Monday Morning Meeting Notes 1/14/19

Here are some of our Southern Comfort Pedalers Bike Club having lunch at Jason's Deli after going on a six mile bike ride.

We had a VERY busy week this week with our Welcome Back Dinner and the Paperback Writers Concert followed by the Cookout and the Bocce Tryouts, the Ice Cream Social and Adam Pope Entertainment. I hope that you all enjoyed the activities that you participated in and that it kept you busy and out of trouble!

First a couple of Thanks Yous:

We need to thank Tim Bauscher for making us a new Bean Bag Baseball Board and Pat Bremer for painting it.

I'd also like to thank Ava Nelson and Deb Van Schuyver for attending the last Entertainment Showcase with us. It was a long day but we did find some really good entertainers for next season. 

Merle Norman Facial Re-scheduling: The facials that didn't happen as promised have been rescheduled for January 24th at 10 AM in the Outback. There was a miscommunication somehow between Debbie and Merle Norman. I'm so sorry that you were inconvenienced and I hope all of you who had signed up can attend on the 24th. 

Calendar Changes for Next Season:

I have been working on the Calendar for next season so that you will be able to plan your activities outside the park a little easier because you will know when the Dances and Happy Hours occur even before I announce them. And, in planning for next season, Debbie Stout and I have worked hard to come up with a plan that would be beneficial for both parks as far as Dances, Entertainment and Happy Hours. We don't want to compete with each other and we want you to feel free to go to any of the dances, entertainment or Happy Hours at either park.

Our plan for next season is as follows:

Sundays: On the first Sunday of the month except for Super Bowl Sunday, there will be an Entertainment planned either in the afternoon or evening depending on what the Entertainer can do. We will schedule a different Sunday in February to replace the Super Bowl Sunday. The rest of the Sunday afternoons will be available for residents to book the Hall for an anniversary or a special party.

Mondays: Monday Morning Meetings remain at 9 AM.

Tuesdays: I will try not to interfere much with the cards in the evening however, at least one Tuesday a month I will be booking an evening entertainment.

Wednesdays: We will have a Happy Hour on most Wednesdays here because I know how much you enjoy them. I also was able to book Diego once per month next season. Because he is so popular, he has changed how he is scheduling. He will only do Happy Hours once a month per park so we have him here as often as we can get him. I have not booked the rest of the Happy Hours yet but I’ll get the best entertainers that I can for you. Country Sunshine’s Happy Hours will mainly be  on Tuesdays. 

Thursdays: Again, I will try not to interfere with cards because a lot of the Tribute Concerts are on Thursday evenings but I may book an entertainment on one Thursday a month if I can't book one of the better acts without using a Thursday evening. The popular acts are booked up fast.

Saturdays: On Saturdays there will be a Dance either here or Country Sunshine each week so that you have at least one dance a week and they won’t interfere with each other. Our dances will be on the 1^st and 4^th Saturday so that we avoid the Cookouts and the Golf Parties. Country Sunshine has booked theirs on the 2^nd and 3^rd Saturdays and any fifth Saturdays because their dances are already popular in the community. We will be working on establishing popularity in the community. Therefore, I won’t start out booking bands that are the big ticket bands like The Cruisers or Renaissance Rockers. We’ll build our dances up slowly and see how they go.

February Calendar:

I’m hoping to get the February calendar out to you by the end of next week. I know you want them earlier than you've received them in the past.

Mabel’s Clinic Auction and Biscuit & Gravy Breakfast - Those of you that have been here for a while will notice that we are not going to have the Mabel’s Clinic Auction and Biscuit and Gravy breakfast this season. There has been a lot of problems between the Mexico Board and our Board and several, if not all, of our Board Members have resigned. I’ve talked to as many of the people that I know were involved with the event previously and they unanimously decided that we should just wait this year out and see what happens in the future. All of us are sad that we are not able to help the clinic this year and we hope that at some point relations can be re-established.

Winterfest at Schlitterbahn Beachfront Resort - Schlitterbahn has an annual Music Festival and this year it will be on Wednesday, January 30^th, from 10 AM to 5 PM. The music lineup includes Jeff Gordon, Lobo Del Mar, Diego, Jason Whorlow (the piano man), AbbaFab (the same tribute we have as part of the Encore Tribute Concerts) Tavie’s Rock & Roll and Leslie Blasing. Lee and I have a limited number of discounted tickets available in the Activities Office. Our advance tickets are $20. The at-the-gate tickets are $25. A meal of fish or shrimp basket with cole slaw and hushpuppies is included. Then, if you want to stay for the evening, you can add a resort room for $59 which is a major reduction in the price. Stop in the office if you are interested. It sounds like a great time!   

    

Trips and Outings:

January 29^th – Hilltop Gardens Tour. Lee has a map of how to get to the Gardens if you need it. Just stop in the Activities Office. You can meet in front of the Hall by 8:45 AM and decide who is riding with whom. If you leave here by 9 AM, you will arrive by 9:45 AM at Hilltop Gardens. The cost is $8 per person and there is a signup in the back. You can pay when you arrive at the Gardens. 

February 4th from 2 to 4 PM – Take a cruise on The Southern Wave which is a large, stable and comfortable sailing Catamaran that is perfect for a leisurely day's sail. The on-board Chef prepares a feast of Grilled Shrimp, Chicken and Beef Fajitas and Fresh Fruit. At our last park this was the favorite of all the trips that we sent out. The price is $32 per person and you can pay by check to Sail SPI.  If we get 40 people to go we will fill the boat and two people will go for free. We will draw name for that. You can sign up for this trip today at the back of the Hall and pay then or bring a check on Monday the 21st. We will have someone at the back of the Hall again. Lee also has a map made up that will show you were to go on SPI to take the cruise. Those will be at the back of the Hall. If you have taken one of these trips and it has been over a year or so, they have changed where they are docking so do stop to get the map.

February 13^th at 11 AM – Arrive at Riverside Club in Mission for an hour cruise on the Rio Grande River and then have lunch. The cruise is $11 for seniors. The Captain gives a great deal of information about what you are seeing and about the Border Patrol and how much illegal immigration they are seeing in that area. After the tour, you can choose from their menu at lunch. If you have never had a good tenderloin or never tasted an Iowa tenderloin,  then you must try theirs. They are scrumptious and enormous! Signup in the back of the hall today and you can pay for the trip today with cash or after the meeting next Monday.

ACTIVITY SURVEYS:

If you who are just returning to the park and have not received a Survey, please ask Jeanette in the Business Office for one. We would like your input on what you want from the Activities Department especially in the areas of entertainment and dances. So far, we have quite a lot of people wanting country dances. Then we have several that want a band that plays a mixture. We will listen to the information that we receive from you so make sure you get your surveys in. We’ll be attending the Entertainer Showcases on the 17^th of this month. That’s where we will book everything for next season.

ACTIVITIES THIS WEEK (Jan 14^th – Jan 20th):

January 14th right after the meeting today – We will have a Town Hall meeting. Victoria will be giving you an update on the work that is being done in the park.

At 1 PM (today) – Marlene will be meeting new residents here in the hall. If you have any questions about the park or need more information on the area, Marlene will be able to help you.

January 15^th  from 9 to Noon in the Outback, the Arts and Crafts will be about Acrylic Pouring Techniques. These meetings are every Tuesday between 9 and noon. I will be putting the schedule on the blog for future reference.

Also on the 15th at 7 PM join us for a dance with the Texas Wheels. The tickets are $6 and can be purchased that night. This band is basically country but does mix it up a bit and they will do more rock and roll if it is requested. They are mighty popular. So, if you like country bands, please come and let me know how you like them as I am now booking bands for next season.

January 16^th at 3:30 PM – The Trailer Trash party is on. We have a lot of excited people and it will be a lot of fun. There will be a contest for the best costume (think awful thrift shop outfits) and a prize for the best or worst outfit in this case. Then there will be prizes awarded to all 14 people who decorated their table the best, including the food. Think fried possum or any kind of roadkill, grits, okra and greens etc. You don't really need to cook any of that, just make it look like it. Our Super Solicitor, Marlene will have a great prize for each of you. If you are just arriving and don’t have time to find 12 other friends for your table, just join us at Table No. ?? We might not spend as much time on the décor but we’ll have a good time!  If our table fills up, just start another stray table an invite anyone to join you.. 

On January 17^th, Thursday, Lee and I will be out of the office attending the second Entertainer Showcase and picking out entertainers and bands for next season. We found some great talent at the first session.

Also on the 17^th, there is a Ladies Luncheon and More – Ladies, meet here in the Hall at 10 AM.

At 2:30 PM meet in the Hall for a lively game of Trivia.

January 19^th from 1 to 6, there is a Golf Party here in the Hall and Country Sunshine is having a dance at 7 PM to the Cruisers. They are always a hit with rock & roll fans.

On January 20^th, The Williamson Branch family will be our entertainment.  They are a high energy, high steppin’ show that features a fine-tuned variety of bluegrass, gospel and country music, accentuated by world class Appalachian clog dancing. There was some confusion on the ticket price based on the contract but I talked to them and the ticket price is $8 at the door with no pre-sales.

There are lots of fun things happening this month and I have put the upcoming events on the blog as well as on the park calendar.

VOLUNTEERS:

We need two scorekeepers for the Beer Can Toss at the Trailer Trash Party. Please see Lee in the Office.

We also would like to borrow a Croquet Set and a Ladder Golf Game if any of you have them. We'd like to use these at our Party Under the Palms Event which will be on February 6th - more about this next week.

I will need some early risers to sign people up for the trips. You will have signup sheets and standby sheets when necessary. Also, the volunteers get to sign up for the trips they want first. So there will be a signup sheet for volunteers on the table later today. You will start signing people up at 8 AM so everyone is signed up before the meeting starts. In some cases, you will need to handle money.

UPCOMING EVENTS

January 22nd The Chili Cookoff will be at 4 PM and, of course, you can all arrive by 3ish for a Happy Hour. You still have time to enter the contest for this event. Signup at the back of the Hall.

January 23rd from 1-6 PM is Canada Days at the park in the Hall.

January 23rd at 6:30 PM the "In Park" Cribbage Playoffs will be held in the Outback.

January 24th Matinee and evening performances of Abba Fab at Country Sunshine. The Activity Office at Country Sunshine will be selling all the Concert tickets so see them if you haven't purchased a ticket yet and would like one. 

January 25th - Friendly Shuffle

January 26th - Minnesota Brunch in the Hall from 11 to 1:30 PM.

January 27th - Midwest Days Potluck in the Outback at Noon. (Midwest states include: Kansas, Missouri, Colorado, Arkansas and Oklahoma) 

February 4th - Trip - Catamaran Cruise at SPI

February 7th - The Day The Music Died Concert at Country Sunshine. For tickets check with Country Sunshine Activity Office.