BVSCA Newsletter March 2000
Contents:March 28 Meeting Agenda
Please refer to the newsletter for a summary of agenda items.
7:00 pm Executive Committee Meeting
7:30 pm Full Membership Meeting
BVSCA dues paying members may participate as observers in meetings of the BVSCA Executive Committee. Note: BVSCA Membership Meetings are held on the last Tuesday of each month from 7:30 pm to 9:30 pm at the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association (NRECA) building, 4301 Wilson Boulevard, in Room CC-2 of the Ellipse Conference Center. Free garage access is provided at NRECA's underground parking garage for BVSCA meeting attendees arriving between 7:00 pm to 8:00 pm only. After 8 pm, the garage's automatic exit device allows exit-only traffic.
Next meetings: April 25 and May 30!!
Meeting Our Needs?
It's time to assess BVSCA members' interest in meeting schedules and frequency of newsletter distribution. Some Arlington civic associations meet monthly, as we do. Others meet quarterly, and a few meet only a couple of times each year. Is BVSCA meeting your needs for information, representation, and community support? What is your vision for our civic association? As with any civic association, volunteer commitment is a crucial factor. Come prepared to discuss the future of BVSCA on March 28.
Who's Due?
BVSCA by-laws stipulate that any increase in dues may be voted on only during the May meeting. If we maintain a monthly BVSCA newsletter, should we raise dues to cover mailing costs? Should there be a flat rate per residence rather than a differential rate for individuals and households? Should we solicit corporate sponsorship to cover mailing costs? Please come to the March 28 meeting to provide your input!
Neighborhood Day
This year, Arlington's Neighborhood Day will be held on Saturday, May 13. Hopefully the weather will be warmer than the brisk day we celebrated last fall! We'll be planning festivities at the March 28 meeting. Float your ideas for the parade. Also, we'll do a little bit of brainstorming about a spring event to promote Ballston/VA Square in coordination with the Ballston Partnership.
Neighborhood Conservation Projects
Theresa Smith, BVSCA NCAC representative, will provide ideas on potential Neighborhood Conservation Projects. Your input is welcome regarding ways to beautify and preserve the character of our neighborhood.
Miscellaneous News Items
Light's Fantastic. Is a street light out in your
neighborhood? You can report it directly to the county through
the Internet!
http
://www.co.arlington.va.us/dpw/traffic/stlight.htm.
Community Garage Sale. On the first Saturday of each month, April through November, a community garage sale is held on top of the I-66 parking garage behind Washington and Lee High School. Over 150 vendors, dealers, etc. will participate. There's a snack bar and entertainment at noon to raise funds for the Civitan Club of Arlington. It's a free event to the public, though vendors pay a small fee to participate.
Tax Blues Night. On April 17 (Monday), 6:00pm - Midnight, chase away the tax blues at the main Post Office, Washington Blvd and N. Hudson Street. Enjoy food and free entertainment. Headlining this year's Tax Blues is the Robert Byrd Band. The event is hosted by The Clarendon Alliance (http://www.clarendon.org). For more info call Tom Fairchild at 703-276-0228.
Need Help? Please visit www.crisislink.org to contact CrisisLink. CrisisLink is formerly the Northern Virginia Hotline and still offers 24 hours hotline services for those in crisis.
Listserv. BVSCA members are cordially invited to subscribe to the BVSCA listserv. The listserv is a good way to receive periodic updates on issues of neighborhood interest. To subscribe, send an email message to the list coordinator, William P. Jackson, Jr. (Bill), at wpj@translaw.com advising that you would like to join. Include your name and post office address in your message along with the email address(es) from which you will be sending messages. When you are added to the list, you will receive a "Welcome" message with details regarding how to use the listserv. Remember that a message sent by a BVSCA listserv member to BVSCA-L@rootsweb.com will be relayed automatically to all listserv members. To prevent senders of unsolicited commercial email from using our list for unauthorized purposes, only listserv members may send messages to the mailing list from a subscribed address. So, if you use more than one email address, include all of your addresses.
President's Prerogative
Internet users, I need five minutes of your time! Okay, I'd really like to have a few minutes more of your time, but for now, I'll stick with my original offer. Over the years, we've had a dedicated cadre of BVSCA members who have hand delivered BVSCA newsletters to individual households. Now that we have a large number of townhouses, condos, and apartments in our neighborhood, hand delivery is much more difficult, exacerbated by the loss of a few of our stalwart volunteers. As a result, we've struggled in the last couple of months to get the newsletters out on a timely basis.
If you are willing to receive your newsletter by email, please send an internet message to BVSCA-L@rootsweb.com to let us know. Just think, you'll help us save time and money, and you'll be among the first to receive the newsletter each month! Not bad for five minutes of your time, is it?
While you're at it, please consider joining our listserv. We won't flood your inbox with messages, but we will try to keep you informed on time-sensitive issues.
DeAndra Beck
President, BVSCA
How to Join the Ballston-Virginia Square Civic Association or Renew Your Membership
All individual persons who are residents of the Ballston-Virginia Square Civic Association's area or who in their individual capacity own residential property located therein, shall be eligible for membership in the Ballston-Virginia Square Civic Association. For the purposes of this organization, the boundaries of the Ballston-Virginia Square Civic Association are Kirkwood Road on the east, Glebe Road on the west, Wilson Boulevard on the south, and the I-66 right of way on the north. If interested in joining the Ballston-Virginia Square Civic Association, please complete the BVSCA Membership Application Form and send your application and dues to Jeffrey Green, Treasurer, Ballston-Virginia Square Civic Association, who may be reached at (703) 276-2723.
Dues are payable when first joining and are renewable each year on or before the annual anniversary of that date. New members and members who have not paid their dues within the three preceding Association years must pay their dues 30 days before they receive voting privileges. Former members who have been members in good standing within any of the three immediately preceding Association years may be reinstated as voting members by paying their dues for that year.
All members of the Association are volunteers. Dues are used to help fund the Association's activities and sponsored events. Please join the Association today, or renew your dues paid membership. Visit us at (http://www.bvsca.org)