Welcome to the Hillside Heartbeat family! Here you will learn about the HAT neighborhood association, and how together we are strengthening community connections and identifying opportunities to make our community continue to thrive.
History
The story of a Hillside neighborhood association began in 1987 and has evolved, adapted, and modified its structure, practices, and community engagement over time. Today's Hillside Advisory Team (HAT) neighborhood association, was initiated in 2017, and began meeting regularly in 2019. We are a 501c3 Colorado Non-profit Organization.
NOW: In 2017 two teenage girls, while doing a project, were discouraged to see the run down state of the Leon Young Pavilion Park in the Hillside neighborhood. The Colorado Trust saw their project and got involved. Soon neighbors were meeting regularly to discuss the pavilion and the improvements they wanted to see there. The group grew and began meeting regularly in early 2019, inviting neighbors to participate in the improvement of our neighborhood in general. The Hillside Advisory Team formed to lead this larger neighborhood group. In 2023 the team became organized and a board was elected with the mission of pursuing the issues that matter to our community. We are a non-profit organization with a mission to build connections and direct resources to preserve the legacy and positively impact the lives of everyone in our community.
THEN: The first Hillside Neighborhood Association (HNA) was founded in 1987. Neighbors united to take grass-roots action to address crime, decay, illegal drug activity, as well as safety and infrastructure concerns. In a collective effort, they lobbied city leaders and police for better services, and instituted programs like the Building a Stronger Community and No Tolerance Campaigns to demonstrate solidarity in our neighborhood. They launched youth development and senior programs and were a driving force behind the planning and implementation of the Hillside Community Center. In 1997, the HNA was one of the first neighborhoods to receive the National Civic League's "All-America City Award." It is the oldest and most prestigious community award for civic accomplishment, which recognizes communities that found innovative and inclusive solutions for their problems, combining grassroots citizen effort with far-sighted community leadership.
Hillside Advisory Team Board of Directors
Rochelle Taylor is the HAT Board of Directors President, having previously served as the Board Secretary. Rochelle grew up in Hillside and attended both Helen Hunt Elementary and South Junior High Schools. She is a passionate community volunteer who has served in various capacities for the greater part of her adult life as a communications creator, newsletter writer/editor, teacher, mentor, and board member of non-profit organizations in Colorado Springs and in the Denver Metro area. She is a seasoned professional with a background in administrative leadership and education, skilled in management, project implementation, and operational efficiency. Her volunteer service continues through commitment to her faith community, as the Board Secretary of Caleb Approach, the Just A Touch Ministries marketing and communications specialist, and the Pursuing Academic and Cultural Excellence (PACE) former lead mentor. In her spare time, Rochelle tackles crossword and sudoku puzzles, and enjoys walking through the Hillside neighborhood, dancing, traveling, and spending time with family, friends, and her adorable French bulldogs.
Rene' Foster is the HAT Board of Directors Vice President.
Stu Scruggs is the HAT Board of Directors Secretary.
June Waller is the HAT Board of Directors Assistant Secretary. She hails from New York, but has been a fixture in Colorado Springs for more than 50 years as an advocate for social justice issues and inspiring others to get involved in their community. Prior to her retirement, Ms. Waller made a career in strategic planning, training personnel, and counseling residents on quality of life improvements. She worked as the Executive Director of Colorado Springs Housing Authority, managed public and private housing developments, researched affordable housing solutions, made presentations to community groups, and sat on various commissions. She has served on countless boards and committees, including the Foundation for School District 11, NAACP Executive Committee, the Citizen Transportation Advisory Board, the Citizens Advisory Committee for Colorado Springs Police Department, and the Black Latino Leadership Coalition of Colorado Springs. Today, in addition to serving as a board member of the Hillside Advisory Team BOD, she is a board member at large of Caleb Approach. Ms. Waller is the founder of Let's Do It Again, a small retail shop of gently used educational toys for children. She says she started this endeavor to make sure children today are aware of other forms of learning and entertainment outside of their electronic devices. All of the proceeds from Let's Do It Again are donated to local non-profit organizations.
Deborah Maddox is the HAT Board of Directors Treasurer and a long time resident of the Hillside Neighborhood. From a military family, Deborah's family moved to the Hillside neighborhood in 1963, and she attended Helen Hunt Elementary, South Junior High, and Wasson High School. After high school Deborah attended Fayetteville State University in North Carolina, before returning to Colorado Springs to care for her parents and attend UCCS. Deborah retired from a 35-year career with the US Postal Service in 2020. She and her husband, now spend their leisure time fishing, traveling, doing volunteer work in the community, and caring for Deb's aging mother.
Pastor Paul Nelson is the pastor of The Living Word Baptist Church in the Hillside Neighborhood.
Josh Rafail has lived in the Hillside Neighborhood since 2017, in the same house where his daughter was born. He was drawn to Hillside because of the great people who he calls neighbors. Josh would like to see those same people continue to live and thrive in our neighborhood. Josh supports Hillside remaining a unique, diverse, and spirited neighborhood for generations to come. Josh enjoys serving the community through work with the Pikes Peak Makerspace, Concrete Couch, and of course the Hillside Advisory Team. In his spare time, he enjoys being with his daughter, breakdancing, writing, video games, listening to music, and working on projects at the makerspace.
Elder Gwendolyn Henderson attended Helen Hunt, South Junior High and Palmer High School. She has earned a Bachelor of Arts in Pastoral Ministry, a Bachelor of Science in Business Management, and a Masters in Acquisition Management. She retired from the Pikes Peak Library District after a 41 year career and is an ordained Elder in the Church of the Nazarene, having served as Co-Pastor alongside her mother, Elder June G. Jones before being appointed Senior Pastor after her mother's passing in 2015. She has served in multiple community service capacities with the SC Ministerial Union, SC Community Development Corporation, Merge Pastors, the Pikes Peak Southern Christian Leadership Conference 1, and attends quarterly meetings to collaborate with the Chief of Police, Civil Rights, and other community Leaders. The Genesis Church of the Nazarene recently relocated to the Hillside neighborhood and Elder Henderson is happy to be once again in the community where she grew up. She looks forward to serving in the neighborhood as a member of the HAT Board of Directors. Elder Henderson is the mother of two boys, grandmother of six and great-grandmother of five.