Click here to view photographs from this program. Photo credit: Paul King

This Spring marks the 144th anniversary of one of the most important and tragic events in the history of Western North Carolina. On March 11, 1879, railroad work crews finally broke through Swannanoa Mountain, opening a tunnel that connected Asheville to Salisbury and the rest of eastern North Carolina. It was a tremendous feat of engineering, but it came at a terrible cost of human lives – nearly all of them African-Americans.

At Leadership Asheville Forum’s May 24th Critical Issues Luncheon, we’ll hear from Dr. Dan Pierce, professor of history at UNC Asheville, about this landmark achievement and about those who suffered and died to bring Western North Carolina into the modern world.  We hope you can join us.

Dr. Dan Pierce, UNC Asheville

At this event, we will present our annual Circle of Excellence award, which honors an individual who has made significant contributions to the community. The program will also include a very short Annual Business Meeting. The sole purpose will be to elect LAF officers and board members for the coming year.

WHAT: LAF's May 24th Critical Issues Luncheon

WHERE: The Country Club of Asheville, 170 Windsor Road

TIME: Food Service begins at 11:45am, the program at 12:15pm

COST: $25 for LAF members, $35 for nonmembers

RESERVATIONS REQUIRED by 12:00 Noon Tuesday, May 16th RSVP to Nancy Williams at nwilliam@unca.edu