Austin Pond Society Election Time

Its that time of the year again when we need to elect new officers or in several cases, re-elect returning officers. Listed below are all of the Board and Director positions. If you are interested or know of someone that is, be ready to nominate them at the upcoming meeting on Monday, October 16 even if the current person is willing to run again as ALL positions are open. We will also be holding our Photo Competition so dig out those pictures and enter them in the contest. The speaker is Paul Lawrence from “Texas Land & Water Designs”. Don’t forget Members, Deserts are always welcome to add to the meal. We have a very busy evening coming up and hope to see you there.

Austin Pond Society Board Positions and Job Description

Listed below are the current Board and Director positions for the Austin Pond Society. The names of the current office holders and their willingness to continue in this role are also listed.

REGARDLESS OF ANY INCUMBENT WILLING TO CONTINUE IN THEIR CURRENT POSITION, ANY MEMBER MAY BE NOMINATED OR SELF NOMINATE FOR ANY OF THE POSITIONS LISTED AND THE MEMBERSHIP WILL DECIDE BY VOTE, (a show of hands) WHICH PERSON TO ELECT.

President/AAGC

Oversees the general operation of the Austin Pond Society: As written in bylaws
Current President – Jeannie Ferrier
Is willing to run again.

Secretary

Records the business of the APS and maintains records required by the State of Texas: As written in bylaws
Current Secretary – Julienne Smith
Is stepping down

Treasurer

Has fiduciary responsibility for all APS funds: As written in bylaws
Current Treasurer – Jack Marshall
Is willing to run again.

Parliamentarian

The Parliamentarian shall also serve as the compliance officer: As written in bylaws
Current Parliamentarian – Nancy Reinert
Is willing to run again.

Programs/Special Events

Searches and secures speakers and programs of interest for the general membership meeting:
Identifies pond and water garden related sources for programs
Makes contact and schedule speakers, explaining our interest and what audio/visual equipment is available for their use
Plans periodic interactive programs dedicated to the exchange of information and ideas among the attendees at the general membership meeting.
Plans and oversees events outside the regular monthly meetings.
Plan and coordinate special “members only” events throughout the year.
Plan and coordinate trips, outings and other activities, not necessarily pond related, for the purpose of socializing and building relationships with the APS.
Current Programs/Special Events – Barb Lenhardt
Is stepping down

Membership- Maintains

List of members, sends renewal notices, maintains membership roster and collects/deposits membership dues.
Creates and supplies name tags at each meeting, reports to board number of members at reg meeting.
Current Membership – Rodney Lewis
Is willing to run again.

Pond Tour Director

Oversees and coordinates all activities related to the annual pond tour:
Sets up committees to handle volunteers, publicity, ticket sales, program printing, t-shirt design and purchase.
Selects appropriate ponds and works with pond owners to insure compliance with rules and acceptability of the ponds (no outlawed plants etc.)
Coordinates the world famous SPLASH! party.
Current Pond Tour Director – Ted Paone
Is stepping down

Publicity

Places advertisements, issues press releases and coordinates media exposure:
Handles major publicity for Pond Tour by placing notices, article and sending press releases to local media.
Serves as the “face and the voice” of the Pond Society for TV and radio exposure.
Places advertisements and issues press releases throughout the year as necessary.
Current Publicity – Ellen Filtness
Is willing to run again.

Hospitality

Provides refreshments at general membership meetings / SPLASH! and when requested for special events.
Sets up food and beverages prior to the meeting time.
Replenishes serving pieces when necessary/ works within our APS budget.
Cleans up and puts kitchen back to proper order.
Current Hospitality – Stephen Monfrini
Is willing to run again.

Webmaster

Maintains the APS website/Facebook
Adds and deletes content as necessary.
Monitors Pond Tour ticket sale through the website.
Current Webmaster – Francis Allcorn
Is willing to run again.

Librarian

Maintains the APS book and periodical inventory:
Makes available APS book for lending and tracks the users of these loaned materials-purchase new items.
Current Librarian – Margaret Boeneke
Is willing to run again.

Photographer/Historian

Captures the activities of the APS through photographs or video:
Attends meeting, events and gatherings and takes formal and candid photographs.
Makes photographs available the webmaster.
Current Photographer/Historian – Glen Hubenthal
Is willing to run again.

We will be holding our annual calendar photo contest at the October 16th meeting! Please arrive as early as possible so that all photos are displayed and ready for voting to begin. When you arrive, please enter your name(s) on the contest form. You will use the number beside you name as your entry number. This one number will be written on the provided post-it notes and attached to the front of each of your submissions. They will then be displayed on the table for each subject matter. All members attending the meeting will vote on the photos by noting the number of their favorite photo in each category on the provided ballots.

As usual, there will be 4 categories for photos:
{Ponds,Fish/Wildlife, Waterlilies, Pond plants}
1) Ponds and pond features
2) Fish
3) Wildlife (any insects, amphibians, birds, critters, etc. found around or in our ponds, except fish)
4) Pond Plants
Ideally photos will be landscape (wider than tall). Portrait photos are harder to position on the page. Any format from 4×6 up to 8×10 will be accepted. Smaller sizes will decrease the impact on your wallet but may not ‘show’ as well as the traditional 8×10.

You may only submit one photo per category. A membership may submit one for each person. Please only enter photos which were actually taken by the person entering them (i.e. – don’t enter 2 pictures taken by one person under 2 different names.) You must be present to enter or win. Only two winners per membership will be allowed. There will be 3 winners per category. All winners will receive a free calendar. Judges with decide the overall winning picture from all 1st place entries to be used for the calendar cover.

There has been an uptick in reported snake sightings around ponds in our area Although it is always best to err on the side of safety when it comes to snakes, not all snakes are dangerous. In truth, most snakes would rather not be in the company or vicinity of humans as we are a not the best of company for them either because we are mortally afraid or because we want to kill each and every one, both good and bad. Many snakes actually do a lot of good killing mice and rats that tend to gather in the rockwork around our ponds or under our sheds. They are a bit intimidating when you come across them unexpectedly and they will either try to get away or go into attack mode depending on the type. In either case, leaving them alone will generally be enough for them to leave.Obviously, if you have pets or children then a different approach may be called for but it is up to each individual to make that decision.

To help with identification of “good” snakes versus “bad” ones, here is a picture indicating some of the differences between the poisonous ones and ones that look very similar. A good rule of thumb for most of them is that the venomous kind, with a couple of exceptions, have distinct triangular shaped heads.

Incidentally, I have found non poisonous ones in my Skimmer which does tend to give one a bit of a start but given time, they quickly leave. I also had a rat snake in my shed and later out in the yard. I gave him some time to get away but unfortunately, Richie, my medium sized Dachshund found and killed him. He was all of four feet long and was beautifully marked. Always be aware and be careful.

ZILKER PARK OFFICIALLY KICKS OFF 100TH ANNIVERSARY CELEBRATION

This is the main Zilker100 page that is live all year and will include updates.

100 years ago, the residents of Austin were given one of the best gifts of all time, the “Crown Jewel of Austin”. Due to the generosity of businessman and philanthropist Andrew Zilker, the citizens of Austin were given the land that is now known and loved as Zilker Park. Read More…

Do you have any used pond or garden equipment laying around that you would like to sell, swap or give away?

The Austin Pond Society has a page on the website called “The Marketplace” where members and others that have pond equipment that they would like to sell, swap or giveaway, can post. You can even use it to advertise that you are looking for a particular piece of equipment like a pump or skimmer or if you are building a pond, a used liner or maybe carpet for the underlayment for example.

Upon completion of the form required to describe the objects, the articles will be posted on the website. They will sell quicker if you have pictures showing your articles. Please note: Any dealings that take place are between the seller and the buyer. Please read the full disclaimer posted on the Marketplace page. CLICK HERE TO GO TO THE FORM