Neighbors Meet Neighbors at National Night Out

John Pavlin, Vice President of the West End Neighborhood Development (W.E.N.D.), was organizer and chef at Howard Park in the historical West End Tuesday evening for National Night Out. 

Pavlin's generous hospitality allowed community participants to feel relaxed and entertained. He prepared hotdogs and veggie burgers for his guests and led a water balloon fight between the youth, who jumped and shouted with glee as they dodged balloons.

West End resident Mary Dudes said she was visiting two parks for National Night Out, Howard and John A. White. She brought to the festivities, her sister, Pamela Hawes; son, Marques Bailey; grandniece, Leilani Hawes and nephew, Paris Hawes. 

"We enjoyed ourselves tremendously," Dudes said. "We will definitely be back next year."

Richard Davis, homeless and a resident of the park laid out his detailed artwork for the community to share his talents. He made at least one sale during the evening of a piece known as "Culture is Art." He desired more ways to share his gift with the world. 

According to Pavlin, this is the fifth year that the W.E.N.D has hosted the National Night Out.  He said the event is educational and helps promote safety but, also, he said it helps bring the community together.

"I enjoy seeing neighbors that I haven't seen in years," Pavlin said. "This is an excellent way for the community to come together to show that we support each other. "

National Night Out is designed to heighten crime and drug prevention awareness and strengthen neighborhood and police-community partnerships, said Carlos Campos, Public Relations Manager of the Atlanta Police Department.

More that 50 events were planned across Atlanta eliciting community participation. Some provided community resources, mounted police, games for children and cookouts. Others included back-to-school freebies and book bag giveaways.

Civic and govermental organizations participated to show overwhelming support for their Atlanta communities. According to John, Council Woman Cleta Winslow's office and Mayor Kasiem Reed's office participated in the evening's event.   

Upcoming Community Event:

W.E.N.D will be hosting a Community Yard Sale on Saturday, August 13 from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Some of the community participants will donate portion of their proceeds to the Susan G. Komen Cancer Fund.  There is a cost of $5.00 to place a person's home on the map that will be given out to visitors. 

For more information, contact John Pavlin at (404) 456-4118 or email him at:  pavlinjohn@gmail.com  For further information about W.E.N.D. visit their website at: www.atlantawestend.com