Pi Phis After Five this Friday Night in Kerrville

It's almost here! We've planned another "Pi Phis After Five" party for this Friday, February 29, 7:00pm at Pampell's in Downtown Kerrville. Bring your spouse, a date and even some friends with you to laugh and enjoy the company of your Pi Phi friends. It's a great way to get to know each other better outside of our general club meetings. Dress is casual.

If you need directions or would like more info about Pi Phis After Five, please email me at president@ringching.com. Hope to see you there!

Lots Accomplished at Camp Waldemar Meeting Yesterday

Our late winter general club meeting was very well attended! Twenty-five women came to enjoy each other's company, hear about our work in the Hill Country, and eat the delicious lunch prepared for us by Johnny at Camp Waldemar (thanks to George Anne Elmore, TX Alpha '80, for hosting our meeting!).

Meeting highlights:

1. The current Pi Beta Phi Bookshelf at Sid Peterson Memorial Hospital (SPMH) in Kerrville will move to the new Peterson Minor Care Center on Junction Highway when the new hospital opens this spring. SPMH will be (very generously) purchasing a new bookshelf set for our club for the new hospital. So, we will have TWO Pi Beta Phi Bookshelves in Kerrville by the end of April!

2. The Pi Beta Phi Bookshelf in Fredericksburg at Hill Country Memorial Hospital (HCMH) will have its grand opening on Tuesday, March 11, at 10:00am in the ER Waiting Room. Missie Lanham reported that we still need to find a corporate donor/sponsor for the project (we need $1000 for the purchase of new books).

3. The club voted on contributions for the year, including Holt House, Friendship Fund, Arrow in the Arctic and other Pi Beta Phi required and optional contributions.

4. The club voted to approve a local dues increase for fiscal year 2008-2009. Our dues will increase from $10 per year to $20, beginning this fall.

5. Our club will be having an event for the National Fraternity Day of Service, "Make Your Mark for Literacy." We will host a bookplate signing at Hasting Books on Friday, March 7, from noon until 7:00pm. The bookplates will be signed by people shopping at Hastings, and we will return the signed bookplates to Pi Beta Phi. For each bookplate we send in, FirstBook will donate a new book to a child in the United States. Volunteers are needed to man the table: contact Emily Drapela to volunteer.

6. Upcoming gatherings and meetings:
Friday, Feb. 29 - Pi Phis After Five in Kerrville at Pampell's, 7:00pm
Friday, March 7 - Day of Service in Kerrville at Hastings, 12:00pm - 7:00pm
Tuesday, March 11 - Grand Opening of the Pi Beta Phi Bookshelf in Fredericksburg at HCMH, 10:00am
Saturday, March 15 - Pi Phis are Cookin! at Cheers to the Cook in Fredericksburg, 10:00am - 12:00pm
Friday, April 18 - Pi Phis After Five in Fredericksburg at The Fredericksburg Brewing Company, 7:00pm
Monday, April 28 - Founders' Day Meeting and Luncheon at the ranch of Jody Tomforde in Fredericksburg, 11:00am (this is our last meeting of the year)

Many other items were discussed and shared. For a complete copy of meeting minutes, email me at president@ringching.com. Thanks to all who attended: I think we all had a ball!

Early Voting Begins Today

Early voting begins today for the primaries in Texas! Grab your voter registration card, your I.D., and head out to the polls.

In Kerr County, you may vote early at the Ag Barn on Highway 27 (on the way to Center Point, on the right just past the VA Hospital).

In Gillespie County, you may vote early in the County Commissioner's Office at the Gillespie County Courthouse in downtown Fredericksburg.

In Kendall County, you may vote early at the Kendall County Courthouse in downtown Boerne.

If you would like to submit another early voting site on our Web site, please comment below!

Very Sad News This Weekend

It is with a very heavy heart that I write this post today: our beloved club member, Carol Nash Adams, lost her granddaughter, Audrey Ducote, in a car accident near Austin over the weekend. Audrey's mother, Ellen Adams Ducote, is also a Pi Phi. Audrey, a student at Austin High School, was just 16 years old.

If you would like to send your condolences to Carol and her family, please contact me for a mailing address: president@ringching.com. It is at terrible times like these that Pi Phis come together and provide support for each other. I hope you will join me in praying for their entire family.

Fredericksburg Bookshelf Grand Opening, March 11

A firm date has been set for our grand opening of the Fredericksburg Pi Beta Phi Bookshelf! It is planned for Tuesday, March 11, 2008, at 10:00a.m. at Hill Country Memorial Hospital in the ER Waiting Area.

At our meeting next week at Camp Waldemar, we will discuss the details of the project and the grand opening. Hope to see you at the meeting!

If you would like to participate in the Fredericksburg project, please let me know (mailto:president@ringching.com! I hope you will consider making a donation of new or gently used books to the project as well.

This is very exciting news, and kudos to Missie Lanham and all the ladies in Fredericksburg who have worked so hard to make this project happen.

Club Meets Next Thursday at Camp Waldemar

By now, you should have received your mailed invitation for our annual alumnae club meeting at Camp Waldemar, hosted by George Anne Elmore (TX Alpha, '80). We have heard from many of you that will be attending, and it appears that we will have quite a large group! This is wonderful news, for we will be discussing many important things at this meeting: officers for next year, club contributions, and our literacy efforts.

Our meeting will be at 11:00am on Thursday, February 21. Camp Waldemar is located in Hunt on the North Fork of the Guadalupe River. Luncheon cost is $12 per person. If you need directions, or would like to ride in a carpool from Fredericksburg or Kerrville, please contact me: president@ringching.com Hope to see you there!

Hill Country Pi Phis Featured in The Arrow

How exciting! Our alumnae club is featured in the Winter 2008 issue of The Arrow! On page 15, you will find an article about our literacy work, The Pi Beta Phi Bookshelf. Congratulations to us all!

Working together, we have accomplished our goal, in congruence with Pi Beta Phi's goal, to fight childhood illiteracy in the Hill Country. The establishment of the Bookshelf at Sid Peterson Memorial Hospital (SPMH) got us off to a great start. And, as you know, our Bookshelf project is currently in the works for Fredericksburg's Hill Country Memorial Hospital. And, we will soon have TWO Bookshelves in Kerrville: when the new SPMH, which will be named the Peterson Regional Medical Center, opens in April 2008, we will move our Bookshelf to that location, and we will add another Bookshelf at the new Peterson Minor Care Center on Junction Highway.

Thank you for your commitment to our local club and to Pi Beta Phi...together, we really are making make a difference for the children of the Texas Hill Country.