GOVERNMENTAL MEETINGS

Tuesday: Schertz City Council, 6:30 p.m.; Live Oak, Cibolo city councils, 7 p.m.

NOTE: Judson School Board, 7 p.m. Nov. 6.

MEETINGS/EVENTS

Today

Walzem Elementary School hosts its fall festival 5:30-6:30 p.m. Games and food available.

Friday

Rolling Oaks Mall hosts the annual “BOO Bash” for Simon Kidgits Club members, featuring Spooky arts and crafts, goody bags and a costume contest. Following the BOO Bash, the mall hosts a “Mall-o-Ween” party, as children scour the mall and its retailers for candy. Mall-o-Ween is free and open to the public; parents and children are encouraged to arrive early, as last year the event welcomed more than 3,000 children.

Kirby VFW Post 2059, 3202 Ackerman in Kirby (at Ackerman and Binz-Engleman roads) will hold the final day of its fourth annual Haunted House and Carnival. $4 entry fee; $2 for children 12 and under. Carnival tickets, $1 each (for food, drinks and games). Call: 661-4072 or 279-6148.

Saturday

The 24th annual Kiwanis Pancake/Sausage Day runs 7 a.m.-1 p.m. at the Randolph Church of Christ, 1032 Pat Booker Road in Universal City. Dine in or carry out; adults $5, children $2.50. All proceeds are spent in the area to assist young children.

VFW Post 2676 Ladies Auxiliary in Universal City presents its seventh annual Silent Auction to benefit BAMC Fisher House from 9 a.m.-3:30 p.m., following the Veterans Day parade. Auction includes: autographed Tim Duncan, Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili jerseys, donated by Spurs Coach Gregg Popovich; Dallas Cowboys gift baskets; movie deals; plants, florals and artwork. VFW Post 2676 is located at 202 W. Aviation Blvd. in Universal City.

Schertz Senior Citizens annual Craft Bazaar is set for 8:30 a.m.-3 p.m. in the Schertz Community Center, 1400 Schertz Parkway. Handicrafts, old-fashioned Christmas decorations, stocking-stuffers, and more. Contact: Alva Richburg, 651-3162.

Redeemer United Church of Christ, 7415 Gin Road in Zuehl, will host its annual fall arts & crafts show “Fall Fling” from 9 a.m.-2 p.m. Features arts, crafts, bake sale, a 50/50 cash raffle, door prizes, breakfast tacos 9-11 a.m. and Tex-Mex lunch plates noon-2 p.m. Contact: Betty, (830) 914-2168.

Boarding at Pet Stop Dog Resort offers free pet ID tags 2-4 p.m. on the first Saturday of each month at Pets Barn, 6228 FM 78 near Rittiman/Foster roads. Bring your dog in and instantly get a tag. Lost dogs that are found can be sheltered at the resort until owners are located for pickup. Contacts: 662-4821 or petstopunique.com.

Converse Animal Shelter holds a pet adoption event every first Saturday of the month at PetSmart at The Forum at Olympia Parkway.

Sunday

Windcrest Tennis Center invites the public to watch, learn and play Pickleball free of charge from 2-4 p.m. Pickleball was started in 1965 by two men wanting a game their entire family could play. Windcrest Tennis Center, 302 Zephyr, is open seven days a week, including holidays.

Monday

MOMS Club of Schertz Holiday Bazaar runs 9:45-11:30 a.m. at the Schertz United Methodist Church. Features more than 15 vendors, including children and baby items, Christmas ornaments, art and food items. Refreshments and children’s crafts provided.

Tuesday

A free HealthYes! Screening event will be held from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Live Oak Civic Center, 8101 Pat Booker Road. The event will include screening for strokes, abdominal aortic aneurysm, peripheral artery disease, arterial stiffness index and osteoporosis. Call toll-free: 1-888-802-3125, or visit www.HealthYes.com.

Wednesday

First Baptist Church of Schertz, 600 Aero Ave. in Schertz, holds its annual Fall Family Festival from 5:30-8:30 p.m.. Public is invited to experience the fest’s cake walk, chili cook-off, dunking booth, games, food and door prizes. Admission is free.

Nov. 8

Boysville is celebrating its 65th year with its “Boysville Birthday Bash” from 4-8 p.m. at the facility, 8555 E. Loop 1604 North, Converse. Entertainment, games, face-painting and great food, an event for the whole family. Like to make snow cones or want to run a game booth on our “midway?” Be a sponsor or a volunteer (or both) for game and food booths. Contact: Beth Reinhardt, Boysville director of community relations, 659-1901, or This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it

The San Antonio Genealogical and Historical Society will present the 49th annual Fall Seminar from 9 a.m-4 p.m. at John Calvin Presbyterian Church, 8102 Midcrown at Walzem Road. The event will feature guest lecturer, writer and editor Dick Eastman, creator of Eastman‘s Online Newsletter. Contact: 342-5242 or www.rootsweb.com/~txsaghs2/Pages/News.htm.

Nov. 15

VFW Post 8315, 1000 FM 78 in Schertz, will have its monthly breakfast from 7:30-11 a.m. Cost: $5 for adults, $3 for children 12 and under. Call: 658-6325.

ONGOING PROGRAMS

Windcrest Animal Hospital offers low-cost vaccinations for dogs and cats Saturday at three area sites: 9-11 a.m. at Wal-Mart, Loop 1604 and Nacogdoches Road, and at H-E-B, FM 78 and Foster Road; and 12:30-2 p.m. at Polly’s Pet Shop, 940 Pat Booker. A Sunday clinic runs 12:30-2 p.m. at the Schertz H-E-B, FM 3009 and I-35.

WellMed sponsors free flu shot clinics for Medicare-eligible seniors from 2-4 p.m. on Wednesdays through December at 12702 Toepperwein Road, Suite 120; and 2-4 p.m. Thursdays at 8101 Roughrider Drive, 14100 Nacogdoches Road, Suite 116 and at 2455 N.E. Loop 410, Suite 100.

The Cibolo Police Department is taking applications for its Blue Santa Program. Applications are available at the Cibolo Police Station, 109 South Main Street. Contact: Officer Melissa Wise, 659-1999.

The Converse Animal Shelter, a non-profit/no-kill organization, needs “Christmas elves” to help sew Christmas stockings. Simple straight -line stitching can be done in your home; contact CASI, 9634 Schaefer Road, at 658-4821.

The Shop Schertz Show-case and Taste of the Town was a huge success again this year, and we owe it all to our member businesses and the community that joined us for this fun family event

Many thanks to our Showcase exhibitors: Realty Executives-Simmonds Group, Broadway Bank, Innovative Carpet Cleaning, House-warmers of Schertz/Cibolo, Party Station, Barnard Donegan Insurance, Schertz Bank & Trust, State Farm-Jeremy Fuller, ABC Enter-prises/Avon, Frost Bank, UBuildIt, Sports Occupational Therapy & Knee Surgery, Wise Pay-ment Systems, Schertz Corner, Schertz Tales, Schertz United Methodist Church, Autumn Winds Retirement Lodge, Schertz Car Care Center, Auto Collision Works, Schertz Auto Service and State Farm-Alex Hartman.

We would also like to thank our Taste of the Town exhibitors, Bonnie’s Texas Pecan Candy, Fox’s Pizza, Chili’s, Organo Gold and Baskin Robbins. We will be announcing the winners of the Taste contest soon! Categories voted on were best main course, appetizer, dessert and best overall.

Frost San Antonio Region President Don Frost and Vice President Larry Anthis welcomed the Schertz Chamber and Schertz city officials at the firm’s grand opening and ribbon-cutting Oct. 20 at Frost’s state-of-the-art facility at 16895 N. Interstate 35. What a class act!

Guadalupe County Com-missioner’s Court and the city of Schertz issued a proclamation to the Schertz chamber in honor of Chamber of Com-merce Week Oct. 20-24.

The Chamber Monthly Luncheon will be held at 11:30 a.m. Friday at the Schertz Community Center and will feature a dynamic speaker in Marty Wender of Wender & Hall. Marty was selected as one of five “Visionaries” by the San Antonio Business Journal.

The chamber’s “Business of The Month” will be drawn from business members that attend the luncheon. Cost is $10 with advanced reservations, and $15 at the door. Call the chamber offices at 566-9000 or e-mail Christie Bourquin at This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it to reserve a seat today.

In light of recent events, this will not be a normal chamber update and info column, but more a reflection.

Two weeks ago, a great member of our community and an employee of Northeast Lakeview College was senselessly shot. We had our board meeting later that week in the same building and discussed some of the changes that have happened in our world in the last few generations. The good news was that this violence doesn’t touch our lives very often in the Metrocom area and the bad news was that it just did. Our thoughts and prayers remain with the NLC family.

Later that same day I received a call from my mom who was on a cruise with my dad, with the news that my dad was very sick and about to die. My dad lived a full 72 years and he and my mom were amazing friends, being all those things a married couple should be, and more.

He will be missed by many more than just his family. I still meet people in the Air Force that he helped or had some part of their career affected by him. He was always involved in numerous church and neighborhood organizations.

As kids we would pick on him for being “old” and he would always say that if the world ended today, he would have gotten much more out of it than we had. He lived every day to its fullest. His last cruise was almost his 30th.

Back to why this is a chamber article. There are many things around us that are upsetting or can cause us distraction. Maybe the week of Oct. 13-17 was to help us realize what is really important in our lives.

If someone cuts us off in traffic, is that really so bad? Was it meant to be personal? If our stocks don’t seem to be recovering well or our business is slow, do we think, “poor me”? Or are we looking for solutions and other ways to manifest our dreams and utilize the resources we do have? Feeling sorry for ourselves is not a great strategy and one my dad never let us use. Obstacles for my dad, and then by default for his family, were challenges to being a better, stronger person.

These two people who left my life always tried to make things better regardless of what others might think. They were driven to make their lives better and, in turn, the lives of those around them.

It isn’t an easy time economically; are we going to make use of this to build better lives and businesses? I hope the Metrocom stays strong and we use these struggles to become an even better place to live and work.

President George Bush meets Presidential Volunteer Service Award recipient Sonya McDonald and her family during an Oct. 6 stop in San Antonio. Courtesy Photo

McDonald said she began her fundraising efforts to benefit Fisher House in early 2006 while her husband, Jim, who is assigned to the 59th Medical Wing at Lackland Air Force Base, was deployed to Iraq.

“I needed something to do to take my mind off Jim being gone,” McDonald said. “My boss suggested I get involved with the Fisher House and I jumped right in.”

Fisher House is a national foundation that provides military families a home away from home so they can be near their loved ones during hospitalization for illness or injury.

Randolph-Brooks gave an initial donation of $50,000 and McDonald spearheaded a community campaign to raise $200,000 in the six weeks between Memorial Day and Independence Day.

Randolph-Brooks matched the money raised and presented more than $500,000 to the Fisher House Foundation for the construction of two new houses at Fort Sam Houston that opened in 2007 to support the Center for the Intrepid rehabilitation center.

“We are proud to have made a significant contribution to a program that supports our brave military men and women,” said Randy M. Smith, Randolph-Brooks president and CEO. “The successful outcome of the Fisher House fundraising challenge was made possible through the giving spirit of so many people and the passionate leadership demonstrated by Sonya.”

McDonald has continued her volunteer work, serving on the board of directors of Returning Heroes Home, an organization that is currently building a new Warrior and Family Support Center at Fort Sam Houston. In the past year, she has helped raise almost $4 million for the project.