Make Warren Shine Members Address Lions Club

Sharon Ballentine, Tamara Johnson, and Leah St. John

Three members of the "Make Warren Shine" committee spoke to the Warren lions Club during the May 9th meeting of the club at Molly's Diner.  Present to talk about the group's effort to improve the Warren downtown business district were Leah St. John, Sharon Ballentine and Tamara Johnson.
They talked about their desire to work with the owners of downtown property to improve buildings, clean up the area and to make it attractive for existing businesses and draw in new enterprises.

The group is raising private funds to work on both public and private property.  The efforts consist of power washing buildings and sidewalks and helping with painting and repairs of the buildings where needed.  They are helping try to keep the cost to the individual owners as low as possible.  Work is ongoing to plant  flowers, install art work and clean or replace awnings.  In most cases the owners are spending money and the group is trying to provide some volunteer labor.



"Make Warren Shine" is working with the City of Warren, which is conducting work on sidewalks and the trees that are located in the public right of way.  It is a public-private joint venture.

The organization is made up a core group of women with some help from their husbands and other volunteers.  They need more volunteers and would appreciate contributions of any amount.  They only work on buildings with the owner's permission.

The goals of the organization are as follows:
*Restore curb appeal and preserve downtown buildings
*Create community pride
*Develop community involvement thru volunteers
*Support existing downtown merchants
*Serve as a catalyst for downtown develpment

Anyone interested in helping with volunteer time or money should contact any member, including the three ladies in attendance at the Lions Club meeting.