Heather Bettner; running for village council
We have asked the Village Council nominees to send us a little something about themselves and their vision and their reason for wanting to be elected to the Village Council. Here is the next in the series, Heather Bettner:I am the daughter of Grove pioneers who came to Coconut Grove in 1931 to help launch Pan American Airlines. I was raised by my maternal grandmother Elizabeth Bettner who instilled in me at an early age to be active in my community. My grandmother Elizabeth Bettner was an active advocate for Coconut Grove community and awarded the first Coconut Grove Chamber of Commerce Golden Coconut in 1974. Elizabeth Virrick and Athalie Range were frequent visitors to our home on Florida Avenue.
My paternal grandmother Lorraine Prince was Coconut Grove Chamber President for two terms and one of the Groves first woman realtors, long before it was socially acceptable for women to work. The original brick sidewalks and gas lights we see on a daily basis were spearheaded by her efforts. I attended both Coral Gables High School and the University of Miami. I have had a very successful career and have worked in executive positions for Knight-Ridder, Cox Radio and CBS.
I am the CEO/President of Prince Media Development advertising and event marketing firm which consults on developing strategies and initiatives to increase revenue for my clients. I sit on the Coconut Grove Chamber Board of Directors and am also a member of the Coconut Grove Woman’s Club. My decision to run for the Village Council was set after I attended many community and merchant meetings and felt there was a resounding need for someone to speak for the community of Coconut Grove.
I do not support bringing a restaurant facility with a beer and wine license to the Glass House in Peacock Park. I support renovating the building and park for the community’s use. We need to protect our parks and community services as well as promote the existing businesses in Coconut Grove.
I support bringing back our Coconut Grove Playhouse as a regional theatre. We need to find funding and private/public partnerships and support for this historic cultural facility, whose audiences add to ambiance of Coconut Grove and definitely increase merchant and restaurant revenues. Our parking situation is horrendous -- we need to come up with solutions such as annual resident parking permits, resident parking lots and expand the parking meter maximum from three hours to five hours. We need a revitalization plan to bring in new retailers and businesses.
We need to allow our restaurants to be more competitive with other Florida tourist-based entertainment areas. We need to enhance the Grove by beautifying our village. Power lines along our US 1 is not a good decision for Coconut Grove. Lots sitting empty on Grand Avenue and empty storefronts does not entice visitors and does nothing to enrich the residents of West Grove. We must bring industries to Coconut Grove that will appreciate our history and play a positive role in our community’s future.
I have a tenacious spirit and feel with my experience and advocacy I can work for the people of Coconut Grove and be their voice. We need to address these issues and assess what needs to be done, I am part of the solution and I will help turn these problems around and support our beautiful village that we all love.
The previous bio sent in was by Stephen Murray, Renita Samuels-Dixon and Will Furry.
My paternal grandmother Lorraine Prince was Coconut Grove Chamber President for two terms and one of the Groves first woman realtors, long before it was socially acceptable for women to work. The original brick sidewalks and gas lights we see on a daily basis were spearheaded by her efforts. I attended both Coral Gables High School and the University of Miami. I have had a very successful career and have worked in executive positions for Knight-Ridder, Cox Radio and CBS.
I am the CEO/President of Prince Media Development advertising and event marketing firm which consults on developing strategies and initiatives to increase revenue for my clients. I sit on the Coconut Grove Chamber Board of Directors and am also a member of the Coconut Grove Woman’s Club. My decision to run for the Village Council was set after I attended many community and merchant meetings and felt there was a resounding need for someone to speak for the community of Coconut Grove.
I do not support bringing a restaurant facility with a beer and wine license to the Glass House in Peacock Park. I support renovating the building and park for the community’s use. We need to protect our parks and community services as well as promote the existing businesses in Coconut Grove.
I support bringing back our Coconut Grove Playhouse as a regional theatre. We need to find funding and private/public partnerships and support for this historic cultural facility, whose audiences add to ambiance of Coconut Grove and definitely increase merchant and restaurant revenues. Our parking situation is horrendous -- we need to come up with solutions such as annual resident parking permits, resident parking lots and expand the parking meter maximum from three hours to five hours. We need a revitalization plan to bring in new retailers and businesses.
We need to allow our restaurants to be more competitive with other Florida tourist-based entertainment areas. We need to enhance the Grove by beautifying our village. Power lines along our US 1 is not a good decision for Coconut Grove. Lots sitting empty on Grand Avenue and empty storefronts does not entice visitors and does nothing to enrich the residents of West Grove. We must bring industries to Coconut Grove that will appreciate our history and play a positive role in our community’s future.
I have a tenacious spirit and feel with my experience and advocacy I can work for the people of Coconut Grove and be their voice. We need to address these issues and assess what needs to be done, I am part of the solution and I will help turn these problems around and support our beautiful village that we all love.
The previous bio sent in was by Stephen Murray, Renita Samuels-Dixon and Will Furry.
posted by Tom Falco at 1:00 PM
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5 Comments:
I like her necklace... she's got my vote!
These are all very laudable objectives, positive general intentions. The tough part is to achieve the desired results with the City of Miami. For instance, take Parking: I read the City makes over 7 Million/year, Grove parking revenues. How do you propose to effectively enact the changes you hereby suggest?
Or, precisely how can we "allow our restaurants to be more competitive"? How can we persuade the City to better "protect our parks and community services". The Village Council and other Grovite organizations have valiantly attempted to realize such commendable, general "visions" for a looong time. Unfortunately, most times the City of Miami ends up doing whatever they please. "A resounding need for someone to speak" for the Grove is right. Easier said than done.
I like what you have to say. A voice of reason on several topics. I do agree these changes won't be easy, but many can be accomplished. I look forward to hearing and seeing more of your "tenacious spirit" and how you will go about being the voice of the Grove.
I like your comments. I hope you will market yourself aggressively in this campaign!
You sound like you truly have the Grove's best interests at heart. You seem like a great addition to the council.
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