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Top 5ive Changemakers: And the winners are…

In News, News - Greenville, The Greenville Pioneer
April 8, 2024
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By Melanie Lekocevic

Capital Region Independent Media

With so many eminently qualified nominees, it was a tough job to choose, but the winners of the second annual Top 5ive Changemakers awards have been announced.

The Top 5ive Changemakers awards are hosted by Capital Region Independent Media, which publishes the Greenville Pioneer, the Ravena News-Herald and The Columbia Paper.

Winners were selected from all three counties in our coverage area: southern Albany, Columbia and Greene counties.

“There were so many great candidates from all walks of life and it was difficult to choose the winners,” said Warren Dews Jr., publisher and vice president of Capital Region Independent Media. “This program was created to shine a light on people and businesses in the communities we serve who are making great things happen. They truly make their communities better places in which to live.”

This was the second year of the awards — in 2023, the inaugural round of awards were handed out to some of our communities’ most involved and deserving recipients.

There were four categories in which our readers could nominate — business/non-profit organization, BIPOC (Black, Indigenous and People of Color), women and youth.

With so many qualified candidates, it was no easy task, but the following winners were chosen and will be honored at a ceremony and dinner on Friday, April 26, from 6-9 p.m. at The Wire, located at 60 River St. in Coxsackie.

AND THE WINNERS ARE…

This year’s business category was expanded to also include not-for-profit organizations. The top 5 selected to be honored this year are Carver Companies of Coeymans, Helping Harvest Hope Full Life Center in Ravena, High and Mighty Riding and Driving Center of Ghent, Innovation Station of Ravena, and Mueller’s Automotive of Ravena.

The top 5 awards for the BIPOC category will go to the Rev. Antonio Booth of Coeymans, the Rev. Dr. Roxanne Jones Booth of Coeymans, Shanatia Bygrave of Columbia County, Ruben Lindo of Greene County and Dewayne A. Powell of Columbia County.

The top 5 women are Caitlin Appleby of Ravena, Lisa DeGroff of Westerlo, Pat Larsen of Greenville, Rosemary Luppino McHugh of Coeymans, and Dawn Steward of Ghent.

The following young people were selected as this year’s top 5 youth: Shea Landversicht of Greenville, Lucas Long of Ravena, Evan Schieren of Valatie, Michael Sorrell of Coeymans and Courtney Taibi of Greenville.

This year’s Top 5ive Changemakers awards would not have been possible without its sponsors. This year, the program was supported by TCI of New York, Shop ‘n’ Save , Holcim, The Wire at James Newbury Hotel, New Scotland Spirits, Greylock Federal Credit Union, Carver Companies and C.A. Albright & Sons.

Each of the winners will be honored and recognized at a dinner and awards ceremony in their honor, and the whole community is invited to participate. Held at The Wire in Coxsackie on Friday, April 26, from 6-9 p.m., the evening will be filled with celebration, inspiration and recognition of the honorees’ contributions to their community.

The ceremony will include a dinner crafted by The Firehouse Café & Bistro of Adams, Massachusetts, including a cash bar, and live music provided by Bronte Roman Entertainment’s Diamondz Band.

Tickets to attend the lavish evening will be $75 and can be purchased at https://thetop5ive.ticketmambo.com

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Let the ‘Good News’ roll

In News, News - Ravena, The Ravena News Herald
July 28, 2022
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By Melanie Lekocevic

Capital Region Independent Media

RAVENA-COEYMANS-SELKIRK — The world is full of bad news these days — high inflation, skyrocketing gas prices, mass shootings, hate crimes, a global pandemic, even monkeypox outbreaks.

Take a look at most news outlets and you’ll see a never-ending stream of bad news.

The Ravena News-Herald wants to change that.

The newspaper is launching a “Good News” initiative, and we are hoping our readers will help out.

“There’s plenty of good news out there and we want to shine a light on it,” said Warren Dews Jr., publisher and vice president of Capital Region Independent Media, which publishes the Ravena News-Herald. “In addition to our regular, day-to-day news cycle, we want to hear about the good things happening in the communities we cover — and there’s plenty of it.”

The newspaper is looking to share all kinds of good news stories, from acts of kindness among neighbors or strangers, to charitable good works, businesses that are helping their community, fundraising efforts to support local nonprofit organizations, and more.

“Everyone knows the old adage about a cat stuck up in a tree and the firefighters who climb the tree to rescue it. But you never hear about that in the mainstream media — we want to hear about it,” Dews said.

The News-Herald will, of course, continue to cover issues of importance in the communities we serve, but we will be making a special outreach effort to identify positive, uplifting stories to share the good things people in our communities are doing.

Do you know of someone who helped an elderly neighbor through a rough patch, or tutors a struggling child in their spare time, or launched a community garden to grow food for a local food pantry?

Maybe it’s a library program that reaches out to underserved populations, or a program that helps low-income families feed their kids when school is out. Community beautification programs, educational activities, or just giving a helping hand to someone who needs it.

All of them, and more, qualify for our new “Good News” segment.

There are an untold number of good things happening in the local area and we want to know about it and share these stories of hope, compassion and generosity.

If you know of a “Good News” story, please reach out and let us know about it. Please submit your story idea to ravenanewsroom@gmail.com, include your name and contact information, and someone from our staff will get in touch with you.

This is an ongoing campaign, so let’s work together to make the “Good News” roll.

Get your Irish on at St. Pat’s parade

In Events, Events - Greenville, News, News - Greenville, The Greenville Pioneer
March 21, 2023
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By Melanie Lekocevic

Capital Region Independent Media

The annual St. Patrick’s Day Parade, pictured in a 2022 file photo, will be held in Greenville on Saturday. File photo

GREENVILLE — St. Patrick’s Day may have been last Friday, but there’s still time to get your Irish on at Saturday’s parade in Greenville.

All things Emerald Isle will be celebrated this weekend as the community is expected to turn out in force for the annual St. Patrick’s Day Parade, hosted by the Greenville Irish American Club.

The parade will be held on March 25, beginning at St. John’s Roman Catholic Church, proceeding down Route 81, turning the corner at the intersection of Routes 81 and 32, and concluding on the steps of the Greenville Public library.

“We will start at 1 p.m. at the church,” parade chairwoman Betty Hayden said. “Marchers will line up there beginning at 12:30 p.m. and step-off is at 1 p.m.”

The parade route used to be longer, but a couple of years ago the Irish American Club decided to shorten the route to accommodate some of the parade’s aging marchers, she said.

Dozens of groups are registered to march — 37 of them including the fire companies, Boy Scouts, Girl Scouts, law enforcement, high school marching bands from Greenville and Cairo-Durham, and more — and additional groups may participate as well.

The St. Patrick’s Day Parade is a long-standing tradition in Greenville, this year marking its 49th year.

The parade got off to a humble start.

“Some Irish farmer sold a cow and that was the money to start the first parade,” Hayden said. “Whatever money they had they used to start the club and the parade.”

Local resident Anne Lafferty is the only club member from the original founding group to still be with the club that started five decades ago.

Hayden has been working on the parade for 23 years and said she hopes it can continue even though the event’s organizers are getting on in years.

“We are keeping the Irish traditions alive,” she said. “It’s things like a parade or a concert or step dancer performances that keep the traditions alive.”

Turnout for the parade is typically high, but it all depends on the weather, she added.

“If the weather is nice, we get the crowds,” Hayden said. “It’s something that I don’t think many other towns are doing and we are trying to keep ours going, even if we can just go until next year to celebrate our 50th.”

This year’s parade grand marshal will be Neil Wallace, a member of the Greenville Irish American Club.

“We always pick someone who participates and helps the club in various ways — someone we can depend on, someone who attends all the meetings and helps out and who we can depend on to run things,” Hayden said.

After the parade’s conclusion outside the library, everyone will head a couple of doors down to Scott M. Ellis Elementary School on Route 32 for a party and plenty of refreshments, all provided by the Greenville Irish American Club.

Ravena News-Herald

The Ravena News-Herald is a weekly newspaper reporting on the news in the Ravena, Coeymans and New Baltimore communities of beautiful upstate New York.

Greenville Pioneer

Greene County’s independent newspaper. Featuring local news, letters to the editor, upcoming events, police blotter, columns from local writers and more.

The Columbia Paper

The Columbia Paper is a weekly newspaper reporting news and events from the communities of Columbia County in beautiful upstate New York.

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