Dear members and friends,
A new church year is here and with it a new Board of Trustees. Three members leave the Board, but will stay very active in the church. Trustee Geoff Mazeroff will still be producing wonderful music on the piano. Past-President Beth Sandidge will remain very active by coordinating the nursery care providers. Treasurer Craig Brandt isn't moving too far at all, as he is swapping positions with Charley Dudney, who has been Assistant Treasurer. Besides Charley, there will be two other new members coming on the Board. Nancy Lagow will fill a Trustee position, and Joel Southern will become Clerk. There will be a shift of titles among some carryover members. Former Clerk Barry Shumpert becomes President-Elect and the last year's President, Anne Harvey, becomes Past-President.
As for the former President-Elect, well, that's me, and I guess the "Elect" portion of the title is gone. Thanks to the work that has been done in the last year, I am optimistic about the year ahead. Of course, the biggest occurrence of the last year was the installation of our new minister, Reverend Carol Bodeau. Look for some changes in the Sunday morning services. To hear more about that, be sure and attend the after-service pot luck on August 21st.
There have been improvements to our facility and more are coming soon. The HVAC system was replaced recently. Failure of the old one was becoming a distinct possibility, and that would have had a severe impact on hot and humid days of summer or frigid days of winter. Carpet in the sanctuary will be replaced the first week of August, and the parking lot will be resealed and striped soon as well. This latter project will include increasing the number of handicapped spaces with the entire area on the building side of the wall dedicated to this purpose. The one closest to the door will be wider for van accessibility. So, please keep that in mind when utilizing those spots.
Another improvement coming later will be a raised walkway from the back parking lot to the side sanctuary door. The existing path has sometimes had water standing on it after rains. This entrance will not be a formal handicap entrance and no handicap parking spot will be designated. The front should be used for that purpose. Also, remember that entrance is not to be used after the service begins.
There is an ongoing need for volunteers to be greeters on Sunday mornings as well as people to make coffee for the after service coffee time. These are important elements of our congregation as it provides opportunities to welcome visitors as well as existing members to converse with each other. Please consider signing up for these key elements of our services.
I look forward to the year ahead, and I hope my blog next June will recap the best year in Westside history. It can happen if we all work together. Please convey any questions or suggestions about the Board or anything at Westside to me or any Board member.
Len Walker
President, Board of Trustees