GRANITE QUARRY — Granite Quarry is a “ROX” star.
The town, incorporated in 1901 and built around the quarry industry, has come up with a new logo — “GQROX” — now available on license plates and T-shirts.
The idea for a logo springs from the Granite Quarry Revitalization Team’s summer visit to Travelers Rest, S.C., a town similar in size to Granite Quarry that has done several things to generate visits and improve its branding.
One of those initiatives was building promotional materials around the letters “TR.” The Granite Quarry delegation immediately thought that “GQ” and the town’s rock-hard foundation were natural to incorporate in some kind of branding.
The “GQROX” license plates sell for $5; the T-shirts, $12. Both are available at Town Hall and F&M Bank’s Granite Quarry office. Ordered by the Parks Events & Recreation Committee, the T-shirts also were available at the recent Family Fun Fest Sept. 27.
In other news related to the Travelers Rest visit, the Revitalization Team met in September with Tee Coker of Arnett, Muldrow & Associates, a planning group from Greenville, S.C. The firm worked with Greenville on its branding, and it also has done consulting work for the city of Salisbury.
Coker spoke with the Granite Quarry group about how his firm could assist the town in understanding its community and trade base; connecting with potential businesses; working with Realtors, developers and property owners; and helping with financing questions.
A possible plan might involve, Coker said, a three-day workshop with public meetings and charrettes — planning sessions where citizens, designers and others collaborate on a vision for development.
Granite Quarry Planning Director and Zoning Administrator Susan Closner was asked to send Coker a plan done by the N.C. Downtown Development Association in January 2013 and the University of North Carolina School of Government study completed by graduate students in May.
After reviewing those materials, Coker will offer the town some options for his firm’s possibly working with the town.
The Revitalization Team next meets at 3:30 p.m. Oct. 20.
Contact Mark Wineka at 704-797-4263.