Hill Country Chapter of
Texas Democratic Women
September 2022
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September HCCTDW Meeting
Tuesday, September 6, 2022
Check in at Rails 11:15 a.m.
Meal served at 11:30 a.m.
Cost: $17.00
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A New Venue for a New Year
Our new meeting place is the Rails Catering and Event Hall right next to Rails—a Cafe’ at the Depot, 615 East Schreiner Street, Kerrville. Parking is available on both sides of the Event Hall. The cost of the meal is $17.00.
Please join us and help us make a difference.
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The September meeting will center around welcoming both members back from a summer break and to the election season. The meeting will include the following:
1. Meet the new board and an address from our new President
2. Meet and greet candidates
3. Texas Democratic Convention report and reflections from delegates
(4 of our members!)
4. Sharing reflections from those who attended Beto rallies
5. How to take “Action" during the election season
6. Letters for Beto
Candidate signs and bumper stickers will be available to buy. This will include MAGA (Mothers Against Greg Abbott) if supply lasts!!
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Greetings from Lynette
What a great time to be a Texas Democrat. As September approaches, candidates are gearing up for the “election season” and offering numerous ways for all of us to get involved and take action. Sarah Lewis, our new Vice President, Jackie Morales, field representative for Claudia Zapata, and I will provide action items at each meeting during the election season.
Some of us can not walk blocks, others are uncomfortable making phone calls, and some might be hesitant to display signs in their yards or bumper stickers on their cars. So, at the September 6 meeting - by the way, don’t forget that we are meeting at the Rails Cafe - we will participate in the Beto letter writing campaign. Letters, envelopes, and pens will be provided and if you are interested, you can even take letters home to complete and mail. And Jackie will tell us about Claudia’s texting campaign and how you can join that effort.
The September meeting will also include a report on the Texas Democratic Convention. Several of us were delegates to the state convention and we will share our experiences and “take aways”. And, of course, we want to hear about your experience at the Beto rallies. As they say when filming a movie scene: Scene One (Fall meetings),Take One (Sept), Action!
Lynette Wedig
575.491.1832
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Opportunities to help with Claudia Zapata's Campaign
Below are important dates for the campaign.
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Beto: A Drive for Texas
Several of our members were excited to see the next governor of Texas on one of the 70 stops on his 49 day, 5600 mile drive around Texas. In Junctions the crowd was packed into a small, hot room with a few Abbott supporters inside and many outside trying to disrupt. Lady Bird Johnson Park pavilion was host to a crowd of 800 plus many Abbott supporters nearby.
Beto did us proud. His message was inclusive, focused on issues and clear. He even welcomed questions from the Abbott supporters, emphasizing that he meant to be the governor for all Texans and needed to work with the other side. It was noted that Abbott had never been to Junction.
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Beto listening to a question from Pam Baggett, candidate for State House District 19
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Packed pavilion in Fredericksburg |
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Jackie, Abel Jaimes, Beto, and Claudia Zapata |
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Get to Know Board Members
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Mary Ellen Summerlein
Secretary
Mary Ellen moved to Kerrville in 1999. She has worked as a teacher and a social worker and part time locally as manager of the Riverside Nature Center and a tutor at Schreiner University. Since 2012 she’s been retired. She has been active in her church, served her communities in non-profit organizations of many kinds since her first child started kindergarten and in elected office as a city council member and mayor in Port Arthur, board member and president on the Headwaters Groundwater Conservation District (2004-12) and by appointment to a vacancy on the City Council (2017) here in Kerrville. She’s been married to Tim Summerlin for 54 years and has three grown children and five grandchildren. A life-long Democrat she is excited about the election this fall and TDW’s opportunities to help turn out the strongest vote in decades.
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Jackie Morales
Membership
"I am a first generation Mexican on my father's side and a Native American (Kickapoo Tribe). I graduated from Tivy High School in 2003. Kerrville has become my home. I have been active in the HCC TDW and Kerr County Democratic party for the past two and half years. I have recently become active in campaign work with the Claudia Zapata TX21 campaign. The campaign is teaching me how to network with other counties and campaigns. The challenges I have overcome in the last two and half years have been obstacles that have taught me to fight with all my might and to never give up on my dreams"
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Audra Aur with Beto: Legislative
"I was raised in San Antonio and lived in California for 14 years before returning to Texas in 2013. While in California I worked in employee benefits as an insurance broker. My primary duties involved educating employees on the then-new Affordable Care Act. I currently am self-employed as a web administrator and personal assistant. I live with my husband of 18 years, Tony, and our child, Olivia"
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Judy Campbell
Webmaster
Grand Mesa CO. outside Grand Junction Co where Daughter and her family moved last summer.
"Jim and I moved back to Kerrville area in 2005 (third time). We first moved here from San Antonio in 1975 and then back again in 1980. Careers have taken us to many different states over the years, Colorado, Louisiana, New York, and various city’s around Texas. Texas Hill Country has always felt like home. I retired in 2016 from the State Hospital. My career with the State as IT Network Administrator at Brenham and Kerrville was always interesting and ever changing, But I do enjoy the free time to travel and camp. We drove the Alaska and Canadian highway with the camper several years ago and are planning a trip to Maine soon (only state I’ve not been too)."
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Sarah Lewis
Vice-President
"I’m a lifelong Texan, born in Perryton, grew up in San Antonio, went to UT (hook ‘em horns!) and lived in Austin. Before moving to Kerrville four years ago to become a stay at home mom to our daughters, I worked in utility regulation in training and communication for about ten years. I’m enjoying the ability to be more politically active and am excited and honored to serve as Vice President this year."
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Julie Sentell
Treasurer
Julie moved to Kerrville at the end of August 2011 when she retired from Western Texas College in Snyder as director of international student services, one of several positions she held there. She was born and raised in Amarillo and lived in Austin and Snyder prior to her move to Kerrville.
Julie has participated in community activities wherever she lived, serving on non-profit boards, and volunteering with community service organizations. Since moving to Kerrville, she has shared her time with several local non-profits, including the Texas Heritage Music Foundation, the Hill Country Vocal Arts Society, the League of Women Voters-Hill Country Texas, Schreiner University, and Kerr Konnect. She has also served the Hill Country Chapter-Texas Democratic Women as Treasurer (2020-2021) and Newsletter Editor (2014-2016).
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Coral Adema
Newsletter
"I was born and raised in North Dakota. After working as an RN in Fargo for two years I answered an ad in the RN magazine "Come and work in tropical Panama, two months paid vacation a year."I spent the next 25 years in Panama except the year in Washington, DC earning my nurse practitioner degree. While I was in Panama I worked in all fields of nursing except obstetrics -- hospitals, clinics, occupational health and as a school nurse. I got married to a tugboat captain and together we raised three kids.
We moved to Kerrville in 1996 and have been here ever since. I lost my husband in 2001. Since arriving here I've worked as a parish nurse, a hospice nurse and as a supervisor at the VA.My kids are in Orlando, Houston and Phoenix. I have two grandsons, ages two and twenty-four.”
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Sylvia Ostos
Parliamentarian
Sylvia was born in Lamesa, Texas to Rev. and Mrs. H. Noel Bryant on January 17, 1941. She graduated from University of North Texas with a BS in Education. In 1964 she married Daniel Ostos and moved to Brownsville where she taught high school English until she was lucky enough to be a stay at home mom to their three children. They lived Corpus Christi for 34 years before moving to Tierra Linda in 1996.
Volunteer work has been an important part of Sylvia's life. She has served on the HOA Board at Tierra Linda three times. Sylvia was a participant of Leadership Texas, an officer of the Junior League of Corpus Christi and Charity League.
She was President of Texas PTA and elected to the National PTA Board of Directors. Her work with Texas PTA meant many hours of lobbying on the behalf of children, health and education issues. This led her to get involved with TDW. It was her pleasure to serve as parliamentarian for several Boards as well as President. She is excited to serve as parliamentarian again.
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Successful Fundraiser!
We ate wonderful food, we visited, we learned to play loteria, and we heard from the candidate for congress Claudia Zapata; plus we made $2800.00!! The community room of the Doyle Center is a great place to host an event. Thank you for all the hard work of many volunteers. A special thank you to Jackie Morales and her mother for making dozens of tacos. Thanks again for all involved. It takes a village.
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Claudia speaking to the group |
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Issues From Our Southern Border |
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Texas And Arizona Bus Asylum Seekers To Washington, D.C. and New York City
- Since April, Texas has delivered more than 6,200 migrants to Washington, D.C., with Arizona dispatching an additional 1,000 since May.
- Eric Adams, Mayor of New York City, said the city had received 4,000 asylum seekers since May.
- The buses drop asylum seekers at Port Authority Bus Terminal in New York City and at Union Station, in Washington D.C., just a few blocks from the Capitol building.
- The cost of Texas Gov. Greg Abbott’s plan to bus undocumented immigrants from the border to Washington D.C. has cost approximately $1,442 per passenger. The documents, obtained through open records request to the Texas Division of Emergency Management (TDEM), show busing costs exceeded $1.6 million in April and May.
- The program that sends asylum seekers on charter buses from Arizona to Washington, D.C. has cost the State an estimated $3 million in its three months of operation.
- According to a contract with AMI Expeditionary Healthcare LLC, the State of Arizona pays $82,146 per bus. According to the Governor’s office, buses have made 37 trips, taking 1,384 asylum seekers to D.C. That equates to the state paying approximately $2,200 per asylum seeker.
Exert from the Interfaith Welcome Coalition Newsletter (IWC) To sign up for the newsletter click here https://interfaithwelcomecoalition.org. The website has a plethora of information about what is happening on our southern border. Locally we are still meeting monthly to attend the IWC Zoom meeting and pack basic hygiene kits for the legal immigrants on their journey. The generosity of this group and others saw us through the summer financially . To continue we do need more donations.
IWC Zoom Meeting begins at 10:00
Kit Making Session 11:30 a.m.
September 8, 2022
2200 Medina Hwy, Kerrville
Point of Contact
Coral Adema
830-459-4016
“The best way to not feel hopeless is to get up and do something. Don’t wait for good things to happen to you. If you go out and make some good things happen, you will fill the world with hope, you will fill yourself with hope.” – Barack Obama
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Membership 2022 Membership forms are available at the meeting or on line at this link: Membership Form Download and print the form and then follow the directions. |
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Democratic Events/Contacts Around the Hill Country
Please refer to websites and other contact information for updates on area activities.
Sign up to get news announcements from our Democratic partners
around the Hill Country
Kerr County Democratic Party
and ask to be added to the mailing list.
Bandera County Democratic Club
Chair of the Bandera County Democratic Party: Lynn Oliver, 210-687-9701
Gillespie County Democrats
Gillespie County Democratic Party Headquarters, 209 N. Crockett, Suite 1, Fredericksburg
Democratic Women of Comal County
Medina County Democrats
Kendall County Democratic Party.
Boerne Area Democrats
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Contact Information for HCCTDW Officers (2022-2023)
Standing Committee Chairs
Webmaster: Judy Campbell
Facebook: Kat Walker: Facebook
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Check us out on facebook: Texas Democratic Women of the Hill Country
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