Bay Bicentennial officially closes with disbursement of leftover funds

The Bicentennial Celebration is officially over. All bills have been paid, the time capsule is secured in Cahoon Memorial Park and there are no loose ends to complete. The Executive Committee is very proud that the celebration was completed with a few dollars left over, a feat not always accomplished with an endeavor of this size, public or private.

The Executive Committee of Evelyn Allen, Tom Phillips, Carole Roske and myself decided to send the money back to the residents and businesses who made it all possible.

We opted to give a donation to each of the three Bay Village entities: to the seniors who made Bay what it is today; to the future residents of Bay, the children; and, of course, to today’s citizens.

A check for $323.23 was presented to Debbie Bock, the director of Community Services at Dwyer Memorial Center on March 19. The money was designated for deposit into the Waldeck Trust Fund. The trust fund’s founding purpose is to help Bay’s seniors.

In a thank you letter, Ms. Bock explained that “the money will be used to assist senior residents in Bay Village to remain in their homes. We appreciate you thinking of the seniors in this community when making the disbursement of your funds.”

A second disbursement of $750 was presented to Bay’s Superintendent of Schools, Clint Keener, at a Bay School Board meeting two weeks earlier. The money was earmarked to benefit the school children.

Dr. Gayatry Jacob-Mosier, president of the Bay Village Board of Education, said in her thank you letter to the Bicentennial Committee, “Be assured that we will determine a use for these funds that will directly benefit our students. We are grateful to have [all of the] hard-working committee members as part of our Bay Village community.  This Bicentennial was a wonderful experience.”

A third check of $1,500 was presented to Mayor Debbie Sutherland for the benefit of Bay residents at a City Council meeting on March 19.

The disbursement of all three checks closes the books on the 2010 Bicentennial and ends a successful celebration bash not seen in Bay in its 200 years of history.  We can only wonder what 2110 will bring when we mark our third 100-year event and open the 2010 time capsule placed in Cahoon Memorial Park by the Bicentennial Committee.

Thank you to all who contributed in any way to make 10.10.10 a very memorable event. You are the reason Bay is the desirable and proud community it is today.