SRAC Sponsors a Hole at DJ's!

Joel Sarta at Dj's Golf Center in Chemung offered SRAC a "hole" at their putt putt golf area to represent us this summer while families visit and enjoy the golf course. While he offered this for free to us as a nonprofit, it still meant that we were tasked with figuring out what to make and how to make it. I recall a board meeting where ALOT of great IDEAS came out, like 4 feet tall woolly mammoths and so on, and we settled on an arrowhead. But as with many short staffed nonprofits, when I asked who we had that could make it, the room went quiet. So then I made some phone calls and even called Peter Quilles who did our woolly mammoth - to no avail...

But if you know us - you know that when we decide to do something - that we will get it done one way or another - and this project was no exception...

This summer we were blessed with getting a couple of college kids who requested to work at SRAC for the summer - and I can tell you that one actually showed up and to my surprise 1 - really wanted to volunteer and 2- learn from SRAC this summer. Hannah Chelsey is originally from Washington state and has lived between her divorced parents since the age of three, literally living all over the country in her 19 years. So unlike many kids, her life taught her many skills that I didn't have at that age including how to make friends pretty fast anywhere she goes. In fact from the first day she came in - she seemed as though she had been with us forever! She currently is a St. Bonaventure at the Cuba, NY campus and majoring in Art History. More impressively to me, she is a mature 19 year old who has volunteered at SRAC just about every day SRAC has been open and done any and all tasks that we have asked of her with a "Sure - I can do it!" attitude...including doing tours and of course - designing and fabricating an SRAC putt putt piece...!

She actually went to Lowes and talked with them about how to make her design into a working piece and then worked for a few weeks in our cellar sculpting and creating and painting the final piece. Just last week, Tom Vallilee helped deliver it to the golf course:

Hannah Chelsy - 2013 SRAC intern

As the summer winds down and the next school year is closing in on us I want to thank Hannah for taking it upon herself to email me last spring and asking me if she could volunteer this summer... I am so glad that she did, as everyone at SRAC is, because she is now part of our family - and even expects to volunteer on Saturdays when her school allows during the school year.

As I sit here typing this I am reminded of how SRAC has touched so many people of all ages over the years, and in return, touched us as well - and THAT is the true magic of SRAC - I like to say it that we built a place where we can do good things and good things can happen.