Vicki Hyatt - Your Voice for Haywood’s Future
The Vicki Hyatt for Haywood campaign is about building a stronger county by tapping into our greatest resource – the people who care about this community. Hyatt and her husband Richard, live on the 115-year-old family farm in Bethel and she has spent nearly three decades reporting on the people, challenges, and decisions that shape this county.
Vicki Hyatt — Your Voice for Haywood’s Future
The Hyatt for Haywood campaign is about building a stronger county by tapping into our greatest resource — the people who care about this community.
Our Future is Our Responsibility
This matters because Haywood County’s budgetary needs always exceed the resources available to meet them. We need to do more with less. That can happen by unlocking the power of local residents who can help the county grow from within.
We can’t count on outside economic entities to save us. That responsibility is ours.
Why Vicki Hyatt Can Make a Difference
Newspapers have long been called the “first rough draft of history.” As a 28-year veteran journalist in Haywood, Vicki has attended an estimated 2,500 public meetings and been at the forefront for every major development in the county.
That knowledge and long-term relationships with local and regional leaders can help turn citizen-driven ideas into results.
Current Topics
A Campaign Built on Listening
When gathering 2,000 signatures to run as an unaffiliated commissioner candidate, Vicki kept lists of conversations and ideas to improve the county. Those conversations are ongoing.
Unlike most campaigns that simply name a problem that needs fixed, the Hyatt for Haywood campaign will focus on solutions developed by the people who live here — solutions that can make a real difference.
These are issues that are bubbling to the top. We need your input.
Affordable Housing
Discussions are underway to use private, local funding as a way to provide homes in the $200,000 range for first-time homeowners. The first step is to identify suitable land, preferably with access to municipal water and sewer hookups. Everybody can help.
Farmland Preservation
Farmland in Haywood is the county’s legacy, and can become even more valuable to its future — if we can protect it. Economic incentives, coupled with value-added initiatives and increased protection for voluntary agriculture districts can help. More ideas are needed so Haywood County can grow without sacrificing its best qualities.
Economic Development
In addition to ongoing efforts to recruit manufacturing jobs, future growth can come from existing small businesses as they grow, and entrepreneurs who can become the next generation of success stories. Citizen-led strategies for this are in the works.
A Focus on Youth
As the realities of a technology-driven society sink in, parents want their children to have things to do in the county now, and to know that they will have opportunities here in the future. Your ideas can help drive those efforts.
Everyone Matters
Strong communities have a supportive network where everyone feels they belong and where all can work together toward common goals. When times get tough, such a network becomes a necessity. There are dozens of ways to fight food insecurity, the loneliness epidemic, substance abuse and more when the community is part of the solution. Join the Hyatt for Haywood campaign and let’s figure it out together.
Browse Vicki’s Newsletters
Every Voice Matters!
Here’s how you can help shape Haywood’s future:
Attend a focus meeting, show up at Hyatt for Haywood campaign gatherings supporting small businesses, volunteer at community events alongside others in the Hyatt for Haywood campaign or email your ideas to hyatt4haywood@gmail.com
Together, we can build a stronger Haywood County.
Donate
Checks can be mailed to:
Hyatt4Haywood
116 Sunburst Dr.
Waynesville, NC. 28786