Anyone who is interested in supporting the WCNA may become a member. 2012 membership is just $15 per person or $50 per business (your business card-sized logo will be printed in each newsletter of the calendar year after dues are paid). Click on the link above for the membership form, fill it out on your computer, print it, and mail it and your check to the WCNA. Contributions to the WCNA are tax-deductible in accordance with IRS Code regulations. The WCNA is a tax-exempt, non-profit, educational and charitable organization under state and federal laws.
Why become a member?
If you become a member, you will receive weekly e-newsletters and quarterly newsletters. These newsletters will inform you of all the activities and achievements that the WCNA is working on. Some of our achievements include:
- Home and Garden Tour. For 29 years, West Central has hosted its annual Home and Garden Tour to showcase the neighborhood’s architecturally unique array of homes built by some of Fort Wayne’s early and most prestigious architecture firms. The Home and Garden Tour is held on the weekend following Labor Day weekend and provides a pleasant and relaxing end to the summer season.
- Arts Fest. Accompanying the Home and Garden Tour is our recently expanded Arts Fest – a two-day fest held on the same weekend as the Home and Garden Tour providing a sampling of local bands and musicians. Crafters display their homemade wares in booths along a shady, tree-lined street, and food is served by local restauranteurs. The expanded Arts Fest was awarded the Downtown Improvement District “Best Event” award in 2009.
- Restoration of 1134 Nelson Street. The home is a small, worker-style cottage located in the West Central Local Historic District. Over the years, the home fell into disrepair and was barely visible from the street, hidden by a decade of vegetative growth. Demolition was a heart beat away when the home was purchased by the Association. Neighborhood residents cleared overgrowth and readied the home for restoration. Upon completing the restoration, a qualified buyer was found; the long journey to save an historic home and find a new homeowner was completed through the dedication and efforts of West Central residents.
- Neighborhood Cleanups. The neighborhood hosts several cleanup opportunities each year, including Great American Clean Up, Tire Days, Canterbury School Clean Up days, and Dumpster Days.
- Thieme Drive Beautification. West Central has been working with the City to beautify Thieme Drive - named after Theodore F. Thieme, one of Fort Wayne’s early entrepreneurs and owner of Wayne Knitting Mills, renowned world-wide for production of hosiery for the first half of the 20th century. Frequent flooding and river bank erosion along Thieme Drive has led to a City beautification plan that will formalize the River Greenway along Thieme Drive, resolve frequent flooding events, and stabilize a one-block portion of the Drive.
The West Central Neighborhood Association enhances the environment of the neighborhood by improving the quality of life for its residents, business owners, and visitors. We are committed to the preservation of diverse neighborhood assets as well as economic and partnership development.
In recognition of these goals and continued efforts to improve the neighborhood, West Central was named by “This Old House” magazine as the Best Old House Neighborhood in Indiana in 2009.
