Barbara Teachey was elected to the Linden Heritage Foundation’s Board of Directors in January 2016 for a 2-year term.  With encouragement from Joe B. Lovelace, she agreed to share an exciting time in her life after entering the “Don Henley Walden Woods Sweepstakes” sponsored by chideo.com in 2014.  Barbara won a prize package consisting of a two-day trip to Boston to attend the Walden Woods 2014 Global Environmental Awards dinner/reception, a “meet and greet” with Don Henley, awards presentation, and a benefit concert by the Eagles. The event took place on September 16, 2014 at the Wang Theater.  Her memories of the event follow.

The Walden Woods Project is a nonprofit organization founded by Don Henley that is committed to “preserving the land, literature, and legacy of Henry David Thoreau through conservation, education, research and advocacy.”  The Project uses the land it has protected in Walden Woods to foster an ethic of environmental stewardship and social responsibility, both cornerstones of Thoreau’s philosophy.

In 2014 my husband, Jerry, and I had the honor of attending the Walden Woods Global Environmental Awards dinner/reception at which Mr. Robert Redford received the Global Leadership Award.  He is an ardent conservationist and environmentalist; and a man who stands for social responsibility and political involvement, as well as an artist and businessman who is a staunch supporter of uncompromised creative expression.  Mr. Redford’s life-long passion for nature and issues of justice has resulted in him being widely acknowledged as a highly effective and dedicated political and environmental activist.

I have been an Eagles fan for many years; and found from my experience with the Walden Woods Project, that Don had a high school teacher, Margaret Lovelace, in Linden, Texas who introduced him to the writings of Thoreau and Emerson.  He developed an early appreciation for the natural world that evolved into a lifelong commitment to the preservation of open space and wetlands, and environmental advocacy on a wide range of issues.

In 1989, while watching the news on CNN, Don learned of two major commercial development threats to historic Walden Woods.  He immediately offered support to a local grassroots organization in Concord, MA that was coordinating the opposition to a proposed office park and condominiums in Walden Woods.  Mr. Henley founded the Walden Woods Project in 1992; and is also the Founder and Chairman of the Caddo Lake Institute in Northeast Texas.   The Institute is a nonprofit scientific and educational corporation with the mission of “protecting the ecological, cultural and economic integrity of Caddo Lake, its associated wetlands and watershed.”

Barbara and Jerry Teachey live in Richmond, Virginia.  Barbara visited Linden in September of 2015 with several other members of the Don Henley Appreciation Group.  She is planning a return trip for June of 2016.

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Linden Heritage Foundation Secretary John Knapp (bottom right in blue shirt) holding  photo of Linden’s 1939 Firehouse at announcement of Preservation Texas’ 2016 Most Endangered Places awards.  Photo by Anne Wheat from tweet posted by Texas Historical Commission.

Members and donors are the foundation upon which a nonprofit organization is built.  Fostering a strong relationship with its constituents is essential for a 501(c)(3) public charity, such as the Linden Heritage Foundation, to be successful.  For this reason, constituent relationship management (CRM) software is used by the majority of nonprofits organizations to assist them with core online operations such as processing and acknowledging membership dues and donations.

The Linden Heritage Foundation is now utilizing the services of NeonCRM, a database built for nonprofits by a team with a background working for nonprofits. Their main goal is to provide nonprofit organizations like ours with new technologies to help us achieve our mission.   An industry-leading system and product of Z2 Systems, NeonCRM gives us the ability to manage constituent/member/donor data using cloud-based technology.

NeonCRM is used by many leading nonprofit organizations such as Preservation Texas, Boys & Girls Club, Habitat for Humanity, and the Kidney Cancer Association.  When you see this logo on our membership and donation pages, you know that your transactions are secure.

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The first meeting of the 2016 Board of Directors for the Linden Heritage Foundation was held January 23^rd at the Linden Garden Club in Linden, Texas.  Directors present were: Sam Higdon, Joe B. Lovelace, Sue Lazara, Jana Bounds, John Knapp, Anna Barber, Gail Dorgan, and Kay Stephens.  Jim Jacob and Barbara Teachey participated via Skype.  Ron Calhoun, Kerry Wells, and Susan Whatley were absent.  Acting-President Sam Higdon called for nominations for the election of Officers.  Running unopposed and securing unanimous votes, the following individuals were elected:  President – Sam L. Higdon; Vice-President for Preservation & Education – Sue Morris Lazara; Vice-President for Marketing & Development – Joe B. Lovelace; Vice-President for Information Technologies – James S. (Jim) Jacob; Secretary – John Knapp; and Chief Financial Officer – Jana Bounds.

In accordance with the Bylaws of the Foundation, Directors drew lots to decide their length of term.  The outcome follows:

1-year term – Jana Bounds, Ron Calhoun, James S. Jacob, John Knapp, and Joe Lovelace

2-year term – Gail Dorgan, Sue Lazara, Barbara Teachey, and Susan Whatley

3-year term – Anna Barber, Sam Higdon, Kay Stephens, and Kerry Wells

Following the election of Officers, President Higdon appointed Kay Stephens as Parliamentarian.  Joe B. Lovelace presented a written Consent Amendment to change the wording “Active Membership” to “Individual Membership” in the Bylaws in order to reconcile them with other Foundation membership material.  The matter passed by unanimous consent, which negated the 30-day notice requirement for a change in the Bylaws under Roberts Rules of Order.

A reception for the Charter Members of the Foundation was set for Saturday, April 23, 2016 (Wildflower Trails Weekend) from 5:00 until 6:00 pm at the home of Charter Member Ruth Halleck.  A Hospitality Committee was appointed to assist Halleck.  The members are Anna Barber, Charlotte Bennett Wells, Mary Janet Wells, and Wanda Ayers Burns.  In the event that any of these members are unable to assist, President Higdon will appoint other members.  Higdon then appointed Joe Lovelace, John Knapp, and Sam Higdon to prepare a draft of a certificate to be presented to Foundation Charter Members at the reception.  By unanimous consent, $700 was allocated to cover the cost of printing, packaging, and mailing certificate to those not in attendance which also includes the cost of the reception.

Sue Lazara reported on the Texas Preservation Trust Fund Grant (TPTF Grant) due January 29, 2016.  The grant is available only to buildings which are eligible for listing on the National Register of Historic Places.  If the TPTF Grant application is successful, a more detailed Planning Grant outline, which must include input from a professional preservation architect, must be submitted in April.  Lazara shared that ARCHITEXAS, a Dallas architectural firm who specializes in the preservation work, has expressed an interest in the Firehouse project.  A preliminary bid of $29,500 has been received that covers preparation of full Plans and Specifications.  ARCHITEXAS is the firm who led preparation of the Plans and Specifications for the Cass Count Courthouse’s restoration.  If approved, the TPTF Grant would cover half of the Plans and Specifications fees ($14,750).  The Foundation would raise the remaining half of the money.  Lazara suggested allocating $5,000 towards the Match Fund for the TPTF Fund, with the Foundation raising $10,000 from the business community in the region, should the grant be awarded.  The motion was passed unanimously by the Board.

The subject of Skype and the problems encountered with audio during the January 23rd meeting were discussed.  By consensus of the Directors, it was agreed to conduct experimental meetings to try to solve some of the issues so that remote Directors could participate fully in all future meetings.

The final item on the agenda was to set the next Board of Director’s Meeting for Sunday, March 6, at 7:30 pm CST.  The meeting will be conducted via Skype; and Lazara invited all local members of the Board to gather at her house in order to improve the quality of Skype video by reducing the number of participating links.  President Higdon adjourned the meeting at 4:46 pm.

The Foundation thanks Gail Dorgan for preparing this summary of the Board Meeting based on the recorded minutes.  Official minutes will be posted on our Documents Page after their approval.

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