Community Development Partnership To Hold 31st Annual Meeting

Filed Under: Non Profit News

The Community Development Partnership (CDP) will hold their 31st Annual Meeting on Thursday, April 13, at 5:30 p.m. at Wellfleet Preservation Hall.

Lower and Outer Cape residents, along with supporters of the organization, are invited to attend. The annual meeting is a time to acknowledge the organization’s achievements and share plans for the future.   

At the event, the CDP will honor members of the community with two annual awards, the Gwen Pelletier Award for Excellence in Community Service and Norm Edinberg Award for Excellence in Entrepreneurship. In addition, new Board members and officers will be elected, and a new Community Investment Plan will be shared. 

“We are eager to honor our awardees, celebrate our past accomplishments and share our new Community Investment Plan which will guide our work over the next three years,” said CDP Chief Executive Officer Jay Coburn. 

Elaine McIlroy of Wellfleet is this year’s recipient of the Gwen Pelletier Award for Excellence in Community Service.  

Mcllroy moved to Wellfleet in the 1980s to work as the Director of the Wellfleet Library, a position she held for 30 years. She helped to improve the Wellfleet Public Library and ushered in the age of the internet. Hundreds of letters sent in by her local community led to her receiving the prestigious “I Love My Librarian” award, an honor bestowed on just 10 librarians in the U.S. each year by The New York Times, the American Library Association, and the Carnegie Corporation.  

In her community, McIIroy serves on the Board of the Fleet Fund, an organization dedicated to helping our neighbors who need assistance when some unexpected event or personal difficulty brings them to a place of serious financial hardship. She is also a member of the Wellfleet Affordable Housing Trust and chair of the Wellfleet Housing Authority. 

Jess Georges, Founder of Green Road Refill, will receive the Norm Edinberg Award for Excellence in Entrepreneurship. 

Georges founded Green Road Refill in 2017 with a goal of creating a mobile business to bring her eco-friendly soaps, shampoos, lotions, and cleaning products to markets across the Cape. Originally, she reached out to the CDP about a micro-loan to buy a vehicle but ended up being able to finance it herself. Since her initial inquiry, Georges has worked with the CDP’s Business and Credit program staff to receive business assistance, particularly around marketing. She is also hoping to access a Mass Growth Capital Corporation Digital Grant when the portal reopens. Funding from this grant would enable her to expand the businesses’ digital capabilities. 

In 2020 Green Road Refill won the C.A.R.E. for the Cape and Islands Stewardship Award. The award recognizes an organization that has shown dedication to environmental and cultural sustainability measures, and a commitment to caring for the Cape and Islands.  

In 2021, Georges expanded her mobile operation by opening a brick-and-mortar shop in Brewster. The store has helped save more than 10,000 plastic bottles in the community. 

The CDP’s Annual Meeting and Community Awards is sponsored by Seamen’s Bank and Kerry Insurance Agency. Registration is required and a $25 donation is requested to help defray the cost of the event. To register visit: https://capecdp.org/event/31st-annual-meeting-2