Monthly Archives: March 2002

A pdf of the March 2002 Newsletter may be downloaded here.

Presidents Message

We had another good turn out at our February meeting. Thanks to all those members who brought along prospective members.

Our guest speaker, Judy Bell, a Crime Prevention Specialist from the Asheville Police Department had many tips for keeping you and your employees safe as well as advice on how to handle vari- ous situations. Please look under Follow Up on the flip side of this newsletter for details.

We are still looking for your input. Let myself or a Board member know what programs you would like to have at our meetings. What topics do you want to learn more about? Who would you like to hear speak?

Committees have been formed to handle various WABA activities: • Scholarship Committee – to assist in the decision and awarding of our two annual scholarships.

Contact: Tommy Rice 254-3511 • Promotions Committee – to explore the options for marketing and promoting West Asheville businesses.

Contact: Raife Davis 252-6848 • Fiesta Latina – to help with the annual downtown festival and build a relationship with the goal of moving the festival to West Asheville next year

Contact: Krista Stearns 252-9378 I encourage you to get involved in one of these committees. This is your chance to help shape the future of West Asheville.

Hope to see you at the next meeting. Alice io Oglesby io design & illustration On Site Streets, LLC (OnHaywood.com) 251-9051 alice@iodesignandillustration.com alice@onhaywood.com

March 2002 Calendar

Board Meeting Thursday March 14 7:30am West End Bakery 757 Haywood Road

General Meeting Tuesday March 19 6:30pm Ryan’s Steak House 1053 Patton Ave.

March Program: Anti-Virus Concerns

Charlene A. Galvin from Prism Technology Resources, Inc. will fill us in on: • Computer virus history • The types of viruses out there • Who writes viruses and why? • Who are the targets? • General rules on how to protect your computer system

• Proven anti-virus solutions There will be time for questions and answers.

General meetings are open to the public and prospective members are encouraged to attend.

Featured WABA Member – Olga Earwood

Olga Earwood is a Realtor with Coldwell Banker. She is a Certified International Property Specialist, Million Dollar Producer and Multilingual. Olga is also an interpreter for Russian and Ukrainian languages. She can be reached at: 236-5645

E-mail: oearwood@coldwellbanker.com

Follow Up

Each month the WABA Newsletter will give you follow up information on past programs or community actions that pertain to West Asheville.

Program Follow Up: Crime Prevention for Your Business

Some basic tips for the safety of your business and your employees: 1) Lighting – have good outdoor light- ing and leave an internal light on after hours to discourage dark seeking criminals; 2) Uncovered windows – store windows that are covered give criminals a way to confront you with out pedestrians or motorist seeing them; 3) Limit escape routes – check that you are not an easy drive by mark. Criminals like to have multiple escape routes, don’t give them an easy way out. What do you do if you are robbed? Stay calm. Don’t risk your life against an armed criminal, give them the money. Immediately call 911, lock the door and ask all employees and customers to write down what they saw. Do not discuss events amongst yourself. Do not disturb any possible evidence. More tips will follow in future newsletters.

Community Action: Reward for Catching Graffiti Vandals

We have set up a Crime Stoppers reward of $250 for the arrest and conviction of graffiti vandals in West Asheville. Call Crime Stoppers, 277-100 if you have information. If you would like to donate to the reward fund, please contact Stewart Auten, Auten Printing, 254-1996.

Community Action: Haywood Road Development Meeting

City Development would like to hear from all the businesses and organizations on Haywood Road. A meeting is being set up for you to voice your opinion about such things as traffic flow, cross walks and parking. As soon as we have a date and place we will be making fliers and could use help in getting the word out. Please contact Alice io Oglesby, 251-9051 if you can assist.