Thanksgiving Reflections ..........
from Chaney Moore and Fred Kanter





Chaney Moore
F.O.R. San Bernard
President

The word of the day is "Thankful" ....
Well, hopefully by now, you've stuffed yourself with all the Thanksgiving goodies, unbuckled your belt and found your way to your favorite chair to digest. I personally have learned that a good pair of sweat pants will eliminate one step for those of us who truly get lazy after the tryptophan begins to work its magic. Well, in the spirit of the season let your mind wander away from the football games, holiday sales and leftovers, to being thankful.

F.O.R. has so much to be thankful for this holiday season. Considering how young the organization is, we have come a long way in 2007. We cut the ribbon on our beautiful, new community center, had a successful River Raiser, received news that a test ditch will be opened to the gulf, had the river clean-up, a boat parade (and one soon to come), Dock Hop, annual meetings, and the list goes on and on. We could go on all day expressing our gratitude to everyone that had a hand in making 2007 a great year. In the interest of saving time, "Thanks to all the people that made this happen!"

I will mention one specific thing that F.O.R. has to be thankful for. In March we applied for The Dow Chemical Community Grant Program. Unfortunately, there were a large number of organizations that had needs and we were not chosen. Thankfully, Dow believes in second chances! Trish Ritthaler, a Dow Public Relations employee, caught Nancy Kanter in the hallway and told her that Dow had some funds that had not been used. Completely out of the blue, Dow has pledged to donate $15,000 to F.O.R.! Did that get your attention? The largest, single donation in F.O.R. history! That's certainly something to be thankful for. Plan now to attend the February anniversary meeting and help celebrate this wonderful news.

As you sit there and think about that half eaten pumpkin pie in the fridge, go hit the Christmas sales, nap - however you spend the weekend after Thanksgiving. Just remember that we all have something wonderful to be thankful for!
More on the Dow Community Grant Program can be found at http://www.dow.com/facilities/namerica/texops/news/20070308b.htm
Happy Holidays,
Chaney
 

Fred Kanter
Original O.C. member
Past Environmental Chairman
Current Environmental Committee member

It’s the day after Thanksgiving 2007 and what do I have to be thankful for? As I gaze out upon the wind driven waters of our river this cool windy fall morning and reflect over the past year the answer becomes very clear. It is YOU! For our river neighbors, for the weekenders, and for the visitors to the river, I am thankful for each and everyone of you; for the friendships, family, relationships – the community that we have become. A community recognized and respected by government, industry and our neighboring cities throughout Brazoria County and beyond.

The sense of community cannot be better epitomized than through our gathering for breakfast each month at Dido’s Restaurant to break bread and share our lives and events of the past month in one of the oldest forms of family, friendship, love, and community known to civilized man. We are easily as diversified as the Pilgrims and Indians of the first Thanksgiving. We are professionals, retirees, workers, natives and transplants. We are Tigers and Seminoles, Longhorns and Aggies, Red Raiders and Sooners all gathered together sitting side-by-side partaking of good food and friendship. We are from all walks of life casting off our worldly designations and becoming only “River People”. A river community united in a common cause – the preservation of a natural resource that God has entrusted to us. Water - the most basic symbol of life moving timelessly toward the Gulf of Mexico passing each of us and uniting us, making us one; one in purpose, one in voice, one in community. We are the Friends Of the River.