Annual Event Draws Hundreds of Participants

Fairport, NY— Spring is here and once again the Village of Fairport will be participating in the state-wide Canal Clean Sweep event. This year’s event, to be held locally on Saturday April 21, from 9am – 12 noon, will again focus on cleaning up public spaces throughout the central business and canal districts of the village. It is sponsored by the Fairport Partnership for a Better Community, the Fairport Perinton Merchants Association and the Village of Fairport.

Each year, scores of volunteers from civic and youth groups, to individuals aged 4 to 84, come together to participate. Volunteer service organizations, couples, families and individuals also participate as many village merchants power wash, sweep, and clean their storefronts, sidewalks and landscapes. Hundreds of bags of trash are collected.

“We’re hoping for another great turn out again this year.” said Scott Winner, Executive Director of the Fairport Partnership for a Better Community, coordinator of the event. “We’d love to see all who’ve participated in previous years come back and bring a friend or two with them.” Event coordinators are Winner and Fairport Perinton Merchant’s Association President Kim Guida.

Those individuals and groups interested in participating in Canal Clean Sweep 2012 can contact organizers at info@fairportpartnership.org or 377-6010. Participants are asked to gather canal side at the Box Factory Pavilion beginning at 8:30 am the day of the event and to bring rakes, push brooms, flat-shovels and work gloves. Water, coffee and donuts will be available as will free pizza after the morning’s work is done. A limited number of event t-shirts will be raffled off to those who participated.

Below is the full-page ad for Fairport that will run in the Great Race 2012 Program.

We believe that the Great Race target audience fits Fairport’s visitor profile demographically and geographically and are excited to have a presence with them. The ad should serve to generate interest and heighten the expectations of racers and fans alike as they race their way to our community.

We thank Sherri Baker of Daisy Face Design and the Mirus Group for donating her design talents to make this happen.

We also thank Great Race Chairman, Jeff Stumb, for his assistance.

The Fairport Partnership is purchasing a half-page upgrade to secure this full-page placement. We are pleased to be able to do this as part of our economic development mission in the greater Fairport community.

Join us as we wish the very best to Fairport’s own Howard and Doug Sharp as they defend their 2011 title in this year’s race.

Sincerely

Scott Winner, Executive Director

O – 585-377-6010

scott@fairportpartnership.org

Cinco de Mayo 2012

A full rebroadcast of the Village Board meeting will air tomorrow, Wednesday March 14th at both 12:00pm noon and 8:00pm on local cable Channel 15.  The partnership is the second new business presentation on the agenda.

Fairport Partnership Village Board Presentation March 12, 2012

Celtic art show opens in Fairport on Friday, March 9
Source: fairport-erpost.com

This Friday marks the opening of the American Celtic Art Show in Fairport. The show features the work of eight artists including Steve O’Loughlin, Cynthia Matyi, Patrick Gallagher, Jen Delyth, Michael Carroll, Lisa Laughy, Alec MacCrea and Ed Rooney, whose work combines traditional elements of Celtic art with contemporary styles.

Keith’s serene image of Fairport’s Harbor graces the front cover and another image, this of the Town of Perinton’s brand-new docking facilities in Bushnell’s Basin, can be found on page three of the report. Kudos to Keith on his achievement. We are grateful for his ability to so artfully capture the essence of our wonderful community.

Below is a press release that announces the dawn of a new era in the Fairport Partnership. It provides information not only about the transformation that has taken place over the last several months, but also announces the formation of the new Fairport Foundation.

This is an important initial step in announcing ourselves to the outside world and is the first of many more announcements to come that will provide details on the activities of both organizations.

We have completed a difficult transition and we’re now on our way to a new, exciting period of growth and successful endeavor.

Gian-Paul Piane

President

Fairport Partnership for a Better Community

Fairport Partnership Announces Restructuring,

Creation of New Foundation

The Fairport Village Partnership, recognized throughout New York State as a leading Main Street economic development agency, has become an independent not-for-profit corporation known as the Fairport Partnership for a Better Community.  The change is effective immediately.

Also created is a not-for-profit Fairport Foundation, which will serve as a fundraising organization for the Partnership and its many community projects.  The foundation has applied for IRS 501(c)3 status so that donors may realize a tax benefit from their charitable giving.  Any number of funds may be established under the Foundation umbrella if they fit within the mission of the organization.

At the first Inaugural Annul Meeting for the Fairport Foundation held Jan. 9. 2011, directors elected officers. The voting resulted in Dale Davis, president; Val Wilcox, vice president; Bob Hunt, secretary; Clark King, treasurer; at large members included Lowell Twitchell and Scott Winner.

According to Fairport Partnership President Gian Paul Piane, creation of the new entities had been in the planning stage for more than a year, but the process was accelerated several months ago when circumstances forced the Fairport Industrial Development Agency (IDA) to withdraw funding from the Partnership.  Together, the two new organizations are meant to supplant the funding and operational services that had been provided by the IDA.

Piane emphasized that the Fairport-Perinton Merchants Association, the Village of Fairport, and the Fairport Municipal Commission – all original funding partners – have pledged continuing support for the Partnership.

“We believe incorporation of the Partnership, with the backing of the Fairport Foundation, creates a great opportunity for us to expand our initiatives and to build on our reputation for community-based economic development,” Piane said.

“Since its inception in 2000, the Partnership has contributed immeasurably to the vitality of the community and, in turn, the quality of life of Fairport and Perinton residents,” said Fairport Mayor Fritz May.  “This restructuring allows those good efforts to go forward, and the Foundation opens new avenues for support.”

More than 70 Fairport and Perinton residents serve as volunteers on various standing committees of the Partnership, meeting monthly to focus on areas of local economic development including design, outreach, promotions and economic restructuring. Hundreds more volunteers participate in Partnership projects and events, including members of the Fairport Rotary Club, Perinton Historical Society, and Fairport-Perinton Merchants Association.

Mayor Fritz May (center) receives a $500 check from Fairport Perinton Merchants Association Treasurer Wayne Beckwith, and FPMA Secretary Mike Miller as FPMA President Kim Guida looks on. The funds are used to pay for the annual Christmas Party for all Village of Fairport employees.

Fairport Merchants Give Back to Community-Again.

FPMA donations, sponsorships, exceed $30,000 in 2011.

Fairport, NY— It’s the season for giving, and at their November meeting the Fairport Perinton Merchants Association once again showed they are filled with the community spirit. In what has become an annual rite of charity, the FPMA gave donations to many of Fairport’s, and the regions, most worthy causes.

This year’s recipients of cash donations included Safe Journey, Juvenile Diabetes Foundation, Fairport Perinton Dollars for Scholars, Perinton Food Shelf, Senior Options for Independence, Fairport Fire Department, Fairport Fire Department Band, Mercy Flight Central, Perinton Historical Society, Fairport Rotary, and even the Village of Fairport.

“As merchants, we recognize our responsibility to give back to the community that supports us everyday. It’s a responsibility we take very seriously.” said FPMA President Kimberly Guida. “As affluent as our community is there are still those organizations that need help providing services to individuals in need. We are committed to helping wherever we can.”

The FPMA has donated over $200,000 in cash contributions to local charities over the last 35 years. Additionally, the FPMA annually produces Scarecrow Festival and Come Home for the Holidays events and the summer-long Cruz Nites every Tuesday. June –September.  The FPMA also purchases materials related to the annual installation and maintenance of the ice skating rink at Fairport Junction.

It also contributes to the beautification of the village, purchasing hanging flower baskets in the spring and holiday decorations used to beautify Kennelley Park and the wreaths hung throughout the central business district of the village.

And, the FPMA is currently the majority funding partner contributing to the annual operating budget of the Fairport Partnership, the village’s 12 year-old Main Street economic development organization.

The FPMA’s signature event, Fairport Canal Days Arts Festival, is one of the largest two-day arts festivals in the northeast, drawing over 200,000 people to the picturesque village on the first weekend of June each year. The festival is the only one of its kind produced solely on volunteer basis. Proceeds are used to help fund FPMA marketing activities and are reinvested in the community in support of local charities and not-for-profit- agencies.