Sellwood Moreland Improvement League

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August 2018 SMILE Newsletter

SMILE -- "The Neighbor"

Plan to be at “Sundae in the Park”!

Nancy Walsh, Chair of the Sellwood-Westmoreland neighborhood’s annual party, “Sundae in the Park” on the first Sunday in August, this year on August 5th, invites everyone to come for this day-long get together – with cheap ice cream sundaes, food available to purchase (or bring your own), and live music and entertainment. It runs from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. that day, in upper Sellwood Park, on S.E. 7th Avenue, overlooking Oaks Bottom and the Willamette River. Come and enjoy the company of a couple thousand of your friends and neighbors! The first part of the day, until 5 p.m. or so, is presented by SMILE, the Sellwood and Westmoreland neighborhood association. The rest of the day presents more live music offered by Portland Parks and Recreation, and then at dusk a “Movie in the Park” sponsored by SMBA – the Sellwood-Moreland Business Alliance. This year the movie is “Star Wars – the Last Jedi”, the latest in the Star Wars saga, released just last year.

Not only are you invited to come and spend time in the park on August 5th, but maybe you’d like to help put it on. It’s an all-volunteer event. Nancy says, “Have you been wondering how to make this your best summer EVER? SMILE’s Sundae in the Park Committee needs volunteers for this year’s concert & National Neighborhood Night-Out (even though it lasts all day as well) on Sunday, August 5, for the portion from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m., at upper Sellwood Park. Nonprofit organizations can host a craft table; talented “Vanna’s” are needed for Bingo and The Cupcake Walk; and creative talent is always needed by the face painters and ice cream scoopers! If you are new to the neighborhood, this is an excellent way to meet your neighbors and get involved with your community!” If interested, please call Nancy Walsh at 971/570-2702.

To see the handbill and lineup of events at this year's Sundae in the Park, go to www.SundaeInThePark.com -- and click on the miniature of this year's handbill to enlarge it for reading!

SMILE “Buy a Brick” fundraiser update

Kim Borcherding, SMILE Board Member who is heading the SMILE Station “brick pathway fundraiser”, reported at the May Board meeting 155 bricks had been sold so far (of which ten were the larger size), and the brick engraving will be done in early August. The Board agreed that the cutoff date should be the end of the day of the SMILE “Sundae in the Park” on Sunday, August 5, at which there will be a prominent last-minute push. The point: It’s not too late to honor a loved one, a family member, a pet, or even yourself, by “buying a brick”. If you want to do it right now, simply go online – www.getasmilebrick.com

Attend a SMILE meeting!

You’re invited to attend SMILE meetings every month at SMILE Station, an historic fire station now owned by the Sellwood Moreland Improvement League neighborhood association. The August General Meeting is at 7:30 pm on Wednesday, August 1st – and the regular monthly Board meeting will be at 7:30 pm on Wednesday, July 15th. The following General Meeting will be at 7:30 p.m. on September 5. SMILE Station is on the southeast corner of S.E. 13th at Tenino, a block south of Tacoma Street, at 8210 S.E. 13th in Sellwood. Meeting agendas beforehand, and draft meeting minutes afterward, are posted online at: www.SMILErecords.org

Rent SMILE Station – or the historic church!

SMILE is the renting agent for the historic and picturesque Oaks Pioneer Church, on S.E. Spokane Street at Grand, just north of the Sellwood Bridge – overlooking the Willamette River. The church is available at very attractive rates for weddings, memorials, christenings, and other events. In addition, SMILE owns its own building – SMILE Station, S.E. 13th and Tenino, at 8210 S.E. 13th – which is also for rent at very attractive rates for business meetings, parties, wedding receptions, and special events; it will seat up to 100 and has tables, chairs, and an industrial kitchen facility. See more at: www.SMILEstation.org. For information on renting either building for your event, call 503/234-3570, and leave a message for Lori Fyre; she will return your call. To research Oaks Pioneer Church and what it offers, visit its own Internet website: www.OaksPioneerChurch.org

Community volunteers serve on SMILE committees, too!

SMILE is also looking for neighbors to serve on one or more of SMILE’s committees, including:

Transportation Committee
Land-Use Committee
Stewardship of Natural Amenities Committee (“SNAC”)
Sundae in the Park Committee
History Committee
Emergency Preparedness Committee
Crime Prevention Committee
Friends of Sellwood Community Center
Historic Pioneer Church Committee
SMILE Station Committee
Finance Committee
Communications Committee
Various ad-hoc committees as needed

Attend a SMILE meeting, and find out more about what we do!

Websites for Sellwood-Westmoreland

SMILE offers two complementary websites as a resource for the neighborhood. One is the neighborhood’s blog: www.SellwoodMoreland.org – posting neighborhood news, and regularly updated. A second website contains SMILE’s agendas, minutes, announcements, documents, resources, and much ongoing and regularly-updated neighborhood reference information – it’s online at: www.SMILErecords.org. In addition, SMILE maintains an informational website for the Oaks Pioneer Church on Spokane Street at the east end of the Sellwood Bridge, for which it is the renting agent: www.OaksPioneerChurch.org. For more on SMILE Station: www.SMILEstation.org.

Who SMILE members are

SMILE members are EVERYONE living in, working in, or owning property in, Sellwood and/or Westmoreland – unless they specifically exempt themselves. All SMILE members are welcome to volunteer for any of the SMILE committees of particular interest to them.

SMILE is a 501c3 nonprofit

Of the 95 recognized neighborhood associations in Portland, SMILE is one of the few to be authorized by the IRS as a nonprofit “501c3” organization. This means that donations made to SMILE are tax-deductible – and are very welcome!

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SMILE 2018-19 Board election results!

At the May 2, 2018, Annual General Public Meeting, SMILE's annual Board election was held. The results were:

Officers (1-year terms):

President: Joel Leib

Vice President : Gail Hoffnagle

Treasurer: Pat Hainley

Secretary: Eric Norberg

At-Large Board Seats (2-year terms):

TERM EXPIRES 2019

Bob Burkholder

Tyler Janzen [elected to fill an unexpired term on May 2, 2018]