Help Run the LaSalle Park Community Association
We are pleased to announce the first general member election of the LPCA Board of Directors running from March 29th until April 7th! All LaSalle Park residents and business owners are eligible to vote, with those who've lived in the neighborhood for at least 1 year eligible to run for Board positions.*
All of our board positions are open, for each a 2-year term beginning April 2023:
President: chairs association meetings, signs paperwork on the organization's behalf, our fearless leader
Vice President: no ship is seaworthy without a First Mate, also acts in the President's capacity when absent
Treasurer: compiles financial reports while keeping those purse strings taut
Secretary: noble scribe recording everything for posterity, raising points of order when needed
Member at Large: advisor to Board members, co-conspirator, and tie-breaking vote
Here is a more thorough list of board position responsibilities in current practice, although keep in mind the new board can change things up.
Since LaSalle Park Community Association is a 501.c3, all board members once elected will need to sign our Conflict of Interest Policy, filling out disclosures if needed.
*: We recommend reviewing our current Bylaws for full understanding of eligibility requirements for Board Members. In the interest of fairness, we ask that multiple members of the same household not run for Board positions concurrently.
Where Do I Sign Up?
Please email the following information to lpanstl@gmail.com by Wednesday 3/22 so we can add you to the slate of candidates:
Name
Board position sought (please just pick one)
Your contact info (email, etc) for voters
Your pitch, your spiel, why residents should vote for you
And that's it! We also encourage you to stump, shake hands, announce your candidacy on social media, hire a skywriter or two.
How Do I Vote?
We'll be using the OpaVote platform for secure and anonymous online voting. Polls will be open from 3/29 until 4/7/23. If you are not already on our email announcement list, please email your name and street address to lpnastl@gmail.com so we can add you!
We recommend reading over the Membership section of our current Bylaws to get a full understanding of the voting process. Especially if you happen to be both a resident and local business owner, and/or your household has more than 2 adults.
Candidates Thus Far
Below are candidates nominated thus far, and their introductions. Remember that nominations remain open through Wednesday 3/22! Please email lpnastl@gmail.com if you'd like to contact one of the candidates.
President (1 candidate)
Amanda Chasnoff
During the last 15 years as a STL city resident, living in LaSalle Park is honestly the first time where I’ve gotten to know my neighbors. This has happened through friendly and welcoming faces bringing our little slice of the community together. I believe that by using the resources at hand, we can not only make our neighborhood more beautiful, but also bring together more and more of the residents to really make it feel like a true reflection of how diverse and accepting St. Louis can be.
I’ve had the pleasure of sitting on a few boards, including Executive Treasurer for ArtScope in Tower Grove Park (formerly SCOSAG), and many positions including President of the local chapter of the International Live Events Association. I’ve been an event and wedding planner for almost 20 years so I know that having a motivated and passionate team can really make magic happen. Also, using my planning experience gives me the ability to see opportunities and make a game plan to reach our goals.
Sharing our home with my husband Zach, I’ve gotten to know many of our neighbors through the projects he has assisted them with, but you may better know me as the gal walking my tiny dog Pancake who screams. I’ve started calling him “The rooster of LaSalle Park” so if you see us strutting the neighborhood, please say hi!
Vice President (1 candidate)
Brent Holmes
I am running for Vice President because I am passionate about making our great neighborhood closer as a community, safer, and adaptable for the changing conditions of the city we love. My wife Meg Holmes, dog Biscuit, and I have lived on Hickory Street since July of 2020. In the last few years I have organized neighborhood events such as:
CommuniTree Tree Planting 2021 - Planted over 90 Trees with over 50 volunteers in coordination with St Louis Forestry and MO ReLeaf
Mardi Gras Anheuser Busch Tent 2022 & 2023 - Managed volunteers at two beer tents in 2022 and one in 2023, raising roughly $10K for LSPCA
Jazz Festivals on the 10th Street Mall 2022 Spring, Summer and Fall - 3 successful turnouts, with donated beer from 4-Hands and snacks from neighbors
Forest Park Grants for Perennial flowers in Cul-de-sacs 2022 - Solidified 130+ Perennial donations, cultivated, mulched and planted with neighbors
National Neighborhood Night-Out 2022 & 2023 - Great turnouts with music, games, great food, donated beer and friends
Kick Ball Social Events with neighborhood kids 2022 - Three successful kickball games, donated ice cream, hot dogs and most importantly smiling faces from LaSalle Park Village
I would take pride in representing our LaSalle Park Community in a more formal capacity as Vice President of the board and would appreciate your vote.
Secretary (1 candidate)
Heather Lannon
Hi, I’m Heather Lannon. I have only lived in Lasalle Park for a little over a year and it already feels like home. My husband, Aman, and I live on Hickory Street. During that time, I have met many wonderful neighbors and forever friends.
I'm excited about future community engagement; I believe that by coming together, we can create a strong, connected neighborhood that benefits everyone. I have four years of experience as a board secretary in senior living; I am highly organized, detail-oriented, and skilled at managing competing priorities in a fast-paced environment. Additionally, I possess excellent communication skills and am comfortable working with stakeholders at all levels of an organization. I would be honored to have your vote. Thank you for your consideration.
Treasurer (2 candidates)
Andrew Leasck
Crystal and I moved to LaSalle Park in 2014. I take immense pride in our neighborhood and the surrounding community. I am committed to ensuring our community continues to prosper through an active role as Treasurer in support of the neighborhood association. While I don’t hold formal accounting qualifications I have earned an engineering degree from Mizzou with a mathematics minor. I have owned my own my own consulting business and have over twenty years working professionally in large scale enterprises leading critical IT initiatives. Currently I work at Microsoft as a senior director of ~150 engineers developing Azure Nexus telco cloud infrastructure. My experience managing critical projects, people and budgets coupled with my community pride positions me well to care for the association’s finances and vote considerately.
Colleen Finnegan
I wish to nominate myself for the position of Treasurer on the Board of Directors for the LaSalle Park Neighborhood Association. I am a resident home owner since January 2021. I'm retired after a career in non-profit and government cultural agencies. Before I got my Master's in Community Arts Management I worked for 3 years as the lead administrator in a small law office, in radio broadcasting and news writing, in public relations for companies and political campaigns, at local arts organizations and at many, MANY restaurants. The last 25 of my 35 years in the arts in San Diego County, CA, I worked for the City of Carlsbad (top-ten management rated among California municipalities) where I handled program budgets, contracts, Commissions and Committees, grants management, a wide series of events and programs, and consulted with and served on many non-profit Boards of Directors. I also served two terms with Boards of Directors for my San Diego HOA. I believe we are entering some really exciting times with opportunities to make our very special neighborhood more united, more attractive, safer and stronger. I'm happy to discuss your interests and concerns with you and hope you will consider me for your Treasurer.
Member At Large (2 candidates)
Angela Mouton
What we NEED MOST in this election is to have representation from the "southside" of the LaSalle Park neighborhood. This is something I mentioned when I first joined the Facebook group. I stumbled onto this group through Facebook and have followed for over a year. It's important for this side of the neighborhood to have a voice, which is noticeably absent at this point. And that voice has to be one of unity, not division. At one meeting, there were many comments about how residents didn't seem interested in the Association, and this is one of the biggest reasons why. If there is no one on this side getting neighbors involved, how can we expect them to be invested?
Hunter Westbrook
Hello LaSalle Park Friends! I am Hunter Westbrook and have lived in the beautiful LaSalle Park for 2 years and have enjoyed getting to know you all, so I am eager to get involved and help build a better future for LSP as your at-large board member. Over the past year or so, you may have seen my contributions from building the new website to our Instagram page. I want the best for our neighborhood and will support initiatives for transparency, beautification, safety and inclusion! My hope is to build a wider community base, listen and support all of you, so please consider me to represent you and please reach out if you have any questions.