The Town of Wake Forest is recruiting friendly, outgoing volunteers to greet and help direct visitors to Town Hall as part of its Guest Services Volunteer Program. Since Wake Forest introduced the initiative in 2010, dozens of area residents have volunteered to manage the Guest Services Counter. Responsibilities include greeting visitors in person and on the telephone, helping direct them to their destination, and performing other tasks as needed. Approximately 12 area residents currently participate in the program. Most are recent retirees and senior adults looking for opportunities to give back to their community. Located in the Town Hall lobby, the Guest Services Counter is open Monday through Friday, from 8 a.m. until 4 p.m. Guest Services Volunteers are expected to manage the desk at least two shifts per month. Volunteers must also participate in mandatory training where they will learn about Guest Services Desk responsibilities, participate in a brief

– The Town of Wake Forest is introducing a new opportunity in the process of updating its Downtown Plan (formerly known as the Renaissance Plan for Downtown Wake Forest). HOAs, book clubs, youth groups, and other community organizations are invited to host Do-It-Yourself (DIY) Workshops as a way of encouraging even greater public participation in the planning for the future of Downtown Wake Forest. As part of the initiative, the Wake Forest Planning Department will provide participating groups with the tools and information necessary to conduct their very own community workshop, including facilitator instructions, workshop discussion questionnaires, workshop agenda and ground rules, and more. “We want to make it as easy as possible for the community to participate in our Downtown Plan Update,” said Assistant Planning Director Jennifer Currin. “These small group discussions will help us reach Wake Forest residents and ensure that the updated plan is well-informed by our

The Wake Forest Woman’s Club is pleased to announce the continuation of offering a scholarship competition for both male and female seniors attending Franklin Academy, Heritage High School, and Wake Forest High School, who are in the top 25% of their class and will be attending an in-state, four year college or university in the fall of 2023. The winner of the Wake Forest Woman’s Club Continuing Education Scholarship will receive a one-time $2,000 award from our club. Please encourage all seniors who meet the criteria for consideration to contact their guidance counselor for an application.  The application period commences November 6, 2023 and the deadline for the application submission is January 12, 2024. Finalists will be interviewed in person or virtually on January 20, 2024. For more information, please visit www.wake-forest-womans-club.com ###

The Wake Forest Woman’s Club is sponsoring its third Scholarship Poinsettia Fundraiser during the month of October. Proceeds will support a Continuing Education Scholarship awarded to a graduating Wake Forest area student. The beautiful red poinsettias with red foil container covers are locally grown by Homewood Nursery and will be available for pickup in Wake Forest on November 30 from 3:30 pm to 6:30 pm at the Wake Forest Baptist Church Sanctuary, 10 E South Avenue. Only preordered plants will be available at pickup. No sales that day. The plants are 6 1/2” pots, 16-20” tall with six to eight blooms per plant and are offered for sale at $17.50 each. For more information about the club and to order and pay for your poinsettia, please visit www.wake-Forest-womans-club.com. ###

Based on the August, 2023 Monthly Development Report, WF Planning Updated October 10, 2023 The updated Wake Forest population as of July 1, 2023 was 56,681. That figure included the new homes which were approved for occupancy. When all the current approved apartments, townhouses and single-family homes are built the population will rise to 69,956. The town keeps a running tally of approved projects with counts of those completed. The best current estimates are that between seven and eight people move to town each day. New requests Number 6 on the list is a request to build a three-story apartment building on the present site of the abandoned Wake Forest Rest Home on South Allen Road. Neighbors protested an earlier request for a larger building and the project was dropped. There have been no public complaints so this request might be acceptable. How rezoning and development requests are now heard