Mayor’s Message – October 16th, 2015

I would like to send a special thank you to the Menands Fire, Police and Public Works Departments for continuing to protect our Village, including responding to numerous calls during the recent heavy rains that fell in our area. We are very fortunate to have the commitment and dedication of the members of each of these departments in Menands.

The Menands Fire Dept. hosted an open house during Fire Prevention Week. There were many activities for the kids to do, including rides in the fire truck and going up in the bucket. This annual event saw another great turnout of families, and is always fun and educational. Another reminder is to change the batteries in your smoke and carbon monoxide detectors on Sunday, November 1st, along with turning the clocks back an hour for daylight savings time.

Throughout the year, in one way or another, someone in our Village is consistently helping others. Whether it be through volunteer work, organizing functions, fund raising efforts or a multitude of other activities, Menands has always been a giving and caring community. Congratulations to the organizers and volunteers for another successful Fall Festival in support of Derek Murphy. It was well attended, had great music, vendors, raffles, cow plop bingo and was a lot of fun. Another example of the generosity of our community helping others.

This commitment to helping those in need has not been lost on our youth. I continue to be amazed by the younger members of our Village and am happy to share another story. Siblings Nate and Quinn Mitchell decided to celebrate their birthdays together this year. Children of Jim and Melissa Mitchell, Nate who will turn 13 in December and Quinn 10 in October, decided to do something different. Instead of presents they asked their guests to bring a loaf of bread and two pounds of bologna to their birthday party, to help feed the homeless. Inspired by the “Pay It Forward Together” organization, Nate and Quinn decided they already had a lot of nice things at home and a good family so they wanted to help others. With 100 people attending their party, nearly 900 sandwiches were made and delivered to the Capital City Rescue Mission. The Mitchell’s hope others will continue to “Pay It Forward” by finding ways to help those less fortunate. Congratulations Nate and Quinn. Your thoughtfulness is an example to all of us, on the true meaning of giving back. We are very proud of both of you.

Until next time,

Mayor Meg