Downtown Hawley Partnership celebrates community recovery

Rising from the toll the COVID-19 pandemic took on the local economy, the Downtown Hawley Partnership (DHP) celebrated the many signs of recovery at their annual meeting April 27 at The Settlers Inn.

Newly elected DHP president Sarah Clauss said in her opening statement that the "whirlwind" of the pandemic's challenges forged a "better DHP" with broader marketing of the Hawley region, which included a revised calendar with more activities promoting businesses and to attract visitors. In 2021 the DHP hired project coordinator Kelly Alogna who works on the Partnership's various endeavors, and has increased DHP's social media presence.

"We have seen many more people investing in our area in the last two years," Clauss said. "We have welcomed coffee shops, art facilities, outdoor activities, a community center and a new restaurant. All of this under the shadow of COVID. Many people see the potential in Hawley and are helping to grow its future."

A revitalization program is underway in connection with the Pennsylvania Downtown Center, Pa. Department of Community and Economic Development and other community members, Clauss noted.

"Our summer art project has been a huge success and has raised over $14,000 for the DHP in the past two years," she said. "This project helps to bring our local artists to the forefront and showcases their work while celebrating all of the amazing sponsors that make this possible." Held during the pandemic, the art project included life-size deer models and Adirondack chairs placed throughout the main commercial streets of the community. A third community art project is to be announced, for 2022.

Wayne Tomorrow! recognized for work in community

Echoing their sentiment of resilience, guest speaker Kim Rickard from Wayne Tomorrow! told of the success of making partnerships throughout the region which strengthen the idea of community.

Rickard, whose title is Community Network Specialist, described Wayne Tomorrow! not as a separate entity but as an "eco-system," further explaining it as a way for the community to function together.

Wayne Tomorrow! works to engage the community by bringing people together who share a vision to improve the community as a whole.

According to Wayne County Commissioner Joe Adams, Wayne Tomorrow! started nine or 10 years ago by the board of commissioners, to "attract, retain and grow the opportunity for people to want to move their businesses here, move here, thrive hear, grow our economy as well as our quality of life." It has grown dramatically in the last few years, he said, with Rickard's assistance.

"We are extremely excited about the future of Wayne County and our entire area, and we are very, very pleased to have so many engaged people in our community trying to make this the place to live, to grow, to retire to, to bring your business and to recreate as well," Adams said.

"That's the main thing that Wayne Tomorrow! is about," Rickard said. "It's building relationships, connections and collaboration to move our county into a more vibrant future, which is already happening," Rickard said. Wayne Tomorrow! meets on the first Friday of the month. Those who attend are considered partners, she said; it is not a club, and they don't have memberships or a board of directors.

Wayne Tomorrow! has numerous task forces for the various community projects underway, such as: broadband internet service, agriculture education in schools, Project SEARCH and more. Agriculture Innovation Center, community hubs, dairy processing feasibility study, Emergency Food Relief Program, Newfoundland food pantry facility, Project SEARCH, solar array at the Stourbridge Project, Wayne Memorial Hospital Food Prescription Program, Wayne Pike Trails & Waterways Alliance and that Wayne Tomorrow! Fund.

The Emergency Food Relief Program came about during the height of the pandemic. A collaboration through Wayne Tomorrow! brought together partners to fill a need, she said. They plan to sustain the fund with a new name, the Wayne County Farms to Family Fund. With help from the Wayne County Community Foundation, she said the goal is to keep fresh produce in the Wayne County food pantry system.

The May Wayne Tomorrow! meeting was planned for Friday, May 6 at the Wayne County Fairgrounds during Wayne County Ag Day. The county's agriculture community scheduled exhibits for the public. Ag Day was formerly held on President's Day Weekend at Honesdale High School.

"Agriculture is one of the main economic drivers of this county still today," Rickard said. Wayne Tommorow! did a study to explore how to keep agriculture moving in Wayne County.

This year they plan to conduct a housing study, she said, noting the last one was done in 2004.

Another initiative is NeighborWorks Northeastern Pennsylvania Aging in Place, which aims to keep seniors wishing to stay in their home to be able to do so. She said this is a huge collaboration with this organization based in Lackawanna County, which received a federal grant to serve in Wayne County. Aging in Place will start this summer, she said; a specialist funded by the grant will visit the home and coordinate services designed to help the residents to continue to live there.

Community hubs in Hawley and beyond

Wayne Tomorrow! is working on a system of "community hubs" throughout Wayne County and is assisting with the Hawley Hub, 318 Main Avenue. A Wayne Tomorrow! task force helped organize community hubs in Hamlin and Newfoundland, and is planning to assist with another in the northern part of the county this spring.

"Something we learned from the pandemic is isolation and how that is a serious concern for all different ages," Rickard said. Hubs help communities use shared programming and help the community connect, both in person and by a virtual live-stream option.

The Community Hub Task Force is chaired by Mikki Uzupes, the digital specialist for the county as well as that of Wayne Tomorrow!, and Holly Prasnyski, who also serves as Executive Director of the Chamber of the Northern Poconos. The task force helps the different community hubs connect.

Justin Hoffman, organizer of The Hawley Hub, was the recipient that evening of the DHP's 2020 Individual Award, which was presented two years late due to the pause of DHP's annual spring meeting as a result of the pandemic.

The Hawley Hub was started by Hawley natives Justin and Alison Hoffman, who have created a multi-purpose space in the historic Murray building.

The Hub has an event space available for rent and a developing schedule of classes focused on the arts and self-enrichment. There are plans to use the Hub for after-school student activities. Hawley Farmers Market sets up inside during the months the market is not held in Bingham Park.

Black & Brass Coffee Roasting Co., based in Honesdale, is preparing to open their latest coffee shop at The Hawley Hub on Sunday, May 15.

Examples of service in the Hawley community

DHP first presented the slate of 2020 awards which had been designated before the spring 2020 Covid lockdown commenced, and then announced the slate of honorees for 2022. These awards presented by DHP reflect examples of nonprofit organizations, businesses and individuals who in different ways contribute to enhancing the quality of life of the community.

In addition to Individual Award which went to Justin Hoffman, the 2020 awards included the For-Profit Award, Kiley Associates, LLC; and the Non-Profit Award, Keep Hawley-Honesdale Beautiful.Kiley Associates, LLC Kiley Associates, LLC is an engineering firm based in Lakeville. Grant Gezlinger said the company has done much to assist with the local community trail project and river access at Hawley, done either pro bono or at "a ridiculously cheap rate."

Keep Hawley-Honesdale Beautiful (KHHB) is led by Michael J. Coppola. Coppola started out five years ago as a one-man effort to pick up unsightly litter in the Hawley area. He asked his friends over Facebook to join him but no one showed, so that first year he filled 14 bags of trash by himself along a quarter mile in three hours' time. With recruits the next time around they worked together on 10 miles of Route 6 from Hawley to Honesdale.

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He said it started to really blossom, adding more recruits and more miles every April. For Earth Day 2022, he said they had amassed a partnership of 36 groups covering 72 miles in a wide area of Wayne County and some Pike County roads, collecting 3,000 bags. They also pick up litter from the Lackawaxen River bank and at Lake Wallenpaupack.

"There's still several miles out there," Coppola said, inviting more people to join them.

2022 award honorees included: For-Profit, David R. Chant Realtors; and the Non-Profit: Wallenpaupack Our Kids Food Pantry. The Individual Award was postponed.

Davis R. Chant Realtors was founded in 1964 and includes the operation of five regional real estate office and one branch office that service the Hudson Valley of New York, Northern New Jersey and Northeaster Pennsylvania. Jeanne Genzlinger said Chant has been very generous with the community, assisting with various causes and activities.

Pete Helms, owner of the real estate company founded by Davis Chant, said that he and Chant enjoy giving back to the community.

Feeding 'Our Kids' in Wallenpaupack Area

While announcing the award given for Wallenpaupack Our Kids Food Pantry, Elain Herzog asked the audience to imagine a 13-year old traying to take a test while all the way he or she can think about is "the rumbling pains of hunger." Or it may be a 16-year old who is charged with taking care of two younger siblings and wondering where to get a sustainable meal over the weekend waiting for school to resume on Monday where they at least will be fed breakfast and lunch.

Approximately 60% of the Wallenpaupack students qualify for free or reduced school lunches due to their family income levels, Herzog noted.

"Whether we see it or not, every day in our community, children and families are struggling with hunger and even homelessness," Herzog said, adding this is a challenge at all of the local school districts.

RelatedWallenpaupack School District food pantry sees growing need

The Wallenpaupack pantry is championed by Teacher Assistant Rosemary Martynuk. She said she was hearing stories from students about not having enough to eat at home.

Martynuk began in 2018 with collecting Thanksgiving dinner boxes to give to anyone in the student body in need. She started a pantry at the high school.

Word got around, and donations have piled in, partnering with Second Harvest Food Bank and receiving help from churches, businesses and the general public. They now have a pantry in each of the school district's five schools.

Approximately 60% of the Wallenpaupack students qualify for free or reduced school lunches due to their family income levels.

Today, the pantry gives out special food boxes at Thanksgiving, Christmas and Easter, spending around $5,000 each time, Herzog said. This past March they distributed 254 bags of food to students who were in need. Martynuk and her assistants on staff manage the pantry while they are busy with regular work duties.

"It boggles my mind that in a year, we give well over a thousand bags of food." Martynuk said. She credited and thanked their many community supporters and donors in making it possible.

"Everything matters, and that's what makes great communities," Martynuk said. "It matters."

This article originally appeared on Tri-County Independent: DHP: Building partnerships for community recovery in Hawley