Dear Members, Merchants, and Neighbors:
As I reflect on 2016, I am so proud of all that Russian Hill Neighbors accomplished. Together, we organized or supported more than 40 community events last year. From 10 Neighborhood Sweep events, 5 family get-togethers at Helen Wills Park, and a persimmon tree planting at Michelangelo Park, to a seminar for parents on applying to SF Public Schools, the Alhambra Art Event, Cheers happy hours, Wine & Dine events, monthly book club meetings, safety panels with the SF’s top law enforcement experts, and our largest holiday party yet this past December. Wow! 2016 was incredibly productive and I am grateful for the energy of the volunteer Board of Russian Hill Neighbors who organized it all.
In 2016 we also partnered closely with the merchants in Russian Hill. In September we joined the Polk District Merchants Association in hosting a meeting with Supervisor Aaron Peskin, SF Public Works, and SFMTA to ensure our merchant community could understand how the Polk Streetscape construction project may impact their businesses. We also co-hosted the fun Pumpkin Parade along Polk at Halloween and the Polk Street Wine Walk on Small Business Saturday. We look forward to supporting these events again in 2017. A thriving merchant community, supported by residents, is a key priority of RHN. On this note, we are thrilled to have our largest number of Merchant Members ever and encourage all of you to patronize these wonderful businesses.
Many of the activities I just mentioned above required funding to produce and I wanted to express the RHN Board’s appreciation for all of you who made generous contributions to our organization in 2016. We are ahead of our budget in this regard and we are grateful.
Our membership drive continues as we want to ensure our membership numbers are as strong as possible. Please, if you have not yet renewed your tax-deductible membership, please take a few minutes to do so via our website here. Also, encourage any new neighbors or merchants to join us!
I am confident that 2017 will be another strong year for Russian Hill Neighbors. We recently formalized a Parks Committee and the new Chair, Christine Welland, is looking closely at specific improvements RHN can support which will help to make our area parks even more enjoyable. (If you have any ideas or suggestions, please be in touch with Christine.) Beyond the active work of the other RHN Standing Committees we are also closely monitoring the Polk Streetscape and Van Ness Improvement Projects, the Crooked Lombard Street project, and the Friends of the Urban Forest’s Russian Hill tree planting initiative. And we still love hosting social events so we can all meet more of our neighbors and enjoy our beautiful corner of San Francisco!
Please do not hesitate to be in touch with me if you have any questions, would like to get more involved, or have concerns you feel RHN may be able to help with.
Before signing off, I wanted to give a special note of appreciation to Mike Moylan, our Communications and Marketing Chair, who manages our website and edits our regular e-blast newsletters throughout they year. These are important and labor-intensive projects which he produces promptly and thoughtfully. Thank you for all of your hard work, Mike!
Best wishes for 2017 and I look forward to seeing you around our beautiful neighborhood.
Warm regards,
Emily Harrold
President
president@rhnsf.org
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