38th Annual Houston Heights Association Volunteer Appreciation & Community Improvement Awards Dinner

February 26, 2012
5:00 to 8:00 PM

The annual HHA Volunteer Appreciation and Community Improvement Awards Dinner will start things off this year with a “BYOB Mix-N-Mingle Hour,” beginning at 5:00 PM on Sunday, February 26, at the Heights Fire Station, 107 W. 12th Street at Yale. The theme is “Heart of the Heights,” representing our cherished volunteers and the community improvements made in recent years.

Dinner will be served by Zelko Bistro at 6:00 PM. The evening will continue with the recognition of volunteers, including the prestigious awards for 2011 Citizen of the Year, Corporate Citizen of the Year, and the Marcella Perry Award, among a few other surprises. Results will also be announced for the 2011 Community Improvement Awards, consisting of Residential Renovation, Commercial Renovation, Residential New Construction, and Commercial New Construction.

Due to TABC rules, the HHA will be unable to provide alcoholic beverages for this event at this location (although plenty of non-alcoholic beverages will be available), but we invite everyone to “BYOB” for yourself and your guests.

Tickets are on sale now at the Awards Dinner page for $25 per person or $200 for a reserved table of 8. Seating is limited, and reservations will be available on a first-come, first-served basis.

We look forward to seeing you on Sunday, February 26!

If you have further questions, you may send e-mail to info@houstonheights.org.

Education Committee Schedule

During 2012, the HHA Education Committee will meet only in odd-numbered months instead of monthly. The meetings will still be on the fourth Monday of the month except in May, when the meeting will be on the fourth Tuesday due to Memorial Day. Dates for the remainder of 2012 are March 26, May 22 (Tuesday), July 23, September 24, and November 26.

The focus of the committee this spring is continuing the growth of “A is for the Arts” and the Youth Art Show held in conjunction with the annual HHA Spring Home and Garden Tour. If you would like to become involved, please contact Stephanie Babb at stephanie@babbhouston.com.

President’s Message - Part 2 - Goals for 2012

by Lindsey Lee, 2012 HHA President

Houston Heights is one of the most diverse communities in the Houston metropolitan area. The variety of our residents, commercial enterprises, community organizations, and architecture is what unites Houston Heights as a neighborhood. We love being part of a “small town community in the heart of Houston where neighbors and businesses thrive, children learn and play, and history lives.” My goal while serving as President of the Houston Heights Association this year is to promote and support our mission to “foster a sense of community among the diverse segments of the neighborhood … in an atmosphere of friendliness, cooperation and fun.”

One area of my efforts will be to increase the number of volunteers participating in HHA activities. As a volunteer organization, the Houston Heights Association depends greatly on its members contributing their time to the organization’s effort. Without our volunteers, HHA would not be able to provide the programs and events that allow us to achieve our mission. On Sunday, February 26, HHA hosts its annual Volunteer Appreciation and Awards Dinner to thank our volunteers for their commitment and contributions to improving our community.

Deb and I lived in Houston Heights for almost four years before I became involved with the HHA. The main reason I did not volunteer earlier was because I did not know how I could help. One day, Chris Silkwood asked my wife if I would serve as Treasurer of the Association. Deb said yes without asking me, and thus started my participation in the HHA.

We need your help. The Houston Heights Association has many opportunities for you to make Houston Heights a better place to live. For example, over 300 people will be needed to ensure the success of the 2012 Home & Garden Tour and Candlelight Dinner during the weekend of April 13-15. The Education Committee, the Fun Run Committee, the Land Use Committee, and the Bike Rally Committee are additional examples of HHA activities that need you.

Since 1997, the Houston Heights City Hall and Fire Station has served as a community center for Houston Heights. This 7,000-square-foot building, built in 1914, served as Houston Heights’ original city hall, jail, and fire station. Located at 12th and Yale Streets, it has changed little since its construction. The City of Houston operated the building as a fire station from annexation in 1918 until 1995. The Houston Heights Association obtained a 30-year lease from the City of Houston and immediately began restoration of this beautiful, historic building. Subsequently, the Association purchased the facility from the City of Houston in December 2009.

With the building’s centennial approaching, HHA is committed to renovating and restoring the Fire Station to be consistent with its history and its use as a community center. Bill Baldwin is leading this effort. Planning and fundraising for restoration of the Fire Station is ongoing and is a primary focus of the HHA Board of Directors. The renovation and restoration of the Fire Station is the Houston Heights’ most ambitious undertaking to date. Last year, over $100,000 was invested in repairing the Fire Station’s brick façade and replacing its garage doors to be consistent with the building’s original design. This year, we need to replace all the air conditioning units and will begin renovating the first floor interior.

The Fire Station Restoration Committee meets on the third Monday of every month. The committee needs help planning, designing, and implementing the Fire Station’s restoration and raising the funds to pay for the improvements. If you are interested preserving history, restoring this crown jewel of Houston Heights, and/or creating a community center for the residents of Houston Heights, we can use your help.

Please attend the next meeting of the Fire Station Restoration Committee, on Monday, February 20 at 5:30 pm.

The recent drought has devastated trees and groundscape all over Houston. The esplanade along Heights Boulevard has been significantly impacted. As stewards of Heights Boulevard, HHA is responsible for maintaining the trees in the esplanade. The Houston Heights Association is dedicated to conserving the tree canopy along the Boulevard since it is one of the features that make our neighborhood so attractive. Due to the damage from the drought, the need for our support has grown dramatically. Each month, Jim Bennett leads a group of volunteers to mulch, plant, and maintain the Boulevard’s trees. We need more people to help maintain the trees. In addition, we need financial contributions to pay for trees to replace the trees that have died. Your support in these efforts will keep Houston Heights green.

In closing, the diversity of our neighborhood is what unites us and the reason we call Houston Heights home. My goal is to foster this sense of community by encouraging each resident of Houston Heights to become involved in our neighborhood to help make Houston Heights an even greater place to live.

2012 Houston Heights Association Home & Garden Tour

“Opening Doors - The Key to Our Future is Hinged on Our Past”

by Tour Executive Chairs Hilary Parr Cobb, Gilbert Joseph Perez, and Lina Fairchid

Plans are already underway for a spectacular Spring Home & Garden Tour to be held on Saturday and Sunday, April 14 and 15. The Houston Heights Association home tours are among the best and most successful in the state of Texas, due in large part to the generosity and immense talents found right here in the neighborhood.

The Homes & Gardens

• Purday/Coon Residence, 1109 Oxford
• Mueller Residence, 941 Cortlandt (above)
• Tegtmeier Residence, 706 Cortlandt
• Womble Residence, 515 Harvard
• Fritsch Residence, 1243 Tulane
• Yeatts Residence, 531 W 16th Street (below)

The Candlelight Dinner

We are excited to announce the venue for the 2012 Candlelight Dinner & Auction.

This year the event will be held on Friday, April 13, 2012, at the funky and popular locale of SPJST Lodge 88. Often referred to as the Houston Heights’ social event of the year, this evening begins with a private tour of homes from 5:00 to 7:00 PM (before they are opened to the public that weekend) and a fun evening of fine dining, open bar, a spectacular live and silent auction, and for the first time, the Candlelight Dinner will host an electric after-hours party with a raffle, local band, and dancing adding to the excitement of the night and opening doors to a wider audience.

Please mark your calendars now for the Candlelight Dinner & Auction on April 13. Tickets will go on sale approximately March 1.

The Auction

A large crew of volunteers is already in high gear creating the highly anticipated live and silent auctions that take place at the Candlelight Dinner. It takes a village to pull this auction together, and the proceeds are very important to continue to fund the many projects undertaken by the Houston Heights Association for the benefit of our neighborhood.

Please help us by donating an item or a gift certificate to this very important and high-profile event. In addition to your kind generosity and helping hand, you will receive acknowledgment in the evening’s wonderful gala program which is taken home by approximately 500 distinguished guests, on the bid sheets accompanying your donation, in the wrap-up newsletter article after the conclusion of the auction, and additionally, you may provide marketing material and reasonably-sized signage to be placed alongside your donation. We also encourage our volunteers and the guests at the dinner to support the businesses and artists who contribute to this event.

We are also looking for a few good men/women to join the Auction Committee, which entails soliciting and collecting donations and helping organize, set up, and design the silent auction on the eve of the event. If you would like to make a donation to the Candlelight Dinner Auction or volunteer on the Auction Committee, please e-mail auction@ houstonheights.org.

The Committee

• Executive Chairs - Hilary Parr Cobb, Gilbert Jospeh Perez, Lina Fairchild
• Spring Home & Garden Tour Chairs - Sandy Steitz, Nick Eronko
• Candlelight Dinner Chairs - Marylou Erbland, Gayle Klaybor, Holly Simmons
• Live Auction Chairs - Chris Silkwood, Kelly Simmons
• Silent Auction Chairs - Janet Buchheit, Kit Davis
• Kick-Off Party Chair - Carol Yeatts
• Signage Coordinator - Kelly Simmons
• Guest List & Phone Mail Manager - Denise Martin
• After Party Chair - Kelly Dunavant
• VIP Ticket Distribution Chair - Dawnia Willis
• Decorations - Marki McMillan, Scott Wendland
• Lighting - Martin Sunday
• Alcohol Donations - Rich Anhorn
• DJ - Fast Eddy Dolan
• Emcee - Maria Todd
• Ticket Sales Coordinator - Joan Kerr
• Collateral Design Chair - Bob Alban
• Operations Directors/Security - Sheriffs - Paul & Mary Carr
• Alternative Transportation Co-Chairs - Jim & Donna Bennett
• Program and Ad Sales Chair - Michael Baldwin
• Shuttle Chair - Linda Boggess

The Featured Artist

We are very excited to announce that the featured artist for the 2012 Houston Heights Association Home & Garden Tour is J Antonio Farfan. Mr. Farfan has created a custom work to be used in marketing material throughout the event, the original canvas of which will go to the highest bidder during the Candlelight Dinner’s Live Auction. You can visit J Antonio Farfan’s website at www.jantoniofarfan.com.

The Volunteers

We can’t pull this event off without our wonderful volunteers. We have at least 200 openings for docents and ticket sellers - each home requires an average of 40 volunteers over the course of the weekend. The volunteer shifts are only three hours long, and you will receive a complimentary home tour ticket in exchange for your invaluable time. This is a great way to give back to your community, meet new people in the neighborhood, and have a lot of fun in the process. If you like volunteering as a docent or ticket seller and you have the time, you may want to step it up the next year and become a head docent or a committee chair! You may volunteer by e-mailing tourvolunteer@ houstonheights.org.

Stay Tuned

You can expect more fun details on the Home & Garden Tour, the Candlelight Dinner, and the Auction in the coming couple of months. If you have any questions or comments at all, please contact us at springtour@ houstonheights.org. You can also visit the Spring Home Tour page for all of the current information.

HHA Loses Long-Time Volunteer Joan Robins

Joan Robins, tireless HHA volunteer died on Tuesday, January 3 following emergency cardiac surgery. Joan lived for over 15 years at 1815 Columbia before moving in 2006 to a senior living complex, Eagles Trace on Hwy 6.

Joan was a regular volunteer on the Boulevard Committee. She was the self-appointed custodian of Cohen Plaza. She made a regular practice of picking up trash as she walked the jogging trail.

Joan was given a special award by Jim Bennett at the 2006 HHA Volunteer Dinner [left] for the impact she had on boulevard beautification.

Though Joan had moved from the Heights, she kept her HHA membership current and stayed in touch with her friends in the Heights. A group of her fellow HHA boulevard volunteers are planning a tree planting ceremony in her honor this spring. She was 79 years old.

Portrait photo at upper right courtesy of Olan Mills Photographic Studios, reproduced with permission. HHA event photos by Editor Mark Williamson.

Calendar of Events for February–March 2012

HHA headquarters: The Fire Station is on the corner of Yale and 12th Streets.

Community Calendar

Events planned by other community organizations.

February 17 - March 3, UpStage Theatre presents The Beverly Hillbillies at Lambert Hall, 1703 Heights Blvd. For more information, visit www.upstagetheatre.org.

March 15-17, 22-25, Opera in the Heights presents Verdi’s Il Trovatore in Lambert Hall, 1703 Heights Blvd. For more information, visit www.operaintheheights.org.

April 21 - May 6, UpStage Theatre presents Cinderella at Lambert Hall, 1703 Heights Blvd. For more information, visit www.upstagetheatre.org.

May 18 - June 2, UpStage Theatre presents Twelve Angry Men, Twelve Angry Women, and Twelve Angry Jurors (one version per weekend) at Lambert Hall, 1703 Heights Blvd. For more information, visit www.upstagetheatre.org.

June 9-24, UpStage Theatre presents Robin Hood at Lambert Hall, 1703 Heights Blvd. For more information, visit www.upstagetheatre.org.

July 6-28, UpStage Theatre presents Happy Days, a new musical at Lambert Hall, 1703 Heights Blvd. For more information, visit www.upstagetheatre.org.

Future History

April 13-15, Spring Home Tour

June 2, Heights Fun Run

October 7, Bicycle Rally

November 30 and December 1, Holiday Home Tour

December, Holiday Food Baskets [dates uncertain]

2013:

February 24, Awards Dinner

At The Properties

Events at the Houston Heights City Hall and Fire Station, Donovan Park, and Marmion Park

Heights Tai Chi Association meets Saturdays 9:00 AM and Wednesdays at 7:00 PM in Marmion Park, Heights at 18th.

Heavy Trash Notes

February is a “Junk Waste” month; March is a “Tree Waste Only” month. For dates in your area, visit the City Solid Waste site.