From the President Well, it's been an interesting last couple of years for the neighborhood. COVID has really changed how we interact and live our best lives. It has been a change for the civic association as well. We weren't really sure how this was all going to work. It was great people with innovative ideas on the board that not only allowed us to survive, but actually prosper. Through 2020 into 2021, Montgomery County Civic Federation saw marked decreases in membership across almost all civic associations. Not McKenney Hills-Carroll Knolls! While most associations experienced flat or declining membership levels in 2021, the MHCK Civic Association grew from 52 members in 2020 to 239 in 2021, an extraordinary growth rate of 460%. We owe much of our success at engaging our community to technology innovation led by Treasurer Kerry Murray and to our hardworking Membership Committee, led by Dave Coyne. Thank you all who supported him in these efforts. His ideas on ways to grow our membership proved fruitful. I would be remiss not to recognize Kerry Murray and Maggie Flowers, who were key to all the community events we were able to have. Membership, while important, would have been all for naught unless we were able to come together in our events. Over the last two years, we were able to steadily and cautiously move from social-distanced events like the Carmen's Italian Ice truck, Mr. Cookie food truck, our 2020 Halloween parade, and our 1st ever MHCK Spring Egg Hunt to a back-to-normal life. As COVID waned in 2021, MHCK hosted a new-look block party in July which was received very well. The block party was followed by our super successful National Night Out at Flora Singer Elementary School in August 2021. Thank you, Larry Margasak, for your efforts in coordinating this event. For those of you who may have missed the membership meetings this year, we've had some exciting speakers. County Executive Elrich, Partap Verma from the Montgomery County Parks and Planning Commission, and Barbara Coufal from the Citizens Against the Beltway Expansion all presented. These Zoom presentations are all available on the listserv and the notes can be read on our website. I'd like to personally thank the 2021 MHCK Civic Association Board, Kerry Murray, Maggie Flowers, and Larry Margasak. The Association has achieved great things because of your efforts, commitment, and heart. And, I'd like to welcome the 2022 officer team of President Kerry Murray, Vice President Maggie Flowers, Secretary Dave Coyne, and Treasurer Kristin Nelson, who you can learn more about here. Finally, I'd like to thank you, the neighbors of the McKenney Hills-Carroll Knolls community. It has been an honor and a privilege to have served as your civic association president for the last two years. I have had so many wonderful conversations with a lot of you on your ideas on the needs and concerns of this neighborhood and that is one of the things I'm going to miss the most. As I step down from this position and back into my role as neighbor, I hope that we can still meet up to discuss local issues or just say hi. Over on the Greeley and Hildarose side, pre-COVID we had a neighborhood potluck where we met up at rotating hosts for neighbor fun and community. As COVID continues to wane and people's comfort levels go back to normal, I plan to restart this event with help from those coordinating before. I'll post these to the listserv when it is my turn to host and invite anyone who wants to come to attend. I'm looking forward to seeing you all throughout the neighborhood. Joshua Montgomery President, Outgoing |
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Events Report In 2021, we kicked off the MHCK CA events with the Spring Egg Hunt at Carroll Knolls Park. Children searched the field for eggs and received a special goodie bag of treats. A few lucky ducks found the golden egg and received a kite to take home! It was a super fun and safe event for all! As the year rolled on, we saw record attendance at our Annual Block Party, National Night Out, and the Halloween Parade. A special thanks to our neighbors who volunteered their time on the events committee: Jennifer Gartlan, Nazym Tumenova, Heidi Otradovec, Jessica Flores, Sue Massey, Matt Tynan, Claudia Mikeliunas, Helen Chabot, Rose Pineda, Joe Davis, Joshua Montgomery, Larry Margasak, and Maggie Flowers If you have any questions, or would like to volunteer with the Events committee, please email events@mhckcivic.org. Kerry Murray Events Chairperson |
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McKenney Hills-Carroll Knolls neighbors, stuck in their homes during Covid, needed a party with social gathering, music, games, food and refreshments. And they found one: the civic association’s block party July 3 at Capital View-Homewood park. Read more from Larry Margasak, Vice President, and see pictures from the event. | | |
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August: National Night Out! |
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An estimated 200 neighbors turned out to welcome back the post-Covid resumption of National Night Out at Flora Singer. Read more from Larry Margasak, Vice President, and see pictures from the event. | | |
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October: Halloween Spooktacular! Neighborhood kids took to the streets for the Halloween Spooktacular! The event was a smashing success, with dozens of children and their families enjoying fun and games in the beautiful Fall weather. Special thanks to Glenwood Pool for letting us gather and parade around their parking lot for the second year. Pictures can be found in our facebook group. |
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Neighborhood Watch We almost made it through the year without a spree of vehicle break-ins, but the most prevalent crime in the county reached our neighborhood in recent weeks. Just about everyone who reported a break-in said nothing of value was in the car. Several neighbors believe they left their vehicles unlocked. It’s never pleasant to find the contents of your glove compartment strewn about the vehicle, but you can take comfort if nothing was missing. This is a crime that is almost impossible to stop, because it occurs in the middle of the night. One neighbor reported the dog started barking in the middle of the night. If we get lucky, someone will look out the window if that happens again, and spot someone going down the street trying car doors. If you see this in real time, that’s a 911 call. Don’t forget to report the break-in after the fact, because police do track these incidents. The non-emergency number is 301-279-8000. A stolen vehicle is much more serious. I’m not aware of that happening in the neighborhood for quite some time. If I’m wrong about that, let us know. And keep posting these break-ins on the email list. It alerts everyone to make sure the doors are locked. Larry Margasak Neighborhood Watch |
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Communications Report Our Communications Committee has been busy! This year we’ve: - Redesigned and launched a brand new website. Thank you to Jessica Dawson for designing our website. Visit the site at www.mhckcivic.org.
- Launched a Facebook group. With nearly 200 group members and growing, our Facebook page is the newest way to stay up to date with what’s happening in the neighborhood. Join the group.
- Posted signs to reach those not on our virtual communications channels. Thank you to Carey Ward Perlozzo for designing the signs for our membership campaign, our banner, and refreshing our logo for use on our website and other materials.
- Revamped our neighborhood newsletter. Thank you to Tammy Taylor for helping us move our neighborhood newsletter to an online format.
- Digitized our historical documents. Thank you to Betsy Stepanek for organizing and scanning the association’s historical documents. Be on the look out in 2022 for a History section on our website.
Want to lend your expertise and time to the Communications Committee? Then contact communications@mhckcivic.org. Maggie Flowers Communications Chair |
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Treasurer's Report Our annual membership dues of $12 supports the association website, events, membership drives and more! Currently we have $3,875.88 in our checking and $239.07 in our PayPal accounts. Additionally, we have 240 active paying members (up from 69 in 2020), and received $986.33 in donations. To begin or renew your membership, please pay your annual dues of $12.00 (+ $0.67 processing fee) on our website. Checks are also accepted (made out to the McKenney Hills-Carroll Knolls Civic Association) and may be sent to: McKenney Hills-Carroll Knolls Civic Association PO Box 393 Kensington, MD 20895 If you have any questions, or would like to check the status of your membership, please email treasurer@mhckcivic.org. Kerry Murray Treasurer |
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The 2021 Membership Roll(as of October 31, 2021) Thanks to the 240 (and counting) families which have paid their 2021 MHCK Civic Association dues, more than tripling the highest recorded participation mark. More than one in five households chose to join and support the Association this year! Dues income helps the Association’s events program (which will re-emerge as the pandemic subsides!), including: Special thanks to Membership Committee members Carol Adams, Alex Arnsberger, Sonia Hudson and Ari Reeves. To join the friends and neighbors in supporting the Association for 2022, please visit www.mhckcivic.org/join-us today. Dave Coyne Membership Chair |
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