Our Beginning
The KVIS was founded by Village resident, Melissa Foster in 2008. The first meeting was held at the Kenmore Community Center in May of that year; about 150 people attended. Here is an exerpt from the printed packet of material presented at that first meeting.
“…I think that Kenmore is an interesting and special place. I remember years ago riding in the car with my father one Sunday morning on Delaware Road. The sun was flitting through the high arching trees casting shadows as it does on the tidy houses passing by. It was this time of year, a Spring morning with the scent of lilac and wisteria on the air. My father commented on how lovely it all was and we were quiet together. This is Kenmore. A place that fosters a sense of connection, where one can feel the light embrace of true community; a place that, like you, I care for deeply.
In July of 2006 I was reading an article from a Yankee Magazine my mother had given to me. That article about a New England Improvement Society started me thinking about Kenmore and what could be done to improve our Village. For a year and a half I thought about, researched, worked and reworked plans for an Improvement Society, all the while becoming more and more convinced that over the course of a decade, the Kenmore Village Improvement Society as I named it, could be a very positive presence for our community.
I decided to proceed with the idea and prepared informational literature for the Village Board. Our Mayor and Trustees, Clerk, Police Chief, and Department Heads received the plan favorably and offered genuine assistance, guidance, support, and encouragement. Once I had the thumbs up to proceed, I created flyers for this meeting and began distributing them door-to door and publicly. I then visited almost all Delaware and Elmwood businesses and spoke with the owners about KVIS and their concerns for the Village.
Some groups like KVIS are formed by bringing together a core group of people who want to start the organization. There are strengths in this way of starting a group, but to me it seemed that the first KVIS meeting should include an ‘even playing field’. Though I took the initial steps necessary to start the KVIS, it is not mine, it belongs to the residents and friends of Kenmore, to each society member, to you. With the exception of Treasurer, Legal Council, Board Liaison, and Coordinator no position has been filled; every opportunity is open and available to you according to your time, talent and interests, abilities and experience. …”
The second meeting of the KVIS was used to break off into small groups based on obvious divisions of Village life. One group of people who were interested in talking about their homes and neighborhood met in one area of the room; another interested in area businesses and commercial buildings went to another. Each part of Village life was represented as well as some other groups interested in ways they could help the KVIS through publicity or welcoming people who would attend the meetings. These groups became the KVIS Committees; each Committee then began to meet seperately, discussing, prioritizing, creating, and beginng their work.
