Good day Alumni!
I’d like to begin with a huge THANK YOU to everyone who participated in the Gun Raffle fundraiser! Our volunteers went above and beyond to help make this fundraiser a great success; it was wonderful to see members get involved! When the Marketing & Fundraising Committee presented the proposal to partake in this new and challenging event, it was received with great trepidation; however, with hard work and determination, the HCCSAAA pulled it off. It goes to show that together we absolutely CAN make a difference!
The Marketing & Fundraising Committee Chair, Jack Diamond, will be presenting the final numbers at the September meeting next week. It will be very exciting to hear what we were able to accomplish in just two short months! The kick-off began at Wimberley Ace Hardware on July 10th and ended on August 28th at two separate locations, Wimberley Ace Hardware and The Salt Lick in Driftwood.
I’d like to thank all of those who allowed us to set up at their locations to sell tickets; we sincerely appreciate the support of our community: Wimberley Ace Hardware; Triple S Feed (Dripping Springs); Lions Club (Rogers Holt – Wimberley Market Days); The Salt Lick (Driftwood); Hays City Store (Driftwood); Hays County Government Center (Jeffrey Jordan); Buda Walmart; Kyle Walmart; Mike Boese w/City of Wimberley – Knies Park); and Big Tex Gun Show Productions (Dripping Springs Ranch Park – Gun Show). We would also like to thank Cabelas in Buda for assisting with securing the amazing guns for our raffle (Browning X-Bolt .270 Medallion and Franchi Affinity 3.5 12 Gauge Semi-Automatic Shotgun).
The neat thing about the raffle and one of the reasons we may have had such an amazing response is that those who purchased tickets had the option of either choosing the gun they won or receiving a Cabela’s gift certificate for the prize value. Another reason would be that only 700 tickets were sold so the chances were very good for those who purchased tickets. The drawing took place on Friday, September 10th @ 2:00 pm and we provided live feed on Facebook. We appreciate Sheriff Cutler and Lt. Riffe for joining us as it added to the excitement of the drawing and reminded us why we do what we do. The winners were as follows: Kelly Higgins won the Browning X-Bolt .270 Medallion and Margot Dussler won the Franchi Affinity 3.5 12 Gauge Semi-Automatic Shotgun. They were both very appreciative and were delighted to have won.
We are very pleased with the results of this fundraiser as it will greatly assist us with our mission of supporting the HCSO! We are also extremely grateful to have received two very substantial private donations, one was $1,000 cash; the other was $1,000 check. These donations along with ticket sales allow the HCCSAAA to provide support for needs presented to us by the HCSO. We are sincerely thankful for the support of our incredible community and the expressions of appreciation shared for our HCSO and all of those in the law enforcement community!
I’m happy to announce that we have developed a HCCSAAA Brochure which will be available to the community to provide an insight of what the Association is all about; we’ll bring copies to the meeting next week. It was our goal to have these brochures ready for National Night Out; we met our goal and hope to be able to get the word out about what we do to support the HCSO.
The PSB Greeter volunteer opportunity kicked off on September 7th! The feedback received from HCSO has been very positive; having HCCSAAA members available to assist is truly appreciated and it provides the community an opportunity to see our members in action. Thank you to those who have signed up as PSB Greeters and who have had the chance to work the front desk.
Volunteer opportunities are available; thanks to our member’s willingness to serve, we have had more requests coming in for volunteers! You should have received information through sign-up genius and/or e-mail; if you would like to volunteer or have any questions, please sign-up or give me a call. Volunteering is a fantastic way to participate in our mission to support the HCSO. Currently, we are in need of volunteers for PSB Greeters (if you did not attend the training, no worries, it won’t take long to get you up to speed!); dismantling shelves at the old PSB Building; and everyone should be excited about the Strike Team Training volunteer opportunity coming up on September 28th! If you haven’t had the opportunity to join in on a training scenario, you absolutely should give it a whirl! Not only are they educational for members; they are super fun and give members the chance to see our LEOs in action! JOIN US!
Please keep the family, friends, and men and women in blue in your thoughts and prayers as we are extremely saddened to have lost another HCSO family member on August 27th, Correction Officer James “Skinny” Henry, who lost his battle with COVID. Please also keep in your thoughts those who perished on 9/11/01; these heroes remind us of how precious life is and how significantly important our First Responders are to each and every one of us. We are eternally grateful for those who serve as well as for their families. Always remembered, never forgotten!
I’m looking forward to our guest speaker at our September meeting next week, Jorge Molina, Forensic Artist with the Texas Department of Public Safety under the Texas Rangers Division. Hope to see you there!
Respectfully,
Cathy Gieselman, President
HCCSA Alumni Association