Editor’s Note: We asked local community leaders and our contributors to share their hopes and goals for 2010 with our readers. They offer a broad spectrum of advice and objectives which you’ll find here. How are you kicking off the new year? Let us know at neighborsgo.com.

ANN MARGOLIN
Dallas City Council member, District 13

I believe that 2010 will be the beginning of an upturn in the Dallas economy. Unemployment dropped to 8 percent in October from 8.3 percent in November compared with 10 percent nationally. This is a great sign.
2010 will bring the sprucing up of several parks in District 13 with 2006 bond proceeds. Royal Park will receive a new pavilion and parking lot. Webb Chapel Park will complete its renovation with a new pavilion. The wonderful moms of the Preston Hollow Early Childhood PTA are raising funds to buy beautiful benches for Preston Hollow Park.
I am working diligently with police, code and the city attorney to reduce crime and other violations in the Dennis Road/Royal Lane area. I am also working on an exchange of land with University Park that will result in a landscaped entry to the Caruth neighborhood at Central and Lovers Lane. I hope to make progress in accessing grants to move forward on the proposed Northaven Trail.
The quality of life in District 13 owes so much to the active participation of our neighborhood associations and crime watch groups. Established groups such as Northaven Park Neighborhood Association, Northwest Dallas Improvement League, Sparkman Club and Preston Hollow North Neighborhood Association (among many others) cut crime and create a feeling of community. Schreiber Crime Watch is making a strong comeback and Preston Hollow South is getting organized. I love these groups and plan to continue attend as many meetings as I can in 2010.
Exciting city projects including the Woodall Rogers Deck Park, the Margaret Hunt Hill Bridge (both to be completed in 2011) and the Perot Museum of Nature and Science (completion in 2013) are moving forward.
But with all of these good things there is cause for concern regarding the city’s financial position in 2010. The decline in commercial property values will reduce our tax base and we are seeing a decline in sales taxes. The city must continue to tighten its belt and look for innovative ways to provide services at a lower cost. We will have to make very difficult choices when we develop the 2010-11 budget. I continue to work to find ways to cut expenses at city hall and bring new businesses to Dallas.
On a personal level, I expect to see my son, Richard, graduate from UT Arlington with a degree in mechanical engineering and my daughter, Jane, complete her junior year at the University of Pennsylvania this year. I love spending time with my children, my husband, Fred, and my extended family and plan to do even more together in 2010.

EDWIN FLORES
Dallas Independent School District trustee, District 1

What challenges/opportunities do you anticipate for the Dallas ISD in 2010?
District wide, the budget will continue to challenge the administration and Board in 2010 as there will be no additional finding from the state. In other words, we’ll have to do more (continue to improve student achievement and employee satisfaction) with the same level of funding. The opportunities for the 2010 year in District 1 will see the ground breaking for the new elementary school in Addison and we are working closely with the City of Addison to build a state-of-the-art, sustainable building that will be the envy of our peers.

What are the most important things Dallas ISD will need to accomplish in the new year?
Dallas ISD needs to continue to provide the focused services and efforts that have led to the improvements in student achievement and completion/graduation rate (completion rate is used for middle schools, graduation rate for high school). The 2008-09 data indicate that the vast majority of our schools in need of improvement failed to meet the standards because of graduation rate, not academics. In other words, these schools met they required improvement in academic achievement but did not meet the completion/graduation rate. In the rare elementary school that does not meet the standards, the data is very strong and these are expected to meet the standards this year. In District 1, we are proud of the achievement at all our middle and high schools all of which meet or exceed the state standards.

What are the biggest changes you anticipate for the district in the coming year?
The addition of two new trustees from the 2009 elections and the potential for change in the 2010 elections could change the emphasis of the Board.

What are your hopes for the school district in 2010?
To continue improved academic achievement in every grade level for every group and to meet all the goals we have set for the 2009-10 budget and financial transformation.

MICHAEL HINOJOSA
Superintendent, Dallas ISD

The major challenges in 2010 will be to continue on the path to become the best urban district in America. Specifically, the budget for the new fiscal year will be a challenge since there are no new revenues anticipated.
Dallas ISD will have enough money for basic operations but any new initiatives or salary increases must come from existing revenues. A challenge on the accountability side is that the standards for school ratings continue to increase and many more special education students will be counted in the accountability system.
Developing the new strategic plan called 2020 Dallas will be the most important thing that needs to be accomplished for the school district. Having a plan for our students for the next decade will be paramount. There will not be any significant changes for 2010. What needs to be done is a coherent implementation of the current strategic plan called Dallas Achieves. 2009 was much better for Dallas ISD than 2008 and I anticipate that 2010 will be much better than 2009.

TERRY ZIMMERMAN
Pastor, Midway Hills Christian Church

What challenges/opportunities do you foresee for congregations of all faiths in 2010?
One of the great challenges for faith communities in 2010 is to foster the idea of community. Many of issues facing Dallas, the United States and the world could be made better by adopting more a sense of community among people.
Realizing that what affects me also impacts others is a gift these days. Everything from the kind of car I drive to the taxes I pay makes a difference in this world we share, a world that grows smaller with each passing day. What is the size of my carbon footprint? Am I willing to pay a bit more in taxes to help those with less?
How about support for that great social field-leveler, public education; am I willing to go to bat for educators and fund schools so all kids can get a decent education? Keeping folks out of prisons is cheaper than keeping them in. Noting similarities I have with my neighbor is more helpful than sighting our differences. The former builds community, the later hinders it. To answer the well known question from scripture, “Heck yes I’m my brothers’ and sisters’ keeper.” That is especially the case in these times when those who have never had the experience before are finding themselves in need. In many cases, they are literally our brothers and sisters.

How do you think people of faith are most likely to make a difference this year?
I was once warned about church becoming too political to which I responded, “If a church isn’t political, it isn’t a church. Being partisan is another story.”
A congregation must be interested in the governance of the community. At their best, faith groups are charged with being keepers of the moral and ethical standards of the communities in which they exist.
Would you agree we could use a higher moral and ethical standard in government? Poverty, war, injustice, hunger, homelessness — how are these to be addressed without politics being involved? How might they be confronted morally and ethically without groups such as mosques, synagogues and churches asking questions, raising issues?

What are your hopes for the faith community in 2010?
People of faith are one community; a community struggling to discover by whatever name is used to evoke the Almighty, believers are called to do to preserve the beauty and dignity of creation for the generations ahead. Of course that includes human beings.
My hope is that we all are more willing to take risks to accomplish this. I hope we risk more dialogue with one another. I hope we risk more acceptance of one another — an acceptance that moves beyond tolerance to a valuing of the histories and cultures those unlike ourselves. I hope we can embrace our brothers and sisters no matter their faith, gender, age, physical or mental abilities, economic status, educational level, race or sexual orientation. That would pretty much make of us a community, wouldn’t it? I guess I have gone full circle then and I hope this has made some sense to you.

MALIK AL’AZIZ
Deputy Chief of Police, Northwest Division, Dallas Police Department

What are your main crime/public safety concerns for the community — even individual residents — going into the new year?
Keeping citizens safe against violent crime and property crime; for citizens to take a more active role in crime prevention by knowing which crimes are prevalent in their neighborhoods and participating in crime watch groups in their neighborhoods and business communities.

What sort of growth (decline) do you anticipate in crime in this year?
We anticipate meeting city and division goals and objectives to decrease crime. We do expect challenges in reducing crime.

What are the most important things residents can do to help ensure the safety of their homes and families in the coming year?
They can help by participating with their residential/business crime watch; partnering with their crime watch and police in crime prevention programs; marking their property with engravers/UV pens, HEAT anti-auto-theft programs, and securing their residences with alarms, double cylinder locks, and other security enhancements; and by not leaving any property of value in the interior of their vehicles and installing anti-theft devices (alarms, kill switches, HEAT program, VIN etching, etc).

How can neighbors band together to ensure safety and quality of life in their area?
By maintaining or regaining and progressing their neighborhoods by working with the police and code enforcement in the following areas: by not tolerating crime, prostitution, drug dealing, houses in need of repair, graffiti, and neighborhood nuisance issues. Neighbors need to take an active role in crime watches by attending meetings, communicating by e-mails, Web sites, DPD Twitter and DPD Facebook, and telephone. Neighborhoods should also take a vested interest in what occurs in the whole criminal justice system (jail, courts, re-entry and rehabilitation). Take a vested interest in the education of the juveniles in the neighborhood and by making sure that children have quality after school programs and programs that teach reading by the 4th grade. Many studies have shown that this is critical to preventing juvenile crime and may be the difference in a juvenile escaping the ills of the criminal justice system as an adult.

KATHY SHOCKLEY
Frequent neighborsgo contributor and parent, Withers Elementary School

How do you think life will be better (or worse) in the North Dallas community in 2010?
I think the families of North Dallas are learning to embrace simpler lives. I hear more friends talking about cutting back on the “busy-ness”and focusing on family time. Spending time at home with friends and family always makes life better.

What are your New Year’s resolutions relating to family, church, community, business?
My goal for my family is to spend more time in the here and now. Involving my kids in making dinner, playing conversation games at the table, and a weekly family board game night are all things I hope to do more often.
For my community, I hope to see more people outside ”moving” with their families. Family bike rides, walks, working in the yard, or cleaning the Northaven creek.
This adds to the already tight-knit community we have.

What specifically are your hopes for your family and community in the coming year?
I hope we can create more opportunities for entire families to play, learn and serve others together.

PAIGE MCDANIEL
President and CEO, Community Partners of Dallas

What challenges/opportunities will organizations such as yours face in 2010?
While many corporations have been forced to make cuts in funding to charitable organizations, some are working to make up their giving through encouraging their employees to volunteer — even letting their employees volunteer on company time. The challenge for us is that while we have a wonderful amount of willing volunteers, since in-kind donations are down, we don’t have as much need for volunteers. We are working now to address this conundrum by looking for new ways to use volunteers that will require little or no financial commitment.
 
What are the biggest needs for nonprofits going into the new year?
Money. Foundation giving is expected to be down in 2010 and many charitable organizations will suffer an even greater downturn in funding than in 2009.
 
How do you think your organization and others are most likely to make a difference in the new year?
Community Partners of Dallas will continue to serve more than 16,000 abused and neglected children in 2010. We make a difference every day for these children who have been battered and bruised, but only want to find happiness in a new, safe home.
One new initiative we are rolling out is Think Thanks — a leadership conference that is being put on by our teen board (called THANKS – Teens Helping Abused & Neglected Kids). The conference is for seventh- and eighth-graders and will be a super way to learn about leadership and what to expect in high school, taught by the leaders of high schools across Dallas — Highland Park, Dallas ISD, ESD, Parish Episcopal, Greenhill and more. It will be a great way to involve middle school students in community service and it will be fun.
 
DEBORAH BROWN
Executive Director, Friends of the Dallas Public Library
Member, Dallas Symphony Orchestra League

What excites you most about arts and cultural programs in Dallas for 2010?
With the Winspear and the Wyly theatres, the new facilities will provide space for so many more cultural events. The Wyly will be the home to the not only the Dallas Theater Center, but also Dallas Black Dance Theatre and Anita N. Martinez Ballet Folklorico and many other performing arts organizations that serve Dallas and the region. The Winspear will host the many top name acts as well as the new Lexus Broadway Series. Dallas has such a variety of wonderful arts and cultural programs to choose from that it is absolutely overwhelming when you see a calendar with the listings! 

What challenges/opportunities do you anticipate for the local arts community in the new year?
There has always been great competition in the arts community because everyone is going after the same donor base. The Winspear had donors that were relatively unknown in the Dallas philanthropy community and so it is promising that there are many untapped donors for the future. Certainly the challenge is to identify them and match them with their interests.

What are your hopes for the arts community the coming year?
I hope that the year will see a new wave of donors for our community. Even the major organizations have to continuously work to raise money since ticket prices cover only a fraction of the cost of the operation. New donors to the philanthropic community are critical to continuing Dallas history of supporting its arts community. Last year the Dallas Theater Center celebrated its 50th anniversary, the Undermain Theater celebrated its 25th year, and Orchestra of New Spain celebrated its 20th season – so my hope is that Dallas will continue to support the arts so that we will see more milestone anniversaries.

Allison Wisk is the editor of North Dallas and Park Cities neighborsgo and can be reached at 214-977-8172 or via e-mail at awisk@neighborsgo.com. Got a story, photo or video you'd like to share? Post them directly on neighborsgo.com. Got a story idea? Send it to me directly. For more about how neighborsgo.com works with our neighborsgo print editions, please visit neighborsgo.com/help.