Hello Good Neighbors!

This month’s letter is on two themes: information and gratitude.

This spring has been busy in Grandmont. We had a successful Annual Meeting at New St. Paul Tabernacle Church’s gymnasium in April, with a good turnout and our first election with an online voting option. This was secure, smooth, and handled with care. Thank you to Sandi Miller, our Elections and By-Laws chair, and her support with voting on the day, neighbor Todd Perkins. We welcomed two new members to the board: Paulette Franklin and Christopher Turner. We also elected Alex Han-Voth to Treasurer and Paulette Franklin to Secretary. Jenise Collins remains as Vice President, and I remain, humbly, President. We had a huge honor bestowed upon us, a Testimonial Resolution from the City of Detroit presented by Councilman Pro-Tem James Tate and Councilwoman Mary Waters. We are grateful to Harrison Duke and Krystal Thurmond’s tenure on the Board and their continued volunteering in Grandmont.

We are also hard at work spending our Huntington Beautification Grant monies on refreshing our planters and getting signs reinstalled. I am so grateful to the neighbors who have stepped up and showed up to volunteer their time throughout the month of May to realize this project! If I have forgotten anyone, charge it to my head and not my heart as they say, but thank you so much to Danielle Jackson (board member and organizer of the “Green Team”), Lorena Rashid, Jarrette Booker and family, Emily Gagnon, Susan Hood, Diane and Robert Patterson, Josh, Marcus, Kathy Dunbar, Mrs. Debra Parnell, Yolanda Burnett, Karia Ruffin, and anyone else who may have lent a hand this month! Our neighborhood looks incredible! I hope we keep this going and that you’ll consider adopting a planter by watering it or just bringing a trash bag with you while you go on a walk. Keep our neighborhood beautiful!

As summer begins, please get involved in Grandmont by either volunteering, getting to know your neighbors or enjoying one of our events. The Garden Tour is the fourth Saturday in July from 11a-4p. We will have our 3rd annual Longacre Street Party (open to all of Grandmont, not just Longacre residents) on the first Saturday in August. We are also going to have Popsicles in Ramsay Park on Monday, August 4, at 6p where we are hosting a community-focused Board Meeting and having sweet cold treats for all! Bring a chair and hang out! I really hope to continue to connect with more neighbors and keep Grandmont growing and thriving.

All my best,