2001 Annual Meeting
The Virginia Highland Civic Association held its Annual Meeting on September 5, 2001. The most important agenda items for this meeting have typically been the election of a New Board of Directors, recognizing contributions to the neighborhood and grants from the Civic Association to the various institutions and groups that help make our neighborhood a great place to live, shop and dine out.
Community Service Awards
Stephanie Coffin for her contributions and efforts to protect and preserve our neighborhood’s green spaces
Betty Baumann for creating the donation boxes for the entrances to Summerfest that resulted in donations to the neighborhood of over $1,000.
Kathy Barkley for her efforts in making the Summerfest Artist Market a wonderful success this year, and in the past
Chris Clark, our Summerfest Security Chief, for keeping the peace and maintaining order during what is always a hectic week. Chris and his crew successfully thwarted several thefts from artists and were instrumental in making key arrests of the perpetrators.
Each recipient of a Community Service Award was given a Gift Certificate to La Tavola Trattoria, which were graciously donated by its management company, The Fifth Group.
Grants by the Civic Association
| Atlanta Fire Department, Station 19 | $ 500 | |
| Trees Atlanta | $ 1,500 | |
| PEDS | $ 500 | |
| Ponce de Leon Branch Library | $ 2,000 | |
| Morningside Elementary School | $ 2,000 | |
| Inman Middle School | $ 2,000 | |
| Grady High School | $ 2,000 | |
| YWCA, NE Intown Branch | $ 500 | |
| Virginia-Highland Baptist Church | $ 500 | |
| Project Open Hand | $ 1,000 | |
| Council of Intown Schools | $ 1,000 | |
| John Howell Park | $ 3,500 |
Elections
The term for the new Board is October 1, 2001, to September 30, 2002. The list of candidates was as follows:
Betty Baumann*, Erin Chance*, Stephanie Coffin, Winnie Currie*, Patrick Flinn, Chip Gallagher*, Louise Glancy, Linda Guthrie, Mike Hastings, Jean Jordan, Steve Kushner*, Seth Lynn, Steve Luben, Kris Reinhard, Debbie Skopczynski* and Wiley Sommerville*
(*incumbent). Two Board members, Ruthie Penn-David and Ben Barkley, the Civic Association’s President and Vice-President for the past two years, chose not to run for re-election.
Prior to the election, the issue of whether voting by proxy was permissible was addressed to the Board. During a Board meeting, the consensus from a review of the Civic Association’s By-Laws and the Georgia Non-Profit Corporations Code was that proxies were permissible. The issue was discussed at length at the Annual Meeting, and conducting the elections with proxies was challenged. A motion was made from the floor to continue the meeting, which passed by a large majority of the members present.
The breakdown of votes, including votes by proxy, is listed below. The use of proxies had no impact on the election.
| Nominee | Votes in Person | Votes by Proxy | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chip Gallagher | 89 | 193 | 282 |
| Seth Lynn | 86 | 185 | 271 |
| Wiley Sommerville | 85 | 192 | 277 |
| Kris Reinhard | 83 | 186 | 269 |
| Steve Kushner | 81 | 177 | 258 |
| Steve Luben | 76 | 178 | 254 |
| Louise Glancy | 72 | 202 | 274 |
| Jean Jordan | 70 | 162 | 232 |
| Kevin Cronin | 68 | 137 | 205 |
| Dave Ferguson | 54 | 82 | 136 |
| Stephanie Coffin | 53 | 63 | 116 |
| Patrick Flinn | 50 | 44 | 94 |
| Linda Guthrie | 43 | 53 | 96 |
| Betty Baumann | 42 | 48 | 90 |
| Winnie Currie | 38 | 57 | 95 |
| Erin Chance | 33 | 60 | 93 |
| Debbie Skopczynski | 32 | 34 | 66 |
| Mike Hastings | 24 | 30 | 54 |
In addition to these elected members of the Board of Directors, two members are appointed, one each by the Atkins Park Neighborhood Association and the St. Charles/Greenwood Neighborhood Association. These appointed members are Conne Ward-Cameron for Atkins Park and John Craft for St. Charles/Greenwood.
The Civic Association’s new Board is as follows:
The following people were elected/re-elected to the Board of Directors:
Chip Gallagher
Seth Lynn
Wiley Sommerville
Kris Reinhard
Steve Kushner
Steve Luben
Louise Glancy
Jean Jordan
Kevin Cronin
Conne Ward-Cameron (Atkins Park)
John Craft (St. Charles/Greenwood)
Dave Ferguson (Alternate)
Officers
The new Board and a few members of the outgoing Board met during the Transitional Meeting required by the By-Laws on September 12. At this meeting, Officers were elected and committees formed. While each committee must include a Board member, committee membership is open to the entire neighborhood and we encourage you to join us on these committees. The new Officers and the initial members of each committee are as follows:
| President | Steven Kushner | |
| Vice President | Steven Luben | |
| Treasurer | Wiley Sommerville | |
| Secretary | Louise Glancy | |
| Membership | Chip Gallagher, Jean Jordan, Kris Reinhard, Seth Lynn | |
| Parenting & Education | Louise Glancy, Jean Jordan | |
| Parks | Rob Glancy, David Ferguson, Louise Glancy | |
| Public Safety | David Ferguson, Steve Luben, Krista Miller, Billie Jo | |
| Planning | Kevin Cronin, Conne Ward-Cameron, John Craft, Chris Bailey | |
| Communications | Krista Miller, Seth Lynn, Chip Gallagher, Conne Ward-Cameron, Jean Jordan, Steve Luben | |
| Summerfest | Chair – Pam Trettle, Co-Chair – Steve Kushner | |
| Summerfest Steering | Wiley Sommerville, Kris Reinhard, Jana Wolkow, Aaron Gross | |
| Summerfest fundraising | Chip Gallagher, Jean Jordan | |