1.  Kiwanis District Convention:  Rick Pickering is attending the Kiwanis Texas/Oklahoma Convention today.  We hope to schedule him, in the next couple of weeks to share what he learned.

 

2.  Installation Banquet:  Cost will be the same as last year at $25.00 per person.  An invitation will be sent out soon via email.  Please RSVP to let us know if you will be able to attend, and how many guests you will be bringing.

 

 

4.  School Supply Donations: Donations, either supplies or monetary donations may be brought to the lunch meeting through Aug. 6, 2026.  Monetary donations can be done through the club's square.  Delivery of these school supplies will then be taken to the drop off location, after the Aug. 6, 2026 lunch meeting.

 

CPL Haley McClaron and CPL Aleysia Ortiz are blessed to have a really neat job!  They work through Texas State's Police Department, riding horses!  Haley shared a little bit about herself, as well as her partner, and their two horses. She has 7 years of experience with horses, and has been a police officer for 6 years, 4 of which have been done on the back of a horse.  She explained that the equestrian program came about because the University President wanted the program, and made it happen.  She rides and trains a very large horse named Duke.  You got it!  Duke was named after John Wayne.    

 

CPL Aleysha Ortiz is her partner and is an alumni from Tx State.  Alysha has been with the University Police Department for 9 1/2 years, and surprisingly enough, she had no prior experience riding horses, before she signed on for the Mounted Police Unit.  Her horse's name is Lyndon, named after Lyndon B. Johnson.  

 

Haley went on to explain that Lyndon is quite large and weighs around 2000 pounds.  He is 7 years old and is not done growing.  He is a Belgian horse stemming from the Draft or Drought horse family and can be quite goofy and very friendly. He is the calmer of the 2 horses and hates getting his face wet.  Duke is also a very large horse, and weights over 2000 pounds.  Duke is older at 13 years old. Duke is also a Belgian horse, and his personality is more of a determination to do his best.  He is definitely the more responsible adult out of the 2 horses.

 

Both officers patrol, using the horses, no more than 4 hours a day.  The Texas heat can be difficult for longer than that.  Their job is to take their riders into areas that cars might not be able to enter into, and due to their size, their riders have an advantage sitting higher, so more can be seen.  Haley ended by explaining that it isn't all work.  The officers try to do fun stuff with the horses to promote the positive side of the police department, and they have been known to even spray paint the horses for St. Patrick's Day.