Meet the New Friends of WESP President

By Helen Shumway, President , Friends of WESP

As you may be aware, Lorraine Cherry, former president of Friends of the West 11th Street Park, passed away in December. I had the pleasure and honor to serve with her as a board member of the Friends since its inception in 1998. We lost a strong voice for our park and the Timbergrove community, but I hope that I, along with the other board members, will continue to support the Houston Parks and Recreation Department (HPARD) and the Timbergrove community in the future maintenance, improvements and conservation of West 11th Street Park.

The Friends have been working with the Park community to honor Lorraine’s commitment and contribution to the Park. We have submitted a petition with more than 788 signatures to the HPARD naming committee requesting that the Park be renamed the Lorraine Cherry Nature Preserve. We are waiting on HPARD’s review of this petition. After it has gone through their internal process, HPARD will present the petition to the City of Houston Council for final approval.

Though the Friends main focus this year has been facilitating this renaming process, we continue to oversee the general activities and status of the Park.  We hope to work on the butterfly gardens located on the south side of the Park and will appreciate any and all volunteers.

If you have any questions regarding West 11th Street Park or are interested in volunteering, please contact us via email at donatewest11th@gmail.com or by mail at Friends of West 11th Street Park, P.O. Box 7679, Houston TX 77270-7679. I look forward to hearing from you and hope to see you in the Park!