Carlton hires manager for Heart & Soul program

By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 13 September 2026 at 12:24 pm

Community welcome to complete surveys and share vision for town

Photo by Tom Rivers: Mollie Radzinski, the coordinator of the Carlton Heart & Soul program, is shown by a banner with the logo for the initiative. She attended the Pop-Up & Jam event on Saturday at the Orleans County Marine Park with vendors and musicians.

CARLTON – A coordinator has been hired for the Carlton Heart & Soul project. The community received grant funding for the initiative.

Mollie Radzinski has been hired as the part-time coordinator. She brings deep community connections, and lots of knowledge and passion to the part-time position.

“She the right person for the job,” said Jim Tabor, vice president of the Carlton Heart & Soul Committee. “She’s energetic with a lot of good ideas.”

Carlton is one of 140 “Heart & Soul” communities. The program is led by local residents and officials to develop a vision for the community’s future that reflects what residents love about their community and why they choose to live there.

The Carlton Community Heart & Soul Core Team includes: Peter Bartula, president; Jim Tabor, vice president; Penny Miller, secretary; Lynn Wright, treasurer; Lynne Menz, communications; and John Fitzak, Chris Manaseri, Brian McCue and Heather Tabor.

Radzinski works full-time as a senior communications specialist for the Rochester Institute of Technology in the College of Science; Division of Access, Engagement and Success; and RIT Global.

She also is a board member for the Lake Plains Players, a lector and teacher at Holy Family Parish, a member of the Catholic Daughters, a board member for the Albion Alumni Foundation, and a dance teacher at Gotta Dance Performing Arts in Albion.

Carlton is the first “Heart & Soul” community in Orleans County. Carlton was picked by the Rochester Area Community Foundation and Community Foundation for Buffalo to be the first community to implement the Heart & Soul model in Orleans County, an initiative fully funded with grant support from Ralph C. Wilson Jr. Foundation.

Carlton is currently in Phase 1 of the initiative and is collecting input from residents.

The four-phase, step-by-step process includes:

Phase 1: Imagine – Heart & Soul teams are formed to build awareness, interest, and commitment in all segments of the community.
Phase 2: Connect – Stories are gathered from residents, leading to the development of Heart & Soul Statements that identify what matters most and reflect what they love about their towns.
Phase 3: Plan – Residents develop action plans to guide future town planning based on their Heart & Soul Statements.
Phase 4: Act – Heart & Soul Statements are officially adopted by town and city councils, incorporated into comprehensive and other plans, and are used to guide future policies and decisions.

Radzinski and the local team urged residents and stakeholders in Carlton to complete an online survey about the town. Click here to see it.

Carlton doesn’t have a clear downtown business district or focal point like a city or village. Carlton is split up into three different school districts – Albion, Kendall and Lyndonville. There are also multiple zip codes with Kent, Waterport and Albion.

Jim Tabor and Radzinski said the Heart & Soul model will help identify focal points for the town and develop a plan for building on Carlton’s strengths and improving on some of the weaker areas.

Some suggestions so far include recreational enhancements to the town park such as basketball and pickleball courts as well as trails linking the east and west sides of the Oak Orchard River.