The mission of Fines Creek Community Association is to assist our neighbors, to inform our citizenry, to support the education of our youth, to continue the cultural traditions found in our region, to promote healthy activities in the valley, to provide a means for socialization, and to safeguard our environment.
The FCCA was organized in 1995 after the closure of Fines Creek Elementary School and its students moved to the new Riverbend Elementary School. The community felt it was important to have a central meeting place where “town meetings” could be held and problems could be discussed and solved as a community. The Association was incorporated in 1997 as a 501(C)(3) organization with its mission to maintain a sense of community and improve the quality of life for its members.
The FCCA serves the communities once served by the Fines Creek School—Fines Creek, Panther Creek, White Oak, and Waterville. Members from these communities joined together to obtain a lease on the former school building from the Haywood County commissioners. The school served as the site for the many activities planned by the new organization.
One of the longest and most successful events hosted by the FCCA is the Bluegrass Jam held in August. This event showcases the local and regional talents of the area. Funds from the Bluegrass Jam support the scholarships given to community students.
This section of the county is the farthest removed from a town center. The FCCA identified the need for a library to serve its members. A library committee was formed and the committee and its volunteers spent hundreds of hours cleaning, painting and cataloging books so that the community would have a library. The community library opened in 2003. In 2004 the Haywood County Library system assumed oversight of the library and it is now the Fines Creek Branch Library. The library has over 5500 books, 550 movies and a high speed internet connection.
The Fines Creek Community Association meets once a month and this monthly meeting is OPEN to all community members. The meeting is a time for discussion and planning of the Association’s activities and projects.
