BCFNS NEWSLETTER

July 2024

Issue 53
Contact us at newsletter@BlancoCountyNightSky.org

134 supporting households with more than 330 members
including 20 Lifetime Household members
plus 11 Business members including 2 Lifetime Business Members
1,044 Facebook Group Members -- 525 Instagram Followers
Click here for accomplishments in last year and here for complete history

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WE WERE TAKING A SUMMER BREAK

We took a little summer break and did not have a Board Meeting in July.
Here is what’s been happening with BCFNS this month.

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NIGHT SKY FRIENDLY BUSINESS RECOGNITION

On July 16th, the acting Business Recognition Program Coordinator, Michael Green, presented the Night Sky Friendly Business Certificate of Merit to Carrie Luth and Kathy Chesnut, owners of “We Got it on the Square” and “Unique Texas Goods”. This program is open to any business or organization in the Blanco area. The program encourages the practice of responsible outdoor lighting that prevents light from escaping above the horizon into the nighttime sky, causing sky glow and off-premises glare.

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OUR 10 YEAR PLAN

Our annual Plan Of Action for our 10 Year Plan is now in motion. As a part of the Plan Of Action, the Board decided to install a proof-of-concept continuous read Unihedron Sky Quality Meter at the home of Board Member Bob Heinonen and Elizabeth Seibert. Up until now, BCFNS has depended on dedicated volunteers to use handheld SQM's when the weather is clear and the moon is not bright. Mitzie and Jim Wittliff donated the funds to purchase the new continuous read equipment. Thank you Mitzie and Jim!!

Our Unihedron continuous read SQM equipment arrived in July; the picture below shows the contents of the package. Our volunteer Samuel Lartigue, DarkSky Texas representative Geno Baiamonte and Board Member Bob Heinonen will begin the planning and installation on August 5.

Unihedron is in Vancouver, Canada. One of the concerns will be how well the unit holds up in our Texas heat; only time will tell. That is part of “proof-of-concept”.

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TWIN SISTERS “RAISE THE ROOF” FUNDRAISER EVENT

Did you know that we have a historic Dance Hall in our area?

Twin Sisters Hall was built by German immigrants in 1879. Mr. Max Krueger was responsible for building a dance hall and community center with a bowling alley which burned down in 1967. Fortunately, the dance hall survived and is now owned and operated by a volunteer board of directors and members.

The Raise the Roof event, along with other sponsorships, began to maintain the historic hall. BCFNS will be participating in this event by having an information table for visitors on Saturday, September 23rd. It is a great opportunity to share our vision of reducing light pollution while also helping to save this historic dancehall. We will donate a free one-year membership with a sign to the silent auction. Please come bid on this item if you are not already a member. It will greatly help both organizations!

We want our members to know that an anonymous donation was made to the Twin Sisters Raise the Roof fundraiser in the name of Blanco County Friends of the Night Sky. The donation was in the form of a “Texas Two Step” level sponsorship. If you would like to support this awesome event, please click here: Twin Sisters Dancehall Sponsorship

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BCFNS INVITED TO “KEEP TEXAS BEAUTIFUL” CONFERENCE

The 57th annual Keep Texas Beautiful Conference was held virtually June 24-26, 2024. “It is a statewide educational event for community leaders to network, gain knowledge on environmental issues, recycling, and litter prevention, and recognize community excellence” as stated in the conference overview.

BCFNS member, Rachel Lumpee, submitted BCFNS for an award with Keep Texas Beautiful (KTB). Although we did not win an award, thanks to Rachel’s efforts the judges recognized that BCFNS has a standout program, and we were invited to make a presentation at the conference. Vice President Vicki Guidry’s virtual presentation gave us an opportunity to bring attention to light pollution and how it’s abatement can indeed help “Keep Texas Beautiful”. The 10-minute presentation included information about how BCFNS was formed, community collaboration, types of light pollution, why we should care about light pollution and how to eliminate it, followed by the 5 principles for responsible outdoor lighting. In conclusion, links to the BCFNS website, Facebook page, and email address were shared with attendees. Below is a screenshot taken from the presentation.

The next Keep Texas Beautiful Conference will be held in person on May 6-7, 2025, in Austin, Texas. Perhaps Night Sky Preservation can be a featured presentation to further spread the word of our mission to eliminate light pollution!

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NEW LIFETIME MEMBERS...Opps!
The McCary's

Cynthia & Dennis McCrary

CORRECTION: Last month we misspelled the name of one of our newest lifetime members, it should have been Cynthia and Dennis McCrary. Our apologies!

Rodney Thrailkill, was a Household member and chose to upgrade to a Lifetime Membership status. Thank you, Rodney!!

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Become a member

CONSIDER BECOMING A MEMBER

We have been successful with our Membership Sign Promotion! The more signs we can get out in the public, the more people we can reach with our message about “saving the stars”.

For those of you thinking of joining BCFNS or renewing your membership, we are offering a free one-year membership ($20) with the purchase of a sign ($35 tax included). A membership sign is the best publicity the night sky can have. Here’s the link: BCFNS Membership Signs

For more information on all our membership options click here: Membership Options

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NEXT BOARD MEETING

The next Board meeting will be at El Charro Restaurant in Johnson City on August 21st @ 9 am. Join us! If you would like to attend via Zoom, just let us know in advance at President@blancocountynightsky.org

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THIS NEWSLETTER

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Remember we are a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit organization. Please consult your accountant or tax adviser for details regarding deductibility for your donation.