In response to "Captain Highliner" who writes: "Bill Graham, George Smitherman and Pam McConnell are PAID elected representatives and are the ones who are rightly expected to work FOR the community. The CRBA Board are unpaid VOLUNTEERS who can work WITH you on issues that you feel strongly about."

The most common dictionary definition of "volunteer" is: 'someone who works for an organization without being paid', so your calling them "unpaid" volunteers is redundant. If volunteers were being paid, they'd be "employees" (military volunteers excepted).

None of the current seven new board members were dragged kicking and screaming into their new responsibilities - each tacitly pledged, by virtue of agreeing to stand for election, to work for the community, on its behalf, for at least one year. They can work WITH us if they like, but these 7 board members have important votes to cast. They have the hammer. They got that hammer last Tuesday night. It was given to them by the maximum 30 interested residents who attended the AGM.

"Captain Highliner" also writes: "We need the help and active involvement from persons who live in Corktown and are willing to get involved; don't sit there passively like a couch potato and expect miracles."

Just to be clear, almost EVERYTHING that was accomplished in Corktown in the past 12 months was done by volunteers who worked FOR the community and who were not CRBA board members.

I refer to the street lights that got installed through the work of the voluntary group SEDERI; the breaking of ground in the WDL which was in great part accomplished by WDL committee members (all volunteers); the smooth-running of the CRBA website by its volunteer webmaster; the smooth-running of the e-list by it's voluntary captain; and the production (by a volunteer non-board-member) of the only print newsletter the area had seen in one full calendar year. In addition, the newsletter editor was overwhelmed with offers from local residents who volunteered to hand-deliver it, and this would have been done, had the organization of individual deliveries not proven so unwieldy for the time-frame required.

So, you see, there are lots of residents who don't sit around "passively, like couch potatoes, expecting miracles". They actually get out there and do stuff. You may have inadvertently confused the efforts of these voluntary workers with the efforts of the majority of the previous CRBA board members who did not, during their entire full terms, submit ANY info to the website, produce any "president's reports" or communicate in any way with the community at large. Those would be the true couch potatoes.

Let's hope we can all do better in 2007.

...because we see the concepts of working FOR and WITH the community as being inextricably, intimately, and interdependently intertwined. Our expectation of elected reps in any role - volunteer or not - is that they see beyond their own interests to those of the overall community - in this case, the Duchy of Corktown - as opposed to focusing exclusively, say, on the interests of King East, or the Republic of Percy, etc.....

As the facilitator of the orphaned Corktown e-list (which will remain a pirate operation), I'm hopeful that the CRBA will keep all inhabitants of Corktown better informed, via frequent communications using a multiplicity of media. But perhaps the previous commenter (who hopes that the Board will "work for the entire community on all community problems -- not just their own personal issues within a one-block area of their own homes" ) misunderstands how neighbourhood associations work. Bill Graham, George Smitherman and Pam McConnell are PAID elected representatives and are the ones who are rightly expected to work FOR the community. The CRBA Board are unpaid VOLUNTEERS who can work WITH you on issues that you feel strongly about. My opinion is that the Board's role is to facilitate, co-ordinate, seek consensus, and ensure that our elected representatives don't ignore us. We need the help and active involvement from persons who live in Corktown and are willing to get involved; don't sit there passively like a couch potato and expect miracles.

What do we hope they'll achieve? Hope springs eternal, but it's hard to imagine them achieving LESS than last year's board, who, (with the exception of two responsible members, one of whom is still on board), managed to achieve a negative balance in the efforts column. Who'd have ever thought THAT was possible?

One can only hope this new board will finally communicate with all residents on a regular basis, not merely with their own neighbourhood cliques and that they'll work for the entire community on all community problems -- not just their own personal issues within a one-block area of their own homes.

As to the head of KEVA (KEVI?) claiming a seat on the CRBA board, after publically denigrating that organization on the e-list, it DOES seem potentially problematical -- however, we shall see. I wish them luck. Along with dozens of others who live here, I will continue to volunteer efforts whenever/wherever possible.