Town Hall Meeting
by Maryann Miller

The crowd may have been small at the City Auditorium, but the news was substantive. About fifty people gathered on Monday evening, November 18th at 6:00pm for this third Town Hall Meeting. First on the agenda was a bowl of "Aggie-Creole" gumbo cooked by Larry Sparks and served by his wife LeAnne. Getting a bowl of this infamous dish was quite a treat and provided people an opportunity to visit before the other business commenced.

Out-going Chamber of Commerce president, Charlie Boles, started the formal meeting with the announcement of new Chamber officers and directors. Mike Clark, Brookshires' manager, is the new Chamber President, with Tony Grosso serving as Vice President. The directors are: George Watkins, who recently opened G&M Clocks on Main Street; Kraig Yarbrough, who offers retirement counseling; and Debbie Boles, who works at the Outpost with her husband, Charlie.

Mayor Caroline Jones then gave an update on the SESQUICENTENNIAL plans with the assistance of Georgia Lange and Sue Hamm, who are members of the planning team. Georgia announced that the committee has been actively raising money to fund publicity efforts and events to celebrate the sesquicentennial. The two primary promotional tools will be brochures; one of which will have maps of Winnsboro and Wood Country with points of interest noted. Two advertising agencies are donating their services to produce the brochures.

Georgia stressed the importance of making this a "unifying effort" with all businesses and organizations coming together to make the events of this important year successful.
Sue Hamm reported that the Heritage Society plans to have the museum up and running in the Depot. Materials have been donated and Society members are working on displays. She is also contacting area schools to encourage involving the students in special history projects for the year 2004. She recalled how a project she was assigned in the sixth grade stirred her first interest in history and how that interest grew into a life-long avocation.

MAIN STREET Manager, Denise Miranda, was pleased to announce that this has been a productive year. Winnsboro has been officially named a Main Street City by the Texas Historical Association, and the advisory board has been able to use that designation to promote downtown businesses to tourists. The city has been featured with other Main Street cities in Texas Monthly, and Denise has helped some of the business join together for radio spots that have aired throughout East Texas.

The Texas Historical Association will continue to work with the city in areas of design, marketing, grant-seeking, and restoration efforts. "We welcome input from everybody as we move forward with this," she said. "This designation is not for the benefit of only a few businesses or people. It is to promote the entire city as a place worth coming to see."
Denise was really excited about the planned visit by the First Lady of Texas in February. Ms. Perry will be here to make the official declaration of Winnsboro as a Main Street City.

AUTUMN TRAILS president, Jimmy Davis, gave an overview of this important series of events that is held every October. "This is the 44th year for Autumn Trails, and it continues to grow in popularity," he said. "Fifteen to twenty-five thousand people attend some or all of the events, and they come from as far away as Tennessee and Mississippi."

Jimmy stressed how important this month of activities is for the economy of the city. "A good percentage of the tourist dollars that are spent here, come in during Autumn Trails."
In addition to bringing in money, the Board that supports Autumn Trails furnishes the building for the Chamber of Commerce. Support is also given to the police WORK Camp and several scholarships are presented to local high school students.

Bob Hibbard, warden of the JOHNSTON UNIT, proudly announced that the recidivism rate for this substance abuse treatment facility is only 7 percent. "Most prisons have about 37 percent of their people commit another crime and return. We are very pleased that what we are doing helps more people to leave and lead productive lives."

The men who are housed in the Johnston Unit provide over 2,000 man-hours to the city in various capacities. They clean up the stadium after football games, mow and trim along roadways, put up signs, and set up for events. Bob said that the men "appreciate the work here because they get such positive feedback from citizens."

Bob was also pleased to announce that through the efforts of the Winnsboro churches, the Unit will have a multi-use building next year that will serve as a chapel. Money has been raised and construction should begin soon.

Representing the VETERAN'S OF FOREIGN WARS, Terry Rowe first talked about his role as a Service Representative. He helps the veterans and their families with social services; primarily medical and financial. He announced a Health Screening for Vets on December 6th where flu shots and mammograms will be available. He also reminded people of the shoe clinic which provides shoes to diabetics.

The region's VFW posts recently received a national award for community service, logging over 300,000 volunteer hours and over $2,000,000.00 raised for various charitable causes. "We work very hard to take care of the men and women who have served us," he said.

Regina Gilbreath spoke briefly about the Women's Auxiliary that works with the men of the VFW post. In addition to holding craft sales and bake sales, they support a cancer aid and research program, providing small financial grants to women with cancer. They also promote "Make A Difference Day," encouraging people to help a veteran on a specific day determined by the State Organization. Regina stressed that the services and support offered through the post is "for all veterans, not just those who served in war time."

Speaking for the TRAILS COUNTRY CENTER FOR THE ARTS, Ila McNulty gave a brief overview of events and classes that took place in the past year at the Center. Those included art exhibits, stage productions, concerts, folk-art classes, tap dancing, writer's workshops, guitar and art lessons, and a theatre workshop for children.

A non-profit organization supporting art in all venues, the TCCA is just barely a year old. It evolved after the Rally last year when people expressed a desire for some kind of place where artistic endeavors could be showcased and expanded. As it moves toward the future, Ila encouraged people to get involved. "We all work strictly as volunteers. And we can always use more help," she said. "And of course we encourage people to continue to support us by attending the events we sponsor."