The Waxhaw Show

The mayor hinted about meeting some tv execs not too long ago on Facebook. While the rest of us wondered what kind of bawdy reality show might be heading our way, the Union County Weekly breaks the story.

The town of Waxhaw could be the focus of a television show, depending on how much commissioners are willing to pay. The program Life in the Carolinas reached out to Waxhaw Mayor Daune Gardner, expressing their interest in featuring the town in a future show. The catch is that Waxhaw would have to foot part of the bill, which could range from $7,950 to almost $35,000.

Town commissioners voted to open negotiations with the program during their Tuesday, March 22 meeting, after going through the different options. “Life in the Carolinas” is a program that runs on various stations across North and South Carolina. Here in the Charlotte market, it airs on Time Warner Cable Channel 12 Saturdays at 5:30pm, with additional shows on Direct TV and other venues as well.

There are three options available, costing the town from 31% to 139% of the town's yearly economic development budget of $25000.

All commissioners with the exception of Martin Lane voted to open negotiations with "Life in the Carolinas." I think I agree with Martin. He is quoted:

That’s a lot of money,” Waxhaw Mayor Pro Tem Martin Lane said, adding that he thought shows normally sold commercials to handle costs, rather than charge the towns featured in the program. “I don’t think it’s our role to pick up something like this.”

While I'm sure it'd be great to have this show spotlight Waxhaw, it'd be ideal to see some tangible evidence that it would benefit the town. I personally have never heard of this program, so I'm wondering how many others statewide are in the same boat.

And the whole operation reminds me a little of those "Who's Who?" books my wife and I use to get invited to buy that just so happen to feature one of us. They just smelled like a scam.

Read the whole thing.