Thanksgiving is right around the corner and so its a good time to look up and around and notice what others do for our community. Here is one example of an individual who noticed something he could make better, sought out collaboration partners and got the job done. Unlike Tom Sawyer who cleverly tricked his friends into doing the work, Jason Greene, and the J. Greene Painting crew took on the task for themselves, donating their expertise and labor.  The fence along Florence Street near Leeds Elementary School has looked cruddy for years – a mottled mess of chipped off paint.

Several months ago Jason contacted Jesse Adams, City Councilor At-Large (who is now a resident of Leeds!) to see if the DPW could repair the rotting and missing fence boards. Jason offered to donate the labor and have the material donated as well. Jason spoke with Lee Pitrat at Florence Paint who agreed to donate the Benjamin Moore material. DPW made the repairs, however the painting was held up during the warm summer months because of poison ivy growing in the area. After recent frosts the poison ivy is now dormant and so Jason and his crew were able to get in and paint. Jason says, “So far, my ankles are not itchy…fingers crossed!