PELHAM – Several Pelham residents have banded together to start a volunteer group to organize city events. Charter member Michele Robertson said the group’s first meeting took place at the Pelham Public Library on the evening of June 14, and 14 people attended.

“We all had a good time. Everybody was excited and enthusiastic,” Robertson said. “I think this is going to be a great thing.”

Robertson said she first got the idea for a volunteer group for the city after she began seeing posts from locals that expressed a need for more community events.

“I’m guilty of voicing those questions too. Why doesn’t Pelham host a farmer’s market, an arts (and) crafts festival, city-wide annual walk/run event and rotate giving the proceeds to support the booster clubs at the schools or our great nonprofit theater, South City Theatre?” Robertson said. “I started taking notes on what people were mentioning that they would like to see happen in Pelham.”

The first two projects the group will be exploring are the city’s first Christmas Parade and a local Second Saturday event. Volunteers Lauren Little and Judy McGill will co-chair the Christmas Parade, and volunteer Tracey Evanko will head Second Saturday.

The group also discussed other ideas, which Robertson said will be further examined once plans for the parade are established and research for Second Saturday has begun. They are also currently working to decide on an official name for the group.

“There were a lot of people who wanted family-friendly, outdoor party events,” Robertson said. “We didn’t want to bite off more than we could chew.”

Charter members include Robertson, Little, McGill, Evanko, Kathryn Esquivel, Megan Everett, Jemel Hatcher, Ron Howard, Jill Kelley, Jenny Layton, Cathy Lee, Victoria McPhail, Joe Myers and Amy Vaughn.

Robertson said she has prior experience working for nonprofit organizations by planning events, recruiting volunteers and fundraising. She said she is thrilled to see the group get started.

According to Robertson, events organized by the Pelham volunteer group are open to anyone, but those on the planning committees behind those events should preferably live in Pelham. She said the group is always open to more volunteers, and anyone who is interested in joining or finding our more can email her at mrob308@gmail.com.