December is my favorite month of the year. It’s a time when it seems as though everyone has something special to commemorate and celebrate. There’s Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanza, and even Boxing Day. For me personally, both my birthday and wedding anniversary are this month. It is also an extremely busy time of the year here at DHIC.
At the beginning of each year, we set ambitious goals for what we want to achieve. It’s inevitable that schedules and timelines slip and we find ourselves pushing to finish things by year-end. Nonetheless, as you may recall from previous newsletters, we have accomplished quite a bit.
Some of our highlights from the year include the following:
- Celebrating the opening of Pennington Grove II
- Opening the interest list for Primavera
- Receiving a $610,000 grant for Milner Commons, a new senior living community
- Receiving $991,236 in Low-Income Housing Tax Credits for Creston Commons
- Celebrating Homeownership Center success stories, like that of Lashunda Snowden
As we recognize these accomplishments from 2022, we’re also starting to look ahead to the new year. We held our annual Board meeting in early December, which was our first in-person annual meeting in more than two years. All involved were excited about the opportunity to reconnect and spend time together.
DHIC is fortunate to have such a fully engaged, diverse, and supportive board of directors. They volunteer their time all year long to help guide our work. We have two board members whose final terms are ending and we want to take a moment to acknowledge their service. Dan Clemmens and Julie Paul have both served on DHIC’s board since 2015. Both of them also served on a subcommittee, with Dan chairing the Finance and Asset Management Committee and Julie serving on the Racial Equity Diversity & Inclusion (REDI) committee. We are very grateful for their leadership over the past eight years and everything we’ve accomplished with their help.
Sadly, our board chair, Mia Bailey, who has served on DHIC’s board since 2016, will also be leaving us. In addition to chairing the board for the past year, she also chaired DHIC’s Executive Committee and was previously Vice Chair. I learned so much under Mia’s leadership and will miss our regular check-ins. DHIC will be in good hands with the incoming board leadership who we’re excited to introduce in the next newsletter.
Lastly, I am especially excited to share that you will be hearing from some new voices in this space in 2023, as other DHIC staff will be contributing articles throughout the year. In the meantime, no matter which December holiday is most meaningful to you, my wish is that you get to spend time with family and friends, renewing the bonds that fill your spirit with joy.