March 2020 FOL Newsletter

NEWS & NOTES

A monthly newsletter from the FOL President to keep you informed on what is happening with the Friends.

Board of Directors

In January, new officers were elected to the Board of Directors:

Suzanne Kratz President

Mary Lu Zellers Vice-President

Dale Pillow Treasurer

Deborah Halsted Co-Secretary

Anne-Marie Kimbell Co-Secretary

Susan Shapiro Committee Director

Athena Houghtaling Director at Large

Eric Renth Director at Large

At present, our Board meetings are being held on the third Wednesday of each month at 5:00 PM at the library. All members are welcome and encouraged to attend.

Book & Author Highlights

T he Friends held the Book and Author event on February 21. The authors who attended were: Bryant Boutwell who wrote, I’m Dr. Red Duke; Marian McCarthy, author of Beneath the Wild Blue; and Joe Nick Patoski. author of Austin to ATX, the Hippies, Pickers, Slackers and Geeks Who Transformed the Capital of Texas. Following a delicious lunch and mimosas, each author gave an informative and entertaining talk about their books. Lori Mammen served as our moderator and did a great job providing many facts about literacy. There was lots of positive feedback on the event. The Friends will begin planning for next year’s event sometime in the summer. Please let Suzanne Kratz know if you are interested helping with next year's event.

COMING EVENTS

The Friends have a lot of activities and events coming up in the next three months.

Here are some of the highlights. Look for future emails explaining more about these events.

The Big Give, the South Central Texas 24-hour online giving day, is on Thursday, March 26. This year our goal is to raise funds to support Eagle Scout projects in the outside area next to the Children's Patio, designated by MFP Library as Eagle Scout Park. They want to build picnic tables for Eagle Scout Park and the Butterfly Garden as well as a "Maker Deck" where Makerspace programs can be conducted outdoors. Online donations will be accepted March 19th - 26th or you can bring your donation to the library on March 26.

BUTTERFLY GARDEN

Spring is here and work is progressing on replanting the Butterfly Garden! Members of the Friends of the Library, Comal Master Gardeners, Girl Scouts, and students from the 2020 Comal Master Gardener class weeded and identified drip lines in the irrigation system on February 27. We will be ready for our big planting day on Thursday March 19 from 9-11AM!

New plant signs have been ordered, along with seeds and plants. Joanne Hall with South Texas Growers on Highway 46 has been extremely helpful and generous to the Friends of the Library in providing plants at an affordable cost. We are especially excited to include water plants around our new water feature.

This Butterfly Garden has been a Certified Butterfly Garden, a Certified Monarch Garden and a teaching garden for Comal Master Gardeners since it was first planted in 2009 by the Friends of the Library, Comal Master Gardeners, Comal Master Naturalists, the Bulverde Garden Club, the River Crossing Garden Club and local Girl Scout Troops.

Workdays at the MFPL Butterfly Garden are usually on the 4 ^th Thursday of every month from 9-11 AM. Note that in March only our workday is on the 3 ^rd Thursday---March 19 from 9-11 AM. Please join us that day and help us replant the Butterfly Garden! For more information contact the garden co-chairs Clare Helminiak, [email protected] and Gene Carnicom, [email protected] .

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Great Decisions

T he Library's Great Decisions series will begin on

Thursday, April 2nd - April 23, 5:45 pm - 7:45 pm. This years topics will address critical issues from nuclear security to trade to the future of Europe.

The Friends will help set up and serve a light meal at 5:45pm. This will be followed by viewing of the DVD, aguest speaker, and question and answer period. Emails for FOL hospitality support will be sent later in March.

Battle of Flowers

The Friends bus trip to the Battle of Flowers parade is on Friday, April 24, 2020. Tickets are $50 and go on sale March 9th. You can purchase at the Library or online.

S.T.A.G.E.

The FOL benefit performance at S.T.A.G.E. is Waiting for MacArthur , Thursday, May 7, 2020. Tickets are $20 and are available now at the circulation desk. Proceeds will go to the Friends of the Library.

VOLUNTEER HOURS AND COMMITTEE REPORTS

Each month all FOL members will receive an email to submit your volunteer hours. to Anne-Marie Kimbell. All hours should be reported whether they are done at the library or at home. If you volunteer at the library, you generally submit your hours to Mary Catherine Cole. If you are doing work for the FOL such as Book Nook, hospitality for Great Decisions, or other FOL activities, submit to Anne-Marie.

Committee Chairs will also receive an email each month to submit a short report about what your committee is doing.