The AdvantageGreen program, lead by Matt Raker of AdvantageWest seeks to leverage regional strengths to promote green economic opportunities and to support long term green job creation and retention throughout western North Carolina.

Call for Applications

AdvantageWest is pleased to announce that the 2010-11 AdvantageGreen Energy Internships Program is now open for applications.

Under this program, nine internships and three fellowships are available to talented recent graduates (within last three years) of North Carolina colleges and universities, as well as state residents that graduated from a similar institution outside of North Carolina in the last three years.

These positions are 12-month commitments to start in October 2010 and have a competitive stipend. We hope these positions will help create pathways to meaningful employment in clean energy companies for students as well as help grow Western North Carolina’s clean energy economy. The AdvantageGreen Energy Internships Program has been made possible through the support of the North Carolina State Energy Office.

To apply for a position:

Browse the list below and find the positions that best fit you. Apply directly to the host partner organization, including a resume, cover letter, at least three references and any other information requested in the position description. If you are selected by a partner and accept the position, please immediately email the program administrator Matt Raker or call him at 828-808-2873.

Applications will be reviewed and interviews conducted on an ongoing basis. All positions are expected to be filled by September 22.

In addition to the experience gained in the position itself, the AdvantageGreen Energy Internship aims to provide additional professional development opportunities and a supportive learning environment for our interns. This includes an initial orientation, development of a peer-network among all the interns, and periodic seminars, network and other activities.

Available internship positions (apply directly to the host partner organization):

Your community could join the ranks of Haywood, Transylvania, Watauga, Polk, Burke and Mitchell counties and the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians have all earned Certified Entrepreneurial Community designation. Advantage West developed the program to help communities create a culture of rich resources for entrepreneurs.

Your Western North Carolina community can earn CEC designation, too. Here’s how to get started:

1. SUBMIT A LETTER OF INTENT (Deadline August 23 extended to September 7): Send AdvantageWest an official letter of intent, indicating your community’s interest in pursuing CEC certification. Email letter to Pam Lewis, AdvantageWest’s Sr. VP of Entrepreneurial Development, at or mail to Pam Lewis at AdvantageWest, 134 Wright Brothers Way, Fletcher NC 28732.

2. ATTEND CEC LEADERSHIP TRAINING, September 13-15: AdvantageWest will conduct a 2½-day training session that will provide details about getting started and completing the rigorous 5-step process of certification. (Training is also appropriate for communities that have started, but not completed, the CEC process.) Speakers include Deb Markley of the Center for Rural Entrepreneurship, presenting the Energizing Entrepreneurs, or e2, program, a training tool used across the country and beyond to help communities achieve their entrepreneurial development goals. Representatives of WNC communities that have received certification will share challenges and successes. Note: Location to be announced.

3. GET MORE INFORMATION: For more information about the benefits and requirements of the CEC program, or to schedule a presentation to key community leaders about the CEC process, contact Pam Lewis or call 828.273.8295.

For more information about the Certified Entrepreneur Community program or to register for CEC Leadership Training, contact Pam Lewis or call 828.273.8295

Last Sunday marked the end of the summer season for us. The pool closed for the year and the kids would start school on Tuesday. We took the opportunity to spend the whole day hanging with some of our best friends laughing it up poolside.

The Malvern Hills is year round refuge for West Asheville families. In the summer we have the Pool. We have been season pass holders to this City of Asheville summer spot for 7 seasons now. Without AC in the house a daily dip at the pool is a necssity. In previous years we had the opportunity to spend all day hanging with friends and family there watching our kids learn to swim and test their limits.

Besides the pool, Malvern Hills Park has a pavilion, seasonal bathrooms, tables and grills two lighted tennis courts with practice backboard, a modular playground, half-mile walking trails, and a maybe 4 parking spots. This is definitely a neighborhood park. Most people walk there and then there is a bus stop and sidewalks.

In September of 1921, the City of Asheville purchased Malvern Hills Pool from Mr. & Mrs.
Horney for $10. Thus, Malvern Hills Pool is the oldest pool in Asheville. Initially, the pool did not have a filter system, so the pool was drained weekly and refilled with new water.

In 1970 filters and new walls were installed at the pool. I think these filters are still in use. The is 149′ x 49′5′ with a water capacity of 367,000 gallons.

In 1973 and 1974 improvements were made to the pool, bathhouse, and park. The inside of the bathhouse was completely remodeled with glazed tile concrete blocks, new fixtures, and coin-operated lockers. A new fence and additional deck space were added to the pool. Improvements to the park area included a new 30′ x 60′ picnic shelter, playground equipment, and new bridge across the creek, new walkways, new steps, landscaping, and the conversion of the tennis courts from clay to Laykold. All of the improvements cost approximately $85,000, with funding by the Open Space Program from the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development.

Within the last few years we have seen a revived effort to maintain the pool and park. A new pump house was installed. A new fence added with landscaping around the fence cleared to open up the line of sight.

Riverlink brought a lot of love to the park. They did major stream restoration over the last winter. This came after the neighborhood worked with the City to rename the creek that runs through the park. Some of us wanted to name the creek “Horney Bottoms after Mr. & Mrs. Horney who built the neighborhood Horney Hights. The park represents the lowest elevation point of the neighborhood thus came the suggested new name for the creek. Riverlink staff and a few fuddy duddies decided the name sounded too suggestive for modern Asheville so we went with “Butter Milk Creek.” I know. I hear you.

Why have grass to mow when you can have fresh organic food to eat? The garden in our front yard is a place for kids to pick and eat beans, berries, tomatoes and mint leaves and even catch bugs to feed their toads.  It provides inspiration for a busy mom and dad to decide what to make for dinner.

We began ripping up the grass and planting sunflowers in the front yard in 2004. The sunflowers we started with, continue to bring the tiny yellow gold finches and squirrels to feast. In addition to the sunflowers seeds we plant every year, we like the volunteers that pop-up here and there giving the garden a wild feeling.

The South side of the yard is divided up into small raised beds for greens, veggies and strawberries. Last year our collard greens over wintered and gave us a very early and continuing harvest of greens. The kids raised one of the green caterpillars from the collards and watching it become a Cabbage White butterfly.  Hops, raspberries and wine berries line the sunny fence row. The kids especially enjoy the raspberries which seem to be fruiting all summer.

On the North side of the yard we have 4 paw-paw trees and an elderberry. Paw-paws are a native fruit tree and the host plant of the yellow swallowtail butterfly. Elderberry is also native. Ancient people believed planting this bush in your yard would protect you and your family. As it turns out elderberries are scientifically proven to disable viruses. It also provides a sneaky shady place to watch the neighborhood and tell secrets to your friend.

Our garden is not the Martha Stewart fancy garden from a magazine. We enjoy growing it and playing in it. Maybe you will be inspired to rip up your grass and grow something interesting in your yard.

Check out the garden for your self during the West Asheville Garden Stroll. Saturday, September 11, 2010, from 11:00 AM to 4 PM,  RAIN OR SHINE KICKOFF CEREMONY at West Asheville Branch Library, 942 Haywood Rd. at 10:30 AM. The Stroll is FREE. We will also have a kid run lemonade-with-a-twist stand and free paw-paw seeds while they last.

Here is an interview with Robert White of the Pisgah View Community Garden. Robert converted an old ball field that was unused and over grown into a beautiful and productive community garden that feed families, brings people together, and reduces crime. Robert and his wife Lucia have put their heart and soul in to this garden. Check out their operation of love on facebook or on the web. I consider Robert, Lucia, and their kids to be great teachers, leaders, and family. Much love to them. Help them out all you can.

We love the waterfalls of Western North Carolina.

Strive Not to Drive is coming up May 15th through the 22nd. This is one our favorite weeks of the year. I’ll be posting on this a bit more next week and during SNTD week.

As a family we try to park our cars for the whole week mobilize with our feet, bikes, and bus passes. Every year is gets easier to do as we do our best year round to limit how much we use our car. In our drive way is a small 10 year old mazda that gets about 30 mpg and an old truck that guzzles gas. We rarely use the truck. It is just for truck sort of stuff like getting mulch, moving friends, and the sort. We might use about 22 gallons of gas per month in the car and less than 100 gallons a year in the truck.

Bridget and I ride our bikes to work most days. My commute in is only 4 miles. Her’s is maybe 6. I take the bus otherwise. Now that the weather is awesome I have been walking the kids to school in the morning. That has been fun and it seems that our walking train is growing as more kids from the neighborhood join up with us in the morning.

One of the reasons I like Strive Not to Drive week is the focus it puts on non SOV transportation options. The price tag varies, but for every car you eliminate from your drive way is about $5,000 a year in your pocket. The less we use our cars for SOV travel the cleaner our air will be, the healthier we will be, and the more money we will have.

Strive Not to Drive began twenty years ago as Bike to Work Day with the goal of encouraging bicycle commuting.  Over the years as concerns about air quality, physical inactivity and related health concerns, and traffic congestion have grown; the event has broadened to encourage any form of transportation other than driving alone in your car.

From the SNTD website: Events being planned for this year include many activities to reward and recognize those making commitments to walk, bike, use transit or carpool during the week and throughout the year.  The Leadership Ride will be held to introduce community leaders and policy makers to our successes and challenges in making Asheville and Buncombe a bicycle friendly community.  Once again, bus fares on Friday will be 25 cents and we will be partnering with Downtown After 5 to offer bike valet parking. Plans are in the works for some fun and exciting activities for families.  And, recognizing all the excitement about Asheville Buncombe’s status as a premier community for microbreweries, we have a few surprises in the works.

Sponsors & Supporters

Next Wednesday May 12th I will be utilizing half of my monthly gas allotment to travel down the mountain to Concord, NC for the 2010 NCAVA Volunteer Managers Conference. Each year, NCAVA hosts the Statewide Conference on Volunteerism. This professional development event is full of leading-edge workshops and resources, great networking opportunities and just plain fun. The NCAVA Conference is held in the late spring to early summer and rotates its location through the state to engage the widest participation possible from North Carolina’s diverse group of volunteer managers.

I will be leading a workshop titled, “Engaging Social Media.” This session will be focused on the use of new media in public relations, constituent outreach and organizational development. Explore facebook, twitter, blogs, and other free-ish web based solutions you can use to be a networking, fund raising and volunteer roping super star.

I am not a big fan of power point, but will start with a quick introduction to the tools and some background covering:

• Tools for building your network
• Mobilizing Your Network
• Becoming an Expert
• Using Multimedia
• Track your success

North Carolina Association of Volunteer Administration is a non-profit, professional development, membership organization who’s mission is to provide education and leadership towards effective volunteer management in North Carolina. Their goals are:

• Advocate for and promote professional volunteer management
• Provide leadership and growth opportunities for professional volunteer management
• Increase public awareness about the importance of effective volunteering
• Collaborate with other organizations to further all the goals of NCAVA

Girls on the Run of WNC needs your help for their annual New Balance Spring Girls on the Run 5K, scheduled for May 22 at Biltmore Park at 10am. Volunteers can sign up for time blocks of three to four hours and will assist where needed with race set-up, support, registration, take-down, and most importantly cheering on these girls as they conquer their first 5K!

While volunteers sign up for time slots rather than positions, you may request to help in specific areas if you have a preference. To get involved in this empowering service project, please contact Maggie Skroski: maggieskroski@hotmail.com or 828.230.6769.

About Girls on the Run
Girls on the Run® is a non-profit prevention program with a mission to educate and prepare girls for a lifetime of self-respect and healthy living. Our program encourages preteen girls to develop self-respect and healthy lifestyles through running. Their curricula address all aspects of girls’ development—their physical, emotional, mental, social and spiritual well-being.

About Girls on the Run of Western North Carolina
The GOTR of WNC chapter was founded in 2002 by Rachelle Sorensen-Cox and has grown from serving 15 girls in 2004 to over 1300 girls in 2008. GOTR of WNC serves Buncombe, Cherokee, Clay, Graham, Jackson, Haywood, Henderson, Macon, Madison, McDowell, Swain, and Transylvania counties.

Check out the latest Vidcaste from AVL Marketing HQ. We are talking about the up coming Carolina Connect Entrepreneur Networking event. When you register make sure to mention AVL Marketing in the “Areas of Interest” field. AVL Marketing will be leading a Panel, as well as, a critical conversation.

On May 13 at the Renaissance in downtown Asheville, AdvantageWest and the Blue Ridge Entrepreneurial Council present the 7th Annual Carolina Connect conference, considered one of the top events of the year for entrepreneurs – with the highest number of private investors and business and industry leaders present in Carolina Connect history.

With a focus on innovation, entrepreneurship and intrapreneurship, the event starts with a pre-conference networking breakfast from 7:30 to 8:30 a.m. and ends with a post-conference reception from 5:30 to 6:30 p.m. The full day of connecting, professional development and idea-sharing includes a stellar lineup of keynote speakers, breakout sessions, and the popular Critical Conversations Café – plus an awards luncheon recognizing innovation and achievement in entrepreneurship across the region.

Start the day making connections. Carolina Connect is all about making connections. That’s why we start the day with a networking breakfast guaranteed to kick-start your day – and your business success. (Registration and continental breakfast, 7:30 to 8:30 a.m.)

Enjoy a “Conversation with the CEOs.” What are the secrets of some of the region’s most admired companies? Find out as successful leaders of a diversity of industries take the stage for a dynamic discussion. (Conference opens at 8:30 a.m., followed by CEO panel discussion from 8:45 to 9:45 a.m.)

Choose among four educational tracks with a total of 12 informative breakout sessions. Practical and educational information for fostering innovation and the growth of businesses of all sizes and stages is the focus of four educational tracks at Carolina Connect 2010: Entrepreneurship, Capital, Intrapreneurship and Green Business. Choose one track or mix-and-match to meet your needs and interests. (Breakout sessions take place 10 to 11 a.m., 11:15 a.m. to 12:15 p.m., and 2:15 to 3:15 p.m.)

Find out the winners of the Lone Eagle Entrepreneur of Excellence Award and the new Innovation Advantage Award. Who in Western North Carolina exemplifies an entrepreneurial spirit, and in doing so, demonstrates excellence and success in areas of innovation, financial performance and personal commitment to their business and community? What company in the AdvantageWest region exhibits a culture of innovation within their corporate infrastructure? Find out during lunch at a special presentation. (Lunch/awards take place 12:30-1:10 p.m.)

Hear from one of the most respected venture capitalists in the country. We are extremely privileged to present Victor Hwang as the Carolina Connect 2010 lunchtime keynote speaker. Victor is the Co-Founder and Managing Director of T2 Venture Capital, a venture firm that invests in startups with breakthrough technologies and also advises governments on venture and innovation policy. He is a Kauffman Fellow – a member of a selective program to groom leaders of the venture capital industry – and will speak on “Risk as a Virtue or Social Value.” (Keynote address takes place 1:15 – 2 p.m.)

Chat with industry experts in an informal setting. Back for the second year is the popular Critical Conversations Networking Café, an informal series of discussions with industry experts on critical topics facing today’s entrepreneurs and business owners. Topics include Cloud Computing, The App World, Website Optimization, Social Media, PR Nightmares, Startup Management, and Green My Business. These no-PowerPoints-allowed discussions are intended to be casual and flexible to allow for maximum exposure to a variety of topics in a conversational format. (Takes place 3:30 to 4:30 p.m.)

Learn about branding from a monster-sized brand. What can we learn about branding from the biggest name in talent management? Find out from closing keynote speaker, Lisa Halpert Mesnick, Social Media Strategy Manager for Monster.com, the brand trusted by job seekers and employers around the world to provide consistent, reliable and high quality employment solutions and services. (Takes place 4:30 to 5:30 p.m.

End the day making more connections. The Carolina Connect closing reception is a great way to continue to network and make connections. (Takes place 5:30 to 6:30 p.m.)

Space is limited for this high-demand event, so register today! Early Bird registration for Carolina Connect 2010 is $95 and includes full access to all conference sessions, plus continental breakfast, lunch and the closing networking reception. After May 7, registration is $125. Register online here

SEE YOU AT CAROLINA CONNECT 2010