Strawberry Farms Civic Association. A New Beginning for 2013! By: Tina Morris, President

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1 Strawberry Farms Civic Association Winter 2013 Issue THE CIVIC CHATTER A New Beginning for 2013! By: Tina Morris, President This is our 2 nd electronic newsletter! I know some of you will miss the printed copy, but this will save the civic association about $1,000 per year. Since we have received reports from many not receiving the newsletter, we felt it was not wise to waste our money. In addition to being able to view our newsletter on our website, if you would like a copy of the Civic sent directly to your , please send your name, address, and to amabsalom@yahoo.com. Please take the time to look through the newsletter to see all the happenings and information of things going on in and around our community. There are some new links since the last issue, so make sure to check it out! Elections took place in October and our newly elected Officers are Theresa VanDavis as Vice- President and Anita Absalom as Treasurer. Thank you so much for serving our community in even more ways! Each of these women serve a position on the Board as well! If you are interested in volunteering in ANY way, please me or the Board member that is the director of the area you want to serve. Volunteers are so very valuable to our community striving. Becoming a member alone carries more weight that you realize. As I have stated in the past, the percentage of members in a community determines needs being met by the city. They take that into consideration when a Civic Association has a request for a need in their neighborhood. They associations with a higher percentage of members will be taken more seriously because they assume that the people care more about their subdivision. Let s become one of those communities one with great pride! A big thank you for all the new and renewal members for 2012! Let s continue that commitment for 2013 and encourage our neighbors to join up with us as well! Our first community meeting of 2013 will be Jan. 28 th at 6:30 and the Easton Worship Center!!! president@strawberryfarms.org Index Website: Mail: PO Box 1251 Westerville, OH Strawberry-Farms/ SF Community Meeting Dates...pg SF Santa Visit..pg. 2 Advertising with SFCA.pg. 3 Landscaping..pg. 4 Block Watch Report..pg. 5 Advertisements. pg. 6 Important Contacts...pg. 7 SFCA Membership......pg. 8

2 SF 2 nd Annual Santa Visit! Page 2 Fun was had by all! The children (and some adults too!) had fun decorating cookies, making Christmas Tree ornaments, coloring Christmas pictures, eating donuts and cider and of course telling Santa all the goodies they wanted him to deliver to them via his sleigh and eight reindeer! It was a wonderful time and here are some pictures for all to enjoy! HO HO HO! 2013 Strawberry Farms Civic Association Community Meetings The last Monday of every month excluding May, November and December January 28 th February 25 th March 25 th April 29 th June 24 th July 29 th August 26 th September 30 th October 28 th They are held at Easton Worship Center and begin at 6:30pm and end no later than 8:00pm. Please consider coming out and hearing what is happening in your community and have a voice to make a difference! MARK YOUR CALENDARS!

3 Page 3 Congratulations to Nichole Endicott on winning the $100 Visa/MC drawing for joining or renewing your 2012 SFCA membership!!! Becoming a 2012 member surely paid off for Nichole! This year it could be you!!! So remember to join or renew your member ship for 2013! Advertising with SFCA There are now more options for advertising with the Strawberry Farms Civic Association. We are now offering advertising on our website, as well as in our e-newsletter. When you choose our newsletter and online combo ads, you will make sure more people see your message. The online ad size is 125px x 125px square, or roughly 1.75 x Online ads will appear on the homepage of the website, and can link to your own website, Facebook page, or a PDF. To place an ad, president@strawberryfarms.org. Advertisements: SFCA Members: Non- SFCA Members: Business card size (Newsletter or Website) $10/90 days $15/90 days Business card size (Newsletter + Website) $15/90 days $20/90 days 8.5" x 11" (Newsletter or Website) $25/90 days $40/90 days 8.5" x 11" (Newsletter + Website) $30/90 days $45/90 days

4 Page 4 Mark your calendars! Just two months away from our 2013 first landscaping day! Well, this has been a cold, snowy winter, but just around the corner Spring will be here! March is the beginning of our landscaping for Strawberry Farms! I just want to give a big thank you to all the volunteers who have helped maintain both entrances, as well as various speed treatments, this past year. It makes our community look so much more attractive to future buyers when people take pride in our appearance. We do, however, have several speed treatments that need adopted so we can continue the beautification of our community. Spring also brings many new challenges to the upkeep of our front and back entrances as well. Winter plays havoc on the plants and mulch, so there is much to be done this coming March! So we need extra help to get it looking beautiful! Please consider joining us on the 3 rd Saturday of the month beginning in March and going through November. We meet at the front entrance (161) at 10:00 am, but if that doesn t work with your schedule, you may come any day or time to help with the weeding and trimming Saturday Landscape Clean-up Dates (Every 3 rd Saturday, March-November) March 16 th April 20 th May 18 th June 15 th July 20 th August 17 th September 21 st October 19 th November 16 th

5 Page 5 SCAM ALERT! Submitted by: Theresa VanDavis, Director of Safety Scam Alert: Free Gift Cards 12/12/2012 As the holiday season approaches, Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine recommends learning to identify scams targeting holiday shoppers. In one scam, consumers receive a letter claiming they have won free gift cards to reputable retail and grocery stores. The letter prompts the consumer to activate the card by calling a phone number provided in the letter. Once the consumer calls, the company demands a bank account number to cover a $3.95 activation fee. In reality, the letter is counterfeit. It may be printed on letterhead resembling that of a reputable store, but the gift cards do not exist, and consumers who respond to the letter risk revealing their bank account number, mailing address, name, and phone number to scammers. Consumers also may receive text messages claiming they have won a gift card. To claim the prize, they are instructed to click on a link in the message or send a text message to a certain number. Despite the enticing claims in the message, the offer is phony, and if consumers respond, they are disclosing personal information to the senders. Recent reports also indicate scammers are tampering with publicly displayed gift cards found in local grocery stores. Criminals use small, inexpensive magnetic-stripe scanners to quickly record and store account and PIN numbers located on the front and back of legitimate gift cards. The criminals exit the store and then wait a few days for consumers to purchase the cards. Once the cards have been purchased, the criminals dial the number listed on the back of the gift card, then punch in the account and PIN numbers. The criminals use this information to access redeemable gift cards. Unfortunately, consumers may not realize that the card balance has been stolen until after the holiday season. By that time, it may be nearly impossible to recover the money or catch the perpetrator. How to protect yourself If you receive an unsolicited letter in the mail claiming you have won a gift card, do not call the phone number listed or respond in any other way. By contacting the company, you are verifying that the address is valid and may be revealing other personal information. You should not have to pay a fee for something that is free. Legitimate prizes require no purchase. If you receive a similar letter in the mail, contact the retail store using information listed from a reliable source, not the letter and report the scam. Consider purchasing gift cards directly from retail stores websites. Ensure that the website address reads https rather than http prior to entering any personal information. The s indicates that the website is secure. If you opt to purchase gift cards in-store, make sure to inspect the packaging prior to purchase. Do not purchase a gift card if the packaging is broken or torn. Contact the Ohio Attorney General s Office at or for more information or to report a scam.

6 Absolute Property Maintenance Painting & All Home Repairs No Job Too Small Don Wuestenberg *discount for SFCA Members Cricket Such RE/MAX Achievers x249 CRS, ABR Licensed since 1974 RE/MAX Hall of Fame Page 6 RMXbug@aol.com The Civic is printed for the SFCA at a generous discount by your neighbor, Bill Reinhart! Remember Bill for all your printing needs! Thank You, Bill! Reinhart Printing 17 East Tulane Rd. Columbus, OH NEW CIVIC CHATTER ADVERTISMENT RATES To place an ad contact: president@strawberryfarms.org Please consider placing an ad in the Civic! It is a huge way to support our community and get the word out about your business at the same time!!

7 Our 1 st meeting of the new year! Please join us Monday, January 28 th at 6:30 at the Easton Worship Center!! Page 7 City Contact Numbers Police Fire Water Service Sewer/Drains Electricity Loose animals Bulk pick-up Weeds/Environment Code enforcement Parking violations Junk cars/private Junk cars/public Mayor s action line or 311 SFCA Liaison/Dick Graham regraham@columbus.gov? We are waiting for a new officer to be assigned. Our CPD Liaison Officer, Ohio Division of Police Strategic Response Bureau SFCA 2013 Board Members President Tina Morris tinamz54@gmail.com Vice-President Theresa VanDavis vicepresident@strawberryfarms.org Treasurer Anita Absalom amabsalom@yahoo.com Secretary Valerie Seidel Valerieseidel2@gmail.com Director of Membership Anita Absalom amabsalom@yahoo.com Director of Neighborhood Safety Theresa VanDavis sfblockwatch@hotmail.com Director of Neighborhood Relations Vacant Director of Advertising Vacant NCC Representative Jeff Hackett sfblockwatch@hotmail.com Director of Landscaping Patty Fitzgerald pjfitz3@wowway.com Director of Social Activities Valerie Seidel valerieseidel@hotmail.com Newsletter Editor Adrianna Weaver weavah221@yahoo.com

8 Annual Membership Drive By: Anita Absalom, Director of Membership Page 8 Would you please consider joining us? For a mere $1.25 a month ($15.00 annually) your household can become a member of the Strawberry Farms Civic Association. Your participation is vital to our association as we strive to maintain and improve our neighborhood and make it a safer place to live. Please complete the membership form below TODAY and mail to: SFCA PO Box 1251, Westerville, OH Thank you for your participation and for being a valued neighbor of our community! As a reminder, to only receive an ed copy of the Newsletter, please send me a message at amabsalom@yahoo.com. STRAWBERRY FARMS CIVIC ASSOCIATION MEMBERSHIP FORM 2013 Membership Year! (January 1 st December 31 st ) Please check one: Renewal New Member Newsletter only Name: Spouse/Other: Street Address: Phone: Annual fee is only $15! That is a mere $1.25 per month to be part of maintaining and improving our neighborhood! address is mandatory for Newsletter distribution, Block Watch, and SFCA communication even if you are not a member! Please make your check payable to SFCA & mail to: SFCA PO Box 1251, Westerville, OH Block Watch Interested in Volunteering? Adopt a speed treatment to maintain Landscaping - weeding, mulching, mowing, etc. Board Member Social Activities Donate Landscaping Materials Special Events Other donations of choice