In January the Brookdale Homeowner's Association is hosting a night of goodwill at the Feed My Starving Children (FMSC) facility located in Aurora.  Feed My Starving Children is a non-profit organization striving to eliminate starvation in children by packaging and distributing nutritious food to children throughout the world. 

A few facts about Feed My Starving Children food packs include:

• one bag of food provides meals for six children
• 36 bags (or 216 meals) complete one box
• 33 boxes complete one pallet
• 7,128 meals are provided per pallet
• In 2008 volunteers packed 73.6 million meals that were distributed in over 45 countries
  

Brookdale Goal:

It is BHA's goal to register 90 people for this event.  Every volunteer has the potential to pack 1.2 boxes every two hours.  At this rate Brookdale could provide 90 boxes of packaged food which translates to 19,440 meals.  That's enough to feed 53 children for one year.  WE CAN DO THIS!!

When/Where:

We are planning this event for Saturday, January 9^th from 7:00 – 9:00 p.m.  This is an event for everyone older than third grade (sorry, FMSC rule). Parents must remain on site with their children.

• FMSC is located at 555 Exchange Court, Aurora.

This event is free.  However, FMSC packing sites are always in need of the items listed below.  Please feel free to bring an item to donate:  Paper towels, 9 volt batteries, toilet paper, Black Sharpie markers, kitchen trash bags, Whiteboard markers.

I know this is a busy time of year but please do not pass up this unique experience with your neighbors.

So we know how many people to accommodate for this event, please return the form by Monday, December 14^th to:

• Feed My Starving Children Registration Form

Julie Knoll
935 Stonehenge Court

At the October adult mixer I had the fortunate opportunity to talk at length with two couples I had not met before. One of the two couples are original Brookdale Homeowner's and they shared fascinating stories about early Brookdale, which got me thinking....  I bet there are other original homeowners with “early Brookdale” stories to share with our community.

In the February Babbling Brook I would like to highlight original homeowners still residing in Brookdale. Our community would love to know who you are and/or hear from you regarding some, or all of the following:

• What year did you move to Brookdale?
• Why did you choose Brookdale?
• How old were your children when you moved to Brookdale? • What did the area surrounding Brookdale look like?
• How have you influenced Brookdale?
• How has Brookdale influenced you?
• What community service positions have you lead for our community e.g., BHA Board, PTA Board, Scout Leader, Civic Leader, etc.?
• One fun fact about Brookdale we might not know.

These are just suggestions; please feel free to share anything that makes you happy! If you do not want to write a story that's fine too, just send Laurie or me your name and the year you moved to Brookdale.   Either write down your thoughts and submit them to us..

Please put away those hangers and sale tags....

The BHA board voted to cancel the Spring Clothing Sale for 2009.  The decision was based on the fact that a volunteer to coordinate the sale never came forward.  It is our hope the sale will resume in the Fall. 

If you are interested in working with the BHA to coordinate events please contact one of the BHA board members...  We are always looking for help managing our many events...  Often, residents are happy to  help but few wish to coordinate them.

Thanks and have a great weekend.

Julie Knoll

I'm leaving the BHA. After several years of being the webmaster I'm moving on. My BHA commitment is just one too many things I'm trying to do right now : running a small business, volunteering for two charities, a full time job and two toddlers. Something had to give. So the BHA and BRC are going looking for a new webmaster. If you're someone who understands what a webmaster does, it's an easy gig and a great way to give something back to the wonderful Brookdale community. If you're not, but you're interested anyway, I can give you a tour of the responsibilities and be on-hand for training, questions and general hand-holding until you get your footing.

Please drop me an email if you'd like to be considered for the BHA/BRC webmaster position.

Thanks,

We had another beautiful day for our BHA Annual General Meeting at the BRC Pool on Sunday, June 1. After a fine dinner of hamburgers, hot dogs and wonderful potluck of side dishes, we held our official (?) meeting. Lori Jones, newly-elected BHA President, presided over the Annual Meeting.

We recalled that Brookdale was opened to new residents in 1976 and that gas was .59 a gallon at that time. We recognized the member who has lived in Brookdale the longest—Tom Harris who moved here in 1983 and our most recent addition—The Miller Family on Bainbridge who moved in last year.

Then we recognized our outgoing Board Members for their commitment and hard work over the past years. Mike Ramsey who has served as Vice President since 2005, Melissa Winchester, our fabulous Social Director, Sandy Guierri, our Treasurer and Barb DeVoglear, our President. Each was given a gift as a small token of our appreciation.

Next came the election of the new Board Members for 2008. The entire slate of candidates was unanimously
elected and is:

  President Lori Jones
  Vice President Julie Knoll
  Treasurer Tom Harris
  Secretary Sheila Fleming
  Social Director Janet Arsenault
  Membership Director Ken Jones
  Civic Director Tom Harris
  Webmaster William Hayes
  Newsletter Editor Laurie Knoll

We have decided that the motto for the year is “Let’s Put the Fun Back in Dysfunctional!” A special thank you to the Pool Staff for hosting the event and to everyone who helped with the set up and clean up.

You’re the Best!

Please join us on Sunday, June 1, for the annual meeting. The BHA will provide hot dogs and drinks.  Please help us expand the menu by bringing a dish or dessert to share. The potluck dinner will begin at 5:30 in the pavilion, following by the election of new officers at 6:30.  If you would like to vote by proxy, please fill out the following form and return it to Barb DeVogelear at 1123 Langley no later than June 1.

Hello everyone.

Nadine Drilling and I have decided to postpone both the Flashlight Easter Egg Hunt and the Children's Easter Egg Hunt until next week.  Both events will happen as planned (times and locations) on Friday, March 28 and Saturday, March 29.

If you are unable to attend and would like to pick up eggs from Nadine as a "refund," please contact Nadine.

Please forward this link to anyone that had planned on attending and was not included in this original message.

Thanks.

Melissa Winchester

The Brookdale Homeowners' Association is looking for volunteers.

We need your help and support to fill important positions on the BHA board.

 · Vice President ~ helps with board meetings & the welcome committee
 · Social Director ~ plans and coordinates our social events
 · Newsletter Editor ~ compiles info, articles & ads for 10 newsletters per year

Board members meet once every 1-2 months for a few hours to discuss BHA business and spend on average 5 hours per month pitching-in. If you're interested in serving your community, meeting your terrific neighbors and helping to keep Brookdale the best subdivision in Naperville.

Please show your support by volunteering.

NOTE : Please indicate which board position your interested in and your full contact details.

"The City of Naperville will offer a Holiday Tree Recycling collection program during the second and third full weeks of January. Live holiday trees will be collected on each resident’s normal garbage collection day."

Click here for the full guidelines via the City of Naperville.