I wish everyone could see the great submissions we've been receiving as part of our Coolest Tree Contest. Fourth grade students from around the county have been submitting some beautiful artwork and fun stories. We'll be displaying the collection this fall but announcing our winners very shortly! Stay tuned...

Haven't written in awhile because we've been busy holding events but if you're interested in a good report on our agribusiness tour on 5/19 follow this link:
http://www.recordonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20100523/NEWS/5230324

May is a busy month for the Citizens Foundation on a lot of fronts. Last Thursday, we presented the Ruth & James Ottaway Medal to Roberta "Bobbie" Glinton. Could not have made a better choice and the event was lovely.
This week, Wednesday to be exact, we're holding a workshop on the Property Assessed Clean Energy (PACE) Program that is being implemented across the nation and now in New York State to help fund energy efficient and renewable energy improvements for residents and commercial developers.
Then next week, we're holding our first Agribusiness Tour to reintroduce the business community to our agricultural industry. We'll be visiting four agribusinesses - a winery, a dairy, a sod farm and a lettuce processing facility. We'll let you know what our next steps will be to keep agribusiness strong in Orange County!

Just got back from a very interesting discussion about fixing suburban sprawl sponsored by the Congress for New Urbanism - NY Chapter, the Westchester Land Trust and RPA. Good speakers and a very interesting, useful discussion.

Just had a great time serving a gourmet dinner to Citizens Foundation supporters Dan & Terry Mack and Lou Marquet and Nancy Clavin as part of our Not-at-All Ball Online Auction. Last September, Dan and Lou purchased a gourmet dinner prepared and served by Citizens Foundation Chair Noreen Fennell, President Nancy Proyect, Board member Susan Cayea, and OC Partnership President Maureen Halahan. We enjoyed the company of the Macks and Marquet family as well as their guests Warwick Supervisor Mike Sweeton and his wife Deborah and Warwick Mayor Michael Newhard and his wife Judy Pederson. A great time was had by all. Thanks to Dan and Lou for supporting the Citizens Foundation by purchasing this item and to our chefs and servers for their time and fabulous cooking!

The Congress for New Urbanism, in conjunction with the Westchester Land Trust and the Regional Plan Association, will hold a full day conference on remaking suburbs on Wednesday, May 5th in Dobbs Ferry. Cost is only $35. Check out our Placemaking Page under Initiatives for more information or contact Grace Buck at grace@westchesterlandtrust.org.

We are very fortunate to have good people in our community support us! On Saturday, May 15, Dr. Ruth Landstrom, a psychologist and certified life coach will hold a workshop on mindfulness in action to benefit the Citizens Foundation. Attendees will explore how calming mindfulness practices and goal-directed action can complement and enhance each other.
Special guest Millie Goodridge, certified yoga teacher, will offer a few minutes of mindful movement, gentle enough for everyone. For more information, visit our calendar page. And thank you Dr. Landstrom!

Technology is amazing. We just sent out our newsletter to over 1,500 people electronically and very little cost. If you don't receive our emails with our newsletters, events, policy updates, send us your email address and we'll add it to our list. We don't share our email lists or address lists so your information is safe with us.

Tonight was the first session of the OCMPF's spring courses. Great price ($20) for five courses taught by Orange County's municipal planning experts. Classes are being held at the OC Association of Realtors office in Goshen on Wednesdays in April and May. Visit the County's website or call 615-3840 for more information.

Thanks to Skip Buckbee, Bob Krahulik, and the LaRue family, the Citizens Foundation will be able to sponsor a hike on Sugar Loaf Mountain on May 2nd (May 16th raindate). Since there's no public access to the Mountain a this time, we hope to get lots of people to join us for a great experience. Sign up early though because we can only take about 100 people and last year there was a huge waiting list.

We have some new features on our website. Links to other articles of interest, new way to blog, and new ways to highlight our program sponsors. It's going to take us some time to get everything online but we're working on it!