Who: Julie Hukee
Neighborhood Association: Bennington.
Neighborhood Location: East Vancouver; on Mill Plain Boulevard between 164th Street and 192nd Street. Bordered by: Southeast First Street to the north; Southeast 192nd Avenue to the east; Southeast 15th Street to the south; Southeast 164th Street to the west.
Position: Chairwoman.
Tenure: 12 years.
Lived in Neighborhood: 13 years.
Outside Job: Retired.
What she likes best about the neighborhood:
Hukee loves the quality of life in her East Vancouver neighborhood. “We have a great environment here on the east side,” she said. There is easy access to boating, hiking, Portland International Airport, restaurants and shopping. “It’s more settled now that the large shopping complex is complete. I can walk or ride my bike to places, which is very nice.”
The biggest challenge facing the neighborhood:
Hukee said she needs to constantly reach out to neighbors and businesses in the community. The fast-growing neighborhood caused a disconnect between residents, she said. “We need to come out of our shells and reach out to other neighbors,” Hukee said. She thinks many residents commute to Portland and have limited time to help with dealings in the neighborhood association.
Listen up: “People should consider volunteering.” Hukee said it doesn’t matter if it is for a neighborhood association, charity or other group. “We are the government, we need to make use of the resources we have on a local level.”
— Paul Suarez
