Bakersville Mayor Charles “Chuck” Vines and Bakersville Area Merchants Association President Aaron Young (center) cut the ribbon on the new Bakersville Area Welcome Center. They’re joined by a host of locals.
The new Bakersville Area Welcome Center opened earlier this month with a ceremonial ribbon-cutting and grand opening.
The center is located at 8 S. Mitchell Ave. in the center of Bakersville.
More than 50 people attended the grand opening and Aaron Young, president of the Bakersville Area Merchants Association presided.
“Our mission is to engage the business community while saluting the best of this area of Western North Carolina,” he said. “We celebrate our vision as the Gateway to the Roan, Home to the Arts and Playground to the Great Outdoors. More importantly, we celebrate our visitors, new residents and those who have lived here their whole lives.”
The Welcome Center is the product of work done by think tanks and studies that helped create a strategic plan in the 1980s and 1990s. A partnership has been established in the past two years among the Bakersville Area Merchants’ Association, the Mitchell County Commissioners and the Town of Bakersville.
BAMA collaborated with the commissioners to rent the space that houses the Welcome Center. Other partnerships fueled the project, including one with the Mitchell County Economic Development Commission Board that first believed in BAMA by making a $5,000 grant to help produce the first BAMA map and business rack cards. Bakersville Mayor Charles “Chuck” Vines and the Bakersville Town Council have also played a key role.
Commissioners, the Town of Bakersville and BAMA leadership, members, and businesses attended the ceremony. They were joined by representatives from the Mitchell County Historical Society, Bakersville Community Foundation, North Carolina Rhododendron and the arts community. Several interested citizens were also on hand.
Representing the Mitchell Commissioners were vice chair Harley Masters and commissioners Jeff Harding and Brandon Pittman. County Manager Allen Cook joined them.
Vines, vice mayor Charlie Nash and councilmen Andy Palmer and Matthew Staton represented the Bakersville Council.
Trained volunteers will provide information to guests at the Welcome Center. It will be open Wednesday through Saturday and Sunday afternoons. Guests will enjoy historical exhibits about the Rhododendron pageant, the arts community, BAMA business members and the outdoors. Special events will be featured to invite the region to attend. Maps and rack cards will provide directions and places to visit.