FBSP DECEMBER-2019 PRESIDENT’S REPORT

Friends,

The end of the year is nearly here and FBSP is excited once again to participate in the annual Polar Bear Plunge on New Years’ Day! We hope to see you all at the Pool this New Years’ Day to greet the new decade with a refreshing dip in the clear calm waters of Barton Springs and give a warm welcome to our 2020 FBSP Board.

Visit us at our booth on the south side of the Pool anytime between 9:30 and 4:00 on January 1 to meet our new Board, get information about membership and volunteering, and of course, to grab your 2020 Polar Bear Plunge swag!

Before the holidays, the 2019 FBSP Board welcomed three new members to its group of dedicated volunteers. After much deliberation, I decided the time had come to pass the torch to a new president and I am thrilled to announce that Stacey Buchanan will take over the role of president for the 2020 season. Stacey is an enthusiastic supporter of Barton Springs Pool and I am confident she will carry out the mission of the FBSP organization dutifully and faithfully. FBSP additionally welcomes David Cochran to the role of Vice President (replacing Ashley Todd who assumes the treasurer chair for the 2020 season) who will steer our ongoing efforts with the aquatic planting project, and Mark Jensen, who joins us as a talented and much-needed communications
chair.

PLEASE WELCOME OUR 2020 BOARD!!
President: Stacey Buchanan
Vice President: Dave Cothran
Treasurer: Ashley Todd
Secretary: Sarah Williams
Advocacy: Mike Cannatti
Communications: Mark Jensen
Fun: Carole Geffen
Fundraising: Brian Keogh
Membership: Renee Weissend
Service: Marc Czo

Update on the Aquatic Plant Nursery at Zilker Botanical Garden 

A huge thank you to the Barton Springs Conservancy which was able to secure grant funding for this project and to the Zilker Botanical Garden which agreed to set up a nursery for aquatic plans that will support increased aquatic plantings in the Pool. FBSP is shepherding more than 130 plants its volunteers added to the Pool this year with high hopes the plants will survive until spring and increase the biodiversity that is critical to the Pool’s ecosystem!

As my final duty as president, I personally would like to welcome Stacey, David and Mark to the Board, offer a huge thank you to the Board’s continuing members all of whom tirelessly serve FBSP year-round, Sarah Williams, Carole Geffen, Marc Czo, Ashley Todd, Renee Weissend, Mike Cannatti, and Brian Keough, and bid a fond farewell to Laurie Evans, who served as a superior advocate for the Pool and I know will continue to do so in her future endeavors. I feel humbled to have served in the role of President for so long and am grateful the Austin community is fortunate enough to have so many faithful stewards of Barton Springs Pool. I am jazzed about this new board and am looking forward to my role as a past president and proud future member of FBSP.

See you at the pool,
Steve Barnick, Past President

Board Officer Election Results for 2020

We are pleased to announce that Friends of Barton Springs Pool has elected the following slate of officers for the upcoming year, 2020:

Stacey Buchanan, President
David Cothran, Vice President
Ashley Todd, Treasurer
Sarah Williams, Secretary
Mike Cannatti, Advocacy Chair
Mark Jensen, Communications Chair
Carole Geffen, Fun Chair
Brian Keough, Fundraising Chair
Currently Vacant, Membership Chair
Marc Czo, Service Chair

The recent addition of Stacey Buchanan and David Cothran to the board brings a ton of energy, environmental expertise, and passion for all things Spring-y.  All of this and more will be needed to fill in for Steve Barnick and Laurie Evans who now have earned some rest and respite from their roles as board president and treasurer.  Our deepest gratitude to Steve and Laurie for the years of service, and also to Stacey and David for their willingness to step up to the board leadership positions.  Thanks y’all!

New Board Member — Brian Keough

At our June board meeting, we voted to elect Brian Keough to serve on the board as our Membership Chair. Working at Atlassian as a Product Marketing Manager, Brian studied at UT’s MBA program and has been in Austin a few years, but has (wisely) identified Barton Springs as something cool and unique and worth getting involved with.  We are delighted to have Brian join our board!

FBSP Picnic- Saturday June 15, 2019 @ Austin Beer Garden Brewing Co)

Please join Friends of Barton Springs Pool for their 2019 Membership Picnic on Saturday, June 15th from 1:00 – 3:00 pm at Austin Beer Garden Brewing Co. (ABGB), 1305 W Oltorf St, Austin, TX 78704!! 

We have reserved the outdoor picnic table area, will have food and drinks tickets available, and will be raffling off swim passes and FBSP towels.  With the good folks at ABGB donating the first 50 beers, we’ll cover the tab for pizza slizes (2) and drinks for members who show up.  Raffles will be held every 30 minutes (or so), and then at 3:00pm, an unofficial and non-sponsored bike ride will likely spontaneously occur to proceed to the Barton Springs from ABGB for some afternoon fun at the Springs.

Come by, introduce yourself to the current board members, and learn more about all of the good things we are doing and what we hope to accomplish in the coming year. Please RSVP to fun@friendsofbartonspringspool.org

New Board Member — Jennifer Robenalt

On May 28, 2019, the board voted to elect Jennifer Robenalt to serve on the board as our Advocacy Chair.  Jennifer grew up in Austin, Texas, has worked in the communications/marketing/public relations space, and enjoys swimming with her son at Barton Springs 4-5 times a week!  Chillin’ with the kids, how cool is that?  We are delighted to have Jennifer join our board!

New Board Member — Renee Weissend

In January, 2019, the board voted to elect Renee Weissend to serve on the board as our Fundraising Chair.  Renee lives in the Zilker area, is a graduate from UT’s MBA program, works at Dell on their Global Marketing Strategy for IoT Solutions, was recently married,  and loves Barton Springs Pool.  We look forward to working with Renee as an excellent addition to our board!!!!!