( Temporary draft of page to be labeled something like “A Story” )
Once upon a time, there was a young Mr. Panosian who was looking forward to watching his first parade. Nathan is the first Sprout in the fifth generation of the Panosian family to stand in the 111 Midtown building on Main Street in downtown Elmira, NY.
Beginning in the 1980’s, Nathan’s dad with family and friends stood in this same office window to watch many prior parades. Today there was one significant problem. The current parade route had changed and no longer proceeded down this block of North Main Street. In his parent’s era, the parade concluded with Santa’s grand entrance into the nearby Iszard’s department store across the street from the 111 Midtown Building.
The 2017 parade would begin at 10am. After consideration, a plan was created to move to a new location on the current parade route. Time to move.
The new viewing site was a beautiful location next to a park adjacent to the Chemung river. Grandpa Dan held a space while Nathan, his dad, and grandma enjoyed a leisure stroll under the clear blue sky on this beautiful sunny day. The parade soon arrived. It exceeded all our memories and expectations.
Three generations enjoyed the day because they were willing to accept change and move forward together.
We believe that this region can be described as a beautiful mosaic. There are many unique and diverse components. These wonderful pieces encourage current residences and future generations when viewed from various perspectives.
The Christmas parade was a micro-display of the mosaic that we call our community. It included police cars and fire trucks from municipal entities. The parade also included tax-exempt service and ministry organizations. Many displays were sponsored by taxable business entities whose financial resources are needed for the parade to proceed. Community Bank, NA., the primary parade sponsor, is one of these greatly appreciated community partners.
The most important components of our community mosaic are the people who call this place home. All the entities noted above are constructs created and maintained by people. We continue to cherish the value of participants of all ages and career phases.
Our community heritage includes many individuals who have progressed through multiple life phases. Many emerge from and dissolve into a base that includes Greats who inspire future generations. The progression of each wave includes: Sprouts who grow, Climbers who do, Highlanders who lead, and Encores who encourage.
We greatly appreciate the positive contributions of many individuals and entities that call this region home. Individuals include members of many local families. The Panosian family has served and enjoyed this area for close to 100 years. We remain committed to a primary geographic service area defined as Chemung and adjacent New York and Pennsylvania counties.
Our vision is a contemporary community growing together. Changing times require current information and data. During several recent meetings, it was noted that it would be helpful if timely objective data and opinions could be obtained from local individuals.
Our team decided to develop this website to encourage others. One of the objectives is to collect relevant data and opinions. Appropriate teams may then categorize, summarize and display relevant information for use by local enterprises. It is our hope that this “bottom up” data will be combined with other databases and resources. Relevant information may then support “top down” strategies that encourage continued maintenance and development of the community we call home.
Please consider completing the Survey 2018 connected to this site as your contribution to our common goals. We look forward to continuing to grow together.
