History Planned Housing Project Valley Trails Heritage Park Disc Golf Course Gateway Project Small Towns Revitalization Program Broadband Project Freedom Memorial Pavilion Partners and Funders Home Town of Andrews Andrews Chamber of Commerce One Dozen Who Care, Inc.		The Three Legged Stool Through a collaborative and interactive process with the community that began in 2003, AVI has formulated an overall strategy that we have termed "the three legged stool", a growing green initiative to address community environmental issues and self-sustainability; a multi-media art museum and a concept we call "safe haven" to act as the communities economic engines. The fourth leg of the stool that we have not fully addressed and for which we are seeking help is to define and locate the financial resources to seed the implementation of these strategies. Safe Haven The concept of "a safe haven" explores a different way to address the following problems of the small rural communities in our valley: The rapid urbanization of the surrounding region i.e. the approaching urban sprawl of Atlanta, Chattanooga and Knoxville. The new job scenarios of our service economy i.e. high tech, white-collar credentialed jobs. The potential social inequalities as unintended consequences of the global free marketplace in its quest for cheap labor and lax environmental regulation that can cause the loss of rural jobs and the creation of unsafe and unclean rural environments. Large and medium size corporations in major urban centers are looking for places to put their off-site data storage facilities and a small staff in case their headquarters should come under threat from terrorists (e.g. 9/11) or natural disasters (e.g. hurricanes, earthquakes). These are called Safe Centers and one is already in the early stages in Andrews. The U.S. Federal government through such agencies as Homeland Security and FEMA is pouring millions of dollars into state governments and large cities to create a state of readiness to protect citizens and communities at large from the peril of terrorists and/or natural disasters. What has not been done is to consider the benefits of spending resources on small but proximate, naturally protected, already safe rural communities{Safe Havens} to become spokes for these large urban hubs. Multi-Media Art Museum There are two main reasons that AVI believes that a Multi-Media Art Museum will become an economic engine for Andrews and its valley: There is no art museum in our hemisphere and, as far as we know, in the world that will show in one place at the same time an artist's work as a vertical integration; that is his fine art with his crafts, other media work and fashion designs. This unique museum will draw the art lover and design connoisseur to shows that will feature famous artists work from painting to sculpture to table accessories to high end auto interiors under one roof at the same time. Artists are the first adopters of new locations to live and work. Know as the "creative class," they lead the affluent and the professional to new and interesting locales. The Town of Andrews will provide a pedestrian friendly, high density downtown environment of affordable mixed use live/work units that will attract and retain artists in a mountain setting in the most naturally beautiful valley in North Carolina. Growing Green When AVI talks about "growing green" as opposed to just green, it is trying to make a distinction based on emphasis rather than substance. AVI's emphasis is not on checklists for green building standards such as LEED or technological capital intensive alternatives for energy such wind generators or solar systems or politically correct green initiatives to attract tax incentives. We recognize and respect all of these and welcome them into our community. Our emphasis, however, is far more fundamental and more appropriate to our rural environment. We see rural self-sufficiency working hand in hand with environmental sustainability. We see farmland preservation and the purchasing of development rights bringing organic farming and small vineyard cultivation to provide local and regional food and wine distribution as well as preserving our stunning view vistas. We insist on conservation based land use as not just an escape from the urban sprawl and strip shop convenience of the auto dependent in the dying suburbs and exurbs but as a way for our community to more clearly and comprehensively define what we casually call quality of life. For too many, green means the search for a technological bullet that will kill the guilt of decades of doing the wrong thing. For AVI, growing green is a way of expressing the joy and excitement of a community plan that will change a threatened small rural town into a revitalized living environment.