Blog

Board Spotlight - Sam Gellar-Smith

When Sam Gellar-Smith first offered the Protagonist bookstore as a meeting place for the then Community Center Exploratory Committee, she didn’t realize just what she was getting herself into. Hearing the vision of the center, as a place where community can work together to create something that fits the needs of the entire community, prompted her to offer her services as a board member.

Sam’s experience with the boards of a variety of non-profit organizations provides a valuable array of skills and experiences. From the Humane Society in Charlotte, NC to the Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra, Sam has seen non-profit boards in an up close and personal way. In particular, Sam brings policy writing and programming experience to the board. She says,

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Board Spotlight - Phillip Bradley

Decades before the Dryden Center for Community was even a dream, board member Phil Bradley was learning about building community.  Hailing from the southwest side of Philadelphia, Phil brings years of experience and training and a heart of service to the Center.

Phil describes a city in turmoil and in need of community building. Following participation in the Million Man March, one of the largest demonstrations in US history, Phil helped to create the African-American Brotherhood in Philadelphia. As a program coordinator for developing rites of passage for young people, Phil has trained in areas as diverse as grant writing, conflict resolution and mediation, strategic planning for non profits and tutor training. When not growing community connections, Phil worked in the Wells Fargo Guard Service.

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Board Spotlight - Rich Winter

DCC: When did you first hear about the community center idea?

RW: About two years ago, it became obvious that the church would be closing. We had tried a number of things and they all failed. The big concern was “What is going to happen to the building?” When we heard about the New York Forward Grant, we thought maybe the Village would look at buying it to make it a community center. Tom Sinclair, Jennifer Dick and I went up to Homer Center for the Arts. They showed us around and they talked about how they developed their space. Nothing really much more happened with it until about a year ago January (2025). I called a few stakeholders of the church building together, Elizabeth (Gutchess), Tom and Jennifer, and we discussed how it might go. Then we had a second meeting which I very rudely forgot to come to. At that time, we realized that Tom was in a position to really make the thing go. He had the expertise and he had the connections to the Village and to the people who served on the committee who did the needs assessment for the grant, so he started to run with it. The rest is history.

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Board Spotlight - Marion Ferrer

Well before her delicious baked goods were available at local Main Street eateries, Board Member Marion Ferrer has been baking professionally all over the world. She brings her years of expertise in the kitchen, both baking and teaching, to the Board of the Dryden Center for Community. As our kitchen coordinator, Marion is helping to establish procedures for the rental of our certified commercial kitchen, organizing required training and preparing programs for young and old.

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Tai Ji

Everyone tells you to exercise. You tell yourself to exercise. You feel yourself getting stiffer and worry about your future mobility as well as your health. You aren’t sure about gyms and you’re not sure about what to do. An alternative is the Chinese martial art Tai Ji.

Tai Ji started many years ago as a family self defense art that helped defend the Chen family from bandits and marauders. The Emperors armies didn’t leave the imperial city to defend villages. They had to defend themselves. The Chen family developed an effective art that let them defend against aggressors. This took many generations.

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Board Spotlight - Cindy Kjellander-Cantu

Many of you know Cindy from her years of dedication to managing the Dryden Community Center Café, or her design work for the History Center of Tompkins County. You may have had the opportunity to work under her as a tutor at TC3. However you’ve connected with Cindy in the past, at the Dryden Center for Community, we’re honored to have Cindy on our Board of Trustees and to recognize her in this month’s Member Spotlight. Cindy brings her considerable graphic design talent and expertise to the project, designing logos, posters, and a variety of publicity formats. She imagined and executed our Steeple Social and Open Doors Day and has supported the Center from its beginning.

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Press Release: Dryden Center for Community Center Completes Purchase of United Methodist Church Building

On February 11, 2026, the Dryden Center for Community completed the purchase of the United Methodist Church building located in the center of the Village of Dryden. This is a major step toward opening the building for public events, community meals, music and creative arts lessons, and multigenerational events. “After months of community conversations and amazing support from so many individuals and families, we are ready to get to work on making this the community center that Dryden needs”, said Stephanie Ortolano, the Executive Director of the Dryden Center for Community.

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Reflections on 2025 and Dreams for 2026

As 2025 wraps up tonight, I am reflecting on all the amazing things that have happened this year. When the sad news came to our community that the Dryden United Methodist Church was going to be closing its doors, a group of people were convened by Tom Sinclair to see if a community center would be possible in this space. Sitting around that table were some of the most dedicated and committed people in Dryden, who wanted to make this happen. We weren't exactly sure what it would look like when we got started, but we knew that we were going to be part of something transformative for our whole community.

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October Update

It has been a few weeks since the last update and I have been waiting on news from our lawyer on a closing date. Unfortunately, we don't have one yet. So many people are excited about seeing the Center, teaching classes, holding events, and just using our electricity for the Dryden Holiday Celebration on Saturday, December 6th. Hopefully we will be in the building by then, but we are just in a holding pattern for the moment.

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NY Forward and the Village of Dryden

Exciting things are happening in Dryden! This spring, the Village was awarded a $4,500,000 NY Forward grant to fund projects that will transform our community. On Thursday, September 18, local businesses and organizations will share their proposed projects at a public workshop from 6-8 PM at the Dryden Fire Hall on North Street. This is a great opportunity for you to comment on how the proposed projects will fit with your vision for our best future.

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