Rich Cooke

The Community Foundation of Henderson County's annual Vintage Carolina fundraiser will be held Monday, March 9th at the Hendersonville Country Club from 6-9pm. International food and wine stations will be set up around the country club as "ports of call" at the cruise-themed festivities. Some of the countries represented at different ports of call will be France, Italy, Australia, South Africa and Spain, just to name a few. Tickets are $75/person and space is limited. So, reservations are required. Please call 697-6224 to make a reservation or come to the Community Foundation of Henderson County in person to place your request.

If you are in the market to purchase a home or want to refinance your mortgage to take advantage of the lower interest rates available, you will want to run a credit report first. This will allow you find out:

1. What is my credit score?

2. Are there any accounts being reported that aren't mine?

3. Are there discrepancies being reported by my current creditors?

Thanks to the Fair Credit Reporting Act, you are entitled to one full credit report from TransUnion, Experian and Equifax each year. That means, you can either request one free report from each credit reporting agency sporadically throughout the year or you can order all three at once to compare information. This is the more recommended method, since companies don't all report to the same agencies and information on each report can vary. The better your credit is before you purchase or refinance your home, the better interest rate you will receive, saving you money. When you find any mistakes on your credit report, immediately notify the agency it was reported to and file a dispute on the discrepancy. It is the credit reporting agency's responsibility to follow up on it. Visit http://www.annualcreditreport.com to get a copy of your free reports online, via phone or in the mail.

If you have any more questions about getting your free credit report or need help with your Western North Carolina real estate needs, please give me a call at (828) 808-9238 or email me at rich@richcooke.com. I'm here to help.

There are only two more shopping days 'til Valentine's Day. If you haven't found something to do yet, you're in luck! There are two events going on this weekend that any couple can enjoy. On Saturday, the VFW Post #5206 in Hendersonville will be sponsoring a Valentines Dance. Rock out with your sweetie to country and oldies rock tunes performed by The Carolina Misty Band. The dance begins at 7pm and is open to anyone aged 21 years or older and costs only $7/person. For more information on this fabulous event, call the VFW in Hendersonville at 828-693-5930.

If your sweetie is a wildlife lover, take a Guided Bird Walk with the ECO & Henderson County Bird Club at Jackson Park in Hendersonville. The walk begins at 9am. For more information, please call 828-692-0385.

Contact me for all your Hendersonville real estate needs. I can help you with your home in Hendersonville, Laurel Park, Horse Shoe, Mills River, Flat Rock, Lake Lure, Asheville, Tryon and Saluda.

After completing its two-year, $10.8 million renovation, the Henderson County Historic Courthouse was honored January 29th with the North Carolina Office of Urban Development award for "Best Public Building Improvement". When a new courthouse was opened in 1995 in Hendersonville, the old courthouse became abandoned. But, with the recent renovation, the Henderson County Historic Courthouse houses the county's Heritage Museum as well as administrative offices for the county. Part of the renovation included adding a 12,000 square foot annex for office space, rest rooms, a community room, museum space and a meeting facility for the county commissioner that seats 140 people. The renovation of the old courthouse as well as the award of recognition have helped revitalize Hendersonville's downtown area and bring part of Henderson County's history to the forefront. To find out more about the Hendersonville community, events or real estate, please contact me.

Bruce Drysdale Elementary, located in Hendersonville, is requesting that the Henderson County Board of Education put them on a year-round schedule instead of the traditional school year. The new schedule would keep the same amount of school days throughout the calendar year. But, instead of the traditional nine months in school and three months off in the summer, students would attend school for nine weeks and have three weeks off. This is supposed to help students retain more during their breaks, since research has shown that the retention level of a student after a long summer break is much lower than after a brief respite. There are already four other public schools in Western North Carolina that operate on the year-round schedule. If you are a parent of a child at Bruce Drysdale Elementary or just a concerned citizen, feel free to attend the next board meeting (at HCBOE's central offices, 414 Fourth Ave West in Hendersonville) on February 9th at 6pm. It is open to the public.