LITH

Lights in the Heights: Tribute to Jan Greer and Call for Volunteers /  by Lori Bigler

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This past December was the 30th anniversary of Lights in the Heights, a Woodland Heights tradition. This memorable neighborhood event has been made possible by the hard work of volunteers right here in our community. 

The most recent Chairperson of the Lights in the Heights Committee was Jan Greer, who served from 2015 to 2017. Jan first served on the committee from 2011 to 2014 under the leadership of Terri Guerra, Glen Sementelli, and Tim McConn.  During that time she gained experience as Captain of the House Decorating Contest, T-Shirt Captain, and Secretary.  Jan has been hard-working, energetic, and eager to help in all of her roles.

Committee members recall her loaning personal décor items for the Gala, coordinating with local businesses, responding to countless e-mails and phone calls, and handling difficult situations with grace, even in the last few days before her second child was born! During her years as Chairperson she has worked to maintain the neighborhood and family-centered nature of Lights in the Heights by seeing to operations and logistics and maintaining appropriately-sized attendance.

L-to-R: Katie McCafferty (FNL Chair), Mrs Claus, Mr Claus, Jan Green (LITH Chair, 2015-17)

She oversaw three successful fundraising Galas and neighborhood-only Friday Night Lights events. Despite challenges in the aftermath of Hurricane Harvey, Jan and the Committee held a fantastic 30th Lights in the Heights celebration and organized additional neighborhood-only gatherings in the week leading up to the main event. Jan’s passion for the Woodland Heights and willingness to serve is clear, and we are so grateful for her leadership. Thank you, Jan!

After serving for three successful years as Chair, Jan has decided to step down for 2018. Our very own Beth Allen-Brock and Melissa McKee (with the blessing of the WHCA board) are searching for people willing to serve as Co-Chairs for the Lights in the Heights Committee.

This year the plan is to have multiple Co-Chairs to spread the load of the Chair position and welcome more volunteers to the committee. Jan has kindly consented to be a “consultant” for this year to help with the transition and provide valuable history and background on Lights in the Heights.

If you are interested in serving as a Co-Chair or in another role, please contact Melissa McKee and Beth Allen-Brock at lith-chair@woodland-heights.org.
 

Lights in the Heights 2017 Winning Homes Gallery /  by Lori Bigler

Neighbors have once again stepped up, decorating in preparation for Lights in the Heights. As a result, Woodland Heights has once again appeared on numerous lists of best places to see holiday lights in Houston.

The gallery below contains images from all of the winning homes. Judging occurred the evening of Thursday, December 7th, under the direction of Head Judge Robyn Klepper.

Clicking on the large image cycles to the next, or navigate using the strip of images below.

Lights-in-the-Heights Winning Houses /  by Lori Bigler

The following are the judges results. Pictures to follow.

BEST SINGLE COLOR
419 EUCLID

MOST COLORFUL
808 BAYLAND

HO-H0-HO
620 BAYLAND

MOST FESTIVE
405 WOODLAND

MOST CREATIVE
3216 BEAUCHAMP

MOST RELIGIOUS
1108 7th ST

MOST TRADITIONAL
804 EUCLID

MOST WATTAGE
1020 7th ST

BEST THEME
402 BYRNE

PICK OF THE NIGHT
903 HIGHLAND

BEST PORCH
308 WOODLAND

PEACE,LOVE,LIGHTS
927 MERRIL

MOST LUMINOUS
412 EUCLID

#HOUSTONSTRONG
803 OMAR

MOST HOMETOWN NEAR DOWNTOWN
719 RIDGE

JURASSIC LIGHTS
PENNEBAKER ESPLANADE

MOST NOSTALGIC
1105 BAYLAND

BEST NOD TO TEXAN TRADITION
1016 BAYLAND

MOST YEE-HAW
1127 BAYLAND

Coming Soon: Lights in the Heights T-Shirts! /  by Lori Bigler

The recent newsletter hinted at the possible return of LITH T-Shirts. We're happy to report that they are being made!

The LITH merchandise, including the T-Shirts, will be available for sale at LITH events this week. They're also available at "It's a Houston Thing" a pop-up store located at Christian's Tailgate on White Oak Drive starting on Thursday, December 7th.

LITH 2017 Ornaments Sold Out! /  by Lori Bigler

As of December 2nd the limited edition Lights-in-the-Heights cloisonné Christmas ornaments are completely sold out! Only 75 were produced.

Delivery of the ornaments is expected about a week before Christmas. Once the goods have arrived, Jan Rynda Greer, LITH Committee Chair, will provide pickup details to everyone who purchased an ornament.

WHCA November Newsletter; LITH Special Edition /  by Lori Bigler

The latest WHCA newsletter is a LITH Special Edition with all the details about LITH. It has been printed. Distribution by the team of volunteer block captains happened over the past few days.

If you didn't receive a copy you can click here to download a color PDF version.

Questions or comments about the newsletter can be directed to: communications@woodland-Heights.org.

The 4th Annual LITH Gala & Toy Drive /  by Lori Bigler

In these extraordinary times of Houston’s recovery, Woodland Heights Civic Association hopes to promote the strength of Houstonians and help get everyone’s life back to normal. Therefore the Lights-in-the-Heights Gala, the event that funds Lights-in-the-Heights, will still go on!

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Mindful of the devastation thousands of Houstonians have suffered, we had reservations about diverting fundraising dollars away from Hurricane Relief. So, the LITH Gala will be abbreviated, this year.

Gala tickets have been reduced to $75, and all who attend are asked to bring a new, unwrapped toy. Toys collected will be distributed to families in need through the City of Houston Fire Department’s “Operation: Stocking Stuffer”.  

Hoping to reduce the burden on already stressed businesses, we are eliminating the raffle and silent auction, and limiting our requests for in-kind donations. 
 
The Gala and Toy Drive is presented by Boulevard Realty. We are deeply grateful for their continued support. Other returning sponsors will include Sonoma Wine Bar & Restaurant, Kagan Cellars, Eureka Heights Brewing Co, and Pennebaker, Inc. All of our sponsors are more than just monetary or in-kind donors; each has shown genuine love for our community. We are profoundly thankful for their support.
 
The 2017 LITH Gala and Toy Drive will be a gathering of good company, wonderful food and drink, and a joyful celebration of the holiday season!  Please join us on Saturday, November 4th, from 7:00 until 11:00, at Elan Heights—825 Usener Street at Watson. Valet parking included in ticket price, gratuity greatly appreciated

Tickets can be purchased in the store at the Woodland Heights web site.

 

LITH 2016 Wrap-up /  by Lori Bigler

Lights in the Heights came together nicely this year. It takes such effort from us the neighbors: from the committee, the porch volunteers, the Gala attendees, those who deck out their homes to the nines, to those who graciously attend LITH.

There are some key characters on the Lights in the Heights Committee who deserve our gratitude: Stephanie Leachman, who ran the Lights Gala to provide much-needed proceeds in a fun way with some particular challenges this year, Meredith Burk who did an amazing job recruiting and managing the logistics of TWENTY bands and porches in a way that made the evening perfect, Robyn Klepper in charge of all new, flashy signage and new, flashing merchandise and cloisonné ornaments and their distribution and the decoration contest, Katie McCafferty who took over Friday Night Lights from three co-chairs and added a food and toy drive, Andrea Gorney who took on the various maps and flyers and delivery, Terri Guerra who listened to me whine and managed the security as she has done for many years, Caroline and Lauren Earthman who kept the luminaria tradition glowing while eliminating the sandlot. Several others played key roles, especially doing the last-minute, overlooked tasks: Michael Graves, Desiree Ruiz, David Coyle, Philip Teague, Amanda Brown, Lauren Snead, Sara Metsa, Ginnie McConn, the Brock family and the Jordan family all took on something important for LITH2016.

The WHCA takes on so much work for us at this time of year also: Mark Sternfels put in hours creating online sales portals and adding and editing web pages and marketing material for us. Casey Ballard and William Getschow spent a great deal of energy on insuring us properly. Melissa McKee cut as many checks as I will have to write thank you notes and kept the budget on track. Marian Wright and the block captains helped with delivery of notices to the neighborhood.

While it would not be inappropriate for me to thank all our sponsors also, I am including Jason Glover and Memorial Herman Greater Heights staff because they took part of our workload this year. His graphic design team drafted many logos for us, updated them with our comments and drafted most of our signage design. MHGH volunteers collected our toy drive and food drive items, and arranged delivery to Heights Interfaith Ministries.

Thank you to my committee. I deeply appreciated each of you giving your extra time to this beloved holiday event. I love Lights in the Heights and I love the Woodland Heights and feel thankful. If you know anyone listed here, do tell them thanks. They absolutely deserve it.

- Jan Greer, LITH Chair

From the Editor: LITH fell into a gap created by the transition between people in the VP Communications position. This resulted in a delay in the January newsletter, including this post. 

LITH Gala 2016 Recap /  by Lori Bigler

The Lights in the Heights Gala was held on Saturday, 11/19/16, at the new Elan Heights Apartment Building. This is our primary fundraiser for Lights in the Heights, and we raised $12,000+ this year through ticket sales, silent auction, and raffle.

Elan Heights was wonderful in opening their doors and welcoming us to their beautiful game room overlooking the bayou and downtown. The Houston Heights Orchestra group provided music. Special thanks to our neighbors who helped to pull this event together: Jan Greer, Robyn Klepper, Phil Teague, Michael Graves, Emily Trout, Teri Hagen, Meredith Burke, David Coyle, and Mark Sternfels. Thanks to those who helped the day of the event: Desiree Ruiz, Amanda Brown, Lauren Snead, Amalia Doebbert, Janie Reyes, and Andrew Burke.  

The event sponsors were instrumental in organizing the event: Elan Heights, Memorial Hermann Heights, Sonoma, Kagen Cellars, Cherry Pie Hospitality (Lee's Fried Chicken and Pi Pizza), Treadsack Restaurant Group (Down House, Hunky Dory, and Bernadines), Wokker TX Ranger, Red Dessert Dive, Happy Fatz, Eureka Heights Brewery, Heights Floral Shop, Heights Print Store, Wolfe’s Cleaners, and Davis Hardware. 

We had wonderful auction/raffle items donated by: Kagen Cellars, ABC Home and Commercial Services, Opera in the Heights, Obsidian Theater, Jack Nadel, Bayou City Smiles, Onion Creek, Good Dog, Town in City Brewery, Buchanans, NiaMoves, Orange Theory, Woodland Heights Civic Assn, Dalia Rihani, Houston Heights Orchestra, and Heights Kids Day of Music. 

It was a fun night with wonderful neighbors, and set the stage for Lights in the Heights.

- Stephanie Leachman, LITH Gala Chair

Lights in the Heights Wrap-Up /  by Guest User

While Lights in the Heights 2015 was a rainy one, it did not dampen the spirits of the neighbors. Attendance was lower than last year but Woodland and Euclid were still filled with merrymakers and all the bands played their hearts out.

The committee would like to express deep thanks to our Entertainment Sponsor, Memorial Hermann Greater Heights. They were gracious, easy to work with and were crucial to our success. We also had amazing Gala Sponsors, most of whom have been donating all three years. Please check out all these local businesses and show them some love! We also thank all the neighbors who contributed through our 3rd Annual Gala and all who purchased LITH2015 merchandise.

I cannot say enough about the dedicated volunteers of the LITH committee. Thanks to each of you for all your hard work!

— Jan Rynda Greer

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Lights in the Heights /  by Guest User

The Woodland Heights neighborhood is again looking forward to Lights in the Heights 2015 on December 12th from 6PM to 9PM. Road closures of Euclid and Woodland begin at 5PM and will be blocked off for the festivities. As always, additional streets will have parking and driving limitations, some beginning early that Saturday. Please review the event on Nextdoor for further details and updates. There are about 20 performers on the route this year. Merchandise, including ornaments, koozies, luminaria and some prior year merchandise will be available at Friday Night Lights.

Updated (12/2/15): Fixed spelling errors.

Lights in the Heights /  by Guest User

Get ready to start decorating your houses for the holidays! Lights in the Heights is just around the corner. As always, it’s the second Saturday of December, so this year it will be Saturday, December 12. As we previously announced, the route this year will be on Euclid and Woodland, from Studewood to Houston Ave. Also remember that we’ll have a fun neighborhood gathering on the Norhill Esplanade on Friday, December 11. This will be when the neighbhood LITH festivities start, and it will be your chance to get your hands on this year’s fun LITH merchandise.

Lights in the Heights Update /  by Guest User

Calling All Volunteers

Lights in the Heights kicked off early this year with a meeting this past Wednesday night. We were thrilled to have a great turnout at our first meeting, with a mix of new faces and returning committee members. Our next meeting is Sept 2, Wed at 8PM at Berkshire Hathaway Home Services on 11th Street. We have plenty of room for more volunteers, so if you're interested in getting involved with LITH, please join us at the next meeting.

LITH 2015 Logo

It's time to start thinking about this year's LITH logo. We're reaching out to the neighborhood early this year in the hopes of creating a healthy competition and giving our resident artists ample time to participate. Designs will appear on all merchandise, including the newly coveted ornaments. It will be featured on prominent display at the annual Gala. Please submit all designs to Jan Greer at janrynda@gmail.com by Tuesday, October 20.