During the meeting Craig Strause, head of the facilities maintenance subcommittee, received an award for his many contributions to leading a crew of volunteers to make the Visitor Center as beautiful and inviting as it is.  After he was presented with a crystal bourbon snifting kit and a bottle of Texas' finest, he thanked everyone for the help.  

Later in the meeting he disclosed the news of a $50,000 grant from Gentex which will go toward painting the outside, replacing windows and providing insulation for the second floor.

Over the past year updates to the Visitor Center have included the installation of HVAC on the second floor which has office space for curator Jim Hunter, who attended the meeting and gave his curator's report, as well as for two listening rooms equipped with formidable stereos connected to Klipsch speakers and even a record library.

Afterward, visitors were turned loose to sample the sounds of Klipsch in the listening rooms.  This reporter put two systems through their paces with CDs of Harnoncourt conducting Brahms, Levine conducting Mahler and REM's Green.

The bash continues this evening at the Visitor Center with a Lions Club Fish Fry serving at 5:00 p.m. and then a concert by Hazy Jayne, which features great guitarist and Klipsch Associates mainstay Lee Brooks.