From the water come worldwide reflections of the community
Since its beginning in 2005, the Welcome Center on the banks of Brockport’s Erie Canal has drawn visitors into the village from all around the world. From the water have come reflections of the fabric of the community, as boaters praise its features and quality.
Instrumental in Brockport’s glowing reputation among national and global visitors are the greeters that welcome them at the Welcome Center. The greeters are the first to meet arriving boaters, giving instructions on use of the facilities as their hosts, and then sharing highlights of the community as ambassadors.
Sal Sciremammano has served as greeter since the beginning. Sal says, “There are not many places on the canal where your boat is about 100 yards from a Main Street and a bevy of restaurants, coffee places, novelty shops, a movie theater, and a huge independent book store. And, our boaters love it.” On evaluation sheets completed by boaters, a typical statement reads, “Beautiful town and wonderful reception center and people. Brockport has a great reputation with boaters. We can see why.”
Greeters Sal Sciremammano, Kyle McGonigal and Cathy Appleby gather at the canal side two days before the end of a busy season at the Welcome Center.
Managing the Welcome Center every day May through October
The Welcome Center on Water Street has state-of-the-art facilities and service, including water and electric hookups, Wi-Fi, showers, restrooms, and laundry facilities.
About 100 volunteers serve two-hour shifts for twelve hours daily during the peak season from June through September. It’s a nine-hour day for the opening and closing weeks of the canal.
Bill Andrews, Brockport’s deputy mayor, started the greeters’ project and now oversees it, working with Doug Wolcott to manage it. Doug schedules the greeters and Bill sends out the schedules by email. Doug also has been a greeter from the beginning. His duties now include arriving every day at 8 a.m. to check on paid boaters and, “Make sure all are happy with what they got.”
A story sampler from the greeters
Some greeters are scheduled with a partner, allowing one to miss on occasion, but also allowing one of them to go on special errands for boaters. It’s up to each greeter, Doug says, but some have driven boaters to Wegmans, Wal-Mart, the hospital, and to a store to get boat parts.
Doug and Sal have paired up from the beginning, taking a four-hour shift each week. They are joined by Kyle McGonigal, a man with Down syndrome who loves being on duty and helping with chores.
The Welcome Center also greets many bikers who arrive from across the U.S. Sal recalls two women, 80 and 82 years old who biked from Albany on their way to see their grandfather’s home in Buffalo. They asked for a ride to Albion to expedite their trip. Sal drove them to Lockport.
Cathy Appleby, a greeter for 10 years, was amazed by an Ohio family arriving last year with three children, aged six, eight and twelve years old. “After a battle over cell phones, the parents decided, ‘That’s enough!’” Cathy said. “They sold their house, purchased a boat, and have been traveling for four years so their kids can learn to see beyond the material world.”
Doug was surprised to find visitors from other states shocked to find that upstate “New York” is not as urban as they had imagined. “A couple from Texas wanted to see a large dairy farm,” Doug said about driving them there. “They were amazed, saying, ‘You have more farmland here than we have around Austin.’ The wife, who had grown up in Kansas, was shocked at how much corn we have here.”
Welcome Center also used for community activities
Besides providing hospitality to boaters and bikers, the Welcome Center landing is the venue for different local events. Summer Serenades with musical groups are held there as well as other entertainment. Annually, New York State provides Erie Canal history to local 4th graders with a visit from the historic tugboat Urger and its crew. (See photo). Free loaner bikes are also available for visiting boaters.
Reflections on success
Bill Andrews offers this assessment of Welcome Center’s success:
•Boaters tell us that we have the best welcome center on the canal and the only one that is staffed full-time by volunteers. The ease with which we have recruited volunteers, 90-100 each season, is a very heartening indication of the vitality of the volunteer culture in our village.
•The Welcome Center has been a very valuable investment for the Village in terms of the amount of business it brings to our downtown businesses. I have read that the average tourist spends $150 a day.
•This year we lent bicycles 461 times through October 9. Russ Church at Bicycle Outfitters does any bike repairs with no charge for his labor. Gary Skoog volunteers to coordinate the bicycle program.
Bill also said the use of the Welcome Center has increased 23% over last year. As a result, the Center is making money from the low fees that don’t exceed $15 per boat.
For more information visit www.brockportny.org/about/canal-front-tourism
Photos by Dianne Hickerson
