Happy New Year! Happy New Decade! Happy 25 Years!
Welcome to our first issue of the Northside News in this new decade. This lovely little community newspaper of ours has survived and thrived through the 1990s, the 2000s, and 2010s and is now entering its 25th year in the 2020s. It’s a small miracle, when we watch print publications failing everywhere, to know that our newspaper has such a deep level of community investment that advertisers continue to find value in supporting us. If you have ideas that you’d like to share to commemorate 25 years of the Northside News, please do be in touch.
Join NPC’s Board
NPC continues to barrel along at a breakneck pace. We’re starting this year in better shape than ever, pursuing exciting projects that promise change at a systems level. Would you like to join us? We get to do the exciting stuff -— whether it’s in local food, economic development, entrepreneurship support, job training, peace and resilience building, creative placemaking, cooperative development or land use. We are tackling the big questions of our time, and we have openings on our board of directors. It’s a wonderful opportunity to think BIG and DEEP for your community while also helping us grow the assets we’ve already developed. Come join a fun, dynamic and hardworking team of volunteer leaders and staff — we promise, you’ll never be bored on our board. Please contact me at the email at the end of my column.
A Bittersweet Departure
One of the reasons we have openings on our board of directors is that one of our co-chairs, Renee Walk, will be stepping down from both her officer role and her role on the board. I’m honestly not sure how we replace Renee. She came to us several years ago when we were still struggling to stabilize our finances and operations after opening the FEED Kitchens. She was full of strategic insight, asked all the right questions and helped us focus and use our resources smartly. I’ve learned so much from Renee — I often ask myself, “How would Renee react to this? What would her questions be?” She’s made us better, and we’ll miss her.
The good news is that the Northside is not losing her leadership chops. Renee is a property owner on Kipling Drive, and brings a tremendous amount of integrity and heart to that role on behalf of her tenants. She will continue in her role as co-chair of the incredibly active and effective Sherman Neighborhood Association. That group has its hands full. With most of the commercial real estate on the Northside within their borders, they are on the frontline of the development pressures faced by our community. I’m glad we have someone as able as Renee and her co-chair Lesleigh Luttrell holding down that front in a thoughtful way.
So, a new decade brings new celebrations, new opportunities and new transitions. What’s your 2020 Vision for the Northside? Join us to bring it to life!