SLUFAN changes name to SLU Community Council

The South Lake Union Community Council is the new name of the official community voice of the SLU neighborhood, which represents SLU interests to the city of Seattle.  Previously called South Lake Union

SLU Community Council Board Top Row:  Jerry Dinndorf, Mike McQuaid, John Savo, Michael Blumson Bottom Row:  Dan Foltz, Dawn Oliver, Lorie Groth, Lloyd Douglas, Jason McKinney Not pictured:  Pearl Leung, Molly Franklin, Mike Kenney, Joshua Franklin, Steven Paget

Friends and Neighbors Community Council, the name was often shortened to its acronym SLUFAN, which caused confusion about its designation as the Community Council.

Led by Steven Paget, SLU Community Council President, the board adopted a new name that better reflects its mission of  representing small and large businesses, residents, non-profits, and the arts.

To understand the name change, it helps to look at the history of the SLU neighborhood group. Robert Grossman, a retired board member, has been active in the community since 1995. He said that SLUFAN originally formed in approximately 2002 to administer a grant for the landscaping of the Mercer Portal Beautification Project.

SLUFAN then became involved in other neighborhood activities, incorporated as a non-profit, and merged with other neighborhood groups to consolidate community voices. At that time, the merged groups kept the name SLUFAN. In 2006, the board passed a name change to SLUFAN Community Council, but the name was often shortened to SLUFAN.

“I think it is a good change,” said Grossman of the new name.  “No one ever knew what SLUFAN stood for. And the ‘friends and neighbors’ made it sound like a social group—and that is not what we were.”  Grossman said that the mission of the SLU Community Council is to be a diverse and a representative voice of the community.

Board member and resident Lorie Groth noted that “SLU is changing and growing and it is a great opportunity to work with talented, interested parties in this neighborhood.”