The Bethel Rural Community Organization was recognized with the Mountain Heritage award at the recent Mountain Heritage Day festival held at Western Carolina University.

The Bethel Rural Community Organization, a nonprofit created “to enhance the quality of rural life in the Bethel Community of Haywood County,” was recognized for fulfilling that mission with farmland and historic preservation initiatives. Producing and offering books, CDs and DVDs — as well as selling art prints of historic sites — the group collects and documents the area’s history. 

“We’re very honored that the work we do is recognized,” said Ted Carr of the organization. “Our goal has been recording and preserving history so that our heritage can be shared in the future and told by those who know the stories best.”