Cortland Standard .net

By EMMETT NENO
Staff Reporter
eneno@cortlandstandard.net
HARFORD — To some, community events might be fun but of little importance. To former Harford Town Supervisor David Canfield, however, bringing children and adults together to have fun is not only enjoyable but necessary for the well-being of the community.
Last year, Canfield organized an event where he dressed as Santa Claus and stepped out of a Harford fire truck to distribute goodies and stockings to waiting kids while parents enjoyed refreshments and socialized.
“The parents had as big of a smile on their faces as the kids did,” said Town Councilperson Daryl Cross, who attended the event.
Canfield has a passion for gathering the community together, which officials say he showed through his work organizing town events last year, as well as throughout his time as town supervisor in 2012 and 2013.
He suggested to the Town Board in October that the town fund community parties for Halloween and for Christmas using money it annually sets aside for youths in the community. The board allocates about $2,000 a year for projects to benefit local children, such as improvements to Edmund’s Park or Harford Mills Park in the town of Harford, he said.
Canfield spent roughly half of the $500 the town set aside for the two events and was able to save the rest since local businesses donated goods such as cider and doughnuts.
He said he thinks it is important for residents, including old and young people, to mingle at such events since they can learn from each other.
“We just got to get everybody on the same page for the same goal (of broadening everyone’s experiences),” he said.
The former town official has organized community events for some time, trying to strengthen unity within the community, officials say.
Cross, who has been on the board for 24 years, said Canfield would organize Christmas parties for the town board and town highway department workers when he was the town supervisor. Cross said he had never seen those types of parties previously held, adding the gatherings held more significance than simply providing a social outlet.
Allowing town officials to enjoy bonding time without the worries of town business made it easier for them to work together on issues that came up, Cross said.
“I commend him (Canfield) for doing that because it really hasn’t been done in the past,” he said.
Holding community events has become more important since people have grown more focused on their own lives and less attentive to bonding with others, Canfield said.
“I think that’s why we have so much trouble today because we’re not doing it (community events) enough,” he said.
Cross said he agrees, adding he has noticed community involvement has decreased because people seem to have trouble fitting activities into busyschedules.
Fellow Town Councilman David Stoner said he also appreciated how the Halloween and Christmas events Canfield organized brought residents together.
“I think it’s a great idea,” he said. “Towns have kind of gotten away from unity, and Dave (Canfield) has a desire to pull people together, and you do that by starting with young people, that’s the key to the future. I appreciate that.”
Stoner said he believes the Halloween and Christmas events will only grow as the community becomes more involved in them.
Although the Christmas event is just recently completed, Canfield said he is already planning for next year’s celebrations. He is willing to keep organizing community events or to help others organize them to ensure they continue, he said.
“You have to start somewhere; you have to have a starting point,” Canfield said. “If I’m the starting point, perfect.”