HOUSTON...Where We Stay Busy!
Houston
By Trish Hagner
As we know, many adjustments had to be made to allow members and guests to come together safely and the Houston Chapter definitely found ways to do that. February 11 found us at the home of Knight Lee Slataper and his lady, Laura, for our first Thirsty Thursday. Attendance was limited to 25 and the event was held outdoors. Winter Storm Uri hit Houston on February 13 and left close to 4.5 million homes and businesses without power and killed more than 200 people statewide. Many of us were without power for over 48 hours. Those who had gas fireplaces were huddled around them and meals were uncertain as we struggled to find ways not only to try to find warmth and food, but information. Then, many of us were forced to deal with flooding in our homes once again, but this time not from rising water, but rather from broken pipes! It was a mess and the demand for materials and contractors to make the repairs compounded the problem. A number of our members had to deal with this, but perhaps no one suffered more than our friends Lawrence and Terry Estes. As of this writing, they are still out of their home over 6 months later. Speaking of Lawrence and Terry Estes, they had planned to host our next Thirsty Thursday, but obviously were unable to do so. So on March 11 Master Host Lee and Laura Slataper stepped up for those of us
still dealing with flooded homes under repair and welcomed us back to their beautiful home. At this point, we all needed a warm and friendly place to gather and be comforted. Meanwhile, our Assemblage Committee worked on plans for our Assemblage Weekend. Since many of us had hoped to be heading to Italy for the rescheduled FICB Congress, we chose a theme for our Assemblage of “A Weekend in Italy”. Little did we know that would be our only trip to Italy this year when the Congress was ultimately cancelled. Our special guest for the weekend was Teresa McKinney, Founder and President of Delectatio Wines. She represents many Italian wines which were featured over the weekend. We had the special pleasure of also hosting the National Meeting as a part of our Assemblage Weekend so on April 9, we opened our Assemblage Weekend with a casual event at the home of Grand Commander and Master Lady Buddy and Trish Hagner. It was a beautiful evening under the stars for the 69 people in attendance. A buffet of Italian foods was served and enjoyed along with Ardenghi Sparkling Rosé “Ametista”, Pagano 2019 White “Fabula” Falerno del Massico DOC, Dacapo 2018 GriTeresa McKinney of DelectatioWines
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The Arbor
