President’s message

For those of you I have not had a chance to meet yet, I’m excited to introduce myself as the new president for 2025. I’ve been with the organization for over five years now, with a focus on serving on the Projects Committee, and over that time have gained a greater appreciation for the work the organization has done since our founding, and the key role we play in the park. It’s been a pleasure to step into this new role, and I deeply appreciate the mentorship of Ross Porter, Roger Showley, Lynn Silva and all the other dedicated board members and officers who have kept me out of trouble since January!

With this being the first newsletter of the year, we have quite a few updates and images to share with you, but I’m particularly excited to share a few items in particular that we are working on.

• Our Strategic plan update is finally complete. To me, the process was a great way for us to re-confirm and re-energize the work we do. I think the final document puts a fresh spin on how we operate our organization and the goals we are committed to over the next five years.

• We started a new channel of public outreach with an exhibition at the University Club that showcased who we are and the work we do in San Diego’s “crown jewel,” Balboa Park.

• We commissioned interpretive signage for three of the buildings in the Palisades to help the public see them in the context of the 1935 California Pacific International Exposition and encourage the public’s support of historic preservation in the park.

• We are forging ahead with our current construction project, the reconstruction of the exterior facade of the Palace of Electricity and Varied Industries building (today’s Municipal Gymnasium) under the leadership of citizen architect and board member Robert Thiele.

• While we continue our current focus on building projects in the Palisades, we also remain engaged with our partners at Parks and Recreation Department and Forever Balboa Park in support of mending the greater park’s fabric, including monitoring and encouraging small repair projects like the Persian Rug fountain urn, between the House of Hospitality and Casa de Balboa, and launching our own project for assessment, repair and painting of El Prado arcade ornamentation.
  

Thank you for your interest, and support for the Balboa Park Committee of 100. I hope you enjoy this newsletter!

Kevin Carpenter

kcarpenter@c100.org