Greetings Friends Of the River SAN BERNARD
 
 This is our Activity Report for July 2006. 
  
It was a busy and productive and FUN month for us all

 

   

            F.O.R. quote of the Month:   

  The Karankawa Indians called the San Bernard River the "Singing River",  

                                                                                         WE are the Choir......   let our voices be heard! 

                      Roy Edwards                  

 

            EVENTS AND PRESENTATIONS:

F.O.R.'s First Annual Independence Day Boat Parade

01  July -  Although rain dampened the weather, the First Annual 4th of July Boat Parade, sponsored by Friends Of

the River SAN BERNARD, displayed the kind of spirit America and river dwellers can muster by making this boat

parade the largest one on the San Bernard river in recent history.  A total of 30 boats entered the parade in

overcast weather.  People living between the Sportsman Span bridge (at the start of the parade) to 2 J’s Restaurant

(at the end) lined the banks and docks along the river, waving flags and enjoying the patriotic sounds and displays

of the boaters.  At 2J's Restaurant over 200 hot dogs were grilled by Mark Manley and his crew, while judges

tallied the scores, and presented awards.  Once again, F.O.R.'s Parade Chairwoman Vanessa Taylor and her

Organizing Committee, headed by Jana Plocheck of Ernie's Acres, made sure we had a parade to be proud of.

After the awards ceremony, many people met at Tommy and Peggy Davidson's home to celebrate another 

successful event. Awards in various catagories were presented to: Darrell and Gloria Powell, Rick Gardner and

Jana Plocheck, Susan and Wayne Stikeleather, Vanessa and Nelson Taylor, and Dennis and Tina Todd. (go to

 parade page to see photos and more info) Thank you, 2J's restaurant and all who had a hand in making this a

great event.

River's End volunteer Fire Dept. Fireworks Show

03 July - A beautiful fireworks display was presented by the fire department at the C.R. 2918 Boat ramp.  It was a

great time for everyone to come together to celebrate this great country. This event also showed us what wonderful,

supporting people live on this river, and the communities surrounding it. Thank you R.E.V.F.D. from the Friends Of

the River.

Wolf Island and River Tour

11 July - At the request of the Economic Development Alliance for Brazoria County, Pat Webb and Roy Edwards

took members of the FAA, Corps of Engineers, and the Economic Development Alliance on a fact finding tour of

Wolf Island, the river mouth and ICWW for site inspections for a possible site for an orbital launch site for the

proposed Spaceport.

Brazoria Beach Restoration Task Force/Texas Chapter of the American Shore and Beach Association.

12 July - Roy and Jan Edwards made a presentation about the San Bernard River Mouth at the joint meeting 

of the Brazoria Beach Restoration Task Force and the Texas Chapter of the American Shore and Beach

Association, held at Stahlman Park in Surfside. There were over 100 people, from all areas, in attendance.  Other

F.O.R. Members attending were Pat and Connie Webb, Nancy Kanter, Darrell and Gloria Powell, Pete and Sue

Smirch and Mark Hazelrigg. 

Channel 11 News

"The Saga of a Dying River" by Doug Miller, of CHANNEL 11 News (cameraman Frank McBride) was shown on

Wednesday, July 12 on the 10:00 news. The story captured the audience for a full 3 minutes and 45 seconds!  It

has received a FIVE STAR rating, and was picked up by the Texas Cable Network, and has been shown across

the state of Texas.  Recorded copies were made by Jan Edwards and distributed to many local, state and

government offices.

Brazosport Businessman’s Roundtable Breakfast 

13 July - Attended by many of Brazoria County's business leaders.  Roy Edwards was the speaker for the event.

Local businessmen pledged support for the re-opening of the San Bernard River.

39th Annual "Keep Texas Beautiful" Conference

David Pope, F.O.R.'s "trash dude", attended the 39th annual "Keep Texas Beautiful" conference, held in Plano,

Texas the last week of June.  The conference was a great experience for David, both the informative workshops and

the awards ceremonies.  It was attended by an estimated 550 people from all over Texas.  Many Brazoria County

affiliates attended and brought home various awards for their communities' efforts.  David was scheduled to share

this experience with us at our July 25th meeting, but was unable to attend due to out-of-state family illness. 

(This will be rescheduled for a later date.)  However, he posted his experiences on this subject on the website.

(see July 13 Front Page Articles link below).  

F.O.R. MEETINGS:

15 July 11:00 a.m./ Board of Directors Meeting

Attended by all Board members

Meeting Facilitator: Pat Webb

Discussions and reports by the Interim Board of Directors on: Legal and Accounting Update and review of Bylaws

(Nancy), Nominating Committee (John), Secretarial Duties (Jane), Mouth Update (Roy), River Clean-up

Update/Issues (Tom), Parade Update (Vanessa, Nelson), F.O.R. Logo Marketing and Research Update (Connie,

Teresa, Tom), Public Relations (Jan), Web postings and updates (Pat), Fund Raiser  & upcoming Dock Hop (all)

Action Items and those responsible: Purchase of tape recorder to aid with minutes of meetings (Pat), Purchase of

P.A.System to be used at public mtgs.and events (Pat), purchase of new F.O.R.logo items (Connie),  PR

(Jan, Vanessa),  Nominating Committee : John, Jane, Fred, Connie, Vanessa, Nelson, Neal.  Interim Board

members wishing to retain positions on permanent board are: Pat, Tom, Nancy, Teresa, Jan. Therefore, they will    

not serve on the nominating committee.

IRS form 1023 has been completed (Nancy) and signed by all Board Members.

23 July 4:00 p.m./ Nominating Committee Meeting

Attended by all Nominating Committee members, with exception of Jane Wallace 

Meeting Facilitator: John Wallace

Discussions: Deadline for Nomination is August 15. Web page showing this deadline to be updated by webmaster.

Questionaire will be made up by all members of committee and mailed to nominees on August 16.  Questionaires

to be returned by nominees by September 1st. Consult with F.O.R. Attorney Lynn Klement (Fred) Press

releases (John/Vanessa)

23 July/ 5:00 p.m. Board of Directors Meeting

Attended by all Board Members, with exception of Jane Wallace

Meeting Facilitator: Pat Webb

Legal and accounting update (Nancy)

Reviewed agenda for Tuesday, 7/25 Public Mtg. # 4 (all)

Update on acquisition of P.A. System and Recorder (Pat)

Update on acquisition of Logo Merchandise/Inventory (Connie)

PUBLIC MEETING # 4

25 July Dinner / Meeting: 5:30 - 8:30

Once again, a big Thank You to Pete and Sue Smirch of Dido's for giving us a great place to hold our 4th public

meeting.  Not only did they open for us on a day that they are normally closed, they also made it special by

creating a wonderful buffet of Chicken or Shrimp Alfredo.  Pete and Sue are truely Friends Of the River. There were

approximately 90 interested friends and neighbors attending.  Dignataries attending were: Rich Tillman, Brazoria

County Marine Agent; Ken Corley, Mayor of Brazoria, Florin Vrazel, Candidate for County Judge and Melanie

Oldham, his assistant; Kelli Smith, Administrative Assistant for Dude Payne, County Commissioner Pct. #1; 

Shane Pirtle, Candidate for County Commissioner Pct. #4; Fred Kanter, Brazoria County Constable Pct. #4; David

A.Stedman, CEO,  Economic Development Alliance of Brazoria County; Lynn Klement,  Attorney for Friends Of

the River and Mary Ruth Rhodenbaugh, Candidate for County Commissioner Pct. #4. 

A brief recap of the meeting:  Pat Webb discussed the Dock Hop to be held on August 1st, and also

the upcoming first F.O.R. fundraiser, scheduled for Oct.21st. Requested volunteers and solicited entries for a

"Name the Event Contest". (We need your entries!)  John Wallace reviewed the new board make up,

explained the nominating and voting process, asked for public support and gave the deadline for submitting names, (Aug 15).  

Announced F.O.R.'s 1st Annual Meeting to be held September 16th 7:00 p.m. at Brazoria Civic Center Auditorium. 

Nancy Kanter gave a legal and financial update.  Pat Webb filled in for David Pope on a brief summary of the "Keep

Texas Beautiful" seminar. A recap of the 4th of July parade and announcement of the upcoming Labor Day parade

(Sept.2) was given by Vanessa Taylor.  Roy Edwards updated us on river mouth issues and progress being

made and listed the 9 public meetings/presentations he and Jan attended for Friends Of the River in the month of

July.  Brazoria Mayor Ken Corley spoke to the meeting attendees and announced that Brazoria has signed a letter

of resolution in support of opening the mouth of the river.  He also said, with confirmation from David Stedman, that

all cities in Brazoria County have adopted and signed a similar resolution.Connie Webb and Teresa Schlumpberger

entertained everyone with a fashion show of the latest F.O.R. Fashion items. A special thanks to  Super models

Fred Kanter and Roy Edwards. I think this may' ve been the unexpected, spur of  the moment,  highlight of the

evening. Or at least, a close second.  It was hard to compete with the stars of Channel 11 fame and the showing of

the film, thanks to Tom Valliere's professional set-up. To quote Pat(Mooch) Webb ,"It would be a "Real Heartbreak"

not to mention Artie "Leggs" Burnett, volunteering to autograph everyone's legs.  Question and Answer time and a

statement by F.O.R. member Gordon Parsons followed. And the meeting was adjourned. A BIG Thank you to

Gloria Powell for keeping our minutes (filling in for Jane, who was out of town) Thank you, also, to all volunteers who

helped with the merchandise and clean up.

 

ACCOUNTING:

At the close of July business, we have total year to date deposits of $15,114, disbursements of $9,830 and

our balance is $5,284.  The new line of F.O.R. merchandise has created a lot of interest.  Thank you!

F.O.R. flags and banners now available for sale at 2J's Restaurant.

WEBSITE UPDATE:

Web Statistics for July 2006 sanbernardriver.com

A total of 9,418 distinct visits were made to the site

            15,398 distinct web pages were viewed a total of 20,099 times

            Downloadable files were requested 234 times

            Membership database now has over 350 names

            F.O.R. San Bernard Forum 

            Our users have posted a total of 1163 articles

            We have 81 registered users

           IN THE NEWS:

            Jul 27: FOR plans National Night Out event

            Jul 19: FOR San Bernard General Update Meeting Slated

            Jul 13: Officials Urge Patience on Erosion issue

            Jul 13: Channel 11 Doug Miller "San Bernard River Dying"

            Jul 02: Press Release: July 4 Follow-up Press Release
 

            WEB FRONT PAGE ARTICLES:

            Jul 29: What is a neighbor?/National Night Out

 

            Jul 27: Doug Ashley's "REFRIGERATOR VARMINTS"

 

            Jul 26: Who 'Ya Gonna call 

 

            Jul 21: F.O.R. San Bernard Logo Merchandise

 

            Jul 19: Press Release, Nominations for directors requested

 

            Jul 18: CIAP grant nominations delayed

 

            Jul 17: Tales from River's End - Passport to Adventure

 

            Jul 13: David Pope at "Keep Texas Beautiful" conference

 

            Jul 12: The San Bernard River on TV tonight

 

            Jul 7: Doug Miller, San Bernard story to air July 12

 

            July 3: July 4 Follow up Press release 

 

 

We will restore, protect, promote and ensure

a healthy, flowing San Bernard River

for the sanity and enjoyment

of present and future generations . 

                                                                                                        

This update was prepared and sent by Connie Webb, Board of Director, with approval by the Organizing Committee.

Visit our website:
http://www.SanBernardRiver.Com
or
http://www.FORSanBernard

mailing address :

FORSanBernard

P.O.Box 93

Brazoria, Texas 77422

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Pat & Connie Webb:patco@sanbernardriver.com
Roy & Jan Edwards: royjan@sanbernardriver.com
Nelson & Vanessa Taylor: rd@sanbernardriver.com
John & Jane Wallace: johnjane@sanbernardriver.com
Fred & Nancy Kanter: frednancy@sanbernardriver.com
Tom Valliere: tom@sanbernardriver.com
Mark Hazelrigg: mark@sanbernardriver.com
Teresa Schlumpberger: teresa@sanbernardriver.com
Neal Graham: neal@sanbernardriver.com