Ken Henke has stopped postponing an important decision about whether to run for Town Council of Holly Springs, and has made the commitment to run in 2009 for one of the town’s three open seats. Ken and his wife, Margo, became residents of Holly Springs in 1994 when the population was around 1900. They were fascinated by the “town vision” of former mayor Gerald Holleman and others who wanted to promote much-needed growth, while improving Holly Springs’ small town flavor.

Since then, the Henke’s have seen many positive changes. And when seeing such a bright future for Holly Springs in 2003, they relocated Margo’s mother and grandmother, who turned 97 this year, from Memphis TN to Holly Springs.

“Grandma, who we call Mama, was excited about the new shopping center on HWY 55 bypass,” Henke recalls with a smile, “and was ready to ride her electric scooter to the store until she found out that there was no crosswalk installed to cross the busy highway because it would impede traffic. As I began to look at this and other growth factors, I saw a trend towards the development of a sprawling community instead of the “Village District” that was portrayed when we first moved here.”

The Henke’s enjoy walking through Jones and Veterans parks with their dog, Shakespeare, who loves to swim in the pond while the couple walks along the park trails. “We are grateful that this park is in our backyard to enjoy,” Henke says. “Taking a walk to the Cultural Center to see an event, eating a meal at La Dolce restaurant, or walking past the Alford grave marker just off the path to the town springs are other things we enjoy and want more residents to be able to enjoy in the future.”

Over the past 15 years, Holly Springs has made great strides towards developing the Village District. The Cultural Center, the new Town Hall, the Mim’s Town Square, and the Farmers Market are all necessary first steps in reshaping the town. But as Henke notes, “We need to build on Holleman’s vision to revitalize the downtown area, including cultural improvements and the revitalization of the town springs located in a beautiful stretch of woods close by the cultural center. He also believes we must develop and support local small businesses that will draw shoppers downtown, instead of concentrating on developing businesses on the edge of town.

Being founder and owner of a local business, Secur-Tek, Inc., since 1990 Henke has seen the importance first hand of working with people in the community, as well as employees, and making decisions that are best for the company as well as for the community as a whole.

Henke is currently serving as a director on the board of the North Carolina Burglar and Fire Alarm Association and president of his local BNI business network chapter. Whether working on Homes for Habitat, community HOA, or through his church, he enjoys the interaction with people that provides support and solutions throughout the local communities. He recalls at one Town Council meeting hearing a local resident complain about the traffic speeding through town and not stopping. If a non-pedestrian-friendly community is designed, there will be traffic speeding though and around our town to go to other businesses outside town or to other communities.

If elected Henke said he will work for a better “Village District”, denser growth, and maintain the community infrastructure of the police, fire, utilities, parks and school system. He attended the Holly Springs High School Awards ceremony this year and was impressed with the $4 million in scholarships granted and four appointments to the Military Academies. He believes that maintaining the school system, attracting growth downtown, and tapping into future mass transit systems are some of the important goals in front of us as a town and community.