Foster Road business group focuses on inner area

New! Improved! Concentrated FABA! Find out why the Foster Area Business Association is consolidating its service area …

Jason Moreno of J Mo’s Sandwich Shack brings in a tray of his famous sandwiches to the end-of-year FABA meeting.

Story and photos by David F. Ashton
At the annual meeting of the Foster Area Business Association (FABA) on December 4, the organization voted to reduce the geographic area of outer East Portland it intends to serve.

Vendors from “Carts on Foster” brought in a wide variety of both hearty foods and snacks enjoyed by the attendees while they chatted at tables in the venue’s Pod Bar.

Outgoing FABA Secretary, Nancy Chapin of TSG Services, spends a moment with FABA President Kristin O’Neill from Knock Out Words.

“We’re focusing on building momentum in 2014,” said FABA President Kristin O’Neill of “Knock Out Words”.

“We want to better work with area organizations, including our three neighborhood associations, and Foster Green and Foster United. These are people who are already doing important work; we want to try to support them,” O’Neill told East Portland News.

A big focus will be member engagement, she added. “We’re introducing a survey tonight. The purpose of this is to see what members really want this business district to look like. This will help us create a vision of what we want to work toward.

“We’ll leverage this information to create branding and ‘place-making’ programs. We also look forward to creating ‘place-making’ events that helps the area look more appealing and attractive to both shoppers and businesses.”

The annual meeting of the Foster Area Business Association comes to order at the Pod Bar at “Carts on Foster”.

Also, the FABA board is helping the Lents neighborhood to establish its own business district, O’Neill added. “We see this as a cooperative effort that will help both of our districts.”

By the time the meeting was over, the FABA members had voted to revise the bylaws to change the organization’s boundaries to SE 49th Avenue to SE 82nd Avenue – plus two blocks on either side of Foster Road.

During this Foster Area Business Association meeting, members decide to consolidate the organization’s service area to focus on the area west of S.E. 82^nd Avenue of Roses.

The 2014 FABA Board of Directors elected are:
President: Kristin O’Neill, Knock Out Words
Vice President: Steve Woolard, Carts on Foster
Secretary: Tarin O’Brien, US Bank
Treasurer: Matthew Mi?eti?, Red Castle Games
At-Large Members: Janet Grayson of Maylie & Grayson Attorneys and Terah Beth Baltzer Varga from Foster Our Block

FABA leadership urged area businesspeople and residents to take their brief online survey: CLICK HERE to open it.

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