To become a part of the Broadmeadow Neighborhood in Fondren, one only needs to move in. To feel truly welcome, expect a knock on the door from Jonathan Lee. The 34 year-old Broadmeadowian has just stepped up and become the official welcome wagon chair. “They’re always asking us to share our ideas but be ready to serve, so here I am”. Lee will introduce the new residents, who choose the top of Fondren as home — and the area as a whole – to the assocation . It’s the kind of thing, seemingly of days gone by, that made Lee and his wife feel welcome themselves. “When we had a child, Chuck Wise (a Broadmeadow board member) called us to make sure we had what we needed”, he told us. Wise even put together a meeting for parents of young children to encourage them to support public schools. That’s the kind of camaraderie Broadmeadow has. “We’re really close with all the families on our street”.

Lee and his wife moved to Broadmeadow five years ago to be closer to their jobs, hers downtown and his off Highway 80 running a second generation family business. He said the draw for them, in addition to location, was the real feeling of diversity. “I don’t just mean that ethnically”, he said. “There is residential, there is commercial and there’s a real sense of ownership in all of that”. Lee said Fondren is a model for other pockets of town to take and recreate. “West Jackson is doing great things, and, of course, Belhaven, but there are places where people haven’t grasped the idea that they can effect change. I’m eager to see us recreate that all over the city”. He says “change begins with me” and he’s obviously taken that to heart. If you move into Broadmeadow, expect a visit. “We’re open and inclusive in Fondren and we want to extend that feeling to the entire neighborhood. We all have our part to play”.