Public Works employees named Main Street Champions
Morganton, NC – April 6, 2023
The City of Morganton Grounds Crew was recently recognized as the City of Morganton’s Main Street Champion at the North Carolina Main Street Conference in Statesville.
Jim Pless, Josh Miller and Sean Alexander, represented employees of the grounds crew, which is a part of the city’s Public Works Department. They were present at the conference to be recognized for the department’s exemplary service to the Morganton Main Street Department.
In the nomination submission for the award, the Main Street Department said, “The nature aesthetics of downtowns are often admired but rarely celebrated. The amount of planning, cultivating, and nurturing takes tedious dedication even for those with a green thumb. The backbreaking work throughout the seasons to create an inviting ambience is not for the faint of heart. Downtown Morganton is honored to have a Grounds team lead by the talented Jim Pless along with Sean Alexander and Josh Miller who create a charming landscape amongst the hardness of asphalt and brick. As the appearance of downtown has evolved with more focus on the pedestrian experience, Pless and his team have fostered a lush landscape of brilliant flowers, textured vegetation, and native plants. Much of the beauty of downtown Morganton is attributed to Jim, Sean and Josh. This year the City of Morganton Main Street Office honors the City’s Grounds team for their artistry of plantings in downtown Morganton.”
Since the Main Street Champion recognition started in 2000, including this year’s 38 honorees, 375 Champions have been honored by the N.C. Department of Commerce.
Liz Parham, Director of the NC Main Street & Rural Planning Center at Commerce said. “Main Street Champions are passionate about their community and their downtown districts. They are public officials, volunteers, community leaders and concerned citizens that are all working collaboratively for common goals within the context of their community’s economic development strategies.”
City of Morganton City Manager Sally Sandy said, “We are very blessed to have employees who deeply care about our city and want to see it grow and flourish, especially in the downtown area. Our grounds crew is very deserving of this award. Thank you for your time and dedication to beautifying our hometown.”
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Photo captions:
Pictured left to right are City Manager Sally Sandy; Public Works Department employees Jim Pless, Josh Miller, Jordan Lowdermilk, Sean Alexander, Brandon GoForth, Trevor Holbrook, Jon Bell, Anthony Patton and Braxton Brantley; Main Street Manager Abby Gentry, CoMMA Director Sharon Jablonski and Community Events Coordinator Kasey Goodfellow.
Pictured (starting second from left) are Jim Pless, Josh Miller, Sean Alexander at the Main Street Conference in Statesville. ( Photo credit: Gary E. Hodges)
