We went from 782 to 740 - down again from last week and more are leaving as we speak.
Have a safe trip home everyone!
Congratulations and Kudos:
- We all sang Happy Birthday to Thelma Dick this morning! Wish her a Happy Birthday when you see her.
- Vicki Miller gave Ron Berg his Certificate for making a hole in One on Hole 7. He used a pitching wedge. Congratulations, Ron!
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| Vicki awarding Hole In One Certificate to Ron Berg |
- Vicki also announced that Jerry Robinson made his first Hole in One at age 86 on a Game Play so he received an extra $20 plus the award. He had his Hole in One on Hole 4 and he used a 7 iron. Congratulations, Jerry. Unfortunately, he wasn't at the meeting so that we could get his picture!
- Vicki also thanked everyone who participated in golfing this year. The two scrambles raised $1012 for Juvenile Diabetes. The fee for the scrambles is used to pay for the awards for the holes in one. It also paid for two ball washers and eight new park benches.
- Jan Howard thanked everyone for their donations to ARISE this year. They were just able to provide $350 in rice, beans, flour and lard to ARISE because of your donations.
- Lynn Murray thanked all the volunteers who have put in their time and talent to make this year so successful.
- Donna Hulsey for doing the Wrangler.
- Shirley Birlingmeir for following up on all the advertising that we do to make sure that it is in the ads correctly.
- Shirley Snell for setting up the appointments for the Picture Directory last year.
- Dave and Donna Lewis for all the work they do in the kitchen.
- Jammer Crew (Dave Nunn and Ross Craft) for bringing in people - they average $700 gross each Saturday to our Activity Fund.
- Jan and Paul Wilson for taking charge of the 50th Wedding Anniversary Celebration.
- Jack Hulsey - our WR bus driver
- HB Hulsey for his work with the veterans
- Jeanine Helmer for taking charge of the Memorial Service
- Lee Clement for his work with the Variety Show
- Ray Uselman and all the Bingo volunteers
- Pam Hoppe for her work with the exercise group
- Nora Minor for taking charge of decorating the hall
- Rita Huether and her group of 1st Responders for all they do
- Mary Benfield for her work on the Winter Ranch Blog
- The Dance Group (John and Martha Anderson, Lee and Mary Benfield, Mick and Mary Hazlett, Rex and Betty Humke, Bob and Phyllis Lauritsen, Betsy Oestricher, Merv Printy, and Rich and Donna Ritchie) for keeping our dances organized.
- All the kitchen and breakfast people
- And the list goes on. Without your participation in whatever activity you assist with, our park would not be the park that it is! Thank you very much!
- Since people have started to leave, Cathy brought up a few things to remember when we leave the park.
- Please leave some mailing labels with your home address on them so that the Mail Room can forward your mail. You can order labels from the Computer Group or from the Business Office. They will make sure that the Mail Room gets them. Please allow a few days for this.
- Also, Cathy reminded those of us that are leaving to make sure that all yard ornaments, chairs and anything that isn't secure be put away before we leave. With high winds that occur in Texas, anything can start flying and cause damage to property. We also need to make sure we aren't impeding grass mowing or weed eating just in case we get some rain this summer.
- Cathy warned us about some scams that might affect Winter Ranch residents. The WR staff tries hard to keep soliciters out of the park, however, sometimes they manage to get through to Winter Ranch from Trophy Gardens. There have been some guys trying to seal roofs in the parks and they are not anyone you should do business with. Never do business with someone that knocks on your door and asks to do something for you. Sometimes they take money and run and other times they start and job and don't finish. Other times they just do a bad job. If you need someone to do something, check around and find out from your neighbors who has done a good job previously. If someone does try to solicit, please call the Business Office right away so they can escort these people out of the park.
- Ron Doerschug, Computer Group President, reported that we need to be careful when we use the internet. There are several scams going on now that ask you to click on this link to verify something or other in order to keep your service or for numerous other reasons. Do not click on that link before you check it out. The link may look exactly like what your bank, credit card company, cell phone company or whatever looks like, but if you hover over that link and don't click on it, you can sometimes tell that it is not from the company itself. If you can tell from that, then just erase the e-mail. If you can't tell, phone the company with a number you have, not the number they provide. It is much better to be safe than to be sorry later.
- JD stated that we are having a different company do the picture directories next year and hope to avoid some problems that we encountered this past year. There are more copies of the picture directory available now. The cost is $15. If you paid for one and have not received it, stop in the Activities Office to pick it up.
- Ron also said that there are a couple of things you can do to lessen e-mail problems. We all love to forward jokes, etc. When you do forward, make the To your own e-mail and put the rest of the people you are forwarding to in the BCC (blind copy) list. That way no one sees who gets the e-mail. If the e-mail that you are forwarding has a list of e-mails from the last person that sent it to you, then erase that list of names before you send the forward. That way you are protecting all those people from scammers. If you need help figuring out how to do this, contact one of the people in the computer group or come to the Wednesday Help Session after the morning meeting for assistance.
- HB Hulsey reported that the VA has a new study on Agent Orange. You can check it out at agentorange.va.gov If you have experienced problems with Agent Orange and have not been able to get help previously, you may be eligible now. Get the information you need and sign up. They are covering military besides those in Viet Nam now.
- The non-picture Directories are for Sale for $2 in the Business Office.
- Jan Howard asked that we take any non-perishable items that we don't want to return home with to the Small Hall so they can be taken to ARISE and used by those that really need assistance.
- Converted Texans Annual Get Together - If you have changed your status from Winter Texan to being an established Texan by setting up your residency here, then you are eligible to attend their get together on April 9th from 10-Noon at Palmer Pavilion in McAllen. Lynn Murray has more details.
Event News:
- Winter Ranch St. Patrick's Day Parade - Winter Ranch is having a St. Patrick's Day Parade on Saturday, March 16th. Decorate your golf carts, your pets, your bikes or scooters and/or yourself and meet in front of the Small Hall at 3 PM.
- Trophy Gardens/Winter Ranch St. Patrick's Day Parade - This is a parade started by Trophy Gardens but we are included. This parade will be on March 17th. It will start at Trophy Gardens around 4 PM and arrive at Winter Ranch around 4:20 PM. If you want to see this parade, you can put your lawn chairs long Wrangler's Way, Corral Way or Bunk House (the street behind the office). Cathy says it is a pretty good parade and that last year it included old cars.
- A Reception for Pastor Johnson will be held on March 17th from 2 to 4 PM. This is Pastor Johnson's last season with us after 13 years of service. Come join us in thanking him for his service and wishing him well.
- Card Shower for Pastor Johnson - Pastor Johnson's birthday is March 18th so join us in sending him a card!
Calendar Updates:
- Activity Board Meeting will be held on March 19th in the Library at 11 AM. Those just voted in are urged to attend - Lynn actually said it was mandatory!
- Movie Night will be held on March 17th from 6 to 8 PM in the Large Hall. This is after the Ice Cream Social. The movie is "The Help." You can bring your own lawn chairs if you would like.
- Winter Ranch Resident Appreciation Day is set for March 18th at 7 PM. Pan O' Steel, the McAllen High School steel drum band, will be performing for an hour and then we'll have ice cream and cookies. No need to bring your own bowl.
- The dance this Friday is Wild Side at 7 PM.
Volunteers and/or Donations Needed:
- JD needs some people to volunteer to help set up chairs for Resident Appreciation Day at about 4 PM on Monday, the 18th.
- If you have some non-perishable food items that you can't take with you on your way home, drop them off in the Small Hall. They will be donated to ARISE for those less fortunate than ourselves.
