BY ROGER SMITH
MOUNTAIN CITIZEN
INEZ — The Martin County Tourism Commission is pressing forward with efforts to open a wedding venue in the Historic Martin County Courthouse—an initiative that could bring revenue to pay their own bills.
At a meeting Jan. 27, Commission Chair Nita Collier announced that the newly installed heating and cooling system is operational. She also said an inspector approved the building’s brand-new electrical wiring.
“I’m telling you, it’s warm,” Collier said. Then after a pause, she added, “The electricity bill for December was $2,000.”
Commissioner Linda Lou Webb confirmed that during the annual Christmas in the Mountains festival in December, the courthouse’s electricity was used only to power Christmas trees inside the building.
“The heat was on,” Collier said, explaining that thermostats had been set to 60 degrees. “It was just so cold.”
For now, the Martin County Fiscal Court is covering the building’s expenses.
“It just pushes me,” Collier said. “We’ve got to get this place together and start marketing and making some money. The county is covering it right now. And hopefully, when the weather changes, it won’t be quite as bad. I don’t know the exact date of the power bill or how much of that time it covered, but we’ve got to get going.”
Collier set a goal of opening the venue by April 1.
“The insurance claim has gone through, and they have ordered the shingles for the courthouse,” she said. “That is huge.”
The claim stems from a fire that damaged the historic building April 10, 2023.
Officers and finances
The Commission elected officers for 2025, reappointing Collier as chair. Commissioner Jarrod Slone will serve as secretary, and Commissioner Katrina Sansom will continue in her role as treasurer.
Sansom provided bank account balances, noting that the Tourism Commission had $5,377 in its account, Christmas in the Mountains had $14,997, and the Historic Courthouse fund held $402.
Sponsoring circus
Revisiting a topic from a previous meeting, Collier asked fellow commissioners for their thoughts on sponsoring events at the old Sheldon Clark gym/ Booth Center.
“This is something I felt like the [tourism] trainer didn’t really want us to do—actually sponsoring events,” she said. “We had talked about bringing in a circus. What are your thoughts on that?”
Commissioner Jessie Muncy expressed strong support.
“I would love it,” Muncy said. “We haven’t had anything like that in a long time.”
The commissioners are considering an early May date for the circus, pending availability and cost. If May doesn’t work out, they will explore a fall option.
Jam sessions
Commissioners discussed jam sessions for June, July and August. One session would be gospel, one country/pop, and one bluegrass music. Collier has conferred with Tomahawk musician Jack Ward, who recommended she contact the Journeymen to organize the gospel jam featuring several groups.
“Jack said he would get the country/pop groups and to check with the [James] Webb family to see if they would gather the bluegrass groups,” Collier said.
Festival success
Webb provided an update on the 2024 Christmas in the Mountains festival, calling it a success.
“It was amazing,” she said. “I went in with a little fear because the prices had risen. The carnival this year was $25,000, the ice-skating rink was $8,000, and we had some pretty big bills looking at us. But it was amazing. People came to us and said, ‘We see what you’re doing, we like what you’re doing, we love this for our community, and we want to give.’ Just people from nowhere.”
The festival managed to cover all its expenses and finished with a surplus of approximately $15,000.
“We are excited. We want to continue,” Webb said. “We’re praying and believing that God will send more help. Instead of it being an eight-week project for us, boots on the ground, there will be some way to turn it into four weeks. We can handle that physically. We can’t handle eight weeks anymore with our age.”
Webb reflected on the festival’s growth over the years, crediting God and community support.
“He gave it to us and we’ve been faithful to it for seven years,” she said. “He told us what to do, and we know it was from God because it would not have been as blessed if it hadn’t been. It started with nothing and each year God gave us more to bring to it.”
Even though the work is tremendous, Webb said, “God has not told us to give it up yet. I am praying that we can get some more help and that it can continue for years in the same spirit of loving the Lord, loving the kids, loving the community and loving the elderly.”
Recognizing Lana Jo Young
The Commission recognized Inez resident Lana Jo Young for her volunteer efforts with the Kiwanis Club and her leadership in organizing and fundraising for Project Graduation and the annual high school senior walk.
“She does all of this because she wants our kids to have a better place,” Collier said.