Open Letter: Save The Date #GivingTuesday November 28, 2017

Here at the Hill Country Alliance, I’ve lost count of how many supporters, partners, inspirational individuals, ideas, and moments we have to be thankful for this year.

by, Garry Merritt, HCA Board President

As the weather cools and we all gather loved ones close, Thanksgiving is a perfect time to pause and count our blessings. Here at the Hill Country Alliance, I’ve lost count of how many supporters, partners, inspirational individuals, ideas, and moments we have to be thankful for this year.

With your generous help, the Hill Country Alliance has continued its mission of bringing together landowners, ranchers, conservationists, developers and elected officials to preserve the Hill Country that we all love.

In sitting down to write these notes, I thought it would be appropriate to highlight a few things that the Hill Country Alliance is most thankful for this month:

• The numerous volunteers who helped organize the eighth annual Rainwater Revival + Hill Country Living Festival in Dripping Springs on November 4^th. You can click here to see photos from the event, where we had more than 1300 people in attendance! This year’s event was bigger and better than ever, and special shout outs must go to:

• Karen Ford, founding HCA board member, was the creative force that initially conceived and created the Festival and took it to the next level this year by expanding the focus to include the ideas of Hill Country Living. Thank you, Karen, for your inspiring enthusiasm, vision and energy!

• Sheila Holt, HCA’s Office Manager, helped coordinate every single detail of the festival, on top of her other duties at HCA. Thanks to her organization and attention to detail, HCA was able to pull together over 75 exhibitors, 5 food trucks, 4 bands, 3 tiny homes and 10 educational speakers this year!

• The launch of the Texas Water Symposium’s 10^th anniversary season! Thanks to your support, the symposium has become the longest running water-oriented lecture series in Texas! We began the 2017-2018 series at Schreiner University on November 9, where discussion focused on climate and water. Join us for the next installment of the Texas Water Symposium on December 7 in Boerne to learn about rainwater harvesting, and what it is doing to relieve pressure on our over-burdened water systems.

This holiday season, the Hill Country Alliance is participating in #GivingTuesday. After a weekend filled with eating, visiting and shopping – dedicate your Tuesday to giving! 

On November 28, you can join us in preserving the natural resources and heritage of the Texas Hill Country.

Here’s how your donations make a difference:

• $1,000: Funds an event for HCA in your community to protect our open spaces, water supply, water quality and unique character.
• $500: Buys essential supplies for riparian restoration projects across the Hill Country.
• $100: Supports a landowner workshop to help landowners learn how to steward and protect their land investment

Thank you, as always, for your incredible support. Let me be the first to say: Happy Thanksgiving!