Christmas came a few weeks early for several Anson County organizations, who received a combined total of more than $1.7 million during a ceremony Monday, Dec. 14, at the Anson County Government Center.

The presentation of seven checks— ranging from $55,000 to more than $500,000— was the culmination of more than a year's work on project requests and meetings for various organizations that help improve education, infrastructure and the arts, and provide more job opportunities and economic development for the people of Anson County.

"These are things that you, your county, made priorities," said Dan Gerlach, president of Golden LEAF. "And they are very diverse projects."

The Golden LEAF Community Assistance Initiative assists economically distressed counties with projects that will help to stimulate economic activity or provide assistance in overcoming barriers to economic transition or community progress, according to a press release provided by Golden LEAF.

Its Web site also states, "the Golden LEAF Foundation, a nonprofit corporation, was created in 1999 to receive one-half of the funds coming to North Carolina from the master settlement agreement with cigarette manufacturers."

Last year, a series of public meetings began to help prioritize which organizations or projects should try for Golden LEAF funding.

The seven projects were:

• South Piedmont Community College (SPCC)— $556,380 to assist with the increasing number of qualified workers in Anson County through a targeted workforce outreach strategy. Fred Sparger, vice president of college and community relations, accepted the check on behalf of SPCC, pointing out that the college is already putting the funding to good use, in the form of the new Job Ready bus, which was parked outside for Golden LEAF and other officials to see firsthand. (See related story, this page.)

• New Ventures Business Development— $55,000 to complete the upfit and conversion of an existing kitchen into a commercial kitchen at SPCC's Lockhart-Taylor Center in Wadesboro, to be used by caterers and local growers. Chester Caulder accepted the check on behalf of New Ventures executive director Dr. Don Altieri.

• HOLLA! (Helping Our Loved ones Learn and Achieve)— $250,000 to renovate the Community Resource and Recreation Center in Morven. Leon Gatewood and Subrina Hough accepted the check on behalf of HOLLA!, which Gerlach joked was his "favorite name for a project, ever."

• Hands of Hope— $130,000 to provide support for the Circles program, which helps communities and individuals address poverty. Rev. Rob Rollins and Wilma Dunbar, who works with the Methodist Church, accepted the check. County Commissioners Chair Anna Baucom reported that the Methodist Church had sent Dunbar to the county to help get the Circles initiative going, and added that she hopes Anson County will become a training site for similar programs all over the state.

• Anson County Arts Council— $150,000 to assist with the renovations to the Ansonia Theatre. Catherine Crandell, secretary/treasurer, and Leslie Capell, arts council president, accepted the check on behalf of the Arts Council.

• Anson County— $80,000 to assist with the Richmond Street sewer project, which should eliminate failed and failing septic tank systems. The project will assist 50 homes with public sewer and make sewer available to three tracts of undeveloped property for future economic development. Baucom reported that businesses are already looking at two of the sites in question.

• Anson County Schools— $501,788 to help provide enhanced learning activities for high school students. Superintendent Greg Firn said that the funding will go specifically toward Fast ForWord, a computer-based program which helps students better develop academic skills. "The quickest growth we've seen so far is three months," Firn said. "It's a pretty robust program and this [grant funding] has really gotten us under way."

"There is a challenge facing rural counties— are they going to build infrastructure?" Gerlach said. "You've answered that with your investment in the school system, your investment in the sewer system, your investment in the community college, and I think with HOLLA! and with the commercial kitchen, and the Circles program, you're showing your commitment to your community."

Baucom assured the small audience that the funding from Golden LEAF was only the beginning. "I'm so proud to live in a community that has invested over half a million dollars in education," she said. "And I want you to know that other projects are under way."