STATEMENT FROM THE AMERICAN CIVIC ASSOCIATION

The following statement was issued today by Andrew Baranoski, Executive Director of the Board of the American Civic Association.

The volunteer Board of the American Civic Association met yesterday for the first time since the terrible shootings on April 3. We are all still grieving and still very affected by these events. This meeting was extraordinarily emotional for all of us.

When she addressed the media the day after the shooting, Board President Angela Leach eloquently spoke for all of us in expressing our deep gratitude to this community for the outpouring of support we have received. Angela said then that we’d emerge from our grief more resolute than ever in our mission to help people realize the dream of American citizenship.

The past ten days have been filled with funerals, final arrangements and mourning. Yesterday was the first opportunity the board could meet as a group, consider its options and begin to set a path forward. While there is much work to be done, the needs of our clients continue and we are able to share the following:

· The American Civic Association will return to our headquarters at 131 Front Street. Our return is not a question of if, but when.

· While the American Civic Association begins the work necessary to repair and modify our headquarters we will temporarily relocate our client services to another location. Over the next week or so, we will visit alternative sites and evaluate each location’s accessibility, proximity to public transportation, parking and ability to protect the privacy of our clients.

· We would like to thank the Broome County Department of Health, the Press Building, BOCES and the First Congregational Church of Binghamton. Each generous organization has offered space to the American Civic Association.

· I will continue to conduct the American Civic Association’s administrative operations out of our 131 Front Street headquarters.

· The American Civic Association is looking at our event scheduling and the possibility of a memorial to ensure that all activities are conducted with the highest degree of respect.

The Binghamton community can be assured its donations will always go to support the deserving immigrants that chose to make our wonderful community home. A tragedy of this magnitude could easily force a small volunteer based organization such as ours out of existence. Fortunately, the American Civic Association has the support of an insurance company has paid for and continues to provide such indispensible services as mental health and grief support, legal counsel and crisis public relations assistance. This essential support will help our small organization to survive and continue to fulfill our mission.

The Binghamton law firm of Leonard and Cummings, LLP has also agreed to represent and counsel the American Civic Association pro bono. We cannot begin to express our gratitude to this wonderful firm. It is the support of community leaders like Leonard and Cummings that make it possible for organizations like the American Civic Association to exist.

I also want to personally express my deepest thanks to people in this community – to law enforcement officers who put their lives on the line, to the elected leaders who have been so supportive and are too numerous to name here, to the religious leaders who have come together to provide spiritual support, to the news media who have respected the needs and wishes of the families.

Since its founding by immigrants in 1939, the American Civic Association has been dedicated to helping newcomers to this nation forge a path to tomorrow. We have done that by embracing where we all have come from, but focusing our attention on the future.

As we emerge from this horrible episode, we will remember all those we have lost – colleagues, students and friends. But our focus will still be on tomorrow. That’s our mission.