Gina Mariani holds the honorary title of “Mayor of Bainbridge,” and while the moniker might have started out as a joke, Gina is serious about her love for the town. “Bainbridge is such a great little community,” she says of the river town. “Everybody just takes care of each other. I like that feeling. Bainbridge is like a family.”

Gina has lived in Bainbridge since the age of 17. A Lancaster Catholic High School graduate with experience in business ownership and marketing, she seized an opportunity in 1987 when the owners of a bar at Second and Race streets offered to finance her purchase of the business. Taking them up on their offer, she ran the popular gathering spot for years before selling it and extending the same financing offer to the new owner, wanting to “pay it forward.” 

Later, while splitting time between Pennsylvania and Maryland to help with youth programs, she learned the bar had closed and the building had fallen into disrepair. Where others saw a mess, she saw potential. “I didn’t want to reopen it as a bar,” she says. “I thought, ‘I’m going to do something for me this time. What do I like? I like cartoons. I like kids. I love ice cream.’”

Eighteen years ago, she opened GiGi’s Ice Cream Bar – named for the nickname her nieces gave her – and business has been sweet ever since. The location is open April to September, and over the years, Gina has employed hundreds of local youths at the shop. Pictures of some of them decorate its walls, and Gina proudly highlights where her former employees are now. Some are married, some are in college and a few help with Gina’s other main venture, a summer playground program held at Conoy Township Park, which provides programming and field trips for students ages 5 to 14.

“We have 225 kids in our program,” Gina notes. “We do local field trips and longer trips. We go swimming, bowling, roller skating, to Hersheypark, Urban Air, Go ’N Bananas. But we also make sure the kids have time to just play. They need time to get outside and just be kids.”

There is a minimal charge for children to attend the summer program, and the rest of the expenses are offset by a unique system Gina put in place from the beginning. Each camper must sell 40 tickets for giveaway items, with the proceeds from the giveaway supporting the playground program. She also hosts fundraisers to support the camp, including a recent event that put local celebrities behind bars, tasked with raising enough bail money to get out of “jail.”

“I find sponsors for playground if kids can’t afford to attend,” she explains. “I always find a way.”

Her goal for the summer playground is to bring back old-fashioned fun. “Can you think of all the stuff that made you happy when you were a kid?” she asks. “Take that and transfer it over to the playground. I want them to be creative, to become problem-solvers and to have fun.”

Beyond GiGi’s and the playground program, Gina serves as chair of the Conoy Township supervisors, is on the board of the Haldeman Mansion Preservation Society, runs both the Memorial Day and Halloween parades, coordinates the annual poppy program to raise funds for veterans and is the secretary/treasurer of the Conoy Youth Athletic Association. She coached soccer for more than 20 years, and she was a firefighter for Bainbridge Fire Company, earning Firefighter of the Year honors. She’s also a crossing guard. Her latest endeavor is overseeing a partnership between Masonic Village in Elizabethtown and Bainbridge, encouraging intergenerational activities with the youths she serves. “Whatever anyone needs help with, I help,” Gina says simply. 

As for that title of “mayor,” Gina recalls it started as a joke, as she had developed a reputation in town for being a go-to resource. “People would call the fire company with a question, and they would say, ‘I don’t know. Call the mayor,’” she says. “It was a joke. I thought, ‘They must think I know everything,’ and I have to laugh, because I’ll get a call and someone will say, ‘Hey do you have such-and-such’s number?’ And I usually do!”

Asked what she does for fun in her free time, Gina doesn’t hesitate to answer. “Everything I do is fun! All the stuff I do for the kids is fun,” she says. “I’m a kid at heart.” The mother of two daughters now loves spending time with her granddaughter. 

Gina doesn’t envision ending her commitment to Bainbridge any time soon. Now 65, she has no plans to stop giving back to her favorite small town. “It’s too late to quit now,” she says with a laugh. “I’m too involved. I love this town, and I don’t know what I would do if I retired. I’d be bored. You rest, you rust.”