Community Spotlight

Inaugural ‘Penn Brancher of the Year’ and ‘Distinguished Community Service’ Awards presented to Alberta Paul and Former President Stan Benton

Published on December 14, 2022September 12, 2023

Penn Branch President Stan Benton Receives award for Distinguished Service-

“Everybody can serve
regardless of what your skillset is.”

-Alberta Paul,

Chair, Penn Branch Public Works Committee

During our December Holiday Gathering, PBCA recognized outstanding examples of community service in our neighborhood. Alberta Paul, received the ‘Penn Brancher of the Year’ Award for her efforts in securing an $25,000 grant from PEPCO and Sustainable Maryland to continue renovations in 9/11 Memorial Park and the ‘Distinguished Community Service’ award was given to outgoing President Stan Benton. Stan will complete his successful two year term as president at the end of January 2023.

Outstanding community service should never be regarded as a thankless task, ‘ said incoming PBCA President Paul Grant as he presented the first award during PBCA’s Annual Holiday Gathering. ‘We must show those who give back that we also know how to say, ‘thank you’.”

‘I am very grateful to my community for recognizing the hard lifting that has been done on their behalf throughout the years,’ said Alberta Paul after receiving her Penn Brancher of the Year award. I’ll continue to do that. Everybody can serve, regardless of what your skillset is. And I encourage you. Step up or step out. Okay. Don’t complain. Please don’t complain. Help us to make this the greatest community in the nation. Not just the district -In the nation.”

In the future, PBCA members will be able to nominate their neighbors who have shown extraordinary community service throughout the year and vote for awardees.

We Need Your Support!

Published on October 12, 2021October 12, 2021

Community Activities/Community Meetings/Community Spotlight

Our next community meeting will be focused on increased

community support for PBCA. Join us @ 7PM, Tuesday, Oct 12th

Membership Renewals: $20 Individual / $40.00 Family
- January 1- December 31, 2022
Block Captains: We need additional block captains to help us building membership, distribute our monthly newsletters and critical information.
Committee Members: Additional support is needed for the following PBCA committees:
- Benevolence
- Communications
- Legislative
- Membership
- Hospitality
- Events
- Public Safety

TO LOGIN:

Join Zoom Meeting

https://us02web.zoom.us/j/8756147925?pwd=MHlLaEI2dlVqOTI1OHUzenRWVmQ4QT09

Meeting ID: 875 614 7925

Passcode: 766049

One tap mobile

+13017158592,,8756147925#,,,,*766049# US (Washington DC)

+13126266799,,8756147925#,,,,*766049# US (Chicago)

Dial by your location

+1 301 715 8592 US (Washington DC)

+1 312 626 6799 US (Chicago)

+1 646 558 8656 US (New York)

+1 253 215 8782 US (Tacoma)

+1 346 248 7799 US (Houston)

+1 669 900 9128 US (San Jose)

Meeting ID: 875 614 7925

Passcode: 766049

Find your local number: https://us02web.zoom.us/u/kyrLcIKmP

’95 and Fabulous’

Published on June 8, 2021

Community Spotlight/Penn Branch News

Penn Branch residents came out last week to celebrate the 95^th birthday of Mrs. Jacqueline Tatum who lives on Texas Avenue. PBCA Block captain Lance Holt, who also works for the DC Department of Aging and Community Living, presented her with a special certificate from Mayor Muriel Bowser that acknowledge her long-time service to our community.

Penn Branch Oral History Project Officially Underway

Published on May 7, 2021June 3, 2021

Community Spotlight/Penn Branch News

Last month PBCA Communications Director, Paul Grant was awarded a grant from DC Humanities, Oral History Collaborative Partnership to collect personal narratives from early Penn Branch families. The project, ‘We Are Penn Branch DC’ will focus on the stories of individuals who became residents of Penn Branch between 1945-1968.

PBCA Communications Director, Paul Grant will serve as Project Director for ‘We Are Penn Branch DC’ oral history project. He is has lived in Penn Branch since, 2012 and is also a member of the Oral History Association (OHA).

About DC Humanities

The DC Humanities Oral History Collaborative Partnership funds projects that explore and preserves Washington, DC life, history and culture through interviews with the people who have lived it. Created in 2016 in response to a growing need to capture unrecorded Washington history, the DC Oral History Collaborative documents and preserves the stories and memories of DC residents as communities experience change and as residents age. The Collaborative increases awareness of existing oral history recordings and gives residents the training and financial resources they need to conduct new interviews. HumanitiesDC specializes in working with grantees who want to create new recorded stories or who want to dig into the archives and tell an old story with a new twist.

Why Oral History is Important?

Oral history is a field of study and a method of gathering, preserving and interpreting the voices and memories of people, communities, and participants in past events. Oral history is both the oldest type of historical inquiry, predating the written word, and one of the most modern, initiated with tape recorders in the 1940s and now using 21st-century digital technologies. These personal stories help fill gap between the major historical facts that we know and how real people experienced and understood these moments. As the Washington, DC area and continues to experience significant political, cultural, and economic change over the past 70 years, it is critically important we preserve the memories our most senior, and long-time residents and understand how the city’s evolution has impacted them.

The entire collection of stories will be archived in the permanent collection of the DC Public Library and the PBCA Executive Board is planning to host a public exhibition of the stories, once pandemic restrictions on public gatherings are released. Interviews will be filmed through October 2021 and participants will receive a $75.00 honorarium for their time.

To share your story, please contact:

Paul Grant | E-mail : [email protected] Tel.: (202) 888-3236

To learn more about HumanitiesDC, please visit: