With 945 new home sales in 2011, The Woodlands has been ranked the #2 Top-Selling Master Planned Community in the country and #1 in Texas by John Burns Real Estate Consulting. The Woodlands exceededCinco Ranch at #3 with 862 home sales and Irvine Ranch in Orange County California, ranked #4 with 764 home sales.  The only community that reported more home sales was The Villages near Orlando, Florida, an active adult community with 2,307 sales in 2011.

Five of the top 15 communities are in the Houston area, including Telfair (#10), Bridgeland(#13) and Riverstone (#15) as well as The Woodlands and Cinco Ranch.

This is the second year for John Burns Real Estate Consulting’s ranking of top-selling master planned communities.  The company ranked sales numbers from 131 projects in all areas of the U.S., representing nearly 23,000 new home sales during 2011.

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Bisnow presents The Future of The Woodlands on Tuesday, February 21, beginning at 11 am, at The Woodlands Waterway Marriott Hotel & Convention Center. Commercial real estate pros will discuss the future of The Woodlands and the area’s tremendous growth.  Featured speakers include Boyd Burdett, Director of Real Estate Services & Business Services at Anadarko Petroleum Corporation; Dan Leverett (top photo), Vice President of Commercial for The Woodlands Development Company; Bob Parsley, Co-Chairman & Principal – Houston forColliers International; and James Warmack, Managing Partner of Research Forest Lakeside.  Gil Staley (bottom photo), CEO ofThe Woodlands Area EDP will present opening remarks whileDavid Harvey, Chairman & CEO for D.E. Harvey Builders will serve as the Moderator.

To register or for sponsorship opportunities, click here.  To read the complete story, click here.

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A total of 59,000 free tree seedlings were given away at the36th Annual Arbor Day Celebration on Saturday, January 21 at the award winning Rob Fleming Park in the Village of Creekside Park. Arbor Day was sponsored by The Woodlands Development Company, The WoodlandsConvention & Visitors Bureau and The Brickman Group, Ltd.

Lovable mascot of The Woodlands, Puffy Pine Cone™, loved the attention at the first annual“I Love Puffy” Day where adults and children alike enjoyed dressing like their favorite mascot and receiving a free sandwich, chips and a drink at the event. Puffy also celebrated his birthday at this event with 14 mascot friends including Clutch from the Houston Rockets, H-E-B Buddy, Dora the Explorer and more.

Free giant inflatable rides and rock walls, pony rides, petting zoo, local musical entertainment and face painting added to the fun.

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The Woodlands Township Board of Directors held a Special Volunteer Recognition and Town Hall Meeting on Wednesday, January 25 at 7 pm at The Woodlands Township Town Hall.

The Woodlands Township Chairman of the Board Bruce Tough began the volunteer recognition with the four residents of The Woodlands honored asVolunteers of the Year for their outstanding volunteerism to the Township. John Hibbs, a community relations volunteer, has submitted numerous photographs for The Township to use in its monthly magazine, The Woodlands Community magazine. Pat Shook, an environmental services volunteer, was instrumental in establishing a recycling program at her apartment complex. Clancy Dee Rasmituth, a neighborhood services volunteer, used her position as The Woodlands Watch coordinator to promote The Woodlands Watch motto of “neighbor knowing neighbor is the first step in crime prevention.” Marti Fox Meerscheidt, a parks and recreation volunteer, played a vital role on the Parks and Recreation Advisory Council with her input and advice on many issues, including policies, procedures, marketing efforts, program initiatives, facility design and operations.

The Township Board of Directors posed with the recipients.  Pictured from left to right are Chairman Bruce Tough, Ed Robb, John Hibbs (community relations volunteer), Marti Fox Meerscheidt (parks and recreation volunteer), Peggy S. Hausman, Pat Shook(environmental services volunteer), Claude Hunter, Clancy Dee Rasmituth(neighborhood services volunteer), Lloyd Matthews, Tom Campbell and Nelda Luce Blair.

Many other individuals were honored for their community-wide and village volunteerism. For the complete story, click here. 

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The Woodlands Convention & Visitors Bureau (CVB) andDonoho’s Jewellers joined together for the Annual Winter Wonderland Holiday Food Drive, collecting more than 2,600 pounds of canned goods and other non-perishable items forInterfaith of The Woodlands.

Items were collected November 1, 2011 through January 16, 2012 and included canned items, soup, pasta, snack foods, cooking helpers, protein items, personal care items, household items, and diapers. Also, there was over $165 in cash donations. Individuals who donated 10 or more items received a coupon for free admission to The Woodlands Ice Rink.

Over the last three years, the Holiday Food Drive has collected thousands of pounds of nonperishable items for the Interfaith Food Pantry to help children and families in need during the holiday season and into the New Year.

Pictured from left to right are Kathy Rifaat, Interfaith of The Woodlands Programs and Services Director; Dr. Ann Snyder, Interfaith President and CEO; Richard Van der Dys, Donoho’s Jewellers Store Director; Courtney West, Donoho’s Jewellers Assistant Store Director; and Kelly O. Ingram, The Woodlands CVB Business Development Specialist.

For more details on the story, click here.

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D.R. Horton Homes is offering a “Super Saturday and Sunday” on February 4 and 5 as part of aTouchdown Special.  Purchase a new D.R. Horton home and receive $4,500 in upgrades.

Also, D.R. Horton is offering free extras when you purchase a new home between February 1 – 19.  New homeowners will receive a free sprinkler system, four free ceiling fans and free 2″ faux blinds.

D.R Horton features homes in the neighborhoods of Timarron (priced from the $200’s) in the Village of Creekside Park; and Hawkhurst (priced from the $180’s – $230’s) andGolden Orchard (priced from the $340’s – $420’s), both in May Valley in the Village of Sterling Ridge.

For more information on these specials and certain restrictions, visit www.drhorton.com/Houston.

Pictured is the Thornbury in the neighborhood of Golden Orchard. At 3,513 square feet, this two-story home includes four bedrooms, formal dining room, three-and-a-half baths, upstairs game and media rooms, rear covered patio and a three-car tandem garage.  This home is priced from $403,990.

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The Woodlands Township Parks and Recreation will present a fun way to watch a movie with the presentation of Happy Feet at The Lodge(pictured) at Rob Fleming Park, 6055 Creekside Forest Drive, The Woodlands, 77389. The last movie of the series,Happy Feet, will show on Friday, February 3 at 6:30 pm. This movie listing has been updated since the printing of the Spring 2012 Action Guide.

For more information on Parks and Recreation programs and events, call 281-210-3950 or e-mail recreation@thewoodlandstownship-tx.gov.

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February is Heart Health month. To celebrate, the Y is hosting the 2nd Annual Cupid Shuffle, Friday, February 10 from 9:30 – 11:00 am at the Shadowbend Y Gym. Cupid Shuffle features a morning of dance and heart healthy fun.  Bring a friend and learn the Cupid Shuffle, Electric Slide, Boot Scoot Boogie, Zumba, Sh’BAM, hip hop and more!

The heart healthy fun will shuffle over to the Branch Crossing YMCA for the evening “After Party” from 5:45 – 8:00 pm. Activities will include new BodyJAM choreography, Zumba, Sh’BAM, Belly Dancing and more. There will be activities for the kids including the new ZumbaTonic for kids, hip hop, Catch Kids and crafts!

The event is free and open to the community. Bring your friends and wear red.

For more information, visit www.ymcahouston.org/south-montgomery-county/ or call 281-367-9622. To read the complete story, click here.

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For the second time in just a few months, Oliver Quintero (pictured right), a senior at The John Cooper School, has been recognized as being among the top science and math students in the country.  Quintero was named among 40 high school students nationwide as a finalist in the 2012 Intel Science Talent Search (STS), a program of Society for Science & The Public.

The Intel Science Talent Search brings together the best and brightest young scientific minds in the United States to compete for $1.23 million in awards. As a finalist, Quintero is one of three students from Texas and 40 from 16 states who will receive an all-expenses-paid trip to Washington, D.C. for the competition, provided by the Intel Foundation.

Additionally, Cooper’s Middle School Science Department Chair, Ekbal Touma (pictured left), was recognized by the competition as a Teacher of Merit 2012. Touma serves on theEducation for Tomorrow Alliance Steering Committee for the SCI://Tech Exposition and has worked with Quintero on science fair projects since Middle School.Click here for the complete story.

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The Woodlands Country Club Terminetters won 1st place in theFall USTA JTT (Junior Team Tennis) 14 and Under Intermediate Division for North Houston. As winners of their Division, the Terminetters went on to compete in the Houston Regional Finals. There they qualified to represent Houston in The Texas/State Sectionals Tournament, which was held at theJohn Newcombe Tennis Ranch in New Braunfels. Their team CoachMichelle Leavitt said they all had great, competitive matches throughout the weekend-long tournament. They were excited to place 5th overall out of the 15 teams from all over Texas.

Pictured from left to right are Turner Gregory, Brandon Leavitt, Alexa Couglin, Jessica Robinson, Bella Crawford (winner of the Sportsmanship Award), Sara Valderama and Brandon Zimmerman.  Team members that are not pictured includeAshley Lachterman and Shezzy Iqbal.

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• For the seventh year, Lone Star College-Montgomery’s medical radiologic technology graduating class captured a perfect image—a 100% first-attempt pass rate on the American Registry of Radiologic Technologists (ARRT)certification exam. All 22 students passed the national board exam with an average score of 90, well above the national average score of 85.1. For more information, visit www.LoneStar.edu/medical-radiology-dept-montgomery.
• Registration for The Woodlands Township swim teams (Hurricanes, Riptidesand Waves) begins Wednesday, February 1. Returning swimmers must register by Wednesday, February 15 to be on the same team they were on last summer. Beginning Wednesday, February 15, registration will be open to everyone. For more information, visit www.thewoodlandstownship-tx.gov and clickDepartments, Parks and Recreation and then Swim Teams or call 281-210-3900.
• Montgomery County Commissioner Precinct 3, Ed Chance, was recently awarded the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) Road Hand Award. This award is an honored TxDOT tradition to acknowledge those who have made improvements to Texas transportation. Chance is recognized for his involvement in the Northstar Traffic Management Center to control traffic patterns from an off-site location with real-time cameras and for the first Pass-Through Toll Project approved by the Texas Transportation Commission that set the bar for projects to come.