CHAIR’S MESSAGE

Chair’s Message for September 2026

Welcome September!
by Dianne Leonard, GACC Chair
Each year as we head into Autumn, the Greater Avenues celebrates this change of seasons with a huge party for residents and friends. This year on October 10th we will enjoy our 49th annual Avenues Street Fair!

1st Avenue between I and O Streets will be filled with music, laughter, vendors, food, and friendship. The day begins with the Children’s Parade at 10am and concludes with tired and  committed neighbors returning the street to the lovely pace of “regular life.”

There is an interesting history of the origins of the Avenues Street Fair at https://avenuescouncil.org/street-fair/about-the-fair/.

We are still seeking more neighbors to volunteer for a couple of hours to help us make this year’s street fair one to remember. You can volunteer HERE.

This month our community meeting on September 2nd will have the theme of Cookies, Committees, Community Housing. We will begin the evening with a social gathering time in front of the Library from 5:15-5:50. 

We will have information about volunteering for the Street Fair, getting involved with the GACC Board and Committees, and an opportunity to chat with neighbors. When we head inside at 6pm, we will hear about Community and getting involved.

It is time for our Nominating Committee to recruit for next year’s GACC Board and elected officers. We will learn about what the Greater Avenues Community Council does for our neighborhood, and ways that you can get involved by serving on Committees and volunteering for projects.

We will also learn about a new proposal from the City and Planning Commission called Expanded Housing Options, details of which are at https://shape.slc.gov/en/projects/housing-options.  

We will also have the opportunity to interact with representatives from local government, our Police, Fire, the Sweet Library, and LDS Hospital, all great partners to our Community. Following the meeting, we will once again head out to the front of the library for  Cookies.

Our monthly meetings give us the chance to meet new neighbors, (thanks Jeannine for introducing Cindy last month!), hear about topics that are relevant to our lives on the Avenues, and share concerns with fellow residents and community partners. I know that some of you are unable to attend in person and so we try to make the Zoom experience as easy as possible. We do ask that those of you attending our meeting virtually identify yourselves with a name…you don’t have to turn on your camera. Last year we had quite an exciting incident as someone hacked into our meeting and took over the presentation. We consulted with technology folks and one of the suggestions was that we not allow people who won’t identify themselves into the meeting. We aren’t keeping tabs on you…just trying to keep our meetings safe and family friendly.

I hope that as you transition from the long less structured days of summer to the routine of the fall you will feel refreshed and ready for cooler weather, the changing beauty of the landscape and the opportunity to gather with friends and neighbors at our September  Community Council Meeting.

Hope to see you on the 2nd at 5:15pm! Please let me know if you have questions or concerns.
We are always looking for ideas for meeting topics and presentations.
You can email me at gaccchair@avenuescouncil.org.
Dianne

OUR NEIGHBORHOOD