The Highland Center was recently awarded a grant from the USDA Farmers’ Market Promotion Program (FMPP) to support four regional markets in Highland, Bath, Pendleton, and Pocahontas Counties. The grant will provide amenities, community workshops, and internship opportunities to help manage the markets. The Highland Center’s Ag Projects Coordinator Scott Smith will lead a committee to help the markets set goals, share strategies, and measure success. “This is the second FMPP grant that The Highland Center has managed,” Smith says. “The first project had great results, and some markets increased their sales by over 100%. We’re really excited to add Pendleton as a new market this year and are thankful to everyone at the USDA for giving us this opportunity.” Find information on each participating market:

The Highland Center is moving forward on its Historic Renovation Project, with construction set to begin in early 2015. The bidding process has begun and qualified licensed contractors are invited to submit bids to Miller Cupp Associates Architects in Harrisonburg through December 16. The renovation will follow national historic preservation guidelines, creating 58% more useable space while restoring the 92-year-old Monterey High School building. The renovated facility will be a prime locationfor events and businesses, featuring a conference-retreat center as well as an upgraded commercial kitchen for classes and local food operations. A groundbreaking ceremony will be announced in the coming months. Thank you to all of the supporters, donors, and alumni of the school who have made this renovation possible.

Connecting Counties through Local Foods

Center Seeks Bids forHistoric Renovation

HIGHLAND HAPPENINGSBrought to you by The Highland Center

A new light manufacturing operation may be coming to Highland County. Ladi Goc, CEO of communications company IceWarp, met with 25 residents on November 1 to discuss the possibility of locating a 3-D printer business in Blue Grass. The operation would be run out of the Blue Grass Ruritan Building, the former elementary school that most recently housed Highland Data Services Company. The business is in the start-up phase with potential employees needed to fulfill orders and assemble kits for printers. “These small-scale operations with high-quality jobs that can be performed anywhere are exactly the type of opportunities we’d like to see more of,” says Executive Director Betty Mitchell, who also serves as a member of the Highland County Economic Development Authority and the Shenandoah Valley Partnership. “The renovated Highland Center will compliment current facilities like the Blue Grass Ruritan building to make Highland a more attractive and well-equipped place for employers to set up shop.”

It was another record-breaking year for the Highland Farmers’ Market, and use of SNAP benefits (formerly food stamps) went up by over 400%. This was thanks in large part to a dollar per dollar match provided by multiple churches and community groups, making healthy local food available to more families. The 2015 season closed out with the Wintertide Market on December 4-5 with seasonal handmade gifts.

The Highland Center continues to offer assistance and education for farmers during the off-season. The Center held a Product Liability Insurance Workshop on October 29 with speakers that included representatives from the Virginia Department of Agriculture and the Homestead Resort. The Center also helped Alleghany Meats secure a technical assistance grant from USDA Rural Development last summer and is coordinating consulting services, working with the marketing committee, and serving as grant manager for the project.

New Business Explores Moving to Blue Grass

Center Helping Farmers and Families in Need

Nine young adults just wrapped up the first phase of their fellowship at the Allegheny Mountain School, spending six months growing and preparing their own food on a Highland County farm. You may have seen the fellows out and about in the community, leading demonstrations at the Highland Farmers’ Market, cooking delicious food for Taste of Highland, working with elementary school students, and clearing brush for a community park. Through all of that they also found time to research and prepare capstone projects, which they presented at The Highland Center on October 15. Topics included improving soil health, capturing rain water, ecosystem pest management, and empowering youth through food and wellness. Emily Lawrence led the audience through her publication, “A Young Farmer’s Guide to Sustainable Farm Management,” and Aaron Burkholder and Thea Klein-Mayer demonstrated their bike-powered grain mill!

Berriedale Farms is The Highland Center’s featured Farm of the Month. Berriedale is set along the Cowpasture River, with 100 acres of mountain pasture surrounded by National Forest. Owners Nelson Hoy and Lizzie Biggs raise and preserve heritage breeds of livestock and poultry including grass-fed Red Poll cattle, which is recognized by the Livestock Conservancy as a threatened heritage breed. They offer a number of cuts and packages - you can find out more by visiting www.berriedalefarms.com or emailing Berriedalefarms@gmail.com.

Berriedale is part of the Center’s Faces of Farmers project. The website is a 5-county directory of farms and information on where you can buy fresh locally grown products. We are always adding to the site-if you would like for your farm to be featured please contact highlandcenter@htcnet.org.

Fellows Reflect on Six Months of Sustainable Living

Center Highlights Farmer of the Month

The Highland Center has been honored to serve as fiscal agent and project manager for the Allegheny Mountain School over the last four years. We are astounded by the talented and community-minded young adults that the program has brought to our area, as well of the thousands of pounds of sustainably grown produce and countless hours of work that have contributed to building a stronger regional food system. We fully support Allegheny Mountain School as they become their own 501(c)3 non-profit organization, Allegheny Mountain Institute (AMI). They are seeking inspiring individuals to participate in the fifth cohort of their Farm Fellowship program - the deadline is January 15, 2015 and applications may be downloaded at www.alleghenymountainschool.org. The Highland Center will continue to partner with AMI on community projects and looks forward to welcoming Senior fellow Thea Klein-Mayer as Local Foods Coordinator in 2015.

This summer The Highland Center’s Community Projects Coordinator Sarah Collins, with help from Allegheny Mountain School fellows and community volunteers, began clearing a 6.5 acre parcel of land that is in the works to become Highland’s first community park. The land, currently leased by The Highland Center, sits near the intersection of Highways 250 and 220 across from the Highland Medical Center. It is the site of more than 90 confederate soldier graves as well as diverse uplands and wetlands. The Highland Center is working with the Veterans Administration and Sons of Confederate Veterans to preserve the gravesites, and is currently seeking grant opportunities to help fill out the property with wetland trails, gardens, and educational areas. A Community Park Advisory Committee is helping with the design and implementation of the park. Tree planting and preliminary landscaping will begin in spring 2015.

AMS Forges New Chapter

Making Way for Community Park

The Highland Center has contracted with the Center for Rural Entrepreneurship (CRE) on a project to retain more young people and attract more residents to Highland County. Craig Schroeder, Senior Fellow of New Generation Partnerships at CRE, visited Highland on October 20-23. The week was filled with interviews and focus groups to discover what residents and young people like about Highland, and what they feel is lacking. Schroeder ended the week with a potluck dinner and open town hall-style meeting attended by 45 people. He cited Highland’s scenic beauty and self-sufficient culture

National Expert Helps Highland Chart Path

as assets, while lack of job opportunities and recreational activities are critical needs. He also reflected on the trend of 30-34 year olds moving to rural areas and said that many young people are looking for a way to return home. This was the start of a year-long project that will result in a county marketing and resident-attraction plan. Schroeder will return in a couple of months and will continue with interviews and community meetings. In the meantime the Center is helping to conduct a survey to assess what will attract more residents and entrepreneurs to the region. Many thanks to the Appalachian Regional Commission for funding this project.

John B. Reynolds, founding board member of The Highland Center who served from 1998-2003, including tenure as Board Chair, passed away on November 28, 2014. John, seated on the left next to golfing friend Bucky Reynolds, organized The Highland Center’s Captain’s Choice Golf Tournament at Needle’s Eye Golf Course for 15 years, raising thousands of dollars for the Center. John worked in the Highland Public School System for 35 years, serving as principal of Blue Grass High School and Highland Elementary School in addition to being a coach and a teacher. John was active in the Monterey Presbyterian Church, the Monterey Lions Club, and numerous other civic activities. We thank John for his extensive community leadership, which will be felt in Highland for many years to come.

In Memoriam

Please take a moment to fill out the survey on how Highland can best attract new residents and businesses. The Highland Center, in its project with the Center for Rural Entrepreneurship, is gathering information on what people value when they are considering moving, returning, or becoming full-time residents in a rural area such as Highland. We’re seeking a variety of perspectives, and your input is greatly appreciated!

http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/FWRP2YM

What Brings you to Highland?The Highland Center seeks a capable and energetic individual to serve as Youth and Community Outreach Coordinator. We are looking for candidates with superior communication and organizational skills, preferably with experience in non-profit program management or resource development. Visit our website (thehighlandcenter.org) for more information.

Join Our Team

PO Box 556Monterey, VA 24465