Citizens Invited to Jack Burney Award Ceremony

DAVIDSON, N.C. Citizens are invited to the G. Jackson Burney Community Service Award ceremony on Wednesday, November 22 at 10:00 a.m. at Davidson Town Hall.

The ceremony and following reception will honor long-time Davidson resident Bill Giduz.

The award is named for G. Jackson Burney, who served the town in many capacities, primarily in planning and communications. Since 2004, it has honored Burney and those whose unselfish service benefits the Davidson community. Previous award winners include Bernice Houston, William B. Mayhew, Baxter and John Fisher, Evelyn Carr, Annie Mildred Lowery, Scotty Nichols, John and Paula Kelton, Jane B. Ellithorpe, Ralph Quackenbush, Leland Park, Jean Jackson, Sterling Martin, Pam Maier, Connie and Eddie Beach, Leamon Brice, and Garfield Carr.

The ceremony and reception honoring Bill Giduz will be held on Wednesday, November 22 at 10:00 a.m. at Davidson Town Hall. The North Mecklenburg Moravian Band will play at 9:30 a.m. and Mayor John Woods will open the ceremony at 10:00 a.m. Light refreshments will be served afterward. We hope you will join us.

Register for Civics 101

DAVIDSON, NC -- Are you interested in learning more about the operations of our town government? Register for Civics 101. This free program is open to people who live or work in Davidson (within town limits and the extra-territorial jurisdiction) who are 18 and older. Participants will have the opportunity to discuss departmental functions and operations with town department heads, tour the fire and police departments, learn about town history, and take part in a personalized question-and-answer session with the mayor and board of commissioners. 

Our core values state that “open communication is essential to an engaged citizenry” and that the “social and intellectual well-being of Davidson citizens is fundamental to our community, so town government will provide…lifelong learning opportunities.” Our popular Civics 101 course reflects both of these values.

Classes will be held at town hall. They begin Thursday, February 8, 2018 and continue for ten consecutive weeks. Classes also include a Saturday bus tour and recognition at the April 10, 2018 Davidson Board of Commissioners’ meeting. Participants can sign up for the day session from 9:30 to 11:30 a.m. or the evening session from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. Applications will be accepted from now until December 31 and are available atwww.townofdavidson.org/Civics101 and town hall.

Participants should not expect ten weeks of lectures -- classes will require participation in activities and discussion.  Acceptance into the program is on a first-come, first-served basis and only 25 participants will be able to participate in each session. Those selected must commit to attending all ten classes.

2017 Civics 101 graduate Nancy Vendley said: “After living in Davidson for 25 years, this program was very interesting and highlighted the complexities of our local government. The Town of Davidson elected officials and employees have a created an outstanding program that was fun too!"

To see a full schedule of this year’s classes, visitwww.townofdavidson.org/Civics101.

Continuum (Mi-Connection) Board of Directors Met October 26 to Review Results

DAVIDSON, N.C. – On Thursday, October 26, the Continuum (formerly known as MI-Connection) Board of Directors met to hear the results of the external audit and review financial results for the first quarter of FY 2018 (ending September 30, 2017).

April Bell of auditing firm Dixon Hughes Goodman shared results for the fiscal year that ended June 30, 2017.  She stated that Continuum is seeing a positive trend in financial results.

During his review of the financials, Continuum CEO David Auger shared that revenue is down 2.3% in Q1 2018 versus Q1 2017. Expenses are down by 0.59% in Q1 FY 2018 versus Q1 FY 2017. EBIDA (Earnings before interest, depreciation and amortization, a key metric used by cable operators to measure performance) decreased by 12.03% by Q1 FY 2018 vs. Q1 FY 2017.

EBIDA for Q1 FY 2018 was $148,605 lower compared to the same period a year ago. Most of this variance was due to the budgeted name change. Marketing expenses year-over-year were $114,157 higher. Another significant reason was that in the first quarter of last year, advertising revenue was $80,647 higher due to state and national political advertising buys and the fact that this is not a state/national election year.

“Our customers, new and existing, seem to be really excited about the re-branding, including the addition of new channels and a customer rewards program,” said Auger. “Our customers continue to appreciate our excellent customer service and the Whole Home Gateway product.”

The next meeting of the Continuum board of directors is on Thursday, January 25 at 6:30 p.m. at Davidson Town Hall.

Bonus Observation: The referenced meeting occurred 12 days ago.  The above press release from the Town should have been released before the election, but it wasn't.  That kind of thing should be a very easy one to fix for the new administration come December.