Our biggest message for this month is “Come join us!” We are planning a membership drive and a search for new board members. If you are interested, don’t wait to be discovered – please let us know! Not only that, if you have a great idea for a community program, come see us and help us make it happen! Whether it’s arts, cultural, sports, recreation, or community-building, we’re eager to have your participation. Remember, membership in the BSCL is free again this year!

While we’re waiting for your call, we thought we’d tell you a little bit about our board and key volunteers. Our president, Candas Jane Dorsey, has lived in Boyle Street for 16 years. She makes her living as a writer, editor, and teacher of writing and communications courses, but finds time to be active as a community advocate. Vice-president Hijal de Sarkar is relatively new to the neighbourhood, but loves it. His busy day job is as a political organizer gives him lots of experience with volunteers, and he finds time to speak up for Boyle Street at consultations and community meetings.

Treasurer Jordan Reiniger is the longest-serving of our current board members, and this year took on the hard work of sitting at the planning table with the City and the YMCA to work on our building situation. That’s on top of his busy day job at Boyle Street Community Services (in neighbouring Central McDougall) and his busy all-the-time job as a parent! His wife Joelle is also an active community-builder, volunteering on our civics and development files when she’s not busy with her job at EPL and with family. The Reinigers chose our neighbourhood to raise their family, and are always here to speak up for the now-and-future family-friendliness of our community.

Sharon Ruyter, who has just taken on the job of board secretary, is also familiar with volunteerism through her job at Edmonton Chamber of Voluntary Organizations, so she’s all about getting our membership beefed up and increasing our active volunteers. Ron Allen, who serves as member-at-large and guy-across-the-street-from-the-office, is Executive Director of Edmonton People in Need Shelter Society, which has enriched Boyle Street neighbourhood along 103 Avenue for over 30 years. This is a big year for EPINSS as they complete their new Bridgeway 2 building on 103A Avenue, and Ron is also a long-time rugby guy active in the Edmonton Rugby Union. Finally, we have a communications committee of volunteers, which includes Anita Jenkins, a retired editor and writer who loves to walk through Boyle Street and write about what she sees and who she meets.

You note a common theme: our board members are busy people, but we believe so passionately in this community that we still find time for our community league. But at the moment, we need YOU! We want to thank Alex Iseghohi, Martina Iseghohi, and Debra Thompson who served on this year’s board but have had to resign due to other obligations. Their absence made us sad to lose them – and more eager to find new board members to step into their roles. We also want to expand our programs and our ability to run community events, so even if boards aren’t your thing, we’d love for you to be a volunteer. Whether you do one thing a year or many things a month, we value your participation.

If you live between 97 Street and 84 Street and south of the LRT tracks, and you like the idea of helping us with new programs, community-building, and community events, please join us! Because we don’t have anyone in the office regularly at the moment, please leave messages and await a call-back, whether on Facebook, the website, or the voicemail (780-422-5857). We will get back to you as soon as we can.

– Your BSCL Board