A group of Charleroi Area High School graduates is offering a variety of specialized and generalized services to help their former hometown continue to strive to improve the lives of the community and its residents.

In a letter to Mayor Frank Paterra and Charleroi Borough Council, the Charleroi High School Alumni Development Committee says its members "are very interested in offering ... services including professional consultation (legal, law enforcement, economic, etc.) gratis" to the municipality.

"I would embrace any plan, ideas, input that would benefit our community," Paterra said. "I would be very supportive of anything that is a positive approach to moving our community forward. It's very gracious of this group to offer their help. They are a true asset to Charleroi."

Mark Alterici, president of Charleroi Borough Council, said he is aware of the letter from Deborah J. (Jeane) Palfrey, a graduate of Charleroi Area High School who is spearheading the CHS Alumni Development Committee efforts.

"I think it's great," he said of the ADC's offer. "I would never refuse to listen to anyone who is willing to share ideas that would help the town and, more important, the people who live and work here."

Alterici said he wants to share the Alumni Development Committee's proposals with his colleagues on council.

Palfrey, who holds an master's degree in international business, said the Alumni Development Committee includes an "impressive array" of members, many of whom hold graduate degrees and a "wealth of career expertise in their specific needs." The more than 100 individuals who are willing to lend their time, experience and expertise to the project "would like to serve as a 'think tank,'" a consulting group to the borough, she said.

"Our motives individually and collectively are wholly altruistic," said Palfrey, who lives in Benicia, Calif. "We wish nothing more than to give back to a community to which we feel a special allegiance. We believe our group offers Mayor Paterra, borough council and the citizens of Charleroi a unique opportunity to form a strong partnership to guide and facilitate positive change for the Magic City."

She noted that the committee includes Charleroi graduates and former residents from across the country and, in some cases, internationally as well as those still residing in the area. Their fields of expertise include banking and finances, consulting, law, marketing, media, planning and development, education, food services and literary professions to name just a few. They span the generations from the 1940s to last year's graduating class.

"Again, our members have a wide variety of expertise and are committed to offering the community the very best opinions and proposals based on research, experience, vision and passion," she said.

Palfrey, who initiated and launched the informative, successful and acclaimed Charleroi Alumni Web site, www.charleroipahsalumni.org, four years ago, emphasized that while many graduates and former residents now live elsewhere, "that doesn't mean they have forgotten their hometown."

"Many of us return to Charleroi for reunions, family get-togethers, business and other reasons," she said. "We keep in touch with friends and relatives there and we follow the happenings in our hometown via newspaper Web sites. The town was a very important part of our lives. Growing up there influenced us in many ways. We remember the great town Charleroi was, and we want to try to help restore that atmosphere, to help it enjoy a rebirth."

Palfrey said if borough leaders are interested in pursuing a partnership with the Alumni Development Committee, she would help coordinate a comprehensive presentation to Paterra, council and "any and all concerned citizens" of Charleroi.

"As we see it, there is absolutely no downside or risk here," said Palfrey, who is self-employed in the international business development profession. "We are offering an opportunity that other communities simply cannot obtain at any price; that is, the collective expertise and enthusiasm of a group of people willing to help improve the lives of everyone who resides in what we all honestly consider to be our true roots. It is a loyalty, a vision and a commitment to solutions in which all parties win."

Gertrude Stein once wrote about her childhood home of Oakland, Calif: "The trouble with Oakland is that when you get there, there isn't any there there."

Deborah Palfrey, of Venicia, Calif., has similar sentiments about her hometown, Charleroi.

She moved from the borough during her senior year in 1974, but her heart is still there.
She has returned only three times in the past 10 years among a handful of returns since she left.

"Every time I go back it gets worse," Palfrey said. "It doesn't even have the same feel."

Palfrey said there are towns like Charleroi all over the country, but they reinvent themselves. She contends valley towns like Charleroi "live in a bubble."

Palfrey said she made a stop en route to a class reunion last year.

"I was nervous getting in and out of my car," Palfrey said. "I was nervous walking the streets.

"I don't think we're going to bring anything into that town unless that town's crime is cleaned up. Then we can bring economic development in."

Palfrey believes the alumni of Charleroi Area High School can lend their talents to revitalization.

"It will be a different there, but it can be a charming place with a rich history," Palfrey said. "It's a snapshot of American history."

Palfrey is the creator of an Internet site, www.charleroipahsalumni.org, and recently formed the Charleroi High School Alumni Development Committee.

The committee is a collection of alumni that has offered to be a "think tank" for current borough leaders.

Palfrey hopes to return to Charleroi in the next few months to pitch the idea to council.

Palfrey sent a letter to Mayor Frank Paterra and council two months ago detailing the idea, but received no reply.

Paterra said he plans to send a letter to Palfrey shortly expressing his support for the idea. Paterra said the assistance could help to revitalize the community.

"When we win the drug war, we can bring Charleroi back to the way it was," Paterra said.

Council President Mark Alterici said he is "open to any way they can help the borough."
One area where he would seek help is for the revitalization of the old Coyle Theater. That goal could be mutual -- a photograph of the Coyle Theater is pictured on the home page of Palfrey's Internet site.

Alterici said he expects council to discuss the idea at its Sept. 14 meeting.

The expansive Web site is an exhaustive chronicle of Charleroi's alumni, citizens, and history.

"I developed the high school alumni site for my alma mater, Charleroi High School, initially with the intention of maintaining it as a fun and frivolous hobby," Palfrey said. "However almost from the onset, I realized the significance and importance of what I was doing.

"Not only is the history of a town being documented on a daily basis, but so are the lives of a myriad of its current and former citizens ranging in all ages and age groups," Palfrey said.

Palfrey said the alumni represent experts in such areas as finance, banking, and law enforcement, for example. Among the alumni are university professors and lawyers, and a variety of people holding doctorates.

Their knowledge -- voluntarily provided for the leaders of Charleroi -- could help reshape the community, Palfrey said.

Charleroi High has an alumni base of more than 20,000 people who graduated from 1913 to 2005. Since the posting the Web site about four years ago, Palfrey has located about 2,000 alums.

Palfrey said the alumni, too, welcome the opportunity to help their hometown.

"They have fond memories of their town and for many of them, it's the chance to do something for their town," Palfrey said. "They can go away and have great success in their lives, but for them to come back and make their mark on their hometown would have a profound impact on their lives."


Chris Buckley can be reached at cbuckley@tribweb.com or (724) 684-2642.