East Village Association elects 2010 officers
Update: Members ratified the slate at the March 1 meeting. The new EVA board meets at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday, March 9 in the Happy Village pingpong room.
President's Message by John Scheer
It’s that time of year again for the election of East Village Association officers. And that also means it’s time for the EVA membership to step up and exercise their voting rights one more time and vote for the EVA officers for this next year.
The process of officer selection is rather simple and the nominating committee (Rich Anselmo, Scott Rappe & Steve Rynkiewicz) will facilitate volunteers onto the roster. This election process is much simpler than other municipal offices and will be just as important to those of us in the East Village.
The March 1 meeting is the annual EVA officer election and this year it should prove to be as interesting as any, if for no other reason but for the new members stepping forward to volunteer their time and energy to be part of the East Village.
We have two new candidates running for the offices of vice president and treasurer. Neil and Nicole (be sure to read on for their bios) both have very good roots within our neighborhood. And the fact that both are new to the EVA officer positions, we will be seeing new energy in this next year.
Please join us at the March EVA general meeting and bring your support for our candidates for this next year. The meeting will be at 7 p.m. in the Happy Village, at Wolcott and Thomas streets. I want to make sure that everyone gets the chance to vote for the officers of their choice. Please join us.
If you have taken the time to renew your EVA membership for 2010, I thank you. If you are still pending, please renew soon so that you can retain your voting privileges. And if you prefer to remain a non-member, you are welcome and encouraged to still attend the EVA monthly meetings. Your support will be put to good use.
EVA officer candidates
Greg Nagel, presidentI've owned and lived in a 4-flat at 1040 N. Winchester for seven years now. I grew up in the suburbs but have lived in the city since my graduation from college.
I think the next year will be an important one for our organization as we will have a new alderman, and forging relationship with this person will be critical. We have accomplished a lot of as far as gaining understandings and establishing expectations with Alderman Flores, and we need to re-establish the resident's voice in the community decision-making process.
I would characterize my positions as moderate and look for pragmatic compromises on most issues In the past I've stated that I'm in favor of "responsible development," which means that we encourage thoughtful development that respects the lifestyle issues of the residents and the environment, that will also improve our housing values.
There have been times where I have been the dissenting voice on the board where I was able to move the group to what I considered more of a middle position, and other times I was not successful. With that said, I'm very flattered that the existing board trusts and respects me enough to nominate me for president. I will honor this trust by making sure that I act as the President that represents the majority interest and the needs of the organization first and foremost.
I started out working as a CPA with Deloitte & Touche, then 10 years as a management accountant with Kraft Foodservice, and as corporate controller for Pasquinelli Portrait Homes. For the last five years I have worked for Cedar Realty as a developer, general contractor and residential Realtor focusing on multiunit residential investment properties.
I've served as a board member and officer for the last 2 years as vice president. In the previous year, I was the aldermanic liaison, where I enjoyed a productive relationship with Alderman Flores. My involvement in EVA has been a great experience and I've learned a lot.
We have some really talented neighbors over many years that have given so much to our community that really deserve our thanks. I hope to learn from them and follow in their footsteps. I would appreciate your confidence in supporting me as the next EVA
president.
Neal McKnight, vice president
I have been a resident of the East Village since 1995 when my wife Amy and I purchased a townhouse that was built in 1896. The townhouse had previously been owned by one my brothers. Amy and I have two daughters, Lucy and Helen, who attend a local Montessori school. Amy and I are active in school issues as well as activities and fund-raising events.
I am a graduate of Marquette University in Milwaukee (B.A. 1988) and Tulane University Law School in New Orleans (J.D. 1991). I was a partner in a law firm until 2005 when I started my own firm with three partners. I have a general litigation practice with an
equal mix of individual and institutional clients.
I am an avid gardener and frequently can be found working away in the big yard and garden in the front of our home just as soon as the weather permits. When I am unable to garden, I enjoy playing tennis. I am also a long time White Sox fan (before 2005) and love to attend games with my kids.
Dana Palmer, secretary
I grew up in a small town in central Illinois and moved to Chicago in 2000 to join Americorps and later attend the Jane Addams College of Social Work at UIC. After working as medical social worker at the John Stroger Jr. Hospital of Cook County, I quit at the end of 2009 and my husband and I currently own and operate our own dog walking company in East Village called Super Dog Walking.
I settled into the East Village neighborhood in 2003 with my husband. I am relatively new to EVA being a member for just over three years. Being from a small town, I missed the sense of belonging and community involvement when I moved to Chicago. However, EVA has helped to restore that sense and has taught me a great deal about city life and how to become aware of issues in my neighborhood and also how to bring people together to help resolve those issues.
I am very eager to become more involved in the neighborhood and help to preserve that sense of community and belonging that it emits. Being elected secretary of EVA would be a great step forward to becoming more involved.
Nicole Semple, treasurer
I moved to Chicago in June of 2006 and began working for Kuklinski + Rappe Architects on Division Street. I immediately fell in love with the East Village neighborhood. In May of 2008 my husband and I made the neighborhood our home in a small apartment on Wolcott. For just over the last year, I’ve worked for Fitzgerald Earles Architects, whose office is just south of East Village.
I grew up in Topeka, Kansas, a city that sees little community involvement from its residents, and in turn suffers from a multitude of issues. My experiences in architecture school and living and working in Chicago have taught me that community involvement is the only way to improve and maintain your neighborhood and city.
Public service and urban and architectural preservation are extremely important to me. Currently I am a member of Chicago Women in Architecture and in the past I have served on their board of directors. I also participate in the Chicago chapter of Architecture for Humanity, an organization that responds to social problems with design solutions. In college, I was the vice president and treasurer of a student-run organization. I was responsible for the organization’s accounting, which included some 200+ student accounts for technology services.
Serving the neighborhood as EVA treasurer would be an honor.
