My watch words for ESSCA: Fun, diversity, dialogue

Hi neighbors! Welcome to our new ESSCA website! This is just one of the positive changes we're making at *your* Citizens Association.

I'm really energized to be your new ESSCA President. In the coming year, I'd like to use these "watch words" to guide us: Fun, Diversity, and Dialogue.

For the "Fun," I'd like to continue with our fun community events like ESSCAFest in the Spring and our annual Pizza Party in the Winter. I'd also like to add another event for the Fall, and to encourage neighbors to get together and participate in the many great entertainment and learning opportunities we have in the area.

We live in one of the most diverse neighborhoods in Montgomery County and I'd like to celebrate this by reaching out to neighbors of all economic, lifestyle and ethnic backgrounds. At our meetings we rarely see neighbors from the dozens of apartment complexes here in East Silver Spring, so I'd like to identify a liaison from each apartment building. We also have the Guatemalan and Salvadoran Consulates right here in the neighborhood, so I'd like to make connections with staff and see how we can welcome those who come to the Consulates for services. Finally, I'd like to use events like the ESSCAFest local music festival to explore the many musical styles of our community.

My final watch word is "dialogue." We've made great strides to communicate better with the community, including a presence on Facebook and our new website. We'll continue to use these communication channels in addition to our listserve to keep the neighborhood informed and to foster discussion on issues and events important to the community. I'd also like to have translate our Advocate newsletter into Spanish and Amharic and post to our website. Finally we need to continue our conversation on how we make it safe for walkers, bikers, and drivers to all coexist on our neighborhood streets.

I will need your help in realizing these goals. Please consider volunteering your time as a writer for the website, or to help reach our to and understand the needs of our diverse community. If you can help please contact me at esscaprez@gmail.com