[Friends of Mabry Park] It's all about the ROAD! Spring Newsletter

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Wear your Mabry Park T-shirt or Cap to SHOW YOUR SUPPORT

for the Development of Mabry Park at this TUESDAY'S TOWN HALL MEETING, May 14 - 7pm

Friends of Mabry Park will be wearing theirs - look for us!

Commissioner JoAnn Birrell's next town hall meeting is 7-8:30 p.m., Tuesday, May 14, at the Mountain View Community Center, 3400 Sandy Plains Road, Marietta.

It's all about the ROAD...

If only it were this easy!

Mabry Park's 26.5 acres of beauty is currently "land-locked" and thus inaccessible to the public and even construction equipment. However, there is an easement for an access road in the future to the park land from Wesley Chapel Road.

Only after completion of this road, will the public have access to the land and construction of the park be possible. Fortunately, we are making progress on this front.

With the generous support from Heath & Lineback Engineers, we now have completed road design plans!

We can't thank Heath and Lineback enough for the donation of their time to this effort! While this most important first step is complete, we still need to secure funding for construction. This is the next major financial hurdle.

The Mabry Park development is a unique situation. The land itself is quite usable as-is for passive activities like walking, running, picnics, fishing, and just enjoying the natural beauty. However, without access to the park, none of this can be enjoyed - yet.

The 2011 SPLOST did not include any funds for Mabry Park, despite the original spirit of the SPLOST law being targeted at "special" (that's what the S is all about) capital improvements just like the Mabry Park road.

Public awareness and lobbying for the park are key to helping accomplish this mighty task.

PLEASE consider letting your elected representative(s) of choice know Mabry Park is a priority for this district.

District 3 Commissioner JoAnn Birrell is behind Mabry Park...

Please take 15 minutes to email and let her and your District Legislator(s) of choice know you are behind Mabry Park, too!*

Cobb County District 1 Commissioner, Helen Goreham hgoreham@cobbcounty.org
Cobb County District 2 Commissioner, Bob Ott bob.ott@cobbcounty.org
Cobb County District 3 Commissioner, JoAnn Birrell joann.birrell@cobbcounty.org
Cobb County District 4 Commissioner, Lisa Cupid lisa.cupid@cobbcounty.org
Cobb County Commission Chairman, Tim Lee tlee@cobbcounty.org

Georgia State Representative John Carson john.carson@house.ga.gov
Georgia State Senator Judson Hill judson@judsonhill.com
U.S. Senator Johnny Isakson http://www.isakson.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/email-me
U.S. Senator Saxby Chambliss http://www.chambliss.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/email
U.S. Representative Tom Price https://tomprice.house.gov/contact-me

The Value of a Passive Park in Northeast Cobb


Green space	Community Involvement


Safe play areas for children	Healthy Lifestyle	Increased Real Estate Value

*TIPS for communicating with elected representatives
As with any communication with elected representatives, there are guidelines:

Use your own words.
Copy and paste will have the opposite effect. Your purpose for writing should be stated in the first paragraph of the letter.

Address only one issue in each email, and, if possible, keep the letter to one page.

Be sincere, polite, and most importantly, respectful.

Be positive. A negatively-toned message will not stand out and the message for action may be missed.

Be sincere. Emotion and passion do have impact. The use of anecdotes and stories impacting the community usually carry more importance with legislators than just general statements about an issue.

THANK YOU

Donors and Volunteers!

Our Accomplishments - Thanks to you....

Encouraging Community Awareness and Engagement

Development of the Master Plan

Encouraged local community participation in public meetings

Paid for by the Friends of Mabry Park

Social/Online Marketing

Web site - mabrypark.org

Newsletter (911 subscribers)

Facebook Like Facebook page (318 likes)

Twitter (324 followers)

Pinterest Mabry Park Tree Planting

Local Schools

Kyle Giesler and Debra Kushnick Partner in Education with three local schools

Garrison Mill tree planting event

Successful "Money for Mabry Park" fundraiser with Garrison Mill and Davis Elementary

Raised $3,900 (over 250 pounds of coins)

Can serve as a model for other schools

Money for Mabry Davis Elementary School 2013

Local Businesses

Reciprocal social media presence

Selling car magnets and commemorative bricks

Chique Hair Design

Local Neighborhoods

Participation in numerous local festivals

Almost 400 neighborhoods in our territory

Articles and ads published in some neighborhood newsletters

Neighborhood-level (1 to 3 neighborhoods) fundraising events

Windsor Oaks Fun Run

Planning wine or craft beer social events East Cobber Parade 2010 FoMP Fans

Can serve as model to be duplicated in other neighborhoods

Three annual Fall Park Preview events (2010, 2011, 2012)

Only opportunity for the public to walk the land and very well received

Average 250 visitors each year

Average $2,500 raised each year

Mark Jernigan at 2011 Park Preview

Ways to donate

Web site "Donate" page

Purchase car magnet at local businesses

Purchase a commemorative brick (online form)

T-shirts and other merchandise sold at local events

Donations (approximate)

Total: $63,000.

Corporate: $14,000 - only a few large donors

donation tree Civic: $2,000

Private: $37,000

Merchandise Sales: $5,000

Money for Mabry Park elementary school campaigns: $4,000

Windsor Oaks Fun Run: $212.00

In-kind services

Centerline Surveying: all land surveying services. Property Boundary and Road

John Heath Engineering:

Approximately $30,000 worth from Heath and Lineback alone!

Design of access road (recently completed)

Design contest for bridge across the lake

UPS Store in Sandy Plains Village: Free post office box services

Local business profit-sharing of select merchandise

A BIIIIIIIIIIGGG THANK YOU TO OUR SPONSORS

Mike and Viji Burns at

UPS STORE 4631
at Mabry Rd. & Woodstock Rd.

They have donated Friends of Mabry Park's mail box for over 2 years at NO CHARGE.

Viji says, "We want to do this for the community!"

Please thank them for their support of Mabry Park and our community with a LIKE on https://www.facebook.com/UpsStore4361 and you'll get $2 off any Domestic UPS Shipment!

"Our mission is to raise funds to create Mabry Park; a park for current and future generations to connect with nature, history, and the community."

Friends of Mabry Park, Inc. www.MabryPark.org
Contact us at contact@mabrypark.org
4651 Woodstock Road #208
Roswell, GA 30075

Mabry Park is a Cobb County Parks and Recreation Facility
Friends of Mabry Park is a non-profit 501(c) 3 organization