2023 Annual Meeting – and how ’bout those Scouts?

April 27, 2023 by Bruce McDonald Posted in Community, Green Gables School, Notes From the President, Social Activities Leave a comment

2023 Annual Meeting – Tuesday May 2

We will start off with a free taco bar sponsored by Sustainable Southern Gables at 6:30, and the annual meeting of the Southern Gables Neighborhood Association will begin at 7:00 PM. Location: Green Gables Elementary School.

Mayor Paul will speak, there will be a special presentation by Sustainable, and we will report on the past year’s neighborhood activities and coming events. Nominations will be taken and election of Association Board officers will be conducted. Members of the Association you will have a vote, one per household. Non-members can attend the meeting as well, to learn about what’s coming in the next year with the Southern Gables neighborhood. If you want to join us as a member and haven’t yet paid the voluntary Association dues, you can do so at the meeting and have a vote.

A link to the meeting minutes will be posted as a comment to this post.

In other news…

How About Those Boy Scouts?

The Boy Scouts of Troop 527 did a great job for the Association in filling our familiar green tote bags with the promotional items, brochures, discount coupons and information from our Business Supporters. They gathered our materials, sorted them and set up an assembly line at the church hall where they meet, and put it all together. There were some Cub Scouts that stopped in to help for a bit, and the Scout leaders played a big part by demonstrating the principle of “Leadership by example.” Then, using a detailed map so that no one would be missed, they sent crews out to cover the neighborhood’s 9 miles of streets and lots of running up and down sidewalks and steps with youthful energy.

If you live in Southern Gables and didn’t get a tote bag for some reason (maybe a rabbit nabbed it!) let us know with an email to [email protected]

Thanks, Scouts!

And thanks to our Local Business Supporters. Many of them will have booths with games and prizes on our Neighborhood Night Out on August 25. More on that later!

Newsletter Spring 2023

April 21, 2023 by Bruce McDonald Posted in Community, Green Gables School, Newsletters, Notes From the President 1 Comment

Newsletter Spring 2023

If we missed you in our door-to-door newsletter distribution, or maybe it accidentally got into the recycle bin, you can read a copy of our spring newsletter online. To read, print, or download: click here.

Either way, don’t miss the lead article:

FREE TACOS AT THE ANNUAL NEIGHBORHOOD MEETING MAY 2

Our partners at Sustainable Southern Gables starting to revive their events, classes, seed exchanges, and other activities after having slowed down for the last few years. They are marking that turn with a celebration featuring a taco bar provided by El Fogon, the taco truck that operates from a corner of Southern Gables. Incidental to the tacos, we will also hold the annual business meeting to inform neighbors about what the Association has done over the past year, what is planned, and the election of officers.

Annual Neighborhood Meeting
Tuesday May 2, 7:00 PM
at Green Gables Elementary School

All Southern Gables neighbors are invited.

Back to the subject of the newsletter, thanks are due to our contributors: Christy Cerrone, Marci DeMott, Marcel Guajardo, Judy Whitten, Jenn Withee, Joe Woelkers, Carolyn Wolfrum, Robert Young, and me. The coverage of our 9 miles of streets, delivering to over a thousand homes, was handled by Marnie Crowe, Marci DeMott, Marcel Guajardo, Roger Hanson, Liza Patty, Michelle Tovrea, Elizabeth Wilson, Carolyn Wolfrum, and Dave Wood. The weather was nice, the neighbors were friendly, and it was a good experience all around.

Since Frank Bontrager moved, one of our areas is in need of an Area Representative for Southern Gables Area 8. You can see a map with the area description here. The Area Representatives serve as points of contact for their part of the neighborhood, notice when new neighbors move in and greet them on behalf of the Association. It involves a nice little walk once in a while for passing out our semiannual newsletters and an event flyer once a year or so, and a chance to get to know people. Can you do it? Contact us.

Photo by Spencer Davis on Unsplash

We hope to see you at the annual neighborhood meeting: Tuesday May 2, 7:00 PM at Green Gables Elementary. And did we mention FREE TACOS?

Get Your Stuff Together!

April 14, 2023 by Bruce McDonald Posted in Community, Social Activities Leave a comment

Get Your Stuff Together!

Neighborhood Garage Sale Weekend May 19-20

When my wife and I first came to Southern Gables with hopes of finding a home in this beautiful neighborhood, we noticed a lot of garage sales going on. One was at the home we ended up buying, and the owners were out front with furniture items, winter clothing, a few tools, and kitchen items. People were coming and going, with lots of friendly visiting and smiles. It seemed odd that there were so many garage sales… was everybody moving out? No, they told us, there was a neighborhood association that designated a weekend and this was it…

Neighborhood Garage Sale Weekend!

Wow, what a great idea! Choosing a weekend to cooperate and have lots of sales together, advertising it to bring in more buyer traffic. Hey, this neighborhood really has it together!

Let’s do it again! Now is the time…

to start getting your things together. The items that need to move on and find new homes where they will be appreciated anew. You can have your own garage sale any time, of course, but there are some good reasons to band together in a cooperative event.

Increased traffic: Having multiple garage sales on the same weekend can attract more people to the area, increasing the overall traffic and potential customers for everyone.
Better advertising: When multiple garage sales are happening in the same area, it can be easier to advertise the event as a whole, rather than just promoting your individual sale. You can advertise your own sale too of course. Both the Southern Gables Neighborhood Association and the Parkwest Ridge HOA will be promoting the neighborhood sale for all of Southern Gables and Parkwest Ridge together. This will help to draw in a larger crowd and generate more interest.
Community atmosphere: Holding garage sales on the same weekend can create a sense of community and camaraderie among neighbors. People are more likely to come out and socialize when there are multiple events happening in the same area.
Variety: Having multiple garage sales in the same area can provide shoppers with a wider variety of items to choose from, as each sale may offer different types of goods.

Having your garage sale on the same weekend as your neighbors can be beneficial for everyone involved, as it can create a more vibrant and exciting event for the community. And this year we are coordinating the sale dates for Two neighborhoods! More sellers! More buyers!

Friday May 19 and Saturday May 20. Southern Gables, Valley View, Parkwest Ridge neighbors: Sign up now!

We will put together a map that people can use to find all the sales for Southern Gables/Valley View and Parkwest/The Ridge. To participate in the coordinated sale weekend, call or or text Marci DeMott at 303-319-3177 no later than May 11, with your address, in order to be added to the map of participating homes. If you have any specialty items such as books, baby furniture, antiques, tools, sporting goods, etc., please be sure to mention that as well. We’re looking forward to a successful event for all.