. Pboco.s by Layla Farmer
Dionn Owen leads the acclaimed Renaissance Choir.
Michelle Andraos as "Mary" and Andy Andraos as
"Joseph." ?
Donvea Rush visits with Santa.
A Gift for You
Collaborative creates Christmas celebration for city residents
BY LAYLA FARMER
[HE CHRONICLE
The Christmas spirit was
alivg and well in downtown
Winston-Salem this week.
Local residents of every
age and persuasion poured
into the Millennium Center
on Fifth Street Monday
night, to take part in the sec
ond annual Christmas for the
City celebration, held Dec.
21-24 this year. Volunteers
in Santa hats greeted atten
dees as they entered the
doors, welcoming them with
handshakes and Merry
Christmas' wishes.
Inside the expansive
venue, the options were
seemingly endless. Spreads
of festive treats covered
tables in the main floor's
Party room as one musical
group after another took to
the stage, regaling audiences
with rousing renditions of
Christmas favorites. In
another area, families posed
for free portraits with their
loved ones. In the basement
below, a multicultural area
highlighted Christmas tradi
tions from faraway places.
Children and parents created
toys in the toy workshop: or
took part in an ancient love
feast. The second floor
offered a visual art gallery;
performing arts shows and
photographs with Santa
Claus, among other things.
Outside, Trade Street was
blocked off to accommodate
a live nativity scene and a
band.
Members of Friendly
Arabic Church in
Kernersville put on the
nativity scene Monday. The
Christmas story has special
significance to. the Friendly
memners. many 01
whom are refugees
who fled from the
Middle East
because of reli
gious ' persecution,
said Kalim
Andraos, a
Lebanese business
man who has been
in the country for
nearly 30 years.
"I'm a Galilean;
most ot us are trom tne
Middle East - this is who we
are," he declared. "... This
is the biggest event around
here around Christmas
where everybody comes
together, so we felt obligated
to be a part of it."
In the "Mercy Street"
area behind the building,
church volunteers offered
free hotdogs and drinks to
Spong
Above: Vincent and Sherry
Johnson with their grand
daughters, Zion and Imani.
Right: A boy comes face-to
face with a nativity sheep.
hungry patrons; and clothing
and food bags for those in
need.
"We wanted to do some
thing that was very inclusive
of the whole city," comment
ed Christmas for the City
Executive Producer Chuck
Spong. "We were very much
(focused on) how we could
go to the city and serve the
city (residents) where they
were."
The project
was the result of a
collaboration
among more than
25 area churches
and community
organizations, led
by Winston
Salem First, for
merly First
Assembly of
God.
"What's most
exciting to me is
the churches and groups,"
Spong related. "They are
working together in a way
that I have never seen."
Themed "Love Out
Loud," the 2(X)9 event was
designed to bring a broad
cross-section of the commu
nity together, regardless of
their religious perspective,
Spong said.
"Each year, we try and
choose a theme that is broad
enough that no matter where
you are in your spiritual
journey, you can come and
be a part of the celebration."
he explained. "We estab
lished a theme that anyone
could relate to. Love is a
value that we all hold."
Compassion and justice
were the underpinnings for
this year's theme, Spong
said. In an effort to incorpo
rate the social responsibility
that Love Out Loud speaks
to, organizers invited 15
nonprofits to take part in the
celebration. Volunteers from
each organization set up in
"Connecting Compassion
Central," the area designated
for prospective volunteers
and those in need of servic
es. Each night, the celebra
tion highlighted different
nonprofits, through live
interviews with leaders from
the organizations. The event
will culminate today (Dec.
24) with a candlelight serv
ice from 5-9 p.m.
Entrepreneurs Vincent
and Sherry Johnson brought
their two young granddaugh
ters, Zion, 17 months and
Imani, 7, to take part in
Christmas for the City this
year. Sherry Johnson, who
co-owns the This n That hat
shop and Rainbow
Enterprises II travel agency
with her husband, said she
was glad to find a spiritual
way to celebrate the holiday
with the girls.
"This had, to me, more of
a spiritual overtone to it
(than other holiday activi
ties) and it's very convenient
and free," she related. "I
just think its a great way for
different organizations and
people to get together ... to
celebrate the one common*
cause for the season."
Budget Director Jones
honored by her peers
SPEC IAL TO THE CHRONICLE
Ann Jones, the city's direc
tor of budget and evaluation,
has received the 2009 Jack
Vogt Award from the N.C.
Local Government Budget
Association for
advancing the field
of budgeting and
evaluation in local
government in North
Carolina.
In 1994, Jones
proposed the cre
ation of the North
Carolina
Benchmarking
Project to give cities
reliable information
about the cost and provision of
municipal services. She has
co-chaired the project steering
committee since its inception,
and the project has grown from
seven participating cities
reporting on seven services, to
1 7 cities and 1 1 services. It has
since become a model for
regional benchmarking initia
tives throughout the United
States.
Jones has also given pre
sentations on capital planning
and budgeting for annexation
at the Institute of Government
and developed an operations
Jones
review process for the
Winston-Salem city budget
that helped the city save $133
million over 15 years. In 2002,
she developed a new zero
based budgeting process that
has saved the city $680,000
since 2003. She is a
founding member of
the N.C. Local
Government Budget
Association.
City Manager Lee
Garrity said, "I cannot
think of another
North Carolina local
government profes
sional who is more
deserving of this
award... Ann is
probably the most respected
member of our staff for our
elected officials. That respect
and trust comes from her many
years of carefully guiding the
City Council through the annu
al budget process."
Jones is the fourth recipient
of the award, which was creat
ed in honor of Jack Vogt, a
long-time professor at the
Institute of Government at the
University of North Carolina
at Chapel Hill. The award was
presented Dec. 3 during the
association's winter confer
ence in Charlotte.
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