It takes a lot of hard working people to make a community as great as we feel April Sound is today.

Saturday afternoon was the annual meeting of the Property Owners Association, and we all caught up on what is happening in the neighborhood. In total we have 2900 lots, of which 2,000-plus are developed, and about 600 undeveloped lots remain. If the numbers don’t add up it’s because some people have built on two lots or own the lot next door, and some are not subject to maintenance fees.

A good neighborhood doesn’t just happen. Twelve committees reported on what they had been doing during the year to keep things improving. An election was held to replace two board members whose terms had expired. Joe Rye was reelected for a second term and John Holladay will be joining the board.

We all gave a round of applause for our security staff, who creates the very safe environment we treasure. Pat Loftus and Joe Rye were given special awards as they completed their terms. Of course Joe was back on the Board before he got his award home and mounted on the fireplace.

Seven amendments to the by-laws were voted on, and the most significant item was to increase the terms of the trustees from two to three years, which it is hoped will provide more stability with additional experience.

Lively things are happening at the April Sound Country Club. On Friday nights the men’s locker room becomes a game room, with a kaleidoscope of activities, and it is a popular place. The next morning it turns back into a locker room. Another popular event is the monthly Networking Breakfast, where business people gather and get acquainted. Each person is given two minutes to give details about their business activities. A special table is set up for business cards and any exhibits members care to bring. For the May meeting there was a wide range of members attending, from CPAs and lawyers to computer service providers. We even had a member who owns several granite quarries in China and Mongolia, and he brought along samples of his finished products.

Jan and Stephen McDonald are the latest husband/wife team to pair u p as "spouses selling houses." They are longtime residents of April Sound and have been active in our community for many years.

Houstonians who patronized Prince’s Drive-In will be interested to know Stephen’s family founded the chain, which fed many generations of Houston residents on the run. They helped make carhops famous. Stephen owned and operated several drive-ins over a 27-year period himself.