This newsletter is about the meeting and ends with photos of the Veteran's Day Parade.

 

Rick asked Lon to talk about his visit with McBride Wilson. Lon visited McBride at his home to give him an Honorary Kiwanis Member award Lon designed. We thank and recognize McBride Wilson for his long service to the club.

 

A Veteran's Day parade signup sheet was passed around again to fill in the remaining empty volunteer slots. Having a float in the parade is a great way to honor not only our members who are veterans but all who have served. Kelli said we have been participating in the parade for 18 years.

Rick went over details for getting the float prepared and said to meet at Ted Breihan's Electric Co. to do the final float decorating at 8:30. Bicycle decorating is at 9:00 a.m on the Square. The parade starts at 10:00. 

Academy Sports once again has donated boy's and girl's bicycles with helmets for the Bicycle Brigade giveaway happening after the parade. A group of members are going after this meeting to pick up the bikes. Kristin designed the raffle tickets for the kids' entries in the giveaway.

 

Good showing of members picking up bicycles at Academy Sports.

 

Rick yielded the floor to Kristi so she could give a recap of "Trunk or Treat." It was by all counts a success. There was a steady stream of trick or treaters. Key Club members came out to help. The Kiwanis banners were prominent on both sides of the horse trailer as was the Kiwanis tablecloth where the treats and Kiwanis literature were placed. It was great exposure for the club and a good time for all who participated. Rick came out to check on things and Susie, her husband, Luanne and Jennifer also helped. Jesse's photo booth was, as always, a success at drawing people in. My apologies if I missed recognizng anyone.

 

There will be a new San Marcos event on Dec. 7th  called "Merry on the Squarey" running from 2:00-6:00 p.m. When I looked this up online it said tickets had to be purchased but the links to get tickets were not helpful. Hopefully there will be more clarity closer to the date.

 

The Lake Highlands Interclub luncheon is on Nov. 26th. The cost is $10 which the club will cover. Please RSVP to have an accurate number of members going and to set up carpooling.

 

Flags are being set up for Veteran's Day on Monday, Nov. 11th. For those who have routes, breakfast is at 8:00 at "Cafe on the Square" after the flags are up or if you just want to show up to eat.

 

Official Pancake Day signup sheets for placemat ads have been sent out. Getting sponsors can start next week after the Veteran's Day parade unless you have already started working on it. The deadline for submittal of an ad is Dec. 12th.

 

Butter Braid delivery is next week on Nov. 14th. Be sure to bring an ice chest or cooler if you ordered anything.

 

Per Rick, "Radio Station KXSM 104.1 San Marcos Radio invited our club to be on the radio to talk about our club and what we do for the community. We have Kristi, Emily, and myself (Rick) attending so turn that radio on and tune in."

 

Kristin introduced our guest speaker Crystal Dixon who is a Financial Advisor with Edward Jones Investments. She began by saying the market historically reacts well with Republican President elections which was definitely the case with this 2024 election. She compared the market to an emotional kidergartner. Negative news like war makes the stock market react negatively. 

Crystal said they are no longer referred to as stockbrokers but are now known as Financial Planners. This includes a year-end checklist, self assessing of where a client is now financially, estate plans and doing a review of personal tax situations. It is important to set up retirement plans, look into life insurance and, in order to avoid taxable situations, decide what charities one would prefer to put funds in instead of handing it over to the IRS.

Members asked her some very good questions concerning 401k's, IRA's,  rollovers and trusts to protect heirs. Crystal mentioned there may be changes tax-wise at the end of 2025.

This was a good program for bringing to light the many aspects of financial planning especially when nearing retirement.

 

Nov. 14th: Originally Michell Harper the President of CASS was going to speak. This fell through so our meeting will be an internal club meeting. There will be a lot of important topics covered so please make the effort to come. Also, remember it is Butter Braid delivery day.

Nov. 21st: History of Mermaids at Aquarena Springs

Nov. 28th: Thanksgiving...No meeting.