INC NEWS - INC's Bill Anderson: Rah-rah guy 'tireless for neighborhoods' (Herald-Sun)

[John Schelp]

Way to go, Bill...

Rah-rah guy 'tireless for neighborhoods'
BY JOHN MCCANN, The Herald-Sun (8/15/05)

You might think of InterNeighborhood Council President
Bill Anderson as Mister Rogers on Red Bull.

Energy, energy, energy!

Whereas Fred Rogers was that genteel ambassador for a
peaceful neighborhood where the Trolley docked,
Anderson's more of a rah-rah guy for the grittier Bull
City.

But the two have this in common: It's always a
beautiful day in the neighborhood.

"Bill is an idea guy,' said INC president-elect Mike
Woodard. "Always coming up with ideas!"

And always challenging INC board members to try new
approaches when problems arise, Woodard added. With
his enthusiasm never seeming to wane, neighborhood
groups feel empowered knowing Anderson will fight for
them, Woodard said.

"He is just tireless for neighborhoods," Woodard said.
"People just respond to him."

You probably would, too.

Short in stature, Anderson's like a hard-charging
bulldog. He's the marketing director for the Council
for Senior Citizens, so the aggressiveness is in line
with his 9-to-5 duties.

Anderson spoke out when there were rumblings about the
U.S. Postal Service wanting to make Durham residents
who receive mail at their doors put up curbside boxes.
And he played a part during this summer's heat wave in
expediting the delivery of free air conditioners to
elderly residents.

Which is classic Anderson -- taking something
not-so-good, stirring the pot a little bit and seeing
what happens.

"I do enjoy being involved in [the] community,"
Anderson said. "Like a chemist mixing parts of [the]
community together."

He's no Pollyanna. The glasses he wears aren't
rose-colored. Rather, the good he sees in oft-maligned
Durham has to do with vantage point and attitude.

"I sometimes think I'm in a better position to see
those things," he said. "Almost everything good I see
in Durham starts with frustration."

Like the city's yard-waste policy. Some Durham
residents say they already pay enough taxes. So
charging them an extra 60 bucks to have some dudes
jump off the back of a truck and pick up their tree
limbs is just over the top.

But others worry about getting gypped by those who
forgo the fee and instead slip their trimmings inside
a paying neighbor's brown receptacle.

And here's Anderson right in the middle of it,
encouraging everybody to come to the table for a
little meeting of the minds.

He arrived in Durham in the late 1970s from upstate
New York. Rural New York.

"I used to ride heifers across the street," Anderson
said. "The cows were too slow.

"It's not something I recommend to you now."

Perhaps the answers to why bad things in Durham don't
quench the fire in Anderson's belly can be gleaned
from his various forays. He was in the printing
business for a minute. Operated a rare-coin store on
Ninth Street, and even risked his neck as a
professional skydiver barreling through the goalposts
at Carter-Finley Stadium in Raleigh.

In September, Anderson will pass the president's gavel
to Woodard.

But beware of a certain feisty bulldog keeping watch
over Durham's neighborhoods.

"INC presidents rarely go away," Anderson said.

"In Your Neighborhood" appears every Monday. If you
know of someone or something interesting in your
neighborhood, call 419-6630 or e-mail news
@heraldsun.com.

---

Meeting Aug. 23

The InterNeighborhood Council meets at 7 p.m. on Aug.
23 in the civic room at The Herald-Sun, 2828 Pickett
Road. The group will clarify its bond oversight
intentions. Neighborhood delegates and interested
citizens are encouraged to attend. Refreshments will
be provided.

For more information, contact Bill Anderson at (919)
688-4550 or visit www.durhaminc.org.

Links related to this article:
InterNeighborhood Council: www.durhaminc.org