Kiwanis Club 
This week was on the rough weather side of things. We did get some rain which is really needed. The thing we did not need was that some of the rain was hail. Those little ice chunks made my lawn look like somewhere up North with all the snow. One more point is that it made the hood of my truck look like a golf ball surface with all the dimples. The dimples on a golf ball are there so that it helps the ball go straight and not be affected by wind currents as much. I hope it helps me drive straighter when I go on trips with those hood dimples.
PROGRAM: MARCH 2ND: Rick Pickering told the club members about his previous Kiwanis Club in Allen and the comparison with our club. With the exception that his previous club was larger with about 60 members and that the city of Allen has lots of money the organization and sponsored events are quite similar. One difference is that many of the events the Allen Kiwanis club participated in is done by here in San Marcos by the city or parks and recreation. From all accounts the Allen club is very active in the city. While we sponsor one Key Club his club had to sponsor three Key Clubs. We sponsor the Summer Reading Program and his club bought dictionaries for all the 3rd graders. Both projects help with getting youngsters into reading and books. Of course there is the Pancake Breakfast. They did it at a 5K Race day and offered free pancakes with the suggestion for a donation to the Kiwanis Club. The free breakfast method versus the pay for a meal worked out to be very close in profit. They were also very instrumental in a program feeding children in an overseas country that is a very low economically area. It was a very interesting presentation and both clubs offered fellowship and community support and scholarships. The primary difference was that the Allen Kiwanis Club has more members. It gave our club a good incentive to increase our membership and be able to offer more support. Time to ask friends you know if they want to be a Kiwanian and offer some return to San Marcos community.
PROGRAM: MARCH 9th: Rhonda has invited Debra Villapando, Director of the Southside Community Center, to inform the club about the services they provide for needy individuals. Southside offers free meals, sleeping arangements, showers, and other necessities. Our club members are encouraged to bring hygiene essentials such as soap, razors, toothbrushes and toothpaste, combs, and other personal hygiene products. From observation at last weeks meeting our club is off to a good start in helping out with this poject. The club will also present a check for $300 to help Southside continue with their services.
PROGRAM: MARCH 16th: Del Brown has the program.
PROGRAM: MARCH 23rd: LuAnne has invited a Truchoice Pregnancy Resource Center representative to give us some information about its progrm. Truchoice has been in San Marcos for 39 years. Truchoice ministers to the physical, emotional, and spiritual needs of women and men facing challenges of an unplanned pregnancy. Services include pregnancy testing, obstetrical ultrasound, referrals to adoption agencies, and post abortion heal and recovery for those experiencing post abortion stress, and other services. It will be a very informative program about a problem that many individuals avoid talking about but has a large impact on a women's life.
PROGRAM: MARCH 30th: Jennifer Richmond has the program.
KIWANIS EVENTS;
MARCH 11th: Camp Clean Up is scheduled next Saturday from 8:00 a.m. - 11:30 a.m. The time includes a work session and a refreshment social. The club will provide the main food selection and members are encouraged to bring a side dish or dessert to help out. This is always a fun outing and a good fellowship gathering for our club. If you have weed eaters, chain saws, hedge clippers, and gardening tools you are asked to bring them. Wear work clothes with gloves, hat, and good boots or shoes. We hope to see a good number of members and friends at the Clean Up.
MARCH 16th: Board Meeting at Rhonda's office. Meet at 5:00 p.m. If you have an item you want included in the agenda let Kelli know. All members are welcome to attend but only members may vote on items.
APRIL 1st: STEAM at the high school. Our club will have a booth to inform people about our local Kiwanis Club. If you want to volunteer let Doug know so he can put you down on his list.
APRIL 29th: The Kiwanis Clubs 2nd Annual Clay Shoot is scheduled. Registration starts at 8:30 a.m. The event is held at Moyesway Shooting in Kingsbury, Texas. This is our major fund raiser for our club so let Rhonda know if you can be a volunteer for this event.
Another reminder to 'like' and 'share' Kelli's Facebook posts about Kiwanis and Children and our club. This is a great way to advertise and promote our club to people in San Marcos.
Beverly has updated and improved the clubs website. Take some time to look it over and find out what the latest news is with our club.
Request for history of our club stories to give to Jennifer for the update of the club history booklet. All lengths are welcome and will add to the information for others to see what our Kiwanis club is all about. This is our 100th anniversary so lets not wait too long to get the story written down.
A request to members involved in the flag program. Somewhere in someones garage or hidden in Breihans Electric is a cardboard box with some Kiwanis Flag tags or banners. If you have any information on their possible location let Jeanne know. Also think of another form of advertisement to put on the flags so people know that we are responsible for displaying the flags on holidays.
OUTSIDE EVENTS:
MARCH 12th: Daylight Savings begins at 2:00 a.m. Sunday morning. If you prefer not getting up at 2: a.m. to set the clocks ahead one hour nobody will know if you do the change when you go to bed. Since you are moving time ahead one hour it won't hurt to get an early start for a few hours.
MARCH 20th: The official First Day of Spring on a calendar. It is nice to have a scheduled day to look for what your area has for Spring. States farther north will probably still be digging out of winter's snow and we may have hot days of summer. Either way it is a fun day to look forward to warmer weather and dances around the May Pole (or is that later in May?)
Chamber of Commerce has its annual book of San Marcos available for members. It is very informative and worth the time to stop in at the Chamber and get a copy.
NOTES AND QUOTES:
I found out that the newsletter is now up on our website. I will have to tone down my notes and quotes section so as not to get in trouble writing some of my thoughts that seem to come to me in my dreams or the wandering (wondering?) comments that appear on occassion.
A follow up on the hail storm and damage to cars and trucks. Almost every home has a garage for vehicles. The observation of friends, drive by glances, and visits to other homes is that the 'garage' is too crowded with STUFF. Boxes, tools, furniture, etc. (my carport is my weight lifting area). If you don't use the garage for your car or truck you deserve those dimples from hail on the hood and roof of your car or truck.
For those individuals that watch sports this is the time of year when almost all sports are overlapped. Basketball is nearing the end and March Madness gearing up. Softball is still in mid-season. Major League Baseball is starting to come to life. NBA basketball is nearing the finish in two months. Hockey is finishing up and the start of the Stanley Cup Playoffs will go on until May (maybe early June). Marathons are being run all over the world. College baseball is in full swing and getting ready for the College World Series next month. Wrestling is starting to wind down with state and national championship tournaments. I almost feel sorry for sports writers in newspapers trying to keep up and find space to write reports. And I add my column of note to help with the confusion.
I enjoy the comic strip Charlie Brown. One strip had Charlie and his sister leaning against tree contemplating philosophy things. Sister asks Charlie: "What's happened to this younger generation, Charlie Brown?" Charlie answers, "It all started with bicycle helmets, and now its everyone gets a trophy. Kids don't know what it's like to feel pain when they do something stupid. Stupid should hurt."
It's tough getting older and learning all the new meanings of words and phrases. So, 'naked running' apparently means running without GPS, Music, and other tech apps. I wish I knew this an hour ago when I followed the old meaning.
Another phrase that needs some change. For a kid starting baseball the comment of "Keep your eye on the ball" has on occassion had the kid put his eye on the ball as he tries to hit the ball with a bat. Maybe use a comment like, "Watch the ball closely" or "Look at the ball when you hit it with the bat."
Celery is that food when you have that sudden urge to bite into water with hair in it.
Knowledge is knowing a tomato is a fruit. Wisdom is not putting it in a fruit salad. Philosophy is wondering if a Bloody Mary counts as a smoothie.
Every 'C' in Pacific Ocean is pronounced differently. Aren't you glad you know that now.
A lady ahead of me ordered some fast food. The cashier said, "That will be $6.66." She said, "Oh no! I don't like that total. Better throw in a corn dog." This woman is an inspiration. She's out there fighting off the powers of Satan with a corndog as her weapon.
In regards to our Clean Up day. I can guarantee that anyone who uses the term "hay day" as a positive, fun thing has never actually unloaded and put up hay before. There is nothing fun about a 'hay day'. (I think I'll use the 'Hey Day" form instead. Spelling is a big difference. I do agree "hay day" is a lot of hard work)
The older I get, the more I regret all the people I've lost over the years. Maybe being a trail guide wasn't such a great idea after all.
When life gets you down and you feel like you can't go on, just remember who will always be there for you. DISHES, they will literally always be there.
The busines of life is the acquistion of memories. (Write down your Kiwanis memories for our history booklet)
Don't get all weird about getting older. Our age is merely the number of years the world has been enjoying us.
SEE YOU ON THURSDAY AT GRIN'S FOR SOME GOOD FRIENDSHIP, GOOD FELLOWSHIP, GOOD FOOD, AND AN INTERESTING PROGRAM. BRING A HAPPY OR FUN STORY TO TELL SOME MEMBERS TO MAKE THEM SMILE OR LAUGH. REMEMBER TO BRING A GUEST AND HELP OUR CLUB GROW.