Becoming a Member of HVNA

By Channing Hussey, Associate Member HVNA Board of Directors

Mike and I moved to Hayes Valley in December, 2014. We’d spend our weekends exploring the city, keeping an eye out for interesting events, but eventually we found ourselves happiest at home in Hayes Valley, where the fog never lingers and the residents actually speak to each other. One bright Saturday, I noticed that our building received free copies of the HVNA Voice. I stood in my building’s foyer and opened the issue, a flier for the 2015 Ham & Eggs Fire Brunch fell onto the floor, calling me to pay attention.

 
Channing & Mike Hussey at Patricia’s Green; April 2016
 
The Ham & Eggs Fire Brunch was a perfect introduction to our new neighborhood’s character. I’ve read on the website that it’s been described to have “resilience that even an earthquake couldn’t shake,” and it’s definitely true.  First, we went on a walking tour of our neighborhood, and learned more about some of the oldest Victorians still standing in San Francisco. We met fifteen other Hayes Valley residents, many of them artists. After the tour we were swept up with them, and all of us hung out at the Biergarten, eating ham and eggs and drinking beer. We stayed for hours. Bob Barnwell introduced himself and told us more about the HVNA’s role in taking down the freeway – our apartment building would have been directly under the freeway if not for this important work. 
 

Mike and I walked away that day not only full on delicious brunch and impressed by our neighborhood’s legacy – we also left having made five new acquaintances that have since become close friends. We attended our first general meeting just a week or two later. Mike is now the Distribution Coordinator for the Hayes Valley Voice and I am an Associate Member on the Board of Directors. We couldn’t be happier to be a part of this community, and are proud to be able to contribute to its legacy and character. I’m especially excited about the work we are doing to create living alleys all around the ‘hood. The best thing about Hayes Valley is that it is a veritable smorgasbord of really interesting, eclectic, creative, welcoming, smart folks. We’ll be on the lookout for you at the upcoming Ham & Eggs Fire Brunch. So, see you soon!