You are invited to a mash up of Show and Tell and Indoor Block Party on Tuesday Jan. 24th, 6:30 pm at the Optimist Recreation Center, 703 Oakwood Avenue

Even without the beer & BBQ, it will be great, not just ’cause we have good cookies.  All neighbors and members are invited to join us for our first Meet the Neighbors themed un-meeting.

Here’s the scoop:

6:30 to 7:00  put a Big green Sticker on 3 of the 5 areas you think are most important for our Association to focus on.  Are you most concerned about:

Safety (roads, traffic, crime prevention)

Security (food, clothing and shelter resources, including upkeep of shelter)

Schools (all of them: Chapman, Montview, MLK, Lee, and New Century)

Sports (for youth in any season)

or

Smiles (evidence of a good feeling about life in our neighborhoods)

7 – 7:20:  there will be a few Very-Good-News announcements and the election for current members of the NE Hsv Civic Association .  Your neighbors and members Allen Krell, Eloy Alcivar and Scott Akridge, with Naaman Goode as chair, recommend these folks as officers: me, Frances Akridge, Evan Smith, Farrah Napolitano, and Sabrina Simon.  Scroll way-down for details about their readiness to serve, please.

7:20 – 8:00: We will introduce you to three of our extraordinary artistic neighbors of NE Huntsville.  If you already know artists Jennie Couch, Katie Rosetta, and musician Nick Z. Robey, wear your fan club buttons!  If you don’t know them yet here is your chance.  

There will be no sales of merchandise, just show and tell by the artists.

If you want to turn your block into a little slice of Mayberry pie, Join Us!  Contact us (nehsvcivicassn@gmail.com) or come to any one of our 4 meetings to meet people who simultaneously want to brag about Northeast, keep it a secret, and once in awhile complain about it, too.

By the Way

The current board (Dick Hiatt, Naaman Goode, and I) met on January 3rd and offer this recommendation for 2017:

 

Nominated Officers 2017

President, Potentate of Possibilities: me, Frances Akridge, from Oak Park. My goal is to continue the momentum we built last year and to begin at least one new project as agreed on by the other officers.  With more heads being better than one, we will continue our commitment to

• improve the Reading Buddy Program at Chapman School
• exceed expectations as partners in the Adopt a Mile and Adopt a Park projects
• be an exemplary Trail Care Partner to the Land Trust of North Alabama on the Monte Sano Preserve
• follow up with city department managers about improved transportation options and begin a long-range planning session

Vice President, Grand Poobah and Civic Leader:  Evan Smith (Oak Park) is a big fan of The Big Picture long range planning sessions and is interested in everyone’s vision for Northeast Huntsville.  Looking ahead and around from a hawk’s eye view is something he understands literally; Evan is a Graduate of UNA with a B.S. in Geographic Information Science (2011) and a member of Gamma Theta Upsilon, The International Geographic Honor Society.  His professional interests include GIS, Cartography, LIDAR, Unmanned Aerial Systems, Conservation and Natural Resource Management.  He is is actively continuing his education through professional certifications.  Evan is a quiet yet effective communicator and engaging speaker.  In his spare time he enjoys outdoor adventures and making maps.  Evan and his wife plan to travel all points of the compass to explore the world and appreciate coming home to the foothills of the Appalachia, checking in occasionally with family in Florence— the one west of the Tennessee River.

Treasurer, Exalted Money and Member manager Sabrina Simon (5 Points) is another fearless explorer and contributor to her community.  She earned a college degree in 2000 as a graphic designer and is a business owner of a cottage industry.  Sabrina is known to many as an archaeological field photographer, illustrator and cartographer, having mapped and sketched the caves of the Maya deep in the Yucatan peninsula. She spent 10 years on the board at the Huntsville Grotto of the National Speleological Society which is dedicated to the study and science of speleology, encouraging safe cave exploring techniques, conserving cave fauna and natural formations, and to promoting fellowship among club members. In addition to making public presentations about the thrills and technical teamwork of spelunking, she served in many capacities in the club to help the community thrive.  She also enjoys sunshine as an avid gardener and mother who often walks to the Market in Five Points and travels to Florida for some quality time with her folks.

Secretary, Keeper of the Flame: Farrah Napolitano (Chapman Heights), native to Huntsville, is the proud mother of an energetic four year old. She is excited about the overall vision for the city and raising her son in her hometown. She believes that our youth are the future and is excited about the revitalization of the parks in Northeast Huntsville.  She is also eager to collaborate on ways to bring more families to the area. She is a trained researcher and writer with a B.S. in Intelligence from the National Intelligence University (2013) and a member of the Golden Key International Honor Society and the Pi Gamma Mu International Honor Society. She currently serves as the Financial Chair for the Combined Federal Campaign (CFC) at the Defense Intelligence Agency’s Missile and Space Intelligence Center. She is also a Board Member for the Local Federal Coordinating Committee that plans and organizes the overall campaign for the Tennessee Valley CFC. She and her husband, Brian, are excited about contributing toward the improvement of our community.