ALBEMARLE — After three years of discussions, Albemarle has taken a step ahead with its Walk of Fame ceremonial planning.
The Albemarle City Council unanimously voted on Jan. 21 to approve the Walk of Fame Advisory Board’s recommendations as presented by City Manager Todd Clark.
For the council, this marked the next chronological progression in establishing the annual Albemarle Walk of Fame as a local landmark where three individuals will be ceremonially honored with a 24-inch round bronze medallion each year on the sidewalk outside of City Hall (144 North Second Street).
“It is the intent of the City of Albemarle to recognize current or former residents of Albemarle who have achieved national, regional, or local recognition and have made substantial civic contributions to the Albemarle community, over a significant period, through their work in the community, lifetime achievements and volunteer service,” the advisory board wrote in a statement presented to the council.
Nominees must have achieved recognition in one of the following eight categories: humanitarian, entertainment, civic, art/architecture, sports, military, literary, and business/industry.
The Walk of Fame Advisory Board met on Oct. 30, 2024, to approve the nomination form, and then met again on Jan. 15 to discuss design layout; the accepted form and any attachments can be submitted to the City Clerk’s office by mail, drop-off, or e-mail.
“This has been a project that our city council has been anticipating for quite some time,” Clark said. “The advisory board is now requesting council approval of a nomination form, the location of the designated area for the medallions that would be installed to recognize the recipients of the Walk of Fame, and also a calendar of events that lead up to the process of selection of those individuals.”
Along with accepting the advisory board’s recommendations, the city council also retroactively made Jan. 1, 2025, the three-year term start date for inaugural Walk of Fame Advisory Board Members Louisa Jane, Judy Holcombe, Foster Parker, Courtney Brown and Bob Johnson.
The schedule that was accepted by both the advisory board and city council holds the nomination time period between Jan. 1 and April 30, with nomination review (May) and city council presentation (June) coming in the months after.
Between July and September, event preparations and the medallion ordering process will take shape, all leading up to the Walk of Fame event set for October.
“We had given some thought about just pulling all the segments of concrete up to install brick, but we decided that was going to be costly on the front end and not the preferred way to go,” Clark said. “It could expand if and when that might be needed.”
As it stands, the total cost to the city for yearly preparations and the event itself adds up to an annual estimate of $10,000.
Mayor Pro-Tem Martha Sue Hall stated her appreciation for the planning and ideas put into the project by everyone involved: “I just want to tell you all thank you because we’ve seen more activity in this during the last four months than we did in the last 18. This has been a dream.”
The Albemarle City Council is set to meet again on Feb. 3 at 6:30 p.m. in the City Hall Council Chambers.