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The most recent newsletters prior to August have been reproduced below: Volume 4, Number 7, December 2010 A Message from the Friends Board A Message from the Friends Chair Daryl Whitworth Good day, Friends of LBJ National Historical Park. This is my first message to you as Board Chair of the Friends, and I consider myself very fortunate to be a part of such a dedicated group who takes a vested interest in seeing improvements made to the LBJ National Historical Park in Johnson City and Stonewall. The Board and the Friends members are very fortunate to have passionate people such as Superintendent Russ Whitlock and his staff to work with in bringing improvements to the park, allowing visitors to better understand the LBJ story. We want to recognize two fine gentlemen who recently retired from the Board. Bob Keith served as Board Chair for over three years since the founding of the Friends organization in 2007. Bob brought strong leadership to the group, and was instrumental in bringing several projects of the Friends and the parks to fruition. Board member Larry Norwood also has retired to spend time teaching at Baylor University. Larry was involved in a variety projects with the Friends, and dedicated many hours involved with events for the group. These two gentlemen will be missed for their many contributions to the goals of our organization. We wish them well in their future pursuits, and we express our gratitude for their time and energies. I am pleased to welcome our newest Board Member, Ms. Toni Reyes. Toni has been with Pedernales Electric Co-op for many years, and has been involved with many activities in the Johnson City community. With the addition of Toni, your Board represents a variety of Hill Country communities and Austin. For a complete list of all of your Board Members and a brief bio for each, please visit the www.FriendsofLBJNationalPark.org site. We look forward to representing you as we move forward in working with Russ and all partners in bringing improvements to the park. Please contact me at daryl.whitworth@gmail.com if you have an interest in becoming more involved with the Friends of LBJ National Historical Park. A Message from Park Superintendent Russ Whitlock We wind up 2010 in fine standing celebrating another successful year of accomplishments. Our partnership between the Friends, Western National Park Association and the National Park Service is strong and beneficial. As much as we have to reflect on I am very excited about our future. Included in this newsletter is a budget for the coming year approved by the Board of Directors in October. The park's maintenance and interpretive divisions made requests for partnership support for projects in 2011. The board evaluated our requests and has indicated support for significant educational and restoration projects. At this time of thanks and reflection I wish to express my gratitude to the membership and board for your continued interest in and support of the national historical park. Friends Board and Park Represented at National Partnership Conference Friends Board Member Carolyn Kennedy attended the National Partnership Conference at Mount Rushmore, South Dakota in October. Carolyn attended a variety of training and break-out sessions through the week before she hurried home to share bartending duties with fellow Board member Peggy Welch at the Barbeque on the Pedernales. Carolyn reported back to the board on the information she gleaned from the conference. Carolyn's ideas will be part of upcoming strategic planning by the board. Our original strategic plan developed in 2007 provided us a good route map and we've accomplished much that was in the original plan. Friends Board Budget of Support for 2011 The Board anticipates revenue as follows: March LBJ100 Bike Tour $40,000.00 December TWH 1st Floor Opening Event $ 5,000.00 2011 Interest $ 500.00 2011 Grants/Contributions $55,000.00 2011 Memberships/Renewals $ 6,000.00 Total Income: $106,500.00 TOTAL BALANCE FUNDS AVAILABLE $234,000.00 Expenses and Obligations: March LBJ100 Bike Tour $ 20,000.00 April Reflections of the 60's $ 3,000.00 October Termite Treatment $ 500.00 December TWH 1st Floor Opening Event $ 1,000.00 2011 TWH Hangar Expansion $100,000.00 2011 Junction School Viewing/Ramp $ 2,500.00 2011 JetStar Interior Restoration $ 25,000.00 2011 USSS Command Post Found. $ 15,000.00 2011 Postage $ 500.00 2011 Insurance $ 800.00 2011 Miscellaneous $ 2,000.00 Total Expenses: $170,300.00 The national historical park will cover expenses for expansion of the airplane hangar above $100,000. Park maintenance will provide the labor and use materials purchased by the Friends to construct a viewing area inside Junction School and a new handicap accessible ramp. The Friends have obligated funds toward interior restoration of the JetStar aircraft and hope interested parties will donate additional funds for that purpose. The United States Secret Service Command Post foundation restoration project is expected to cost between $30,000 and $80,000. In November the interpretive and visitor services rangers moved into their new offices in the restored pool house just east of the Texas White House. The park's maintenance crew did a great job covering, but not damaging Mrs. Johnson's indoor pool. The new floor even has blue tile outlining where the pool sits just below the offices and work stations. The rangers moving into the Pool House puts them as close to the park's primary resource as possible. Buildings Disappearing in Johnson City The park is removing two non-historic structures in Johnson City. The restroom facility that was constructed behind the Boyhood Home in the early years of the park will be removed and the site restored to reflect an open yard. When the park reviewed operations in 2007, searching for options to save funds and redirect funding to more priority projects, the restroom was identified as redundant to the visitor center restrooms. In the Johnson Settlement area of the park the blacksmith building has been removed in order to contribute toward restoration of the prairie. The blacksmith shop had not been used since the horse drawn wagons were retired in the settlement. Follow the Friends and the Park on Facebook Weekly we are posting pictures and articles about the park on our facebook page. Become a fan of the Friends on facebook and you'll receive automatic updates when new pictures or links are added to the page. There is nothing like pictures to tell our story and you'll see many pictures of projects in the works throughout the park. The Friends and national historical park staff are very happy to report that funding has been received to reroof the Texas White House. The project, scheduled to begin in January will provide a completely new roof for the ranch house. The project, completed by the National Historic Preservation Center will restore the historic look of the house and provide protection for the irreplaceable interior features and furnishings of the house. In February the Olmstead Center will visit the park with a team of arborist trainees to complete trimming and restore lightning protection systems and electrical wiring. The Friends of LBJ National Historical Park Board of Directors wish you and yours a very happy holiday season and the very best in 2011. We hope to see you often in the coming year and look forward to hearing from you with suggestions and ideas. |
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