KLVB Group Litter Pick Up

KLVB Annual Plant Event

Location is parking of the Veterans Park.

This event will be from 9 AM until 12 Noon

April 25,2026

We will have samplings and Stephen Bryd a local  Arborist from Bartlett Tree Experts will be there to help educate you on how to plant and care for the samplings.This is a take what you want and make a donation to KLVB. This year we are honoring MaryEllen Bell our member and Arborist who past away recently.

It is with a sad heart I make this post. On February 11,2026 our great member and friend Maryellen Bell left this earth. She will be missed deep by our group and her family and friends.

This next section is written by one of her dear friends Kathleen Herzik.

"Maryellen told me about her childhood pony Cheeto. She would ride him all over town, and to after-school sports practices. She would give her friends rides home.

I said, "You were Pippi Longstocking!"

She laughed with her signature wide grin and twinkle in her eye!

Maryellen was strong like Pippi Longstocking, but gentle and loving in that strength. She questioned and challenged the status quo.

She supported, encouraged, and loved everyone deeply, just like she did with the plants and trees in her garden.
She ensured we had favorable conditions, encouraged our growth, and kept us warm and well-watered with her sense of humor. She cheered us on as we reached for the stars. She was unlimited, and she showed us we were, too.
She valued love, life, and spiritual growth.

Maryellen's family was her heart. Her wife, Karen, was her soul mate. Maryellen was heartbroken when Karen passed away in 2020. Her furry baby, Mabel, was her sweetie pie.  

Maryellen was the youngest in her family, but she took care of her oldest sister until Kathy passed away. She treasured her sister, Virginia, and her brother, James. She spoke of them proudly and lovingly. She was so proud of her nieces and nephews and their children.

She was a fantastic public speaker. She didn't like being the center of attention, but she captivated large audiences when giving presentations and lectures on all things trees. She was an accomplished arborist and travelled around the country regularly in her role with Bartlett Tree Experts.

She loved volunteering with KLVB, helping to take care of the trees, educating on tree care incluing her regular column in the newsletter, and contributing to the yearly plant donation event.

Maryellen was one of a kind and will be greatly missed.”

“ Maryellen had a beautiful friendship and bond with her neighbors who were her best friends.  They were there for each other through all things.”
On April 25 KLVB will hole our Annual Arbor Day Plant Event in Maryellens honor.

Mosaics Ladies

On April 2,2026 at the Lago Vista City Council Meeting, KLVB presented a sign and certificates of appreciation to each of the ladies who worked so dignity on the KLVB Mosaic Pollinators Garden located on Dawn Drive in Lago Vista Texas.A meet and greet was followed at the Hope Center. Many thanks goes out to the Hope Center for the use of their facility.

Here is a little background to the Pollinators.

The original group consisted of Rhonda Weldon, Marcia Temple, Lorrie Fish, and Mindy Hensen. 

We added a person or two in the fall of 2024, but they dropped out.

In February of 2025, we added Judy Lanza. 

July 8, 2024 Rhonda and Mindy visited the home of Dan and Denise Sellers to see the fiberglass forms, take measurements, and start a pattern.

Mindy worked on drawing the patterns.

Aug. 28, 2024 order first glass tiles.

October 19, 2024 roughed up fiberglass and began cutting tiles into smaller pieces and adhering tiles to the backside of the yellow butterfly.

Worked continued into November and then we stopped production until after the new year. Work continued through January and February, with some working at home nipping tiles.  We did miss a couple of meetings due to cold weather.  March 4, 2025, we moved to Rhonda’s back patio since Mindy was going to be traveling.  We also began working multiple days each week (Wednesday, Thursday, and Saturday 9:30-12:00.)

During March, we experimented with inviting others to participate.  Laurie Engels joined us sometime in March.  In  April, Rhonda and Mindy visited Dan and Denise Sellers home to measure the hummingbird and start a pattern.  By the end of April, Chris Fox became a member of the mosaic group.  By the end of May 2025, our group had totaled 1740 hours working on the project.

Work continued through the hot summer months.  We had finished two butterflies and were now working on the hummingbird and both bees.  In July, we noticed that the connection joints of the poles to their bases on the bees needed repair.  Dan and Denise took the bees to Jonestown to have welding repair and new stabilization bars added.

We completed the last of the bees on Dec. 3, 2025.   We worked a total of 2766  hours.

At a modest approximation of cost of labor at $30 per hour, the savings to the City of Lago Vista for the project is $82,980.

Keep updated at keeplagovistabeautiful.com.