February 2010 Newsletter

Finally I can tell you about the TBPOA Christmas Party! It was a lot of fun! We held the party at Beacher's Lodge meeting room and had a full house. Next year we will have to arrange the seating a little differently to accommodate more people. We did have more people than expected and that was great!! We played a game with a page of little drawings that you had to figure out what Christmas song matched the drawing. We had prizes for the top winners. We had an ornament exchange.....where the person that had the number 1 got to pick the first ornament BUT....the next person(who had the #2) could either pick an ornament OR take the one that the previous person just picked because they liked that one!!! An ornament can only change hands 3 times. Once it gets to the 3rd person, it cannot be stolen anymore! There were a few "touchy" times when the person did not want to give up their ornament....but thankfully no fights broke out!!! LOL We also sang the "The Twelve Days of Christmas" led by Betty Fell. There was a twist.....each table had different verses to sing. As the verses started building it was necessary for each table to pick up a new verse. It was hysterical going around the tables and watching people struggle with which verse to sing next! We had lots and lots of prizes. Toward the end of the party, we were giving out prizes if you still remembered your name! Just kidding about that....but we did just start giving out prizes randomly just to make sure everyone got something! And the food!!!!! All kinds of great food to choose from. TBPOA furnished the ham and everyone brought a different covered dish. (Thanks to Gisela, we didn't end up with 12 pans of macaroni and cheese.) I really enjoy tasting different dishes! BUT THE BEST THING ABOUT THE ENTIRE PARTY was the camaraderie! Everyone talked to everyone else....we got to know people a lot better...and everyone had a great time and I'm sure next year will be even better! I want to extend a THANK YOU VERY MUCH to Gisela Prange (now known as "the organizer") and her volunteers: Rudy and Freddie Prange Rose Larsen, Heather, Sharon McIlhenney, Phyllis Grubb and Betty Fell. Great, Great job. OH YEAH! Happy New Year to one and all! We were wild and crazy this past New Year's Eve. Ron and I went to the Elk's Lodge with friends, ate, danced and had a great time. The band was really good "Falling Bones". They play at many different venues around St. Augustine. However, I would tell you that you don't have to be sitting at the table right next to the band to enjoy their music!!!! Then we went to a private New Year's Eve party and brought in the new year with the ball and some champagne. I say we were "wild and crazy" because we didn't get home until 1:00 a.m. I'm still recovering!!! FELL'S PARK The Joe and Betty Fell benches are ready for sitting. We're very grateful to Joe and Betty for buying the benches and for Charlie Novak and John Kelleher for putting them in place. If you haven't done so yet, get some exercise and walk to the end of Treasure Beach Boulevard and sit for a while. If you time it just right, you'll see a beautiful sunset! COMMUNITY MEETINGS: At the January, 2010 community meeting we covered many topics. I think one the most important topics was what short-term and long-term goals would property owners like to see accomplished in this next year. A lot of times we discuss topics that cannot be put into this newspaper or on our website. That's why it is so important for every property owner to try to attend as many community meetings as possible. We tried to find out from the owners which night would be most compatible with their schedules. Guess what.....the answers were all over the board. So.....we had to go with the day picked most often, which happened to be a Tuesday night. We are going to have our community meetings listed on our website so please check this out and see which meetings you may be able to attend. Always feel free to call me or any board member to get a synopsis of the community meeting. Until February.....keep warm! Paula Murphy President