Lowry Hill East Neighborhood Association
Mission
To provide a structure for neighborhood leadership and participation, facilitate the equitable sharing of resources, and advance a vision for the neighborhood.
Vision
The Lowry Hill East Neighborhood Association, or LHENA (pronounced ‘Lee-Nah’), promotes a sense of belonging in the neighborhood. We continue to lead the City in adopting ideas and launching member-driven initiatives that push our community forward on the following:
Membership
LHENA membership is completely voluntary – you are only a member if you want to be. Residents of any kind, property owners, and business owners are all eligible for LHENA membership. While LHENA membership is voluntary, all residents, property owners, and business owners are automatically considered voting members of the neighborhood and and can take part in official association activities such as board member elections and committee votes.
Governance and Distributed Leadership
The association is governed by a volunteer board of 11 community members. A majority of the work occurs in dedicated committees where members brainstorm, design, and execute initiatives. Through a new strategic plan and an investment in community outreach, LHENA is looking to direct its energy and resources more fully out into the community itself, block by block, recruiting a fresh set of new leaders.
Association History
LHENA is one of the 70 neighborhood organizations recognized in the City of Minneapolis. Its history can be traced back to the 1970s, prior to its official recognition by the City. At that time, neighbors came together to form an organization to build community, host recycling events, and host ice cream socials. As LHENA was the hub of neighborhood activity, it even started one of the city’s first neighborhood newspapers. The Wedge was a multi-page newspaper fielding advertisements from local businesses and stories from volunteer writers. The success of this paper and the founding of a neighborhood association inspired the creation of many others in the city. Though the last paper was published in 2012, LHENA continues to evolve in the age of social media and is still the center of neighborhood news and activities.
Lead by a volunteer board of 11 members, the association helps communicate goings-on around the neighborhood and city, provides resources to members, facilitates civic forums, and assists members in championing projects. As funding and requests of LHENA have changed, so too have the foci of the organization. In the 1990s and early 2000s, LHENA developed Neighborhood Revitalization Program priorities, and throughout the 2010s, it created Community Participation Program priority plans, which were approved by the members and the City. Through both of these programs, LHENA has received City funding to carry out these plans. As LHENA professionalizes and assesses the strengths and weaknesses of these previous plans and processes, the 2018-2019 LHENA board decided to undergo a strategic planning process that will allow the board and staff to carry on neighborhood activities through the end of 2020.
To provide a structure for neighborhood leadership and participation, facilitate the equitable sharing of resources, and advance a vision for the neighborhood.
Vision
The Lowry Hill East Neighborhood Association, or LHENA (pronounced ‘Lee-Nah’), promotes a sense of belonging in the neighborhood. We continue to lead the City in adopting ideas and launching member-driven initiatives that push our community forward on the following:
- Diversity and Inclusion: Create a welcoming environment for all, and advocate for equitable systems, processes, and policies.
- Connecting Neighbors: Serve as a resource for community members to work together, and foster person to person connection in order to build a resilient, caring community.
- Environmental Sustainability: Enhance and protect the physical environment to ensure a living system that is sustainable, healthy, and verdant.
- Leadership: Encourage diverse organizational leadership, and lift up a multitude of interests, passions, and talents to empower through connections, projects, and partnerships.
Membership
LHENA membership is completely voluntary – you are only a member if you want to be. Residents of any kind, property owners, and business owners are all eligible for LHENA membership. While LHENA membership is voluntary, all residents, property owners, and business owners are automatically considered voting members of the neighborhood and and can take part in official association activities such as board member elections and committee votes.
Governance and Distributed Leadership
The association is governed by a volunteer board of 11 community members. A majority of the work occurs in dedicated committees where members brainstorm, design, and execute initiatives. Through a new strategic plan and an investment in community outreach, LHENA is looking to direct its energy and resources more fully out into the community itself, block by block, recruiting a fresh set of new leaders.
Association History
LHENA is one of the 70 neighborhood organizations recognized in the City of Minneapolis. Its history can be traced back to the 1970s, prior to its official recognition by the City. At that time, neighbors came together to form an organization to build community, host recycling events, and host ice cream socials. As LHENA was the hub of neighborhood activity, it even started one of the city’s first neighborhood newspapers. The Wedge was a multi-page newspaper fielding advertisements from local businesses and stories from volunteer writers. The success of this paper and the founding of a neighborhood association inspired the creation of many others in the city. Though the last paper was published in 2012, LHENA continues to evolve in the age of social media and is still the center of neighborhood news and activities.
Lead by a volunteer board of 11 members, the association helps communicate goings-on around the neighborhood and city, provides resources to members, facilitates civic forums, and assists members in championing projects. As funding and requests of LHENA have changed, so too have the foci of the organization. In the 1990s and early 2000s, LHENA developed Neighborhood Revitalization Program priorities, and throughout the 2010s, it created Community Participation Program priority plans, which were approved by the members and the City. Through both of these programs, LHENA has received City funding to carry out these plans. As LHENA professionalizes and assesses the strengths and weaknesses of these previous plans and processes, the 2018-2019 LHENA board decided to undergo a strategic planning process that will allow the board and staff to carry on neighborhood activities through the end of 2020.
