Historic Owego Marketplace (HOM), the downtown Owego merchants group, elected new officers at their annual dinner meeting on January 14. The officers are: Wayne Clark of M & T Bank in  Owego, President; Pat Hansen of the Hand of Man, Vice-President; Beverly Crans of the Country Décor Shop, Secretary; and John Spencer of the Riverow Bookstore,  Treasurer.

 Wayne Clark said he hopes to grow and solidify the HOM organization while taking advantage of the many positive things happening in Tioga County. "The year 2003 is going to be the year that puts Owego on the map! This is a very exciting time for all of us in small business here in Tioga. Our anchor businesses are keeping up with the market leaders, and our premier collection of shops and stores give us the best kept secret in Southern New York. Whether it's Messages from the Heart, Strawberry Festival, in store promotions, Holiday Showcase, or Light Your Way, things are happening downtown. We have new stores and businesses opening as we speak. We have a new bridge gateway that will showcase our community, coming later this year. At a time when other communities are stalled out or faltering we are seeing growth and promise arriving on our doorstep. I'm genuinely excited because I have never witnessed this many talented, good hearted people working so hard in different ways, at the same time. I see a new level of commitment emerging from our government, our residents, the business community and even our school aged citizens. You can sense it, you can hear it, take a deep  breath … you can actually feel it in the air."