Presque Isle Community Spirit Day, May 19: Put It On Your Calendar!

Have you noticed some housecleaning being done around town recently? Many thanks to the City of Presque Isle for working hard to sweep and wash our Main Street. Tom Stevens, Presque Isle’s city manager, has informed us that the benches have been painted and are ready to be placed downtown, and the trashcans are ready, as well. We are on our way to sweeping winter right out of town!
    Saturday, May 19 from 8 a.m. to noon will be an opportunity for you to help our Star City shine during Presque Isle’s Community Spirit Day. Community Spirit Day is your chance to get out and help us clean and re-energize Presque Isle’s Main Street. There are several projects you can work on at the outdoor pool, downtown or at Riverside Park, so take your pick. The main thing is for you to get out and help. Call 764-2545 or e-mail pirec@maine.rr.com to sign up. Please try to sign up by May 16, so we can have enough supplies on hand.
There are several bonuses to participating in this event. It is an awesome opportunity for you and your family to have quality time together. You could even make it a day. Start the day by getting up at a reasonable time and eating breakfast as a family at one of the great eating establishments downtown that provide a tasty breakfast for a fair price. Afterwards, you and your family can have fun together as you rake, paint, clear brush, or do whatever needs to be done on the Community Spirit Day projects. End the morning with a free lunch. The Presque Isle City Council will be cooking and serving hot dogs, soda, chips and cake at Riverside Park for all the volunteers. This is also a way for you to teach your children about volunteerism, community spirit and pride, and the importance of “giving back” to their community.
Businesses can participate as groups, as well. It is a great opportunity for local businesses to give to the community that supports them. It also helps businesses understand what the people in the community need and appreciate. It’s a chance for businesses to intermingle with their customers and take their public relations to a new high!
Local groups such as (but not limited to) service and church organizations, high school clubs, scout troops, and college students are encouraged to participate. What a chance for you to get to know your community and provide a service that will be very noticeable this summer. It will make the community feel proud when they go down Main Street, or when someone from out-of-town comments what a nice clean, attractive community we have.
Remember, our town represents us.
According to Jennifer Trombley, city council member, Community Spirit Day has been around for a long time. Sponsored by the City Council and Presque Isle Area Chamber of Commerce, it had been a well-attended event in the past. However, as time passed, it fizzled out and the different structure of this year’s Community Spirit Day is an attempt to restore the energy in this community event. The City Council has teamed up with the Presque Isle Area Chamber of Commerce and the Recreation Department to revive the project by creating specific projects such as washing buildings, trimming hedges and painting doors.
“We are hoping to get at least 100 volunteers to make this happen. It will be great if it takes off this year,” states Trombley. “If we have a good turnout and volunteers are willing to commit for another year, we can plan bigger projects for next year. We would like to have something at the end of the day as a symbol of our community spirit, so people can see it year-round and know they made a difference.”
Please don’t let apathy hold you back from participating in Community Spirit Day. Our city needs you to help it shine again. Get out and get the chance to talk with your neighbors or perhaps visit with people you haven’t seen for a while as you work side-by-side. Get the chance to get to know your children better and share a fun experience together. Get the chance to know your co-workers on a less formal basis. Get the chance to do something for your community. Whatever the reason, please get out and help us revitalize downtown Presque Isle.
Just a note on a totally different subject – with summer almost here, the articles written by the Presque Isle Downtown Revitalization Committee will be published in The Star-Herald every two weeks instead of being published weekly. We want to be working hard to help make Main Street more beautiful for you, so we will cut back just a little for the summer. Thanks for your understanding.
You can get more information about the Presque Isle Downtown Revitalization Committee or join us by calling Sandy Gauvin (764-0876), Cathy Beaulieu at Wilder’s Jewelry Store (764-0309) or Patty LeBlanc (769-7731), or you can contact us through the contact information listed below. We meet at the Presque Isle Area Chamber of Commerce on the Houlton Road at 7:30 a.m. on the first and third Thursdays of each month.
Please write us with your thoughts and opinions. It’s your city and we need your input. You can write us at: The Presque Isle Downtown Revitalization Committee, 411 Main St., Presque Isle, ME 04769, or you can e-mail us at pidrc@yahoo.com.
The Presque Isle Downtown Revitalization Committee is
an ad hoc committee of the Presque Isle City Council