Thank you Wimberley Valley.

We invited you to join us in taking a hard look at the growing crisis for water in our beautiful and beloved area. More than 350 of you did, attending the Sept. 11 Water Crisis community meeting at the Wimberley Community Center.

The event was designed as an informational and educational community meeting on the future dire water situation in our area. Between the hands-on Chat with the Experts hour that began the evening, the five talks on the water situation past, present and future, and the closing panel session, it was a full evening, packed with a lot of information. We knew it would be long and challenging for many, especially on a school/work night, so it was gratifying that so many of you came, and how many of you stayed throughout. It was also fascinating and surprising to see how many people were taking notes.

For a full list of the speakers and their topics, as well as the subjects of the chat tables, see our Sept. 6 CARDtalk, "What's on tap at Thursday's Water Crisis Meeting." The speakers' Powerpoint presentations are available on our website at Water Crisis - What Happened at the Water Crisis meeting?

CARD thanks all of our speakers and Chat experts.

We were also pleased by the number of local politicians and policy makers who attended the meeting. They are going to be an essential part of turning this ship away from disaster and into safe waters. This large and involved turnout from our two small towns, Wimberley and Woodcreek, shows them a growing number of aware and active people want the situation solved.

In addition to our CARD volunteers who planned and staffed the event, dozens of volunteers from the Hays County Master Naturalists, Katherine Anne Porter School and the community-at-large made this sizeable event possible, and better. CARD couldn't have done it without them and we are grateful for their time, help and expertise.

We also thank the many area businesses that let us put our poster and fliers - designed by Melissa Maxwell Ball - on display. The management of Brookshire Brothers allowed us to do public outreach in the cool of the entry on three days; we tried not to block the ice machine.

Jack Leach with Media Cottage and Josh Thomas with Rupert Neve Designs aided us with the audio in the Community Center. Susan Hankins and the Meadows Center for Water and the Environment assisted with the audiovisual projection. Susan Raybuck and David Harrison recorded the event for future play on Wimberley Valley Radio. The rejuvenated Wimberley View and editor Dalton Sweat were a great and generous help in the getting out the word.

So were all of you who talked up the meeting and the water crisis, and emailed your friends. A major part of raising awareness is just letting people know there is a crisis, and that you, personally, take it seriously.

CARD Steering Committee