To our Supporters, Members and Friends,
Thank you for being a part of another record-breaking year for the Hunter Foundation! 2018 was exceptionally busy as we were lucky enough to find and bring on a number of extraordinarily talented staff, brought many of our projects forward, and expanded our portfolio of properties we own and manage for the benefit of our community.
The Fromer Market Gardens on Main Street Tannersville enjoyed a very productive inaugural season bringing farm fresh, certified organic produce to the Town of Hunter! Our new Farm Stand is open every weekend, selling produce and delicious baked goods to the many hundreds of Visitors we have had since opening. The positive impact that this project has had on our community is deep and meaningful. Dallas has developed a local composting initiative and is creating a means for people to reduce their waste, converting this to usable compost that will be used at the Farm. Area restaurants have been featuring many Farm products directly on their menus to much fanfare. Dallas and Becky continue to work hard on developing the Farm’s offering and setting up for an even better Spring and Summer 2019 when we can fully utilize our outdoor bed space.
Zach Kalas was hired this year as a Program Coordinator for the Hunter Foundation and has been diligently working with HTC to integrate Fromer Market Garden’s products and techniques into student curriculum and the school lunch menu with the goal of making our school healthier and our children more knowledgeable of what goes into creating a healthy food system.
You may have noticed that work has begun on restoring the main Fromer House, adjacent to the farm. We are currently replacing the roof, rebuilding the porch and deck and installing all new plumbing inside. In the Spring this historic building will get a fresh new coat of Paint bringing it back to its former glory as a showpiece of the Village of Tannersville. We have plans to use this building in many ways to compliment the Farm and our Town in general. More to come on that later!
In January, the Hunter Foundation purchased the former Colonial Country Club and Golf Course. With over 160 acres of land, the Golf Course is a highly important piece of the Village of Tannersville and Town of Hunter. Featuring a 9 hole golf course, Tudor Style home and over 100 acres of undeveloped pristine forest, we plan to sustainably develop the property so that it can be enjoyed by future generations of residents and visitors to our area. This year we began plotting out and implementing a trail system that will welcome mountain bikers and hikers year-round with the help of our local students and faculty from HTC. On Tuesday nights (when weather permitted), Zach our Program Coordinator set up and ran a weekly outdoor movie screening. Visitors were able to enjoy gathering to watch a movie right on the course on an inflatable outdoor movie screen. All summer long golf operations were maintained, and we employed over 20 local employees, many of whom were high school and college students needing employment for summer break. Next year will be even better as we continue to improve our operations to the benefit of all those who love the game of Golf.
In August we had our first annual Hunter Foundation Family Fun Fest at the Golf Course that enjoyed delicious food and drink, live entertainment, carnival games, a dunk tank, and the extremely popular mechanical bull ride. Those who attended had a fantastic time exploring the grounds and enjoying the amazing fair style experience that our staff and volunteers masterfully created. We plan to have an even better fun fest in the summer of 2019 so stay tuned!
The entire Golf Course property is currently undergoing a master plan development that will outline many of the different uses we see the property featuring in the years to come. At some point in the near future we will ask the community for input on ideas that they would also like to see offered and implemented at this amazing property.
In the Spring we are planning to break ground on the new Creekside Park which will be located on the vacant piece of property next to the creek in between American Glory BBQ and the Tannersville Laundromat. Construction documents are currently being prepared and permits being put into place to develop an amazing pocket park in the heart of the Village of Tannersville. This park will also be the Village entry point to a trail we will develop that will lead people through a short walk through the woods directly to the Rip Van Winkle Lake playground at the South end of the Village.
These and many other efforts we have undertaken made 2018 another productive and busy year for everyone at the Hunter Foundation, and we greatly appreciate the support of the community as we work to make the Town of Hunter an even better place to live, work and visit year round. We sincerely thank you for your support this past year, and we also wish you a healthy and prosperous 2019!
Sincerely,
Sean Mahoney and Elena Patterson, Co Chairs