1.  Rick Pickering reported that he, Kristi Dame, Veronica Westbrook, and Kristin Wingard made contact with about 100 seniors at the San Marcos Consolidated Independent School District's High School while passing out popsicles and promoting the Kiwanis scholarships. This took place on Mar. 10 and 11, 2026.  

 

2. Jennifer Richmond attended a grant writing workshop, last week and felt it was very informative.  She found out that there are several grants that our club can qualify for.  Rona Walton will be helping with the applications on these.

 

3.  Kristi Dame was voted in as a member of the Kiwanis Board of Directors, to fill an upcoming vacancy.

 

4.  Early Bird Registration is now available for anyone interested in attending the Kiwanis Texas/Oklahoma Convention, this summer.  Cost is $55.00, instead of regular $75.00.

 

5.  John Roppolo announced that a group called Home Center will have an event on Apr. 18 and have asked our club for help.  More on that soon.

 

6. Our club will be participating in a business Mixer on Mar. 19, 2026, at Southern Star Event Center from 5-7pm.  There will be many opportunities to promote our club's upcoming Cornhole Tournament.  It is important to have as many Kiwanians to attend as possible.  Remember to wear your Kiwanis shirt.

 

7.  It is hard to believe that we are halfway through another year.  The search for next year's Kiwanis president is beginning, as Jennifer does not plan to continue as president for the 2026-2027 year.  Please consider stepping forward to lead our club, next year.  Penny Slavik and Willie Garza have plans to continue as secretary and treasurer.

 

8.  This week's program is one you don't want to miss, and it would be a great one to bring a friend or prospective member to. Linda Coker will be talking about the History of San Marcos.  This will be part 1 of 3 parts.

 

9.  Penny Slavik reported that she took information over to the San Marcos Daily Record newspaper to promote the club.  Hopefully, you will see an article about the Kiwanis Club soon.  Not sure how much will detail current club information, and how much will talk about the 100-year anniversary of the club, but it will bring awareness of our club, regardless.

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If you have every taken a trip to a faraway land, lived amongst Scottish Clansmen, solved a crime, or explored the mountains of Mars, yet never left your sofa, you will understand the love of reading and books.  This was the driving force that brought Debbie Roppolo to the career path that she has chosen.  As a child, her parents were aware of the "horses" she brought through the living room or the "wild cat" she brought to Church and fearfully watched as she rode animals high speed through a meadow.  Books were her ultimate joy!

 

She credits her grandmother for encouraging her to become an author.  Debbie even created a series of stories about a cat named Taz that shaped the state of Texas.  In college, she wrote a term paper that caught her professor's attention as having so much imagery.  This was the turning point of her writing career, and she started writing stories for newspapers, magazines, etc... and after writing a story for Chicken Soup for the Dog Lover's Soul, she was finally published.

 

She shared that she received many, many rejection notices, and discovered many publisher's scams for easy money, but the passion to put herself into her stories, finally lead her to create her own publishing company.  Since that time, she has published at least one book that her son wrote, as well as some of her own.   It is a lot of work, though, because you don't have someone else doing the promoting, editing, etc...

 

If you don't want to self-publish, she suggested that after writing your story, if it gets rejected, you edit it and resubmit it (repeatedly, if necessary)  Debbie also stated that it is very important to research the type of genre your story would fit into, and avoid submitting similar stories to those on the market.  Finally, make sure you write something about yourself that will catch the publisher's attention.  

 

For more information on Debbie's journey, or guidance on getting your story published, talk with our very own John Roppolo about getting you hooked up with his wife.

 

 

 

 

Mar. 19, 2026:  History of San Marcos (part 1 of 3) with Linda Coker

Mar. 26, 2026: Marketing and Outreach with Christi Murillo

Apr. 2, 2026: The Ranch @ 1856 with Alex Edwards

Apr. 9, 2026: Grandparents, Children, and Reading Levels with Athena Reiche