Hello, Friends of the Napa County Fairgrounds.
We will know soon who the new District 3 Board of Supervisor will be - but the reality is, it won't matter. We have learned that our voices being heard is a constant job, and the good news is that our united voice is making waves! Calistoga Mayor and City Council member, Chris Channing and Donald Williams, our Calistoga City Manager, Laura Snideman met with Napa County Board of Supervisors, Alfredo Pedroza and Brad Wagenknecht, and Minh Tran, the Napa County Executive Officer on June 9th. This meeting was to find out if the 2 sides are closing the financial gap with the City of Calistoga's offer to buy the entire County Fairgrounds property. Clearly, the Napa County Board of Supervisors have a different idea of what the property is worth-so the 'conversations' are tedious-diplomacy at its best. One thing is very clear, the group, Friends of the Napa County Fairgrounds, is making an impact on the negotiations. Once a decision is agreed upon, and it is shared with our Calistoga community, then this group has work to do!!
Many of you have asked, “what can I do to help”? It is now that we are seeing a clearer picture of jobs where we desperately need assistance. Alexis, Scott, and Molly, have full time jobs and day-to-day 'life' impacting our attention and time. We make time to meet in person for an hour, every 4-6 weeks, we email each other important pieces of information every few weeks, and we put out an email to our database every 6 to 8 weeks to relay information or give suggestions for you to act with phone calls or emails to our elected officials. Please consider joining us for much needed volunteer positions. We appreciate everyone's passion and energy about the fate of our Fairgrounds.
Below is a description of the volunteer roles we are seeking to fill. Please fill out this online survey if you are interested and able to volunteer with the Friends of the Napa County Fairgrounds.
Friends of Napa County Fairgrounds Volunteer Roles
· Communications: emails, blogs, letters to the newspapers
o We need someone who can stay on top of our email and help write replies to members / community leaders. This will require someone familiar with Gmail and the ability to respond respectfully, timely, and professionally.
o For the blog, the ability to create content, source photos, and keep the members updated with current happenings surrounding the Fairgrounds.
· Website (WIX platform)
o Do you know how to use WIX? If so, this position might be for you! This role would involve adding new blogs to our backend and updating pages as needs arise.
· Community Outreach (Fairgrounds, Canvassing, a booth downtown)
o On an infrequent basis we need a few people that can sit at the farmer’s market, canvass, or be at a booth downtown to provide community outreach and information.
· Fundraising and Grant Writing
o Once Calistoga is able to buy the Fairgrounds, we will need experts in fundraising and grant writing available. It will be a critical to have a financial support team in place to bolster the city’s ability to bring this property back to life.
Friends of Napa County Fairgrounds Interest Areas
There are four interest areas that we are looking to connect folks around shared passion(s) and to ultimately provide the City with our members’ feedback post-sale. Each group will have a lead that can guide the members of the interest-group on what is needed to make these aspects of t
he park financially sustainable and in the best interest of the Fairgrounds and community. Activities will include, but are not limited to, researching best operating practices, existing organizations that manage similar operations, and creative advising (think outside of the box). Please note which areas you’d like to volunteer for and if you have interest in being a lead.
· Golf Course Group
· RV Park Group
· Racetrack Group
· General Fairgrounds Group
Photo Credit: Nancy Peterson
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