Letters from the President

Hello Lazybrookers!   What a winter….I keep trying to see my garden as half full but my heart aches at the lovely plants that once again didn’t make it through the freeze.  Why oh why do I keep planting delicate plants?  Is it the thrill of a neighbor asking  what is that planted in your side yard and where can I get it?    I think it is more that I like to dig in the dirt, visit Joshua’s and Buchanan’ nurseries several times each spring for replacement plants and the ultimate thrill of conquering Mother Nature’s winter whims.   Our 1st Lady Richard Cade is a diehard advocate for survival of the fittest.  Oh what do we do?  So out the door Richard and I went with the few extra sheets we own.   Were we successful? Well not exactly….. but I am thoroughly committed to snooping around my neighbor’s yards this month to see what survived.  Please Lord, don’t let me see something delicately blooming at the nurseries and make me throw caution to the wind yet again in my Spring plantings.

About our Club – 5th Friday Social will be relocated to 2110 Millwood at Melissa and Mark Cougle’s home for Friday April 29th.  Handouts for the Social will be given out at the LCC meeting March 22nd at Lazybrook Baptist Church.  Our March 22nd Lazybrook Civic Club meeting will have a guest speaker  on the 290 Corridor expansion which is starting this year.  Come hear the details 7PM .

I want to give a special THANK YOU to the Lazybrook Block Captains who stepped up to the plate and agreed to take on more responsibilities for the LCC and Ilya Martinalbo who now chairs this new committee.

Questions on the LCC Deed Restrictions? – our Gregg Kalba has organized this team with the dedicated people who have volunteered for years.

Check out Lazybrook.org it has the email addresses for all your needs associated with the LCC. We owe a thank you to our Webmaster Greg Frommert for organizing us online and you can now PAY YOUR DUES ONLINE with PayPal – thanks Greg!  Greg is a real behind the scenes hero!

See you all around the neighborhood this Spring,
Shane Davis LCC President and Richard Cade our 1st Lady.

Happy New Year! Let me thank Richard Akin for stepping in for me at our last meeting. I didn’t bounce back as fast as the doctor said I would but I am feeling great now and want to thank each of you for your well wishes. I am ready to continue organizing the LCC leadership for 2011.

Please note we have a spot for anyone who feels the calling to volunteer. I am still asking our young neighbors to come volunteer AND asking all neighbors to join the Civic Club so you may have a voice in how we spend the money for improvements in our community.

I have prioritized two areas for immediate attention in early 2011 – Lazybrook deed restrictions/plan approval and our Block Captains. Ilya Martinalbo and I are inviting you to dinner/calling a meeting for the Block Captains. We need to know how each of you would like us to organize. We have some ideas and would like to hear yours as well.

Our second area of concern is the transparency in the Lazybrook deed restrictions and plan approval process. It is coming together well. The Deed Restrictions for each section will be placed on the Lazybrook.org web site for ease in your remodeling efforts. We are also streamlining the REQUIRED approval process for plan submittals to benefit all our residents. The instructions for plan submittal will be noted on our website soon.

Please keep bring me your ideas. I enjoy chatting with each of you. Thank you for allowing me to be your president again this year!

Hello Lazybrook Neighbors – hard to believe my 1st year as your President is nearing its end. I want to thank the Lazybrook volunteers who have given their time to keep the Civic Club running smoothly. Without the untold hours each volunteer gives our community we would certainly be in disarray.

Our Volunteers are the Executive Board Members (VP, Treasurer, Recording Secretary and Corresponding Secretary), Committee Chairs (Beautification, Newsletter/Website, Advertising, Recycling, Yard of the Month, Membership, Arch/Deed Restrictions Review, Graffiti, Hospitality, Lost and Found, Security/Email), Citizens on Patrol, Jaycee Park fund raisers/volunteers, Block Captains, newsletter distribution and our neighbors who write articles for the newsletter (Health, Real Estate). Many of the Committee Chairs have volunteers who help them behind the scenes and I appreciate your service as well. Another thank you is due our loyal Newsletter Sponsors – consistently buying adds to support our community paper.

The President’s volunteer position did not come with a clear description of my duties, so like President’s before, I am slowly learning my duties from sorting through information from our previous Presidents, other neighbors, the LCC Constitution and the LCC By laws. I hope to be more organized for you next year as it becomes clearer what I am supposed to achieve and in which month. I have discovered at year end I am to have our volunteers for 2011 in place thus the emails/phone calls to many of you have started going out. I am excited that so many have agreed to continue in your current positions. Per the LCC By Laws Section 1, the President is to appoint the Committees and their Chairs. Per the constitution, the Officers (Executive Board) are to be elected by the majority of the members present. I hope to have an active volunteer group to support our neighborhood in 2011 and look forward to serving you another year.

Our elders are the back bone of the leadership, whether they are serving now or in the past due to their extensive history with our neighborhood.

I’ve enjoyed their advice and funny stories. I want to take this opportunity to ask the younger members of our community to come forward and volunteer. Your ideas and influence are important to shaping our future. Several recent volunteers come to mind – Greg Kalba an Architect interested in Deed Restrictions/Arch Review, Ilya Martinalbo a working mother interested in helping us with Chief Block Captaining, Sherri Oldham steps in to help wherever I’ve asked and Birgitt Haderlein is helping with our physical fitness as well as safety issues while doing so, Melodie Matlock took on Holiday Judging, We also have several new families in the neighborhood who volunteered to be the Block Captains for their neighbors.

For those residents who paid their civic club dues for 2010 THANK YOU! For those still on the fence please make a check out to Lazybrook Civic Club and join our club by mailing your information/$25 to Lazybrook Civic Club PO Box 926181 Houston TX 77292. We are striving for 100% participation by our residents. Please try to attend our meetings to vote on where club money is used. Nov 30 2010 LBCC Meeting is our Holiday Social (Bring a dish). 2011 dates are:

January 25th – Officers/Volunteers announced.

March 22 – Guest Speaker with updates on the Hwy 290 expansion at 610 Loop.

May 24 – speakers to be determined.

September 9th – speakers to be determined.

Thank you again for serving and supporting our club.

Well Hello Neighbors!  Is it hot enough for everyone out there?  What a summer of high temperatures.  I used it as another excuse not to exercise.  Shame on me ;o).

Where is my life going?  Another summer has come and gone.  How does it fly by so fast?  My Daddy warned me about this but I just thought he was senile.  My kids moved off to start their own lives and I am dreaming about grandkids. I look in the mirror and my mother’s face smiles back at me.  Daddy is a smart man – wish I had paid closer attention.  Oh well – all the more reason to enjoy each day to the fullest.

November is coming fast and it means voting and turkey/dressing.  I love them both.  Please know there is a law on the books that allows you to support your fave candidate with yard signs.  If the yard signs bother you, please grin and bear it.  The signs must be down by Nov 12th.  Please don’t remove your neighbor’s signs like we’ve done in the past.  It is against the law to steal another’s property and your neighbors aren’t breaking in laws by putting them up (the law overrides our deed restrictions).   Also – get out and VOTE.

Block Captains – I am still seeking a CHIEF Block Captain.  You don’t have to be your block’s captain to apply.  Those of you who have not paid your civic club dues, please do.  I’ll be happy to drop by and pick up the check.

I hope you all enjoy your fall months and we’ll see you at the next 5th Friday at our place Oct 29th.

Hello Lazybrookers,
First let me thank all of you who responded with your opinions on the newsletter distribution to neighbors who do not belong to our Civic Club.  We will continue to distribute to all.  Common opinions came out rapidly.

1. Advertisers want to reach 100% of our neighbors.
2. Anyone who truly cannot work the yearly dues into their budgets can be assisted yearly by other generous neighbors (I was happy to see how many stepped forward to help). I will figure this part out via a letter this summer.
3. Lazybrookers want the Block Captains organized to collect dues and/or find out why a neighbor does not want to join the neighborhood civic club.  Block Captains are very important part of our leadership infrastructure and our club must organize, publish their contact info and THANK each of you who fill this very important volunteer slot yearly.
4. Most of you mentioned moving the newsletter 100% over to the Lazybrook.org website.  We aren’t ready yet but will head in that direction in the next 3-4 years as the website is used more and more.  I love the WEBSITE.  My church distributes our weekly newsletter via mass email and it works great.  Maybe down the road.

Announcement:
Lazybrook 5th Friday Social is MOVING this month to Sherri Oldham and Birgitt Haderlein’s home  2222 Lazybrook @ Millwood  Friday night 5:30 to 7:30 July 30. Dinner will be served, bring a bottle of wine or  dessert.  You’ll see the social sign in their front yard approximately 2 weeks before the gathering.  Thanks Sherri and Birgitt for hosting our July Social.

Chief Block Captain
I am seeking one Chief Block Captain to help me organize the Block Captains.  This position would be the liaison between our Membership Chair, Janell Bryans, for dues information as well as solicit/receive announcements for our Newsletter Chair Crystal Frommert on births, deaths, anniversaries, graduations, honors etc.

Please let me know if you are listed as a Block Captain and want to retire.  I am trying to get active block captains on 100% of our blocks and I will fill your position if you do not want to stay on.