’09 Highlights!

The GermanVillage Society had a very busy and productive year in 2009!  See what our community has accomplished – thanks for your help and support!

Historic Preservation and Education

Collaborated with the city in the creation of the Third Street Master Plan, including hosting a community forum to encourage the community’s involvement

Launched a self-guided walking tour with an accompanying booklet that is now in its second printing, with 150 copies sold to date ($12 per copy)

Contributed a weekly column in This Week written by Jody Graichen, our director of historic preservation.  The column focuses on historic preservation education topics.

Updated the guidelines for restoration, repair and new construction for properties in our historic neighborhood (German Village Guidelines) in collaboration with the community and the city

Broadened the distribution of the German Village Guidelines by adding them to our web site

Provided a volunteer greeter from the Historic Preservation Committee at monthly German Village Commission meetings to welcome and orient applicants

Assisted over 200 individuals making application to the German Village Commission, approximately 65% of all German Village Commission applications

Conducted over 100 site visits from August 2008 to July 2009 when the City eliminated this Historic Preservation Office staff function with its budget cuts

Responded to hundreds of inquiries regarding the German Village Guidelines, the architectural review process, code violations, parking permits, history of German Village, the Fisher Archives, history of individual properties and their related files, and much more

Recognized recipients of the Caretakers of a Legacy Awards:  Amanpal Garcha and Danielle Demko for 586 South Sixth Street (Preservation Award), JF Westin for 246 East Sycamore Street (Commissioner’s Award), Taggart Management for Beck Place Condos (Chairman’s Award), and Andy Schiffman for 133 East Beck Street (President’s Award)

Led many educational tours for school children and provided scavenger hunts as an active learning experience

Worked closely with Ohio State University on its documentary featuring German Village

Raised over $3,000 from coordinating and leading bus tours of German Village

Hosted countless visitors through the efforts of over 30 volunteers who contributed over 3,500 hours of time while staffing our visitor’s center six days each of 50 weeks

For the Good of the Neighborhood

Initiated a vigorous effort to engage members and keep them engaged

Maintained our seat at the table as a key stakeholder involved in the I-70/71 plans

Generated much positive publicity locally and nationally, including a Today Show segment about wonderful places to visit in the United States that make you feel like you’re in Europe

Continued to host monthly police lunches to share information and support our officers

Expanded and reformatted our newsletter, Neighbors4Neighbors, with volunteer editors

Launched a neighborhood-wide green initiative called Go Grun!

Collaborated with Livingston United Methodist Church to create a community Farm

Linked dozens of students with more than two dozen tutors through our Adopt-a-School partner, Stewart Elementary School, providing a wide range of academic and personal support for these children

Monitored the redevelopment efforts of nearby Cooper Stadium

Reinvigorated Prost, a social group for young professionals

Coordinated the planting and maintenance of Schiller Park, including making the perimeter gardens more sustainable and attracting important new sponsors

Wrote dozens and dozens of columns for the German Village Gazette and This Week

Cheered on 14,000 runners of the Columbus Marathon as they passed Schiller Park

Staged the ultimate recycling event: the annual Village Valuables neighborhood tag sale

Awarded the annual “Village Valuables” recognition to Diane Webster and Kathy Wightman for their great work with the Adopt-a-School program at Stewart Elementary

Congratulated Larry Hamill for his wonderful photography of German Village and his generosity in sharing his talents

Applauded Bob Jackson as the 2009 Frank Fetch Award recipient for his remarkable volunteering for German Village over the years

Reinvigorated the Membership Committee, which has grown to 17 members and undertaken many new initiatives to build and strengthen our membership base

Supported and collected food for Livingston United Methodist Church’s food pantry

Began to identify the ideal mix of residential and commercial properties in our neighborhood, with an eye toward developing a long-range plan

Reunited countless owners with their pets

Apprised residents of safety alerts through Neighbors4Neighbors

Collaborated with the German Village Business Committee to host Mother May I?, Art Crawl, and Village Lights, the group’s signature event

Hosted a successful Monster Bash, attracting many new, young people

Continued the traditions of the Fun Committee by hosting four events — Pet Parade, Winter Spaghetti Dinner, Casseroles and Carols, and Chili Today Hot Tamale!

Organization and Resources

Planned an overhaul to our web site to be more accessible, transparent and accountable to members while providing more in-depth, timely information and adding new features

Transitioned to a leaner staff with ramped-up volunteer efforts to help fill any voids

Facilitated a special meeting of the membership and implemented by-law changes aimed at reducing the size of the board of trustees from 18 to 12 and installing term limits

Maintained operations without using any funds from savings or reserve accounts

Aggressively managed expenses to align spending to a leaner business model

Reduced the number of open bank accounts to consolidate financial controls

Installed a new software package to streamline reporting to the board and membership

Finished 2009 with an overall net loss from operations of $16,000, including a deficit from operations of $35,000 and income from designated accounts of $19,000. These figures do not include the anticipated rebate of $22,000 in property taxes.  The difficult economy and lack of cooperate sponsorship dollars for events significantly impacted 2009 operations.

Received the good news that seven years of effort to have the Meeting Haus exempt from property taxes was fruitful, saving the Society about $20,000/year and adding over $100,000 to our reserves (even though the school board has since appealed the decision)

Initiated a rolling calendar for membership renewal to improve year-long cash flow

Played host to 27 groups (9 non-profits and 18 other events) using the Meeting Haus for over 800 hours and generating $9,000 in revenue

Hosted two community forums, on web site features and membership experiences

Identified the benefits of German Village Society membership, both direct and indirect, with the board authorizing distinct member-only benefits starting in 2010

Cleaned and reorganized storage areas, consolidating off-site storage to reduce rental cost and freeing up much-needed space in the Meeting Haus

Received the Maintenance Committee Report for an array of recommended Meeting Haus improvements, pending available funding

Established a long-term Campaign Planning Committee 

Worked with Schmidt’s in the successful transition of Oktoberfest

Said farewell to six board members (Steve Becker, Brigid Butler, Bill Curlis, Fred Holdridge, Chris Hune, Tim Marker)

Welcomed two new board members, Chad Bratschi and Crystal Seamon

Accepted, reluctantly, the resignations of Executive Director Erin O’Donnell and Historic Preservation Officer Jody Graichen, and welcomed Jody back in a part-time capacity from her home in Athens, Georgia, and welcomed part-time Office Coordinator, Russ Arledge

Last but not least, celebrated our 50^th Haus und Garden Tour, our longest running and most prized signature event, and our much loved Pre-Tour. 

Thank you to our volunteers, staff and friends for a terrific 2009!

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