Outgoing Pride President John Bartlett cuts a celebratory cake with incoming president Stuart Baker.
TICONDEROGA | Pride of Ticonderoga held its annual members meeting last week, reflecting on the year’s successes and challenges and outlining plans for the future.
The members also bid a warm farewell to outgoing President John Bartlett, who is stepping down after seven years. His position will be filled by former vice president Stuart Baker. The group of about 30 members shared a laugh at the suggestion that Bartlett — known as a tireless worker and champion of the local school backpack program that helps feed needy children — will now be able to sit back and relax.
“I’m hoping for all the best for Pride, and I’m sure the new leadership will be great,” Bartlett said.
Pride was established in 1984 to help channel state funds toward housing restoration, downtown revitalization, historic preservation, and community development programs.
Executive Director Maria Tedford said the organization has written $10 million worth of grants, including about $700,000 this year for home restoration and replacement. New this year is a program for low-income residents that replaces manufactured housing that is beyond repair.
“The state has recognized that there is a huge stock of manufactured housing that is dilapidated,” she said. The program removes old manufactured homes that have become unsafe eyesores, performs site work, and replaces them with new mobile homes. Four such homes will be replaced this year.
“I was overwhelmed with the people looking for this kind of assistance,” Tedford said.
While the home restoration and replacement programs have been highly successful, Tedford said downtown revitalization had been a tougher challenge because businesses that are interested in participating are not connected by, for example one big block, as is traditional in such projects. Tedford said Pride is working on a proposal that would provide assistance to noncontiguous businesses.
The organization is also trying to light a fire under a project that has been talked about for some time — a working, historically accurate sawmill along the LaChute River. “It would meld local history with new economic endeavors,” Tedford said. The sawmill would also be a complementary venue to Fort Ticonderoga, a popular tourist draw.
But along with the old, Pride is also keeping an eye on the new — looking to attract a younger audience through social media with real-time information in a format that is preferred by those who are not always plugged in to more traditional media.
There is an industry recognition that social media is needed to engage a younger audience,” Tedford said.
