Nine energetic volunteer members of the association were voted onto the board at last month’s “Annual” Meeting. The board is now in the process of planning this year’s upcoming calendar—News on that will follow soon.

Immediately following last month’s Picnic in the Park event—Sunday, August 17th—RPNA’s new board of directors was elected into office. A terrific mix of new and old talent is on the new board, and work has already begun to be carried out on the planning of the next calendar year’s events. In addition to hosting the events that members have come to enjoy such as our December Holiday Tree Lighting Ceremony and our Annual Picnic in the Park, the new board is looking forward to adding some additional and exciting new events to RPNA’s annual calendar.  We’ll post news about these events and the other work that the board is proceeding on in our e-newsletters, e-news blasts, and web site and Facebook posts. So look for updates in those places.

Before getting to the new board, many thanks are due to last year’s board members, for they did much good work. In particular, we’d like to commend Sarah Vinci, immediate Past Secretary; Rachel de Jong, immediate Past At-large member and liaison to the Neighborhood Watch Group in Rose Park North; Joanna Velazquez-Alpízar, immediate Past At-large member; Ken Matlock, immediate Past Treasurer, and Jeff Anderson, immediate Past President. These five persons were instrumental, along with the three returning board members, Scottie Hinkey, Chuck Barrick, and Chris Wisniewski, in advancing the Association’s goals, and RPNA thanks each of them for sharing their considerable talents with us. The five board members who will not be on this year’s board, have each each kindly volunteered their wise counsel and help as needed both during the transition period from the old board to the new, and afterward as needed. Thank you very much for your service, Sarah, Rachel, Joanna, Ken, and Jeff!

The 2014-15 Rose Park Neighborhood Association Board of Directors are:

Gretchen Swanson, President
Emily Stevens, Vice-President
Chris Wisniewski, Secretary
Tim Scanlan, Treasurer
Chuck Barrick, member at-large
David Clement, member at-large
Stephen Grindle, member at-large
Scottie Hinkey, member at-large
Alan Mullikin, member at-large

Together, the nine of us look forward to representing the neighborhood’s interests as defined by RPNA’s mission:

To foster cooperation, communication and pride among residents of the area; to create a positive identity for Rose park throughout Long Beach and beyond; to encourage an understanding of citizenship and civic responsibility; to promote an appreciation for the neighborhood’s architectural history and its preservation; and to increase the quality of life in our neighborhood!