Adriana Lozada was inducted into our club today! Welcome Adriana!
San Marcos Kiwanis Club
San Marcos Kiwanis Club Newsletter, Mar. 5, 2026
ANNOUNCEMENTS AND REPORTS:
1. Member Induction: We were able to welcome our newest member, Adriana Lozada, to our club today! Adriana has many fine qualities that she brings with her. Among those are a desire to bring in new members, an interest in working with K-Kids, and possibly Builder's Club and Key Club. She is bilingual, as well.
2. Alex Edwards, a guest, has just completed 3 visits to the club, so we look forward to hopefully welcome him into the club, in the near future.
3. Rick Pickering filled in for Jennifer Richmond, today, as she was attending a grant writing seminar. Rick stated that the Kiwanis International Key Club will be celebrating their 101 birthday on Mar. 23.
4. Lt. Governor Rick Pickering shared several statistics for the Texas/Oklahoma District. Currently there are 55 clubs within the district with 4,658 members. He also stated that Kiwanis International has plans to take pictures that have been submitted by clubs, for the Distinguished Club and the Signature project, both of which have been submitted by our club, and create a coloring book for kids.
5. Early Bird Special: If anyone is interested in attending the Texas/Oklahoma Convention, being held July 23-26, 2026, now is a good time to register, to take advantage of a discounted price.
6. March 13, 2026 is the Chamber of Commerce Cornhole Tournament: Jesse Ramos has requested assisted from the Kiwanis Club members to help with the photo booth and Kiwanis information booth. It would be very helpful to have 2 people working the photo booth, 2 people wworking the Kiwanis booth, and several people walking around to great patrons. Please let Jesse know if you can help. Show up can be at 10:30, if you want to help set up. Remember to wear Kiwanis shirts and name badges, if you can.
7. Kiwanis Mixer: This will be Thurs., Mar. 19, 2026, from 5:00-7:00 pm. This will be held at Southern Star Event Center, and there will be lots of businesses represented. This will be a great way to promote our club's Cornhole Tournament! If possible, please plan to come and help with this event, and wear your Kiwanis shirt and name badge.
Kandice Boutte'- Hays County Administrator
PROGRAM:
Kandice Boutte", Hays County Administrator gave an excellent program on the "Growth and Changes in Hays County"! She began her presentation by explaining that there has been so much growth in population, over the past decade, that changes were inevitable. She shared that in the year 2020, the population showed 241,067, and due to factors such as the location along the IH 35 corridor, the projected population for 2060 will skyrocket to around 500,00 people. She also shared that the average housing prices are close to $400,000, and rental property is close to $1,500 monthly.
In order to accommodate the population growth, changes are being made to the Internal workings of government buildings. Kandice shared three areas of focus, at this time.
1. Staff Changes: Job titles are being changed or deleted to fit the needs of the public. Some offices housed in the Government Center are being relocated to other buildings.
2. Department Creation: New departments are being created, such as "Parks" and "Natural Resources" to address the needs of a larger population.
3. Elected Officials: Election outcomes bring new changes to day-to-day procedures, and transitions need to be addressed.
The eventual goal for the Government Center is to focus more on the Judicial needs of the county.
Kandice discussed Capital Improvements within the county. These included mainly road projects. Due to the population growth, it is necessary to improve functionality of well-traveled roadways, to be able to handle the increase of motor vehicles.
Kandice also shared Conservation Efforts, and how to improve long term water sustainability, as well as the protection of our natural resources. The development of Sentinel Peak Preserve, a 530 +acre property is scheduled to open next year. This park will help protect many of our natural resources, as well as provide a sanctuary for wild animals, such as the Golden Cheeked Warbler, and several sighted Bald Eagles. Sentinel Peak Preserve is located in Hays and Comal Counties, west of Wimberly.
UPCOMING PROGRAMS:
Mar. 12, 2026: How to Publish a Book with Debbie Roppolo
Mar. 19, 2026: History of San Marcos, part 1 of 3, with Linda Cocker
Mar. 26, 2026: Marketing and Outreach with Christi Murillo
Apr. 2, 2026: The Ranch @ 1856 with Alex Edwards
UPCOMING EVENTS:
Friday, Mar. 13, 2026: Chamber of Commerce Cornhole Tournament (NEED KIWANIS HELP), 11:00am-4:00pm, Chamber of Commerce backyard, 202 N. CM Allen, San Marcos, TX
Wednesday, Mar. 18, 2026: Board Meeting, 5:00pm-6:30pm, CASA building
Thursday, Mar. 19, 2026: Chamber Mixer to promote our Cornhole Tournament and a new member drive, 5:00- 7:00pm, Southern Star Event Center, 480 Mill Road, Maxwell, TX (NEED KIWANIS HELP)
BIRTHDAYS AND ANNIVERSARIES:
Mar. 3, 2026: Jennifer Richmond's birthday
Mar. 12, 2026: Rona Walton's wedding anniversary
Mar. 13, 2026: Penny and Steve Slavik's wedding anniversary (would have been 44 years)
Mar. 25, 2026: Kristi Dame's birthday
Mar. 28, 2026: Jessica and Alex Rodriguez's wedding anniversary
REMINDER:
Like and share any social media that mentions the Kiwanis Club. Bring a friend to our next meeting.
HUMOR AND MUSING:
The US Capitol Dome isn’t stone🏛️
The famous white dome above the Capitol looks like marble or concrete — but it’s actually made of cast iron weighing nearly 9 million pounds.
Even more surprising: construction continued during the Civil War, because President Abraham Lincoln believed stopping the project would symbolize that the Union itself was collapsing.
The secret to making Congress more efficient is to replace all the people with horses. Sure, every vote would end in “neighs,” but hay, at least the housing market would be stable.
