A North Carolina Governor’s Volunteer Award Honors A Lifetime Of Showing Up

A strong community rarely looks flashy up close. Most of the time, it looks like someone showing up early, moving rocks out of stubborn ground, and planting anyway. We start with a clear-eyed Western North Carolina real estate update for Henderson County and the Hendersonville area: the market is still moving, prices are holding, and demand is up compared to the prior year, but days on market are longer, so strategy and patience matter more than hype. If you’ve been wondering what your home might be worth or how to time a move, we share the kind of on-the-ground context that helps you make a calmer decision. Then we pivot to why this is called the Hometown Hero Series. Jeannie and Milton Stewart join us to celebrate Milton receiving the North Carolina Governor’s Volunteer Service Award, one of only 24 given statewide and the only one awarded in Henderson County. Milton traces his drive to serve back to childhood summers working on his grandfather’s garden, then brings that same grit to Laurel Park, where “Milton’s Garden” behind the First Congregational Church becomes a living source of hope, fed by compost, community effort, and even a spring-fed irrigation setup. The numbers tell a powerful story: more than 22,000 pounds of fresh produce donated over the years, with crops like tomatoes, squash, greens, beans, potatoes, and onions delivered to Interfaith Assistance Ministry and other local food partners. We also talk about setbacks, including flooding and storm damage, and what it takes to rebuild and keep going, especially when the work is about neighbors who need food right now. If you value local stories, practical wisdom, and real examples of service in Western North Carolina, subscribe, share this with a friend, and leave a review. What’s one small way you’ve seen volunteering change a community?