Before getting to the reports, I want to say how sad it is to lose fellow Kiwanian Del Brown. He was a most dignified presence at our meetings. Not having been in the club for very long I do not know a whole lot about his involvement. I would like to write a tribute to him and welcome anyone's memories and photos that I can put together for a bulletin that will be separate from the newsletter.

 

I understand members went to the visitation and many Kiwanians went to the funeral which was beautifully done and upbeat, representing Del, himself. At the Round Table lunch, many members contributed to the wreath and food platter the club gave to the family and we all signed a condolence card for the family. Several members also gave flowers on their own. Del will be greatly missed. More to come.

 

Gary Nelson and Randy Cook are celebrating birthdays this month. 

 

There is not a complete accounting of proceeds for Pancake Day but it looks like approximately $2000 in profit so far. We served around 270 people many of whom were children. Rick said Felicia recruited a lot of the families!

 

Rick and his wife signed up to help with the food packing for School Fuel for this Thursday. Luanne and Chester are joining them. No background checks are required. There is a sign up link if you want to help out in future packing evenings. They start at 5:00 for preparation and 6:00 is the start of filling the bags. The location is Mendez Elem. School Fuel has a sign in the parking lot to help with locating where to go. This will be ongoing for the semester if you are interested.

 

Rick is checking with Kiwanis at the district level about whether the club needs approval from Kiwanis International concerning our Bylaws being submitted in preparation for obtaining 501(c)3 status.

 

Peter from the Rotary Club addressed our meeting. He first thanked us for the pancakes at Pancake Day. He ate everything on his plate. His motto: "Go to waste, go to waist."

 

He has been talking with Lon about putting up another club road sign like we have on Hwy. 123. 

 

Peter's announcements:

There is a Rotary Casino Night with a Mardi Gras theme on Feb. 28th at the 

Commemorative Air Force Museum, SMTX Airport. Proceeds will be to benefit the Damphousse Foster Educational Endowment at Texas State. There is a $10,000 diamond raffle which caught the ladies' attention.

The Mardi Gras parade is on March 1st this year.

 

The next Boy Scout Luncheon is at the San Marcos Activity Center although I did not catch the date.

 

Rick introduced Sarah Maines who is the Director of the Texas State School of Theatre, Dance and Film. Sarah started at Texas State in 2010. She was a former Key Club member in high school and hopes to one day participate with that program again.

The Department just added the Film BFA this past Fall semester. There are nine BFA degrees within the varied department's disciplines along with BA's and MFA's. They were designated as one of the top 25 drama schools in the world last year with their Dance program being one of the best.

 

They occupy four buildings on campus: Theatre Center, Performing Art Center, Live Oak Studio and Jowers Center. They also have study programs in other locations: Shakespeare Theatre in England, Birth of Cinema in France, the Oregon Shakespeare Festival and Grenada, Spain.

 

The Texas State Theatre stages 8 productions a year and the Dance program has 6 shows annually. At times they will have guest directors, actors, stage and costume designers to share their expertise. If interested in what productions they are having in the future go to txstatepresents.universitytickets.com for a line up of shows.

 

Members had quite a few questions with one being especially interesting. It was concerning the use of technology. Sarah said computers are having a big role in productions with what is called "Ground Control" with a Followspot system allowing for more creativity and a safer way to manage lighting onstage.

 

Sarah welcomes any suggestions we may have for getting the word out about their shows. They use Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter for show information and the Friends of Fine Arts do promote their dance and film programs. Romeo and Juliet is coming up in Feb.!

 

Jan. 16th: Chelsea Roberts - CB and Four Rivers Assn.

Jan. 23rd: Garret Hope - Main Street Downtown Coordinator

Jan. 31st: Zark Markowicz, Retired Secret Service

 

Jan. 13th: Key Club meeting

Jan. 15th: Board Meeting, Sunflower Bank, 5:00 pm. 

 

Why do we say break a leg in the theatre? 

It's because everyone in the play is in a cast.

 

Why are jokes in theatres not funny?

They seem pretty staged.