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Committees working for YOU in
Benton Park West!
It’s easy to get involved in any of the activities of Benton Park West Neighborhood Association. From chairpersons to committee members, your help is always wanted, needed and appreciated. Contact any of the chairpersons to see how you can help, or feel free to contact Linda Hennigh, BPWNA president.
Current Committees
Beautification
Block Link
Board of Directors
Communications
Community Garden
Dog Park
Facilities
Finance/Fundraising
Membership
Publicity
Safety and Quality of Life
Youth Outreach
Committee Chairs
Bill Byrd - Publicity/Advertising,PR/Marketing/Website, Facilities
Martha Buckley - Membership
Beautification, - Beautification
Jon Meinz - Garden
Jennifer Shoemaker - Dog Park
Carrie Sleep - Quality of Life and Safety
Bill Byrd - Facilities
Beautification Committee
The Beautification Team works in a number of ways to improve the appearance of the neighborhood. Projects include everything from alley cleanups to the upcoming “Adopt-A-Planter� flower-potting program.
The committee needs help with graffiti cleanup, keeping up neglected yards – mowing, trash cleanup, et cetera, organizing alley and block cleanups, potting plants and trees, illegal dumping patrol, and verifying trashcans are emptied and not over-filled. Please contact us at BPWNA Beautification if you’d like to help out.
Block Link
The Block Link Program has returned! The program basically serves as a connection point between the residents and the neighborhood association, as well as serving to connect neighbors on a block. Each Block Link Captain acts as a conduit of information coming from the neighborhood and city to the residents on that block. Similarly, the residents can collectively express their concerns to the Block Link Captain who takes that information to the association, other block link captains, aldermen or other city officials. The program also serves as a way of bringing residents on a block together for socializing and problem solving.
For more information or to become a Block Link, contact Linda Hennigh
Board of Directors
The Board consists of four elected officers, two members-at-large and representatives of the Five Standing Committees to serve our neighborhood.
Board Positions and Elected Officers 2010
President: Linda Hennigh
Vice - President: Diane Hurwitz
Secretary: Erica Nuyen
Treasurer: Amy Clayton
Member at Large: Sherry Young
Member at Large: Shirley Johnson
Communications
Remember the neighborhood newspaper? If you’re too young to remember the newspaper that talked about what was happening in your neighborhood, just ask your parents and grandparents.
What about Miss Maude’s granddaughter and the new baby that Sharon and Bill just had, and the new house that’s being built on the corner?
While this type of information seems not that important by today’s standard it is important to the people involved.
Just as the more personal information is important to the individuals, so is neighborhood information to the residents. Seasonal information about gardening, how to keep old houses cool, and youth activities is very important. Also information about how to contact City Services (police, housing, etc.) is important to keep a neighborhood vibrant and revitalized.
In today’s world there are many ways to keep people informed. Keeping residents informed is not just information but Public Relations for Benton Park West. While the more traditional way to share about the neighborhood is a Newsletter.
The newsletter – The Porch Review, has served Benton Park West for many years. Use the newsletter to explore your world. Recently a redesign allowed the newsletter to be easier to read and provide more up to date information. The format is to have the feature information along with information from Committees, community, State Representative, as well as specific information about happenings in and around Benton Park West. To submit your info to the newsletter, send your info to Publications.
Community Garden
Goals & Vision for the Gardens of Benton Park West:
1. Neighbors meeting other neighbors regardless of position in life.
2. Brightening up our neighborhood and providing a relaxing place for neighbors to picnic and enjoy nature.
3. At the Vegetable Garden, Ohio and Crittendon, SSDN utilizes the garden as an outdoor learning space.
4. Demonstrating the successful ways to grow one's own food and work with the environment in an ecologically friendly way. Many residents have never grown a garden.The primary efforts of the Vegetable Garden, Ohio and Crittendon, is a cooperative arrangement with SSDN. This garden contains both vegetable beds, flowering landscaped areas and a fenced in section for Southside Day Nursery. Whether a master gardener or novice, come and join in the gardening fun! The first Saturday of the month during Spring, Summer, and Fall is the official Garden Work Day, but feel free to volunteer or jrelax in the garden any time!
In addition to the Vegetable Garden is the Flower Garden located at California and Wyoming. The Flower Garden is a cooperative effort between Alderman Craig Schmid, Gateway Greening and Benton Park West. This garden is strickly a flower garden. Spring and Fall workdays keep the garden sustainable for people and animals to enjoy.
Contact the Neighborhood Office (314) 771-0803, for more information about the Community Garden projects.
Stay informed with the gardening news by subscribing to the BPWNA Garden E-group!
Dog Park Committee
Starting in the fall of 2005, the idea of having a Dog Park was discussed. The spring of 2006 brough the birth of the Benton Park West Dog Park.
After many suggestions and ideas of where to have the Dog Park and the subsequent recommendation by the Dog Park Committee to the Board of Benton Park West, gaining signatures from residents, and lengthy discussion and conversations with the Alderman and other City officials the Benton Park West Dog Park is moving to be a reality.
There has been great support from Craig Schmidt, 20th Ward alderman, in working with the city to gain approval to use the lot and helping to offset many of the costs involved in getting the infrastructure in place.
In addition to the City personnel and elected officials working for Benton Park West Dog Park, there are numerous residents who have walked and knocked on doors to get signatures, using professional skills to design the layout for the Dog Park, as well as, donated landscaping services, etc.
Join us in our venture to bring a Dog Park to the South City area for our “Furry� friends to be able to frolic and have fun…leash free.
For more information, or to help, please contact Jen Shoemaker, Dog Park Committee Chair or the BPWNA office at 314-771-0803.
Publicity
The idea of Public Relations has been around since the dawn of time. There have just been different names for the “job�.
In today’s society, when you hear the words “Networking� or “Collaboration� these are components of Public Relations. Words from generations past such as “Good Old Boys� or “The Connection� is much the same component.
Public Relations is simply telling others about a product or place. Benton Park West is a wonderfully diverse and historic old South Saint Louis Neighborhood. The question we ask is why not share with those inside and outside of the neighborhood how wonderful life is in Benton Park West.
It is important that residents know what the City offers as far as services, where the local market is located, businesses in their neighborhood, as well as the great people that live on their block, down the street and around the corner. With technology of the twenty-first century, we have the “new fangled� Internet to help us with Benton Park West public relations. With the help of Bill, our Webmaster, BPW continues informing residents through the website.
Knowing your neighborhood is the first step to being a community within a community.
To help with Public Relations, contact Bill Byrd.
Safety and Quality of Life
One of the newest BUZZ words in community re-building is “Quality of Life�. What exactly is Quality of Life you ask? Quality of Life or “QL� is concerned with trash and trashcans, drug sales, guns, burned out streetlights, overgrown grass, quality housing for residents, new developments, and making sure BPW is safe and comfortable.
While there are several areas that are shared with other committees, there is still enough work for EVERYONE. If you feel motivated to help out by driving around 1-2 times a month and looking for streetlights that are out, trash dumpsters that are overflowing, grass that is overgrown…then reporting them, then contact Carrie Sleepor the Neighborhood Office at 314.771.0803.
Remember only YOU make your neighborhood a place YOU want to live.
Youth Outreach
As the saying goes, “the children are our future,� and in Benton Park West, we know the significant role that youth can play in improving or damaging neighborhood efforts to stabilize, renew and succeed.
The Youth Outreach Committee develops projects that specifically target the neighborhood youth and coordinates ways to include youth in regular neighborhood activities.
As the committee is just starting to get off the ground, your thoughts and ideas are greatly needed! Contact Pamela Welsh to help out!
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