Residents Association Elects Board Members

Members of the Del Rey Residents Association reelected four directors and added a new board member at the group's quarterly general meeting Thursday.

Wendy Averill, Sharon Blunk, Don Dombrowski and Chris Nevil each will serve an additional two-year term. Real estate professional Cory Watkins-Suzuki is a new addition to the association's board of directors and now holds the seat formerly occupied by Karen Guthrie.

"As somebody who's born and raised in Del Rey, it's just a good feeling to give back to the community," Watkins-Suzuki said. "I would like to see the community develop and foster other successful children and other people that come from Del Rey and really make Del Rey an even better part of Los Angeles."

The association's 11-member governing structure includes a president, two vice presidents, two secretaries and a treasurer. The directors and officers meet monthly and vote on policies and projects.

"Our goal is civic improvement. Our emphasis is on preparing Del Rey for an emergency, but we wind up doing pretty much anything that involves the quality of life issues in Del Rey," said association President Elizabeth Pollock. "So if there are traffic issues, land use planning issues, environmental issues, building and safety, anything like that, people will come to us."

Although the association's general meetings are open to the public, only those who pay the group's $10 annual membership fee are eligible to vote in director and officer elections, Blunk said. Twenty-three of the 400 association members voted in Thursday's election.