News from the Noteworthy from Springbrook
Appreciating What We Have Achieved
During the weeks between Thanksgiving and the New Year, there is so much to be thankful for. But for many of us, it can be challenging to find time to pause and appreciate the moment amidst the hustle and bustle of preparing for hosting family, cooking, traveling, volunteering, gift-wrapping and giving, and so on. Today, I take a moment to appreciate everything I am thankful for, including the vibrant community I live in—where I’ve made my home, where I’m surrounded by family and friends. In my letter from October 2021, I reflected on everything I love about Otsego County, our region, and the City of Oneonta. It was then I wondered: How do we attract people to our area who want to build careers and families? How do we transform our region from “a place to visit” to “a place to live”?
At the time, I called out the most important factors that people consider when moving to a new place; according to the “U.S. News & World Report,” these things were cost of living, job availability, desirability and happiness, crime, quality of education, commute, and quality and availability of healthcare. Since October 2021, we have seen new home construction like the Dietz Street Lofts, Springbrook’s renovation of the historic Ford on Main, and the Chestnut Hill Estates, all of which offer market-rate and accessible housing options for artists, people with disabilities, and professionals. Our children, their friends and generations of youth bring a vibrancy to any area. Adding cost-effective housing is one route to keeping them here.
At Springbrook, job availability and quality of education go hand-in-hand, so we work on job creation and retention each year as we expand services in this region and beyond. We have continually built upon our incentives for employee retention by adding yearly wage increases and communicating with our area’s top schools to provide ongoing higher education opportunities and certification programming. Springbrook also extends job opportunities to the community for people with disabilities and local employers through Employment Services’ pre-vocational training and volunteer opportunities. To date, we have worked with more than 150 employers, enriching those who use services through Springbrook and those who employ them.
What could be more desirable and bring happiness to everyone than a community rich in the arts? In the past few years, I have seen how vibrant Otsego County and the City of Oneonta can be. The city is again on the Top 40 Most Arts-Vibrant Communities of 2023 list (back from 2020). Springbrook contributes to the wealth of the arts community each year through sponsorship, like the City of the Hills Festival, which showcases art and music by the creatives in our region, as well as Meet Me on Main Street, the Oneonta Festival of Lights in Neahwa Park, and many other events. This November, we sponsored “32 Sounds” at the Glimmerglass Film Days. My husband and I attend the festival yearly and watch as many films as possible over the weekend! Springbrook also hosts an art show every April in the Community Gallery at Fenimore Art Museum, which showcases work by artist-employees and artists who receive support through Springbrook.
Our region’s robust non-profit sector makes all of the above possible. We can be thankful for the Community Foundation of Otsego County, Opportunities for Otsego, LEAF Inc., Family Resource Network Inc.; among art, music, entertainment, and history-centered non-profits like Hill City Celebrations, the Community Arts Network of Oneonta, the Fenimore Chamber Orchestra Inc., the Greater Oneonta Historical Society, among so many others! Each non-profit is committed to the desirability and happiness of the area it serves and contributes to making a place worth visiting a sustainable and fulfilling place to live. What we have achieved in the past few years, we have achieved together. And this is something to be very grateful for.
Patricia Kennedy is chief executive officer of Springbrook.