival.

Thursday afternoon I met with the developer of a project in west Cary. While I cannot comment on the specifics yet, if all works out as I hope, this will by far be my proudest moment since joining the council. The suspense is killing ya isn’t it? ;-)

Thursday evening I attended the groundbreaking ceremony for the new Walnut Street Park at the corner of Walnut and Lawrence. This will be Cary’s 22nd park – and it was my first groundbreaking ceremony ever. Community turnout was incredible and thankfully the weather held off until we were finished. What is so great about this park is that it is an infill park being built in an older, established neighborhood of town. The surrounding community spent years working with our parks and rec department designing this park, and in about 9 more months their vision and efforts will become reality.

Sunday I had the honor of attending an Eagle Scout ceremony for James Phillips. The Phillips have been friends of our family for years so this was a real treat. Congratulations James – we are all so proud of you.

Well that’s it for this week – Thanks for reading!