Northridge West Neighborhood Council, NWNC Northridge West Neighborhood Council, Unity in Our Community, NWNC
By Rana A. Sharif, VP of Communication and Outreach
On May 14th, the Northridge West Neighborhood Council (NWNC) welcomed in a new board, confirming six newly elected members as well as two appointments for open seats. The results of the election are as follows:
Newly-Elected Board Members: Jennifer Krowne and Kelly Scooter.
Re-Elected Board Members: Alma Fernandez, Glen Wilson, Gail Lapaz and Rana Sharif.
In addition, the board appointed two new members, Josue “Josh” Toscano, and Kathleen Edwards to fill two vacancies.
These eight members will be serving the Northridge West community alongside Peter Lasky, Lloyd Dent, Bill Fox, and outgoing NWNC President Pam Bolin. The seating of the new board was overseen by the Department of Neighborhood Empowerment (DONE) advocate, Jose Galdamez, who administered the Oath of Service and walked the newly elected board through the process. In addition, a new Executive Board will be led by President Peter Lasky and will include Vice President of Administration Alma Fernandez, and Vice President of Communication and Outreach Rana Sharif.
Meeting Summary
The board members went straight to work after the completion of the formal seating of board members and the election of the executive board. The board was thrilled to nominate long-time board member and community advocate Lloyd Dent as “Outstanding NWNC Senior.” Lloyd will be honored at the upcoming Senior Dance hosted by the North Valley YMCA on May 31st. In addition, the NWNC board voted to support the continued efforts of Don Larson, president of the Northridge Beautification Foundation with Clean Streets, Clean Starts, an initiative that works with local homeless communities on cleaning and maintaining the streets of our community. Clean Streets, Clean Starts is a homeless-to-work opportunity for approximately ten folks in need of permanent housing over the course of six weeks, connecting them to resources and opportunities.
Additionally, the board nominated and approved the selection of community member and stakeholder Andrew Krowne to represent the NWNC in the Aliso Canyon Disaster Health Research Study Community Advisory Group. Andrew has committed himself to raising awareness about the wide-reaching effects of the Aliso Canyon methane gas leak, and has created a symptom-tracking application to help collect information on the impact of the leak. We look forward to his participation and updates.
Upcoming Events
Coming up, you can find NWNC at the upcoming Salute to Recreation Family Festival which will be held June 1st and 2nd at the Northridge Recreation Center. The festival promises to be an amazing and fun-filled experience for the entire family with live entertainment, food trucks and carnival rides. Be sure to stop by the NWNC booth to pick up a prize and say “hello” to your new representatives!
Gail Lapaz, Chair of the Homeless committee, shared several upcoming events aimed at supporting homelessness. On August 24, the West Valley Neighborhood Alliance is holding its 4th forum at Alemany High School. This event focuses on those practitioners and organizations assisting our homeless communities. It is an opportunity for the community to link with those on the ground doing work on behalf of and with homeless folks. In addition, Hope of the Valley Rescue Mission will hold its Tenth Anniversary Gala on August 24th. A representative from the organization will be speaking at the upcoming June NWNC meeting. Gail shared, “it is my intention to keep abreast of the homeless crisis and designate the information to the stakeholders. There are meetings all over the Valley for these many organizations that have gathered to try to combat the problem.”
Our next meeting will be held on Tuesday, June 11, 2019, at 6:15 p.m.
Board Responds to Election
The board welcomes this new election cycle with renewed excitement and commitment to the community of Northridge West. NWNC President Peter Lasky expressed his outlook for the board: “I’m very excited to see the interest from our stakeholders in running in the election and filling open seats. With only one open seat this is the most board members we’ve had in two years. I expect that seat will be quickly filled. It’s nice to see the board changing from predominantly male to now half female. It’s very significant that we’ve attracted younger board members than we’ve had in my tenure on the board. Not only have we filled seats but I’m thrilled that we’ve filled them with board members that are engaged, enthusiastic, eager to help our community and raring to go.” Clearly, the work is just beginning and NWNC looks forward to increasing and strengthening its relationship with our neighbors and community stakeholders.”
Newly elected board member, Kelly Scooter shared her enthusiasm about her involvement with NWNC: “I am looking forward to getting to know my neighbors better, giving back to the community that has given me so much over my many years living here, and hoping to create meaningful, positive change for Northridge. To me, that means giving people a sense of community and pride in where they live.”
We look forward to creating the best community and neighborhood for all who live, eat, work, and visit Northridge West. We welcome all our neighbors and stakeholders to join us every second Tuesday of the month at our board meetings, held at the Northridge Christian Church at 6:15 p.m. On behalf of the board, I thank our community of supporters for entrusting us to serve them. Be sure to connect with us on Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/NorthridgeWest/) and Instagram (@northridgewestnc) for up-to-date information about meetings, events, and how to get involved!
As always, our President, Peter Lasky, welcomes your questions and comments,
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#NWNC #DONE #EmpowerLA #CD12 #NorthridgeWestNC #NorthridgeWest #CityofLA Northridge West Neighborhood Council
