R.O.Y. meeting
There were 19 in attendance at the April 13 meeting.
President Nancy Holmberg stated that the purpose for this meeting was to hear all committee reports and have a group discussion to gather our insights and attitudes about how we see tourism fitting into our goals and vision.
Article Photos
Photo by Father John Neff
Mother’s Day At St. Luke.
Pictured are the men and women of St. Luke Catholic Church, Youngsville. The Knights of Columbus and other men of the parish served a breakfast of potatoes, scrambled eggs, sausage, juice and rolls. Over 125 people were served. Every mom of the parish who attended the breakfast received a shadow box as a gift from the parish.
Before committee reports there was a brain-storming discussion with facilitator Linda Sivak. The group broke into small groups and discussed personal reasons for coming to the ROY organization and focusing on one question: How do you see tourism fitting into our goals and vision? There was one person who spoke for each group with their ideas. Some of the examples were that the schools and restaurants were family-oriented; there is a friendly atmosphere and the natural attractions. These are just a few ideas that were brought out in the group discussion.
The Route 6 cleanup will be held in May 22 beginning at 9:30 a.m. Meet at the old Borough Building.
Disability Accessibility Chairman Ken Quinn sent an email to let the group know that he is looking for grant money and there will be more info to come in time.
The Northwest Savings Bank Manager made an announcement that the bank will be donating $5000 to the ROY organization to help with streetscape.
Oviatt also reported that there was a meeting with EG&G, the consultants for downtown improvements, and the firm will be proceeding with Railroad Street. There have been a few generous donations that have come in to help meet the final engineering goal. (the largest were $20,000 from the Clarks Foundation and $5,000 from Northwest Savings Bank.)
Mike Olewine, director of the Warren County Vacation Bureau, showed a PowerPoint presentation on what that group does and how it can help Youngsville. Some planned events that will be going on in Warren County will be the Grass Root Racing, Warren Outdoor Show and Winterfest, among others. These events draw 10,000 to 12,000 people. Future events for 2011 will be Pond Hockey, Outdoor Movies and Winterfest. There will be a new website that will be linked with all three websites and it will be launched April 19. This will help eliminate duplicate information. Mike also spoke about the Visitors Bureau's future and how it lists the Brokenstraw Creek, the Allegheny River and the Corn Festival as some of its assets.
Then Joanne introduced Suzanne Gagliardo who is the Manager of Community Development Northwest Pa. Regional Planning and Development Commission and our advisor for the Route 6 Pennsylvania Heritage community program. She is based in Oil City and she will be here to help us. She is the Route 6 Heritage Coordinator and there are a lot of cool things happening. Every month there will be a report given and she has worked with Kathy Rapp from the beginning.
In promotion, Cathy Brown gave a brief report that 90 percent of the schedule is done for CornFest weekend and the CornFest committee is working on the flyers right now.
Auditions for the Youngsville Children Theater will be held in May 18 at 3:30pm at Joy Hall, Free Methodist Church. They will be doing Sleeping Beauty this year. Workshops will begin July 19th with Barb Luce in charge.
Relay for life will be held June 25 at Betts Park and the ROY team is looking for walkers. Anyone interested in participating should contact Barb Luce. All money that is raised will go towards the Cancer Research.
Helga Laibacher reported that business and membership sponsorships are still coming in. Right now there are 85 individual memberships and 42 businesses.
She stated that the sauerkraut dinner has been moved to the fall. This will be one of ROY's upcoming fundraiser's.
Kathy Reitinger, regional Main Street Coordinator, noted to the group that if people buy local then the money stays here in the community. This is one of the benefits of doing business locally. And during a festival weekend the businesses should stay open longer because people will be out that evening and that will also help business.
Sanford Garage Sale
Sanford Area Garage Sale days will be held on May 28 and 29 from 9 a.m. to 5p.m. There will be numerous garage and yard sales throughout Eldred Township near Grand Valley. Follow Route 6 to 27 South to the farming community of Sanford. There will be maps, food, and drinks available.
Night of Chance
A Night of Chance fundraiser will be held at the Youngsville Fire Hall this Saturday, May 15. Doors open at 6:00 p.m. The games start at 6:30 pm. Admission Tickets are $10 and each Ticket entitles you to food, beverages, soda and music. Small games of chance will be played throughout the evening. There are 16 cash prizes drawn every 15 minutes starting at 7 p.m. running until 10:45 p.m. Four grand prizes will be drawn every 15 minutes starting at 11 p.m. The Grand Prizes are two Mountaineer Casino Packages each worth $2,100, which is free and reduced rooms, dinner and spa deal and free slot play, two Pirates Ticket Packages each worth $500, which is four free game tickets and seven buy one, get one free tickets. All proceeds benefit the Youngsville Eagle Instrumental Boosters. Must be 21 years of age or older. Tickets are being pre-sold or can be purchased at the door.
Youngsville Public
Library
At the April Board meeting, the Youngsville Public Library received an update about its 75th Anniversary Giving Campaign. Halfway through the two month community/business solicitation, the Library was encouraged by the response of businesses and local and former residents. With three more weeks to go, the Library hopes the amount will double and assure that the YPL will be able to keep its current schedule and staff.
With the positive response thus far, the board made the tentative decision to stay with the four day week it has been using for the past six months and go ahead with a limited Summer Reading program. After an attempt to find a sponsor for the 35 year old Summer Reading program failed, the Board wrestled with the decision of continuing the popular, but expensive, summer program. By cutting the purchase of t-shirts, eliminating the float at the Corn Fest and reducing the prizes and awards at each reading level, it was decided the Summer Reading program could and should continue. July Story Hour gift books and craft materials have been donated by a Board member and the Library is hoping other members of the community will help with the reading awards. Any kid oriented business (ie. food, toys, games or activities) that has not yet donated to the Giving Campaign might consider gift certificates that can be used as prizes for the Summer Reading Program. Summer Reading plans are still incomplete at this time, but will be announced shortly by librarian Kristy Wallace.
Annual Meeting
The annual meeting of the Youngsville Public Library for community members and the Library Board of Directors and the Friends of the Library Board will be held on Wednesday, May 26, at 3 p.m. at the library. Any interested person is invited to attend.
What is Love INC?
Residents of the Youngsville Community and outlying Brokenstraw area are invited to an informational meeting of Love INC to be held May 20 and 21 at Otterbein United Methodist Church in Pittsfield.
For the past year, representatives of ten area churches have been working to bring a chapter of "Love In the Name of Christ" to the Brokenstraw area. Finally a national affiliate, the group will meet with representatives from the Minneapolis headquarters for information and training.
If you have a passion for those in need, if you are willing to donate food, clothing, furniture, and a little of your time, it is recommended that you attend the Friday night meeting from 6:30 - 8:30 p.m.
Residents of the Brokenstraw area are encouraged to come and learn about their program. The need is great in our region.
On Saturday, May 22 there will be a training seminar (lunch provided) from 9:00 AM until 4:00 PM. The Pittsfield Otterbein United Methodist Church will be hosting.