About Us

Updated 22 February 2013

Sumner Association of Neighbors (SAN) was formed in the 1990s. Before that, this area was an overlap neighborhood shared by Parkrose and Cully neighborhoods.

At that time, when sewer installation crews were not responding to local concerns, neighbors formed SAN for a stronger voice with city government.

The name ‘Sumner’ comes from the former name of Helensview School at NE 87th and NE Sumner. It used to be Sumner elementary school in the Parkrose School District.

The abbreviation ‘SAN’ was selected because the old-timers in the neighborhood referred to the field next to I-205 (along NE 92nd Ave north of NE Sandy Blvd) as the “sandlot” — their pronunciation dropping the ‘d’. (Before the I-205 freeway was completed in 1976, the SAN lot was the Sandy Blvd Drive-In movie theater.)

In 2009, we made a draft neighborhood plan (32K Word file), and then conducted a neighborhood survey (44K PDF file) to improve the draft into a final plan. A fuller, longer range neighborhood plan (950K PDF) was reviewed and feedback received in autumn 2012 and adopted at our February 19, 2013, meeting.

Due for an update, someday soon, are the SAN bylaws (287K PDF file).

In 2010, SAN was awarded a 2010 Spirit of Portland Award in the Neighborhood Association category. Our longtime chair, Eugene Muir, accepted the award for SAN.

For more information about SAN, see our in-progress archive of past newsletters.

We had partial board elections on May 17, 2011 and June 21, 2011. SAN has the following board members:

  • Chair & site webmaster: Scott Somohano
  • Vice chair: Eugene Muir
  • Treasurer: Ronda Johnson
  • Secretary: Erica Martin
  • Parks/Open Space: vacant
  • Land-use/Transportation: Jacob Warren
  • At large (newsletter): Joan Gray
  • At large: Janet Shannon
  • Alternates: John Bartlett and Karen Butterworth
  • Newsletter design and layout: Patricia Irvin
  • Sumner board emeritus: Vern Ballard

To contact us, call Ronda at 503-823-3156 or email us at sumner.neighborhood@gmail.com

Sumner Association of Neighbors board, 2012

Caption: SAN board, 2012. Front row: Joan, Eugene, Scott. Back row: Jacob, Ronda, Karen, Janet. Not shown: Erica, Patricia, John, Vern.

3 Comments

  1. Ronda
    September 3, 2009 at 11:33 am

    I like how the web site is easily navigated. I also like the enthusiasm in the reports. They are not all wordy and over blow, they are to the point with a little kick.

    Way to go Scott!!

  2. admin
    September 3, 2009 at 5:13 pm

    Thanks Ronda…that’s very kind of you. Let’s hope others think so too. :-)

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