Spring symbolizes renewal, and no more spectacularly than in the kaleidoscope of multi-colored blossoms bursting out all over our verdant neighborhood. In keeping with the fauna renewal theme, our spring issue features the return of Barb Strunk’s popular gardening column, with incisive commentary and helpful tips for the amateur horticulturalists out there—of which there are many! Happy planting.
Our neighborhood is very fortunate to have an articulate ace gardener like Barb contributing insightful articles for our readers’ enjoyment. But Barb’s contributions to our neighborhood extend well beyond journalism, perhaps most importantly into the arena of community activism. When it comes to preservation and enhancement of neighborhood livability, Barb certainly “walks the walk” by serving on the BWNA Board, representing Beaumont-Wilshire on the Central Northeast Neighbors (CNN) Board, providing leadership for the BWNA-initiated grassroots preservation organization United Neighborhoods for Reform (UNR), and representing UNR on the citywide Residential Infill Policy Stakeholders Advisory Committee (RIPSAC). In short, Barb is a neighbor who genuinely cares and makes a difference—a role model.
Following Barb’s election to the BWNA Board a few years ago, our newsletter began a series of Board member profiles, all of which can be accessed on the BWNA website (www.bwna.us). To read more about Barb, for instance, just scroll down to “Newsletter Issues” at the top of the home page, then click on the September-October 2014 issue and advance to page 5. (Note that issues are archived back to the summer of 2000!)
The newsletter team member responsible for shining the spotlight on Board members is Mark Mohammadpour. Mark’s interview odyssey began in 2014 following Taste of Beaumont elections that witnessed a cavalcade of civic-minded residents—Barb Strunk included—stepping forward to fill seven open positions, including President (yours truly passing the leadership baton to John Sandie)—a testament to the volunteer spirit and resiliency of this neighborhood.
But Mark’s assignment is one that just keeps on giving. Since 2014, five at-large board members have exited and three new ones have entered (most recently the effervescent Anna Gillespie, voted onto the board in January and profiled by Mark in this issue). The hope of the BWNA Board is that after this year’s Taste of Beaumont (April 10, 6:30 p.m., Beaumont Middle School cafeteria), Mark will have three additional new board members lined up to interview—two new at-large members and, most significantly, a new president. That position has been vacant since last January!
Spring renewal SOS to B-W residents and neighborhood business owners (who are also eligible to serve): step right up to the plate!