Team VisitMartinsville Brightens Up MHC

Having a clean and beautiful community is important in attracting businesses and visitors to an area, so the staff from the Martinsville-Henry County Economic Development Corporation's (EDC) Tourism Division volunteered alongside local gardener and community cheerleader Cari Zimmer to freshen up flower beds in front of the City Municipal Building in Uptown Martinsville this morning. 

Zimmer, who is a self-taught, avid gardener acquired the plants from a variety of local and regional sources. The plants include a butterfly bush, vinca, wave petunias, lantana and many more to create a colorful centerpiece on the Municipal Building lawn.

In addition to Zimmer, the volunteers included Director of Tourism, Jennifer Doss, Tourism Assistant & Film Coordinator, Beth Stinnett, and Visitor Services Coordinator, Heather Hoffman. 

According to Doss, "The City Municipal building is one of the first sights that guests see when they leave the Martinsville-Henry County Visitor Center, so we were happy to help add new summer colors to the flower bed." Hoffman added that in the past week, she had already assisted visitors from England, Florida, Missouri, Tennessee, North Carolina and Georgia at the Visitor Center. 

Zimmer has volunteered her time and resources, with the assistance of the city and Harvest Foundation, to maintain several planters and flower beds throughout the community this past year, including those in front of the Municipal Building, the Visitor Center and two "Welcome to UpTown" signs: one in the triangle at the corner of Church and Clay Streets and the wall at the corner of Church and Oakdale Streets, just to name a few. Zimmer stated, "It is my true pleasure to plant colorful landscape gardens on behalf of our community."