Your community association news
I’ve been the chair of Action Sandy Hill since September 2024. I’d like to introduce you to a few of my fellow board members and bring you up to date on recent activities of your community association.
Andrew Johnston was a resident of Sandy Hill for fifteen years during which his three children thrived at Francojeunesse and De La Salle. After moving to Kingston for ten years, he returned to Sandy Hill, first joining the ASH Environment Committee. This past summer he joined the ASH Board and is particularly interested in supporting the maintenance and protection of the built heritage in our community. Please use the ASH email address (see below) to get in touch with Andrew if you too are interested in Sandy Hill’s heritage.
Patrick Munro has been on the ASH Board since May 2024 and is the chair of the Town and Gown Committee which guides affairs with his alma mater, the University of Ottawa. He is also a regular consultant on transportation and housing construction files thanks to his experience in mobility and development policy. Originally moving to the neighbourhood for university, Patrick has lived in the neighbourhood for ten years. It’s where he has met his partner and friends and has contributed to the community that gave him independence as a young adult.
Marilyn Whitaker has been a longtime resident of Sandy Hill and currently acts as the co-chair of the Environment Committee. She is also an active member of the Sandy Hill Green Team. She has been involved in gardening projects and biodiversity restoration projects in Sandy Hill and elsewhere. A few years ago, she moved into a new house to provide for aging in place. It was designed not only with the environment in mind but also to blend into the neighbourhood.
Call for expertise! Do you know a lot about a particular issue or topic but don’t have the time or inclination to join a committee? ASH is looking for experts on different topics that we can reach out to for background info. Heritage issues, planning and development, youth outreach, and support for neurodivergent members of our community are projects the ASH Board would like to learn more about. Please get in touch or send suggestions to actionsandyhill@gmail.com. No commitment required!
Did you receive about 50 Google calendar updates for ASH recently? That was because I am working on updating ASH’s admin capacity, including notifications. Sorry about all the emails! From now on, ASH members will receive an email with meeting information and virtual links a few days before each meeting.
Have you also noticed ASH is running two websites in parallel? In addition to the existing website at www.ash-acs.ca, we are temporarily running a website hosted by Nation Builder at actionsandyhill.nationbuilder.com. Eventually these two sites will be merged, but for now, you can check either one to get updates. Thanks to everyone who has joined or renewed their membership recently.
ASH welcomes students! If you are a University of Ottawa student who wants to stay informed about what’s happening in Sandy Hill, feel free to attend our meetings, in person or virtually, where we discuss what is newsworthy in the community. Email us to receive invitations to meetings and Zoom links.
Betsy Schuurman (Chair, Action Sandy Hill)