Inside High Point | March 2024

SPRING HAS SPRUNG IN HIGH POINT!

TABLE OF CONTENTS 3

HPFD CHIEF RETIRES Tommy Reid retired after 43 years

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MUSEUM HOSTS BUS TRIP Historical Society takes bus trip to Raleigh

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LEAF PICKUP ENDS Spring is here, and the leaves are gone

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KHPB UPDATES Winter Wipeout results are in

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OPPORTEENITY FAIR Young jobseekers find new “opporTEENities”

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HUMAN RESOURCES Employee Health Clinic hosts grand opening celebration

CITY COUNCIL

CYRIL JEFFERSON MAYOR

BRITT MOORE MEMBER AT LARGE

AMANDA COOK MEMBER AT LARGE

Cyril.Jefferson@highpointnc.gov

Britt.Moore@highpointnc.gov

Amanda.Cook@highpointnc.gov

VICKIE MCKIVER

TYRONE JOHNSON

MONICA PETERS

Vickie.McKiver@highpointnc.gov

Tyrone.Johnson@highpintnc.gov

Monica.Peters@highpointnc.gov

PATRICK HARMAN

TIM ANDREW WARD 5

WARD 6, MAYOR PRO TEM

Patrick.Harman@highpointnc.gov

Tim.Andrew@highpointnc.gov

Michael.Holmes@highpointnc.gov

WARD 1

WARD 4

WARD 2

WARD 3

MICHAEL HOLMES

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HIGH POINT FIRE CHIEF TOMMY REID RETIRES High Point Fire Department Chief Tommy Reid retired after 43 years with the city at the end of March.

Reid became a High Point firefighter in 1981 and worked his way up the ranks within the operations side of the department for about 30 years.

He then stepped into new leadership roles, first as a deputy chief before being appointed to the top job in 2013.

A High Point native, when Reid started the job, it was beginning to evolve into what it is now, with medical and rescue incidents the most common type of call for firefighters.

“It’s changed a lot over the 43 years,” he said.

As chief, Reid said one of his proudest accomplishments was implementing a program to replace aging firetrucks with new ones regularly.

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He also guided the department through gaining accreditation through the Center for Public Safety Excellence and the Commission on Fire Accreditation International in 2016.

Reid said he and other members of the department’s command staff came up with the idea to pursue accreditation, which came after an extensive review of its levels of service, equipment, training procedures and growth projections, among other things.

“It’s mostly a continual improvement process. You’re always trying to get better and give better service,” Reid said.

Also during his tenure, the department was awarded the highest possible fire insurance rating, which Reid said helps lower insurance premiums for residents and businesses in the city.

“It kind of goes hand in hand, getting the best insurance classification and getting accredited,” he said.

Reid has led the department during a period of growth for High Point, as the city has added population and territory through annexations.

The Fire Department now has a 71-square-mile service area, which includes 58 square miles of High Point, plus outlying areas to which it responds by contract with other agencies. It responds to about 17,000 calls a year.

Thank you, Chief Reid, for your service!

Source: High Point Enterprise

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BRIAN EVANS APPOINTED INTERIM FIRE CHIEF High Point City Manager Tasha Logan Ford announced on March 25 that Deputy Chief Brian Evans has been appointed as the interim fire chief, effective March 30, 2024.

“Deputy Chief Evans has 28 years of service with the High Point Fire Department, believes in ensuring the safety and well-being of our community and has demonstrated a commitment to growth in the fire service,” said City Manager Logan Ford.

“Brian continues to be committed to both the City organization and the broader High Point community.”

Evans embraces the opportunity. “I’m honored to have the privilege of leading our department. The men and women of the fire department will continue our mission of serving the High Point community at the highest level with the best we have,” said Evans.

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Evans began his career with the High Point Fire Department in February 1995. He started as a firefighter and rose through the ranks to captain, battalion chief and assistant chief before serving in his current role as deputy fire chief.

Evans has served the citizens of this community for over 28 years and, as his career advanced, obtained a degree in fire protection technology from Guilford Technical Community College. He has worked in several fire service capacities, including hazmat and technical rescue and assisted FEMA as a strike team leader during Hurricane Katrina/Rita.

Evans has played a pivotal role in shaping the department’s operations, budget and emergency response strategies. His leadership has been instrumental in enhancing the department’s capabilities and ensuring the highest level of service to the residents.

Evans was promoted to Deputy Fire Chief in March 2018. He is a North Carolina Level I Fire Inspector, certified as a North Carolina Hazardous Material Technician and a Weapon of Mass Destruction Hazmat Specialist.

Evans is married to Ann Evans, and they have three children: Mitchell (11), Winston (9) and Gracen (6).

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MUSEUM HOSTS GAME NIGHT, GLOBAL DAY OF UNPLUGGING AND RALEIGH BUS TRIP

The High Point Museum had a lot going on the last month. Its family game night at the end of February was a big success, and Global Day of Unplugging brought out 65 people (35 during the sensory-friendly portion).

Additionally, a lot of fun was had on the Historical Society’s bus trip to Raleigh to see the furniture exhibition at the Museum of History and visit the archives.

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Participants took a charter bus to view the “Furniture: Crafting a North Carolina Legacy” exhibition at the North Carolina Museum of History, tour the State Archives and enjoy lunch at one of the many downtown restaurants.

The current exhibition at the North Carolina Museum of History explores how North Carolinians have contributed to the state’s economy through furniture production. It looks at the evolution of style from colonial to modern, shows how furniture is made and delves into the state’s furniture identity.

Participants learned about High Point’s role in the greater history of North Carolina furniture manufacturing while also viewing a variety of impressive pieces of furniture from the Museum of History’s collection.

The State Archives collects and preserves historically significant archival materials relating to North Carolina. Participants were given a special tour of the archives to learn more about the collection and their preservation work.

The trip was planned in conjunction with the High Point Museum’s new exhibition, “Makers to Manufacturers: FurnitureMaking in the Piedmont, 1830-1890,” open now through the end of 2024.

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Leaf Pickup Season Comes to an End Public Services’ Street Division is excited to announce that leaf pickup for the 2023 season has come to an end! These crews spent a total of 2,433 hours collecting 1,827.13 tons of leaves all around High Point.

Thanks to the leaf crews for helping keep High Point beautiful! Gold club are those who spent more than 300 hours in the trucks. Silver club spent between 200 and 300 hours, bronze between 100 and 200 and green less than 100 hours in the trucks.

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Gold Club: Jesse Cardwell - 313 Landon Slack - 360 Craig Whittington - 387.5 Darius Barber - 387.5 Silver Club: Christopher Gay - 218.5 David Lawson - 238.5 Abrey Reid - 263 Jeffrey Mazzei - 282.5

Bronze Club: Jeffrey Sturdivant - 105 Jamison Paugh - 136 Nicholas Hardison - 110 Dennis Harley - 115 Marcus Fuller - 125 Brad Rogers - 132.5 Justin Childress - 140 Bryan Culp - 143 Bailey Simpson - 163 Carlos Mouzon - 175 Edwin Harris - 185

Green Club: Eric Craft - 83 William Brooks - 85 Stanley Dunlap - 90 Brandon Blackwell - 94.4

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KHPB Wins President’s Circle Recognition Keep High Point Beautiful (KHPB) has achieved President’s Circle status from Keep America Beautiful (KAB) for the 2023 reporting year.

Through this accomplishment, KHPB has upheld the KAB mission, values and vision, inspiring and educating people to take action every day to improve and beautify their community environment and working to make High Point a clean, green and beautiful place to live.

KHPB has maintained certification in the KAB national network by complying with the KAB annual reporting and fulfilling the other requirements.

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Great American Cleanup Date Announced Please save the date for Saturday, April 27, from 9 a.m. – 1 p.m. to participate in the Great American Cleanup spring litter cleanup event.

Employees can get six hours of vacation for four hours of volunteer time! Please contact Rebecca Coplin at rebecca.coplin@highpointnc.gov for more information or to get signed up.

The last day to register is Monday, April 22.

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Winter Wipeout Results Are In The annual Winter Wipeout has concluded for 2024, with 194 volunteers removing 167 bags of trash and 47 bags of recyclables.

This effort began on Monday, Feb. 5, and ended on Saturday, March 23, allowing volunteers to select the best date and time for their individual cleanups.

Our wonderful volunteers cleaned up 27 locations across the city!

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KHPB Youth Advisory Council Meets for Leadership Training Keep High Point Beautiful’s Youth Advisory Council met for new member and leadership training on Saturday, March 9 at the High Point Public Library.

Assistant City Manager Damon Dequenne joined us to share about his career path and experience in leadership.

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Young Jobseekers Find New “OpporTEENities” On Wednesday, March 13, more than 250 High Point teens attended the City’s first OpporTEENity Job Fair at the Rockers Stadium. The fair was held during the school day, with each local public high school selecting attendees and busing them to the event.

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The young jobseekers met nearly 40 local employers hiring full-time, parttime and seasonal workers, and many employers were excited to fill their open positions with fair attendees, even scheduling job interviews at the fair.

Prior to the fair, City of High Point Human Relations staff, assisted by High Point University Volunteers in Service to America members, also taught career-readiness workshops for an additional 360 students, with tips on applications, interviews and job etiquette that prepared the teens to meet with employers.

The fair was planned in partnership with Guilford County Schools, High Point Schools Partnership, GuilfordWorks, HPU Center for Community Engagement, Resilience High Point and Welfare Reform Liaison Project.

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Congrats to Youth Basketball Champs Congratulations to the High Point Parks & Recreation Youth Basketball 2024 age division champions: 8U champs, the Sixers, the 10 champs, the Warriors and the 12U champs, the Heat! Special thanks and high fives to all our players, volunteer coaches, parents and supporters for a truly great season.

For more information on youth athletics programs, please email eli.campbell@highpointnc.gov or call 336.883.3621.

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ASPIRE Hosts Talent Explosion We love our community partnerships! Big thanks to the High Point Arts Council, who partnered with Parks & Recreation’s ASPIRE staff to host the organization's first Talent Explosion! Guests enjoyed 11 entertaining acts featuring participants with developmental disabilities as they sang, played piano, told jokes, danced and more.

For more information on the programs and services provided by ASPIRE, please call 336.883.3477.

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Employee Health Clinic Hosts Grand Opening Celebration City of High Point Human Resources celebrated the grand opening of the Atrium Health Wake Forest Baptist High Point Employee Health Clinic with a ribbon cutting and reception on Feb. 28.

The City has partnered with Atrium Health Wake Forest Baptist (AHWFB) to enhance our clinic services to include primary and acute care services. Some of the primary goals of the partnership are to improve and provide convenient access to quality care and help improve the health and well-being of our workforce.

The clinic is officially open and scheduling appointments for these expanded services.

Employees can make an appointment by calling 743.230.8780, Monday – Thursday, 7:30 a.m. – 4 p.m. and Friday, 7:30 – 11:30 a.m.

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Promotions BONNIE ANDREWS

KIMILI LONG

Police Supervisor II to Police Commander I

Rec Center Assistant Supervisor to Rec Center Supervisor

VIRGINIA BASKINS IT Network & Security Manager to IT Services Assistant Director

JOSHUA BAULDING Police Officer II to Police Officer, Master I

CHARLES BRACKETT Police Officer, Master II to Police Supervisor I

DONALD CLODFELTER Code Enforcement Officer II to Code Enforcement Supervisor

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RACHEL JUREN Police Commander I to Assistant Police Chief

New Hires CORY BRADY Traffic Signal Tech I

TRENTON PEACOCK P & R Special Facilities Groundskeeper I

LOGAN BROWN

CHRISTOPHER PEGUES

Water Meter Service Tech I

MRF Worker I

LAVONDA COUNCIL BROWN

MICHAEL ROYSTER

Customer Service Rep I

P & R Programs Recreation Attendant

ANGELA CRAVEN P & R Special Facilities Recreation Attendant

THOMAS KRPICAK P & R Special Facilities Park Attendant

BRYSON LIVINGSTON Transit Operator I

INSIDE HIGH POINT BROUGHT TO YOU BY: CITY OF HIGH POINT COMMUNICATIONS & PUBLIC ENGAGEMENT DEPARTMENT

HAVE A SUBMISSION FOR NEXT MONTH’S ISSUE? EMAIL NOELLE MILLER AT NOELLE.MILLER@HIGHPOINTNC.GOV.