Holiday Wreaths, Christmas Trees, Illuminaries, and other decorations are ever so slightly contributing to a small, but visible sense of "magic" along Main Street. Surely as the years pass and our efforts grow, it is our fondest hope to re-establish Sturbridge as a must see destination during all holiday periods. The establishment of "new" traditions will no doubt take time and the aggregate efforts of an entire community. But therein lies the beauty of our collective endeavors, as the work of many hands is the very basis of what community stands for. To that end, we all have a great deal to look forward to.
Our most recent efforts in support of the 12 Days of Christmas is reflective of the community involvement required to establish and nurture traditions. Thus, we take a moment to recognize those who have contributed to this latest effort.
As many are now aware, residents and visitors are being welcomed by the Holiday Wreaths adorning Main Street from Town Common to Route 148. This simple element of the 12 Days of Christmas required a rather significant level of support. To that end, on behalf of the Merchants of Sturbridge and all Sturbridge residents, let me extend our deep gratitude to Phil Cambo of Northern Tree and his technician Dana Demetrius. Phil donated the truck and manpower at no charge to the community. This was an extremely generous donation on Mr. Cambo's part, as Dana spent 6 solid hours (non-stop) hanging the wreaths while I prepped them for him. The monotony of repetitive stops, boom lifts and lowering did nothing to dampen Dana's spirits as he was extremely pleased to be part of this effort. So too, we are indebted to Chief Thomas Ford who ensured the safety of workers and travelers via traffic management that came at no deficit to the community, either financially or service wise.
As well, we extend our generous thanks to Alex Pifer (The Seraph/Home) who lead and coordinated the Events Committee in support of the 12 Days of Christmas. Alex's enthusiasm and perseverance were critical to this effort. So too, we extend our thanks to Sandra Carroll of The Brier Patch Designs, who provided the 30 double-sided, 40" wreaths at wholesale cost; a remarkable savings to all. Sandra hosted a Wreath Decorating Party this past Wednesday attended by Sarah Hiser (Savior-Donner), Patti Affenito-MacConnell (Sturbridge Country Inn), Leslie Wong, Autumn Wong, Alex Pifer (The Seraph/Home), Emma Thorpe, Kim Toto (The Brier Patch Designs), and Bob Grant (The Brier Patch Designs). These individuals spent several hours preparing the wreaths and affixing the Believe ribbons to same, as well as weeks of planning and preparation; we are indebted to them for their hard work and commitment to this project. In addition, Ms. Wong has been coordinating the Luminary project on behalf of the Tantasqua Jr. High Student Council.
Special kudos as well to Cindy Howard of The Center for Hope who manufactured the Believe ribbons affixed to the wreaths, along with the soon to be decorated Christmas Trees. In terms of the Trees, we extend our thanks to Sarah (Salli) Greene of Velvet Greene who provided these beautiful trees at an exceptionally competitive price, along with Chris Rovezzi (Rovezzi's Ristorante) for his assistance with tree preparation and delivery. We also thank Tom Chamberland for his guidance and support in the tree stabilization aspects of this project. We were struggling in terms of appropriate mountings until he volunteered his services.
We also extend our gratitude to the following people who provided direct project support to the 12 Days of Christmas initiative over the last weeks and months, in addition to those previously listed; they are Peg O'Connor (New England Graphics) Brenda Higgins (The Handmaiden), Susan McDonough (Susan's Secret Garden), Julie Schutz (Sturbridge Scrapping Corner), Maryann Thopre (resident), Chris Tieri (Smith & Jones), Jeannine Creamer (resident), and Joni Light (The Copper Stallion).
Last and by no means least, we are eternally grateful to those individuals and businesses who provided the funding for the wreaths via sponsorship. Without their dedication to the community and image it conveys, we would not have had the opportunity to adorn our Main Street in this fashion. Kudos to the following in no particular order:
Hometown Bank
Nicole Barin (Romaldo's)
Jasmine Bell (Sadie Green's)
Jeff Bonja (Resident)
Sandra Carroll (The Brier Patch Designs)
Mike Cimini (Yankee Spirits)
Jeannine Creamer (Resident)
Penny Dumas (Resident)
Wally & Mary Hersee (Residents)
Brenda Higgins (The Handmaiden)
Sarah Hiser (Savior-Donner)
Susan McDonough (Susan's Secret Garden)
Jennifer Morrison (Sterling Engineering)
Peg O'Connor (New England Graphics)
Alex Pifer (The Serpah/Home)
Chris Rovezzi (Rovezzi's Ristorante)
Julie Schutz (Sturbridge Scrapping Corner)
The Friends of Fiskdale/Sturbridge Seniors
Maryann Thorpe (Resident)
Michael Thorpe (Resident)
Shaw's Supermarket
There are several other residents who sponsored wreaths through Sandra Carroll and others whose names I do not have. I apologize immensely for posting this out without those names and I trust that I will be able to provide them shortly.
We are thankful as well to the Tantasqua Town Common for their comprehensive coverage of the 12 Days of Christmas.
I'm certain I've forgotten to appropriately recognize the efforts/support of at least one or more individuals. So many have done so much to assist with this event that one becomes convinced of a memory lapse on my part. Please forgive and please notify me immediately of any omissions on my part so that they may be corrected.
With that, some of us are now off to erect the trees so that they may soon be decorated in honor of ALL Sturbridge residents.
Posts
0 comments:
Post a Comment