HCA President's Message

June 23d is the annual meeting for HCA and, accordingly, the close of business for the association.  This is my last year as president-by design.  I have served on the Board or a committee since the founding of this organization. Pat and I are the sixth family to move into Hiddenbrooke.  It is time for other people to take over the leadership. With new people come new ideas and new energy.  Our Board of incredibly dedicated and hard working individuals has accomplished quite a lot over the years of which I am proud to have been a part.

I can't say enough about Richard Tirrell and Jason Hamilton and what they have done about improving safety around Hiddenbrooke.  Richard has also done an incredible job managing the welcome center, which we are in the process of transferring over to HPOA.  At the same time, Kevin Elliott and Sasha Jain have moved our communication into the 21st century with the online Neighbors and the remake of Hiddenbrooke Online.

Nancy Berke has reinvigorated our membership, served as liaison to the social committee and as the liaison to the HPOA and brought a welcome critical look to all we do.  Jim Hayes has done a terrific job as treasurer, which was a lot more complicated than he originally anticipated.  He has also been a tremendous help with the golf tournament by acting as liaison to the committee and he served admirably with Nancy as liaison to the HPOA, all while keeping the Federal Government functioning in both San Francisco and Washington D.C.

Almost all of our Board hold very demanding full time jobs.  All this thankless work has left me the time to push for the park and to make sure that the City knows we are here and will continue to be a thorn in their side until we get what we are entitled to.  We have dedicated the last year to making sure that the roles of both the HCA and the HPOA are clarified so that both organizations can work for the benefit of Hiddenbrooke as a whole.  We are now set up so that the mandatory functions(those that we all must participate in) are the responsibility of HPOA, while the voluntary functions (the quality of life issues) remain the responsibility of HCA.  I would also like to thank Chris Brittle for acting as liaison to our Board from HPOA.  Chris has come to almost all of our meetings (doing double duty with his HPOA responsibilities) and has played a critical role in aligning the two organizations for the future.  Hiddenbrooke is a wonderful place-particularly in the spring when the hills are green.  It takes dedicated volunteers to put their sweat into it to make sure the community is alive and vibrant.  That is what both of these Boards and all the committees do. 

Watching Hiddenbrooke news, particularly over the last few weeks, it is clear to me that people out here are concerned about a number of issues-particularly safety issues.  It is not enough to just wring our hands about the safety problems we face and the continuing economic maladies of Vallejo.  If we want to make it better, we have to get behind the volunteers who have committed themselves to improving life out here and to help.  We can help reduce crime by joining Neighborhood Watch and by working together to come up with solutions that we can practically make happen.  As I leave this job, I would like to thank all of you who have volunteered over the years from out initial tax committee to the many groups of people who have come to City Council meetings to stand up for our various issues, served on various committees, supported our golf tournament, organized the kid's park, put on and attended our social functions and did all those other things that make this a special place.  It has been a pleasure representing you.  

Jim Libien
President HCA