April 25, 2019
The Hinesburg Business and Professionals Association is a coalition of local business owners and active community members whose mission is to “promote local businesses, support local charitable organizations, encourage community service and foster communication and cooperation among members.” The HBPA has around 60 members, with about 15 active members who gather at 4:30 the third Tuesday of every month at local Hinesburg restaurant Papa Nick’s. Members work to organize and promote fundraising events which help to support the Hinesburg Community Resource Center and Hinesburg Food Shelf, scholarship funds for Champlain Valley Union High School, as well as local businesses, families and individuals in need of support.
The HBPA has around 60 members and holds meetings at Papa Nick’s.
The most active members, pictured here enjoying each other’s company at Papa Nick’s and discussing their fundraising efforts, include Walter Hausermann, who has been president of the HBPA for more than eight years, as well as Laura Gurdak from Hinesburg Hair Studio, who is currently taking over the position as president. Other active members include Mike Dee of Dee Physical Therapy; David Palmer of Palmer Insurance; Stuart Deliduka with Element Nail Salon; Kristen Wahner, Jean Isham and Kevin Lewis all with the Hinesburg Record, Will Eggleston from the National Bank of Middlebury; Roberta Soll and Karla Munson with the Hinesburg Community Resource Center; Kris Merchant from Waitsfield and Champlain Valley Telecom; Tricia Chaput of Aubuchon Hardware Store; Peter Crapo with Community Bank N.A.; Darrel Depot of PuroClean and Natalie Tucker Miller of Hausermann-Luce Insurance Agency, LLC.
Fundraising events integral to the HBPA’s continued service to the Hinesburg community includes the springtime Community Yard Sale event, which is taking place this year from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. on May 11. The yard sale is going on its 22nd year in operation within Hinesburg, with a great amount of support seen from both Hinesburg citizens and locals from surrounding towns, with some participants traveling from as far as New York to enjoy the townwide event.
The HBPA Community Yard Sale begins at the fire station on May 11.
The sale begins at the Hinesburg Fire Department, where raffle tickets can be purchased. There, several entrepreneurs and businesses who purchased a table from the HBPA will be able to sell their items. Proceeds from the raffle and the table fees will be given to local families in need, scholarship funds for CVU, funds for the golf tournament organized by the HBPA, as well as the Hinesburg Community Resource Center and Food Shelf. The yard sale attracts community members from far and wide as it also provides a map, which is distributed at the fire department, in which any household is able to list their home as a stop on the map within the yard sale event. Homeowners can list their houses free of charge up to a week before the day of the sale. If you would like to purchase a table or be listed on the map, please contact Walter Hausermann at 802-878-7144 or walterh@gmavt.net.
The Golf Open (a.k.a. “Fundraiser Fore Fireworks”) is another major fundraising effort for the HBPA. The Open helps to raise funds for Hinesburg’s town fireworks, and is enjoying its third year of success at Cedar Knoll Country Club. The Golf Open will be held from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Saturday, June 8, 2019, and requires a registration fee of $75 per player for a four-person team in order to participate. Around 50 local businesses also sponsor golf tees every year, and both the registration fees and the tee sponsorship revenues greatly assist the town in its ability to put on their Fourth of July fireworks event. At the end of the open, prizes such as best in class will be distributed, among other recognitions. Registration for the open will be sold at the fire department during the May 11 yard sale, as well as listed online on a soon-to-be-available Eventbrite page, the Hinesburg Recreation Department website, and www.hinesburgbusiness.com. Further questions regarding the open and registration can be directed to David Palmer at 802-482-5678 or davepalmer@palmerinsurancevt.com.
The Golf Open revenues greatly assist the town in funding the Fourth of July fireworks event.
The Hinesburg Business and Professionals Association also organizes community events such as barbecues and other fundraisers which help to promote local businesses and charitable organizations, as well as foster a deep sense of community within Hinesburg residents. Living within the shadow of Burlington, the largest city in Vermont, can have its challenges, as Stuart Deliduka and Laura Gurdak tell me. As Stuart puts it, due to the small nature of the Hinesburg population, many locals feel as if “a lot of the services and support is structured around Burlington, South Burlington, Winooski, Colchester … but not Hinesburg.” This lack of support means that many residents, such as Laura, feel as if Hinesburg is on its own.
Despite the lack of resources, Hinesburg’s independence from surrounding towns allows Hinesburg to enjoy a rich sense of community engagement and support, embodied by the HBPA and the organizations it assists. If you want to help Hinesburg continue to thrive, please consider attending a meeting, becoming a member or supporting any of the HBPA’s fun and charitable fundraising events. Please contact HBPA.Laura@gmail.com to become a member or learn more about the fundraising events and how you can assist or participate.