Dear Members, Merchants and Friends,
Russian Hill Neighbors has been privileged since its founding in 1981 to be led by a stellar group of past presidents. Bittersweet for us, Emily Harrold, RHN president for the past year and a half, joins that illustrious group with the gratitude of the entire Board for her time, her grace, her enthusiasm, her devotion and her ability to recruit young new leadership to our organization. In July, Emily and her family moved to the East Bay. She promises to stay in touch! Thank you Emily!
Meanwhile, RHN continues its many activities under the guidance of an active and committed Executive Committee, Board of Directors and Committee Chairs. The Nominating Committee, led by past president Tina Moylan, is in the process of reorganizing the leadership team to complete the year until new officers are elected at the Spring Annual Meeting. The Board Retreat in July focused on leadership development and recruitment, an important emphasis for all volunteer organizations. If you would be interested in a leadership position yourself, please contact Tina – serving is a unique opportunity to make a difference on Russian Hill while being part of a wonderful group of people.
Speaking of new leaders, we welcome Monique Olivier to the Board as our new Secretary. Monique is a commercial real estate attorney by profession, married to Gonzalo and the mother of a three year old son. She has lived on Russian Hill for ten years, does ballet as a hobby and (in addition to English) is fluent in French, Spanish and Italian.
Also, long-time Board Adviser Jovanne Reilly is “shadowing” current Treasurer Ian Maddison and will take over that position next month. Jovanne served as editor of the RHN newsletter (then a print publication) for five years in the early 2000s. A sixteen year resident of Russian Hill, Jovanne and her husband James enjoy travel, local cultural offerings, an occasional Giants game and dining at the many restaurants in our neighborhood.
Over the past few weeks, we have received many comments and questions from members and non-members regarding the Medical Cannabis Dispensary (MCD) proposed for Polk Street at Filbert. As is our longstanding policy, RHN is doing due diligence on this issue and we thank you for your feedback. We have not taken an official position one way or the other on the proposal, but continue to follow its progress and encourage all interested parties to do so as well.
RHN committees regularly address a wide range of neighborhood issues including cleaner streets, appropriate land use, historic preservation, traffic, parking, local merchants, parks, support for families with children and neighborhood safety. The latter, safety, is of particular and growing concern to our membership. Please be assured that we are working with our district Supervisors and Police Captains to inform and collaborate with them and other city agencies in identifying both problems and solutions. If you would like to serve on our Safety Committee, or help organize specific efforts under the aegis of RHN, please email one of the Executive Committee members. We welcome your input and involvement.
Meanwhile, don’t forget to join us for some fun! The RHN Book Club meets monthly and is a great way to meet others who live in the neighborhood. The Families with Children Committee will be organizing a back to school playground event in early September. Attend one of our periodic Cheers events or a Wine and Dine. Make a habit of going to our website at www.rhnsf.org to see what’s coming up and make sure RHN has your correct email address to receive our monthly eblasts with news and events.
Thank you for being part of our very special neighborhood!!
RHN Executive Committee
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