Sauganash Park Community Association

Hey Neighbor!

It’s the most wonderful time of the year, and we’re excited to announce our 2023 Holiday Decorating Contest! Whether you’re a fan of twinkling lights, festive wreaths, or giant inflatable Santas, beginning today your can make your preference count.

How to Participate

Nominate Homes: Use this form to nominate well-decorated homes in our neighborhood. Nominations are open starting today until Tuesday, December 19th. We cannot accept nominations after that date. You are welcome to nominate your own home although it’s probably more in the spirit of the season to nominate one or more of your neighbor’s homes. Please upload a photo of the home if you can. There is a button at the bottom of the form to do that. You are also welcome to email your nominations directly to us at [email protected]

Top 20 Showcase: After all the nominations have been counted, the 20 homes with the most nominations will be featured in an online gallery. We will then open voting for about a week. We will send you an email with the voting form once the web gallery of our top-nominees is assembled.

Cast Your Vote: An online vote will follow to determine the winners. We hope to conclude this contest shortly after the 25th. Let’s see whose holiday cheer shines the brightest!

Partnering with Openlands for a Greener Tomorrow

Hey Neighbor!

The SPCA Halloween Bash is almost here, and we’re bubbling with excitement to celebrate with you tomorrow! Before we dive into the festivities, we have a few important updates and reminders to ensure our evening is smooth and spectacular!

🗓 Date: Saturday, October 14th – Tomorrow!

New Start Time: 4:30 PM

We’ve shifted our start time a smidgen to 4:30 PM. Be ready to let the magical evening commence!

Rain or Shine, It’s Party Time!
Our party is happening come rain or shine! We’ve secured 6 sturdy canopies to keep our entertainers and guests cozy and dry, ensuring uninterrupted fun even if the skies decide to sprinkle.🎉

New Sponsor Alert: The Learning Experience
A huge shoutout to our latest sponsor, The Learning Experience, who provide early education services in our community. They’re generously sponsoring our craft stations, making sure our little artists have a bewitching time creating Halloween masterpieces!

Event Highlights:

4:30 PM: The Enchanted Evening Begins!
4:45 PM: Strut Your Stuff in the Costume Parade.
5:00 – 6:00 PM: Be Amazed with Balloon Twisting & Face Painting.
6:00 – 7:00 PM: Marvel at the Magic of The Great Boodini.
7:00 – 8:00 PM: Dance the Night Away in our Glow Stick Dance Party.

Location: In between Tripp and Keeler on Granville

Heartfelt Thanks to All Our Sponsors:

The Great Boodini: brought to you by State Senator Ram Villivalam.

Balloon Twisters: sponsored by our friends at All Aboard Learning Express.  

Face Painting: generously provided by Alderman Sam Nugent.

Craft Stations sponsored by our friends at The Learning Experience Sauganash.

And, of course, a round of applause to our board members who’ve worked tirelessly to orchestrate this event! As well as our members and sponsors: together, we’ve made this incredible event possible!

🌟  Last Call for Volunteers 🌟

There’s still a chance to sprinkle extra magic on our event by volunteering! If you’re eager to assist in crafting an unforgettable night, please sign up here.

Your enthusiasm, spirit, and presence are needed. We can’t wait to celebrate, create, and dance the night away with you! 

See you tomorrow, rain or shine!

Don Morton
SPCA Chairperson

Hey Neighbor!

Get ready for an evening of spook-tacular fun! Our annual Halloween Event is just around the corner, and we’ve lined up some magical entertainment for everyone.

🗓 Date: Saturday, October 14th

🎉 Event Highlights:

4:30 PM: Let the Party Commence!
4:45 PM: Show off your Halloween look in our Costume Parade.
5:00 – 6:00 PM: Transform with Balloon Twisting and Face Painting.
6:00 – 7:00 PM: Be captivated by our magician – The Great Boodini.
7:00 – 8:00 PM: Light up the night in our Glow Stick Dance Party.

Where: In between Tripp and Keeler on Granville

A Special Thanks To Our Sponsors:

The Great Boodini is generously sponsored by our very own State Senator from District 8, Ram Villivalam. 

The delightful Balloon Twisters come courtesy of our neighborhood friends from All Aboard Learning Express.  They offer early educational experiences right in our neighborhood.

And our friend and Alderman, Sam Nugent, graciously sponsored our talented face painter for the evening.

We couldn’t have gotten such a great event together without the hard work of our board members and the support of our members and sponsors. Our profound gratitude extends to all. Together, we’ve made this incredible event possible!

🌟 Volunteer Opportunity 🌟

To ensure our event runs without a hitch, we’re seeking enthusiastic volunteers. If you’d like to be a part of this bewitching night, please sign up here. Your involvement will truly make a difference!

Mark your calendars, invite your friends, and let’s make this Halloween unforgettable! We eagerly await your presence.

Best,
Don Morton
SPCA Chairperson

SPCA Fall General Meeting Tuesday 9/19 at 7 PM

Autumn is just about here, and with it comes our eagerly awaited General Meeting!

Each fall on the third Tuesday in September, we invite all our neighbors to join us for our General Meeting. We try to feature helpful and important people to enlighten us on topics that matter the most to our community

Why Attend? It’s a wonderful opportunity to meet, mingle, and voice your concerns. 

When? Tuesday 9/19 at 7 PM

Who’s Speaking? This year we’re thrilled to announce:

• Alderman Nugent will shed light on pressing issues in our Ward.
   
• Senator Ram Villivalam will provide updates from Springfield, answer questions, and receive feedback from residents.
   
• A police captain from the 17th district will discuss catalytic converter thefts in our area.
   
• Representatives from US Congressman Quigley’s office and State Representative Mike Kelly’s office will also share updates and respond to community members.
  ​
• Lastly, a Treekeeper from Openlands is expected to join us to discuss a tree planting program. We are hoping to plant more trees along the easements in our neighborhood this Earth Day. 

Your Attendance Matters

All these esteemed guests will join us at the Sauganash Park Fieldhouse this Tuesday at 7 PM. Your participation counts. Your voice and presence matter to us. Come, be a part of this dialogue and let’s work together to shape our community’s future.

We hope to see you there!

Hey Sauganash Park Neighbors! 🍿🎥✨

Summer’s winding down, and as the school bells begin to ring, let’s make one more neighborhood memory together!

Back to School Movie Night: “Monsters University“

When: This Friday, 8/25
Where: On the corner of Tripp and Graville in Sauganash Park

🎉 Event Highlights: 🎉

• 6:30 PM Kickoff with games and chalk fun
• 🍿 Complimentary popcorn for all
• 🍋 Refreshing lemonade stand
• ~7:36 PM (sunset): Movie time!

Bring your blankets, lawn chairs, and that awesome neighborly spirit. It’s the perfect opportunity for the kids to enjoy a movie with their pals and for everyone to connect as the school year begins.

Weather Looks Great!

Let’s end this summer with a bang! Hope to see you all there. 😊

Spring General Meeting THIS TUESDAY

Our Spring General Meeting is this Tuesday at 7 PM. The meeting will be held at the Sauganash Park Fieldhouse. US Congressman Mike Quigley and Alderman Sam Nugent will speak.

We will host an election for the officers of our board. Any and all dues-paying SPCA members are invited to run and / or vote. 

We will also gauge community interest in planting new trees in our easements and parkways, as we did several years ago.

PLEASE JOIN US IN-PERSON. All interested parties are welcome to attend. 

WHAT: Spring General Meeting
WHEN: Tuesday, May 2nd at 7 PM
WHERE: The Sauganash Park Fieldhouse
WHO: US Congressman Mike Quigley and Alderman Sam Nugent

Successful Earth Day Clean Up Event

Thank you to all who participated in our annual SPCA Earth Day Clean Up event. Special thanks to Sauganash Brownie Troop 26105 who came out in full force! The event was productive and our community and trails are much cleaner due to our collective efforts.

Also thanks to Alderman Nugent and the 39th Ward for the assistance! 

Signup for Praying Mantis Egg Distribution

The SPCA will distribute praying mantis eggs to interested members this spring. Praying mantis provide safe and effective insect control.  They are voracious predators and wholly organic. We have sourced 400 eggs and seek to distribute them around the neighborhood. 

EGG DISTRIBUTION WILL BEGIN AFTER MEMORIAL DAY.

Dues-paying members can signup to receive free praying mantis eggs this spring. If you have already signed up THIS YEAR, you do not need to signup again.

Join or Renew Your SPCA Now

Our community association is the SPCA. We are a volunteer organization. We rely on membership dues from our neighbors. Though it is a new year soon, we are still in our 2022-23 cycle. Our membership cycle runs from July 1st to June 30th.

If you haven’t joined or renewed yet for this year, please do so as soon as you can. Help us grow as a community association!
 

SPCA Sign on Devon Damaged

Our SPCA sign on Devon was destroyed during a car accident near Keystone. This happened on March 24th around 7:51 AM. Police and medical professionals responded to the incident. Minor injuries were reported.

We maintain an insurance policy that covers these signs. We have filed a claim with our insurance company. Community members and our Association raised the funds to install these signs over 20 years ago. We have since maintained them. We are hoping to restore this sign as soon as we are able.

Earth Day Clean Up Event

Once again the SPCA is working with Alderman Nugent and the Ward office to organize an Earth Day Clean Up event. The event is scheduled for Saturday, April 22nd. 

As with prior years, we are planning on organizing two clean up groups. One group will meet at the east trail near Glenlake and Keystone. A second group will meet by the underpass near the west trail at Granville and Lowell. We hope that you pitch in and help either group.

This is a fun and rewarding activity. Join friends and neighbors and help cleanup our neighborhood. Alderman Nugent and the Ward office will deliver cleanup supplies and arrange for additional garbage pick up. You might want to bring your own gloves though. 

WHAT: Earth Day Clean Up Event
WHEN: Saturday, April 22nd around 9 AM
WHERE: The East and West Trails around Sauganash Park
 

Signup for Praying Mantis Egg Distribution

The SPCA will distribute praying mantis eggs to interested members this spring. Praying mantis provide safe and effective insect control.  They are voracious predators and wholly organic. We have sourced 400 eggs and seek to distribute them around the neighborhood. 

Dues-paying members can signup to receive free praying mantis eggs this spring. Even if you have signed up in the past, YOU MUST SIGN UP FOR DISTRIBUTION AGAIN. This is because some members move or lose interest and we only want to deliver eggs to interested parties. 

Spring General Meeting on May 2nd

In accordance to our new bylaws, which were ratified at our last Spring General Meeting, we will host this year’s Spring General Meeting on the first Tuesday in May. That will be May 2nd this year. We are planning on hosting the meeting at the Sauganash Park Fieldhouse at 7 PM. Alderman Nugent has confirmed her attendance and we hope to bring other speakers to our meeting. All interested community members are welcome to attend. 

WHAT: Spring General Meeting
WHEN: Tuesday, May 2nd at 7 PM
WHERE: The Sauganash Park Fieldhouse
WHO: Alderman Nugent and Others
 
 

Join or Renew Your SPCA Now

Our community association is the SPCA. We are a volunteer organization. We rely on membership dues from our neighbors. Though it is a new year soon, we are still in our 2022-23 cycle. Our membership cycle runs from July 1st to June 30th.

If you haven’t joined or renewed yet for this year, please do so as soon as you can. Help us grow as a community association!
 
Thank you!

Don Morton
SPCA Chairperson