TimesLeader.com

HL Homecoming was not run by council, reader says

Dear Editor:

It is with deep sadness that I should even find myself in the position of having to write this letter to clear the names of some very honest, civic-minded volunteers in our community.

The glaring headlines of your story about Harveys Lake Homecoming certainly cause the reader to draw some very wrong conclusions. It takes an entire year and a ton of work to plan and hold this event.

I served as treasurer for three of the four years that we held a homecoming. Upon resigning as treasurer, and in keeping with proper procedure, an audit was done.

The monies were placed in a special account by our borough council and remain there today, earmarked for beautification projects. These funds are accounted for and this is public record.

All that anyone with any question had to do was inquire at the borough office or a council meeting.

Instead, Sandra Serhan and Chris Concert chose to run to the newspaper and tarnish the image of our community and the good people here.

The homecoming was NEVER run by council and NEVER taken over by council. This was a community-wide event, organized by volunteers. It was optional for any council member to participate as a volunteer.

In its fourth, and so far final year, interest in the event had waned and there were not enough volunteers to undertake the project and keep it going. As a result of this loss of interest and poor weather in the fourth year, the event lost money.

Anyone in the community is welcome to pick up the ball and take on the challenge of organizing future homecomings.

I repeat, the homecoming was organized and run by community volunteers, not council. The decent and respectable thing to do would be to set up some meetings to see if there is enough interest and volunteers to undertake this large project.

In reading this article, the intentions of Sandra Serhan and Chris Concert appear less than noble. At the very least, they should have checked the facts and made some attempt to verify information before making such inflammatory statements that raise questions about some of the hardest working, dedicated members of our town.

Joan Kelly

Harveys Lake