Detailed Info on May NLNA Election
From the NLNA Election Committee:
The annual NLNA election will take place during the general meeting on Thursday, May 23, 2013, at the Northern Liberties Community Center (3rd & Fairmount Streets). The meeting will begin at 7:00pm.
From 7:30 to 8:00pm, each candidate will have the opportunity to give a short presentation and answer any questions from the general membership.Voting will take place between 8:00 and 8:30pm.The Election Committee will then tally the votes, present the results to NLNA President Matt Ruben, who will then announce the results.In order to be eligible to vote you must be 18-years-of-age or older, and must live in Northern Liberties or must own or operate a business in Northern Liberties. In addition, you must be registered to vote in NLNA elections. If you have voted in the past few years you are registered. If you are new to Northern Liberties, or have not voted in NL elections since before 2006, then you will need to register. Please come before 7:00 to register and bring proof of residency such as your driver’s license or utility bill.You must be present to vote. There is no absentee or on-line voting.This year we are voting for: Vice President, Secretary and five Board seats. The following are statements written by the candidates. They are in alphabetical order.Vice President: Donald Phillips:I am a longtime resident of Northern Liberties having served on this board as a director or officer for over 20 years combined. Yet there is still work to be done. Northern Liberties is a dynamo of a place. It is a place in the state of constant change. It is a place of constantly changing demographics, development and diversity. That is our heritage and that is our future. The NLNA presents a force to help residents and businesses capitalize on that change. I would like to continue to help with that. I would appreciate your vote and humbly solicit your support.Secretary: Janet Finegar:I have served on the NLNA Board, with brief breaks, since 1996, including stints as President and Secretary. I am also a co-coordinator of Liberty Lands and of the Operation Santa program. I love Northern Liberties and figure that, since I'll never move away, I should do what I can to make it a place I'm where I'm glad to live. I believe it's a benefit to the Board of the NLNA to have some members who have been around a long time so that there is institutional memory, but that said, I'd be happy not to be Secretary should anyone else ever be nominated for the position. This year, though, I'm the only one. At-large Board seats: (choose five)Marni Drames:First let me say that I was honored to be nominated.While I am relatively new to Northern Liberties, I began volunteering on “Love Your Park Day” last year. Since then, I have felt a connection to the community. I have been impressed with the dedication & commitment from so many of the residents. Additionally, I have met some amazing people along my journey.I feel that my background & skills can bring a diversity of values and perspectives to the board. I have a strong dedication to the neighborhood & would like to contribute on a broader scale. I share a passion and commitment to our mission (as I was asked to help update the NLNA Mission Statement).Also, I would like to build stronger ties to their community, support efforts to raise money & help to ensure plans and programs are implemented.Thanks for your consideration.Katrina Mansfield: Thank you for nominating me to serve a second term as NLNA Board Member At Large.During my first term, I volunteered to create and maintain both the NLNA and Townwatch websites. Using my graphic skills I continue to help to create awareness of neighborhood events on social media. I have also played an active roll in our fundraising and neighborhood greening efforts. Currently, I am helping out with a street sweeping initiative that will start this summer.I believe that an important part of our mission is to bring neighbors together and give them the opportunity to embrace all of Northern Liberties as their home.Frank Robertson:My wife Jean and I relocated to Northern Liberties from Haddonfield, NJ, in 2011. We moved to Philadelphia to take better advantage of the urban lifestyle. We chose to make our home in Northern Liberties because we found the neighborhood welcoming on our visits, and as important we could build a house to suit our needs. That building project tested our resolve, however, and took longer than we planned. We like the result very much, though, and we became better acquainted with the neighborhood and Philadelphia in the process (but I suspect I have built my last house).I am a retired vice-president of the former Rohm and Haas Co., a specialty chemicals company whose Home Office was on Independence Mall West. Rohm and Haas was bought by Dow Chemical in 2009, and Dow continues to have major operations in the area. I am a chemical engineer by training with my working career in manufacturing and business. I appreciate the efforts and leadership efforts of NLNA in the community. I was an irregular volunteer at Liberty Lands Park on Saturdays in 2012 and expect to be back with the warm weather now. I participated on the NLNA Vision/ Mission committee most recently and provided the initial draft of that document for the committee.Logan Welde:I am very proud to be nominated by my neighbor Lystra. I was raised in the suburbs of Philadelphia and grew up visiting the city and hearing from my father about his childhood in West Philadelphia. I moved away for college, then joined the Air Force and moved all around the country. After living in New York City for 8 years I decided to attend law school in Philadelphia and was extremely happy to be admitted to Temple. My first two years at Temple I lived in Ardmore; I thought, after living in NYC for 8 years a break from the city would be nice. I was very wrong and quickly missed living in a city. I decided to move into the city two years ago. I wound up moving to Northern Liberties because it was close to Temple, and, having a dog, was the most friendly to dog owners. When I looked at the neighborhood for housing I was so impressed with the community and I knew immediately that I felt at home.After living in Northern Liberties for two years I have grown to appreciate the sense of community and care that the neighbors have for each other. I am proud to live in this community and am committed to making it a better place to live and raise a family. I believe that if elected to the board of the neighborhood association I will be an active member and one that is fully invested in making our neighborhood a better place to live and raise a family.