Volunteers Meet and Greet downtown merchants

Save Our Forest, July 27, held what was originally going to be a simple Meet and Greet for downtown merchants to get to know the volunteers who help improve and enhance the community.

According to SOF director Jackie Heyneman, the event morphed into a recognition of all the gifts of volunteerism by not only Save Our Forest (tree maintenance and stewardship), but Fallbrook Village Association (special events to bring people to downtown), Fallbrook Beautification Alliance (flower pot project), Care-Rite (watering trees in the parking lot behind the Fallbrook Arts Center and picking up trash on Main Avenue weekly), as well as Fallbrook Waste and Recycling (picking up trash weekly).

Heyneman said all of this volunteer work benefits merchants downtown directly, "As an unincorporated community, there are no funds to provide these services through the County."

While 40 business owners were invited to the event at Vince Ross Village Square, only seven showed up, according to Heyneman. Of the 27 volunteers invited, 19 came.

Heyneman also said, "Many very kind merchants and businesses contributed food and drink that may not even benefit from these efforts."

Those contributing refreshments for the party included The Fallbrook Winery, Trupiano's, Brooktown Kitchen, the Happy Jug, Northgate Market, and Albertson's.

Although not a lot of merchants attended, Heyneman said, "It was a happy group of people and all seemed to enjoy visiting and meeting each other." Ironically, she added, "many of those meeting each other for the first time were Save Our Forest volunteers who have worked on a different work party. Their paths do not cross."

Save Our Forest volunteers include tree stewards who Adopt-A-Tree and water them regularly. There are also two work parties each month with different people being part of each party on the third Wednesday at 8:30 a.m. and the last Sunday at 7:30 a.m. The groups meet at the Village Square (corner of Main and Alvarado) and work for two hours to maintain benches and landscaping.

People interested in the community work of maintaining downtown trees can call Jackie Heyneman at 728-5395 or visit http://www.fallbrooklandconservancy.org/saveourforest.

For volunteering opportunities with the FVA, visit Fallbrookvillage.org or call (760) 723-8384. For more information about FBA, visit https://fallbrookbeautification.org/ or email [email protected]. Care-Rite can be reached at (760) 728-6951.

Many events are held downtown to attract tourists as well as local residents to the area to support local businesses. Put on by volunteers and/or the Fallbrook Chamber of Commerce, they include the Wine & a Bite Art Walks, Fallbrook Summer Nights, the Harvest Faire, Scarecrow Days, Avocado Festival, Fall Festival of Gems, Christmas Parade, the Railroad Heritage Park (which is in development) and art shows at the downtown galleries.

Heyneman would like to see the merchants use these events to benefit their businesses as that is the goal of holding them.