Board, Bills and Brainstorming

Board
We have the best board. Yesterday was our quarterly board meeting and as always, I was blown away by the talent and enthusiasm of these folks. Our dedicated board chair, Helen McInnis, will be ending her term this fall and in preparation, the board elected a new chair to take the reigns. Congratulations to Ben Collins,who has become our new chair after serving 4 years as a member. Two new board members were elected, Cindy Weeks of Mountain Housing Opportunities and Robin Merrell from Pisgah Legal Services, both in Asheville. Much of our success over the past few years is due to this amazing group. Thank you for your commitment!

Bills
We introduced our 2010 Legislative Agenda yesterday. Since this will be a short session in the legislature, we will be focusing on bills and issues that we began work on in 2009. Of course, at the top of our list is the Housing Trust Fund. We need to protect the $10 million in recurring funding. We will also work to keep the $3 million in recurring appropriations for the Home Protection Program. This helps homeowners pay their mortgage when they've lost their job through no fault of their own. The Coalition will continue to be an active voice for the appropriate use and efficient distribution of ARRA weatherization funding in the state. More details about our Legislative Agenda will be posted on our website soon.


Brainstorming
Over the last month or so we have been working with the NC Assets Alliance to hold Regional Asset Building forums across the state. These forums are serving as brainstorming sessions for the Coalition and Alliance to help us better understand the issues facing folks in different parts of the state. Up next are Fayetteville, Asheville and Charlotte. Please check out the events page on our website or facebook page for more details.