Northwood News ♦ December 2016

President’s Message

By David Rotenstein

At the last NFCCA meeting, I was elected as president for the 2016–2017 year.  I would like to thank all of our wonderful volunteers for their service during the preceding year, including outgoing board members Brian Morrissey and Carolyn Ibici and immediate past president Laura Hussey.  And, I’d like to introduce our new board members:  Kevin Harris (Edgewood Ave.), Sam Salisbury-Jones ( Glenwild Road), and Sharon Canavan (Edgewood Ave.).  Sharon has generously offered to serve as secretary during her term.  This means that, for the first time in a while, we will have meeting notes that will be available to the membership at large.  We also have a newly created position, a director of social affairs.  Former board member Fiona Morrissey, who provides refreshments and runs the raffles during our meetings, is continuing to serve the neighborhood in that role.

I am moving into the presidency after a year on the board.  I and my wife, Laura Hussey, have lived in the neighborhood for more than 10 years.  I have been involved with NFCCA for many of those years as a volunteer writer for our terrific newsletter and working at various neighborhood events.  History is my day gig and I firmly believe that history is more than an engrossing book or dramatic movie.  It’s a valuable tool for understanding our present and planning for the future.  That is the approach that I hope to bring to my term as NFCCA president.

The Northwood-Four Corners community is the envy of neighborhoods throughout Montgomery County.  We have very active and engaged residents who participate in all levels of civic affairs, from serving as appointed members of county boards to leadership positions in the Montgomery County Civic Federation.  We have a long history of influencing public policy decisions in Rockville and in the Planning Department.

But, we also have a reputation as vocal obstructionists and NIMBYs.  Our strong positions over improvements in the North Four Corners Park, private development, and transportation issues sometimes rub folks who don’t agree with our neighbors who speak on our behalf the wrong way.

I don’t like labels and, for the most part, I don’t think the things we’ve been called have been fair.  Yet, reputations are both blessings and curses.  During my term I hope to improve our relationships with our elected and appointed leaders so that we can shed some of the negative perceptions attached to our neighborhood.

One of the first things on my list is making NFCCA more transparent.  With our new secretary’s help, we will be posting meeting minutes on the NFCCA website.  We will also communicate more with the neighborhood about actions taken in NFFCA’s name.  For example, board actions such as votes to take positions on official policies will be reported to the entire neighborhood via the listserv, newsletter, or website.  I hope that the actions that the NFCCA board takes on behalf of the neighborhood accurately reflect the wishes of the entire neighborhood and not the small number of folks who attend our meetings.

And about those meetings:  Come to them.  Meet your neighbors and get involved.  We meet every other month (except for the summer) plus we have special events each year, like National Night Out, where we connect.  I would like to expand the opportunities for community activities.  We have a wonderful new park that brings soccer players in from around the region.  I would like to have events in our park programmed by and specifically for our neighborhood.  Towards that end, the NFCCA is creating a new North Four Corner Park Committee.  Want to learn more about the new committee?  Come to a meeting.

Over the next year, I also want to find ways to recognize and thank our neighborhood volunteers and our community leaders for their service.  The NFCCA succeeds because of our volunteers:  our board; our newsletter editor, and the writers and delivery people who bring it to your doors; the people who staff our events; and the many neighbors who create a network of observers who let other neighbors and officials know about emergencies and unsafe conditions in the neighborhood and park.  One suggestion has been to create an annual “Notable Neighbor” award.  Another has been to give an award to the county official we feel has best served our community over the past year.  What do you think?  Come to the next meeting and let us know.

Are you detecting a theme yet?  Please come to the next NFCCA meeting and introduce yourself if we haven’t met.  Get informed and get involved.  Let’s do this together and make Northwood-Four Corners the friendliest, cleanest, safest, and happiest neighborhood in Montgomery County.   ■