LAKEWOODALIVE and LCPI INC. ANNOUNCE MERGER

[Jim O'Bryan]

LAKEWOODALIVE and LAKEWOOD COMMUNITY PROGRESS INC. ANNOUNCE MERGER


LAKEWOOD, OHIO…Lakewood Community Progress, Inc. (LCPI), the city’s community development organization and the parent of the Main Street Lakewood program, announced today that it will join forces with LakewoodAlive, thereby strengthening the capacity of both organizations to improve the quality of life in Lakewood. The new combined organization will use the LakewoodAlive name.

According to Mary Anne Crampton, executive director of LCPI, the two organizations share the same mission and goals. “Both LCPI and LakewoodAlive exist to protect and enhance Lakewood’s economic future,â€￾ Crampton said. “Our programs and activities complement one another. By working together, we will be able to more efficiently bring ideas into reality, using the talents and expertise of our residents in addition to established LCPI stakeholders.â€￾

“We chose to use the name LakewoodAlive because it very simply conveys our goal of advancing Lakewood’s economic development,â€￾ explained Crampton. “We found that many citizens were not familiar with LCPI or were confused about its relationship to downtown Lakewood’s revitalization efforts. LakewoodAlive, with over four years of public programming history, is known by many in our community as a non-partisan organization that draws upon the talents of residents, many of whom are already involved in LCPI programming initiatives.â€￾

LakewoodAlive and LCPI have worked together on various projects, including the first annual revitalized Light Up Lakewood holiday kickoff in 2007. “We are very excited to move forward with this new organization,â€￾ explained Jay Foran, president of LakewoodAlive. “We believe this merger is a positive reflection of the pro-active stance our community has achieved along the economic development continuum. This alliance positions us for the next stage of economic advancement that will improve our local economy with the true winner being the city of Lakewood and its residents.â€￾

LCPI, a 501-c(3) economic development corporation founded in 2002, seeks to improve the quality of life in Lakewood by creating alliances with community leaders, leveraging community assets and facilitating economic stability and growth. Main Street Lakewood is LCPI’s key program. The volunteer-based program is applying the proven, disciplined approach of the National Trust Main Street Center to revitalize Lakewood’s historic downtown area.

LakewoodAlive, founded in 2003, is a membership organization that seeks to inform and engage citizens about economic development opportunities and activities. Its primary activities including ongoing community forums on topics such as housing, city finances, arts and culture and other issues related to economic development. LakewoodAlive’s membership of more than 900 residents receive regular e-newsletters about important issues in the community.



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[Stan Austin]

This sounds quite peculiar. It's a combination of public dollars with a private interest lobbying group.

I will look for further elucidation.

Stan Austin

[Corey Rossen]

I will look for further elucidation.

I will be looking for my dictionary.

Corey

[Jim DeVito]

I will look for further elucidation.

I will be looking for my dictionary.

Corey

elucidation (plural elucidations)

1. A making clear; the act of elucidating or that which elucidates, as an explanation, an exposition, an illustration; as, one example may serve for further elucidation of the subject.

Good One Stan.

[Mary Anne Crampton]

OK.....I'll try to be the elucidator (?)...

From the F.A.Q. sheet that was mailed to all LakewoodAlive members earlier this week, and which was available at this evening's forum:

Q. What are the implications of LakewoodAlive (a PAC) merging with LCPI (a 501-c3 organization)?

There are no implications. The pre-merger LakewoodAlive organization (a PAC) has been dissolved and all funds held by that organization have been either expended or donated directly to the NEW LakewoodAlive organization prior to the dissolution. Upon receipt, the NEW LakewoodAlive Board of Trustee will determine the most appropriate use of donated funds. As the NEW LakewoodAlive is a 501-c3 organization, future donations to LakewoodAlive will be fully tax deductible.

[Stephen Eisel]

elucidato

I think that Mike Tyson used that word in one of his rants...

[Donald Farris]

Hi,
Is the new LakewoodAlive organization concerned about all of Lakewood our just the specific downtown area?

So, how would we rate the prior LCPI? Success or failure?