Okay, I’m here amid the snow-covered Green Mountains, hanging with my writing buddies at the end of a long day of readings and workshop, and I get to spinning out part of my dream scenario for Pottstown’s revitalization. This particular version includes a writing center in Pottstown, where my buddies and other writers – maybe they’ve published books, maybe not yet – can stay in a gorgeously renovated Victorian bed/breakfast writers’ retreat for 1-4 weeks, for a modest weekly fee. Writers are always on the lookout for a reasonably-priced retreat, where they can get some work done. (Maybe we’d entice them with a tour of The Hill School, where Tobias Wolff spent some time, or maybe a trip to Shillington, home of John Updike.) We might even be able to get some writers to visit a class in the schools, do a program at the library, or give a reading at night. Some of my people here like the sound of all this. And, you never know — if we built a solid network of authors who had already been to Pottstown, the next step might be to invite them all back, along with others, and begin hosting an annual literary arts festival. Wouldn’t that just turn the world’s perception of Pottstown on its head? Would make a really good story, too…
WPAZ is back!
Pottstown’s got its radio station back. After going silent more than a year ago, WPAZ at 1370 AM returned to the airwaves yesterday afternoon. Check out The Mercury’s coverage here.
After months of hard work and negotiations, the nonprofit WPAZ Preservation Association changed its name to Community Broadcasting Group and recently purchased the station from Four Rivers Broadcasting.
General Manager Rick Rodgers and Station Manager Ross Landy have planned a line-up of old and new shows and increased local sports coverage within a 24/7 interactive format. The tentative official “opening” will be January 8th; keep an ear out then for new and returning personalities and shows. In the meantime, they’ll be running music and promos.
The station’s website is wpazradio.com. And you can find them on Facebook here.
Congratulations to Rick, Ross and everyone involved – looking forward to the programming!
SCORE scholarship deadline: Dec. 28
There’s still time to fill out the quick-and-easy application form to be considered for a scholarship to the upcoming Small Business Workshop Series taught by the local chapter of SCORE.
SCORE is run by volunteers who have had successful careers in business; they pass their experience and knowledge on to entrepreneurs in workshops and through individual counseling sessions. Positively!Pottstown is offering two scholarships to Pottstown-based businesses for the next series, which begins on Jan. 10th at the Tri-County Area Chamber of Commerce at 152 E. High Street. The 4-workshops and business plan manual offered by SCORE have a $100 value.
For more info, click here.
The application can be downloaded below.
SCORE Scholarship Application (pdf)
SCORE Scholarship Application (Word doc)
You can either email it to positivelypottstown@gmail.com by midnight tomorrow, Dec. 28 or get it in the mail so that it’s postmarked by Dec. 28th. Mail it to Positively Pottstown Blog, P.O. Box 1509, Pottstown, PA 19464.
(I was originally going to announce the winners on the blog, but in the interest of discretion, winners will only be announced if they specifically agree!)
Joint School Board & Borough Council Meeting this Monday
This Monday, Dec. 20th, there will be a joint School Board & Borough Council Meeting at 7:30pm at the Pottstown Middle School in the 2nd floor LGI room.
The agenda will include an update to the community on the PAID partnership, a presentation about a Community Land Trust for Pottstown, and tax assessments. I will be part of the group that is doing the Community Land Trust presentation.
A community land trust (CLT) is a nonprofit model that offers flexibility for engaging in housing, neighborhood stabilization and economic development activities that are appropriate for a particular area. A few notable features of CLTs are:
- setting & implementing goals with community input
- having CLT homeowners & other community reps. on its board
- undertaking an active acquisition program
- selling buildings at affordable prices while the CLT retains ownership of the land beneath the buildings
- being stewards of the land and neighborhoods
- increasing homeownership
- preventing foreclosures
While most CLTs have as their main goal the creation of permanently affordable, owner-occupied housing in places where housing prices are high or escalating, a CLT for Pottstown would undertake a broader range of activities such as community gardens and economic development initiatives to help bring back market-rate activity.
With input from the community, a CLT for Pottstown would undertake activities in a targeted way to slow the negative fiscal spiral and coax the market back. Many aspects of this approach have been recommended in study after study.
I’m certainly looking forward to carrying on this conversation & to hear questions and observations from the larger community about how this could work. Hope you can make it Monday night!
Added after original post:
Here’s a link to the Pottstown CLT website.
It’s at www.PottstownCLT.wordpress.com.
It’s a work-in-progress. A PowerPoint presentation will be posted there after the Monday meeting.
High Street or bust!
I’m hitting the road now to head to Pottstown, where I will do some window-gazing and actual shopping. 🙂
Thanks for all the replies regarding the Happy Hour. We’ve got at least 28 revelers, who will be hanging at The Brickhouse tonight from 5-7 pm. If you’re inclined to get out of the cold before heading home, no need to RSVP at this point, just show up!
For the many folks who can’t make it, I look forward to seeing you at the next event: Friday, January 28th, location TBD. In the meantime, enjoy the holidays, be safe, and I hope 2011 is good to you and your loved ones!
SCORE Scholarships
I’ve now added a tab at the top of the blog for folks to easily find the info and application for two SCORE scholarships – each valued at $100 – for the January Small Business Workshop Series. The scholarships are for anyone running a Pottstown-based business who would like to learn, or brush up on, solid skills needed to succeed.
I have also been contacted by a donor who has offered $100 toward another scholarship. Depending on how many applications we get, we may use it now or use it for the next workshop series in April/May. It would be great if we can get a couple different donors for each series and keep this going to support local business.
SCORE Scholarships Available
POSITIVELY!POTTSTOWN
SCORE SCHOLARSHIP PROGRAM
January 10, 17, 24 and 31, 2011
Positively!Pottstown, a community blog dedicated to promoting Pottstown, is offering two $100 scholarships for an upcoming Small Business Workshop Series taught by members of Pottstown SCORE. Positively Pottstown scholarships are available to anyone who is already running a business in Pottstown or who is planning to open a business in Pottstown.
SCORE is the Service Corps of Retired Executives, a nonprofit association sponsored by the U.S. Small Business Association. Course instructors are experienced practitioners who teach practical, real-life skills and strategies for those interested in starting a business or learning how to run their business better. By attending a SCORE workshop, entrepreneurs will also be introduced to a network of supportive professionals who want to see you succeed.
The next workshop series will be held on January 10, 17, 24 and 31, 2011. Registration begins at 6:45 pm for all workshops, which then run from 7-9:30 pm. The course includes a manual on preparing a business plan.
January 10 – Sources of Information, and the Tax and Legal Implications of the Different Legal Structures
January 17 – The Business Plan and The Business Loan
January 24 – Sources of Market Information and Marketing
January 31 – It’s All About Profit
For more detail, visit SCORE’s website at http://www.pottstownscore.org. Please note: The January workshops will be held at the Tri-County Chamber of Commerce Conference Center, 152 E. High Street, Suite 360, Pottstown, PA 19464.
To be considered for a scholarship, please cut-and-paste and fill out the application below in Word or an email. On a separate page, write a few paragraphs about your current business or your business plans; include some information about your past business/work experience. You do not need to submit a résumé.
Please mail or e-mail the application and your written statement by December 28, 2010 (e-mail & postmark deadline) to one of the addresses below. Winners will be contacted and announced here on January 3, 2011. Visit www. PositivelyPtown.com. Questions? Call 609-658-9043.
Sue Repko
c/o Positively Pottstown Blog
P.O. Box 1509
Pottstown, PA 19464
OR
positivelypottstown@gmail.com
POSITIVELY!POTTSTOWN
a community blog at http://www.PositivelyPtown.com
POSITIVELY!POTTSTOWN
SCORE SCHOLARSHIP APPLICATION
January 10, 17, 24 and 31, 2011
Positively!Pottstown $100 scholarships for SCORE workshops are available to anyone who is running a business in Pottstown or planning to open a business in Pottstown.
Please type or print clearly:
Name:___________________________ Phone:_____________________
Address:__________________________ Mobile: ____________________
City:_____________________________ E-mail: _____________________
State: ________________ Zip:________ Website: ____________________
Business Name:____________________ Phone:______________________
Address:__________________________ Mobile: _____________________
City:_____________________________ E-mail: _____________________
State: ________________ Zip:_______ Website: ____________________
The following information must accompany the application:
□ Write 2-3 paragraphs about your current business or your business plans; include some
information about your past business/work experience. You do NOT need to submit a
résumé.
□ Is your business or proposed business located in the Borough of Pottstown?
Circle one: Yes No
□ Would you be willing to be quoted in future press releases about SCORE workshops or the
Positively!Pottstown scholarship? Please note: This is NOT required to receive the
scholarship. Circle one: Yes No
□ I certify that the information provided in this application is true & complete.
Signature________________________ Date ________________________
Send to:
Positively Pottstown Blog
P.O. Box 1509
Pottstown, PA 19464
Or
Must be postmarked or received via e-mail by: December 28, 2010
(Scholarships are non-transferable. Recipients will receive a certificate good for the
January 2011 Small Business Workshop Series, including manual.)
Economic & community development… To-do list
I feel like I’ve been neglecting this blog. On the other hand, because of this blog, the seeds of a whole bunch of ideas and activities were planted and now they need some cultivation & tending… which is happening out in the real world, not online. So, here’s my list of things to do ASAP. I will put up related posts as quickly as I can. Maybe by posting this & being held accountable to you, my readers, I can check some of these things off the list!
1) Announce SCORE scholarships! Two $100 scholarships for Pottstown-based business owners to attend the January workshops to be held at the Tri-County Area Chamber of Commerce. (Positively!Pottstown now has a Pottstown P.O. Box — 1509. I’m still trying to convince myself that that’s a lucky number…)
2) Highlight all the awesome things happening this weekend in P-town.
3) Finish my part of a grant app. to get visitors off the River trail and into the downtown. Marketing the arts, historic, recreational & culinary resources — yeah!!
4) Make edits to Community Land Trust powerpoint & get back out to working group.
5) Send out eVite for Happy Hour! This has been posted here (see right sidebar) for several weeks but I forgot to send out the eVite!! (Happy Hour is this Wed., Dec. 15, 5-7 pm at The Brickhouse. Take time out from the insanity of the holidays to hang out! Nothing fancy, just a good, old-fashioned Happy Hour. Reduced prices on drinks & appetizers. (Happy Hour certificate donated by Katy Jackson – thanks, Katy!) I have some petty cash from the last Happy Hour, so get there early to take advantage of some free appetizers until the $$ runs out!
6) Housing data analysis… totally unrealistic to think I’m going to get to this today… but it goes on the list!
Is this insane? I don’t know. I learned to multi-task while waitressing, scooping ice cream and washing dishes at The Cup at the corner of Charlotte & Wilson way, way back in the day. You had to do everything… always with a smile. 🙂 (I would love to see that place open again.)
Hometown Holidays draw crowds
Last Friday night, there was so much going on downtown that there was no way I could take it all in. Fortunately the action continues this coming Friday, Dec. 10 and the following Friday, Dec. 17. Here’s what I did do…
There are so many more things I need to do in the coming weeks… look at all the decorated storefronts and vote online at The Mercury, see A Christmas Carol at Tri-PAC – it is getting rave reviews! – take a carriage ride… and maybe sit on Santa’s lap. I’ve got some pretty big wishes for Pottstown for the coming year… maybe he can help. 🙂
Holidays kick into high gear in downtown P-Town!
Okay, it’s official: There’s a lot on tap during the month of December, and we here at Positively!Pottstown want to do our part to make your head spin.
Please check out the updated calendar here and check back every few days because I’m sure I haven’t gotten everything in there yet. For one thing, I’m still nailing down the details of my own High Street Holiday Hop, but rest assured, it IS happening this Friday, December 3rd, and it will be loads of fun with lots of free drawings for cool stuff! The idea of the Holiday Hop is to roam the downtown with like-minded, upbeat holiday carousers, see all the decorations, stop in at businesses, make merry, hear talented singers, sit on Santa’s knee, and support the whole crazy notion of Pottstown having a lively commercial center!!
TENTATIVE SCHEDULE FOR POSITIVELY!POTTSTOWN HOLIDAY HOP
5-6 PM Meet-up at The Gallery on High at 254 High St.(NOTE NEW LOCATION) for their Annual Holiday Party & meet legendary Pottstown Firebirds football champs!! Get your free Positively!Pottstown Santa hat! Win a Firebirds t-shirt!
6-6:30 PM Stop in at Grumpy’s Handcarved Sandwiches & decorate an ornament for the Borough tree!
6:30-7:30 PM Still being planned… salon visit and free drawing for manicure… stop at Tri-PAC…
7:45-9 PM Head to Smith Plaza at catch the Pine Forge Academy Choir, hang your ornament on the Borough tree, sit on Santa’s knee, free drawing for 2 carriage rides down High Street! Wind down with warm drinks & dessert at Churchill’s!
**Free Santa hats to the first 20 Holiday Hoppers that rsvp to positivelypottstown@gmail.com**
Positively Pottstown blog 