QVNA President's Letter

Welcome to the Queen Village Quarterly Crier

by Eleanor Ingersoll, QVNA President

Hello Neighbors! I am delighted to welcome you to the first newly envisioned edition of our beloved neighborhood magazine, which we’ll be bringing to you quarterly in 2019. I also want to tell you how you can get involved with contributing ideas, suggestions, and stories—but first, some thanks are in order.

The inception of the bi-monthly edition of the magazine was spearheaded five years ago by former QVNA Board Member Amy Grant and the QVNA Communications Committee. Under Grant’s direction, committee members Amy Shelanski, Jim Murphy, Duncan Spencer, and Peter Ross, along with many other contributors, worked to bring residents an in-depth look at initiatives such as the Old Swedes Gloria Dei Church conceptual plan, a look at South Street through the ages, and an exploration of dog-owner culture and neighborhood gardens, just to name a few. When Grant and the committee, after many years of great service, stepped away from the magazine in the fall of 2018, they left very big shoes to fill. We can’t thank them enough for their hard work and dedication on behalf of the neighborhood, and we’ll do our best to honor the start they’ve given us.

As with all big changes, the shift created an opportunity to reassess the magazine and its mission. The result is a transitional year to explore how the magazine could be a vehicle for all four pillars that inform our work at QVNA: service, advocacy, stewardship, and community. As a volunteer myself, I find these values incredibly important and helpful, especially when we’re working together on behalf of the neighborhood on difficult, complicated, or contentious issues.

Using this values-based lens, we’ve developed new departments for the magazine. First, we’ll up our service game. We’ll help residents keep up to date with information on parking, street cleaning, graffiti removal, recycling and community meetings. We’ll also give you updates on changes bound for our commercial corridors in conjunction with our partners at the South Street Headhouse District.

We plan to provide an inside look at how QVNA advocates on behalf of the neighborhood in our “How It Works” section, so you can see how we cooperate with the city on zoning-related projects and interact with political representatives. We’ll also highlight the many ways that QVNA and engaged residents act as stewards of our public spaces and of our neighborhood’s historic character in “The Commons.”

Most importantly, we’ll use the magazine to create community. Volunteers are the gas and the gears for the machine of the association, so please be sure to check out “It Takes a Village” to see a full thank you to the Magazine Committee and other volunteers who make Queen Village special. We’ll celebrate our neighborhood’s champions, Queen Village’s many cultural offerings, our wonderful schools, and—here’s where you come in—we’ll tell you at every turn how to get involved.

To that end, we look forward to seeing you at our March 20th community meeting, “Calling All Creatives.” You’ll be able to meet our new editor, Queen Village resident Heather Shayne Blakeslee and find out how you can volunteer with the artistic elements of the publication, including suggesting stories, writing articles, and contributing photography— just like the beautiful cover image by Peter Tobia.

These are lofty goals, and that’s why 2019 will be a year of evolution and growth. I hope you will read the following pages of the Quarterly Crier under the mindset of the change that’s necessary, in all endeavors, to stay relevant.

I look forward to seeing you around the Village.

Eleanor Ingersoll, QVNA President