Paying it Forward, Moving Forward From Sharon Place Fire
By: Jordan Vandenberge
Updated: November 29, 2012
Now cleared to rebuild, the victims of the Sharon Place fire can now focus on re-invention. Owning let alone starting over a small business isn't easy but help is available for the displaced tenants.
It's a simple act of paying it forward. The displaced tenants have somewhere to go thanks to someone who knows what they're going through.
***
Fire is simple.
It's one part spark, another part oxygen and another part material.
For Mike Kishline, the owner of The Rug Gallery of Newburgh, it's one part destruction and another part devastation.
"There's not even a piece I could donate to a child for a tree house," said Kishline. "They are completely charred."
He's talking about his hundreds of hand-knotted pieces of art that are now covered in a blanket of ash. He watched his gallery, something he tried so hard to build, burn to the ground.
It was the morning of Small Business Saturday.
"It was one of the worst periods of my life," said Kishline.
"I instantly knew what that building owner was going through," said Samatha Ingraham, the regional director for Goebel Realty. "We went through a devastating fire ourselves."
Ingraham knows the feeling. She knows what fire can take away. She also knows what it can create... an opportunity to pay it forward.
"We know that a lot of the business owners want to stay in Newburgh and want to go back to Sharon Place," said Ingraham. "We want to make that happen for them and give them a temporary space for storage or to run a business."
"We live in a wonderful area, people really do care about one another," said Kishline. "Sometimes we just need to be reminded."
Fire can take a life and someone's livelihood. It can also galvanize the strongest of bonds. The outpouring of support re-affirms that.
"It really makes you feel like you've done the right thing, that you've taken care of your customers the way you should take care of your customers," said Kishline. "A loss like this is similar to a funeral except you get to hear what people are saying about you."
Instead of on someone's floor, Kishline's prized rugs lay atop charred rubble. He vows to rebuild and re-invent his business thanks to his optimism that never wavered.
"I could have never afforded this much advertising," said Kishline. "Maybe 15 percent of the Tri-State area knew I was here. Now probably 80 percent of theTri-State knows I'm here."
***
Crews will begin cleaning up the property in the first week of December. The owner of the Sharon Place building hopes to have all the tenants come back when the building comes back.
The Rug Gallery of Newburgh
It's a simple act of paying it forward. The displaced tenants have somewhere to go thanks to someone who knows what they're going through.
***
Fire is simple.
It's one part spark, another part oxygen and another part material.
For Mike Kishline, the owner of The Rug Gallery of Newburgh, it's one part destruction and another part devastation.
"There's not even a piece I could donate to a child for a tree house," said Kishline. "They are completely charred."
He's talking about his hundreds of hand-knotted pieces of art that are now covered in a blanket of ash. He watched his gallery, something he tried so hard to build, burn to the ground.
It was the morning of Small Business Saturday.
"It was one of the worst periods of my life," said Kishline.
"I instantly knew what that building owner was going through," said Samatha Ingraham, the regional director for Goebel Realty. "We went through a devastating fire ourselves."
Ingraham knows the feeling. She knows what fire can take away. She also knows what it can create... an opportunity to pay it forward.
"We know that a lot of the business owners want to stay in Newburgh and want to go back to Sharon Place," said Ingraham. "We want to make that happen for them and give them a temporary space for storage or to run a business."
"We live in a wonderful area, people really do care about one another," said Kishline. "Sometimes we just need to be reminded."
Fire can take a life and someone's livelihood. It can also galvanize the strongest of bonds. The outpouring of support re-affirms that.
"It really makes you feel like you've done the right thing, that you've taken care of your customers the way you should take care of your customers," said Kishline. "A loss like this is similar to a funeral except you get to hear what people are saying about you."
Instead of on someone's floor, Kishline's prized rugs lay atop charred rubble. He vows to rebuild and re-invent his business thanks to his optimism that never wavered.
"I could have never afforded this much advertising," said Kishline. "Maybe 15 percent of the Tri-State area knew I was here. Now probably 80 percent of theTri-State knows I'm here."
***
Crews will begin cleaning up the property in the first week of December. The owner of the Sharon Place building hopes to have all the tenants come back when the building comes back.
The Rug Gallery of Newburgh
