Harry Wallace, who has served as our president for the last two years, will be a very difficult act to follow. Harry's leadership these last two terms has been marked by his fairness and even handedness, his skill at bringing people together, and his ability to listen and to be compassionate and to find intelligent solutions. We have been lucky that he stepped forward to serve, and we will miss him as president, although he will continue to be an active member, as well as a thoughtful voice in our community. Thank you Harry for your dedication and service to Beacon Hill.
Harry's example will be hard to live up to, but fortunately, I won't have to take on that task alone. We have elected a great board who is energetic and full of ideas.
But even more importantly, I have all of you. We are neighbors; we are a community; we are Beacon Hill. We make decisions together to better our neighborhood as well as celebrate and honor its history and its wonderful spaces. We work together to work with our local government officials to get the help and attention that we need.
Knowing your neighbors and coming together as a community for the monthly meeting and for events helps keep our neighborhood safer, cleaner, and more vibrant. Volunteering at the community garden, at the local schools, helping with neighborhood projects like painting the cable boxes, serving on committees to help with affordable housing or helping the elderly, or gathering food for the Thanksgiving baskets that Ms. Lucy Eller and Lola Rodriguez distribute makes us more than a place on a map: it makes that place our home.
I am excited about serving as President this coming year and working together with you for a community we love. Let's help each other preserve what is good in our neighborhood and to guide its bright future.
And Harry? Keep the phone line open.
Cynthia Merla Spielman