NOTE: Harold Karabell, WPLNA President, thought this would be of interest:
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Dear Neighbors:
I am Patrick Fox, a member of the Condo Board at the Donegal Condominiums at 4525 Laclede, located between Taylor and Euclid. I am also in my second year on the Board of Directors of the Central West End Association (CWEA) and I am writing you about joining the CWEA.
My wife Cynthia and I have lived in the Central West End since October 1995, first on Lindell Boulevard, and for the last 4 years, at the Donegal. We love this neighborhood and all that it offers!
We have always belonged to the Central West End Association (CWEA). We first joined because it was clear that to us that the CWEA “had our backs” when it came to promoting the interests of our neighborhood, preserving its rich architecture and traditions, and “going to bat for us with the folks downtown” when the need came up. That is still true today.
Over the years, Cindy and I have enjoyed many CWEA events such as the annual house tour and preview party, the annual CWEA meeting and dinner, and for several years the Balloon Glow Dinner Dance at the Spanish Pavilion in Forest Park on the Friday evening before the Great Forest Park Balloon Race. More recently, we have been to CWEA First Fridays at various new restaurants and venues in the CWE.
Belonging to the CWEA has reinforced to us that we truly belong in this very special place.
Please join us as members in the CWEA. Formed in 1958, the CWEA operates with just one paid employee and many energized volunteers. It is critically dependent on member dues, which are tax-deductible, and start as low as $10/month per household (or $5/month if you are 29 or younger).
The CWEA has just recently elected a new President, Kelly Waters, a Principal with The Waters Group consulting firm located here in the Central West End. Kelly is a force of nature: high energy, bright, creative and inspiring. With her leadership, we have refined our focus and raison d’être, all compellingly summarized in the tagline: Connecting Community Since 1958.
A couple weeks ago, Kelly emailed a letter to our current members that highlighted some of the new initiatives that we will be rolling out this year in support of the Connecting Community effort. It is reprinted below. I hope you will read it.
In addition, I invite you to visit our website: www.thecwe.org . There you can learn more about the CWEA, where it’s been, and more importantly, where it’s going!
And, most importantly, while at the website, click on the Membership button to become a member. If you are uncertain if your past membership is still in force, peruse the membership list on the site.
One last thing: I would be pleased to answer any questions or concerns you have. Just shoot me an email (patrickfox@charter.net ), call me at either 314/361-8393 (h) or 314/255-4483 (cell), or take a short walk and ring up our apartment.
Thank you for your kind consideration!
Patrick Fox, Unit #8 at the Donegal
Reprint of Kelly’s letter:
Dear CWEA Member,
We’ve been working hard the past few months to create a more robust and effective neighborhood association and we’re excited to share the expanded benefits for our members. Our purpose is to connect our community. That means connecting you to information, to resources, and to each other. All of the programs, events and resources we produce will be focused on that objective. Here are some of the things we’ll be rolling out over the next couple of months:
Connecting You to Information:
• There are so many new and exciting development projects happening in the CWE – it’s hard to keep up! We’ll make it easier by hosting quarterly forums to bring you up to date and to hear your concerns and ideas. We’ll then take that feedback to the elected officials and city agencies who can act on the information.
• Not into forums? Not to worry! We’ll post updates to our website on development projects and other important issues impacting our neighborhood.
• If you do only one thing today…subscribe to our weekly e-blasts! It goes out each Monday and is chock full of good info about what’s new and what to do. You’ll be one of the best informed people you know.
Connecting Neighbors to Neighbors:
• Want a sneak peek at a new CWE restaurant? Want to hang by the coolest pool in the hood? Want to meet fun people? Easy, just attend our monthly First Friday Social Hour.
• Food is fun when served family style! Break bread with neighbors at our Community Table. A unique and highly personal dining experience at a different CWE restaurant each month.
• That wonderful July 4th Family Day we’ve hosted for many years? Fun, right? We’ll be expanding the concept to a quarterly event allowing friends and neighbors to celebrate the seasons in true CWE style.
• Be sure to hold the date of September 17th because we have one heck of party to invite you to. Starting this year we will host the annual Celebrate the CWE Gala. A fun and elegant party to celebrate the neighborhood we love.
• How about a Kite Festival? Stay tuned, it’s flying your way soon.
Connecting You to Resources:
• Exclusive discounts at CWE merchants? Done.
• Help navigating the array of community organizations? Got you covered.
• Eager to volunteer with an interesting CWE organization? We can hook you up.
• Do the CWE Historic Standards allow you to paint your front door fuchsia? Good question, we have the answer. (And we admire your bold design choice!)
• Where do you find all of these life enhancing resources? At www.thecwe.org
This is some good stuff and there’s more where that came from. Your membership dollars make it all happen, so a super-huge thank you for your past support. To make all this new stuff happen we needed to restructure our dues levels. We are charging more, but if you’ll keep supporting the CWEA we promise to make it worth your while.
Your Neighbor,
Kelly
Kelly Waters
Board President
The Central West End Association