Asheville Living Treasures Honors Isaac Coleman and Ray Kisiah

Asheville Living Treasures, the local organization dedicated to recognizing and honoring residents whose lives and work have contributed immeasurably to the community’s quality of life, has announced its laureates for the Autumn of 2014.

Community activist Isaac F. Coleman and former Parks and Recreation Director Ray L. Kisiah will be honored at a public ceremony Sunday, October 19, at 1:30 p.m. at the Reuter Center at UNC Asheville. The presentation is made in partnership with Osher Lifelong Learning Institute. The ceremony, which is free and open to the public, will be followed by a reception and refreshments.

Isaac Coleman, a civil rights activist since his teens, arrived in Asheville in 1971 and is devoted to gaining educational and economic opportunities for minorities. In addition to a long career as a building inspector and manager for the Housing Authority of the City of Asheville, his life list of community service includes the Black Appalachian Commission; Fair Housing Commission; Read to Succeed; Just Economics; Clean Water for North Carolina; Education Coalition; Just Economics, and the Buncombe County Democratic Party.

Ray Kisiah worked for Parks and Recreation in Charlotte and Highpoint before being recruited in 1971 to help revitalize Asheville’s park system. Urban Renewal and the Model Cities program had just begun, and he successfully facilitated many new projects, including establishing the Montford Recreation Center. In 1974 he became President of the American Parks and Recreation Society. His expressed philosophy is to contribute to the physical, mental, moral, and economic health of the community.

Asheville Living Treasures was established October 2010 to honor the elders of Asheville by publicly recognizing them and their achievements and recording their stories for future generations.

For details, visit www.ashevillelivingtreasures.com.