Dear Friends,
After many years of active participation on the RNRA leadership team, Vice President, Paulette Rodriguez, Secretary, Mary Lassila, and I retired from the RNRA Board at the end of the year. It has been a singular honor to serve this association and this neighborhood, though it feels as though we’ve come through a storm over the last few years that has profoundly impacted residents, businesses, and visitors alike. This City will be forever changed by the experience, and though many challenges remain, I’m confident that it will thrive in the years to come.
In closing, I want to underscore a point that was made at our Annual Gala in November. This organization matters, and is worthy of your continued support and active engagement, not because of anything special about us as individuals, but because of the idea it represents. Without a neighborhood association, we’re all just strangers who happen to live in the same area. But with one, we’re a community, looking out for each other in good times and bad.
Working together with businesses, elected officials, and other stakeholders, we can make our community safer, more equitable, and more prosperous for all.
Sincere thanks to my RNRA colleagues, and best wishes for continued success!
Brian Israel
RNRA President
Going forward, RNRA will be ably led by an outstanding leadership team, each of whom is a long-term River North Resident with the experience, temperament, and love for our neighborhood necessary to take this organization to the next level and beyond. Under their stewardship, RNRA will continue the tradition of effective, principled advocacy that has been its hallmark for a quarter century.
