President’s Message
“Our greatest responsibility is to be good ancestors.” — Dr. Jonas Salk
Our work at BWNA is aimed not just to sustain the livability, vitality, and safety of our neighborhood and city, but to improve it for the sake of our children, our grandchildren, and the residents who will follow us here.
With that aim in mind, we invited staffers from the Portland Bureau of Transportation to our February meeting to hear neighbors’ concerns about traffic (article on page 1). Impelled by incidents along NE Fremont Street—most heartbreakingly the December accident at 43rd Avenue that took the life of a pedestrian—our PBOT partners pledged to work with our Transportation Committee on ways to make that tricky, busy stretch safer for all of us.
Traffic safety is only one of many critical issues that the BWNA board has been working on, even given limitations these last two years due to the coronavirus. Different volunteers have made many other contributions to our neighborhood:
- upgraded our park through the labors of the Friends of Wilshire Park Committee;
- revitalized our New Neighbor Welcoming Project (article on page 8);
- sponsored a blood drive in partnership with the Beaumont PTA;
- disseminated information on dealing with incidents of racial bias and harassment;
- kept an eye on city actions that impact us (like the Residential Infill Program, the nearby Tax Increment Financing district, and the work of the Charter Commission);
- helped arbitrate a dispute between a local business and nearby homeowners;
- wrote grants to support the Beaumont Middle School Family Resiliency Fund and the Community Cycling Center’s program of distributing food and care kits to suffering local families;
- published resources for dealing with illegal RV camping as well as offering resources for people experiencing houselessness;
- reinvigorated our Crime Prevention and Safety Committee in the face of rising crime;
- faced climate issues by forming a link with Portland Clean Air and opposing the expansion of the Linnton oil terminal;
- worked to activate interest in Portland’s Neighborhood Emergency Teams;
- surveyed neighbors on important topics;
- updated our website; and
- under the remarkable stewardship of editor Al Ellis for the past 12 years, published this terrific newsletter that is delivered free to over 2,600 Beaumont-Wilshire households and businesses.
The reason I’m sharing all this is to get you thinking about joining us. At our general meeting on Monday evening, April 11, we will hold annual elections. Several seats are open on our BWNA board as well as some officer positions, including the presidency. During two-year terms, elected board members initiate and manage all BWNA projects. The only qualifications: living within BWNA boundaries and a desire to serve. Our standards: board members will act in the best interests of the neighborhood, committing themselves to diversity and equity in all activities. The main commitments: attending our 90-minute evening meetings on the second Monday of each month, speaking up on issues you care about, and participating in projects of your choosing.
We’ve been asked, “What is BWNA looking for in board members? The best answer to that question is, “What would you like to contribute?” All BWNA ventures are dictated by the interests and talents of our volunteers. Whatever you’d like to see accomplished in our neighborhood, whatever issues you have strong opinions about, whatever problems you feel need addressing, whatever visions you have to keep our community thriving into the future, the BWNA board is a place to bring them. We would love to have you join us.