1.  Club Social:  Several club members and guests gathered at the McBride Wilson Kiwanis Camp, Saturday, June 6, 2026, to honor and congratulate one of our scholarship recipients.  Willie Garza volunteered to grill hamburgers and hotdogs, and members brought side dishes to compliment the meal.  The weather was beautiful, and it was great to get to know Layla Arredondo, and what she hopes to accomplish in the future.  She will be attending Texas State University in the fall and plans to study in the medical field.   2.  H.O.M.E. event:  Kristi and Chase Dame volunteered to represent Kiwanis at the H.O.M.E. event, held at the same time as the club social.  Kristi reported that it was a great event and offered wonderful exposure for the Kiwanis Club.  She suggested that this would be a good event for future Kiwanis participation.   3.  Good Citizen Camp:  The first of 2 sessions are completed, and the participants had a lot of fun!  Jennifer Richmond reported that she went out to the camp, on the last day, and the kids were swimming, fishing, and staying cool between activities.   4.  Cowboy Breakfast:  Rick Pickering extended an invitation from the Lockhart Kiwanis Club, to join them on Wednesday, June 10, 2026, for one of their big fundraisers.  The event will take place in front of the Lockhart Bank, located on Main Street, Lockhart, Texas, from 6:30 am- 9:00 am.  Tickets are $8.00 each, and the breakfast is promised to be yummy!     5.  Ladies Lemonade Soiree:  Rona Walton is promoting a great fundraiser for Foster Village in Buda on Sunday, June 14, 2026, from 2:00-4:00pm, held at the Chambers Theatre on 121 Main Str, Buda, TX.  Foster Village bridges this gap between foster families and caregivers and those who want to help, meeting practical needs and providing holistic support beyond the system.  For more information, contact Rona Walton, using ClubRunner.    6.  Summer Reading Program:  May 29, 2026, was the official kick-off for the Public Library's summer reading program.  Come to our next Thursday meeting, at Grins, to find out how things are going.   7.  Murdoch's Kiwanis Fundraiser:  Spread the news and let all your friends join us at Murdoch's on June 13, 2026, for lunch.  Murdoch's will provide the food for the Kiwanis to cook and serve.  Price for the meal is strictly donation based only.  The event will be from 11-1 or 12-2.  More on that soon.

Rick Pickering led the program on all the unknown, but valuable information that our club has access to through the San Marcos Kiwanis Facebook page.  It is important that each club member be familiar with all the resources are available to each member.  Our club spends $500. yearly for this site.

 

Rick began by opening up the Facebook page (San Marcos Kiwanis) and pointed out certain items such as rotating pictures of Kiwanis events and advertisements, upcoming events, recent copies of newsletters, and contact access for the club officers.  He also explained that the upper right corner of the web page was the word, member.  By clicking on this word, you will be given the opportunity to sign in.  If the member has not signed in before, they just need to type in their email address and then click on forgot password.

 

Once sign in has been accomplished, there is lots to explore including basic member information, as well as ways to contact other members within the club.  

 

Rick reviewed Kiwanis Engage, as well.   It can be accessed by logging out of the Facebook page and typing in Kiwanis International or Kiwanis Engage on the internet.  You can then log in, the same way you did on the Facebook page.  Find the word member, click it, type in your email address, and then click forgot password.

 

Kiwanis Engage has a lot of useful information, and it even has a way to connect to the Kiwanis store, in case you are wanting to purchase a shirt, or other Kiwanis merchandise.  

 

Thank you, Rick, for walking us through both Kiwanis sites.  It was a very informative presentation!