No, not that president! Peter Lazar, president of the National Cohousing Association, has led the board this year in the ever-growing cohousing movement to create better communities across the country. And, he will greet you graciously when upon arrival at the National Cohousing Conference May 19-21.

Peter isn’t really threatening anything. In true cooperative cohousing fashion, he will continue to build us up with quiet dignity. Just say ‘Hello!’ to Peter when you see him.

While in Nashville, you’ll learn a lot about how cohousing tears down walls of isolation!

And, you won’t feel isolation here. You’ll be warmly welcomed at the reception desk by Barb. Barb supported a cohousing initiative in Austin, Texas some years ago that didn’t get off the ground. She’s now a happy member of Germantown Commons in Nashville.

A sage’s advice about the timing for moving into communities is that, “The best time to move into a new cohousing community is a year and a half after completion.” Barb has done just that. She’s taken advantage of moving into a new community after most of the construction headaches have passed. As one of the newest members of Germantown Commons, she will be at the registration table greeting you, along with Dot, Kats and Mary. That’s Mary H., because we have two Mary’s in the community who help us be merry often. In fact, they are both members of our ‘MerryMaking Committee.’

When the audio equipment fires up, as the show must go on, you can trust it is Rod who is behind the scenes working on your behalf. He’s got the digital dialed into your senses.

Then there’s Bob with his guitar. Somewhere there’ll be strumming of strings near the lobby. If John joins in with his guitar, and Essie with her ukulele, it will be a fun show.

Erin, who joined the team behind the Friday evening event, is making sure the program runs smoothly and is taking care of all the details. She will always be nearby to help out.

You’ll not feel left out when finding your way around. Patrick will be out in front, guiding you to wherever you want or need to go, especially on the bus to attend the Saturday reception. If you ask him about his experience and Germantown Commons, he will tell you no lies.

Suzanne, Rita and Vicki are planning a spectacular reception at Germantown Commons on Saturday late afternoon and you will be in good company. Trust me. You will not want to miss it! Suzanne has been brainstorming ideas and is stirring the energy around getting it all done. One of the national board members visited earlier this year and was impressed with Suzanne’s energized party festivities. Enough said. Come and see that for yourself.

When you attend the reception or take the tour we’ll have to show you our beautiful rock wall. You can’t miss it. We can tell the story of how the Historic Commission demanded we tear it down! So, we isolated their complaint, won our effort and kept our beautiful rock wall. It was not built for isolation and instead became a celebrated gathering space in the neighborhood.

Germantown Commons is just a mile away from the Millennium Maxwell House Hotel. Its namesake is the original Maxwell House Hotel, and legend has it that on a visit to Nashville in 1907, President Teddy Roosevelt declared that Maxwell House coffee was “good to the last drop.” There is more than one ‘presidential’ story here as you can see.

We’re just working away, anticipating fun times when the 2017 national cohousing stage comes to our front door.

We’re expecting you to join us here too. We’re excited that you will tear down walls of isolation with us!