WINTER RANCH ACTIVITIES: March 5th Wednesday Morning News

We went from 851 to 810 this week

Have a Safe Trip Home!

INTRODUCING:

Jerry and Carol McBride

Lot 455

IMPORTANT NEWS:

Next Year’s Rates: The new rates are in. You have until March 7^th to reserve your current site for next year.
            1 Month - $593
            2 Months - $1186 (593/mo)
            3 Months - $1502 (500.67/mo)
            4 Months - $1800 (450/mo)
            5 Months - $2105 (421/mo)
            6 Months - $2340 (390/mo)
            6 + 3 Payments - $2538 -$846 due 4/1/14           (423/mo)
            Yearly - $2976 (248/mo)

The office is now taking reservations for people who are staying on their lots next year. Monday the office will start with the switching of lots. If you are new and need more information on this, please stop in the Business Office.

Monday (6 mo+ permanent units only – park models and permanently placed RV’s)
Tuesday (6 mo RVers only)
Wednesday (5 mo RVers only)
Thursday (4 mo RVers only)
Friday (3 mo RVers only)
Saturday (open to the public for whatever is available)

Full information sheet available in the Business Office!

Activity Coordinators: It is now time to fill out your Activities Scheduling sheet requesting dates for your events for next season. These sheets are outside the Activities Office (they're hot pink this year). All potlucks on Sunday next year will be from Noon to 2 PM. When filling out your requests, give first and second choice of dates, time of day, the date you filled out the form, type of activity and a contact person with telephone and/or e-mail address. The following activities have yet to fill out their forms: Men’s Billiards, Dominos, Cribbage, Poker, Painting, Card Crafting, Stepping Stones, and Volleyball.

Pictorial Directory: The Activities Office has a stack of pictures for people that didn’t place an order but are entitled to a free picture. Stop in and pick yours up. Please stop in to pick them up any time the office is open except Mondays or Wednesdays when the Activities Office is just swamped with other things going on.

The Activities Office is still reviewing the Activities Office “2013-2014 Questionaire” but it apparent from the responses that were received that people feel that there are plenty of activities at the park already and we don’t need to add to it. They only received three nastygrams so Lynn and JD are happy with that.

New Winter Ranch T-Shirt is available for sale in the Business Office. They are $8. We have mostly Large and X-Lg and a few mediums.

Incorrect Mail: If you get mail intended for someone else, please return it to the park mail box at the Mail Room or bring it to the Business Office.

Non-pictorial Directories are now on sale for $2 each after the Wednesday morning meetings. You can also purchase them during the week in the Business Office. We have found some errors and there is a Error Sheet included in the directory.

Ladies’ Luncheon: It is time to select new Chairs, Co-Chairs and other team members for next season. You can sign up for several positions that are available on the board across from the Mail Room. It is very important that someone come forward as Chair and Co-Chair. Without those two positions being filled, we won’t be able to continue these luncheons! The cut off on ticket sales is this Friday at 11:00 AM.

Before you leave for the season:

1) Make sure you have mail forwarding labels for the Mail Room. You can bring us your own or you can let the Business Office know that you need some labels. The Computer Group will do them for you for a slight fee.

2) Make sure you put away all the stuff at your site. Don’t leave anything out that could blow away in high winds or float away in heavy rains. Remember we do experience hurricane winds during the time that you are away. Even if you think something is too heavy to have to be put away, put it away!!

3) If you have food staples that you don’t want to take home with you, you can donate them to ARISE. Please make sure the food hasn’t expired yet. Canned goods and other food staples (non-refrigerated items) can be dropped off in the box in the Small Hall by the back door to the Business Office.

GOLF COURSE:

1) You MUST wear a badge while you are on the golf course. If you do not, you may be asked to leave the course. We believe we are starting to have people from outside the park use the course and the only way to know for sure is to enforce this rule which has been in place for years.

2) If you are going to use the handicapped path at the Golf Course, you need to stop in the Activities Office and obtain a blue flag for your golf cart.

3) If there is any trouble on the Golf Course, call Larry or Cathy Chapin.

4) Juan will be mowing grass at any time on the golf course. He must continue mowing even during golf scrambles as he only has three days to get the mowing done. He will pullover and try to get out of your way but do not ask him to quit mowing.

5) Larry and the new Manager from Trophy who has some experience in managing golf courses will be implementing some changes next season.

Congratulations:

To everyone involved in the Alamo Parade this past week. It was nice to see five other parks involved in the parade this year and even nicer that Winter Ranch again won 1^st place in the Senior Division and 1^st Place for Overall Theme. It was a wonderful parade. Next year we think the theme may be Super Heros.

Cathy With Both Trophies

2014 Alamo's Texas Independence Day Parade

"Circus" - Best Overall Theme"

2014 Alamo's Texas Independence Day Parade

"Circus" - 1st Place Senior Division

To Dale Loerch for raising $1288 for the Good Samaritan Project between the guitar, the bird houses and the wagon. Next year Dale tells us he will open up the guitar project to anyone who comes to the events at the park. Sue Henderson was the lucky winner of the guitar, cd’s and t-shirt.

Thank Yous:

Cathy thanked Don and Delora DeKeyrel for coordinating the Alamo Parade again this season and also the 50+ other people who were involved in the parade . As usual, it was a memorable event. She also thanked all the people who came out to see the parade. There were a lot of Winter Ranchers out there cheering on their park. She also thanked Chuck and Pat Cullett for all the work they did with the bikers and the elephants on parade. They were so darn cute!

Cathy thanked all the people who donated candy for the parade. They handed out 16 buckets of candy so they are pretty sure all the children were taken care of.

Lynn and JD thanked Dale and Kathy Loerch for helping out with the Winter Ranch Appreciation Day serving ice cream and taking care of the sound system. They also thanked the Canadian Potluck people who donated the rest of their iced tea for the event.

Lynn and JD thanked Larry and Jeanine Helmer and Gene and Marilyn Brown who helped out with all the concessions during this season for the Entertainment Evenings.

Thanks to all the organizers, contributors and participants of the Wounded Warrior Golf Tournament. $1800 was raised for this worthwhile fund.

Thanks also to Vicki Miller, Betty James and Rosie Dorsey who work the whole season at the Golf Course and they don’t even play golf!

Thanks to Roland and Ruby Muench for organizing the Peter Piper Luncheons each season. Unfortunately, this will be Roland and Ruby’s last season with us.

Recent Events:

February 27th - John Sagar Show- See Archives

March 1st - Alamo Parade - See Archives

March 2nd - Show and Share - See Archives

March 2nd - Resident Appreciation Day - In Process

General News:

Senior Olympics – Marcia Fabricius is the Coordinator. The brochures are in the Activities Office. This year’s theme is “Disco Fever.” Everyone is invited to participate. There is still time to register for an event but you need to do that at least a week in advance. Let Marcia know if you are participating!! When the Olympics is over there will be a get together with all the participants. If you participate in an event and take pictures, please put some on a Flash Drive and bring them to Mary or Lee Benfield, Lot 501, so we can include some in the Blog.

New Winter Ranch T-Shirt is available for sale in the Business Office. They are $8. We have mostly Large and X-Lg and a few mediums.

Annual Winter Ranch vs Trophy Gardens Golf Tournament will be held on March 12^th at 9 AM. We need 45 people to register for the event. You can sign up for this event on March 1^st at the Golf Shack. The entry fee is $2. In 2012 we started this event and Winter Ranch won the Trophy. In 2013 Trophy Gardens won. We would like to get the trophy back in 2014!

The March Ladies Luncheon will be on March 10th at Noon. Beef Lasagna will be served and Carlos will be the entertainment. We will again be passing the hat to pay the entertainment. Ladies, it is time again to sign up for positions for next year. The signup sheets are on the board across from the Mail Room.

Texas Hold ‘Em Tournament: If you are interested in participating in a Texas Hold ‘Em Tournament, contact Roy Darby. He is trying to get one set up.

Calendar Updates:

Gospel Show: Will be held on March 9th at 3 PM in the Large Hall. Ticket cost is donation of canned goods for the food pantry at ARISE. This event is being coordinated by Kathy Loerch. Sunday ice cream will be served after this event.

Sew 4 Fun: There will be a meeting for all interested in Sew 4 Fun sewing next season on Wednesday, March 12th, right after the park meeting. Please bring any ideas that you would like to do in the classes.

Ladies’ Luncheon: The last Ladies’ Luncheon will be held on March 10^th at Noon in Friendship Hall. The main dish is lasagna. The entertainment will be Carlos who entertained us earlier I the year at a Roundup. We will be paying Carlos by passing the hat so be sure to bring some extra cash with you. Tickets are $8.

Quilters’ Tea: Thursday, March 6^th at 2:30 PM in Friendship Hall. This is for anyone who has shown a quilt in the quilt show, who have helped with Quilting for the Needy or who have participated in Sew 4 Fun. We have invited the quilters from Trophy Gardens too. There is a signup sheet on the Craft Room door so we have a count on those planning to attend. Each lady is asked to bring one dozen homemade or bakery “tea” sized cookies or bars. A short program will include sharing your favorite project so bring an item to display.

Dairy Queen Bingo – Bingo is again being held on Monday nights at 6 PM at the Alamo Dairy Queen. Next season the DQ in Alamo would like to change the time fron 2 to 3 PM on Mondays.   We still need a caller from the park!

Dance Schedule

March 7, 2014 – Senior Moments (this group does a mix of country, rock and roll, and Big Band. It sounds like you can request about anything you want. They also are easy to dance to. They are new to our park but come highly recommended. )

March 14, 2014 – Jealous Heart is back for the last dance of the season.

Entertainment Schedule

March 6, 7:00 PM- Razz Ma Tazz $5 (note time change)

Bus Trips

Mar 7	6:15 PM	Mariachi Concert	$5	At The Basilica
Mar 7	9:30 AM – 2 PM	Senior Olympics – Walk & Talk		We have 26 signed up thus far – room for more
Mar 8	TBA	Border Fest – want to be there for the night parade		CANCELLED
Mar 17	8:15 AM	Texas Gold Shrimp	$12	Lunch on your own – 11 seats left
Mar 20	5:15 PM	Ol’ D’s Soda Shop	free	Dinner on your own – seat available
Mar 21	9 AM-2 PM	Mexico Winter Texan Appreciation Day in Progreso		Bus to Border for Appreciation Day
Mar 25	6:30 PM	Symphonic Band		Details Later

Tours:

Gail Field, our Tour Director from Trophy Gardens, has put up a trip to New Orleans on February 22^nd (next season). If you want a brochure on this, please sign up for that. It will not mean you have decided to go just that you want more information on it.

Volunteers and/or Donations Needed:

JD needs help setting up chairs for Razz Ma Tazz on Thursday (tomorrow) at 3 PM.

Lynn is looking for a caller for Dairy Queen Bingo for the remainder of this season on Mondays at 6 PM. Next season the DQ would like to change the time to Mondays from 2 to 3 PM. If we get a caller, we’ll get it going again!

JD needs a caller for Bingo on Saturday night for next season. He may need kitchen help for that also. If we don’t get a caller, we won’t have Saturday night Bingo.

Quilters for the Needy are looking for help on Thursdays with ironing, cutting and sewing quilts for the needy. There is a terrific need this year for quilts. They would love to have some extra helping hands.

Needed Cooks - Donna Lewis is retiring from the kitchen. JD is looking for a few people to take over her duties. He would like several people who could cook for the jam once a month rather than having the same person every week. You can make what you like – bring you grandmother’s recipes in.

Used Furniture, beds, bedding, appliances, dishes, bicycles, household and kitchen items are needed by unfortunate people in the community. If you are getting rid of something, check with Dale Loerch. He will most likely find a home for any of your unwanted items. Dale reported today that he delivered at least 20 couches, recliners and beds to the ARISE area and he said they were really needed!

Campbell’s Soup Labels and Cereal Box Tops for Education are needed for Children’s Haven. Jeanne Helmer is collecting them. You can take them to the Activity Office.

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The 50/50 Drawing this morning raised $127 for Quilting For The Needy. Debbie Martin won the pot.

Dale Loerch made one USA and one Canadian Flag from Dodson Way Bats. These are regulation baseball bats designed by Wayne Dodson to always hit on the "sweet spot." If you attended the Show and Share on Sunday, you could register to win one of these wall hangings.