A Message From Our Community of Lebanon Association President

Greetings CLA Members, Alpha and Omega marks the beginning of 2015 and the end of 2014. This is an exciting time for the CLA! For this edition of the newsletter, we have the unique opportunity to shift our focus ahead to new goals, the bright future and the possibility of opportunities for change. My comments to you in the November newsletter focused on what we did, where we were and what we accomplished in 2014.

I am pleased to have the opportunity to serve again as your President for 2015. My time with the CLA started in 2007, when I first joined the Board. Soon after becoming involved in the CLA, I started serving on the government relations committee, attended other meetings and events, and then accepted the nomination to serve as the vice president for three years.

As I think back to my initial introduction to the CLA, I remember thinking about all the wonderful things the CLA and its members do for the community. The strategic planning process we undertook last year redefined our mission and vision, which really set the stage for our initiatives and program of work for 2015. As a result of working with our consultant, Kate Gallagher of coLab, we streamlined the number of board members, rewrote the bylaws to allow us to be responsive to the members we serve and proposed events that will provide value to attendees, serving both the membership and the public who attend our events.

Vision – For the Community of Lebanon to be a thriving place to live, work, shop, learn and do business. Mission – To serve as the leader in bringing together the collaborative strengths of our members and community to positively impact the business climate and enhance the quality of life for the Community of Lebanon.

The Strategic Priorities we identified during the strategic planning process that have been initiated or completed are:

COMMUNITY OUTREACH • New website • Sharing our mission • A speakers’ circuit with community organizations telling the CLA story

MEMBERSHIP • Identify reasons members do not renew their investment • Focus more effort on the business community

DOWNTOWN IMPROVEMENT & PR INITIATIVES • Help change perceptions of downtown through beautification efforts • Hold events that attract other folks from different communities

STRATEGIC FUNDRAISING • Apply for grants • Get support from the tourism bureau to promote the downtown

Again this year, the CLA Board is comprised of awesome, talented and dedicated members who will help lead, empower change and support growth for the communities and members we serve. I am proud of the work they do and invite you to get more involved in this wonderful organization.

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A Message From Our Community of Lebanon Association President

As I ponder my first year as the president of the CLA, I find myself feeling lucky and fortunate to work with 24 awesome and dedicated board members who without a second thought volunteer so much time to this organization to ensure our mission is met. Collectively, the board members log thousands of hours of community service along with our other event and committee volunteers.

The trust that was placed in me to lead the organization was exciting and inspiring at the same time. This was especially manifested during the strategic planning process—opening the organization up to opportunities, yet at the same time recognizing the bedrock of who we are. Kate Gallagher of CoLab led our planning session and visited with us back three times to guide the board through the activities and tasks needed to finalize our living document. A summary of the strategic priorities that was developed as a result of the strategic planning session is now available on our new web site. And, that’s a great place to start our year in review.

Our accomplishments include: 1) New Website (developed by a local organization, Fresh Creative) www.lebanonpa.com 2) Analyzed our events and determined those that are important to our mission and vision 3) Completed the Hometown Heroes Banner project and started new campaign of CLA Event Banners 4) Retargeted the Jazz Festival to a Music Festival with 30 craft brews 5) Updated our Annual Event to a Gala while maintaining the spirit of the event by awarding the business person of the year and the Lester Leffler Community Service Award 6) Sign project welcoming visitors and residents alike to Lebanon on all four gateways to the City 7) Combined the Spring and Fall Craft Shows into one to be held in the Spring 2015 with a jury process to qualify vendors as true crafters (items must be handmade); although there will be an area for our members who wish to have a stand.

Would you like a stronger relationship with the CLA through your membership investment? I encourage you to get involved by attending one of our four luncheons which provide networking opportunities and the time to connect with other community members. Or, perhaps you are thinking about volunteering for one of our events which draw hundreds or thousands of people to the downtown. For the music festival alone, 90 volunteers on the day of the event to ensure our guests enjoyed the day. Or, perhaps you like the idea of committee work; we can always use people’s talents who have an interest in what we do.

While I am sure the CLA and other community associations around the state will face many challenges in the near Continued on Page 7

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A Message From Our Community of Lebanon Association President

Dear CLA Members, In planning my thoughts for this newsletter, I wanted to focus on celebrating the CLA and its members as we have much to celebrate. MerriamWebster defines celebrate as “to praise, to perform, to honor or to observe” something special or enjoyable. This definition perfectly captures what the CLA accomplishes with and for the Lebanon community.

On June 14, we observed the Flag Day holiday in conjunction with the Elks, with a ceremony at Fisher Park. A history of the flag was presented involving our servicemen and also a discussion on the meaning of freedom and liberty.

The unveiling of the Eastern Gateway sign, welcoming visitors and residents to Lebanon occurred on July 7 where we recognized and praised those people involved with the project. Our thanks goes out to Kathy Bishop and the Bishop Foundation for their generous contribution, building on the initial gift years ago from the Foundation that supported the Western gateway signs. In addition, the County Commissioners supported the project through a grant from the hotel tax fund. The other partners assisting with this project were Boyer Signs, Stony Bridge Landscaping, and Hockley and Associates. Without a place to display the sign, this project would not have come to fruition, so we thank the Ray Herb, Jr. family for allowing the CLA to place the sign on their property. (See article on page 6)

The Motorcycle Show was held in downtown Lebanon on Saturday, July 12, with a dunking booth, Hog (hot dog) eating contest and music. Despite the light rain for a short period of time, attendees were able to ooh and ahh over the motorcycles and vote for their favorite bike.

On Sunday, August 17 the Car Show was held downtown. Once again, rain till midmorning kept some car owners away. Despite the weather, over 150 cars were on display.

We round out the summer/ early fall events with the Fall Craft Show and the Music Festival, (September 27) which promises to once again be a wonderful day.

It is impossible to celebrate and recognize every single person who contributes in some way to the CLA’s program of work to make Lebanon the place to live, work, shop, learn, and do business. So, for every member or person who has attended or supported CLA events, the board thanks and celebrates you. Together we positively impact the business climate and the quality of life for the Lebanon Community, which is our very mission.

I hope you had the opportunity to attend (or will attend) one of these events to reconnect with CLA members, renew your sense of pride of our Lebanon Community, and rediscover our local businesses who focus on serving local needs.

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