Dean Highland Neighborhood Association

Category: Current Projects

  • Quarterly meeting is done, and DON’T FORGET about tomorrow’s (4/25) Conservancy Initiative cleanup

    Well Dean Highlanders,

    Another quarterly meeting at Dean Highland Elementary School is in the books, and it was a real barnburner. We’ll have a recap for you later on, but for now DON’T FORGET about tomorrow’s Conservancy Initiative cleanup.

    Since the Dean Highland Conservancy Initiative’s last cleanup was so massive (thanks, again, to Baylor University, Alpha Epsilon Delta Honor Society, and Sara from Parrott Ave), this Saturday’s cleanup is going to be relatively mellow. Meet us on 30th & Live Oak as we march down the alleyway between Live Oak and Windsor avenues. We’ll end our cleanup in the empty lot on 25th-ish Street that faces St Louis Church on the opposite side of the Dean Highland border. Like so:

    The fun will start at 10am. You can just show up on 30th Street. Walk. Bike. Drive. Bring the kids. Bring the dogs. Bring a neighbor! We anticipate this cleanup to be relatively mild compared to some of our earlier ones, so don’t be shy.

    Oh, and once you’re done doing a good deed for Dean Highland, you should head on over to Unify Waco’s COE at Dewey Park. Unify Waco is part of a citywide anti-violence initiative that features top-notch support from Waco PD. This event, which runs from 10am to 2pm, will have exciting prizes & giveaways, free food & drinks (while supplies last), free haircuts by Champions, interactive games & activities, local vendors & booths, public safety connections & engagement, and (and!) a live DJ & music.

  • “Voices from Dean Highland” spotlight: Linda Hampton

    Hi Dean Highlanders,

    Allow me to introduce you to Linda Hampton, a longtime homeowner on Alexander Avenue for decades, but also somebody who has spent many of those decades in other countries doing missionary work.

    Linda was one of the first people to give me a call after I started taping flyers about the Voices from Dean Highland oral history project onto doors, and for that I owe her a sincere gratitude of debt for her efforts and trust. If you find a flyer about the Voices from Dean Highland oral history project taped to your door, it was me! You can just zap the QR code that’s on the flyer and it will take you here.

    Linda contributed to the “Voices from Dean Highland” project on March 29, 2026. Given that the neighborhood association’s stated goals are service, advocacy, and fellowship, please be sure to give Linda a hearty greeting if you see her out and about at one of our service projects, advocacy efforts, or quarterly meetings. If you would like to collaborate with Linda, or simply fellowship with her, shoot me (Brandon Christensen) an email and I’ll try to introduce you.

    If you, or somebody you know and love, wants to participate in this project, shoot me (Brandon Christensen) an email and we’ll get started.

    You can read more about our “Voices from Dean Highland” project here. You (yes, you!) and your story are way more interesting and important than you think, and this project is something that your kids and grandkids and other loved ones will appreciate long after your gone.

  • Baylor’s “Steppin’ Out Day of Service” and the Dean Highland Conservancy Initiative: A Recap

    Hello Dean Highlanders,

    We had around 60-70 students from Baylor’s Alpha Epsilon Delta (AED) Honor Society show up yesterday (Saturday, April 11th) to help clean up our two pocket parks and a bunch of our alleyways. They did this as part of Baylor’s annual Steppin’ Out Day of Service event.

    We are truly grateful for their help and dedication to service. Because this event was so successful, we will definitely be partnering with them more often this year!

    Check out some photos, beginning with Dean Highland Neighborhood Association’s President, Scott Michael, bagging up some garbage and throwing it onto the back of his pickup truck. What service! What heart!

    Here are some more photos of the fun we had:

    Again we were able to hit both of our pocket parks and dozens of alleyways, which is exactly what the Dean Highland Conservancy Initiative (DHCI) seeks to accomplish as we work toward a world-class park in our empty Hillcrest parking lot. Thanks again to Sara from Parrott Ave for the heads up on this project, and for getting us connected to the folks at Baylor who were able to make this happen on their end.

    Our next service project for the DHCI will be Saturday, April 25th. We hope to see you there, and if you’ve got an alleyway or empty lot that you’d like to nominate for some tender lovin’ care, click here to submit your nomination!

  • The Dean Highland Conservancy Initiative and Baylor’s Steppin’ Out day of action is happening tomorrow!

    The Dean Highland Conservancy Initiative and Baylor’s Steppin’ Out day of action is happening tomorrow!

    Hey Dean Highlanders,

    Your humble neighborhood association board has teamed up with Baylor to clean up some alleyways and green spaces as part of Baylor’s awesome Steppin’ Out program.

    It’s happening tomorrow, April 11th, at 8am, and we’re meeting in Highland Baptist Church’s “red lot,” which is where its new Wellness Center is located.

    Baylor is sending 60-80 students our way to help us with our conservancy initiative. Many, many thanks go to Sara on Parrott Ave for putting this whole thing together.

    We’ll catch you at 8am tomorrow morning, and don’t forget to bring your attitude of gratitude, baby!

  • “Voices from Dean Highland” spotlight: Mr. Reynaldo “Rey” Moralez, Jr.

    Hey Dean Highlanders,

    Our “Voices from Dean Highland” is starting to explode in popularity. I recently had the great pleasure of sitting down with none other than the founder-owner of the Quesadilla Factory food truck franchise!

    Rey was a good sport, and his story is an inspiring faith-based one.

    Rey just recently put his house up on the market, and contributed to the “Voices from Dean Highland” project on March 2, 2026. Given that the neighborhood association’s stated goals are service, advocacy, and fellowship, please be sure to give Rey a hearty “goodbye greeting” if you see him out and about at one of our service projects, advocacy efforts, or quarterly meetings. If you would like to collaborate with Rey, or simply say goodbye to him, shoot me (Brandon Christensen) an email and I’ll try to introduce you.

    If you, or somebody you know and love, wants to participate in this project, shoot me (Brandon Christensen) an email and we’ll get started. You (yes, you!) are way more interesting than you think.

    You can read more about our “Voices from Dean Highland” project here.

  • THANK YOU! Saturday’s cleanup (Mar. 28th) was a big hit

    A big shout-out to three “new” Dean Highlanders (including a little one!) for showing up and helping us get our conservancy initiative off the ground. We hit the empty-grass-field-portion of our future Hillcrest Park site hard, and we got some fellowshipping in, too:

    Our next cleanup will be April 11th. If you’ve got an alleyway you’d like to nominate for a guerilla-style cleanup, just click here and fill out the form!

  • This Saturday’s (the 28th) conservancy initiative project: Hillcrest Park

    Hello Dean Highlanders,

    We will be cleaning the empty lot at Hillcrest Park this Saturday. That’s right, we’re cleaning the empty lot that will hopefully someday be a world-class park. The fun starts at 10am, and will go until noon or so. Here is the empty lot on a map:

    Just look for the Dean Highland tent. The folks at Keep Waco Beautiful have loaned us the cleaning equipment for this project.

    As a reminder, the inaugural Dean Highland Conservancy Initiative (DHCI) project was a big hit: we hit an alleyway in between Ethel and Homan from 26th to 27th streets. It was a total blast, and I envision Saturday’s cleanup to be just as fun.

    For more on the DHCI in general, check this out.

    If you have any questions about this Saturday’s cleanup, shoot us an email!

  • “Voices from Dean Highland” spotlight: Mr. Henry Sewell

    I first met Henry at one of our infamously enjoyable quarterly meetings held at Dean Highland Elementary School. Henry has lived in Dean Highland for 30 years, and he’s witnessed a lot of changes.

    Henry contributed to the “Voices from Dean Highland” project on September 14, 2024. Given that the neighborhood association’s stated goals are service, advocacy, and fellowship, please be sure to give Henry a hearty greeting if you see him out and about at one of our service projects, advocacy efforts, or quarterly meetings. If you would like to collaborate with Henry, or simply fellowship with him, shoot me (Brandon Christensen) an email and I’ll try to introduce you.

    If you, or somebody you know and love, wants to participate in this project, shoot me (Brandon Christensen) an email and we’ll get started.

    You can read more about our “Voices from Dean Highland” project here.

  • The Dean Highland Conservancy Initiative has officially been launched!

    Hi Dean Highlanders,

    On Saturday, March 14th, several members of the Dean Highland Neighborhood Association board (and some of their family members) gathered on 27th Street in between Ethel and Homan (here again are some “before” photos) to officially launch the Dean Highland Conservancy Initiative (DHCI) with a guerilla-style alleyway cleaning:

    Now check out the alleyways from 26th to 27th and from 27th to 28th:

    Not too shabby, eh? Just imagine if everybody from the Dean Highland Neighborhood Association showed up to the next conservancy initiative event (happening Saturday, March 28th). This benefits you and your families the most. My children, for example, now have their “volunteer organizations and work” box checked off on their college applications.

    If you have an alleyway you’d like to nominate for a cleaning, please fill out the form below:

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    Thank you for your response. ✨

    Now, fellow Dean Highlanders, our alleyways were specifically targeted in our conservancy initiative because alleys in Waco act as the arteries of our neighborhood: if they’re not clean and taken care of, everything gets clogged up.

    The DHCI is not just about doing good things for our neighbors; it’s about gaining organizational capacity for the negotiations that will inevitably arise when the time comes to fill in the empty Hillcrest lot.

    A big thanks to Scott Michael, the neighborhood association board’s current president, and Austin Wright, the neighborhood association board’s current secretary, for showing up with their own equipment and donating their time, energy, and yard tools to Dean Highland. If you have any questions or comments about the conservancy initiative, shoot us an email.

  • We’re on 27th, between Homan & Ethel

    Join us for fun, fellowship, and service!