At the March 11 annual meeting of the community association, Rick Fornoff and Christina Quetel were elected to the board and re-elected incumbents included Doug Baughman, Shelley McKechnie and Liz Polfus (see all board member bios). The new board selected officers for 2025: Chris Pelly, President; Christina Maggi, Vice President; Christina Quetel, Treasurer; and Bruce Black, Secretary. 

Meeting highlights included hearing from special guests:

– Dustin Clemens, Capital Projects Division Manager, City of Asheville, provided a detailed update on the new section of sidewalk being installed on New Haw Creek Road 

– Carrie Lee, APD's Community Resource Officer for East Asheville, shared information on her role to support Haw Creek residents

– Timothy Rhodes, Administrator, Western North Carolina Youth Sports Association, gave a status report on renovations at Charlie Bullman Park

– Shelley McKechnie, board member, spoke about the inspiration behind her new book: Stronger than the Storm: Hurricane Helene in Western North Carolina

A PowerPoint presentation highlighted 2024 activities, which included holding six community meetings/programs and sponsoring nine community events and five hikes. HCCA also recognized the community's response to Hurricane Helene, in particular Haw Creek Commons and Groce UMC.

There was also a review of 2025 plans:

– Monitor the 767 Development Project

– Secure Buncombe County grant for the Haw Creek Park Greenway

– Undertake open space preservation efforts

– Develop FireWise Community Program

– Sponsor Haw Creek Hustle: 5k run/walk May 17

– Continue and expand community events

Attendees were encouraged to join one of four committees, which manage much of the association’s day-to-day work, particularly the Clean & Green and Community Outreach Committees. We also have many other volunteer opportunities for occasional participation.

The meeting closed with an invitation to meet neighbors and share in a dessert social.