Sid Peterson Memorial Hospital Donates Bookshelf

Well, in my last post, I said that our club would need to purchase the bookshelf for our Pi Beta Phi Bookshelf project at Sid Peterson Memorial Hospital. Today, I received news from the hospital's marketing director that they would purchase the bookshelf for us! WOW!

Our project has been 100% supported by our community, Ladies. With the $1000 donation from Bank of the Hills for new books, a rug, table and chairs from Moore's Home Furnishings, and now the actual bookshelf unit coming from the hospital, we are on our way to a successful literacy project in Kerrville. This is truly something to be excited about!

Our literacy project still needs help from you! Your donations of new and/or gently used books for children ages 2-12 are much needed. You may drop your books off at the SPMH Emergency Waiting Room in downtown Kerrville anytime. Our public kick-off event is set for December 3 (time to be announced soon)...hope you will attend!

November Birthdays!

Pi Phi alumnae celebrating a November birthday are Anna Osborn (Nov. 13) and Josephine "Dodo" Parker (Nov. 16). Happy Birthday, Ladies...hope it's your best birthday ever!

Member birthday info is gathered from the form you send in with your dues. If you haven't paid dues yet this year, please contact me and I'll mail you a form: president@ringching.com. Thanks!

Bookshelf Project Receives Generous Gifts

I have very exciting news about our Bookshelf project at Sid Peterson Memorial Hospital. Bank of the Hills has committed to donating $1000 to help us purchase new books! I can't express just how excited the bank is about being involved with the Bookshelf...how wonderful for us and our community!

More fantastic news: our sister Rachel Johnston (OK Alpha '84), owner of Moore's Home Furnishings in Kerrville, is donating a rug and the table and chairs we need for the reading area. Thank you, Rachel!

We are going to be left with the purchase of the actual bookshelf. Angel Dues will help us cover some of the cost. If you would like to help fund this purchase, please contact me as soon as possible. I think an additional $250 will cover it...that's just ten members donating $25 each!

Unveiling of the Pi Beta Phi Bookshelf at Sid Peterson Memorial Hopsital is planned for December 3. Please mark your calendar and plan to attend!

Hill Country Pi Phis Take On Illiteracy

At the first meeting of the year on Monday, September 17, in Fredericksburg, the Texas Hill Country Pi Beta Phi Alumnae Club made an exciting decision: to make a difference in our communities in the battle against illiteracy. The club decided to begin the Pi Beta Phi Bookshelf, an on-location project that provides books for children, to borrow or keep, so that they may be offered an opportunity to read and own books.

The first organization to host a Pi Beta Phi Bookshelf is Sid Peterson Memorial Hospital in Kerrville. SPMH is thrilled about having books for children in their Emergency Waiting Room, a place that sees many children who would benefit from our project. In fact, they are creating an entire area in the ER dedicated to this project, including a sitting area for children. The Bookshelf will be unveiled in early December.

The Committee is working to find additional businesses and organizations in the Hill Country that we can work with. The immediate goal is to have one bookshelf in both Fredericksburg and Kerrville. Future goals include expansion to other towns in the Texas Hill Country.

HOW YOU CAN HELP
The Pi Beta Phi Bookshelf project will need many things to be successful, but the most immediate need is books!Pi Phi Alumnae are asked to please make donations of new or gently used children’s books for readers aged 2-12. Please drop your books off in the Emergency Department at Sid Peterson Memorial Hospital beginning October 29.

There are additional project needs, including a little volunteer time and financial support. For more information on how you can help our important project, contact committee chairperson and club VicePresident Deb Johnson, djohn1rn@stx.rr.com.

Families & Literacy Rustler's Moon Dance this Saturday

Families and Literacy in Kerrville is having a party! Bring your lawn chairs to the Rustler's Moon Street Dance this Saturday, October 20, in downtown Kerrville and enjoy Beatlemania Now as seen on Broadway. All proceeds benefit Families & Literacy, Inc., and you can purchase tickets now at Broadway Bank, Hill Country State Bank, Ricks Furniture, Security State Bank and Families & Literacy. The dance kicks-off at 7:30pm in Downtown Kerrville on the Star (the intersection of Earl Garrett and Water St.). Call 830.896.8787 for information.

Families and Literacy provides a very valuable service in our community: helping our citizens overcome illiteracy. In fact, F&L currently has 245 adult students enrolled in classes! What a huge impact they are making on our community. The Texas Hill Country Pi Beta Phi Alumnae Club applauds their efforts and encourages all its members to attend the wonderful Rustler's Moon Street Dance this weekend!

Families and Literacy is a non-profit educational agency dedicated to improving the lives of Hill Country adults through education. They offer classes in literacy instruction, GED preparation, English as a second language, citizenship, adult basic education, parenting, and tutoring.

Quarterly Newsletter Mailed Today

Check your mailbox this week for the Autumn 2007 issue of "The Link," our quarterly alumnae club newsletter. It is loaded with information about our members, our events, and most importantly, our upcoming literacy project.

I hope you will take time to read it and let me hear your feedback. And, if you have ideas for articles, I'd love to hear those, too. I want the newsletter to be a valuable resource for you as well as fun to read!

Family Fun this Saturday in Medina

Just a reminder, in case you missed the earlier post: this Saturday, October 13, at 10:00am, the Hill Country Pi Phis are descending on Love Creek Orchards in Medina for their Pumpkin Patch & Harvest Celebration! It's a fun-filled event for the entire family. And, Love Creek Orchards is owned by our own Carol Adams (TX Alpha, '51). My son is so excited about it he can hardly wait!

Click here to read the earlier post (for more information). If you have any questions, or if you need to RSVP, please email me at president@ringching.com.

The Pumpkin Patch will be going on through the end of October. If you can't go on Saturday, you have plenty of time to enjoy it this month.

Literacy Committee Meeting in Kerrville, October 9

The wheels are in motion on our Hill Country Club literacy project! Preliminary work has already been done to get our Pi Beta Phi Bookshelf started at Sid Peterson Memorial Hospital in Kerrville. The hospital is extremely excited about this project and they are just as eager as we are to make it a huge success.

Our Literacy Committee is meeting Tuesday, October 9 at 6:00pm at Rails Cafe in Kerrville to work on getting our Bookshelf in place by December 1. We will be working on the details of the project, so if you are interested in being a part of this project, please come. I've spoken to the President of the Houston Alumnae Club, whose Book Nook project is very successful...what a wonderful resource for us. (Click on the photo to read about their literacy work in Houston.)

Kerrville is our pilot project, and our plans are to extend next to Fredericksburg. Our other Pi Phi communities will follow as we learn how best to run the Bookshelf for maximum impact on illiteracy in the Hill Country. Any and all input from you is so important! If you have ideas for your town, please forward them to me. Working together, we're really going to make a difference!

Check back here later in the week to read what was accomplished at our Literacy Committee meeting.

Oh, What a Night!

Our first "Pi Phis After Five" was a roaring success! I can't tell you how much fun Dave and I had getting to know everyone better. The night was full of lively conversation and wild coincidences...we all knew each other's spouses in a roundabout way through childhood or careers or had something big in common. Hondo's was a perfect place to meet, too. We enjoyed a large table inside so we could hear over the band playing outside. Leslie Haight and Kristin Warren brought their kids, and it was so much fun to have the little ones with us. Precious!

I brought my camera and was so caught up in the evening that I didn't take one picture! I'll do a better job at our next After Five get together, which will be scheduled shortly for November. Thanks to all who attended...I'm so proud to be a part of such a fun bunch!

Friday Night Lights...

...and I'm not talkin' football. Tomorrow night, October 5, is our first "Pi Phi After Five" get-together! So far, the following gals (and their spouses) have told me they are coming: Meredith Plesko, Janet Degenhardt, Jan McNabb, Kristin Warren and yours truly. I have invited a couple of my friends (not Pi Phis) who I thought everyone would enjoy meeting, too. The more, the merrier, right?

I hope those of you I haven't heard from will try to stop by tomorrow night: Hondo's on Main in Fredericksburg, 7:00pm. There will be music at 8:00pm (free) and the food and drinks are great. Even if you have other plans, please stop by and say "hello" if you can. See you then!

For info and directions to Hondo's on Main, click here: http://www.hondosonmain.com/

October Pi Phis!

I like to post who is having a birthday each month...Bimmie Findlay (Oct. 3) and Deb Johnson (Oct. 29)! Happy Birthday, Ladies!

If you know of another Hill Country Pi Phi having a birthday this month, please let me know! You can email me at president@ringching.com.

Member birthday information is gathered from the surveys and dues forms that we receive from you each fall. If you have misplaced yours, I'm happy to send you a new one. Let me know! For a list of September birthdays, click here.

Fredericksburg Walking Group Meets Next Week

Meredith Gillespie Plesko (TX Alpha, '88) is organizing a Pi Phi Walking Group! The first walk will be Tuesday, October 9 in Fredericksburg at the Shady Creek B&B at 312 W. Schubert. The gals will meet for a walk in the morning...check back here later in the week for the exact meeting time.

Hope you will join us! What a great way to (1) enjoy our cooler weather, (2) get some exercise, and (3) get to know your Hill Country Pi Phi sisters better. Please email Meredith if you are interested at merplesko@beecreek.net.

Lots of Opportunities for Fun!

Gals: Hope you're excited about the fun things we've got planned this month! In case you missed it, we are getting together this Friday the 5th for "Pi Phis After Five" and on Saturday the 13th for the Pumpkin Patch in Medina. Let me know if you plan to come...we'd love to see you! RSVP at president@ringching.com.

Click here for more info on Pi Phis After Five in Fredericksburg.

Click here for the article about the family-fun Pumpkin Patch at Love Creek Orchards in Medina.