President’s Message

 At the end of February Nat Hilliard completed her second term as President of the Brazos Heritage Society.  During her two terms in this leadership position she created energy and enthusiasm within the organization, she caused the delivery of a number of successful programs and activities, and she was, without a doubt, a good steward of all that which she was entrusted.  We owe her a debt of gratitude for her remarkable service to the Society, both in the past and continuing. 

During the year I serve as President, and with the help of a very able Executive Committee, I intend to continue on the course set by Nat and build on it.  Elected and appointed members of the Executive Committee include:

Isabel McPartlin, Vice President

Kyle Kovel, Secretary

Beverly Myers, Treasurer

Nat Hilliard, Immediate Past President

Tom McDonald, Of Counsel

Sheila Fields, Research Chair

Randy and Stephanie Hilliard, Special Events Co-Chairs

Linda Roberts and Lee Davison, Eastside Historic District Co-Chairs

Over the past several weeks members of the Executive Committee have been meeting and have created two new committees to better serve the membership and the resources of the Society.

The first is the Events Committee, responsible for coordinating the signature event of the Society – the Independence Day festivities in Heritage Park.  In addition, this committee will work with other committees to produce activities, such as the Christmas Stroll and the Victorian Tea.  Further, this committee will take the lead in representing the Brazos Heritage Society, along with other members of the Executive Committee, at various community events.  Finally, this committee will develop and host “day trips” for Society members to historic sites and will explore the development of programs of interest to our members.  I am grateful to Randy and Stephanie Hilliard for co-chairing this vitally important committee.

The second new committee created is the Eastside Historic District Committee.  The mission of this committee is to promote and preserve this historic district of Bryan by: developing an annual plan for the district; identifying areas for improvement and enhancement; providing stewardship of Heritage Park; with the assistance of the Events Committee, conducting activities that favorably highlight the Society and the district; and advertising events in the district and park.  We are indeed fortunate that Linda Roberts and Lee Davison have volunteered to co-chair this committee.

While our plans are to continue to mail out a paper newsletter to the membership, much more information may be found on our electronic newsletter – Heritage Brazos.  On a monthly basis, or when time sensitive information needs to be disseminated, we will send out notices to the members’ emails we have on hand.   

Members interested in serving on any of the committees or becoming more involved in the activities of the Brazos Heritage Society are encouraged to contact me or any member of the Executive Committee.

                                                                                                Dan Beto, President