My hope is that you enjoyed your holidays and have made some neighborhood affirming resolutions for 2019.
The next general meeting is:
Wednesday January 23rd, 2019
7:00 pm to 8:30 pm (doors open at 6:45)
Harvey Milk School (cafeteria, 19th at Collingwood).
We've made such great strides over the first year of my administration; stabilizing our ship's finances, locking in 170 paid memberships, defining our organizational structure, and broadening our outreach to the community. My hat is off to the board and all our members for the continued effort and support you've provided- hopefully you had some fun as we did with the "theme" meetings, the raffle prizes, the first annual movie night, and (remember?) the Mayoral Debate in the spring.
With such progress, I'm happy to set some new goals for 2019. For my administration's second year, we're going to kick everything up a notch. I have drafted and am now implementing "Roles and Responsibilities" for every board member and each committee chair, and will also complete a charter for each active committee in the first quarter. These documents clarify the duties and responsibilities we have in our respective roles on the board as well as set the expectations we owe one another and our members. For me, these documents stand for the promise we make to each other in the service of EVNA .
Alex Lemberg has been elevated to the role of Vice President. Alex has been instrumental in revising our Bylaws and has provided the board with sound council and insight from an attorney's perspective as we make our progress. I'm looking forward to working with Alex in his new capacity as VP to help run the board, keep EVNA viable and compliant as a non-profit entity, and of course, his help grooming our future leaders in service to the community.
Kevin Cureton, Treasurer
Newly elected to the board is Kevin Cureton as Treasurer. Kevin will take ownership of the new Finance Committee. Kevin is eager to take the next steps toward needed improvements in our financial reporting and procedures, and has shared with me his goals for tax compliance, and increased tracking and transparency our revenues and expenses.
Let's also welcome Desmond Morgan to the board who has agreed to breathe life into the Membership Committee- he's got his work cut out for him. Desmond will go to work defining the scope, outlining the structure, and the duties of that committee: from dues assessment, to member benefits and recruiting, I will be working with Desmond to lay on the love for our existing members and to throw open the doors to welcome new comers.
And a special congratulations to Mary Edna Harrell on accepting another 2 year term as Newspaper/Marketing co-chair. Mary Edna will be working the committee to update the format of the newsletter publication. We're going to see big changes as we bring the newsletter into the 21st century! I am pleased and grateful for her many years of service to the community.
Dan Schulman has also joined the board and will continue his work on a more formal basis with Chair Loic Olichon on the Planning and Land Use committee. These gentlemen will continue their work to re-invigorate the group while putting in place procedures for handling the huge volume of public notices and building permit review requests within the EVNA footprint.
I also want to share with you another promising program that's coming to life this spring- the Castro Welcome Packet. For months, the Castro Retail Strategy panel has been working on ways to promote our neighborhood and commercial districts with the aim of keeping retail shops full and shoppers shopping in this changing economy. EVNA has been working with other neighborhood stakeholders (the Castro CBD, Castro Merchants, Duboce Triangle) to create a Welcome Packet- which we will hand deliver quarterly to new residents as a way of saying "welcome" to the Castro/Eureka Valley neighborhood and as a way to get new nieghbors connected to our group while promoting the Castro shops and restaurants at the same time. Stay tuned for more details. If you're interested in joining the effort- let me know.
As we get geared up for 2019, I am excited about what we are doing together as neighbors- it's an amazing ride so far, and it's only going to get better. I couldn't imagine doing this without you- our members.
Thanks so much for a great ride!
I'll see YOU around the neighborhood!
Alex Lemberg has lived in the Castro on Caselli Avenue with his now-husband Kevin since 2013. Serving on the EVNA Board of Directors for the past year has been a highlight of Alex's year and he wants to keep building up the Castro community through service, events, collecting meaningful community feedback, and strengthening community bonds. He is also proud to serve on the board of the GLBT Historical Society, another amazing nonprofit that serves the Castro, and works as a staff attorney at Open Door Legal in the Bayview/Hunters Point neighborhood of San Francisco, helping SF residents keep their homes. Alex would be honored to have your vote as Vice President of the EVNA.
Kevin Cureton has lived in Eureka Valley since 2003 and in San Francisco since 1997. He lives with his husband Alex, and their roommate Steve, in a cozy condo on Caselli Avenue that Kevin has owned since moving into the neighborhood. Kevin has worked as a software engineer since moving to San Francisco and is currently employed with Netflix. Kevin is concerned about the quality of life issues that impact our neighborhood and he feels the neighborhood association is uniquely positioned to help positively influence policy on these issues. Kevin will bring a high-degree of transparency to the role of Treasurer, simplifying financial processes and reporting, and using best practices for the EVNA.
Desmond Morgan has lived in San Francisco for over 20 years with his husband of one year, Romwald Connolly. They are new to the Castro Neighborhood. Recently, Desmond and Romwald (Ray) purchased 3987-3989 17th St.; and Desmond is looking forward to getting involved in the community. If elected to EVNA Board of Directors at Large, he looks forward to helping out in any capacity. Desmond Morgan has been in the BioTech industry for over 15 years. Currently, he's a Territory Account Manager at Relypsa, Inc.
We had a great turnout with over 65 people in attendance. For the past several meetings, more Eureka Valley residents are showing up and taking part. It's been really fun to see so many members and so many new faces in the seats. I did have some good feedback from a long-standing member who felt that the Q&A time (which I kept to 4 minutes after each speaker), was too short and he didn't get to ask his questions- As a result, I think it best to slim down the agenda (it's been pretty packed), allowing more time for attendees to interact, take questions and make comments. Appreciate the advice!
