McCORDSVILLE — Residents responding to a McCordsville Parks Board survey told the town they want local events and activities. Now the town is asking more residents to help make that happen.
Town manager Tonya Galbraith has relied on volunteers serving on committees for individual events, such as an egg hunt or tree lighting. Now she’d like to consolidate and expand the town’s volunteers into a dedicated group of town ambassadors called the McCordsville Volunteer Program, which would coordinate helping hands at town festivities.
In recent years, volunteers have led crafts at the egg hunt, served cookies at the tree lighting and helped direct parking at the recent Path to Fitness 5K. But with more events come more roles to fill, more jobs to do.
“We’ve got a couple dozen people who put in (to help) time and time again,” said Nick Hofmeister, a former town councilman who’s been urging a new generation of leaders to step up.
While some communities have a Main Street organization or other town group to taking the lead on local gatherings, Galbraith points out there’s no street named Main in McCordsville, which sometimes makes it difficult to pinpoint where and how events should take place.
“We’re still trying to define our downtown,” she said.
In August, the town council approved a study of right-of-way along Broadway Street (State Road 67), looking ahead to having engineers develop a plan to add sidewalks, possibly medians, and make downtown McCordsville more pedestrian-friendly.
At this point, events often take place at town hall and the park next to it.
“We’re sort of trying to get that together on the town end because it’s not happening anywhere else,” Galbraith said.
She saw a volunteer program succeed while she worked in the mayor’s office in Houston, Texas. She thinks a simplified version would work in McCordsville. The program could include not only event preparation but also more week-to-week tasks such as landscaping, weeding or greeting visitors to town hall. She hopes a broader base of volunteers can keep a few people from feeling burdened.
“(It would be) less stressful on a couple of people and get more people involved,” she said.
Adrienne Johnson has helped gather some volunteers from her congregation at Harvest Church to help with events in the community and said it’s helped her get to know town leaders and other residents.
“With McCordsville quickly growing, volunteering with the town is a great way to experience a close community,” she said. “When people take the time to serve their community, it increases the sense of pride in their hometown.”
Those interested in becoming an “MVP” can email Galbraith at [email protected].
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McCordsville is seeking town ambassador. Members of the McCordsville Volunteer Programs — “MVPs” — would take the lead in spearheading community events, organizing volunteer efforts, welcoming visitors to town hall and more.
Those interested in becoming an “MVP” can email Galbraith at [email protected].
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