Westover Hills Neighborhood Association

Richmond's most beautiful suburb

Forest Hill Corridor Serve Day to be held August 19

 

This Saturday, August 19, United Church will hold a Forest Hill Corridor Serve Day, partnering with the city, organizations, businesses, families, and individuals to help tackle some projects that could use a little TLC along Jahnke Road. Any one and every one is invited to participate.
Participants will rally together at Lucille Brown Middle School at 8 a.m. before heading out to assigned projects. Donuts will be provided by the Treat Shop. Tools will be provided by the Richmond Tool Bank.

The group will reconvene at Westover Hills Elementary School around noon to celebrate with food, drinks, and a DJ provided by United Church.

This is not a United Church only event; the church wants to partner with the entire community. The more volunteers sign up, the bigger the impact.

You can RSVP at https://m.signupgenius.com/#!/showSignUp/30e0f4fa9ae2ea0fe3-forest

WHNA considers by-laws revisions

Since the founding of Westover Hills Neighborhood Association, we’ve revised our bylaws several times, most recently in 2005. This year under Sarah Abubaker’s leadership, we are undertaking another revision to update the bylaws. Since 2005, the neighborhood has changed considerably; membership in the WHNA and active participation has grown. With the support of Cafe Zata, we’ve been able to move monthly meetings to a much more open and welcoming space and attendance has increased.

Our existing bylaws our built on the idea that general membership meetings are infrequent — occurring once or twice per year — and that most of the business of the WHNA is conducted through the Board of Directors. The WHNA board of directors consists of the Officers, Committee Chairs, and the District Representatives.
The District Representatives are intended to serve as elected representatives of the membership, representing their district. However as participation in meetings has increased and e-mail and Facebook replaced the old phone tree structure, general membership is able to engage as much — and sometimes more — than district representatives.
Former Presidents Rich Meagher and Bryce Lyle worked to contact and re-engage all of the districts reps with mixed results.

With monthly meetings and active membership participation, we plan to retire the district representative positions and form the board around the committee chairs and officers.

While shifting to a more membership-centric model we also plan to clarify a few gray areas related to budgets, spending, quorums, and ethics to ensure that WHNA has clear management controls in place. It’s critically important  that we uphold our fiduciary duties and ensure that membership dues and other income is managed with the highest level of care.

As the revision process proceeds, the proposed changes will be posted on the website and on Facebook so that all members have the opportunity to provide input. We are expecting to have a formal draft of the changes ready for review at the September meeting. Any changes based on input will then be incorporated and the revisions adopted in the October time frame.

Summer Reading Finale at the library Aug. 12

The Summer Reading Finale at the Westover Hills Branch Library will be held Saturday, August 12, from 2 to 4 p.m. Did you finish your summer reading? TERRIFIC! Now celebrate with drop-in crafts, snacks and more. Children under 10 should be accompanied by an adult.

Check out June & July Yards of the Month

Here are the winners of the WHNA’s Yards of the Month program for June and July:
June winners
2000 Westover Hills Boulevard. Situated on a highly visible lot, this June “Yard of the Month” shows careful attention to detail on multiple fronts. Colorful flowers line the front and side beds, which are edged and planted with lush plants. The entrance has a welcoming wreath and the well maintained lawn all contribute to welcoming charm for this venerable Westover Hills home.

5613 Langdon Road. In June, the grass at this Westover Hills West home was lush and green and the border at the mail box was beautiful, with yellow coreopsis, Shasta daisies, and a climbing pink clematis.

July winners
5308 Dorchester. This July “Yard of the Month” leveraged classic elements to create a welcoming yard which perfectly complements the home itself. Small cobblestone walls established a welcoming entrance at the top of the slate walkway, while verdant plantings and manicured beds in the lawn created visual interest and establish a sense of scale. The hedges along the house complimented the traditional brick appeal of the home, and the planted pots on the porch call attention to the portico. The combined effect created yet another warm, welcoming Westover Hills yard.


5624 Saint James Court. This July winner in Westover Hills West had a beautiful, lush green lawn terraced with a rock wall. Pink and red rose bushes were at the mail box, along with white cone flowers. And Black-Eyed Susans stretched across the foundation plantings to make a beautiful property.