Lestine Hutchens, Elkin mayor, presented Matthew and Ann Mayberry of Brushy Mountain Winery in downtown Elkin, with a framed certificate and summary of Elkin’s recommendation to the state Main Street Champion program during the monthly meeting of Elkin’s town board of commissioners on Monday night.

In January, the Mayberry’s were honored as the 2009 Main Street Champions at the North Carolina Main Street Annual Awards Dinner in New Bern, N.C. The Mayberry’s were selected for this special recognition by the Elkin Main Street program in appreciation of their exceptional contributions to the downtown revitalization process. Along with champions from 33 other communities, they received a certificate commemorating their designation, presented by N.C. Secretary of Commerce J. Keith Crisco, Deputy Secretary Dale Carroll, Assistant Secretary for Community Development Joseph D. Crocker, Division of Community Assistance Director Gloria Nance-Sims and Office of Urban Development Director Liz Parham.

Each of the state’s active Main Street programs is given the opportunity annually to recognize a local Main Street Champion. The dedication and hard work of countless volunteers is required to make a local Main Street program successful, and the Main Street Champion designation acknowledges the extraordinary efforts of those persons who have played pivotal roles in the revitalization of their downtowns.

Hutchens read the recommendation of the town to the board of commissioners and those attending the meeting.

“We’re so very proud to have Matthew and Ann as part of our community,” Hutchens said. “Their dedication to the revitalization of downtown and commitment to the community has brought many visitors to downtown Elkin, not to mention their wonderful wines.”

In recommending the Mayberry’s for this honor, the Elkin Main Street program offered the following:

In January 2005, Matthew Mayberry was driving home when his epiphany came – Shazam! He vividly saw every aspect of the Brushy Mountain Winery.His vision included the historic downtown building, which once housed his wife’s family canning business and later their electric company.

Being familiar with the viticulture industry and real estate, he began convincing his wife of 56 years. (She thought “he was out of his mind!”) He convinced their two sons and his 94-year-old mother to invest in his project of creating one of the Yadkin Valley’s premier wineries. Together they renovated the early twentieth century building, making it through all the building code issues, and the Brushy Mountain Winery emerged.

Their famous Booger Swamp wine made national TV in October 2007 when featured on the Jay Leno Show. National and international award-winning wines are produced on Elkin’s Main Street in their historic building, which celebrates two families’ legacy and a couple returning to their roots.

We celebrate and toast Matthew and Ann Mayberry for making their dream come true, and we are proud to honor them as Elkin’s 2009 Main Street Champions.

Main Street is a downtown revitalization program for smaller towns based on economic development within the context of historic preservation. The North Carolina Main Street Program, which provides technical assistance to its communities, is part of the Office of Urban Development in the Department of Commerce’s Division of Community Assistance.

In 1980, North Carolina was one of six original states, selected from 38 that applied, to launch the work of the National Trust for Historic Preservation’s National Main Street Center. The North Carolina Main Street Program began working with its five original cities – New Bern, Salisbury, Shelby, Tarboro, and Washington – in September 1980 and has since grown to include 61 communities across the state.