President's Message
Dear EFWBA Members,
By the time you read this, or near the time you read this, it will be a brand new year full of grand opportunities in spite of all of the silliness going on around the world. So, just wanted to take a second to wish everyone the most productive and prosperous New Year that you can imagine or desire.
Our next general meeting will be on Thursday, the 2nd of January. That’s right, the second day of the year and I sincerely hope that everyone is up to the meeting as Mayor Barr’s office has confirmed that he will speak to us on that day. I think that this meeting can and will be a very positive head start to our year and I am hopeful that as many people plan to attend as the Woodhaven Country Club will accommodate. The issues of importance have been stated and restated in the Star Telegram so I will not expound on them here, but please remember you will need to confirm your attendance with any board member who makes contact with you by phone or you may not have a place to sit or anything to eat. Mayor Barr cares very much what happens in Fort Worth and wants to hear from you, so be there with your questions.
There are two (2) important meetings coming up in January that you should be aware of. First, as you‘ve been told, the East Fort Worth Business Association has been involved with the Citywide Historic Preservation Plan Steering Committee from it’s inception and we are now getting ready for the public participation in that process , to be held on January 16th - 7:00PM at the Botanic Garden (see page 2). The discussion during our last committee meeting very clearly indicated that much needs to be clarified regarding the current historic preservation ordinance as well as any future changes to that ordinance. I would think that a bare minimum Handley and the Near East Side neighborhood associations would want 100% participation. Second, EFWBA has also been active in the planning for an Urban Village Development Excellence Conference. That meeting will be held at the Botanic Garden on January 23rd, beginning at 8:00AM (also see page 2). We will be contacting members for ticket sales to this important event. The registration fee for this event will be $25.00 and includes breakfast, lunch and the bus tour.
Finally, just want our membership to know that I took just a little bit of “heat” regarding our last newsletter. You will recall that I had the audacity to suggest that we might have a competitive campaign season for the Mayor and Council in 2003, and as a result…..we could probably look forward to the new ideas, discussion and debate that a competitive environment always brings about. Needless to say, I stand behind my comments. The only thing that really troubles me is that ANYONE would find the above comments threatening, offensive or even offhanded in any way. Silly me, I had the idea that campaigns were all about “new ideas,” “discussion” and “debate.”
REMEMBER….YOUR VOTE AND OPINIONS COUNT. STAND UP AND BE PROUD…. SPEAK UP AND BE HEARD!!
—Louis McBee