Kiwanis members from Holly Lake Ranch, Big Sandy volunteered at the East Texas Food Bank on Monday, March 31st.
Dianne Robinson, Laura Smith, Sharon Lindquist, JoAnn Powell and Michael Laurel along with Food Bank volunteers Paden T. Farrell and Riley Stevenson packed 434 bags of food for the Weekend Backpack Program.
The East Texas Food Bank Backpack Program helps those children who may not have enough food to eat at home on the weekends. Children in the program receive a backpack at school on Friday afternoon filled with kid-friendly foods like fruit, juice, cereal, shelf-stable milk, and other items to help last through the weekend until they can get their next nutritious meal at school on Monday. This program feeds 10,000 kids each weekend.
The next 5th Monday East Texas Food Bank volunteer event is on June 30, 2025.
Kiwanis Chili Cook-Off
Local chefs put their best recipes on the line to compete in the annual Kiwanis Chili Cookoff Saturday, February 1st, at Holly Hall. Seventeen cooks brought their crockpots with delicious chili to be judged by the community. Guests who bought tickets at the door got to vote for their favorite chili. There was also a 50/50 raffle with the jackpot being split between the raffle winner and the Kiwanis club. Chili cookoff winners:
All proceeds from the ticket sales and the 50/50 raffle support Kiwanis charities.
1st Place – John White (chili with no beans)
2nd Place – Holly Lake Volunteer Fire Department (chili with beans)
3rd Place (tie) – Trish LaPointe & Bobby Churchman
50/50 Raffle – Joni Parrish of Quitman won $250
Kiwanis Christmas for Kids
It was truly a magical evening at the Kiwanis Christmas for Kids event on Friday, November 29, 2024 at Holly Hall. The crowds started pouring in around 5:30 to await the arrival of Santa Claus. Since it was a cool evening guests enjoyed a hot beverage from the hot cocoa bar provided by Kiwanis corporate members at Origin Bank.
At 6:15 the sound of motorcycles rumbling down the street meant the Holly Lake Ranch Riders were escorting Santa to Holly Hall. It was quite a sight to see Santa hop out of a Holly Lake Fire Department fire truck to a crowd of waving kids, parents and grandparents. Then it was back inside as the excited kids waited patiently in line to meet Santa Claus.
There was plenty to do in Holly Hall while the kids waited their turn to meet Santa. Some kids went to Santa’s Toy Shop, some did Christmas arts and crafts while others wanted to cover all their bases by writing a letter to Santa. The most popular activity was the face painting table which had a long line all evening. All in all it was a great way to kick off the Christmas holiday season at Holly Hall.
A special thanks goes out to the Christmas for Kids event chairperson Rose Upton. Her planning and attention to detail made this an event to remember. Thanks also goes out to the Kiwanis elves who participated in the planning, set up and clean up. We look forward to doing it again next year.
Flag Retirement Ceremony
Hundreds of U.S. flags were retired in a solemn ceremony near the RV storage facility at Holly Lake Ranch on Friday, November 1, 2024. The Flag Retirement Ceremony was a joint effort of the Daughters of the American Revolution, Kiwanis, the Texas Piney Woods Veterans Association and the Wood County Fire Department Honor Guard. Holly Lake Ranch Administration donated the land for what is now a permanent memorial site for retired flags.
Because of the burn ban enacted in Wood County earlier in the week only one flag was ceremoniously burned while the rest of the flags will be buried at the site. Kiwanis member Tina Beall participated in the cutting of the ceremonial flag before it was burned. The Flag Retirement Ceremony was held in accordance with federal law that allows that flags that are no long fit for display should be destroyed in a dignified manner.
Kiwanis Reading Program
Our Kiwanis Club returns to Hawkins Elementary to read to the pre-K, Kindergarten, and first-grade classes for the 2024-2025 school year. The teachers really appreciate the time we spend with their kids and the volunteer readers are enchanted with the bright-eyed students.
The volunteers read to a class in the library for about 30 minutes with the teacher in attendance. The librarian assigns the books for us to read. Any extra time we have is spent in engaging in conversation with the kids.
Be a part of this special service project and be a reader. CLICK HERE to fill out a volunteer form to be a reader with the Kiwanis Reading Program.
Kiwanians Donate School Supplies
Kiwanis volunteers delivered school supplies collected at CNB and Origin Banks to Harmony, Hawkins and Big Sandy Schools.
Hawkins Elementary School Counselor Stacey Whitehead enthusiastically accepted the Kiwanis donations.
Big Sandy Elementary School Secretary Cindy Barrow and teachers welcomed the school supply donations.
At James Poole Elementary in Harmony ISD the school supplies were handed over to School Secretary Heidi Murphy.
Harmony High School Fall Show “Oz”
Kiwanis club members came out to support the Harmony High School Theater production of “Oz” Saturday, November 2, 2024 at the Historic Rock Gym. Kiwanis of Holly Lake Ranch, Big Sandy made a $1,000 donation to the Harmony High School Theater Department to help with production costs.
The students put on a delightful show in which the main character Beth finds herself in a world resembling “The Wizard of Oz”. The main actors, Cadence Mabery, Rowdy Hogue, Hunter Harris and Dexter Sullivan did a fabulous job of bringing the familiar characters to life with a script that was both funny and touching. The show ended with a moving rendition of “Somewhere Over the Rainbow.”
Kiwanis of Holly Lake Ranch, Big Sandy is proud to support the Harmony High School Fine Arts Department.
Contact us to request more information on our Kiwanis Club events and projects.
CLUB PROJECTS & EVENTS
Kiwanis Helps East Texas Food Bank
Kiwanis members from Holly Lake Ranch, Big Sandy volunteered at the East Texas Food Bank on Monday, March 31st.
Dianne Robinson, Laura Smith, Sharon Lindquist, JoAnn Powell and Michael Laurel along with Food Bank volunteers Paden T. Farrell and Riley Stevenson packed 434 bags of food for the Weekend Backpack Program.
The East Texas Food Bank Backpack Program helps those children who may not have enough food to eat at home on the weekends. Children in the program receive a backpack at school on Friday afternoon filled with kid-friendly foods like fruit, juice, cereal, shelf-stable milk, and other items to help last through the weekend until they can get their next nutritious meal at school on Monday. This program feeds 10,000 kids each weekend.
The next 5th Monday East Texas Food Bank volunteer event is on June 30, 2025.
Kiwanis Chili Cook-Off
Local chefs put their best recipes on the line to compete in the annual Kiwanis Chili Cookoff Saturday, February 1st, at Holly Hall. Seventeen cooks brought their crockpots with delicious chili to be judged by the community. Guests who bought tickets at the door got to vote for their favorite chili. There was also a 50/50 raffle with the jackpot being split between the raffle winner and the Kiwanis club.
Chili cookoff winners:
All proceeds from the ticket sales and the 50/50 raffle support Kiwanis charities.
Kiwanis Christmas for Kids
It was truly a magical evening at the Kiwanis Christmas for Kids event on Friday, November 29, 2024 at Holly Hall. The crowds started pouring in around 5:30 to await the arrival of Santa Claus. Since it was a cool evening guests enjoyed a hot beverage from the hot cocoa bar provided by Kiwanis corporate members at Origin Bank.
At 6:15 the sound of motorcycles rumbling down the street meant the Holly Lake Ranch Riders were escorting Santa to Holly Hall. It was quite a sight to see Santa hop out of a Holly Lake Fire Department fire truck to a crowd of waving kids, parents and grandparents. Then it was back inside as the excited kids waited patiently in line to meet Santa Claus.
There was plenty to do in Holly Hall while the kids waited their turn to meet Santa. Some kids went to Santa’s Toy Shop, some did Christmas arts and crafts while others wanted to cover all their bases by writing a letter to Santa. The most popular activity was the face painting table which had a long line all evening. All in all it was a great way to kick off the Christmas holiday season at Holly Hall.
A special thanks goes out to the Christmas for Kids event chairperson Rose Upton. Her planning and attention to detail made this an event to remember. Thanks also goes out to the Kiwanis elves who participated in the planning, set up and clean up. We look forward to doing it again next year.
Flag Retirement Ceremony
Hundreds of U.S. flags were retired in a solemn ceremony near the RV storage facility at Holly Lake Ranch on Friday, November 1, 2024. The Flag Retirement Ceremony was a joint effort of the Daughters of the American Revolution, Kiwanis, the Texas Piney Woods Veterans Association and the Wood County Fire Department Honor Guard. Holly Lake Ranch Administration donated the land for what is now a permanent memorial site for retired flags.
Because of the burn ban enacted in Wood County earlier in the week only one flag was ceremoniously burned while the rest of the flags will be buried at the site. Kiwanis member Tina Beall participated in the cutting of the ceremonial flag before it was burned. The Flag Retirement Ceremony was held in accordance with federal law that allows that flags that are no long fit for display should be destroyed in a dignified manner.
Kiwanis Reading Program
Our Kiwanis Club returns to Hawkins Elementary to read to the pre-K, Kindergarten, and first-grade classes for the 2024-2025 school year. The teachers really appreciate the time we spend with their kids and the volunteer readers are enchanted with the bright-eyed students.
The volunteers read to a class in the library for about 30 minutes with the teacher in attendance. The librarian assigns the books for us to read. Any extra time we have is spent in engaging in conversation with the kids.
Be a part of this special service project and be a reader. CLICK HERE to fill out a volunteer form to be a reader with the Kiwanis Reading Program.
Kiwanians Donate School Supplies
Kiwanis volunteers delivered school supplies collected at CNB and Origin Banks to Harmony, Hawkins and Big Sandy Schools.
Harmony High School Fall Show “Oz”
Kiwanis club members came out to support the Harmony High School Theater production of “Oz” Saturday, November 2, 2024 at the Historic Rock Gym. Kiwanis of Holly Lake Ranch, Big Sandy made a $1,000 donation to the Harmony High School Theater Department to help with production costs.
The students put on a delightful show in which the main character Beth finds herself in a world resembling “The Wizard of Oz”. The main actors, Cadence Mabery, Rowdy Hogue, Hunter Harris and Dexter Sullivan did a fabulous job of bringing the familiar characters to life with a script that was both funny and touching. The show ended with a moving rendition of “Somewhere Over the Rainbow.”
Kiwanis of Holly Lake Ranch, Big Sandy is proud to support the Harmony High School Fine Arts Department.
Contact us to request more information on our Kiwanis Club events and projects.
Kiwanis International
http://www.kiwanis.org
Texas-Oklahoma District of Kiwanis International
www.txokkiwanis.org
TX-OK District Facebook Page
facebook.com/texasoklahomakiwanis/