EBNA Beginnings

The Edgewater Beach Neighbors Association began in the fall of 1974 but under a slightly different name (The Edgewater Beach Improvement Association, or EBIA).  It was an initiative of a few young men who were new to the area and had recently purchased property along Winthrop between Foster and Balmoral.  They included Jon Starr and Richard and Ron Benzel.  They contacted several of their neighbors and the Edgewater Community Council and held a meeting at the Epworth Methodist Church to discuss the idea.  The initial response was favorable and soon the project was on its way.  Jon Starr was elected the group’s first president, and in the first several months, the group held several progressively well-attended general meetings, created its first board of directors, adopted a name and logo, and held two successful clean-up days and threw a party.

–prepared by LeRoy Blommaert (February 2014) from personal recollections and the June 1975 ECC newsletter