Three organizations granted funds from the Coshocton Port Authority
Coshocton Port Authority Grants from funds established by the Schooler Family Foundation were distributed to three different organizations on Feb. 15 by Port Authority Executive Director Dorothy Skowrunski. Pictured from left are: Mark Fortune from The Coshocton County Beacon; Patti Malenke, from the Johnson-Humrickhouse Museum; Michelle Turner-Ganz from Our Town Coshocton; and Skowrunski. Josie Sellers | Beacon
COSHOCTON – The Coshocton Port Authority was granted money from the Schooler Family Foundation to distribute for three very specific purposes that will be carried out by the Johnson-Humrickhouse Museum, Our Town Coshocton and The Coshocton County Beacon.
Patti Malenke from the museum will be carrying out the Schooler families desire to have someone tell Coshocton’s story.
“It will be an article about those who were inspirational in building Coshocton from foundations to volunteers to industries,” she said. “This money is very appreciative and we are glad to do this project.”
Dorothy Skowrunski, executive director of the Coshocton Port Authority, said the museum was selected to carry this mission out since they already do their Our Town Stories program that gathers people together to discuss different aspects of Coshocton’s past.
Money to put toward downtown business development was granted to Our Town Coshocton.
“We are excited about this and ready to see what we can do for our community and Main Street,” said Michelle Turner-Ganz from Our Town Coshocton.
The amount Our Town Coshocton received was the balance of an initial sum of money that was used to get their organization off the ground.
“Now that they are better organized we felt it was time to allocate the funds,” Skowrunski said.
The Coshocton County Beacon was granted funds that were designated for mapping and planning ways to strengthen local media, but the project they are being put toward will actually help the whole community.
“We are humbled and very appreciative to receive this grant from the Port Authority on behalf of The Schooler Family Foundation,” said Mark Fortune, owner/publisher of The Beacon. “Our purpose is to continue to provide the people and businesses of Coshocton County with a publication and media channels that focus on the positive in our community. We are fortunate to enjoy many positive relationships within the community and we especially have enjoyed partnering with the Coshocton County Visitors Bureau in this effort to develop a mobile app for Coshocton County.”
To Coshocton gives people information on restaurants, shopping, lodging, events, and businesses and organizations in the community plus much more.
“These funds will certainly help enhance our effort to continue developing the app and build a more robust marketing and branding campaign for To Coshocton,” Fortune said. “Again, we are grateful to Dorothy and the Schooler Family Foundation for this grant. We will make every effort on behalf of the community and our team to make their decision a positive one.”
While the money distributed was the port authority’s to grant to those who could carry out the Schooler Family’s wishes, Skowrunski said she still discussed the possibilities with Dean Schooler and had her board pass three resolutions before decisions were made.
“We are so appreciative of the Schooler family for looking out for our community and continuing to help it,” Skowrunski said.
Category: Business
