Our Community: Steve Price | Chapel Hill Tire

Decades of community service have shown Steve Price that nothing mars the spirit of Chapel Hill.

As soon as it started to rain, Steve Price was confident that all the volunteers he had gathered to clean up the overgrown kudzu around Chapel Hill would just get it over with. But it seems that even after decades of service at Chapel Hill, there were still surprises for him.

“They refused to leave until they cleared the area,” Price said. "Even when it was rainy and terrible, they wanted it to be done."

That says a lot about the Chapel Hill community, but also about Price.

Steve Price has lived here since 1983, works for UNC-TV, serves as youth minister for his church, served on the City Parks and Recreation Committee for seven years, and continues to serve in various advisory roles. But he never lived here just like that.

A UNC-Chapel Hill graduate with a degree in radio, television and film, Price has worked for UNC-TV for 30 years documenting the community. His job of telling local stories grew into his passion for improving the city he came to love.

“You want to make the community a better place for yourself and everyone around you,” Price said.

Price's most recent project, harvesting kudzu, was one he took over from the Community Tree Committee and coordinated with UNC-Chapel Hill as well as the local Adopt-A-Trail program. Price experienced his first surprise of the day when, after having to reschedule once due to rain, the project saw a huge turnout of people from all over the city.

“It was a crazy cross section of the community,” Price said. He noted that he saw people from all walks of life, including students and the elderly. What struck him, he said, was how united everyone was even when it started to rain.

“This was one of the most amazing service projects I have ever done,” Price said. "It was fun and people really enjoyed what they were doing."

And they continued to work even when they could barely stand. When he saw his team slip and slide as the ground turns to mud, Price had to end the day because no one wanted to stop.

For Price, the collective tenacity he saw that day illustrates why he loves Chapel Hill.

“When one person takes the lead, it's amazing how people rally around the cause,” Price said. "This is what makes the Chapel Hill community so unique and wonderful."

And while he can be humble about it when asked, Price has often been the man others rally around when he campaigns for a better city and a better world.

Many of Price's projects, such as his kudzu cleanup and his quarterly highway cleanup on Highway 86, focus on beautifying Chapel Hill, but he also makes time for the people of his hometown. This year, he coordinated Thanksgiving food deliveries to the Interfaith Council pantry at his church, where he also regularly leads volunteers who clean the pantry kitchen. In addition, he plans weekly activities for the youth, and just last October he spent several hours creating a haunted trail that exceeded all expectations.

“I see it as just giving back to this community that has given me so much,” Price said.

He is also looking for socially distant ways to continue to bring together those large groups that advocate for his projects. At the kudzu clearing, everyone was spread out into small teams, and they clearly didn't let anything stop them. Going forward, Price mentioned getting families involved in volunteer work so they can work as a socially distant team.

In any case, Price isn't just happy to be returning to philanthropy - he hasn't stopped for a second. Price knows that it only takes one person, one vote, and everyone will come together to support this unique and beautiful place that he proudly calls home.

And we think we speak for everyone when we say we're proud to have Steve as our neighbor.

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