By Anjali Kaul Zutshi, Special to StyleMagazine.com

A very happy summer to you all! It As part of our anniversary ac- has been a while since we have communicated with you through our newsletter Past Matters, so please bear with this rather long report! There has been a lot happening at the Friends of the Texas Historical Commission over the last few months. In April, the Friends celebrated the 25th anniversary of the founding of the organization at a gala at the Bullock Texas State History Museum. We were honored to present the inaugural Julian Read Award for Philanthropy in Preservation to Texas Historical Commission Chairman John L. Nau, III, for his for his vision, his leadership, and his generosity in furthering the cause of preservation, not just in Texas but nationally.

As part of our anniversary activities, the Friends has been busy working on overhauling our web presence and we are excited to share that our new and improved website is up and running at the same address, www.thcfriends.org. Please visit the site and engage with the content! And please do let us know what you think – your feedback is important to us!

Continuing with the theme of change, I am happy to introduce to you Kristy Peloquin, our new Development Manager. Kristy comes to the Friends of the THC with a background in teaching and non-profit management and brings a wealth of experience to her role at the Friends. In the meantime, Katie Cukerbaum transitions into a new role as a consultant for the Friends and continues to support us in our programs and communications efforts.