|
|
The Year of Opportunity
According to Wikipedia, "2014 will be a common year, starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar, the 2014th year of the Common Era and Anno Domini designations, the 14th year of the third millennium, the 14th year of the 21st century and the fifth year of the 2010s decade."
So far, that's what we know about the otherwise blank pages of 2014.
The rest is up to us.
What kind of a year will we be looking back at 365 days from today?
I'd like to humbly suggest that we abandon the traditional trappings of New Years observances and collectively concentrate on making 2014 the "Year of Opportunity" in Farmers Branch.
But, Gary, isn't every new year a new opportunity?
Yes, but we usually don't treat them as such. Oh sure, we'll talk a good game on resolutions and fad dieting and working out a little bit harder (for at least the first week). Then, by the second, maybe third, week of January, we're back to business-as-usual.
How about this?
Let's make "business" in 2014 anything but "usual."
First order of business, leave the baggage of 2013 behind. Everyone gets a clean slate. That sets the stage for extraordinary things. 
Next, we need to prepare for whatever opportunity we seek so we can capitalize on it when it happens. These things don't just happen.
To paraphrase Theodore Roosevelt, "It is not often that a person can make opportunities for themselves. But, they can put themselves in such shape that when or if the opportunities come, they are ready."
We're not talking about waiting for good fortune to knock on the door and stroll on in. We're talking about taking the blank slate that is 2014 and decorating it with all of the knowledge, awareness, aptitude and readiness that we can, in order to attract opportunities that we can take full advantage of.
That is the great thing about New Year's celebrations. They are an "opportunity" to symbolically close the book on the past and prepare to write the new chapters to come.
So, rather than "resolving" to do A, B and C, let's commit to research and reading lists on what we want to achieve. Let's improve our interpersonal communications and concentrate on finding the common ground that binds us together, not the differences of opinion that separate us.
The "Year of Opportunity" begins tonight at midnight.
Let's grab it.
  
|
Rec Center turns 10:
Ten-day celebration planned for first decade anniversary
RECREATION CENTER ~ Marking an eventful decade, the Farmers Branch Community Recreation Center is celebrating its 10th Anniversary in January with a 10-day celebration planned and a quest for pictures from the 10 years.
Rec Center officials will stage the 10-day celebration to begin on January 10, the official opening day anniversary, with Family Game Night from 6:30 until 8:30 p.m. There will be basketball, volleyball, board games, snacks and play use, concessions, a bounce house and more. Additional days and events will include:
January 11 . Health workshops
January 12 . Fitness members bring a friend to work out for free
January 13 . Log Your Miles program begins
January 14 . Nutritious breakfast sampling
January 15 . Night with a trainer
January 16 . R.E.L.I.E.F. session with Kristin
January 17 . Chair massages
January 18 . Kids' night out
January 19 . Fitness members bring a friend to work out for free
In addition, Rec Center staff is looking for photos from the past 10 years. Members and guests since 2004 are asked to post their photos to the Rec Center Facebook page @fbreccenter or email them to stephanie.castro@farmersbranchtx.gov.
The Farmers Branch Community Recreation Center is located at 14050 Heartside Place, near the corner of Heartside and Valwood Parkway. For more information, call 972.247.2607.
|
City offices to close at 12 noon New Year's Eve
FARMERS BRANCH ~ As this year's Christmas and New Year's holidays fall in the middle of the week, and in an effort to afford employees extra time with their families, most City of Farmers Branch offices and facilities, including City Hall, will close at 12 noon on Tuesdays, December 24 & 31. 
Many other City facilities will close early on those days, including the Senior Center, Historical Park and Manske Library, all of which will close at noon. The Farmers Branch Community Recreation Center will close at 5 p.m. each of those days.
Finally, the Farmers Branch Christmas Tour of Lights Historical Park Drive Thru will not be open on Christmas Day. For additional information, please call the facility in question directly.
All City offices and facilities will be closed on Wednesdays, December 25 and January 1 in observance of Christmas and New Year's Days. There will be no garbage collection either day.
|
No garbage collection on New Year's
FARMERS BRANCH ~ There will be no garbage collection on Wednesday, January 1, in observance of New Year's Eve. All regular routes will resume on January 2.
Additionally, all City offices and facilities will be closed on New Year's Day.
|
Volume 3 | Edition 53 | Number 149 
is published weekly by the Communications Office
of the City of Farmers Branch, TX.
Two-time TAMI Award Winner for Best eNewsletter in Texas
Given by the Texas Association of Municipal Information Officers
|
|
|
DECEMBER
Click on an event to find out more
DEC 31
Most City facilities close at 12 noon
Call for details
JANUARY
Click on an event to find out more
JAN 1 All facilities closed
|
|
Winter series on rose landscaping returns in January
REC CENTER ~ The Annual Landscaping with Roses Classes are coming back in January and February. Each class begins at 7 p.m. at the Community Recreation Center. All classes are free and open to all. Pre-register by calling 972.247.4607.
Jan 14 - Roses for the Landscape
Jan 21 - DIY Drip Irrigation
Jan 28 - The Informed Gardener - Are you really?
Feb 4 - Inspirations from Chandor Gardens
Feb 8 - Rose Pruning: Hands on in the Garden
Feb 11 - The Elephant in the Room: Rose Rosette Disease
|
|
City Council sets regular meetings in January
FARMERS BRANCH ~ Coming back from the holiday schedule, the Farmers Branch City Council plans to meet in regular session next month on Tuesdays, January 7 & 21 at 6:30 p.m. at Farmers Branch City Hall.
Meetings can be seen live on FBTV, cable channel 16 in Farmers Branch, and on replay at 6:30 p.m., seven days a week.
  
|
|
Senior Center plans meeting on 2014 European trip
FARMERS BRANCH ~ The Farmers Branch Senior Center will host a "Travel Party" on January 10, to share information on a Paris, France to Normandy cruise, coming up in late October, 2014.
The nine-day trip is planned for the small cruise ship 'Avalon Creativity,' October 20-29. Details, deadlines and pricing will be discussed at the gathering. Call 972.919.8743.
|
Happy New Year from the City of Farmers Branch! Photo by Derrick Birdsall |
VIDEO GALLERY
|
 | |
Chimney Safety
|
 | |
Fire Department Dinner Brigade
|
 | |
Dr. Gilbert's Diary
|
 | |
Farmers Branch Business: Anything but Usual
|
|
|
Check the latest weekly report on the five-year reconstruction of Interstate 635 that includes:
|
|
Check the latest information on the 28-mile, $1.4 billion reconstruction of Interstate 35E from LBJ, through Farmers Branch, to U.S. Highway 380 in Denton County.
|
|
|
About the City of Farmers Branch 
An historic community in the geographic center of the DFW Metroplex, Farmers Branch boasts a residential population of 28,800 and a daytime employment population of 66,000. Located on the northwest border of the City of Dallas, the City's 27 parks and lush greenbelts feature nationally-acclaimed, award-winning soccer fields, football facilities as well as baseball and softball complexes. The city's location in the center of the Metroplex and only 15 minutes away from both DFW Airport and Love Field, along with the 2,200 hotel rooms within the city, make Farmers Branch an ideal location for residents and for business. For more information on the City of Farmers Branch, visit farmersbranchtx.gov, visitfarmersbranch.com, lovethebranch.com or call 972.247.3131.
|
|
|
