Newcomers of San Antonio

President

News from the President

Happy New Year Newcomers of San Antonio!!! We are past all the holidays and about to embark on a brand-new year full of possibilities. Are you one who makes a list of New Year Resolutions?  My resolution for Newcomers is that all feel welcome to the party!  We all play a part in this but as you’ll see from the Outstanding Member of the Month column, we do best when we do it together! My board sure showed this last month by the countless hours they put in to pull off our fabulous 40th Anniversary Luncheon.  Be sure to see the photos captured at that event here: https://danaann.passgallery.com/-_projects_22614785/gallery 

While things tend to slow down in January, Newcomers certainly has a full calendar, so for those looking for fun and friendship, I hope to see you out at the luncheon, coffee or at your favorite Interest Group offerings this month! Also, don’t forget to call Marcia Blalock to reserve a cabin to join us on the high seas for our May 13-18, 2022 cruise. 

Do you enjoy planning events? We are looking for volunteers to plan an April Fashion Show, so contact any board member if you are interested in working on this committee.

And, as always, if you don’t see your favorite activity offered, please know YOU can start a new group!!  That’s how we best Bloom Where We Are Planted.

Have a wonderful start to a healthy and happy 2022!! 

Cindy 

News from the President

Christmas is my favorite time of year! I feel like a little kid when I see the twinkling lights, the nativity scenes and the giving spirit everywhere I go. Newcomers is no exception! Contributions for Blessing Bags items and Community Involvement’s Toy Drive have been pouring in! It’s not too late to join in: Dec 2nd may be the Toy Drive cut-off but Blessing Bags & Mobile Loaves and Fishes will take Hats, Gloves and socks all winter long! Contact their Interest group leaders for how to give. Toys can be brought to the December 2nd 40th Anniversary Luncheon. I look forward to seeing so many of you there as we celebrate Christmas AND 40 years of this fabulous Newcomers of San Antonio group.

Our last coffee of the year will be at Lynne Govers’ home at 10am on December 16th and judging from the large number in November, it’ll be quite the gathering! Come join the fun! No reservation is necessary.

If you find holidays to be a difficult time of year, please know we’d like to be there for you! Our new leader for Helping Hands, Marcia Blalock (crusaway@yahoo.com) wants to know any way we can help our members. Helping Hands is an important part of Newcomers where members help their fellow members with a meal or a ride or a home visit after a surgery or difficult life circumstance. Please let Marcia know if you or another member needs our help in this kind of way.

I hope you saw the e-blast about our May 13-18th Cruise! Marcia (crusaway@yahoo.com) is the one to contact to answer any questions and to ultimately book your cabin to sail to Mexico with us in May!

On behalf of my fabulous board, we’d like to wish you all a very Merry Christmas / Holiday Season and A Happy New Year!

Peace, Joy & Love,

Cindy Richards

President

News from the President

On July 4th, our nation is 245 years old! Have a safe and wonderful time traveling and celebrating with your family and friends. That is why there is no luncheon in July. Newcomers of San Antonio turns 40 this year! WOW! That is remarkable! Let’s find ways to celebrate our wonderful club all year long!!

I’d first like to thank our past NOSA leaders who birthed and nurtured this club to become what it is today. I especially want to acknowledge Sue Ellen Smith and Margaret Kidd for keeping this club up and running throughout the pandemic – not an easy task! Likewise, I’d like to thank and encourage our newly elected/appointed board and over 25 Interest Groups and their leaders who are hitting the ground running to keep our wonderfully diverse activities going strong. Six brand new Interest Groups were started DURING the pandemic!! Interest Groups are the backbone of our club and I believe you bettered the mental wellness for those needing to meet whether on Zoom or in person.

As your president, I am determined we welcome each newcomer as she joins us for fun and friendship. I humbly ask you to reach out and do so whenever possible. Together we can do great things to serve our community, support and welcome newcomers, and form lasting friendships as we explore, play and eat our way through San Antonio. I look forward to seeing what we can accomplish together in this 40th year of Newcomers of San Antonio. Let the celebrations begin!!

Cindy Richards

News from the President

Whoever would imagine the circumstances we are still in! Almost a year ago we were told to isolate for two weeks and we would be fine! What a year it has been. Hopefully, with vaccines in greater supply and more readily available, businesses reopening we will be out of this soon. So, let’s look forward to next year. We will start renewing memberships the first of May and continue through June. Our new board will be elected in May and installed in June

Membership and Interest Groups continue to grow and meet, both virtually and in person. We continue to offer opportunities to our members including luncheons, coffees, girlfriends, bridge, walking, Pickleball, and an occasional On On The Road Again adventure! Everything is voluntary for those who are ready to get out and smell our springtime flowers!

Now that snowtopia is passed, we can look forward to nice warmer weather. I hope no one has any lasting damage from that terrible week!

We can look forward to Easter as a new beginning!

Stay safe and get vaccinated!

Margaret

News from the President

Merry Christmas! Happy Holidays! Time seems to be passing so slowly this year with all of the cancellations. We, at Newcomers, are trying to offer some opportunities for those who do want to get out. Keep in mind, all health directives are followed and all of the events are strictly voluntary.

I hope you had a good Thanksgiving and are looking forward to some positive events for Christmas, no matter how isolated or small. Looking forward to a Happy New Year!

We look forward to seeing you at our holiday luncheon at Chama Gaucha along with your spouse or significant other on December 3. The whole array of food will be served for the regular price of a luncheon…and there will be a surprise dessert!

Coats, hats, gloves, socks, and blankets will be collected at the luncheon and December coffee at Lorraine Verhagen’s home. These will be distributed to the homeless through our various charities.

If you haven’t heard, we have three new Interest Groups…Lunch Bunch has been revived, Puzzlers is in full swing and Genealogy will begin in January. I also am delighted to announce that Cherie Masters has volunteered to be the leader of Soldiers Angels, a group many of us enjoy helping out.

Stay safe, but have some fun over the holidays! And enjoy “winter” in South Texas!

Margaret
President

News from our President

Welcome to October and along with it, cooler weather at last! Being in the 90’s may not seem cool to many, but it sure beats the 100+ temperatures we have been enduring.

Hopefully, this month things will open up a bit more without a rise in cases. Our luncheons and coffees have returned, and all that attend are happy to see one another and to be out!. It is good for those who want to see friends!

On Friday, October 2, we will have the Interest Group Showcase. This will be held virtually at 11:00. You can see for yourself the numerous activities Newcomers enjoys. A formal invitation, with log-on instructions, will be sent!

Our next coffee will be held at Carol Palazzo’s home. See elsewhere in this newsletter for the address and directions. 

With it being National Pizza and Popcorn month, it is good that it is also National Cholesterol Month. Time to get it checked!

This has been a strange year! Unfortunately, National Night Out for Texas has been canceled as well as trick or treating being curtailed. I feel sorry for the little ones who are missing so many of the “normal” things in life, but we must stay safe. The last day to register to vote is October 5, if you haven’t already done so. Early voting begins October 13.

Stay safe and stay well!  I hope to see many of you soon, either in person or virtually!

News from the President

Since we are in the dog days of summer, we can at least stay cool inside even if we can’t venture too far outside.

I am delighted with the new 2020-2021 Board. We have already begun the work of leading our organization. To get to know them better, their biographies can be found in this newsletter. Let anyone of us know if you have questions or suggestions. We are always open to new ideas, especially for new Interest Groups.

At this time, we are looking for new leaders for Community Involvement, our very worthwhile charitable contribution, Girlfriends one of the more well-attended groups, and Chicks and Flicks. If you are interested in stepping up to take over either of these groups, contact Marcia Blalock, crusaway@yahoo.com.

For those of you who are ready to get out and do something, our August coffee will be at Kay Hedeen’s lovely home on August 13. All safety precautions will be in place so it will be a safe place to catch up with old friends. Attendance, of course, is voluntary.

Another opportunity, again only for those of you ready to get out, will be our monthly luncheon on September 3rd at Luce Ristorante e Enoteca with wonderfully delicious Italian food. There will be no Interest Group tables, but the annual printed directory will be distributed. Again, all safety precautions will be in place.

Stay safe and keep cool!

Margaret Kidd
President

News from the President

Welcome to the Newcomers of San Antonio (NOSA) new year! I am delighted to lead our group in this uncharted territory. Hopefully, we will be past lockdowns, social distancing and wearing face masks everywhere we go very soon! We’ve had a few changes to our Board since last we spoke. Some of our member’s lives, responsibilities have changed, whatever reason we always do our best to accommodate! Cindy Richards will become 1st VP Membership, Sharon Gehr is our Ambassador, and Lynne Govers will be working with Elvira Teal making our coffees a wonderful experience. Thank you to all of these Ladies.

The coffee scheduled for Thursday, July 17 has been canceled! 

Our monthly luncheons will hopefully restart on August 6th (details in this newsletter). Again, feel free to come if you would like to socialize, or stay at home if you are not ready to get out yet. 

We have a fabulous board this year and many plans for fun things to do. I feel humbled to be your president and just hope I can fill Sue Ellen’s shoes who have carried us forward for the past two years.

The renewal period is now over, but we have had almost all of our members renew. We know what a fun group this is!

Looking forward, we will have the Interest Group showcase at our September luncheon. Interest groups will begin meeting again when the leaders are comfortable getting together. If there is a group you have been interested in but have not joined, September is the time to get acquainted with them and sign up!

Stay safe! Stay well!

Margaret

News from the President

A special thank you.

As the Newcomers of San Antonio 2019-2020 calendar year comes to an end, I thank you for a fun-filled year, and the many wonderful memories we made. I look forward to an exciting new year making more memories and having even more fun times.

Special thanks go to the outgoing Board for contributing their time and talents; the Interest Group Leaders for organizing enjoyable and sometimes unusual outings and activities; hostesses for opening their homes for our monthly coffees and the co-hostesses for providing delicious sweet and savory treats. Another thanks goes to the Nominating and Auditing Committees for diligently completing their tasks. Also, thank you to our Community Involvement Team, who presented us with giving opportunities.

Best Wishes to the new Board members. With their strong leadership, Newcomers of San Antonio is sure to continue to be a vibrant and inviting organization in the years to come.

Bloom Where You Are Planted,

Sue Ellen Smith

President

News from the President

No joke….April fools has taken on a whole new meaning. I am sorry we don’t have anything on the calendar. I thought you might enjoy knowing which of our members are celebrating birthdays and who our new members are.

I know we have all been spending a lot of time doing things that are unusually different! I have heard from many of you through notes, Facebook and phone calls. I know we all miss that we are not able to visit each other in person.

As of Sunday, it is clear that the April Luncheon and Coffee are canceled and now the May Luncheon is canceled. Maybe…just maybe, we will be able to have the May coffee. If all else fails, we might have a social distancing party in a parking lot with sack lunches, just to say Hello!

Let’s keep our fingers crossed that our warm spring temperatures will help destroy COVID-19.

You are all in my prayers. I know Newcomers is changing a bit in how things are done. We could try to have Zoom/FaceTime Happy Hours and Book Club? I’m open to any other ideas?
 

Stay safe, stay home, and if you need anything, please let me know,

Sue Ellen