HAVERHILL — From the bumper sticker on her car to the lapel pin she still wears, local businesswoman Elaine Barker has never given up on promoting Brightside.
Barker will be wearing the pin that carries an image of the Basiliere Bridge at sunset and the words Haverhill's Brightside, when she and her board of directors meet at City Hall on Tuesday. The informational meeting that will be held at 7 p.m. in Room 301 could mark a new beginning for the once thriving civic-improvement organization that has all but faded from the public eye in after its director left in 2006 for other work.
"Brightside's flame is still flickering and the hope and intention is that it will burn brightly again," said Barker. "When I believe in something I won't let it die. I believe in Brightside and I want to see it resurrected."
Members of Brightside's board of directors are hoping to recruit new members and volunteers who can bring fresh ideas that could spark the hoped-for rebirth of the nonprofit group. They are inviting members of the public to the meeting and invite them to share their ideas with board members.
Longtime Brightside board member and local businessman Mark Brady said community beautification has been the talk of the city ever since Mayor James Fiorentini's state of the city address in February, when he called on young and old to join a volunteer corps that would, essentially, do the things Brightside's volunteers had been doing for years, and still do in part.
"There's been some renewed interest in Brightside and we do not want to let it fall by the wayside," Brady said.
Fiorentini's plan to create a Citizen Volunteer Corps faltered in May after the woman he put in charge of finding volunteers to serve the city in various ways resigned amidst controversy that while leading volunteer efforts she was also working on his campaign. Fiorentini is expected to seek a four, two-year term in the November election.
"In these tough economic times, a volunteer group plays a very important role," Brady said. "I always hoped that somewhere down the line the city's finances would improve or there would be some sort of partnership or some sort of miracle."
Barker founded Brightside in the early 1990s, starting with just volunteers. But when it grew too large the city hired longtime resident Denise Johnson in 1995 to direct the program.
Led by Johnson, Brightside volunteers regularly helped with community clean-up events. Throughout the year they planted trees along roads and they planted tulips and daffodil bulbs around signs honoring veterans, and in front of the municipal buildings such as the courthouse on Ginty Boulevard and around City Hall. Flowers bloomed, trees grew and community gardens burst with fresh vegetables.
Then in 2002 the city laid off a number of workers, including Johnson, to deal with a $5 million budget gap. For the next few years Johnson's $25,000 annual salary was paid through grants and donations. Johnson left Brightside in 2006 for other work, and at a time when the organization's volunteers numbered in the hundreds.
Without a director, Brightside's light dimmed, although many of its volunteers continued to carry the torch. Businesses such as Tilton, Rogers and Gale Funeral Homes continue to plant flowers at adopted sites, such as in Monument Square, along with individuals like 73-year-old Allen Drelick, who faithfully cares for and plants flowers at his adopted sites in Monument Square and on Lincoln Avenue.
"Since we're an agrarian city, somebody has to bring flowers and beauty to Haverhill," Drelick said yesterday. "I love this city and I'd like to see Brightside return. We'd get some leadership as all the Adopt-a-Park people are doing it on their own.
Barker said the community has never forgotten about Brightside and with renewed support, it can return to its former glory. But it will face a huge challenge, and that is finding money to pay someone to direct its beautification efforts, apply for grants and recruit future volunteers.
"The program worked very well when it had a paid director," Brady said. "We all have other responsibilities, such as families and jobs, so it is difficult to coordinate all of the activities Brightside had been doing."
Anyone interested in getting involved with Brightside is encouraged to attend Tuesday night's meeting in City Hall or contact Elaine Barker at 978-372-3861 or paperpot@aol.com.
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