Neighbor's Night Out & More in the South Loop!

FREE Event! Thursday, Sept. 22nd 6-9pm

Board Election

As the South Loop prepares for fall highlights, the GSLA Board of Directors is again ready to hold its annual elections. The election will be held October 1, 2011 at 9 a.m. at the Daystar Center located at 1550 S. State Street.

We have an 11 member Board of Directors and 6 of our director positions are expiring this year. Each Board member is elected for a two year term by the current sitting Board members. The Board then elects the officers for the upcoming terms (President and Vice President are 2 years each with the VP succeeding to the President; this year Vice President, Secretary and Treasurer are up for election). Nomination forms are available on our website and should be submitted either via email or to current board member.

Board members get to help plan the year's events; each is responsible for one month's meeting agenda. Our meetings alternate between Saturday morning 'business' meetings at which community events are spotlighted, new businesses have an opportunity to promote themselves and development and zoning issues are addressed, as well as other items as they come up and evening ''Neighbors' Night Out" meetings at neighborhood venues for fun, socializing and getting to know your community. Board members are also asked to be on a committee as a liaison between the committee and the rest of the Board.

We also select the upcoming year's committees at this time. Some of our committees include:

Communications, Membership, Bash on Wabash, Historical, Community Living Associations and Finance. Our focus for the upcoming year will continue to include our "Shop the South Loop" initiative and, as always, 'bringing neighbors together'.

We invite all community members to get involved - either by seeking Board or committee membership. If you don't feel you have the time to commit to either of those roles, we still encourage you to get involved in the community by attending community events, neighborhood and association meetings and by supporting our local businesses.

Warm regards,

Deb Soehlig, President

Bash on Wabash 2011

2011 Bash on Wabash a "success" in spite of challenges

The 2011 Bash on Wabash was an overall success, according to Greater South Loop Association president, Deb Soehlig. "With the road construction on S. Wabash, the date change, and the weather on Sunday, it took a lot of effort from a lot of people to pull off this year's Bash."

Slightly smaller in scale than previous Bash events, Saturday's attendance was good, due in no small measure to the excellent music talent Reggie's assembled for the main stage. Plans are already in the works for the GSLA to partner with Reggie's for the 2012 event. The children's area was greatly attended and was enjoyed by kids both young and old. Reggies booked a special music lineup geared towards children early in the day and it was "a sight to see the kids dance and rock out to the music" according to Jeff Key, GSLA board member. The Bash also benefited from Saturday's Wisconsin NIU game. After the 49-7 stomping of NIU, Badger red seemed to be everywhere along S. Wabash. A special thank you goes to Alderman Fioretti and his office for their involvement.

One of the challenges for this year's event was getting the word out, once the exact dates of the Bash were confirmed. "The messaging wasn't always perfect, but we did the best that we could under the circumstances," said Soehlig. "Our volunteers did the lion's share of the work to organize this event. It couldn't have happened without them. We learned a lot from this year's experience and look forward to an even better event in 2012."

Greater South Loop Association

P.O. Box 4632

Chicago, Illinois 60680-4632