Friends of the Downtown: 2013 Programs
December 5, 2013 – Woody Durham, long time “Voice of the Tar Heels,” shared how other university towns promote their business districts on sports weekends. He also gave out many gift cards donated by the Downtown Merchants for the holiday.
October 31, 2013 – Bubba Cunningham, Director of Athletics at UNC, outlined the major issues and initiatives for UNC athletics over the next few years, and shared personal and campus anecdotes.
September 26, 2013 – Dina Mills, Program Manager at Launch Chapel Hill,discussed downtown Chapel Hill’s first startup accelerator and how it supports new entrepreneurial companies. Launch offers its resident teams a great place to work on their businesses, with training and mentorship from experienced entrepreneurs.
August 29, 2013 – Friends of the Downtown Candidate Forum, moderated by Gregg Gerdau. The kick-off event for the election season, focusing on questions of interest to the Downtown. Chapel HIll Mayor and Council candidates were asked questions prepared by our Board members.
June 27, 2013 – Cheri Szcodronski, the new Executive Director of Preservation Chapel Hill, presented information on tax-credit opportunities for historic presentation of residential and commercial properties, and information on the application process.
May 30, 2013 – Patty and UNC Chancellor Holden Thorp bid goodbye to the Downtown community with a series of anecdotes and behind the scenes stories about their life at UNC and in North Carolina.
April 24, 2013 – Police Crisis Unit Supervisor Michelle Guarino spoke on The Challenges to Downtown Safety in 2013 and the implementation of current initiatives, followed by questions and answers from the Downtown community.
March 28, 2013 – Chapel Hill Town Manager Roger Stancil gave a very informative presentation of the Town budget, explained priority based budgeting and the efforts the town is taking in this fiscal environment. He invited people to get actively involved in the process through surveys and community groups.
February 28, 2013 – Jonathan Howes discussed the book he co-authored with David Godschalk titled “The Dynamic Decade,” the story of the sweeping makeover of the 200-year old campus of the University of North Carolina. Six million square feet of new buildings were constructed and a million square feet of historic buildings were renovated during one vibrant ten-year period. A new Master Plan created a vision for combining historic preservation, green building and long-range development.
January 31, 2013 – Chamber of Commerce Citizen of the Year 2012, Jim Kitchen
discussed his many philanthropic activities in our community and across the state including the CH/Carrboro Public School Foundations, the Kramden Institute (providing computers to children), Make-A-Wish Foundation and the UNC Children’s Hospital. He also explained his teaching at the Kenan-Flagler Business School and his involvement in LAUNCH Chapel Hill, the new business incubator.