Press Release: SSIRP Awarded $500,000 State Grant to Restore Sherburne Inn

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

CONTACT:

Chris Hoffman, Vice President

Save the Sherburne Inn Restoration Project, Inc.

POB 1102

Sherburne, NY 13460

607-674-2279

cehoffman2009@twcny.rr.com

thesherburneinn.org

STATE AWARDS SSIRP $500,000 TO RESTORE HISTORIC SHERBURNE INN

[December 11, 2013 – Sherburne, NY]  On December 11, Save the Sherburne Inn Restoration Project (SSIRP) was awarded a $500,000 grant from the State of New York to restore the historic Sherburne Inn.  The grant was part of $81.9 million awarded to the Southern Tier Regional Economic Development Council, and part of $715.9 million awarded to the ten regional economic development councils across the state.  Of the 87 projects funded in the Southern Tier, only 22 received more funding than SSIRP.  A total of 8 funded projects are located in Chenango County.  

Kathleen Yasas, president of the SSIRP Board of Directors, was informed of the award by a call from Senator James Seward’s office.  “A little over a year ago we were all wondering how we were going to keep The Inn from being torn down" Ms. Yasas said.  "Today, I received a phone call telling me that the State of New York believes in our project to the tune of half a million dollars!  Needless to say, we are very excited. We have a long way to go, but this is a momentous first step.”

Conceptualized as an economic driver for the Village and Town of Sherburne, Chenango County, the Southern Tier, and New York State, SSIRP plans to reopen The Inn with sleeping rooms, event space, conference space, a farm-to-table restaurant and bar, a tavern, and retail space for such things as a bakery and coffee shop, a gift shop, and salon.  Temporary and permanent part- and full-time jobs will be created both during the restoration and after The Inn has been re-opened.  

The project coincides with several of the focal points of the State’s economic development priorities:  downtown revitalization, historic preservation, tourism, and local agriculture.  

For more information on The Sherburne Inn and SSIRP, visit www.sherburneinn.org. SSIRP is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization.

It's A Wonderful Life

There was no Jimmy Stewart. There was no basket full of cash spilled onto a table to get George Bailey out of trouble. And there was no little girl telling her daddy that every time a bell sounds an angel gets his wings. But there is no question that angels were close by on Friday night, when The Sherburne Inn opened its doors for the first time in more than decade to welcome over a hundred people to gather and celebrate the rebirth of an historic landmark.

Those of us at Save The Sherburne Inn Restoration Project have spent the past 14 months thinking, meeting, talking, planning, and convincing others that the future we see for The Sherburne Inn is a bright one. On December 6, 2013, not much convincing was needed. On Friday evening, SSIRP's first fundraiser was held at The Inn, a building that only months ago was slated for possible demolition. People from Sherburne and its surrounding communities walked through The Sherburne Inn's doors to see a holiday wonderland. White twinkle lights on a live Christmas tree, gold and silver balloons, crackling logs in the fireplace, white vases filled with pine; garland and candles and all manner of winter delights were only part of what made the evening so special. The displays of food were remarkable: cheeses and desserts, breads and meats, vegetables and fruits and wine and beer and fresh-brewed coffee. There were live and ticket auctions, with baskets and other items donated not only by local individuals, but by Chef Charlie Palmer, author Andy Straka, Nike, and The New York Knicks. The lights of The Inn glowed both inside and out, although those lights had great competition: the faces of guests glowed even more with the realization that The Sherburne Inn is in fact coming back to life. 

It seems that is should be easy enough to thank an entire community, especially one as small as Sherburne. We could take an ad out in the paper, I suppose, and say "Thank you!" Such an ad, though, cannot begin to express our true appreciation for what has transpired over the past few weeks in getting ready for the December 6 fundraiser, and indeed, for the months prior when donations of money and services and good will have poured in. There is the person from Long Island who has sent not one, not two, but three checks, the last arriving in a Christmas card where she wrote "Thank you for taking such good care of my hometown!" There is the lady from Maine who watches our progress in The Sherburne News and who has sent two checks with notes of glad tidings. There are the people who have donated time to cleaning the building, and decorating the building, and making sure the fireplace is working and the water is flowing. There are those who send notes of encouragement through the mail and on Facebook. Those who call to say "Keep up the good work!" There are the politicians who commend us, the historic preservation representatives who tell us we are an example for others who want to save important landmarks, the local contractors who are eager for us to start work, and the local farmers who wait with great anticipation for us to open a restaurant where food will be tasty and healthy and fine (and local). There is the graphic designer who donates his services, the webmaster who donates his, the auctioneer, the mason, the businessmen who all take time away from paid work to help us go forward. There are the "elves" who cleaned and decorated and moved furniture, volunteers who could have stayed home but instead showed up with mops and brooms and muscles. There are, in fact, too many people to thank with a simple newspaper ad. The outpouring of support has been beyond our wildest dreams because The Sherburne Inn is part of everyone's dream. We at SSIRP weren't sure of that in the beginning. We are sure of it now.

Someone, who it was I'm not sure, once referred to The Inn as "that pile of bricks on the corner." I hope that person drove by The Sherburne Inn on Friday night. What he or she would have seen was nothing short of a miracle: lights shining brightly through once-dark windows, people inside smiling and toasting, music and laughter and life, a revival of our rural culture. People of this wonderful community stepped up on Friday night and said "We believe!" They were there for us at SSIRP, for others who will someday dine and sleep and rejoice within the walls of a building that is anything but just "a pile of bricks;" they were there for themselves, making new memories in a place that guards and celebrates the memories of a century, a special place in the physical heart of Sherburne -- and in the emotional hearts of our townspeople -- that was almost lost. 

No, Jimmy Stewart wasn't there. But angels were most certainly all around, those who walked through The Sherburne Inn doors on Friday evening in support of this journey, and those whose spirits are still there, one hundred years later.

As guests drifted away on Friday night, gentle snowfall began decorating our village. It was the perfect ending to a perfect night, and the beginning of a wonderful new life for The Sherburne Inn.

Looks Like I'm in Trouble Now!

Per the email below, which I received on Saturday, it seems the FBI is planning to arrest me. This may be the funniest swindle yet. I guess the scammers are giving up on "Give us your personal information so we can transfer Prince Yaba Daba Doo's estate riches to your checking account" and are going instead for the "You're in trouble now, Missy!" angle.  This fellow is telling me -- in slightly less than the King's English -- that I'm going to lose all my property and will go to jail for life on money laundering, drug trafficking, and terrorism charges unless I send some guy in Nigeria $98, which apparently will clear the whole thing up. I've read this a couple of times and still can't quite figure out what I supposedly did to cause this dilemma for myself. Of course, the "fbi agent" is going to send a letter to the mayor so he can further yell at me and close my bank account prior to my arrest. Heads up Mr. Acee, hope you'll give me a call when the letter arrives.

Anti-Terrorist and Monetary Crimes Division
Fbi Headquarters In Washington, D.C.
Federal Bureau of Investigation
J. Edgar Hoover Building
935 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW Washington, D.C. 20535-0001 Website: www.fbi.gov

Attention, this is the final warning you are going to received from me do you get me?

I hope youre understand how many times this message has been sent to you?.

We have warned you so many times and you have decided to ignore our e-mails or because you believe we have not been instructed to get you arrested, and today if you fail to respond back to us with the payment then, we would first send a letter to the mayor of the city where you reside and direct them to close your bank account until you have been jailed and all your properties will be confiscated by the fbi. We would also send a letter to the company/agency that you are working for so they could get you fired until we are through with our investigations because a suspect is not suppose to be working for the government or any private organization.

Your id which we have in our database has been sent to all the crimes agencies in America for them to inset you in their website as an internet fraudsters and to warn people from having any deals with you. This would have been solved all this while if you had gotten the certificate signed, endorsed and stamped as you where instructed in the e-mail below you sent to us and am using this medium to inform you that there is no more time left to waste because you have been given from the 3rd of January. As stated earlier to have the document endorsed, signed and stamped without failure and you must adhere to this directives to avoid you blaming yourself at last when we must have arrested and jailed you for life and all your properties confiscated.

You failed to comply with our directives and that was the reason why we didn't hear from you on the 3rd as our director has already been notified about you get the process completed yesterday and right now the warrant of arrest has been signed against you and it will be carried out in the next 48hours as strictly signed by the fbi director. We have investigated and found out that you didn't have any idea when the fraudulent deal was committed with your information's/identity and right now if you id is placed on our website as a wanted person, i believe you know that it will be a shame to you and your entire family because after then it will be announce in all the local channels that you are wanted by the fbi. As a good Christian and a honest man, I decided to see how i could be of help to you because i would not be happy to see you end up in jail and all your properties confiscated all because your information's was used to carry out a fraudulent transactions, i called the efcc and they directed me to a private company who could help you get the process done and he stated that he will endorse, sign and stamp the document at the sum of $98.00 usd only and i believe this process is cheaper for you.

You need to do everything possible within today and tomorrow to get this process done because our director has called to inform me that the warrant of arrest has been signed against you and once it has been approved, then the arrest will be carried out, and from our investigations we learnt that you were the person that forwarded your identity to one imposter/fraudsters in Nigeria when he had a deal with you about the transfer of some illegal funds into your bank account which is valued at the sum of $10.500,000 usd.

I pleaded on your behalf so that this agency could give you till 11/30/2013 so that you could get this process done because i learnt that you were sent several e-mail without getting a response from you bear it in mind that this is the only way that i can be able to help you at this moment or you would have to face the law and its consequences once it has befall on you. You would make the payment through western union money transfer with the below details.

NAME: Uzoukwu Cletus
ADDRESS: Lagos Nigeria
TEXT QUESTION: For
ANSWER: You
AMOUNT: $98
SENDERS NAME: =======

Send the payment details to me which are senders name and address, mtcn number, text question and answer used and the amount sent. Make sure that you didn't hesitate making the payment down to the agency by today so that they could have the certificate endorsed, signed and stamped immediately without any further delay. After all this process has been carried out, then we would have to proceed to the bank for the transfer of your compensation funds which is valued at the sum of $10.500,000 usd which was suppose to have been transferred to you all this while.

Note/ all the crimes agencies have been contacted on this regards and we shall trace and arrest you if you disregard this instructions. You are given a grace today to make the payment for the document after which your failure to do that will attract a maximum arrest and finally you will be appearing in court for act of terrorism, money laundering and drug trafficking charges, so be warned not to try any thing funny because you are been watched.

Thanks for your co-operation.

Robert Mueller

 

Anti-Terrorist and Monetary Crimes Division

Fbi Headquarters In Washington, D.C.

Federal Bureau of Investigation

J. Edgar Hoover Building

935 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW Washington, D.C. 20535-0001 Website: www.fbi.gov





 

Duck & Cover to Pack & Run to Coffee Table Time

As a child who was in grade school in the 1960s, I am one of those in the generation who experienced  duck and cover rehearsals. Duck and Cover, which was taught to children from the 1950s to the early 1980s, was a suggested method of protecting oneself against the effects of a nuclear explosion. The idea was if a kid went under the desk upon seeing the first flash of a nuclear explosion, he or she would be protected from a soon-to-follow explosive wave that would blow in glass and other debris. Duck and cover probably wouldn't have done much to prevent exposure to radiation, but I guess the thinking was that if kids were flat on their faces on the floor, they would at least avoid getting jagged pieces of window in their eyes.

Anyway, that's the age in which I grew up: nuclear bombs and hiding under desks. September 11, 2001, brought fear and preparedness to a whole new generation, and jangled the memories of us under-the-desk kids. While I remember only vaguely my duck and cover activities, I recall with startling clarity how in the weeks after 9-11 I was driven to get a go-bag together. Decades had passed and here I was, now an adult, who had transformed from duck and cover to pack and run.

The other day I was rooting around in my downstairs guest bedroom and came across a tiny blue suitcase under the bed, the contents of which I had forgotten. Turns out it was my go-bag. When I lived on Long Island after 9-11, I felt I needed this important tool in the event of -- you'll excuse the expression -- shit hitting the fan in New York City (grid shutdown, biological warfare, another terrorist attack, whatever). Where I would have gone with go-bag in hand, of course, was Sherburne. Now that I'm in Sherburne full time, the go-bag became a forgotten item and ended up under an infrequently used bed. 

I felt a little like Pandora when I clicked open the suitcase. What would be in this bag? What paths had my rattled mind been traveling when I filled a small suitcase with items I might need when hearing about some pending or actual disaster, grabbing the bag, and hitting the road in a hurry? What had I considered to be essentials for my five-hour trip north to central New York?

Here's what was inside:

-Box of Band-Aids

-Tube of Neosporin ointment

-Bar of soap

-Tiny tube of hand lotion I got once in an airplane give-away pouch

-Collapsable cup

-Six tea bags

-Packet of decaf coffee I apparently stole from a Radisson Hotel

-Sample packet of cappuccino I got from a promotional vendor 

-Flashlight with no batteries

-Folding hairbrush

-Tiny Phillips-head screwdriver

-Packet of tissues

-Two cellophane-wrapped toothbrushes and two really tiny tubes of toothpaste

-Tic Tacs

-Pen

-Lighter

-Pack of cigarettes

-Three books of matches, one of which was from Sherburne's Honky-Tonk Saloon

-Two candles, one taper and one tea-light

-Candlestick

-Roll of Scotch tape

-Pair of contact lenses

-Sudafed

-Aspirin

-Several packets of expired Vioxx (a drug now discontinued, and the only product that ever helped my periodic back pain)

-Razor (not for box cutting, for leg shaving)

-Box of rice

-Small (and I do mean small) copper pan

-Green magic marker

-Deck of cards

Rattled mind is right. WHAT was I imagining? Clearly I was worried about armageddon bad breath with two toothbrushes and Tic Tacs packed. And of course, when global meltdown occurs we ladies want to be sure our gams are smooth. Six tea bags? Okay, I suppose a person could drink six cups of tea in five hours, but where did I think I was going to get the hot water from? Oh that's right. I had the tiny copper pan. Maybe I was imagining that I would, for some reason, be unable to make it to Sherburne and would have to spend the night camped out by the side of the road (or more helpfully, by the side of a stream). So there I would be, sitting around a campfire by candlelight cooking rice, drinking cappuccino out of a collapsable cup, smoking cigarettes, popping Vioxx, and playing Solitaire. Later I suppose I planned to scrawl "Farewell!" on a bridge abutment with the magic marker before climbing back in the car for the final leg of the trip.

The go-bag has now been dismantled as I have no where to go but where I am. Should I get word that the world has melted down, I'll be sitting in front of my fireplace drinking wine from a crystal glass, slippered feet on the coffee table. I will ponder the age-old questions: man, woman, birth, death, infinity, and hope I survive. If I don't, I don't. I will not be chewing Tic Tacs, will not be brushing my teeth nor writing final notes on concrete. I will not be dealing cards. And I guarantee: the least of my worries will be hairy legs.

SSIRP Hires Preservation Architects Crawford & Stearns

Press Release

November 6, 2013, Sherburne, New York: Save The Sherburne Inn Restoration Project, Inc. (SSIRP), the nonprofit organization formed in January to save the historic Sherburne Inn, announced today that it has retained preservation architects Crawford & Stearns, of Syracuse (crawfordstearns.com).

It was a challenging decision," SSIRP President Kathleen Yasas said. "We received bids from four architectural firms and all presented outstanding services. In the end, however, the SSIRP board felt that Crawford & Stearns was the best fit."

Crawford & Stearns, founded in 1979, focuses on preservation of architecturally, historically, and culturally significant resources. The firm's expertise is vast, and includes main street and downtown revitalization programs and local landmark preservation.

Architect and partner Randy Crawford, with whom SSIRP will be working closely, is a licensed architect with an advanced degree in the history of architecture. He is qualified under Federal 36 CFR requirements to practice architecture, architectural history, and historic architecture, and has been in private practice for over 35 years. His principal expertise and experience lie in the areas of historic preservation planning and design review, small town revitalization, and commercial revitalization with a particular emphasis on the sympathetic adaptive reuse of historic properties. Mr. Crawford is a frequent speaker on various aspects of historic preservation and has served on the boards of several professional, private, and public boards including the Preservation League of New York State, the Regional Council of Historical Agencies, and the New York Chapter of the Association for Preservation Technology.

"We're thrilled to be working with SSIRP on restoring The Sherburne Inn," Mr. Crawford said. "We think SSIRP's vision is great for the community. This building is an important local landmark, and we at Crawford & Stearns feel its rehabilitation will help revitalize the entire region."

Successful projects require accurate on-site investigation and documentation, the sensitive accommodations of applicable building codes and life safety standards, the incorporation of specific spatial and programmatic needs established by those using the building as well as by various funding and regulatory agencies, the incorporation of environmentally responsible and sustainable design principles, provisions for handicapped accessibility, and an awareness of the physical limitations inherent with an existing structure, as well as the appropriate treatment of historically and architecturally significant features. Crawford & Stearns' partners and senior staff have actively pursued advanced studies in both academic and practical applications and are associated with professional organizations committed to these principles.

"We're looking forward to kicking off the planning stage of this project and working with C/S to bring back a commercial establishment that means so much to our village, "Ms. Yasas said. "SSIRP's goal is not only to save an historic landmark, but to encourage economic development in Sherburne."

The Sherburne Inn, which opened its doors for the first time in 1917 as a hotel and restaurant, has been a mainstay on Sherburne's anchor corner for almost 100 years. In late 2012, the building was threatened by demolition when a chain store proposed to buy The Inn and an adjacent historic building, tear both down, and erect in their place an all-night convenience shop and gas station. SSIRP negotiated an alternative plan with then-owner and local businessman Jim Webb, and purchased The Inn on April 25, 2013.

Good (and haunted) Times At The Earlville Opera House

I just adore Halloween. As a kid I loved dressing up as a witch or a ghost on this one day a year and heading out to trick-or-treat. Maybe I should have been an actress, so much do I get into the taking on of a different persona from the one I have 364 other days. I admit, I may have carried on a bit too much in my teens without benefit of costume, running around the park throwing eggs at classmates and getting squirted with chocolate syrup. We didn't vandalize, didn't steal pumpkins, didn't really cause any trouble. I suspect adults back then peered out windows and wondered if we would misbehave in a big way. We didn't. We just had fun, after which I went home late and washed eggshells out of my hair, the only victim of my night's events being a ruined pair of Hershey's- and yolk-soaked suede shoes.

Now I'm sort of old. Not exactly old, but...you know...older. Ah, but only older chronologically. My little Halloween heart remains young: I still like dressing up, although I admit eggs and chocolate are no longer in favor. And this year I got my Halloween fix early, at The Earlville Opera House.

For those of you who don't know (and who should mark it down on your calendar for next year), the wonderful opera house sponsors an annual haunted house night, free of charge. Dodie Page, of Black Cat Antiques in Earlville, and opera house executive director Patti Lockwood-Blais, put together a delightfully haunted evening at the opera house every Halloween. Last Saturday I was invited to participate as one of the volunteer ghouls. I couldn't wait...could...not...wait...and when Saturday afternoon rolled around I was in front of my mirror, globbing on black make-up and fluffing the wonderful ghastly hilarious horrible long black wig that I reserve for such occasions. There were still plastic spiders in the wig from last year, which of course I left in place. I smeared on blood-red lipstick, donned pointed shoes, selected one of the many masks that I keep in my special Halloween trunk, and roared off to Earlville, where I spent several spook-filled hours trying my best to scare the wits out of kids and adults alike.

Dodie and Patti deserve high praise. The historic opera house -- complete with skeletal piano players and eerie organ music and graveyard scenes -- did not disappoint. I was stationed in "the wedding reception" room, where table displays included nuptial treats like severed hands and rodent hors d'oeuvres.  I drifted among ghostly manikins, freezing when kids and teens and parents arrived, causing them to wonder if I was fake or real, and ultimately reaching out to touch an arm belonging to someone who shrieked in surprise. A few children ran away, wailing and strangely delighted. One young fellow, enjoying the festivities so much, kept going round and round, finally admitting that he'd traveled from lower floor to upper 21 times. Breaking character, I asked him, "WHY are you here again??" He said, "This is fantastic! This is so much fun!! I want to volunteer as an actor next year!!!"

Good for you, kid. And good for Dodie and Patti and all the other adults who showed up in costume. This is exactly what we want, for kids to participate in good clean fun.

How many times, I wonder, have I said that I love a city life? This life, however -- this rural life -- is so much more rewarding. Putting on a black wig and shuffling off to a place where people work hard to thrill some kids on Halloween. For free. Oh sure, there was a donation box, but that wasn't really the point. The point was to open doors to a fabulous, historic building that the rest of the year features art and music, a place where people spend weeks in October setting up scary creepy scenes to thrill and delight families, to make memories for children who will look back someday and remember The Earlville Opera House and say, "Wow, that was something really special." 

Both Patti and Dodie called me today and thanked me for showing up. Ladies, it was my pleasure. And please, put me on the list of October 2014.

I'm looking forward to seeing that 21-time kid next year. He got it, like I did 40+ years ago. Halloween isn't about stealing pumpkins or causing trouble. It's about good clean (scary) fun. Is that corny? Maybe. Probably. And so what? In my book, corny is a good thing. A fine and wholesome thing. In fact, in these strange days of violence and arguing and destruction, I'll take take fine and wholesome and corny all day long.

Kudos to The Earlville Opera House, and to all its volunteers. Thank you for taking time away from your regular lives just to give our kids such a good time.

The Sherburne Inn: One Year Down

A year ago yesterday, there was a very good chance that The Sherburne Inn, the century-old landmark located in the heart of Sherburne's downtown historic district, would be torn down and replaced by a convenience store and gas station. Twenty-four hours later -- a year ago today -- Save The Sherburne Inn Restoration Project signed a purchase agreement to buy the building.

It's been quite a year.

In just 12 months, SSIRP has:

- confirmed that The Sherburne Inn is listed on the National Register of Historic Places;
- incorporated as a nonprofit, and received nonprofit status, thereby allowing individuals and corporations tax deductible contributions to saving The Inn;
- formed a nine-member volunteer board of directors;
- secured legal and financial counsel;
- raised $165,000 to buy The Inn, purchase of which was finalized on April 25;
- launched a community fundraising campaign that raised more than $25,000;
- launched a website (thesherburneinn.org) and a Facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/SaveTheSherburneInnRestorationProject);
- applied for, and received, a $50,000 grant from the Howard K. Finch Memorial Fund;
- applied for other grants, both local and state, results of which are pending;
- received dozens of letters of support from local, regional, and state politicians, from area business leaders, and from individuals in the community;
- met with Senator James Seward, who toured the building and commended our vision and our progress;
- been recognized by The National Trust for Historic Preservation on its blog, Preservation Nation http://blog.preservationnation.org/2013/04/10/the-sherburne-inn-how-one-community-is-keeping-a-local-landmark-alive/; The National Trust intends to follow our progress, possibly in the nationally distributed publication, Preservation, going forward. The National Trust also advised that SSIRP is doing what The Trust encourages all citizens to do when historic treasures are threatened -- that is, rise up and take action;
- presented its vision to area businesses, service organizations, and village and town representatives;
- produced a video about the project, with the help of the Chenango County Chamber of Commerce and Krazed Kat Media;
- launched an Indiegogo Internet fundraising campaign http://www.indiegogo.com/projects/save-the-sherburne-inn-restoration-project/x/3945800; (the campaign ends today);
- been featured on Mohawk Valley Living http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E7RNi3k7QB0&feature=youtu.be&t=11m27s

SSIRP also has a sister organization, The INNsiders, which is collecting oral and written history about The Inn, with plans to publish. If you have a special memory about The Inn and would like to have it included with other INNsider memories, please visit our website and share your story.

These are the highlights of the last year, and we hope to have some exciting announcements in the coming months with regard to fundraising, professional consultants, and potential affiliations. As I've said to many people, SSIRP may have appeared quiet; but we've been very busy behind the scenes building a solid foundation for this project. It is a step-by-step process, and the correct steps take time.

Small towns are wonderful in many ways. In other ways, however, they are...challenging. Unfounded rumors tend to circulate, and diner talk is bountiful. SSIRP board members have elected to ignore most of the rumors because, quite frankly, we're just too busy to worry about them. However, there is one rumor that requires clarification, so allow me to put it to rest once and for all: no matter what you may have heard, SSIRP is paying taxes on the building. Taxes are part of our operating budget, as are costs for insurance and utilities. Bear in mind as well that grant funding cannot be used for operating costs, making donations from businesses and individuals vital to keeping this train on the track.

To all of you who have supported us over the last year financially, as volunteers, and as our "cheerleaders," thank you! And to those who are still on the fence about our bringing back The Sherburne Inn, we hope to change your minds as work on the building begins, and the next year rolls out.

Sherburne is a wonderful community, and this is a wonderful community project. It's been a long, sometimes hard, and frequently remarkable year. We feel the best is yet to come.