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The 2nd Annual
Friends Of the River (F.O.R.)
San
Bernard
Town Hall
Meeting, Saturday,
February 24th at
7 p.m.
at Dido's Restaurant celebrated the hopes and
accomplishments of F.O.R. with over 175 friends. This event
begins the 2nd year of community service for Friends Of the
River San Bernard –an organization dedicated to making the
river community a better place to live and play. Girl Scout
Troop 113 members assisted by handing out the evenings
agenda, and the new Friends Of the River brochures. Most of
those present enjoyed a special buffet dinner, prepared by
Dido's.
The meeting began
with the reading of a letter from State Senator Kyle Janek
congratulating the group on its goals and achievements for
the past year. To read a copy of the letter, please visit: Previous
Posts /Feb.26,2006. After the
reading of the letter, Jennifer Sanchez, Acting Director of
the San Bernard National Wildlife Refuge, invited those
present to volunteer to participate in the preparation of
the new 10 acre Betty Brown Unit of the San
Bernard National Wildlife Refuge for a Song Bird
sanctuary in time for the April Migration Celebration –
another event participants were invited to take part in.
Then, Cindy Jordye, Environmental Team
Leader for ConocoPhillips, congratulated the group
for its efforts and, as a part of their public outreach,
informed those present of an upcoming Table Top and river
spill response drill, due to occur sometime in April.
After those 2
announcements, the 2007 Board of Directors and the working
committee chairs were introduced and synopses of their
respective goals were presented to the group. Again, this
year, there will be 4 boat parades, a spring river clean up,
a “Dig” event at the mouth of the river, a fund raiser, a
“Dock Hop” on National Night Out and logo merchandise
items will continue to be developed and distributed for
donation to help in funding of the group’s operation. During
the Logo Committee portion of the talk, the crowd was
delighted by the gifting of the live F.O.R. centerpieces to
the lucky person at each table with the F.O.R. logo on
his/her chair. These centerpieces were a product of the
contributions of the community. They were designed by
F.O.R.’s Logo Committee and Brazoria Florist and
Gifts. The self-watering pots themselves were a
donation from Bill and Mary Jo Robbins. Logos
donated by Xpressions Tshirts and More.
Work with local,
state and federal officials will continue, for
the re-opening of the mouth of the river, and new
initiatives will start this year. As an extension of the
Mouth Committee report, Dr. Robin Hardwicke, husband Keith
and daughter, Laura, reported on their recent visit,
concerning the re-opening of the mouth of the San Bernard,
with Assistant Secretary of the Army John Paul Woodley, Jr.
at the Pentagon in Washington, D.C. The new Environmental
Committee will monitor the health of the river, work will
begin on acquiring Community Center and Park for F.O.R.
events and educational opportunities will be developed. The
Nomination Committee continues to accept nominations
for new, qualified Board members.
After the F.O.R.
re-cap, the keynote speaker, Peter M. Lavigne spoke on the
life of rivers, and how groups and individuals could
positively impact the health of their rivers. He spoke of
environmental challenges to overcome and successes of other
river groups in different parts of the nation. He also
congratulated F.O.R. for how far it had come in one year and
ended his talk with the following hopeful comment, “I saw
the KHOU “Dying
River”
segment, but I don’t think this river is dying anymore. What
I see, is a river beginning to live again, and it is all due
to all of you.” Immediately following Peter’s talk, the
Executive Committee of F.O.R. presented him with an
appreciation award .
The entertainment
for the evening was next. Ben Vollbaum, F.O.R. San Bernard
member, graciously
shared a 1942 film of cattle being driven across the mouth
of the
San
Bernard
River.
Mr. Vollbaum is also donating copies of this family film to
the Museums in
Lake Jackson
and Brazoria.
At the end of the
meeting, Board member, Bob Bailey presented the
2nd Annual Ralph Primeau Memorial Award to Roy
Edwards, River Mouth Chairman, for his continued efforts to
educate the policy makers and the public about the
precarious situation of the
San
Bernard
River.
The meeting was
then adjourned and those present had the opportunity to
check out the new logo merchandise, as well as the other
popular offerings, at the new merchandise case just
installed at Dido’s. For more information on this and
future events, monitor this
website.
Thank you one and all for your part in
celebrating the 2nd Annual Friends Of the River (F.O.R.)
San Bernard
Town Hall Meeting.
Sincerely,
Jan Edwards, Director, P. R.
Representative for Friends Of the River San Bernard
Visit the F.O.R San
Bernard booth at the Brazoria Heritage Day
Celebration Saturday March 3.
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