Happy Birthday Rose!

Our house, Rose, yes that's her name, turned 100 years old this month! So we threw her a party. We wanted to honor her not only reaching the 100 year milestone but also honor those that help restore her. So we had a bunch of our neighbors and friends over for a little celebration. Byron, Bill and Geno the three guys who literally saved this old house from becoming a pile of rubble were toasted for their good work. We also wanted to shine a light on our neighborhood. One of the local TV news stations sent over a video guy and we made that night's news! The message we wanted to get out is that this old neighborhood is coming back! Rose: we wish you another good 100 yrs!

Nettie

I first met Nettie Hinton at a Dignowity Hill Neighborhood Association meeting about 2 years ago. When she got up and spoke she immediately made an impression on me. Well, any time that Nettie speaks she usually makes an impression! She's is one of those rare individuals that has the ability to immediately capture your attention. Undoubtedly, she also is one the most interesting people I have ever met. The great-grand daughter of a freed slave, Nettie's roots run deep in San Antonio and especially in the Eastside neighborhoods where she grew up in. After a 30 year career with the U.S. Customs that literally took her around the world, she returned to San Antonio and Dignowity Hill.
I Google'd Nettie Hinton's name and found out that she has been the recipient of numerous leadership awards such as the St. Philip’s College Artemesia Bowden Award, the Mission City Business and Professional Women’s Profiles in Leadership Award, the African-American Reflections Harriet Tubman Award of Courage, and the Bank of America Local Hero Award. Pretty good stuff. What Nettie really brings to the table is her absolute passion, courage and engagement to issues she believes in and cares about. When I've seen her tangle with city officials over neighborhood concerns or issues I always have to chuckle because she won't back down when pushed. No doubt that she can get your attention! Regardless of whether you agree with her or not she keeps you honest. And folks, we can always use a healthy dose of honesty to keep things in perspective!

Our Neighborhood Assocation

Our neighborhood association is a lively, passionate and interesting group of folks. Our meetings can be at times rewarding or frustrating events depending on the issues. As I've written before, our neighborhood is an interesting collection of professionals, artists, working folks, long time resident families, recent arrivals, black, white and otherwise. So you can imagine the diversity that shows up our meetings.
But I have to say that the folks that come to our meetings truly care about the neighborhood and I would like to think, ultimately about each other. So its going to be an interesting adventure for me as I step into the role as president of the association. I look forward to this new chapter with enthusiasm along with a healthy dose of pragmatic expectations. We also have new officers for the association. They are all great folks with good ideas and commitment to see our neighborhood continue to move in a positive direction. So thank you Liz, Kate and Hector for agreeing to serve! It should be an interesting and fun rest of the year!