Thank You,
Montrose Shopping Park Board!

Did you ever wonder who plans and executes most of the fun stuff that goes on in the Montrose Shopping Park? It’s a labor of love from a group of dedicated merchants, volunteers and staff who meet regularly to make our town the special place it is.

On the first Thursday of every month, the board has a meeting that starts at 8 a.m. and lasts about an hour and a half. Kim Holland, executive director of the Glendale Community College PDC, graciously provides a meeting room for this time. The photo above was taken at the July meeting. The MSPA board and staff are seated in the ‘L’ shaped area. There’s a podium for those addressing the board and some very comfy seats for those attending.

This month folks were welcomed with hot coffee from Starbucks and fresh pastries from Baked on Ocean View. The board also started something new. It is now scheduling two or three of our merchants to stand at the podium and share a little about their business. This gives an opportunity to hear what’s going on with them, and gives them a chance to see what their board does. This time we heard from Twigs N Things owner Cindy Redden and her daughter Cheryl. Did you know they have been in Montrose for over 17 years selling custom made wreaths, candles and arrangements? We also enjoyed listening to Lynn Thatcher of the Montrose Barbershop. Lynn is owner Jack’s granddaughter and there is a strong family resemblance, except Lynn’s a lot prettier than Jack.  Did you know the Montrose Barbershop has been here since the 1940s? They are experts in men’s barbering and there is nothing like sitting in one of their historic chairs and enjoying a slice of old time Montrose. All this is being done to encourage more of our merchants to get involved with the MSPA.

Let me tell you, a lot gets packed into 90 minutes. This month alone the board discussed a number of issues, the most exciting being the 4th Annual Montrose Film Festival taking place Aug. 23-24. Pictured here, Tony Smith is sharing the exciting plans for this year.

The board also talked a lot of trash at this meeting specifically dealing with plans to keep our town clean. We are so thankful for our City of Glendale liaison Jackie Bartlow who faithfully attends the meetings and works on the MSPA’s behalf with the city to get things done. Executive director Dale Dawson shared the newsletter that is now being put together and distributed to merchants. Event Coordinator Linda McMenamin gave a car show recap with suggestions on how to improve it for next year. MSP ambassador and film liaison Steve Pierce shared merchant and filming concerns and plans. The board approved reserving space for the 2014 CV Weekly Discover magazine, and much more. You can read about it all in the meeting minutes on our website.

The board, by the way, is comprised of some very dedicated merchants. Ken Grayson of Grayson’s Tune Town serves as president. This is a time-consuming and often thankless job, so let me say right here how much we appreciate you, Ken. Andre Ordubegian of Copy Network has jumped in with both feet, spending many hours serving as VP and heading our marketing and personnel committees. Corey Grijalva is a busy man running the very successful Joselito’s Mexican Restaurant while heading up our Harvest Market committee and serving as board treasurer. Danny Pranata of Honolulu Wood & Things faithfully serves as board secretary and contributes his expertise as a lawyer, while GiGi Garcia of It Takes a Village…Kids boutique serves on both the marketing and personnel committees.

If you would like to see more pics of our July meeting, check us out on Facebook which is linked to our website www.shopmontrose.com. Thanks also to Tikran Siranians of 515 Creative for designing our new website. We love it!

  Mary Dawson