Fifteen years of promoting village projects

A well-kept Main Street with old trees. A beautiful marina. A gazebo, beaches, golf course and a million other things, including historic preservation. Bellport Village has attracted lots of residents because of municipal efforts.

But also because of locals who pitch in.

Like Mike Foster, who helped found the Bellport Village Program Fund with former mayor Ray Fell, the not-for-profit now celebrating 15 years.

Foster was asked how the concept jelled—choosing a project that benefits the village, then coordinating it with municipal approval. Once the village gives the green light, the BVPF funds it.

Was it over martinis at The Bellport? Or sipping  Johnnie Walker Red at Porters on the Lane when the idea was concocted?

Foster laughed. “Ray Fell and I play golf together, all the time,” he said. “I’m sure Ray, who wasn’t mayor at the time, broached the subject.”

Oh, the things that happen over a golf game.

Foster said he and Fell don’t talk much on the links—there’s a lot of concentration involved—but that a discussion in 2008 took hold. Volunteering locals like Sherry Binnington had suggested establishing a 501(c)3 charity and fund for projects benefitting the village that would be tax deductible for donators.

So they delved in. The first project was Bite Back, an idea suggested by Pete Roe, Foster said, that debuted in 2010 when the nonprofit became official.

“By that time, no one was spraying mosquitoes at Mothers and Ho-Hum beaches,” Foster explained. “You had to load yourself up with OFF! (mosquito and insect repellent) before being attacked by a swarm.”

Jeff Jensen, of South Country Arboriculture Inc., was commissioned for the spraying. A certified commercial pesticide applicator through the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation and an ISA-certified arborist and a NOFA accredited organic land care professional, who runs the business with his wife, Christine; he still sprays the beaches using an organic product, Foster said.

“If he didn’t, those beaches would be unusable,” Foster added.

Their first fundraiser was target-specific; that is, word of mouth, advertising, letters to residents. It worked and paid for Bite Back, conducted annually.

“Then our board and residents came up with ideas,” he said. “We needed an actual event.”

Want to feel like a guest in a Hollywood movie where Margot Robbie might saunter by? (Robbie never did, but it’s that glamorous.) Cocktails on the Bay, the lovely annual soiree held at the waterfront lawn of Roger and Sava Thomas, has been the hit BVPF fundraiser for years.

Foster pointed out BVPF’s success. “We’ve executed over 24 projects totaling over $750,000,” he said. “All paid by donations.”

In addition, five free promotional events have been instituted: two bingo events, Family Night at Mothers Beach, free volleyball clinics at Ho-Hum Beach, the Ho-Hum Beach Sandcastle Contest. Proceeds from The Bellport Bay 5K Road Race Fundraiser are allocated to BVPF as are Cocktails on the Bay.

“Tom and myself were the beginning members,  with Mike and Janet Foster and Ray and Debbie Fell,” said Sherry Binnington. Still supporters,  their son Kyle is now a member. “Younger people are getting involved, which I love, and we’re so fortunate to have these people,” Binnington continued. “Every project that’s done is from BVPF fundraisers, not the village. And we’re fortunate to have Mike as chairperson; he’s done a lot.”

Residents want to protect the uniqueness here, said Foster. He moved to Bellport in 1976.

“My wife Janet and I always like to get involved with the community,” he said. “Janet was on the Bellport Tennis Committee and was a Bellport Bay Yacht Club active sailor.  I also became a trustee advisor; if trustees wanted my views, I have expertise in finance and real estate.”

Foster is president of Worldwide Realty Solutions.

There are 14 BVPF board members. “We’ve gotten pretty busy, so we expanded the board and manage it well,” he said. “It’s people from every part of the village and different genders, almost 50/50, a diverse group.”