We grew from 446 to 506 residents
in the park this week. Welcome home
Winter Ranch residents!
Important Info From Park Management:
- It is time for those that have golf carts to start using the designated golf cart parking to make more room for cars as our parking space is limited.
- If you are planning on selling your mobile home or park model, you need to list it first in the office. The sale needs to be approved. Management needs to be in the loop.
- If you are planning on doing any enhancements to your site including: cement work, installing rock, planting trees or bushes, you need to check with Larry first. Don't put yourself in the position where you need to remove what you just put in because you did not check!
- Cathy asked for a Big Favor: Please check your quarters before you put them in the laundry machines. Canadian quarters somehow get lodged in the machines and we just paid $75 to retrieve a quarter.
- Cathy thanked Don Short for donating another shower chair and Rosie Dorsey and Vicky Miller for donating wheel chairs to Cathy's Closet. There are many items available in Cathy's Closet for our residents' use. For more information, talk to the ladies in the office.
- Cathy thanked Nora and Charlie Minor and all the other volunteers who helped decorate the hall for Christmas and also Wally Sneed for decorating the entrance to the park.
- JD thanked people for cleaning up after the Thanksgiving Dinner.
- JD clarified that the Activities Office is not monitoring the Thanksgiving and Christmas signup boards. You can sign up as many people a you want for a table. They only dish out the money for the turkeys/hams and put up the sheets. The rest is up to each table. The only problems we have had in that area is with Bus Trips.
- Our new Coffee Machine is not keeping up with the demands on it for the Wednesday morning meetings so JD will see to it that coffee is made in the kitchen and will be available next week.
- Lynn asked for some cooperation this morning. There have been some incidents of people raising the devil with volunteers in the park. Remember that these people are volunteers and we would not have all the activities that we do without our volunteers. If you are having a problem with any activity in the park, see Lynn or JD in their office. However, PLEASE calm yourself down before you register your complaint. JD and Lynn are not going to put up with screaming or hollering; and, yes, that has happened this past week. Also, remember that our bus drivers are volunteers. They not only drive the bus, but they clean it, fill it with gas and see that it is maintained. They are not paid and if you want to register a complaint about them, the same thing applies - see JD. JD and Lynn are more than happy to work out problems as they occur, but please let's remember to be polite and keep a civil tongue in your mouth!
- The Church Board is looking for a retired pastor for next year. If you know of anyone who might be interested, contact Jan Howard, Lot 717.
- The Angel Tree (Coordinators: Diana Mollerus and Patty Ellison) is now up in the Big Hall. Take a tag(s) off the tree, purchase gifts from $5 to $10 and then wrap the gift(s). Put the tag(s) that you took and attach them to the wrapped gift(s). Then keep the gift until the Wednesday morning meeting on December 19th when you can place them on the stage for delivery to ARISE. The gifts will be distributed to needy children in the ARISE neighborhood.
- Ron Doershug has taken over the Prayer Request Website. Charles Kroll remains very ill and is not able to keep the site up-to-date. You can give Ron information that you want posted by e-mailing him, placing information in his mail box and, lastly, phoning him. He is not always available by phone and sometimes won't have a pen or paper with him so he would prefer it if you would use one of the other methods.
- Sandy Tester gave us some information on the Christmas families that the church is supporting this year. The Church will deliver the gifts on December 20th.
- The Rodriguiz Family has four children, two boys and two girls. They are in desparate need this Christmas and did not have a Christmas last year at all.
- Mrs. Morena has three boys and one girl.
- The Picture Directories are in and if you purchased one last year, you can pick them up in the Activity Office. There are also some pictures that were ordered last year in the Activity Office.
- HB Hulsey, our Veterans' Advocate, will be out of town for four days this week so if a concern arises while he is away, call the Veterans Office in Harlingen.
- Symphonic Band Tickets for December 18th at 7 PM are available in the Business Office. Cost of tickets is $5. There are 20 tickets left for sale. The bus is now full for this event so you would need to drive yourselves at this point.
- You can sign up for tables for the New Year's Party now in the Activities Office and buy your tickets. Admission to the New Year's Party will be $10 each.
- Barb DeGarmo is doing the Christmas Stockings Drive again this year. For information see the postings that are in several locations in the office and Friendship Hall. The items for the stockings are needed by Posada which is ahead of Christmas. Barb will need the stocking stuffers by December 11th.
- The Holiday Lighting Contest was formally announced today- Sign up by December 14th in the Activities Office to enter the contest. Prizes will be awarded at the December 24th Christmas Party. For more details on the contest, see the Blog archives or the postings in Friendship Hall.
- The Men's Billiards Group is looking for new people. Contact Don Granger, Lot 513, if you are interested.
- Our new coordinator for the Golden Age Olympics is Marcia Fabricius, Lot 618. If you would like to participate in the games, see Marcia. Literally 1000's of Winter Texans participate in the games over the course of three months (January, February and March). There are contests for about everything you can think of: cards, cooking, bowling, shuffleboard, billiards, etc. etc. Marcia can fill you in. Most contests take one-half to one day. When you enter you receive a t-shirt, a ticket to the banquet and you have a chance to win a bronze, silver or gold medal!
- Folk Lore Dancers - These youngsters will be performing in the Big Hall on December 13th at 6:30 PM. This is a free-will offering.
- The Ladies Luncheon with a Christmas theme is scheduled for December 18th at noon in the Big Hall. Jan Wilson is selling tickets after the Wednesday morning meetings. Tickets are $8.
- The Dance this week is Wildside on December 7th at 7 PM.
- First Craft Sale is Tuesday, December 11th from 8 to noon. Signup sheets for volunteers is in Friendship Hall.
- Stuffing of Christmas Stockings will be on December 12th at 1 PM in Friendship Hall.
- The Computer Group starts their Trouble Shooting Help Sessions today after the morning meeting. Beginning Wednesday, December 12th, help sessions will be in Activity Room #3. The first Wednesday of the month, there will not be a help session due to a conflict with the room. If you have a problem with your laptop or computer, stop in and talk to Ron or one of the Computer Group and they will try to assist you.
- Wellness Screening at 7:00 AM on December 10th, Monday.
- There is a Men's Billiards Tournament every Monday at xx. $5 for park residents and $7 for non-residents.
- Short Bike Rides start on December 18th.
- Line Dancing classes started this morning after the morning meeting. The cost is $1 per person per session and the money is donated to support children in Mexico.
- Breakfast will be Scrambled Eggs this Saturday from 7:30 to 8:30 AM. If you have an idea for a different time for the breakfasts, let JD know.
- Bible Study starts today and will meet weekly at 1:30 on Wednesdays in the Library.
- Karaoke starts this Saturday at 3 PM in Friendship Hall. Just come on down!
- Bowling starts this Friday at 1 PM at Flamingo Bowl at 3301 North 23rd Street in McAllen. Contact Judy Good, Lot 522, if you would like to join.
- Tap Dancing starts next week. Beginners class will be on Tuesdays at 9 AM and Advances Class (those that have tapped before) will be on Mondays at 9 AM. If you are new there is no need to buy shoes. You don't need to buy those until you are sure you'll enjoy it. See Penny Vollrath, Lot 310, for more information.
Volunteers Needed:
- JD is looking for a couple more volunteers to help bus and clean up after the Tuesday afternoon Socials. Rosie Ewald, Vicky Mullin and Bob and Marie French have been assisting but a couple more people would really make things run smoothly.
- A couple of volunteers with trucks or vans will be needed on December 19th to take the gifts purchased for the Angel Tree to Arise. See Cathy Chapin in the Office to volunteer your services.
- Volunteers are needed to help making Caramel Corn. A signup sheet is posted in Friendship Hall.
- Lynn still needs a Chair for the Christmas Eve Party that is held on December 24th in the afternoon. This is a finger-food potluck.
- The Hildalgo Festival of Lights is looking for some volunteers. Cathy has posted information and the phone numbers to call to help out.
- The Salvation Army has requested some bell ringers to ring at the Walgreens in Alamo. You can volunteer for this event by signing up on the Signup Sheets on the Wall by the restrooms in Friendship Hall. If you have questions, see Karen Hockemeir, the Salvation Army Volunteer Coordinator, at Lot 563.
- JD said he noticed that several people had signed up to help with setting up tables and chairs. He'll be calling on you shortly as the first craft sale is coming up on next Tuesday, December 11th. He would like a group that would set up the craft sale four times a year.
- Lynn would like a Coordinator to lead a new Garden Club group that would assist in beautifying the public areas of the park. Talk to Lynn about what would be involved.
- Signup sheets to help with the first Craft Sale are up in Friendship Hall.
- Bus Trips - signups are held after the Wednesday morning meetings. Today we signed up for a border patrol trip to Mercedes and another trip to the Hidalgo Festival of Lights.
- Wink's Bus Trips are being discontinued. The last bus trip was a disaster. The entertainment was late getting started and prices have really gone up and some people paid $60 for the evening. JD is looking into an alternate trip. Riverside is a possibility but he is still investigating possibilities.
- Tours - Our Tour Director, Gail Field, has several Bus Trips listed on her Bulletin Board in Friendship Hall along with her business cards. She may have a couple open spaces for the New Orleans Trip. She won't be at our meetings every Wednesday but she will keep the board updated. Just give her a call if you need information.
Note from the Blog Administrator: If you have pictures from any of the events or bus trips trips that you would like to share on the blog, you can send them to me and I'll post them on the blog. Just send them to my e-mail at : blogwinterranch@yahoo.com
