I am so thankful and honored to have been re-elected as your Heart of the Westside president for 2022. I am looking forward to this year! We had our cleanup at the end of March. We will continue our bimonthly neighborhood association meeting schedule to let you know of important and beneficial information. We are planning a couple of events to give opportunities for you to meet and connect with HOTW neighbors.
Beyond the 2022 schedule, I want to relay three goals that I have as president.
Cleanups
First, as we get closer to our spring cleanup I am reminded of memories and also the immense benefit this opportunity has given HOTW. One of these memories is a story that started several years ago. A lady had moved to the neighborhood the same day of the cleanup. Through the cleanup she got some things cleaned out of the house she was moving into, but she was in need of a couch. Thanks to our Passion A/G Church volunteers (which included Glen Gohr) we had connections that knew of an unused couch. From that connection, this lady became a member of the Passion A/G Church and is now serving in the church. Fast forward to spring 2021, this lady – Marybeth – signed up to be a volunteer for the spring 2021 cleanup. As a result, the cleanup became full circle. She went from being a resident helped by the cleanup to becoming a volunteer to help other Heat of the Westside neighbors.
Beyond this story, over the years, HOTW’s cleanups have given so many residents the ability to dispose of junk and brush who wouldn’t have otherwise been able to. It has also created opportunities for connections between neighborhood church volunteers and residents. In addition, our cleanups have the most engagement of our events. This includes the amount of people that participate in the cleanup, the connections made between volunteers and HOTW neighbors as well as connections made with residents as they call in to reserve a curbside pickup. Lastly, in just the last two cleanups the cleanups have resulted in disposal of more than 40 tons of trash from the neighborhood!
Cleanups play a crucial part in our neighborhood. Therefore, as president I commit to continue planning yearly cleanups for HOTW. In addition, I would like to reach the goal this fall or fall 2023 to host and fund a brush-only cleanup. My goal is to build a network of neighbors with trucks and/or trailers who would be willing to help their neighbors throughout the year. Then, if a landowner or BDS or a neighbor complaint occurs, this truck/trailer network could mobilize and help remove the trash, brush, or junk. As a result, HOTW becomes a cleaner, safer and friendlier neighborhood.
Church representatives
Secondly, as president I commit to intentionally connecting with our neighborhood churches. We have around 10 churches. Because we are for the most part a residential area, I believe that our neighborhood churches are some of our most important assets to our neighborhood. Thanks to several churches located within our neighborhood, we funded events, provided volunteers for the cleanups, hosted meetings and met the needs of our neighbors.
For example, it was thanks to Passion A/G Church we could host our summer movie nights. Thanks to Deliverance Temple, we could provide free water and popcorn. Thanks to First Free Will Baptist Church and Passion A/G Church, we had enough trucks and trailers to offer curbside pickups and unload vehicles at the cleanup site.
Lastly, between various churches – Salvation Army, Passion A/G, Deliverance Temple, and New Growth Ministries – neighbors have been housed and fed and much more. All in all, because of their countless contributions, having a representative from each of our churches present at our events and meetings offers support and voice to our neighborhood.
Passing the baton
Finally, as HOTW president I commit to finding and raising up a new leader to pass the baton. I am honored to lead this year and am willing to run as president for 2023. However, after that, I will officially step down. I definitely want to continue my investment into HOTW but as a volunteer and participant.
All that to say that, I do not want to just drop the position on the next HOTW leader. My desire is that HOTW continues growing and becoming a bigger part of the neighborhood. Also, I want to avoid the necessity for our neighborhood association to start from scratch again. A couple of practical ways that passing the baton would happen is through handing off our association’s bank account and social media accounts (Google and Facebook) as well. Along with that is passing the baton on our HOTW’s mission and goals as well as sharing the connections that have occurred with residents, churches and other partners.
HOTW is going to have a great year! There are bound to be challenges and ups and downs, but ultimately, through continuing the course with cleanups, being intentional with our HOTW churches and beginning the process of passing the baton, I believe 2022 will be a year of growth and connection!