Dear Editor:
When our family and neighbors agreed that our neighborhood would benefit by forming a neighborhood watch, one of the first things we did was reach out to our Alderman, Mark Tendam. At the time, I did not know Mark and was concerned that he might not be interested in our organization. I was very wrong. From the very beginning Mark was there for us. Always encouraging and looking for ways to help he answered questions, showed up to our meetings, met with our neighbors, met with the Police and ultimately became our ambassador into City Hall. He contributed to the formation of our Neighborhood watch, he helped with limb removal after bad storms, he helped gain City support when we started clearing our alleys of overgrowth by requesting summer work crews to work our streets and by requesting Streets and Sanitation trucks to help remove the considerable debris.
We made the protection of our neighborhood a neighborhood affair, many of the same Neighbors that first expressed to me how worried they were about their safety now say how they could not imagine living anywhere else. “I know everyone within a couple of blocks and everyone is so nice and helpful!” is how many of our Neighbors feel. I share in this opinion as well! Working together we have shown how easy it is to enrich our community, to become better neighbors, to give and receive more from our City and through it all Mark Tendam has time and again proved himself to be an eager, valuable and courteous partner. He made our success his priority. For all that he has done for us, he has earned my thanks, respect and support.
Blessings,
Pat and Patti Long