Happy Friday. Dangerously close to the Christmas shipping deadline.
As soon as they heard that a man named Scott Nelson had passed, a group of graceless old men who fancied themselves distance athletes - has-beens, used-to-be's and never-weres, actually - started texting each other.
More than a few civically minded folks in Boone and first responders in the wider High Country did, too.
"This makes me sad," wrote Jim Vaughan, a Winston-Salem lawyer, in sharing Nelson's obit with his riding buddies. "I hoisted a stout bourbon in his honor."
"Scott was a difference maker," wrote Jim Olson, a retired textile company executive, in response.
Indeed, he was. Scott Nelson died Dec. 5. He was 69.
Nelson had served for years as the director for Blood, Sweat and Gears (BSG), a bike ride that's drawn thousands of riders to the High Country since 1999. He helped grow it into an event so popular that it would sell out literally within minutes.
Hotel operators, restaurateurs, VRBO owners and other small business owners from Boone to Valle Crucis learned to count on a large economic boost at the start of the summer tourist season.
More important, though, was Nelson's steadfast support of first responders in Ashe and Watauga counties and his work in creating the Winter Warmer Project, a labor of love he fiercely championed to provide coats, blankets and anything else anyone in need might require to get through the bitter cold months.
Both endeavors relied on the financial support provided by Blood, Sweat and Gears and two other rides Nelson helped create.
A tax return filed by BSG Events in 2022, the most recent year available, shows that more than $75,000 in grants and donations were made that year.
"I remember discussing with Scott (about) how he wanted the proceeds from the ride to stay in the area, and in more ways than just a boost to the travel economy," wrote Amy Snider, the secretary of the Meat Camp Volunteer Fire Department. "He understood that some organizations, even though they may be great global non-profits, would distribute money to different locations that may be in need at the current moment.
"Scott worked to make sure that any organization receiving money from the ride would put the funds to use locally, explaining that the people in this area deserved to benefit directly."
Nelson, per his death notice, was born in Atlanta on Dec. 14, 1954, a graduate of Bowling Green (Ohio) University and the Wake Forest University School of Business, where he earned an MBA.
He was a lifelong athlete, a distance swimmer as a college undergraduate, an avid runner who competed in 10K races and marathons, and cycling. He was passionate about helping others, too, and found unique ways to meld the two for the betterment of mountain communities.
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While serving as the director of BSG, Nelson made sure he learned the names of repeat entrants and volunteers, many of whom were first responders, who kept the rides safe at intersections.
(A personal note: Nelson happily gave me and the rest of the over-the-hill gang advice on how to run a successful charitable endeavor as we were fumbling our way through the Solar Bears Ride, a multi-day rolling circus to the coast that wound up raising more than $100,000 for Cancer Services of Winston-Salem during its five-year run.
So yeah, Scott Nelson definitely had an outsized impact on the larger community.
"I always appreciated how dedicated Scott was to the less fortunate people of the High country," said Greg Lester, a BSG rider, volunteer and retired administrator at Appalachian State University. "Sure, he was a driving force behind some great rides, but the rides were just a fun means to a philanthropic end.
"Whether through heating assistance, food pantry donations, or coat drives, Scott and the BSG board channeled money to where it was needed most.
Nelson is survived by his wife Luanne Lindsey Nelson, a brother, a sister, his father-in-law and a sister-in-law.
In lieu of flowers, his memory can be honored by making a donation to - or volunteering for - a local nonprofit.
Court challenge filed over power grab
RALEIGH - A tug of war over a last-minute power grab in the state capital has made its way to court..
Naturally.
Following the lead of the state Senate, the House of Representatives voted earlier this week to override Gov. Roy Cooper's veto of a bill that directs $227 million from the state's reserves to hurricane relief efforts, which next to no one would argue over.
However, Raleigh politicians being what they are, legislative leadership - Republicans - added a series of unrelated changes that would weaken the power of the governor, lieutenant governor, attorney general and superintendent of public instruction.
Coincidentally, those would be offices won by Democrats in November. And Democrats also managed to break the GOP's veto-proof majority - a legislative advantage that ends with the next General Assembly.
Specifically, those changes shift supervision of the State Highway Patrol from the governor's office to the Legislature and move some election oversight from the state Board of Elections to the state auditor - an office which coincidentally was run by a Republican candidate.
In the suit filed Thursday by Cooper and Gov.-elect Josh Stein - who would have guessed - lawyers challenged the GOP's reasoning.
"Just days after voters chose Gov.-elect Stein to be their chief executive over the next four years, the leadership of the North Carolina General Assembly used a purported hurricane relief bill to curtail in significant ways core executive and law enforcement responsibilities that, under our Constitution, pass onto Governor Stein on January 1, 2025," the suit reads.
336-727-7481
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