FriscoFirst Newsletter

June 01, 2005                                                                                                                    Volume 1, Number 1

In This Issue

·    Welcome

·    Word of Mouth Productions

·    Road Information

·    Maher Maso BIO

Important Links

Frisco Fast Facts

Between Jan. 1, 2004 and Jan. 1 2005 a total of 3362 single-family building permits were issued. Despite a fairly even distribution city-wide, the NW quadrant grew fastest during this period with the SW quadrant a close second.  Of the total Single Family building permits issued in calendar year 2004:

*      984 (29%) were within the NW quadrant;

*      722 (22%) were issued in the NE quadrant;

*      947 (28%) were issued in the SW quadrant; and

*      709 (21%) were issued in the SE quadrant (21%).

Interested in working for the City? Look here!

 

Have you heard about the 118 acre tri-city arts park?  Learn about it here!

 

Want to be involved with local art groups or attend a black-tie gala?

 

 

Volunteer Opportunities

 

Is this newsletter readable to you?  Please let me know if the formatting or colors are not clear on your operating system.

 

 

Have questions, comments or concerns? Contact Me:

Welcome!

Yes, I know this looks a bit different than what you are used to.  Don’t worry, I am not going to a newsletter format.  The Friscofirst e-mail list and my web site, www.friscofirst.com, came into existence in Late 1999 when I first campaigned for the Frisco City Council. 

Back then, using the web and e-mail was the exception in campaigns.  Frisco, with a population of approximately 28,000 residents, was no exception.  Most city council candidates simply used the good old envelope and stamp method for communication, or for some of us, walking door to door.  While I did walk door-to-door, use direct mail and attended numerous meetings, I also added e-mail and web communication.  Thus, Friscofirst was born.  It started out as a list of approximately 50 close friends. It quickly grew to 150 residents and migrated to yahoo groups.  After it continued to grow, I moved it over to a custom e-mail list manager for ease of use.  Friscofirst has a fairly large database of users, almost made up entirely of Frisco Residents. 

Friscofirst continues to be a powerful way to quickly communicate with the citizens of Frisco.  The intent has been to effectively communicate with you about city government. I was elected by you and I needed to be able to pass on meeting notices and agendas as well as receive feedback from you for the many important issues that we face as a fast growing city.  Everything was on the table; my e-mail address and cell phone number were published (not a common practice at the time). Time was of the essence with some of the notices I sent out and Friscofirst became a great way to quickly broadcast these messages. 

As the City has grown, many organizations have also grown just as quickly.  We are blessed to have many volunteers helping the many great causes in Frisco. I was always cognizant of not overburdening those on my e-mail list with too many messages, so I always carefully considered what was sent out. Important press releases, especially from the Police Department, were usually sent out as soon as they were received.  I started receiving requests for civic announcements, fundraisers and group meetings.  The volume has reached a point where I simply could not send out each and every one because that meant I would be sending 3-10 messages per day to a large list.  Yet, most of these were for a good cause, so a solution had to be found.

Thus, this idea was born. I will try and send out newsletter at least bi-monthly with some of these notices.  I know that this may not be fast enough for some of these civic groups; but it does strike a balance of not overwhelming the mailboxes of the subscribers to this e-mail list.  The e-newsletter will be in this format. However, I WILL CONTINUE TO SEND OUT THE MEETING AGENDAS, SPECIAL NOTICES AND PRESS RELEASES AS USUAL.  I would like to hear your comments, if you have any, about this newsletter.  We’ll see if I can keep up to that schedule.

Word of Mouth Productions

You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown!

The beloved "Peanuts" Characters come to life in this musical theater performance presented by Word of Mouth Productions. You will be tickled and touched by Charlie Brown as he eats his peanut butter sandwich all alone while talking about the little red-headed girl. Little sister Sally has a new philosophy for each day. Lucy aspires to become Queen. Schroeder gleefully celebrates "Beethoven Day." Linus tries his best to give up his beloved blanket and even Snoopy gets into the action as he battles the Red Baron from atop his infamous doghouse! Whether they know the Peanuts Characters or not, kids will love this show and families will certainly enjoy being able to watch it together! Performances are June 3, 4, 9, 10, 11, 16, 17, & 18 at 8:00pm and June 11 & 18 at 2:30pm at the Frisco High School Auditorium, at 6401 Parkwood Drive. Tickets are $10/adults, $8/Sr. Adults & Students with ID, & $6/children under 12 and may be purchased on-line at www.womproductions.com or by calling (214)734-7326. Group rates are also available, call for details.
www.womproductions.com

Road Information

-- First Street between Walnut and Main Street will be closed beginning Friday, June 3, 2005 extending through approximately July 1, 2005.  A marked detour route will be available on Second Street for drivers needing to access First Street. The Main Street contractor will be reconstructing the north half of the intersection of Main Street and First Street from the end of the new pavement to the railroad tracks.  Contact Kimberly Dalton at 972-335-5585 ext 134 for further information.

 

-- This Saturday, June 4, one lane in each direction will be closed along Dallas Parkway at Stonebrook while concrete barriers are placed along Dallas Parkway.  This closure is expected to begin at 7am and be completed by noon.

 

Bio of Maher Maso and Family

The Maso Family moved to Frisco in early 1992. Maher is married to Val Maso and has three children, Brandon age 14, Alisa age 12 and Layna, age 7. Maher is a local business owner and also serves on the Board of Directors of Network Cybernetics Corporation, a privately held company. Maher has also been involved in many civic volunteer roles including the Frisco City Council since 2000. He also serves on the Board of Directors of Frisco Square Management District, Frisco Association for the Arts, Arts of Collin County Commission, Collin County Community College Education Foundation and Leadership Frisco.  Maher also serves on the Frisco Independent School District Technology Committee and Frisco TIF Zone Board of Directors. Maher was also appointed to the Frisco Finance Audit Committee.  Maher was president of the Plantation Resort Homeowners Association from 1993 to 1995 and is a member of the Chamber of Commerce and Frisco Heritage Association.  He has coached YMCA girls basketball from 1998 to 2003, YMCA Boys Basketball from 2002 to 2003 and Coached in the Frisco Baseball/Softball Association from 1997 to 1999.

Val Maso is a stay-at-home Mom and enjoys spending time with the children, as well as being involved with their schools. She is also a graduate of the Frisco Police Department Citizen's Police Academy as well as a member of the Frisco Police Academy Alumni Association and COPS (Citizens on Patrol). Val enjoys being a civic volunteer. She served as Treasurer for the Wester Band Boosters Club from 2002-2003 and also has volunteered for Frisco's Family Services. She co-chaired the Frisco Association for the Arts annual Gala in 2004 and 2005. 

Children:

Brandon Maso, age 14. Brandon has been taking flying lessons since age 9 and loves to fly planes. He is a member (Cadet) of the Civil Air Patrol (CAP). CAP is the civilian Auxiliary of the U.S. Air Force and is organized along military lines. He is also a licensed ham radio operated.  Brandon attends Wester Middle School in Frisco and enjoys football. His real love, though, is flying.

Alisa Maso, age 12. Alisa was the 2002 Texas State Champion in gymnastics in her age division on the Balance Beam. She is now a retired gymnast and loves sports and also loves building things. She is also very creative and enjoys playing the piano. She plays softball and attends Wester Middle School in Frisco.

Layna Maso, age 7. Layna basically tries to do everything her older siblings do. She loves to sing and dance and enjoys playing the piano. She loves to read and attends Curtsinger Elementary.