1. Scholarships:  Six San Marcos High School students have been selected to receive various amounts of scholarship money.  Names have not been made public, yet.

 

2.  Great Pumpkin Dash: The venue for this event is in discussion.  In the past 2 years, the event has been held at LaCima, with some minor complications.  Rick Pickering will contact LaCima and Penny Slavik will check Country Estates to determine which venue fits our needs the best.

 

3.  Insurance for Pony Rides:  Kristi Dame has liability insurance for her business with Hidden Willow Equestrian Center that will cover the pony rides at our upcoming Family Picnic and Cornhole Tournament.

 

4.  Another Grant Opportunity:  Jennifer will fill out the paperwork for the Hays County Service Grant for the Good Citizen Camp.  This will be due by June 1, 2026.

 

5.  Club President Position:  The president position has not been filled yet.  The board has been in discussion over several possible options, and those will be relayed at a later time.  It is the belief of the board members that prospective officers should experience the inner working of the club, while serving on the board for a year.

 

6.  Cornhole Tournament and Family Picnic:  The Kiwanis fundraiser is this coming Saturday!  Please plan to attend, if at all possible, to help.  Raffle tickets were passed out, for members to sell, and there are some great prizes!  Tickets are $10.00 each or 6 for $50.00.  Check your email as Rick Pickering sent out a request for volunteers, and you can also sign up to compete in the tournament.  Please wear your Kiwanis shirt, if you have one.  The picnic begins at 11:00 and the tournament starts at 1:00.  We need members to help set up before the events 

Aquarena Springs was originally a piece of real estate that was purchased by two men, AB Rogers and his son,Paul Rogers. The beauty of the property drew their attention, and they wanted to eventually create a place that was a family friendly, relaxing, vacation resort spot.  This dream began in 1929, and on Apr. 22, 1946, they celebrated their grand opening of the Rogers Spring Lake Park Hotel.  The hotel is still in use today, as well as the glass bottom boats that were used to entertain the hotel guests.  

 

Enjoying the success of their resort, Paul Rogers took a vacation in Florida, in 1949, and there he discovered the Weeki Wachee Springs of the Mermaids, and met Margaret Eppele Russell, one of the original Mermaids in the show.  In 1951, he talked Margaret and her family to move to Texas, and that was when the submarine theatre, gift shop, and more glass bottom boats were added to the Rogers piece of property,

 

Margaret Russell trained girls to hold their breathes and have picnics underwater.  She designed the show costumes and was the original choreographer for the submarine theatre shows, in which the "aqua maids" performed every hour, every day of the year.  Meanwhile, while Margaret was busy with the underwater ballet, her husband Don was bringing in alligators.  Don loved reptiles, and at one point he had 2 pits displaying 25 alligators. That was until a flood relocated them into uninvited habitats, and different pits were created, so the alligators could be returned.

 

Brenda Russell shared so many interesting facts about Aquarena Springs.  She talked about Glurpo, the world's only underwater clown, about Ralph the pig, and when he joined the show, as well as the June 1952 Popular Mechanics article, and the 1954 Life magazine feature story about an underwater wedding.  

 

Aquarena Springs was the place to visit and is well remembered by many tourists.  When asked why Margaret Russell and her husband who was honored as Man of the Year for Texas Tourism, chose to move to Texas.  Her reply was, "I came to Texas to help a great man build his dream."