Vista Del Monte Neighborhood Association

Archived - VDM November 2000 Newsletter Page 2

Feb 11, 2001

Message from the President
I first want to give a heart-filled thanks to Ray Brown for stepping in and doing the job as President since Mark Gilliland resigned. We all appreciate the work you did on our behalf and wish you much happiness in your retirement!
I also thank all who voted for the current officers. It is my opinion that anyone who has ever served as an elected official, street rep., committee chairperson, served on a committee, volunteered in any way, attended any meeting regarding our neighborhood or who has spoken at any of our meetings is a leader. To all of you I acknowledge and thank you for your contributions. It takes all of us, working in our own ways and together to make our neighborhood a great place to live, whether we own or rent our homes.

My Mission Statement
It is my intention that our neighborhood be considered the best neighborhood to live in in Tucson. I have been told that our neighborhood is already highly regarded within the ranks of City departments. People were impressed with how we worked together in regards to the Back to Basics Program and how we distributed the money to cover as many projects as possible. Although our Back to Basics money is spent, I say we?’re not done yet. When I went to the TNACC (Tucson Neighborhood Association Citywide Conference) event at the TCC, I learned that we have just begun to scratch the surface of what is available to neighborhoods. The City is very supportive of neighborhood improvements.

It is my contention that the job/goal of a leader is to inspire, encourage and have people step forward as leaders.
I see my position as one of working with people. The work of leadership is bigger than what any one person can do. In October I went to a workshop sponsored by Pro Neighborhoods, on ?“Making Meetings Work: Shared Leadership and Facilitation Roles, Preparation of Meeting Agendas, Group Decision Making and Team Building.?” This workshop was very inspiring. I intend, with your support, to implement things I have learned at this workshop at our meetings. I am sure that some of us are familiar with these techniques; for others, they may be new. We can pick and choose what we use and how we implement them. How we do what we do is as important, if not more important than what we do. To repeat a famous quote (the author escapes me) ?“Life is a Journey not a Destination.?”

The executive council is creating lists of possible committees and what the responsibilities of these committees would be. If you have any suggestions please contact your street rep. or executive council. I envision more of our deliberations be conducted in committees with input from the entire neighborhood and then presented in our general meetings for further consideration and implementation. To sum up my entire philosophy ?“Many hands make the work of carrying a heavy load light?”. In Cooperation, Richard Silva-Stump

NEXT MEETING: TUESDAY, JANUARY 9, 2001
We will not be meeting in December due to the holidays. Numerous requests have been made regarding changing the day of the week for our meetings. The Executive Council has agreed to honor those requests by changing the meeting days starting in January 2001. The first four meetings of the year will be scheduled on Tuesdays. This is an experiment and we will see if it?’s viable. We are also checking into other meeting places. More details will follow in the December newsletter.

The City of Tucson, its officers and employees, its Citizen and Neighborhood Services offices and all other offices neither agree nor disagree with the views expressed or implied in this communication and are not responsible therefor. The distribution requestor is solely responsible.