FALCONER - Falconer Park is looking nicer than ever and the Rotary Club of Falconer is to thank.
On Thursday afternoon, the club held a ribbon-cutting ceremony at Falconer Park for its official reopening after 10 years of renovation. The ceremony coincided with a barbecue chicken dinner held by the club to raise money for local food pantries.
Present at the ceremony was David Krieg, mayor of Falconer and Randy Sweeney, executive director of the Chautauqua Region Community Foundation. After a short speech, Krieg and Sweeney were given the honor of cutting the ribbon across the newly refurbished pedestrian bridge at the park.
Article Photos
Mayor David Krieg and Randy Sweeney cut the ribbon to reopen the newly refurbished bridge at Falconer Park as Rotarians stand and watch.
P-J photo by Remington Whitcomb
"Ten years ago Buzz Vanstrom drove through this park in his squad car and saw it was in disarray. His dream was to have the Rotary Club do as their forefathers and support the park and help rebuild it. Tonight, I think Buzz would be very proud of what has happened. That happened because of many people's efforts and we'd like to thank them this evening. We'd like to thank the people of Falconer who generously donated to this park. We'd like to thank (David Kreig) and Sam Ognibene for all their help. We'd like to thank all the foundations for their help and the Community Foundation for their special direction."
"We wanted to make sure that Falconer Park was one of the premier parks in the area," said Jane Fosberg, Rotary Club president.
And though the restoration of Falconer Park took 10 years of effort to complete, the Rotary Club marked the culmination of its hard work with a barbecue chicken dinner, the proceeds of which went toward the Ellington, Kennedy and Falconer food pantries.
"For the last two years the rotary has made it their local mission to help (several food pantries)," said Fosberg. "We have raised enough money to buy a freezer for Ellington, sets of shelving for Falconer and Kennedy."
Additionally, Beth Hocking, owner of Acme Appliance, has graciously donated a stand-up freezer which was given away at the barbecue. Proceeds from the drawing will be pooled with the proceeds from the barbecue dinner and donated to the three food pantries. The winning ticket for the freezer was drawn at the conclusion of the barbecue dinner.
The Rotary Club of Falconer is dedicated towards helping those in need in the area. The club was established on Jan. 11, 1939, and has been serving the area ever since.
More information on the Rotary Club of Falconer can be accessed at their website, www.clubrunner.ca/Portal/Home.aspx?accountid=332.