Keepsake Christmas Trees

by Phil Houseal as published in the Kerrville TX Community Journal & Boerne TX Hill Country Weekly Nov 4, 2009

Remember how as a kid you wanted the largest Christmas tree in town? It wasn’t right unless the top scraped the ceiling, and the branches grabbed everyone who ventured near.

Joan Sullivan has captured that spirit of Christmas by going in the opposite direction - creating miniature heirloom trees that are only 18 inches tall, yet are packed with charm and filled with holiday spirit.

The concept of decorating small artificial trees as a theme was her original idea. “I had done themes for family members, people in the military, and folks in retirement homes," she said. “I made the trees 18 inches because many people don't have room for big trees, and you can drop them in a grocery bag to carry.” They make good gifts, especially for out-of-town friends. The trees are lightweight, so they can be shipped easily. “What better to have over in Afghanistan than to have mementos of your family on a Christmas tree?”

Sullivan visualizes her trees as “a three-dimensional scrapbook.” Starting with a raw tree - available in craft stores - she comes up with a theme that reflects the person’s interests or history. She has used sports, fishing, or color as the unifying element. One “piano” tree she created was for a 90-year-old man who insisted on going to nursing homes every week to play piano. For a Texas flavor, she took a plastic cactus and draped it in lights. Another tree featured a nativity theme. “Whatever you can think of can make a tree.”

Next she adds the decoration. She uses photos, ornaments, small toys, jewelry, and personal mementos. She often goes to the doll department looking for miniature furniture. Sullivan once paid $7.50 for miniature handmade leather boots. “I just fell in love with them,” she said. “Anything you put in a scrapbook you can put on a tree. It depends on what I find.”

In her experience, Sullivan knows people can make them for as little as $20 on up to $150.

Her heirloom trees have brought smiles and memories to youngsters as well. Kids can decorate the small ones, and keep them from year to year, adding items as they grow. The trees hold up well and are easy to store.

You may not even need to store them. Sullivan noted the trees make great nightlights and year round decor when placed on a counter or in a guest room.

Of course these miniature heirloom trees are not meant to replace the statuesque Christmas tree.

“They are more like a wreath on door,” Sullivan said. “And every tree is different.”

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Joan Sullivan will teach Mini Heirloom Trees on Nov 11 and Nov 18. For information or to sign up, click www.clubed.net, or call 830-895-4386.

Club Ed is the Community Education program of the Kerrville Independent School District. Each year, we offer more than 400 classes throughout the Texas Hill Country, along with online courses, business and individual training, and after-school and summer camps. Comment online at clubedcomments.blogspot.com, or follow us on Twitter @clubedtx.

Yoga

by Phil Houseal as published in the Kerrville TX Community Journal & Boerne TX Hill Country Weekly
Oct 28, 2009

When Corinne Baerwald began practicing yoga, she couldn't even call it yoga.

"Thirty years ago people were suspicious of it," she said. "When I first started teaching, I called it 'Stretch for Health.' At about the third class, one student asked me in a whisper, 'Are we doing yoga?'"

Today Baerwald proudly calls it Yoga, Yoga for Shoulders, Yoga for Golf, and more. She has taught a variety of yoga classes for Club Ed since 1992.

During that time, attitudes have changed, and the culture of yoga has changed. When it originated in India, yoga was mainly practiced by men. Today, women outnumber men in the classes Baerwald holds at The Yoga Space, the center she and Gwynn Groggle opened six years ago in Kerrville, as "a service to the community."

But the benefits of yoga work equally well for both sexes.

"Yoga offers flexibility, stress release, breath release, more even temper, and more control of the body, which people are wanting right now."

Yoga also increases strength. That is one of the misconceptions that men have - that doing yoga is easy, or that it's women's exercise.

"Some of the poses we do are challenging - it depends on the level of the class," Baerwald said. "Some work on flexibility and lengthening the muscles; some work on strength and stability. All poses have to do with flexibility and balance."

For Club Ed, Baerwald has put together yoga classes targeting specific areas, such as the Yoga for Golf and Yoga for Neck and Shoulders, both very popular. The Yoga Space is a Hatha Yoga oriented studio, and they also offer t'ai chi, kundalini yoga, and bhakti yoga, a more spiritual approach. Each Saturday, a different teacher holds class so students can experience different styles of instruction.

(For information on their offerings and schedule, visit www.yogaspace-tx.com.)

Baerwald does have gratification from those early days teaching Stretch for Health. Many of her students have gone on to become instructors themselves. All remain friends.

"I feel a compassion and caring and love for these people - they become your family," she said, noting one student has been with her for 10 years. "You form bonds with your students and they with each other. The energy is shared and you just like them! When they are not there, you miss that energy."

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Club Ed will offer Yoga for Golf on November 8. For information or to sign up, click www.clubed.net, or call 830-895-4386.

Club Ed is the Community Education program of the Kerrville Independent School District. Each year, we offer more than 400 classes throughout the Texas Hill Country, along with online courses, business and individual training, and after-school and summer camps. Comment online at clubedcomments.blogspot.com, or follow us on Twitter @clubedtx.

Take a trip; Make a memory

by Phil Houseal as published in the Kerrville TX Community Journal & Boerne TX Hill Country Weekly
Oct 21, 2009

When you travel with Ardie Dixon, you not only are going to have a great time, you might learn something and come away with a new friend.

Dixon has owned Hill Country Coordinators since 1995 and serves as host on many Club Ed excursions. She will guide two upcoming trips - A Night Out in Fredericksburg (which includes a trip to the Rockbox Theater) and our popular San Antonio Holiday River Parade and dinner.

For Dixon, the actual trip is just one part of the travel experience.

"For me, it is all about creating a happy memory - that's what it is about."

She prides herself on customizing her tours and events, and anticipating every contingency that might put a kink in the escapade. She can provide any kind of group service, whether a trip, wedding, reunion, or corporate event.

"I like to provide the service that guarantees everything goes well, and that the sponsors look good when it is all over with."

Dixon draws on years of experience doing catering and convention work in the hotel industry, from La Mansion del Rio in San Antonio to the Inn of the Hills in Kerrville. She also worked with travel planners.

Even for someone of Dixon's skill, she is first to admit not every detail can be controlled.

"There are always little things that come up," she said, recalling the couple from Houston who held their wedding down by the riverside. "They asked seriously to have two white swans swim by while they were exchanging vows. Needless to say, we did not get that done!"

But she can usually find a resource for every request. And when that rare contretemps occurs, she is philosophical. "I always tell brides when something happens, not to get excited - that's what you are going to laugh about years later."

So how is a tour with Ardie Dixon going to be different from any other tour?

"I am going to be a little more informed about Texas Hill Country heritage," she said. "We'll have some good chuckles and laughs, and probably eat some good, unhealthy food. People will feel like they met a new best friend - it could be me or other people on the tour."

Ultimately it is all about the people.

"God puts people in my path, and I know he does," she said. "I know I need to do my best to help some people have a good time or to put at ease. That's one of my missions I am supposed to do."

xxx

Club Ed travels to the San Antonio River Lighting Parade on Nov 27, and takes a Holiday Night Out in Fredericksburg on Dec 12. Signup deadlines are approaching. For information, click www.clubed.net, or call 830-895-4386.

Club Ed is the Community Education program of the Kerrville Independent School District. Each year, we offer more than 400 classes throughout the Texas Hill Country, along with online courses, business and individual training, and after-school and summer camps. Comment online at clubedcomments.blogspot.com, or follow us on Twitter @clubedtx.

Shooting for fun

by Phil Houseal
Oct 14, 2009
As published in the Kerrville TX Community Journal & Boerne TX Hill Country Weekly

When it comes to recreation, Americans spend the most money on exercise equipment. Do you know which sport comes in second?

Shooting.

"In 2006 spending on firearms and shooting gear overtook golf for second on the list," said Larry Arnold, one of two instructors teaching the Texas Concealed Handgun License Course in Kerrville and Boerne for Club Ed (details at end of article).

At clubs like the Buck & Bull Club, hunters can practice target shooting, skeet, trap, sporting clays. They have a hunting game where they shoot steel silhouettes of game in a realistic setting.

Larry Arnold started his own infatuation with shooting at age 11.

"I was kind of a nerd, and it was something I could do rather than play football," he recalled. "Besides, it was fun."

It was also a lot safer.

"The shooting sports rank below ping pong in injuries sustained as a sport."

Arnold - who recently won a national award for his course curriculum - has been a National Rifle Association instructor since 1982, and has taught hunter safety education since 1984. Arnold was involved in the long effort to have Texas adopt the concealed carry laws, working with six legislatures over 12 years.

Arnold actually taught his first concealed carry course on the very first day it was legally allowed to be taught in Texas, back in September 1995.

In the years since he has seen a parade of people from all professions who have their own reasons for taking this gun safety course. In the early days of the new law, he trained lots of professionals who traveled in their jobs, such as real estate salespeople. Students have been both young and old, and quite often whole families have taken the class together.

Regardless of background, their reasons are the same.

"A lot of it is just to be able to protect yourself," he said. He also gets students who want help navigating the national background check system. While protection is the reason many take the class, for Arnold, guns are just fun.

"It is a lifetime sport. We have people in their 80s who have won trophies. Shooting is one of the few sports that are completely coed. It's where soccer moms can take their kids and watch."

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Club Ed offers monthly courses in the Texas Concealed Handgun Course in Boerne and Kerrville. Constable Don White is instructor in the Boerne course. For information or to sign up, click www.clubed.net, or call 830-895-4386.

Club Ed is the Community Education program of the Kerrville Independent School District. Each year, we offer more than 400 classes throughout the Texas Hill Country, along with online courses, business and individual training, and after-school and summer camps. Comment online at clubedcomments.blogspot.com, or follow us on Twitter @clubedtx.

First Impressions

by Phil Houseal
October 7, 2009
As published in the Kerrville TX Community Journal & Boerne TX Hill Country Weekly

Ever wonder why your painfully written article about your organization's event didn't make it into the newspaper? You can find out why, and how to get it into print, at the new Club Ed class "Impressions."

Bonnie and Larry Arnold have worked for many newspapers in the Hill Country for three decades, and they have plenty of advice for people when it comes to submitting material for their clubs, businesses and organizations.

"This may be a new class for here, but it's not a new concept," said Larry Arnold, noting they have taught it several times in the past 25 years. "But when Bonnie notices the quality of press releases she receives at her newspaper job starts to slip, she knows it is time to teach the class again."

The Arnolds plan to hit the basics of what it takes to get your news in front of readers. Points covered will include:

- how to submit news

- how to work with the press

- electronic submissions

- what needs to go in to a press release

- what to leave out

- the importance of deadlines

- how to get better publicity

- ways to avoid the "grip and grin" photo

The Arnolds will point out the differences between writing for dailies, weeklies, radio, and television. They also will have advice on how to handle bad publicity - or, as Larry puts it, "What to do when your secretary goes to Acapulco with the funds."

They promise lots of practice, and all students will write a press release as part of the class.

Everyone is aware how news distribution has changed over the last 25 years, or even the past five years. Even though news now goes out through the web, blogs, and "tweeting," the rules of the road are timeless.

"All media still use the 5 Ws, you still need to put a date on your submission, and always include your contact info."

On the other hand, the most common errors editors encounter are also timeless:

- submitting too late

- failure to plan ahead

- sending the wrong stuff to wrong media

The very best thing you can do is to "make contact" with your local media. According to the Arnolds, that works both ways.

"You know who to take stuff to, and if you are the expert on widgets, every time that reporter thinks about widgets, he ought to think about you."

Bonnie sees this class as essential for the volunteer in a nonprofit organization who ends up being named the public relations person.

"PR is a specific job, it's not something you just know how to do."

But this class will teach you how to make a better "Impression."

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"Impressions" meets Saturday, Oct 10. For information or to sign up, click www.clubed.net, or call 830-895-4386.

Club Ed is the Community Education program of the Kerrville Independent School District. Each year, we offer more than 400 classes throughout the Texas Hill Country, along with online courses, business and individual training, and after-school and summer camps. Comment online at clubedcomments.blogspot.com, or follow us on Twitter @clubedtx.