Community Groups Unite to Form Tammany Together

Community Groups Unite to Form Tammany Together

Thursday, May 10, 2007

By Polly H. Greene
St. Tammany Farmer

Small groups that support a specific neighborhood, civic cause or project often lack clout.

That will change, said Rick Wilke, founding member of Tammany Together, at a press conference Monday announcing formation of the new non-partisan group.

Often small organizations don’t have a strong voice in government, Wilke said. That is why these smaller groups have banded to form Tammany Together.

Wilke, president of the Association of Associations, a coalition of homeowner groups, was joined by a panel of other civic leaders to explain the goal of Tammany Together.

Other groups represented on the Tammany Together board include Citizens for Environmental Quality, Tchefuncte Trace Home Owners Association, Penn’s Chapel Board Association, Goodbee Civic Association, Old Military Road Homeowners Association, Flower Estates Civic Association and League of Women Voters of St. Tammany.

Each represents small groups that speak with a small voice, Wilke said. A larger group with a louder voice is more often heard and carries more weight.

"We want to work together to speak out with a more unified voice," he said.

A significant number of St. Tammany residents give freely of their time to make the parish a better place to live by serving on boards of their homeowners’ associations or by participating in community organizations. Many have participated in parishwide projects, such as New Directions 2025, Wilke said.

They often attend a Zoning Commission or Parish Council meeting to voice their opinions on issues impacting their neighborhood. Many of these issues have regional ramifications, such as the landfill in Slidell, which not only impacts its neighbors, but also the image and character of the parish, the huge shopping center planned for Interstate 12 at Louisiana 21, which impacts residents of rural areas by clogging highways leading to the center.

"Tammany Together is about working together for a better St. Tammany," Wilke said.

It will provide a parishwide forum for the citizens to carry a unified message to municipal, parish, state and federal agencies, he said. The group’s mission statement is to identify issues of importance, educate members on the issues, and exert a positive influence by speaking out with a unified voice.

Parish Council members Henry Billiot and Marty Gould have both joined Tammany Together and agreed to pay membership dues for the majority of the remainder of the council.

So many times the Parish Council chamber is filled with small groups of people who care about one issue, Billiot said. This will give council members a better view parishwide as opposed to a single issue.

"As elected officials we often look at our areas. Many times we take care of the business as it relates to ‘my business.’ This group will represent the larger view of what the parish want."

"United together we can have one voice to help the parish grow," said board member Paulette Barras of Slidell. "This gives everyone a voice. We want smart growth, and we want the citizens to appreciate the growth."

Growing membership

With Wilke as the interim president, other board members include Barras; Bill McHugh, from the old Military Road area; Dr. John Martin, a Goodbee veterinarian; Jeannine Meeds from Big Branch; Sandra Slifer, president of the League of Women Voters; Pug Lorren, interim vice president and past president of Tchefuncte Trace Home Owners Association; Elizabeth Manshel, vice-president of Penn’s Chapel Road Association and interim treasurer; and P.J. Stakelum III, also of Flower Estates.

Tammany Together plans to expand its board from nine to 15 members and has opened its membership to individuals, homeowner and civic associations, non-profit groups or organizations that represent a number of other groups and individual supporters.

Once membership grows, Tammany Together will hold quarterly meetings, where permanent officers will be elected from the 15-member board, McHugh said.

A public meeting on Tammany Together will be held Thursday, May 17, to answer questions about the organization and to provide information on its mission, goals and focus. The meeting will be held at the Parish Administrative Complex at Koop Drive, near Mandeville, beginning at 6:30 p.m. For more information, visit the website at www.TammanyTogether.org.