During the past decade, Haywood County’s economy has seen some ups — but mostly downs.

A presentation given at the recent Haywood County Economic Development Commission meeting offers a glimpse of how the county fared before and during the recession. The decade worth of numbers presented shows drastic declines in employment and growth but little or no rebound since.

Research economist Tom Tveidt, of SYNEVA Economics in Asheville, was commissioned to do an economic trends study for Old Town Bank based in Waynesville. The study is now being shared with the community.

Sectors impacted the most by the recession were construction, manufacturing and wholesale trade. The number of construction jobs declined 34 percent during the recession, and demand for second-homes in the mountains withered. Wholesale trade and manufacturing slid by 37 percent and 13 percent, respectively.

On the bright side, manufacturing and wholesale industries have begun growing once again though have yet to bounce back completely.

Total employment in the county tumbled from almost 27,000 jobs in 2008 to about 24,850 in 2009. Employment numbers have continued to fluctuate during the past couple year but never reached more than 25,600 jobs.

The sustained decline in job opportunities may have affected Haywood County’s population numbers as well.

“That explains the people leaving,” said Kevin Ensley, a member of the Economic Development Commission after seeing the decline in jobs. Ensley is also a Haywood County Commissioner.

Haywood County residents have a little extra room compared to a couple years ago.

Its population saw a decline of a little more than 200 people in 2010, bucking an almost two decade long trend of population increases. Last year’s drop in population was the county’s first decline since 1990.

Despite the recent drop, Haywood County’s population grew by 4,802 people during the first decade of this century, and the county is ranked 55th in the state for growth.

County residents are also getting older though.

As a popular location for retirees and second homebuyers, Haywood County has historically had an aging demographic. But, in 2010, the majority of resident were reportedly in their 50s or 60s, compared to just 10 years ago when most were in their 40s and 50s.

County governments receive state and federal funding based on their projected economic and population growth. The predictions are based on past growth, such as the number of building permits issued.

Prior to 2008, the county issued an average of 32 building permits each month. That number dropped to 13 after 2008.

Haywood County has benefited monetarily from estimated growth projections in the past.

“We get over ranked” and receive additional money because the number of second homebuyers who either purchase or build homes in the county, Waynesville Mayor Gavin Brown said.

2000-2010 Population

Increased 4,802 or 8.6%

2010 population decreased 217

First decline since 1990

Total employment from 2008 to 2009

Almost 27,000 down to 24,850

Average building permits per-month

Pre 2008: 32; Post 2008: 13

It’s anybody’s guess when the Imperial Hotel in Canton will open.

The deadline for finishing renovations to the hotel, owned by outgoing Canton Mayor Pat Smathers, has continually been pushed back. The initial opening date in May turned into July, then August, with the latest target now sometime in December.

“There is just very little left to do,” said Smathers, who expects to finish renovating the hotel by the first or second week in December. “It’s just taken time, but it’s an old building.”

The renovations have been progressing in fits and starts during the past decade. Piles of bricks and other tell-tale signs of construction have been a mainstay in the yard of the downtown property for years now.

This time, however, completion really is just around the corner. If Smathers doesn’t create 15 jobs in the renovated hotel by this time next year, he will have to repay a $90,000 state grant for the project from the N.C. Rural Center.

Smathers himself will only create one of the required 15 jobs directly, however. An independent restaurant leasing space from Smathers inside the hotel will create the other 14 jobs required under the grant.

Smathers must repay a portion of the grant for each job not created.

Plans for a restaurant inside the hotel have taken a turn last week, however, with one restaurateur stepping back and another stepping in. Originally, Greg Petty, owner of the Canton Lunch Box, was going to open a restaurant in the Imperial Hotel. He expected to open this summer and even closed his other restaurant to focus his efforts on the new location.

“We closed our Canton Lunch Box in anticipation of getting this place opening on Aug. 1,” Petty said. That’s after previously touting a June opening.

Petty said the prolonged renovations were not the main reason he opted out of the Imperial locale. He said he was still planning to open the restaurant when he was approached by Sid Truesdale, who wanted to buy him out.

Truesdale said he was looking for an opportunity locally.

The goal for opening a restaurant in the hotel is New Year’s Eve, said Truesdale, calling the timeline “pretty aggressive.”

The restaurant, called Sid’s on Main, will offer “a little bit of everything,” such as steak and soups, Truesdale said.

The renovation project was about 80 percent complete in June, according to a progress report submitted to the Rural Center as a requirement of the grant. The main items remaining were painting the interior and installing a sprinkler system, bathroom fixtures, HVAC units and lighting fixtures, according to the report.

Now, the sprinkler system has been installed, as well as the light fixtures. However, workers are still inspecting the hotel’s pipes and finishing several outdoor decks or walkways, among other things.

Smathers purchased the property in 1983 with several others. During the next 15 years or so, he bought out his partners and began renovating the historic building.

The mayor said he did not know “off the top of my head” how much he has spent on the project during the last decade. However, he said the final stages of the project should cost about $180,000.

Smathers, through the Haywood County government, has obtained a two-part grant from the N.C. Rural Center to renovate the Imperial Hotel. The center awarded Smathers a $25,000 pre-development grant for architectural and engineering plans and a $90,000 grant for construction.

Smathers had to match the grant with an equal level of spending. As of Nov. 10, the remaining grant funds totaled about $4,000.

To meet the terms of the grants, the hotel must create 15 new jobs — 14 in the restaurant and one in the hotel — before November 2012 or repay part of the grant.

Canton residents and business owners said the hotel will have a positive impact on the community but are wondering how much longer they will have to wait.

“Anything that brings people downtown will help businesses,” said Julie Spivey, an area resident. “It’s taking longer than anyone expected,” she added.

Charles Rathbone, owner of Sign World WNC, said he would like to see the hotel and restaurant open for the upcoming holiday season.

“There is a lot of anticipation waiting for the opening day,” Rathbone said.

A discussion regarding the fate of old restrooms at the Waynesville Recreation Park has prompted town officials to take another look at its recreation master plan.

The recreation advisory committee will not just look at renovating the run-down and often vandalized restrooms but also consider the “wider use of that area,” said Assistant Town Manager Alison Melnikova.

The town wants to replace the old restrooms located between the Waynesville playground and tennis courts off Marshall Street. The brick bathhouse dates back to the town’s former outdoor pool, which was bulldozed 10 years ago.

The restrooms have been vandalized several times over the years, and despite frequent cleanings of the facilities, the inside of the restrooms were usually trashed with graffiti and occasionally the sinks and fixtures were ripped off the walls. The state of the bathrooms have been a source of complaints from the public.

In May, arsonists set the restrooms on fire. The town received about $97,000 in insurance money as a result. It could go a long way toward renovating the restrooms and adjacent maintenance storage.

“With some work, we feel that it is possible that the building might be converted for year-around restrooms and that perhaps the other space could be renovated and used for storage or even meetings for clubs or groups connected with various recreation programs,” Town Manager Lee Galloway wrote in a report for the board of aldermen earlier this month.

The town board decided to hold off on moving ahead with renovations to the restrooms, however, and instead revisit long-range plans for the park through the recreation master plan.

Currently, a chain-link fence surrounds the restrooms, and the town has put out port-a-johns for people to use instead.

The town’s master plan was created in 2006 and details possible improvements to Waynesville’s parks. The plan would turn the area near the dilapidated restrooms into a putt-putt course and indoor tennis facility.

The parks and recreation department plans to hold a public forum early next year to discuss the master plan and possible updates to the town parks system.

“The park has looked like that, as you see it, for at least 10 years,” said Rhett Langston, executive director of the Waynesville Recreation Center. “It’s certainly nothing due to lack of planning.”

However, the parks and recreation is not designed to earn much money, Langston said, and a good portion of the department’s budget has gone toward building and running the new recreation center, including purchasing new equipment and replacing the roof.

Finishing on time and on budget, the Haywood County Department of Social Services and several other government offices will move from their deteriorating, cramped homes to the renovated former Walmart by mid-January.

The Walmart shell was purchased and renovated at a cost of about $12 million to house a host of county offices: the Department of Social Services, the health department, planning department, building inspections, environmental health services and Meals on Wheels kitchen.

Construction will be finished by Nov. 24, according to Dale Burris, the county facilities and maintenance director. But it will take another eight weeks to get some 200 employees moved in and their offices up and running, he said.

“We are very pleased with the progress,” said Mark Swanger, chair of the Haywood County Commissioners. The Walmart renovation is the “smoothest project I’ve been involved in,” he said.

The county commissioners Monday approved a request for additional funding — about $32,400 — to move furniture into the building once renovations are complete. The money will come out of the county’s general fund.

Between 55 and 65 subcontracted construction workers are on the job each day, Burris said. And, although there were a few hitches, as is usual with such projects, the contractor was able to identify and remedy any problems, he said.

The project stayed within the original estimated cost of between $12 million and $12.5 million.

The county purchased the building for $6.6 million. Construction costs totaled $5.48 million, Burris said.

The project included gutting the building, remodeling the entrance and replacing the old roof with new over-build, copper roof.

The roof “looks really good,” said Commissioner Kevin Ensley. “It looks expensive” because of the copper coloring.

The commissioners voted in January 2010 to purchase and renovate the old Walmart building. The current DSS building had been deteriorating for years, and by that time had peeling paint, water leaks, hanging wires and an aging elevator — as well as cramped work conditions.

Purchasing land and building a new DSS and health department building would have cost between $25 million and $30 million.

Haywood County is one step closer to getting a defined bike route traversing the county and improved cycling amenities.

The county commissioners approved a comprehensive countywide bicycle plan at its meeting Monday (Nov. 7). The plan aims to get more people on their bikes, whether for commuting or recreation, by making it safer and more convenient.

The proposal includes a central route that connects Waynesville, Lake Junaluska, Clyde and Canton.

Members of Bicycle Haywood N.C., the group spearheading the plan, have been making the rounds to town and county leaders looking for an endorsement of the plan. They have gone before every board so far except Canton.

The group was “met with outstanding responses,” said Cecil Yount, a member of Bicycle Haywood N.C.

A future path would also incorporate U.S. 276, U.S. 19, U.S. 23/74, Interstate 40 and N.C. 209, among others.

Overall, the total cost of the recommendations is between $64 million and $114 million — much of the estimated cost involves road projects that are already in the works.

Better accommodations for cyclists could be added to the road projects for “very little additional costs,” such as bike lanes and signage, said County Commissioner Chairman Mark Swanger.

No county funding will pay for the project, but the county may apply for grants, Swanger said.

The proposal is comprised of five E’s: education, encouragement, enforcement, engineering and evaluation.

Engineering would involve connecting a designated cross-county bike route to greenways, adding signage, repainting road marks and ensuring that intersections do not pose a safety threat to cyclists. A number of the recommendations include adding four- to six-foot wide shoulders along the side of the road.

“The good thing is that it gives you space to ride,” said Don Kostelec, a consultant hired to oversee the plan.

Education and encouragement include offering classes about bicycle safety and rules of the road, promoting healthy living and helping kids find safe bike routes to school. Enforcement simply means working with the police department, cyclists and drives to make the commute safer.

From 1997 to 2008, Haywood County reported 21 bicycle crashes; of those, 8 involved a person who was 17 years old or younger.

Once the plan begins, the committee will evaluate how many people use the bike route, participate in the classes and other cycling activities.

“I think it’s a quality of life issue,” said Swanger. “I think to have a safe place to ride is important.”

The path will also attract visitors to the region, stimulating the local economy.

According to a survey of a little more than 20 participants, the Blue Ridge Breakaway, an annual bike ride based in Haywood, the majority of respondents spent the night in Haywood County and stayed an average of 4.3 days, spending anywhere from $30 to $400 a day on accommodations.

There is no definitive timeline to complete the project, but Bicycle Haywood N.C. hopes to begin offering classes soon and would like to see towns add bicycle racks.

“This whole thing will take a while to do,” Swanger said.

The planning process began in April, and several public input meetings were held to get feedback about a possible route.

The idea got its start when members of the newly formed Bicycle Haywood N.C. decided last year that Haywood was lacking in formal communication among cyclists, county residents and local and governmental organizations, including the Department of Transportation and the Haywood County Recreation and Parks department.

The group of cycling enthusiasts received a $50,000 grant to develop the comprehensive plan — $40,000 of which came from the French Broad River Metropolitan Planning Organization. The organization is responsible for transportation planning in Buncombe, Haywood and Henderson counties. The Community Foundation of Western North Carolina, Mast General Store, the Blue Ridge Bicycle Club and members of Bicycle Haywood N.C. donated the remaining $10,000.

Survey says: we like bikes

This year, Bicycle Haywood N.C. surveyed county residents about what bicycle-related improvements they would like to see, and 151 people responded.

County residents would like to:

• Mark road shoulders as bike lanes: 75.7 percent

• Build off-road multi-use trails/greenways: 74.3 percent

• See more “share the road” signs: 56.6 percent

• Offer bike accommodations on bridges: 53.3 percent

• Have more bike racks: 36.8 percent

• Have wider sidewalks on bridges: 36.2 percent

• Post way-finding signs: 36.2 percent

• Incorporate an environmentally friendly design: 35.5 percent

More:

To see the comprehensive bike plan, including specific recommendations for making your community more bike-friendly, go to bicyclehaywoodnc.org/BikePlan.html.

Set in the Haywood Arts Regional Theater, the cast of “Ah, Wilderness!” spent a rainy evening preparing for its impending opening night.

The actors practiced their lines and movements, making all the blunders of a good rehearsal. One of the crew sat stage left following line-by-line and interrupted to correct the actors or answer their call for “Line.”

Director Wanda Taylor sat several rows from the front with her rescue dog, Nora, at her feet, typing comments on her laptop and occasionally laughing at an amusing line or action.

“Every play that I have directed I just love directing,” said Taylor, who has been a part of HART since 1988 as both an actress and director. “It is always fun for me to watch the characters develop.”

A handful of others watched from various seats in the house.

“Ah, Wilderness!” is the only comedy written by Nobel Prize-winning playwright Eugene O’Neill, who is more commonly known for his dramas including “Long Day’s Journey Into Night.”

The play is set in New England on July 4, 1906, and focuses on life in the Miller family — particularly Richard. During the weekend, Richard, an almost 17-year-old boy, has his first experiences with love, alcohol and prostitution.

“There is an undercurrent of poignancy, sweetness to it,” Taylor said.

It is a “wish play,” she said. “This is his family the way he wished it was.”

“Long Day’s Journey Into Night” is about the family he actually had.

O’Neill was born in 1888 to two actors and spent much of his early life traveling with his parents. His brother suffered from alcoholism and drank himself to death. O’Neill was a depressed alcoholic as well. He married several times and had three children. His two sons followed a similar path of depression and addiction. Both eventually committed suicide. His daughter married the famous silent film actor and producer Charlie Chaplin when she was 18.

O’Neill died in 1953.

The Process

Steven Lloyd, executive director of the theater, chooses the season and assigns a director to each play based on who expresses an interest. “Ah, Wilderness!” was slated as the theater’s final performance of the season.

The cast began rehearsing in late September after holding open auditions, Taylor said.

“It’s a nice mixture of experienced actors and inexperienced ones,” Taylor said.

There are 15 parts in the play, eight of which are filled by people new to HART.

Miles Rice, a 22-year-old from Weaverville, had auditioned for a production at HART once before but landed his first role with the theater. Rice will play Wint Selby, a college student who gets Richard Miller into some adult trouble.

“There is a lot of growth to (the play), but there is a lot of want and need for maturity,” he said.

Rice said he has enjoyed getting to know everyone, but he is also ready to perform for an audience and get their feedback.

Bryan Nicholls, a 24-year-old Sylva native, has performed in 11 shows at the theater. Nicholls has participated mostly in musicals, which are usually over-the-top.

“To really come down to earth and play something real … is a challenge,” he said.

Nicholls said part of the reason he keeps performing at HART is because of the bond the casts form during rehearsal.

“It’s a family,” he said

In fact, some of the cast is family. It includes a husband and wife, and father and stepdaughter. The father and stepdaughter actually play father and daughter in “Ah, Wilderness!”

Once the cast was chosen, the first couple weeks were spent blocking, or planning each character’s movements. About two weeks ago, set construction began — in this case, a white house that takes up most of the stage, a dinner table with chairs and a porch with a white wicker love seat, a couple chairs and forest green rocking chair.

Last week, the actors went off-book, meaning they would have to recite their lines from memory.

With their lines mostly memorized, the cast and crew will spend this week tweaking their performance and adding little touches that make the characters seem more realistic.

“It always comes together,” Taylor said.

The play will run for two weekends in the 255-seat auditorium.

What: “Ah, Wilderness!”

When: 7:30 p.m. on Nov. 11-12, Nov. 18-19; 3 p.m. on Nov. 20.

Where: Haywood Regional Arts Theater, Waynesville.

How much: $18 for adults, $16 for seniors, $8 for students, and special $5 student tickets on Thursdays and Sunday.

828.456.6322 or www.harttheater.com

The Haywood County Tourism Board was hoping for a 15 percent increase in occupancy tax collection this August, but what it saw was a 20 percent decline.

“The August numbers aren’t good,” said Lynn Collins, director of the tourism agency.

It brought in $93,646 from its 4 percent tax on overnight lodging this August. However, it had projected that it would raise at least $114,442 — a 20 percent different.

“A lot of it has to do with the increase I projected for August,” Collins said. “If you look at it in comparison to last year, it doesn’t look as bad as it does compared to budget.”

When compared to last year, the decrease is only 7 percent, or almost $5,000.

Collins said she predicted an increase because of the number of area sporting events, including the Blue Ridge Breakaway and the Maggie Valley Moonlight Run. High gas prices and the economy continue to negatively affect the tourism board’s occupancy tax numbers, she said.

Despite the decline, Collins said she remains optimistic that things will improve.

“I feel good about it,” Collins said.

The tourism agency will not adjust its projections or make any cuts until January, she said.

At its quarterly meeting earlier this month, the tourism board began discussing ways to find vacation home renters who are evading the county’s lodging tax.

Collins is currently looking into software from the Virginia-based company VRCompliance, which searches the Internet for property listings and identifies rentals that are not paying the room tax.

The agency is also looking for more effective ways to censure businesses or renters who know about the tax but do not pay it. The tax doesn’t come out the lodgers’ revenue but is supposed to be added to the bill of those renting a room or house.

Although work has barely begun, the replacement of Park Street Bridge in Canton has already hit a delay.

The project was previously slated for completion on Nov. 5, 2012, but the date has been pushed back to Dec. 1. The hiccup was caused by a delay in rerouting the utilities running adjacent to the bridge, said Mitchell Bishop, an engineer with the North Carolina Department of Transportation.

DOT knows which utilities must be moved before a contractor is awarded a project, and ideally, the lines are relocated before construction begins. However, sometimes, that is not possible, Bishop said.

Department of Transportation agents in Raleigh must work with myriad utility companies to move the cable, fiber, telephone and electrical lines either before or during project.

“We knew the water and sewer was going to be rerouted,” Bishop said, adding that the overhead power lines running along the bridge could not be moved until after the project began.

The actual razing and replacing of the Park Street bridge will not begin until the first couple weeks of November.

The bridge was built in 1924 and will cost about $3.5 million to replace.

The reconstruction will slow traffic on downtown Canton’s busiest one-way streets, Main and Park, which run parallel to each other. Cars typically leave Canton via the Park Street bridge and enter the town using the Main Street bridge. However, the project will require Main Street become a two-way street while the other bridge is closed. A dog-leg detour will reroute traffic around the construction.

Just beyond the large glass doors and computer paper “Coming Soon” signs, Clark Williams is filling kegs with his flagship brews.

“Getting open is the challenge right now,” Williams said, who is anxious to see people socializing at Frog Level Brewing Company in Waynesville.

Although it is technically a bar, Williams said he wants the brewery to be more — a family friendly establishment. In addition to beer, Frog Level will sell kids’ drinks such as root beer. Since the brewery will not sell food, Williams suggests ordering a pizza for delivery or picking up some Happy Meals to eat while both adults and kids enjoy their drinks.

The brewery also plans to have music Fridays and Saturdays and offer indoor corn hole.

There is no definitive opening date, but when it does open in the next few weeks, Frog Level will be the first brew house in Haywood County — one of three west of Asheville and one of 51 breweries in the state, according to the North Carolina Brewers Guild.

“I am trying to saturate the restaurants (with kegs) first, and that’s proved to be quite hard to do,” Williams said.

The brewery began selling kegs to local restaurants, including Bourbon Barrel Beef and Ale in Hazelwood and The Gateway Club in Waynesville in mid-October. A week later, the brewery had already sold 32 kegs.

Williams said he loves seeing people purchasing his beer. No one is forcing them to drink it or giving them free samples; they drink it because they like what he has to offer.

“That’s a part of this I never thought of,” he said. “It’s damn satisfying.”

For about a year, Williams sampled his various brews at The Gateway Club before settling on three beers — Lily’s Cream Boy, Catcher in the Rye and the Tadpole Porter. Tasters filled out anonymous comment cards that Williams used to figure out which of his concoctions consumers liked best.

Williams’ wife, Jenny, named the beers. Catcher in the Rye, also the name of a famous novel by J.D. Salinger, is brewed with rye, making it lighter than a traditional IPA.

“Ours is so not standard that I hesitate to call it an IPA,” Williams said.

The Tadpole Porter is an English-style ale made with sorghum from Buncombe County, and its name is an obvious reference to the business’ frog-theme.

The third brew has a more personal name. Lily is the mother of Fuzzy, a cream-colored hairless cat owned by the Williams’, hence the name Lily’s Cream Boy. The lightest of its three beers, it is brewed with flaked corn.

“It’s a microbrewery’s answer to a lager,” Williams said.

A beer takes four hours to brew, 14 to 20 days to ferment and another two or three days to carbonate in the kegs. With the exception of the grain, which is currently not grown in North Carolina, all of Frog Level’s beers are made solely with ingredients from within the state or even the county. The brewery buys its hops from Winding River Hops in Clyde.

“I don’t want to be the next Sam Adams,” Williams said. “I want to be the Haywood County brewery.”

In addition to its three regular brews, Williams plans to brew rare kegs throughout

the year. He will sell three rare kegs to area restaurants and one will be available on tap at Frog Level. Possible rare kegs include a banana wheat beer; Autumn Harvest, made with apples, honey and cinnamon; and Bug-eyed Stout, with of espresso beans from Panacea Coffee Company.

Kegs cost $75, while a glass of beer will cost $4. For the same price as a glass, customers can try four 4-ounce samples of Frog Level’s brews.

For now, the bar will only have four frog leg-shaped taps —three for the flagship beers and one for rare brews — but Williams hope to add a fifth “guest” tap that will feature beer from other North Carolina breweries.

Pulling from his surroundings — a creek and its tree-covered banks out back — Williams brings that same earthy, rustic feel inside his brewery.

A painted river runs along the floor, flowing into a giant pool. The walls are red brick or red-painted plaster, featuring pieces for sale from Ridge Runners Naturals. The bar itself is about four feet tall with a wood top and corrugated sheet metal around the base.

Behind the bar, Williams’ office door reads “Dawg,” a nickname his wife calls him.

Through green, glass doors a wood porch with picnic seating affords a view of Richland Creek that runs through Frog Level.

“Look at this place. Why wouldn’t you want to brew beer here?” Williams said, calling Frog Level the local underdog. His goal is to bring more life to the area, he said.

During the day, Williams, 37, works at down the street at Giles Chemical. Nights and weekends, he spends at the brewery, making beer and prepping for its imminent opening. The retired Marine has lived in the area his entire life and brewed beer for the last four or five years.

His vacations have always included breweries, Williams said, but it wasn’t until his visit to New Mexico that he decided to open one of his own.

“I want to get up early and love to come to work,” he said.

Hours:

Monday thru Wednesday 2 to 6:30 p.m.

Thursday thru Saturday 2 to 8:30 p.m.

Other stops on the microbrewery trail west of Asheville

• Heinzelmannchen Brewery, Sylva on Mill Street

• Nantahala Brewing Company, Bryson City on Depot Street

From no breweries to three:

Two other breweries are planning to open in Waynesville in the next year.

• HeadWaters Brewing Company

• Tipping Point Tavern

Crafting cornhusk dolls is a far cry from mass-producing blue surgical drapes, but one local non-profit made that leap in a matter of about four years.

Today Haywood Vocational Opportunities LLC employs 365 people — more than a third of whom are mentally or physically disabled. Its mission is to bring disabled people and jobs together, whether the position is with HVO or another employer.

“We want to put people in a real working environment,” said George Marshall, who has served as HVO’s president for nearly 30 years.

The Haywood County nonprofit trains disabled clients to hold down jobs in the real world, from the importance of getting to work on time to job-specific skills such as how to buff floors.

Meanwhile, the business side of the company manufactures a variety of medical supplies, including IV bags and surgical instrument covers, for about 40 customers worldwide. A majority of its business focuses on making sanitized surgical drapes similar to the one’s dentists place on a patient’s chest during teeth cleanings.

HVO is more than a business with a philanthropic bent — it is a charitable organization first and foremost that funds its mission through its manufacturing line.

“Our business enterprise is here to support our mission,” said Jeff Ledford, the nonprofit’s business development manager.

When HVO was founded in 1972, it had just six clients who spent their days make crafts such as cornhusk dolls to sell.

But, Fred Spencer, who served as the non-profit’s director from 1973 to 1975, had bigger ideas. He began knocking on doors and cold-calling companies looking for outsourced work for his clients. The person who happened to take him up on the offer needed belt loops and ties for disposable surgical gowns.

“We knew state and federal dollars … could not provide and would not over the long-term,” Marshall said.

Almost 96 percent of HVO’s revenue comes from production sales.

During fiscal year 2010, HVO reported $30.1 million in revenue — up from about $27.2 million the previous year, according to its federal nonprofit tax form. By comparison, its expenses were only $28.9 million — a gain of more than $1.3 million.

The impressive increase in revenue is likely a result of additional sales and grants related to its expansion into the old Wellco plant in Hazelwood, according to Beth Chittum, HVO’s market research analyst.

In September 2010, HVO bought the closed-down boot factory and turned it into a satellite facility, located just half a mile from its main headquarters off Hazelwood Avenue. The expansion created 32 jobs.

As a non-profit, HVO is also eligible for government funding.

The company received $740,749 in government grants during fiscal year 2010, some of that again related and an additional $350,363 in funding from other sources. It received only $490,010 in government money during the prior fiscal year.

Since 1972, the nonprofit has expanded to serve about 250 clients with disabilities annually, and has continued to grow its medical supplies business.

The nonprofit has averaged 10 to 12 percent growth each year, Marshall said.

“That’s pretty strong,” he said.

Business continued to grow despite the recession, Marshall said, adding that HVO was fortunate to get into a niche medical market.

“We backed into this one,” he said. “I have not seen our business in this healthcare industry really affected.”

There is no ceiling for HVO’s potential growth even though it restricts Marshall’s ability to engage with the clients on a daily basis.

“Growth has taken me further and further away from that daily business of HVO,” he said. “I would love to be active literally in our work areas.”

Although Marshall himself cannot spend everyday with HVO’s clients, the nonprofit employs three job specialists who work one-on-one with clients and follow-up with those who have graduated from its training program. The specialists help clients find what type of work they are interested in doing and teaches them the necessary skills needed to function in the workplace.

Clients who are in training receive a stipend, which is less than the salary of a full-time employee who has completed the program. HVO declined to comment on how much its employees are paid.

During the past three years, HVO has hired 52 of the 128 clients that it has placed in jobs after graduating from the training program.

The nonprofit offers a blended workforce of everyday people and individuals with disabilities. The one similarity among all the workers are hairnets and light blue smocks, which are required to maintain a sanitary workplace. Walls are also lined with nametags and hooks for each employee to hang his or her smock at the end of the day.

Because it manufactures medical supplies, the Food and Drug Administration audits the nonprofit. To keep up with federal sanitation requirements, HVO takes a number of precautions, from simply washing hands to air lock doors for some rooms.

Employees pass through an automated door into a small holding chamber, where they wait for the door behind them to close before the next one opens. This restricts the airflow into the room and helps prevent contamination. Visitors must stay behind a bold yellow line on the concrete floor so they do not contaminate the workspace, and several rooms can only be entered if a person is wearing a hairnet and smock.

‘Good training program’

Although HVO does hire some of its clients, others have obtained jobs at Ingles, Burger King and Goodwill, among other businesses.

Ingles grocery store off Russ Avenue currently has three or four employees who completed training at HVO, said manager Jeff Henderson.

“They always had a good training program, and they would work with them on-site too,” Henderson said. “It has always been a hands on effort for them; so, we were proud to be a part of that.”

Companies who hire disabled employees receive a federal tax credit. The amount of the credit depends on the company’s tax bracket and how much the employer pays in wages.

HVO’s older clients who work part-time or can no longer work can join the Learning and Enrichment program, where they spend time making crafts, gardening, cooking and volunteering.

Many of the nonprofit’s employees and clients volunteer in some way — with Meals on Wheels, MANNA FoodBank and others.

“We need to contribute back to the community,” Marshall said.

After receiving funding from the United Way for 15 or more years, HVO is now one of the largest contributors to the local United Way, he said.

Clients particularly enjoy ringing bells for the Salvation Army at Walmart and K-mart because they are able to interact with area residents.

“I think (HVO is) tremendously helpful to the community,” said Larry Clark, who has served on the non-profit’s nine-member board of directors for three years. “It’s a story that really hasn’t been told.”

Thirty years and no end in sight

George Marshall is the one constant at Haywood Vocational Opportunities LLC, which has continued to grow during his almost 30 years as its president. And, he doesn’t plan on retiring anytime soon.

“I enjoy what I do,” said Marshall, who can easily be described as a man married to his job.

He is the face of HVO, representing it both around the state and nationally. Marshall, who earns $173,511 a year, focuses on the big picture, guiding the organization’s expansion and mission.

“I’ll say this about him because he won’t; George is very well-respected in the community,” said Beth Chittum, HVO’s market research analyst. She agreed that Marshall will never retire.

During his tenure, HVO has grown from a tiny medical supplies operation into a stable business whose products are shipped globally.

“George Marshall runs a great place down there,” said Waynesville Mayor Gavin Brown.

While teaching in Swain County in 1978, Marshall applied for an instructor position in the continuing education department at Haywood Community College. The job was within HVO, which, at the time, was part of the local college.

“This was when we were just really developing our work, our business enterprise operations,” Marshall said.

His background in industrial education and career development ended up lending itself well to the position, and within about six months, Marshall became the nonprofit’s first operations manager. From there, he was named president of the organization in June 1982.

Marshall has the longest tenure of any HVO leader by a wide margin, having working there for about 33 years. The prior directors stayed in their positions for fewer than eight years; the first retired after just six months on the job.

“(Marshall) provides great leadership,” said Larry Clark, who chairs HVO’s nine-member Board of Directors. “When he speaks of passion for what he does, I think it’s a true statement.”

A humble man, Marshall would rather be on the ground floor of HVO’s operations than in his office overseeing the company’s budget.

“I would love to be active literally in our work areas,” Marshall said. “That’s where I started; that’s my background; and that’s what I enjoy the most.”

But, as the nonprofit continues to grow, Marshall gets further away from the daily business of HVO. He said he is disappointed that he cannot enjoy as much face-to-face interact with clients as he did in the past.