Water is Low, but Spirits are High I want to say thanks to all the members and helpers that made the May 19 Low Boil a rousing success. We couldn't have asked for a more perfect day. The turn out, the food and the music all exceeded expectations. I have received numerous compliments on the cooking. The credit goes to Ellen & David Lee for planning, purchasing and preparation, along with their crew of shrimp/crawfish boilers, John Brennan and Bob Herb, with Tevis Stine overseeing roast chicken and red beans/rice.

John Zibrida's Cadillac Tattoo rocked into the night and they were joined on stage by local guitarists Steve Craigg, Bryan Stuart and event chairman Dag Sandbakken. Dag also generously arranged for the van service to provide rides home. He and wife Kathy were back the next morning to clean up and restore order to the picnic grounds.

The event served as one of the official semi-annual BLHA Membership meetings and we used the opportunity to conduct some business prior to eating. We started by highlighting some of the notable accomplishments so far this year. We also recognized the individuals that have worked so hard and committed their time and money to make all this happen.

The projects and improvements undertaken so far are the ones that had the most immediate impact and feasible within our time frame and budget as determined by the BLHA Board and Capital Improvements Committee. We had originally allocated $10,000 dollars for capital improvements and much needed ground maintenance. This has funded several projects that are outlined in the "Grounds Maintenance" article.

At that time we recognized the individuals that made all this possible, first and foremost – Steve Seitz. Everything that has been accomplished so far this year has been spearheaded by Steve. He has the vision, passion and perseverance to make things happen. Thankfully he also has the patience of Job to graciously solicit input from numerous sources, accommodate countless personal perspectives and produce a consensus.

Steve is a professional in mission management and I can't even fathom how much it would cost to employ that caliber of resource on behalf of the BLHA. In addition to conceiving, proposing, designing and managing these projects Steve also performs a great deal of the actual labor himself. He is on the job constantly, arrives before everyone else and stays long after we have gone. I can see it is a labor of love and we should all be very appreciative of his commitment. That being said, we also need to thank Carol Seitz for the work she had done and for allowing Steve to devote that much time and energy to the community.

We also recognized another major contributor – Joe Voyles. Since the beginning of this year Joe has volunteered countless hours and days landscaping, using his bobcat to remove the old tables and scoop soil from the lakebed. One of his clients, Aztec Stone, donated pallets of rock for the Chapel's portion of the sea wall. In support of Joe's efforts friends David & Ellen Lee also donated a generous amount of money toward the project.

In addition we want to thank a number of other folks and BLOKES that have worked very hard for you this year and I apologize if I miss some names, we have had such tremendous support it has been overwhelming. Constantly helping were Chip & LeAnne McDaniel & their son Patrick, Tod Senne, Rigsby Barnes, Tom McDonald, Tevis Stine, Britt Collins, David & Ellen Lee, Jill Voyles, Kay Lee, Tom Weber, Ron Bigham, Bill Hunkapiller, Randy Johnson, John Pendleton and many others. On earth day Brad & Nancy Nessler, Mikal Kitchens and Debbie Peters pitched in to help beautify our neighborhood.

As promised during our January meeting, we then put a motion in front of the membership to allocate a budget of up to $13,750 for Capital & Grounds Improvements for the remainder of 2007. The motion passed. The specific projects have been prioritized by the input provided as members reviewed the proposed options and discussed them with neighbors and Board members. We will keep you informed as the Capital Improvements committee and BLHA Board move forward with your recommendations.