Outside, visitors to an event Thursday evening welcoming new Halifax Historic Site Manager Bob Bemis got a chance to view the exterior restoration. 
The historic house, Bemis said, is not ready to be included on Historic Halifax tours, but will be used as the location of fundraisers for the project. “We’re about $100,000 away from finishing the inside.”
Bemis told a large audience gathered inside the Halifax home of the former North Carolina governor, “It’s been an amazing 10 weeks. We’re starting to get things done.”
He credited Carl Burke, assistant manager of the site, for running the facility as the state looked to fill the position left vacant by the retirement of Monica Moody. “He made it easy, anything I needed to know about artifacts, and we have many, he made my life easier.”

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He credited interpreters Tabitha Poteat and Natalie Baldwin for their enthusiasm “I’m overjoyed to be here.”
Lori Medlin president of the Halifax County Convention and Visitors Bureau said, “It does my heart good to see so many people at Historic Halifax.The Historic Site has done a lot of work to preserve this structure.”
Halifax Mayor John White, who had to unexpectedly leave the event, left a statement, which was read by Jean King. “On behalf of the town of Halifax, we would like to offer our official welcome to Mr. Robert Bemis … and also to the new staff members, Natalie and Tabitha.”
The statement said the town and the Historic Site have a long and mutually recognized beneficial relationship.”Our town and its citizens recognize the importance of our history, a legacy of which we are all proud and we appreciate the efforts of the Historic Site to share our history and pride with visitors from all over the country.”
The statement said the town is hopeful the Historic Site will continue to be a partner in the redevelopment of the town. “Some may believe that historic preservation and economic growth may be opposing goals, but we want to show it is possible. In the case of Halifax, preservation represents our growth.”
The statement pointed to the rejuvenation of King Street. “We hope that the next few years will see Halifax reach its very real potential as a tourist and economic destination.”
Jeff Bockert, east region supervisor for the state’s historic sites, said the state sees the potential in Historic Halifax. “We restructured from the bottom up. We wanted to see a lot more interpretation and costuming. I’ve known Bob for many years. He was the obvious choice for me.”