{"id":7233,"date":"2025-02-13T15:42:07","date_gmt":"2025-02-13T15:42:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/princetonillinois.com\/?p=7233"},"modified":"2025-02-13T15:42:07","modified_gmt":"2025-02-13T15:42:07","slug":"after-14-years-ottawa-first-steps-away-from-fireworks-fundraising-shaw-local-news-network","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/princetonillinois.com\/?p=7233","title":{"rendered":"After 14 years, Ottawa First steps away from fireworks fundraising – Shaw Local News Network"},"content":{"rendered":"


(From left) Patrick Feehan, Bob Carretto, Larry Johnson, LouAnne Carretto and Jay LeSeure are celebrated Thursday, Jan. 9, 2025, as original Ottawa First members. <\/span>(Charles Stanley for Shaw Local)
The fundraising torch for Ottawa<\/a>\u2019s annual Fourth of July fireworks show has been passed from Ottawa First to the Ottawa Downtown Association, but not without some anxious moments on each side.
Ottawa First, the all-volunteer nonprofit group that for the past 14 years has raised the funding for Ottawa\u2019s show, one of the best in all of northern Illinois, disbanded. The group had its final meeting Thursday at Bianchi\u2019s Pizza.
Almost all of the current members were on hand to reminisce about their experiences, reminding each other of moments both funny and disappointing, all the while reveling in the company that has brought so much joy to individuals and families over the years.
\u201cIt\u2019s a sad thing,\u201d said Lou Ann Carretto, one of the group\u2019s original members. \u201cThere are a lot of mixed emotions \u2013 like we\u2019re kind of glad to be done, but then we started reminiscing about all the things we\u2019d done over the year and all the fun we had. It\u2019s a happy kind of sad situation.
\u201cWe all knew it was time. There were a lot of members who needed their space or felt bad because they couldn\u2019t help out like they used to, and we\u2019re all getting older. We thought, \u2018Let\u2019s go out while we\u2019re still having fun.\u2019\u201d
The membership includes Lou Ann and Bob Carretto, Larry Johnson, Chuck Stanley, Pat Applebee, Nancy Roach, Dan Aussem, Scott Munks, Shelly Roalson, James Less, Linda Johnson, John Duback, Sherri Countryman, Jay LeSeure, Kathy Bishop, Jack Feehan and Steve Brenbarger.
That group was not only responsible for the fireworks. It also was tasked with many other popular events in town over the years, such as the Oktoberfest celebrations, the \u201cOttawa First Has Talent\u201d show and many more, all raising funds through countless hours on the corners of East Norris Drive and Columbus Street.
However, the fireworks will be its legacy.
Out of the many thousands of memorable moments, Lou Ann Carretto remembers leaving one show in particular and being stopped by a young man \u2013 an out-of-town visitor about 20 years old. He went on about how great the show was, the setting and the organization of it all, and when he learned that Carretto was involved in the fundraising, he was taken aback. He then reached into his pocket, came out with five $20 bills and handed it to her.
\u201cThings like that, the appreciation for what we\u2019ve been doing, all the thank you notes, all the kind words, the gratitude,\u201d she said. \u201cThat\u2019s made it all worth it \u2026 and we hope the Ottawa Downtown Association finds it as rewarding as we have.\u201d
Carretto passed along to ODA board President Cassi Skoflanc a multipage document of things to look for, plan on and watch out for to make it easier for her as the event moves forward.
\u201cPeople just came up to me and said, \u2018Oh, Cassi, you have to do that\u2019,\u201d Skoflanc said. \u201cI wasn\u2019t so sure because I knew it was a lot of work, and it was just Heather [Pursley] and I [in the ODA], but the more I thought about it, I realized if we don\u2019t do it, who will?
\u201cWhen she got back from her vacation, I said, \u2018Don\u2019t kill me, but \u2026’ but she was all about it, too, so it all worked out. We know it\u2019s a lot of work, but we\u2019re very excited about it.\u201d
Because the event has always been so successful, Skoflanc pledged to keep the event the same as it\u2019s always been. There may be a few additions, she said \u2013 such as an ice cream social on the Jordan block or dessert food trucks along the streets, or possibly even the selling of an Ottawa Fourth of July T-shirt, a new design every year, to help with fundraising.
However, the core of the event \u2013 the displays, the music playing during the show, the skydivers \u2013 all are expected to be back. It will remain the classic event that has drawn praise from Ottawa residents and drawn in people from all over northern Illinois, and that is good for the ODA and the city.
\u201cWe do get so many people coming from out of town for the fireworks because they have always been so well done,\u201d Skoflanc said, \u201cso there won\u2019t be any drastic changes because it has always worked so well. We\u2019ll do the same things for fundraising: Some from our ODA events throughout the year, the four corners, ask businesses to hold the boxes for us again and the T-shirts.
\u201cWe hope to see the football stadium filled with our Ottawa Fourth T-shirts every year. \u2026 It\u2019s such a great thing for the community. My family and I couldn\u2019t imagine not having the fireworks, so we\u2019re very happy to keep this tradition going for Ottawa.\u201d
Anyone wishing to volunteer for the fundraising effort can sign up on the ODA Facebook page, while anyone wishing to make a donation can do so at ottawadowntownassociation.org<\/a>.
Patrick Feehan (from left), Bob Carretto, Larry Johnson, LouAnne Carretto and Jay LeSeure celebrate Thursday, Jan. 9, 2025, as original Ottawa First members. <\/span>(Charles Stanley for Shaw Local)
Spectators watch the Ottawa Independence Day fireworks Tuesday, July 4, 2023, from Veterans Memorial Bridge. Ottawa First has passed the organization of the event to the Ottawa Downtown Association. <\/span>(Julie Barichello)
Copyright \u00a9 2023 Shaw Local News Network
Copyright \u00a9 2023 Shaw Local News Network<\/p>\n

source<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

(From left) Patrick Feehan, Bob Carretto, Larry Johnson, LouAnne Carretto and Jay LeSeure are celebrated Thursday, Jan. 9, 2025, as original Ottawa First members. (Charles Stanley for Shaw Local)The fundraising torch for Ottawa\u2019s annual Fourth of July fireworks show has been passed from Ottawa First to the Ottawa Downtown Association, but not without some anxious moments on each side.Ottawa First,<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"nf_dc_page":"","om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-7233","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t