BUFFALO, N.Y. -- Each Monday, we highlight a Buffalo City Shaper - someone who is having a positive impact on the Western New York community. This week, 2 On Your Side's Kelly Dudzik introduces us to a man who is an attorney by trade, but wears many hats.
"This is a persimmon fruit. This is actually the fruit that this tree is producing for seeds," explains David Colligan.
Colligan has his own law firm, is a trustee for the Ralph C. Wilson, Jr. Foundation, and is passionate about nature.
"To have a persimmon tree in an arboretum at South Park means that it's probably the only persimmon tree within two-hundred miles of here which is pretty exciting to somebody who likes trees and who tried to restore an arboretum," says Colligan.
Colligan is playing a big role in restoring the South Park Arboretum. He also had a lot to do with Re-Tree Western New York's success.
"We calculated that approximately 30,000 trees would have to be planted just to replace trees that were lost in the public space as a result of the 2006 surprise October storm. As of next spring, the 30,000 will have all been planted," he says.
Colligan believes in Buffalo. He grew up in West Seneca, went away for college, came back for law school and never left.
"The beauty of our parks and waterfront is getting out. We're ranked as one of the top cities to see on the tourism map. So, there's a whole series of good things happening in Buffalo. It's no accident, there's been a lot of people working to make that happen for a long time. It just takes a long time for the results to show," says Colligan.
One of the reasons Colligan has gotten so involved with non-profits is to help build a place his daughter would want to move back to after she went to college. She returned this summer.
"It's a great livable community and she can do biking and hiking and use the parks the way she chooses to use it. And secondly, she thinks there's hope now. She looks at the economy of Buffalo and she sees that it's for the first time in a long time growing again. Her friends from high school are moving back, taking jobs in some of these start-up companies that are very exciting," says Colligan.
And, Colligan knows the entrepreneur community. His law firm focuses on corporate mergers and acquisitions, and he does a lot with the startup community to help entrepreneurs get off the ground.
"We could be a Boulder, Colorado. We would be a San Diego. We could be an Austin, Texas. We're capable of that now. When we started ten years ago with the start-up community, it was almost a desert in terms of start-ups and we needed to do something for the start-ups to get them established. Now just like the trees, the start-ups are established with support groups around them," says Colligan.
Colligan’s advice for entrepreneurs is to find a business partner. If you know the technology side, he says to find someone who knows the business side.
If you would like to nominate someone to be a Buffalo City Shaper, just email Kelly.