More on presidential candidates coming into town

The Union County Weekly had an article in last week's issue talking about mayoral candidate Lisa Thornton and cohorts bringing in Michelle Bachmann.

A snippet:

Bachmann traveled to Union for a fundraising breakfast at the France home, speaking with Steward, mayoral candidate Thornton and others who came out. The event came about through Jason Lambert, founder of Right Strategy, who said he hopes to bring all the presidential candidates through Union.

I've got an email out to Lisa to see if any other presidential candidates are in the pipeline to make a stop in Waxhaw. My thumbs are crossed that more can be convinced to make a quick stop in our humble little burg.

Read the whole thing.

First Friday

With the Autumn Treasures festival going on this weekend, it might be easy to forget that First Friday is upon us again.

Most of you are probably thinking 'Ho hum, another First Friday.' But no, a couple differences that stand out:

* Main Street Grill is offering a full menu this time around.

* Maxwell's Tavern is having a Pint Night, offering free glasses with purchases of their seasonal brew Mecktoberfest.

Good times.

Chip in for South Providence

I mentioned Rick Giarla's rooftop adventure atop of Stack's Kitchen. (Is that my best headline yet? I was pretty happy with it for what it's worth.)

He's looking to raise $30000 for South Providence school in Waxhaw near the library.

For those looking to contribute to the cause, a site has been set up to make it awful convenient to support the cause. Visit and contribute what you can.

By the way, the WAA still needs volunteers this weekend. Sign up and lend a hand (and score some BBQ at the same time.)

Local campaigns

Some more election-related observations:

* In my earlier observations, I noted that Lisa Thornton was the greenest candidate since I hadn't seen her signs out and about. But she's now passed the torch to Sean Poccia, supposed candidate for the town board, the now greenest candidate since he appears to be the only remaining Waxhaw candidate without political signs.

* Per Brian Carlton at the Union County Weekly, all the local candidates will be completing a questionnaire that should hopefully run next week. That should be interesting in getting to know all the candidates and especially the lesser known candidates.

* Lisa Thornton plans to provide the Union County Weekly with a introductory column like the incumbent's that ran in earlier issues. Will it run this Friday? We shall have to wait and see.

* The idea to have a campaign sign garden in my yard popped into my head today, perhaps much to my wife's and neighbors' chagrin. It's probably been done before, but I thought it sounded like a neat idea, especially since I've never ever had a single campaign sign in my yard before.

Of course, I'd need to get my hands on signs from all the candidates. Do candidates normally have enough signs to donate to the cause or do they essentially become a pseudo-currency around this time? From what I can tell, this would not violate the town's campaign sign ordinance (PDF) in any way. If any candidates want to donate a unique sign to the garden, drop me an email.

* My kids have taken to pointing out campaign signs as we drive. They made a point to tell me there was a Daune Gardner sign in our neighborhood the other day. I can only imagine how excited they'll be to see their first Sean Poccia sign.

UPDATE 10/20: Fixed two typos.

Update on WAA volunteers

Rick Giarla sent out another email to WAA parents requesting volunteers for the BBQ cook-off this weekend at the Autumn Treasures festival, previously mentioned here.

I'd estimate 20 volunteers signed up today, but by my count, 47 more are still needed.

Twenty out of forty tasting servers are still needed for 12.30p-3.00p on Sunday.

Twenty-one out of forty servers/clean up persons are needed for the 3.00p-5.30p shift on Sunday as well.

So if you can spare a small shift, either in one of the aforementioned shifts or the other slots where someone is needed, please sign up.

UPDATE 10/5: It's just updates on top of updates here at the Broome Street Blues. As of 12.42p, only 39 volunteers needed with a couple more days left to fill the slots. Keep 'em coming!

Hicks in stix support Rick on Stacks?

I mentioned the help the WAA and Rick Giarla could use for the BBQ cook-off at Autumn Treasures. I also briefly touch upon Rick's latest feat for the community, but wanted to expand upon it with further details. From the WAA's Facebook page:

Beginning Friday, October 14th, South Providence will be hosting its largest fundraiser to date, thanks to the innovation and dedication of Waxhaw’s own, Rick Giarla. Rick became aware of the needs of South Providence through a conversation with Gale Smith, a custodian at the school. Gale has known Rick and his enthusiastic community involvement through Waxhaw Athletic Association, of which Rick is president. Gale approached Rick at the beginning of the school year in hopes he could somehow help the school acquire some technological needs such as Smartboards. Being a supporter of the community and students alike, Rick was up for the challenge.

Rick has served as PTO president of Waxhaw elementary as well as Parkwood middle, but he saw this as an opportunity to help a school that serves students across Union County. “I can make a difference and help South Providence get the same technology that the more affluent schools receive.” Rick met with Barry Ross, principal of South Providence for coffee in Waxhaw where they discussed the needs of the school and how Rick could help. The idea of “Sitting for South Providence” was born!

Rick fashioned the concept of people around the county, sponsoring him with donations as he spent the weekend atop a local Waxhaw establishment. He spoke with the owner of Stacks restaurant on Providence Road and the two agreed that the restaurant was the perfect location. George, the owner, even offered to feed Rick for the duration of his stay on the roof. The only task left to do was to get the word out and attract supporters for the cause. “The key to success here is getting all Union County schools behind it” Rick stated. He has a goal in mind of raising $30,000 for South Providence and is hoping that the community backs up his effort.

Rick will start his crusade at 8am Friday, October 14th and hopes to make it through the weekend, coming down from the roof at 8am Monday, October 17th. Staff members from South Providence will be rotating in shifts in from of Stacks throughout the weekend, collecting donations and showing their support for the cause. We are hoping for a great turn out and would love to see you there, supporting some of the best students from around the county. “These kids are just like any other kid, they deserve the same benefits.”

As if you needed another reason to support Rick efforts for the South Providence school or the for the WAA at the BBQ cook-off, I'll provide you with a brief personal take, a story I rarely share. My oldest had just signed up for tee ball in the WAA a few years ago, attending a handful of practices if memory serves. Complaining of headaches, he had an MRI that discovered a golf-ball sized tumor in his brain. He was immediately admitted to the hospital and underwent emergency surgery to remove the tumor.

Post surgery, a stranger showed up with balloons (a baseball balloon was tucked in there as well) and it was Rick. Word must've filtered from our coach to Rick and he'd driven all the way from Waxhaw to Levine's Children's Hospital to deliver some balloons and wish our son, who he had never met, well. It made quite the impression on my wife and I.

I strongly suspect there's similar stories about Rick not yet told and my suspicion is that Rick likes it that way. I also suspect he wouldn't mind some support in his local fundraisers, such as this one or the BBQ cook-off supporting the WAA.

If Rick is supporting a cause, it's likely a cause worth supporting.

WAA needs volunteers!

I mentioned earlier that the proceeds of this year's BBQ cook-off at the Autumn Treasures festival will benefit the Waxhaw Athletic Association. However, they need a lot of volunteers to assist with the BBQ cook-off.

So all WAA parents and supporters need to step up and spare a few hours if at all possible to help out. They've set up a sign-up sheet through signupgenius.com that makes it pretty convenient to lend a hand.

Perusing the list, it appears the biggest need is tasting servers on Sunday October 9th from 12.30p-3.00p and Servers/Clean-up people on Sunday October 9th 3.00p-5.30p. Please sign up and lend a hand. If there's a local organization other than schools that affects more local kids, I can't think of it it right now.

And donating your time to the WAA will also score you some BBQ. Rick Giarla sent an email out explaining the details:

We were just notified that ALL volunteers at this event will receive $10 in tickets to be used at the BBQ Cook-off Public Tasting on Sunday, October 9 from 1:30-4:30pm. So, when you think about it, you are getting PAID to VOLUNTEER!

I suspect there's a lot of people who can pull themselves away from Autumn Treasures for a few hours to benefit a local organization and to score some free BBQ, so please sign-up as soon as possible.

If not for the kids, then do it to help out Rick Giarla who has done tons for this community. He needs his energy for the next weekend when he plans to spend a weekend on the roof of Stack's Kitchen to benefit the South Providence school in Waxhaw proper. He needs his energy for that task rather than running around harried filling in for a lack of volunteers during Autumn Treasures. Please sign up today to lend a hand!