Minutes of November 25th Meeting

PICTURE DIRECTORIES:

The picture Directories are in and are available in the Activity Office starting at 1 PM today as Monday mornings are a bit of a zoo. We still have over 100 for people that had their pictures taken and haven’t picked them up yet. As soon as we give out all the directories to people that had their picture taken for it, we’ll be able to hand out more to those that want them. The cost is $15 and we will start handing the extras out probably in early January.

DECEMBER CALENDARS:

The December calendars are now available on the signup tables. If you just arrived at the park and don’t have a November calendar, stop in the office as I made a few to hand out to those that still need one.

BULLETIN BOARDS:

Just want to make sure that everyone knows where to look for things in the Hall. The bulletin boards above the signup tables are sectioned off. The first board is labeled Southern Comfort and is for everything going on in our park.  The next Bulletin Board which is next to the door is divided in half. Country Sunshine’s activities are posted next to our board and the last section is for information from vendors offering services. You’ll notice there are labels about them. As new stuff comes in, I will have to delete the old stuff so if you see information you need, take down the information. We have provided note paper and pencils on the table for your convenience.

The Bulletin Board by the double doors into the Hall is for events that are occurring in the Rio Grande Valley.

The Bulletin Boards in the Mail area are still a work in progress at this moment. Once we get the new cork on and I’ve been able to see how much gets posted in each area and I’ll be able to divide it better. We are in a learning curve right now. Also, we need to check out the wall by the mail slots because we may have a water problem so we don’t want to put the new cork there until it is fully checked out. 

SOUP SUPPER FUNDRAISER: One last minute change to the calendar was made on Friday. The Soup Supper Fundraiser that was scheduled for December 12^th has been changed to January 8^th. Happy Hour is at 4 and Soup at 5 PM. A signup sheet in on the tables next to the stage. Cost is $4 for all you can eat. Bring your own eating utensils, bowls, crackers and snacks.

THANKSGIVING:

Thanksgiving Dinner is scheduled for 1 PM on the 28^th. You can set up your tables at 8 PM the night before.  Please keep in mind when setting up that we have nine table of 16 or more so leave room for everyone!

ACTIVITIES:

Happy Hour: Our next Happy Hour is with MC Express on Wednesday the 27th from 3 to 5 PM.  It is always a lot of fun when he comes over to entertain so if you haven’t heard him, please come over and enjoy the fun! He keeps the energy going and it is a party that you’ll be glad to attend. It is Pass the Hat.

There is a current listing of the Happy Hours on the Bulletin Board above the signup tables. I had to make a few changes to accommodate Diego with his dates so we could keep him once a month. So, if you had those dates written down, check out the changes on that poster.

Trip to the ITheatre for “Playing Doctor:   The tickets for the play will be picked up shortly and you can pick them up in our office after lunch on Monday, December 2^nd.

Tour of the Basilica of Our Lady of San Juan del Valle: I put up the poster and signup sheet for this trip this morning. It is limited to 25 so check out the information on the poster and see if you can make it. If you have never been there, this is well worth seeing and Sister Rose that does the tours is a wonderful tour guide. The Basilica is especially beautiful in December when it is decorated for Christmas. 

Mariachi Performance at the Basilica: Need to see a show of hands for anyone interested in attending a Mariachi performance at the Basilica. We went to a couple of these and they invite the best Mariachi performers in the area and they give a concert on one evening. Everyone is dressed in their costumes and the music is exceptional. If you are interested, I’ll get the date and times and put out a signup sheet for it. Raise your hands if you are interested.

TubaChristmas: Another event that we think has been quite fun is Tuba Christmas which is on December 8^th at 2 PM at the McAllen Convention Center. In the past there was no charge and I will find out if we need tickets or we can just show up and if there is a cost. They assemble tuba players from all over the area and the McAllen performance is one of the largest of these events in the world. Last year they had more than 300 tuba players performing. Now they have about 600 tuba players! It is something that is done throughout the world in the month of December. We loved it and it was certainly a different kind of concert. Let’s see a show of hands on how many would be interested in this trip.

Indoor Kite Fly at South Padre: Last year Jean Rothfusz, Deb Sweeten, Lee and I attended the Indoor Kite Fly which will be held in SPI Convention Center on January 30^th from 6 to 8 PM. The kites they use are super light weight and they are able to do routines to music inside an auditorium without any fans or devices to keep the kites in the air. It is almost unbelievable what they can do. We all really enjoyed it. If you are interested in this one, raise your hands.

Monza Chocolate Factory Tour: A tour of the Monza Chocolate Factory has been set up for December 3^rd at 10 AM. The cost is $8 and you pay them when you arrive. They don’t have much change so please take them the exact amount. The signup sheet is on the tables across from the stage. This season they have added to the tour and you will be able to make your own chocolate bar. I heard lots of good comments from the people that went last season. Before Marlene left us, she contacted them and you will be able to purchase their candy at our Craft Shows this season.

Hidalgo Lights on Dec. 16th: There is a signup sheet out for a group trip to the lights which includes a chicken dinner, VIP seating for whoever performs that evening, and a train ride to see all the lights around the city.  I called in the reservations for those that have already signed up, however, we can still reserve more places if anyone else wants to go. Just sign up at signup tables to the left of the Stage. Then stop in the office to pay for the reservation and I’ll call in your reservations.

The Park Garage Sale which is held in the Hall is scheduled for December 14^th from 7 AM to 10 AM. Setup is the night before starting at 4 PM. There will be an Ad in the Winter Texas Times thanks to the Residents Board. It will also be in the Welcome Home RGV Newpapers in our park ad. Plus, it is online in the Winter Texas Times site and on the Welcome Home RGV site. I also sent out flyers to various parks that are in our vicinity in November for our November and December activities. Country Sunshine’s Garage Sale is the week before on December 7^th.

The Sundrops are a family group from Canada that really impressed the crowd at the Entertainment Showcase last season. We booked them for December 17^th at 7 PM and you can buy tickets from Gayla after the meeting today. They are wonderful and I know you’ll enjoy them. The tickets are $9 each and you can pay by cash or check made out to Southern Comfort.

Love Light Ministries Show: The Southern Comfort Chapel has scheduled Love Light Ministries for a Show and Christmas Sing-a-long on Thursday, December 5^th, at 7 PM. It will be pass the hat.

SPI Lighted Boat Parade: I cancelled the Lighted Boat Parade trip on the Breakaway Cruise boat as there wasn’t any interest. I never know when I offer something new how it will go over but this one sure flopped. However, I do want to let you know there are two absolutely fantastic things going on that you and your friends can attend on December 7th. The Lighted Boat Parade is one of them and you can make reservations at about any restaurant that is on the Laguna Madre and have dinner and watch the parade. The boats come out of the boat basin at Port Isabel and follow the bridge and then turn north along the shore of South Padre. Last year’s parade was the best we have seen and they are hoping to keep it that way.

The second event that is happening on December 7^th is the McAllen Holiday Parade. If you have grandchildren visiting or if you are young at heart, you will love this parade. It is the largest illuminated holiday and helium balloon parade in Texas. There are floats galore and bands, of course. You can check it out at McAllenHolidayParade.com. We’ve been to this several times and have enjoyed it. You have to arrive very early and bring your chairs, coolers and cameras. It goes down Bicentennial Boulevard from the Veterans Memorial Stadium to US Business 83. You can sit anywhere along that Route. The earlier you get there, the better your seats. The parade draws 250,000 spectators and has won multiple awards as the Best Parade in the Nation in the category of parades costing between ¼ and 1 million dollars.

While we are talking about McAllen, I thought you would enjoy this bit of McAllen trivia. In a State of the City Address, the Mayor of McAllen delivered on February 12^th, 2019 he talked about McAllen’s rankings in various areas. This quote from him made me giggle. He said: “And here is one I’m really proud of. McAllen was ranked as the No. 26 “Happiest City in America. I think, by the way, that the 25 cities that were ahead of us in the “happy” list are all in states where marijuana is legal.”

With that, I’ll turn it over to the Activity Leaders.

Activity Leaders (get them mics)

Now I’d like to introduce, Rodney Graham. Many of you will recognize him as he took your pictures for our Directory. He is the owner of Created Images & More and I felt really lucky that he was able to step up and help us with our new directories.  Today he is here to talk to you about the online version of the directory and how to use it. Lee and I are pretty excited about it, however, we’ll let Rod tell you all about it.  

IF YOU WERE NOT HERE FOR THE MEETING AND ROD'S DEMO, LEE WILL BE HELPING PEOPLE SET UP THE ONLINE DIRECTORY ON YOUR PHONES, TABLETS OR LAPTOPS. THERE IS A SIGNUP SHEET ON THE TABLES ACROSS FROM THE STAGE.