United Way of Schuyler County
Watkins Glen, New York
United Way of Schuyler County, Inc.
PO Box 270
Watkins Glen, New York 14891
Val Carocci says it’s only right that she and her husband, Jerry, are serving as co-chairmen of the 2012 Schuyler County United Way campaign.
“When you look at the United Way, there are so many organizations that we’ve been involved with,” Val said.
But it’s more than that. Val grew up in Sayre, PA, watching her late mother, Jane Weaver, devote many years as a member of that area’s United Way board and as an active campaign volunteer. Val followed her mother as a board member there when she was living in Sayre before moving to Schuyler County.
When Peggy Scott, Schuyler board executive director, asked Val and Jerry to serve as this year’s co-chairmen, Val says she immediately thought of her mom.
“It was easy to say yes,” she said.
Val and Jerry and their sons Jared, 15, and Jacob, 14, have been operating Church Street Produce in Burdett for nine years. It’s a seasonal business that keeps them busy year-round.
“We start in May with asparagus, though this year it was April. And we go through the first hard frost with fall raspberries,” Val said. “Everything we sell, we grow, except for the sweet corn that I pick at a friend’s. We take great pride in what we sell.”
The family moved from Sayre to Burdett in 1995, bringing Jerry closer to his job with the Department of Corrections, from which he is now retired.
“This was the perfect spot,” Val said.
Their choice is one for which a lot of organizations in the county can be grateful.
Jerry is a former board member for Schuyler Little League and a former coach. They both are active volunteers with the Watkins Glen Parent-Teacher Organization and the Humane Society of Schuyler County. When their sons were enrolled at Schuyler Nursery School, the couple was very involved there, too.
Seneca Santa is the newest organization benefiting from their support.
Val is a member of the Burdett Comprehensive Planning Board and a member of the Cornell Cooperative Extension of Schuyler County Agriculture Advisory Board.
Sons Jared, a 10th-grader at Watkins Glen High School, and Jacob, an 8th-grader at Watkins Glen Middle School, keep their parents busy during the school year with a variety of sports and other school activities.
October is United Way month in Schuyler County
2012 Campaign Goal~$123,000
Susannah Knapp of O'Susannah's Quilts & Gifts, Watkins Glen, shows the quilt she made to be raffled to support the 2009 United Way campaign. Tickets for the quilt may be purchased each year by contacting any United Way board member.
Schuyler County Sheriff William Yessman, center, was the winner of the Schuyler County United Way quilt raffle. With Yessman are 2011 United Way campaign chairmen Barb and Curt Connelly of Burdett. The quilt was donated by O'Susannah's Quilts & Gifts in Watkins Glen. United Way is accepting donations toward the 2012 campaign goal of $123,000 to support 24 agencies serving Schuyler residents. Donations may be sent to P.O. Box 270, Watkins Glen, NY 14891.
Schuyler County Sheriff William Yessman, center, was the winner of the Schuyler County United Way quilt raffle. With Yessman are 2011 United Way campaign chairmen Barb and Curt Connelly of Burdett. The quilt was donated by O'Susannah's Quilts & Gifts in Watkins Glen. United Way is accepting donations toward the 2012 campaign goal of $123,000 to support 24 agencies serving Schuyler residents. Donations may be sent to P.O. Box 270, Watkins Glen, NY 14891.