President’s Message
As I started this article, it was from a view of stepping down from the president’s position and reflecting a bit on that experience; however, as is often the case, life doesn’t always go as planned. At the elections in early April, I agreed to stay on as interim president in order to buy time for the BWNA Board to come up with a plan for transitioning to new leadership. Still, my original thoughts ring true.
As I have mentioned in earlier messages, being president of BWNA has afforded me a deeper look into the “workings” of the city and exposed me to a variety of individuals for whom I’ve developed an honest respect. The Board runs the gamut—from municipal workers to private business employees to retirees—and while there isn’t agreement on every issue, the group shares a genuine common desire to improve livability in the neighborhood. My colleagues also exhibit a consistent level of energy that I envy at times, as sheer persistence is often what differentiates real, tangible change from good intent. I applaud the numerous individuals who give of their time above and beyond their primary and compensated job duties. At times the amount of notifications of meetings on the wide variety of important civic issues is overwhelming, making prioritization of what is most meaningful to the local neighborhood challenging, to say the least. But the process has also afforded me an appreciation for the broader view of city management.
Closer to home, in our Beaumont-Wilshire neighborhood, I’ve met and had interactions with neighbors concerned about a vast variety of issues and have tried earnestly to offer suggestions on where best to get assistance—not always with satisfactory results for all parties. Again, it’s the little things I’ve done or impacted that have generated the greatest sense of purpose and produced simple words of thanks (as well as the occasional plate of cookies!) that enforce the feeling of “time well spent.” I know this somewhat reflects “resume virtues” rather than the higher “eulogy virtues”—as espoused by New York Times columnist David Brooks in his book The Road to Character; but it’s a road I’m still traveling. Maybe one of my bucket list items—traveling remnants of Route 66, America’s road—will help me get farther along David’s road to meaningful living. I think not, but it’s still on my list.
My time getting to know the members of the BWNA Board also falls under “time well spent.” A diverse group of individuals who have made me laugh—and shake my head a bit during exchanges of conflicting views—it’s a pleasure to collaborate with this “I’ll do it” collection of volunteers, uniting as a team for the benefit of our Beaumont-Wilshire neighborhood. Thank you all.
My wife would support my opinion of “time well spent” because it often got me out of the house and out of her hair, even though the bathroom renovations have languished way too long.
In closing, this is not an ending to my “time well spent” with BWNA. I plan to stay active on the Board in my future role as immediate past president and help work on a variety of issues, including my desire to see block parties organized within our neighborhood to strengthen the bonds among “next door” neighbors. My hope is that others will take my message to heart and consider offering their own time to the neighborhood—even just to attend the general meetings. I know that professional and family demands put a squeeze on residents’ time and that the “AARP” contingent among us has an easier path to volunteering, but everyone has some amount of discretionary time to offer in “time well spent”-related service to our community.