By John Fitzgerald, CNA Board Chair
Greetings Neighbors, It has been a busy entrance into spring, and we had a great Egg Hunt on Easter Weekend! I wanted to thank all who helped with this event, which is our biggest event of the year.
However, it is not our only event of the year. A major part of our mission as a neighborhood association is to create a community where all feel welcome and part of something special. One of our avenues to achieve this goal is to provide gatherings to celebrate all of the cultures, ethnicities, and identity groups within our neighborhood.
To make these events possible, we need you not only to attend events, but to help in the planning and execution of them. For example, as of this writing, the Muslim holiday of Ramadan concluded with the final Iftar meal. We had neighbors express interest in attending an Iftar meal and learning about the traditions which accompany the breaking of the daily fast during the month of Ramadan.
Unfortunately, we did not have anyone in the neighborhood step up to organize this event. Thus, I am blowing the horn, making the call, and shouting to the mountaintops (or at least to the crest of the hill at Alberta) for volunteers who are willing to take the lead or work with others on planning an event for the Concordia Neighborhood Association. I am asking for your time on just one event which ignites your passion or piques your interest. You can certainly work on multiple events, but I am only asking for your time for one event. We can provide assistance with event organization; we simply need neighbors who are willing to devote their time to initiating making an event happen.
In addition to planning events, we are asking people to serve on committees. We have different committees for different things; for example, at our April meeting, the board created an ad hoc committee to explore the possibilities of a name change / rebranding of our association. The Concordia Neighborhood Association was formed in 1975 and eight months from now, will have its 50th anniversary.
Thus, we would like to ensure our name, our brand, and our identity are what we need for the next 50 years. I would love to see a good many of our neighbors reach out to be a part of this committee and help us gather the feedback necessary to move forward with confidence that we are serving the will of Concordia. Please contact us through any of the avenues to express your interest in being part of this research and action. You can also reach out to the committee chair, Patricia McMahan at AL2@ConcordiaPDX.org, or to me at Chair@ ConcordiaPDX.org. We look forward to some great conversations about how we present our identity and image in the next chapter of our neighborhood association.
Let’s all have a great rest of the spring, get all of our plants and veggies planted for the wonderful neighborhood gardens, and I look forward to a wonderful summer season of backyard gatherings, street parties, and fun in the sun.
Cheers!
John Fitzgerald
After a 16 year run as a high school English teacher on the International School circuit in six different countries, I am excited to be back home in PDX. My wife Michelle and I are back getting enmeshed into the community and developing our real estate careers.