from the....... President's Desk

June, 2000 -- As the weather warms up and people start moving outside, all of us become more aware of our surrounding environment. So, I think it is especially fitting that the June membership meeting will focus on environmental issues in the Palisades.
This meeting will be a little different than some others because we want you, the members of the PCA, to come to the meeting with all your ideas about what you think are environmental problems for the Palisades and how we, as a community, can solve them.
At the meeting, we want to make a list of all the things that people consider to be environmental concerns and from that list set priorities for the PCA to work on.
Remember that for the PCA, the environment is a very broad category. Anything from tree cover to water quality to zoning regulations will be considered at this meeting. So, please, come with your ideas and help us to create an environmental agenda for the PCA.
Unfortunately, due to an unforeseen health problem, I am retiring a month early from my position as PCA president.
Fortunately, Penny Pagano has agreed to step in as incoming President and we have hired Anne Ourand to be our new executive assistant. I expect that, with the Board's and membership's support, things will be better than ever at the PCA.
I want to thank you for allowing me the privilege to serve as your President during this past year. It has been an interesting, exhausting and instructive year.
I consider the Palisades to be the best neighborhood in DC and I would not want to live anywhere else.
I would only say that I hope the Palisades continues to be an active community with an interest in making constructive changes and that we not become, as many communities have, a "Nothing in my Backyard" place.
Change is inevitable - it will come whether we want it or not. I would just ask that we in the Palisades continues to strive to make change a positive experience for our community rather than an angry or negative one. We have in the past - let us continue to do so as we move forward into the future.
--Cary Ridder

AN APPRECIATION OF CARY RIDDER

June, 2000 -- When Cary Ridder became PCA president last June, I told her that I thought her term in office would be one without a flood of controversies and crises. That isn't exactly what happened.
The Palisades News, our meeting agendas, and the headlines in the Northwest Current all recorded what an incredibly busy year this has been for PCA and for Cary.
George Washington University's plans for its Mt. Vernon campus, the Canal Road entrance at Georgetown University, and the Field School's plans to move to the Cafritz estate on Foxhall Road were some of the big issues.
Speeding traffic, zoning issues and other changes to the Palisades community raised cries of concern.
An early morning assault on young Palisades mother running along Loughboro Road last August stunned us all.
Dealing with each and all of these issues along with administering the PCA organization, answering endless phone calls, e-mails and questions, as well as organizing and overseeing meetings (including one attended by Mayor Anthony Williams) and helping on projects and events takes time, dedication and lots of energy.
Cary has done a superb job as PCA president.
During her term, PCA's membership grew to more than 1,150 homes, insuring our place as one of the strongest citizens' organizations in our city.
PCA's grant making committee, the Palisades Community Fund, continued to grow and fund projects to improve our neighborhood.
Lots of other things have happened as well. We have a new community information kiosk at the Safeway. There are new tennis courts at the Recreation Center. Our website continues to make great strides and compliments our wonderful newsletter that is faithfully published nine months a year.
The community had its first "luminary" night last December. And we'll have our 34th annual July 4 parade next month.
All of this gets done thanks to the hardworking efforts and endless good will of volunteers throughout the Palisades. It represents an incredible undertaking for a community and we should all be extremely proud of what we have accomplished together and continue to do.
The glue to a lot of this is the PCA president. With her strong administrative and organizational skills, Cary has worked tirelessly, efficiently and effectively.
Cary's one-year term as PCA president isn't her only contribution to our community. She organized the July 4 parade for a number of years.
She has co-chaired Friends of Palisades Park which rebuilt the playground and landscaped areas of the Rec Center and raised the money to get the new tennis courts built.
As Cary steps down to deal with some medical problems, we cannot thank her enough for all she has done for PCA and our community.
Most of all, we want her to know that we will all be there for her just as she has been there faithfully for all of us.
--Penny Pagano, incoming President