RGV Band back after Break
Since 1998 the RGV Concert Band has been presenting six concerts each year to Valley residents from January through March. In addition, a Christmas Concert is given by “early arrivals” and a combined concert with vocal groups is given semi-annually in March.
This season after a break due to “covid,” the band members joyously began practice in November 2021, and presented a Christmas Concert in December. The band is currently giving concerts in 55+ parks throughout the Valley.
For the second year in a row, Paradise Park RV Resort in Harlingen has made quite an effort to participate in giving back to the Harlingen CISD community. The park has been finding someone in their community to help out the last few years and the Harlingen CISD Clothing Closet has been blessed by them the last two.
Weslaco residents of Ranchero Village Senior Resort Park kicked off the season of spreading holiday cheer by giving back to the local community. Due to the generous donations of the residents, Ranchero Village teams were able to deliver cash and multiple boxes of food to the RGV Food Bank while six more teams delivered gifts and food boxes to families in the community.
On December 4, 2021, Mission Bell -Tradewinds RV Resort held their very first Golf Cart Rodeo. Several people from the park volunteered to be a team driving their golf carts through a pre-determined course on the parking lot. The part that made it so much fun was that the driver would be blindfolded, and the passenger would give the instructions on how to get through the course. Completion of the course was timed and those with the best times won prizes. Pylons were run over; judges were chased by the blind folded and a great time was had by all. They all agreed they'd like to do it again next year.
Collecting can tabs for the Ronald McDonald House has been ongoing at La Floresta Park in Mercedes for many years. This year, Rodger and Jean Vanderville from Manistique, Michigan, arrived at La Floresta Park with over 50 pounds of tabs collected from family and friends in their hometown. These were combined with some collected at La Floresta Park, and a total of about 68,740 individual tabs were taken to the Ronald McDonald House in Corpus Christi. The money from can tabs adds up and becomes a valuable donation to the Ronald McDonald House.
The dense fog on December 2nd did not deter the ladies at La Floresta from their scheduled Ladies Day Golf. Marilyn Walters from Ontario, Canada, gets ready to tee off on the #7 Hole.
It was a fun time, and lots of laughs. Seven Oaks Resort had a costume contest for not only their guests, but also their furry friends. The resort had a great turnout despite being so early in the season. Park management is also glad that the Canadian border is back open, and the grand prize winner was one of their Canadian residents that was not able to join them last year.
Blankets for Veterans, a non-profit organization created by a 17-yr-old in Wisconsin, has made it to a local Valley Winter Texan park this season. Park resident Kathy Hanson is the proud grandmother of Aubree Leitermann, the founder of the organization. Leitermann, who visited Heier recently, was able to give some of the blankets that were made by Heier, and others, to Veterans in the park.
The Winter Texan Times is all about you, what you do, and where to go. With that being said, we enjoy hearing from you, and we want to hear more.
According to the New York Times, tennis, a socially distanced outdoor sport, has experienced a tremendous revival during the coronavirus pandemic. Along with golf, tennis is a safe, socially distanced activity that offers great exercise and competitive outdoor activity. In Aladdin Villas, in Mission, tennis had been difficult to attract a lot of players the past few years. But during the pandemic, interest and the number of players at the park have nearly doubled. But there is always room for more. Tennis anyone? Pictured are Maggie Leach (Server), Ben Ogg, Bob Tenyeck and Cathy Main. Submitted by Jerry Butcher.
To continue some fun at Oleander Acres, Tammy Garrison-Maier, activity director, hid several pots of gold around her park to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day. Residents were slowly finding the little black pots with some gold in them. As the pots of gold were, Tammy gave gift certificates for Krispy Kreme and other gifts. Last month Tammy hid painted rocks throughout the park. These pots of gold are not as easy to find though – there were not as many hidden. Pictured receiving their gift certificate are Harvey and Jane Diehl from Valley Center, Kansas.
By Barb Zanetti
It was beautiful weather last Tuesday. Simply perfect weather for a little bit of gospel outside on the Fun N Sun parking lot. There was a slight breeze and nearly no clouds in the sky. People had gathered in their golf carts or lawn chairs to see Rusty Rierson, Ralph Kuster and Lindley Creek. They had also gathered to help raise money for some especially important organizations.
Submitted by John Bailey
It’s that time of year again when many of us start making New Year’s resolutions. After a tumultuous 2020, it may be more imperative than ever to strive for physical, mental, and emotional balance. 
