The Protect Lake Travis Association will hold its annual meeting on Saturday, March 29, 2003 at St. Luke's On The Lake Episcopal Church beginning at 2:00 P.M. The church is located at 5600 Ranch Road 620 N just South of Comanche Trail. The meeting will be conducted in the "Room With A View" which is located in the south end of the upper level .

PLTA will provide an interesting and informative program for this meeting. Speaking to us about flood plain changes will be Mark Jordan, Flood Preparedness Supervisor, River Management Department of the LCRA. Also speaking will be James Dunnam, Supervisor - Docks and Marinas Program for LCRA, who will explain the latest private boat dock standards for the lakes.The program will open with a brief business meeting which will include the results of the election of PLTA board members, a treasurer's report and other items of interest. All members, their friends and those interested in PLTA activities are welcome and are urged to attend.

Bob Vann, an active member of PLTA since 1987, a member of the PLTA Board of Directors and its president from February, 1990 to January, 2002 was named an Honorary Lifetime Member of PLTA by the Board of Directors at their meeting in January. Last year Bob resigned from the board so that he could devote more time fulfilling his responsibilities as the Travis County, Precinct 2 Constable. It would be impossible to assess his value to the membership of PLTA and to the thousands of people who use our beautiful, clean lakes. Bob's untiring attention to the environment of the Colorado River Basin is a major factor in its pristine condition. Bob Vann remains an active PLTA member and is a valued consultant to the Board of Directors.

No - this is not a plea for money. As you may know, PLTA is a 100% volunteer organization which relies heavily on membership dues and donations for funds. In fact, until about ten years ago our only source of income was from these sources and from the pro bono services of accountants , lawyers and other professionals who have given unselfishly of their time and talent in the interest of protecting the environment and particularly the water quality of Lake Travis.

Then in 1992, PLTA helped spearhead a group known as the Environmental Fund for Texas. This group was to have only one purpose and that was to raise money for participating environmental organizations through payroll deductions in the workplace. There were 23 original members in the EFT. There are now 69 participating organizations.

In 1996, the Environmental Fund for Texas became a partner with a national group called Earth Share and EFT changed its name to Earth Share of Texas. This has enabled our organization to participate in workplace-giving programs in other states as well as Texas.

All EST organizations are required to meet strict bookkeeping standards to maintain their eligibility to participate in payroll deduction programs. This ensures that money pledged by individual donors is used to support environmental issues and not administrative or fundraising expenses. This is particularly important when participating in programs sponsored by federal, state and city government entities. All Texas state employees, city employees in Austin and many leading private sector corporations already have Earth Share of Texas as part of their charitable giving choices.

You can help PLTA by introducing Earth Share of Texas to your employer so we may help set up a payroll deduction plan for EST and PLTA. Our representative to the Earth Share of Texas Membership Council is Bill Sauber of your PLTA Board of Directors. Our PLTA number is 512/990-0009. You may also get detailed information on any facet of Earth Share of Texas by contacting the EST office at 512/475-5518. Max Woodfin is the Executive Director and Edie Muehlberger is the Assistant Director.