By Geoff Owen

“Hello. I’m Geoff Owen. "

Well that doesn’t seem to have the punch it did when Johnny Cash used it in 1968 or Jimmy Carter at the 1976 Democratic Convention, however I am just as excited to be the DCDA president in 2008 as these gentlemen were in their pursuits. 

To start I would like to thank outgoing president, Chris Moeller, and his predecessor John Fryday, for their help in grasping this position and their accomplishments in prior years.  The agenda they have set forth for the DCDA to be a steward of a quickly changing Dilworth is firm in its roots and offers me the good  fortune of just continuing their hard work.  I invite you to join in this effort of stewardship of our neighborhood – stewardship of our historical district; of our trees; of our neighborhood environment; of our traditions such as Jubilee, Home Tour, Women’s Christmas Dinner, and the Criterium; and of quite simply being a good neighbor.  Let me emphasize right out of the gate --- while the DCDA spearheads many of the aforementioned efforts, it is dependent on volunteers like you for their execution so your contributions as a committee member or helping hand are both appreciated and needed.  Likewise, if you have a need or cause or desired event or anything that is Dilworth related your efforts may be aided by the DCDA.

The Good, the Bad, and the Snuggly

There were several times in 2007 that I was proud of our community beyond that pleasure felt daily just driving our streets, meeting neighbors in local spots, and walking through the parks.  These were moments when the mobilization of residents to be positive forces in the neighborhood was really on display.

Dilworth Home Tour & Jubilee – 2007 was a transition year as several of the longtime mainstays on the committees passed the torch along.  For years Mary Hopper, Susan Jetton, Erin Holland, Susan Fragale, and others had put on these events.  After having served on these committees this year, I do not know how they did it so long and maintained their sanity.   There were struggles for sure in staging them this year, but in the long run both were very successful.  Home Tour, which is the only fundraiser for DCDA, raised the most money in its history.  This made it possible for DCDA to steer its Conquer the Cankerworm undertaking, for Jubilee to be a completely free event including the carnival games, to donate money to the Moe’s Victims Relief Fund, to aid Preservation North Carolina’s purchase of a historically significant home in our historic district to save it from demolition, to replenish the coffers after a similar contribution to the Tom Sykes Center, and more.

Jubilee initially had difficulty attaining volunteers, but ultimately through the help of the Neighborhood Network and very direct requests for volunteers became a great local effort.  Many thanks to those who attended and those who were willing to work carnival games and other activities while their kids ran around.   I was disappointed in the volunteer aspect of Home Tour.  There were many local volunteers, but the majority was from other areas of Charlotte as they were friends of head hostesses who had a difficult time getting men and women from Dilworth to give up 2-3 hours on a weekend.  In 2008, I ask that you recognize this is an important event and a fun volunteer opportunity.  Please enjoy Home Tour as an attendee and as a volunteer.

Neighborhood Environment & Communications – Great strides were made to beef up the content on the www.dilworthonline.org web site and also to coordinate with the folks in charge of disseminating information through the Neighborhood Network emails.  Please visit the web site to sign up for push emails in order to stay informed of local happenings and contact Kristen Henderson at “kristenhendo@bellsouth.net” if you live north of East Blvd. or Laurie Reid  at “lnreid@carolina.rr.com” you live south of East Blvd. to receive the Neighborhood Network emails.

These mediums of communication are especially important when it comes to neighborhood environment, most specifically crime.  I am sure that everyone in Dilworth has a story of either themselves or someone they know being a victim of crime this past year.  There has been a spike in aggressive crimes in our neighborhood.  Explanations range from less of a police presence due to the 2007 CMPD redistricting to the policing infrastructure being misappropriated in our area given the high density growth and addition of the rail line corridor to a bad economy.  These suggestions are debatable.  Whatever the case, we need to recognize the urban aspect of our neighborhood and that as we grow in density and number of users (residents, workers, visitors), protecting ourselves and our neighbors from crime should be a priority.  It seems that the best defense is rapid communication of offenses so that we are on our toes and coordinating with police officers.

Land Use– Depending on which side of the fence you sit on, you were happy or disappointed with development in 2007.  At the risk of stirring controversy on this topic, I’ll just say that the DCDA is fighting on a case by case basis to preserve the integrity of our neighborhood whether it involves large scale condo projects or single-family homes being torn down or renovated.  There is always going to be a certain level of subjectivity with this topic as some people will see an eyesore while others see something historical and architecturally important.  Some developers and architects are exemplary in their adherence to the required historical preservation guidelines.  Others are not.  It is important to preserve our history and the homes that comprise it.  Likewise it is important to recognize the changes occurring in Charlotte and Dilworth – massive population growth, increased desirability of the near-neighborhoods, economic development of the rail line, etc.  These bring about positive and negative change.  Please take part in the shaping of our community by voicing your concerns and opinions and participating in City Council and HDC communications and meetings so that the DCDA can help shape policy that properly reflects the views of the entire Dilworth community.

My call for volunteers complete let me close with my proudest moment of our neighborhood in 2007.  My wife somehow ended up as chair of the Women’s Christmas Dinner this year which necessitated my spousal involvement.  I believe that anyone that participated in this event as a committee member or attendant would agree that it was a special evening.  What made it even more enriching for me was observing a textbook example of women who had chaired a successful event for so many years passing the torch to a novice group and enthusiastically shepherding this new committee through the planning while retaining the humbleness to allow changes to the event.  Core members of this committee through the years have included Nancy Kramer, Sally Graves, Rose Mary Achey, Valerie Crockett, Nancy Williams, Lesa Watts, Jane Ann McDermott and Judy Green.  This event began as a cookie exchange hosted by Jill Walker and has been thriving since, expanding and contracting based on differing visions.  It was wonderful to watch these women and others help the rookies take their turn at bat and exemplify to these women like my wife what it means to be a contributor to this special place we all call home.