Health Insurance Asheville NC
North Carolina Health Insurance brought to you by Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina® and Jerry Ballard & Associates, Inc. Jerry Ballard was the #1 Top-Producing Independent Insurance Agent1,2 in North Carolina in 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010 and 2011 in individual sales. In addition, other recent awards achieved through Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina®, include PRESIDENT'S CLUB Top Agency and Charter Member designations since 2007. Cathy Ballard has been with the agency more than a decade, initially focusing on customer service before adding individual sales to her responsibilities. Among the top producers in North Carolina in both 2008 (ranked 11th) and 2009 (ranked 9th), Cathy’s expertise adds a valuable service and sales component to the agency team. Our agency offers individual product lines including Blue Advantage®, BlueOptions HSA, DentalBlue, and Small Group Health Insurance Plans.
Jerry Ballard & Associates couples outstanding individual customer service with the technological sophistication that allows customers the best of both worlds--quick and accurate information via www.nchealthplans.com and ready access to a knowledgeable agent using its toll free number 888-765-5400. Without leaving your home or office, you will be surprised how quickly and easily you can find the best North Carolina health plan for you, your family and your business. Contact Jerry Ballard and his trained and experienced staff to get all of your questions answered.
ASHEVILLE, N.C. -- When the stock market crashed in 1929 leaving shattered lives and a fatigued economy throughout the United States, Asheville, N.C. carried the heaviest burden of all. Yet like many American cities, Asheville celebrated a booming economy in the 1920s, blissfully ignoring an awaiting financial doom. Asheville's thundering financial boom was silenced abruptly on Nov. 20, 1930, when the Central Bank and Trust Company, major holder of county funds, closed its doors. Collapse and ruin descended on Buncombe County as holdings plummeted from nearly $180 million in 1927 to $80 million in 1933. Massive debt for the city and county loomed as schools and sanitary districts were robbed of much-needed funds.
A young aristocrat from New York visited Asheville in the 1880s with his mother to see what he described later as the most beautiful place in the world. George W. Vanderbilt purchased 125,000 acres, and eventually constructed what is now America's largest private residence—Biltmore. The name is derived from "Bildt", the Dutch town home to Vanderbilt ancestors, and "more," an old English word for rolling, mountainous country. He commissioned renowned landscape architect Frederick Law Olmsted to design the grounds and gardens, and celebrated architect Richard Morris Hunt to help him plan the house. It took hundreds of workers from 1890-1895 to complete the 255-room, French Renaissance chateau and surrounding grounds. Vanderbilt's dream to replicate the great estates of Europe through Biltmore brought romance and a distinctive elegance to Asheville, achieving a celebrity status never experienced before in Western North Carolina. Family members and friends invited from all over the United States and beyond came to experience the opulent estate with the splendor of Olmsted's sweet-smelling gardens, rich foods at the 64-seat banquet table, and the utter beauty of Vanderbilt's glorious mountains. Visitors were amazed at the indoor pool, bowling alley, exercise equipment, library, and other rooms filled with art works, furniture and novelties from all over the world. Lavish hotels and inns were constructed, such as the Battery Park in 1889.
Buncombe County posts a population today of 196,000, over 9,000 businesses, the University of North Carolina at Asheville, access via Interstate highways I-26 and I-40, the Asheville Regional Airport, a thriving downtown area with museums, bistros, clubs and shops and two shopping malls. Asheville has recently invested millions of dollars for new construction and renovation to bring the district back. Saving the many classic buildings that contribute to the architectural diversity of downtown Asheville remains an important goal for the city.