Only a handful of neighbors who’ve served on the BWNA board stand the test of time. Outgoing board member Barbara Strunk, however, is one of those with a multi-year tenure—nine years, in her case. She started with the board by filling a vacant at-large board position in 2014; in 2017 she began serving as board secretary, a role she completed last year. In addition to serving on the board and as secretary, here are some of Barb’s other notable contributions to our neighborhood:
- Served as the newsletter’s garden columnist for over 10 years.
- Assisted with historic neighborhood issues by providing garden commentary.
- Represented BWNA on the Central NE Neighbors board (CNN).
- With board members Al Ellis and John Sandie, spearheaded United Neighborhoods for Reform (UNR), supported by over 50 neighborhood associations. The group’s goal was to lobby City Hall to preserve the dwindling stock of viable, comparatively affordable homes from demolition and put requirements in place to mitigate the danger to the public from demolitions. Barb served as the UNR steering committee chair.
And here, comments from those who served with Barb, some for many years:
“I will always look fondly at those strong civic-minded, friendships forged in [Barb’s] living room for UNR meetings.” John Sandie, former board president, current transportation chair, UNR cohort, and volunteer-of-all-trades.
“While developers won out, Barb was competence personified as UNR steering committee chair… . There’s no better colleague to work with than Barb — kind, intelligent, dutiful, calm under fire, and fun — a gem of a person.” Al Ellis, current board vice president, former BWNA president, former BWNA newsletter editor, and UNR cohort.
“I was impressed with her knowledge and contributions, particularly her commitment to issues of land use planning… I couldn’t be more grateful to Barb for her contributions to our neighborhood.” Tim Gillespie, immediate past president and current board member.
Thank you, Barb, from the entire BWNA board!