As my third and final year as president of HRPS concludes, I have been fortunate to have exceptional support from our outstanding board, the tour guides, the editorial staff of FootPrints and all the other members who contribute to our organization. Our monthly programs benefit the community by providing well-researched and entertaining topics. The HRPS website is another way we reach out to members and the public.
One of HRPS outstanding endeavors has been the fourth grade history program. Thanks to the participation of Barbara Courtnay, Jerry Fenwick, Phylllis Cates and Terry Cynar, by the end of the 2009-2010 school year, we will have provided nine schools and approximately 600 students with the program. We begin with a Nevada history slide show produced and narrated by Jerry Fenwick.
The next day the bus tour takes the students to some of the sites seen in the video. Many thanks to Randy Amestoy, on the Administrative team for the Washoe County Clerk's Office in the historic courthouse, who provides a remarkable educational and entertaining tour and history of both Washoe County and the Washoe County Court system.
Mary Ellen Horan, director of Very Special Arts, opens the Lake Mansion where the students eat lunch and get a tour of the house. The Amtrack Station is the next stop with a brief history of the development of the railroad and a visit to the restored Women's Christian Temperance Union fountain in the station. The students are delighted with the fountain and fascinated that it provided water faucets for people as well as troughs for dogs and horses. The bus continues on to McKinley Arts and Cultural Center and the California building on Idlewild Drive. I am personally very impressed with the enthusiasm of the students for both the historical significance of the areas they visit and their interest in Reno's history. The teachers and parents are supportive and impressed with our efforts and they all express a desire that the program continue.
Lastly, I want to stress the importance of our mission, "Preserving Historic Resources of the Truckee Meadows through Education, Advocacy and Leadership." In this time of economic stress in both local and state agencies, HRPS continues to promote historic areas and education about historic preservation.
— Sincerely, Felvia Belaustegui
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