Dominion Magazine - December 2016

SAN ANTONIO’S PREMIERE COMMUNITY

A LIFE OF BLESSINGS, EXPERIENCES, AND ACHIEVEMENTS A s L i v e d by V i r g i n i a K a n e

DECEMBER 2016

PRESENTATION IS KEY

Plasma Screens Apple TV & HDMI Connections Workstations Member & Guest High-Speed Internet Technical & Administrative Support Frosted Crystal White Boards Fully Stocked Office Supplies Complimentary Beverages Postal Services & Mail Handling Take a tour and receive a free espresso beverage from Cuppencake Espresso Bar & Bakery

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30 IN

YEARS

THE MAKING

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CONTENTS THE DOMINION MAGAZINE | THE OFFICIAL PUBLICATION OF THE DOMINION HOMEOWNERS ASSOCIATION

DECEMBER 2016

Virginia Kane pictured front row, third from the right A life of blessings, experiences, and achievements as lived by Virginia Kane

WELCOME 12

Staff Profile 46 Alex Villarreal

THE CLUB

CALENDAR 14 CLUB HAPPENINGS 16

HOA HAPPENINGS 20

COVER 40

GOLF 48

Events and 2016 Women’s Club Championship

28

tennis 50

IMPACT SAN ANTONIO 24

Elf Louise Charity

WOMEN’S FORUM 26

CHARITY 54

Councilman Ron Nirenberg to speak

Holiday charity round-up

CLUB DINING 28

Business profile 58

54 60

TMI 30

Pass in Review

Good reads 66

The Dominion Country Club Board of Governors

Into the Future

home tour 60 A Home of Favorites

board of GOVERNORS 32 San ANtonio Spurs 38

Dominion Ridge Shopping Center

Our Souls At Night

70

DAAG 68 travel 70

Big Bend Adventure

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RANCH INTERIORS

31300 IH-10 West (exit 543 across from Toyota) - Boerne, Texas 78006 830.755.6355 - 210.535.3070 - www.CatrinasRanchInteriors.com

COMING SPRING 2017

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DECEMBER 2016 | VOLUME 3 ISSUE 12

PUBLISHED By SMV Texas Design Group, LLC 930 E. Blanco, Ste. 200, Boerne, TX 78006 210-507-5250

Welcome TO

the Dominion Magazine Dear Reader,

I hope that all of you enjoyed the Thanksgiving holiday with your family and friends.

Our annual Turkey Chase run/walk held on Thanksgiving Day was an exciting morning of fitness and fun for all of those in attendance. The annual Bonfire event hosted by The Dominion Country Club and the Dominion Homeowners Association was again very well attended. The Pecan Grove was the perfect venue for this event and The Bret Mullins Band the perfect complement to our evening. All of those attending had a great time.

Our Neighborhood Outreach Committee has done a fantastic job in planning these events and many other events throughout the year. Whereas four or five years ago we had just several events annually, we now sponsor upwards of eight to ten events each year.

There are literally dozens of DHOA members who have contributed their time and effort to make these events happen. None of these events would happen without the leadership of Sonia Matthews of the DHOA staff.

At our November Board meeting, we approved our capital budget for the calendar year 2017. I am pleased to report that we will begin substantial upgrades to the landscaping, irrigation and lighting at the Dominion Lakes. The DHOA acquired legal title to this property just several years ago, and while we were aware of the need to upgrade this property, we had already made commitments elsewhere. We are now ready to make improvements to the Dominion Lakes area and these improvements will begin shortly in 2017. Julie Rincon, of the DHOA staff, has been instrumental in executing our landscape and irrigation installations for many years and has done an excellent job for us.

As we prepare for the Holiday season, my best to you and your family.

SMV TEXAS DESIGN GROUP, LLC CEO/PRESIDENT Benjamin D. Schooley ben@smvtexas.com OPERATIONS MANAGER Peggy Schooley peggy@smvtexas.com CREATIVE DIRECTOR Benjamin Weber ben.weber@smvtexas.com THE DOMINION HOA OFFICE 20 Dominion Drive San Antonio, Texas 78257 (210) 698-1232 | www.dominionhoa.com THE DOMINION COUNTRY CLUB 1 Dominion Drive San Antonio, Texas 78257 (210) 698-3364 | www.the-dominion.com

James D. Berg, Chairman Dominion Homeowners Association THE DOMINION | NOVEMBER

2016

2016

2016

N | OCTOBER

THE DOMINIO

OCTOBER

NOVEMBER 2016

THE OFFICIAL

THE OFFICIAL PUBLICATION

The Dominion Magazine is published by Schooley

DOMINION

OF THE DOMINION HOMEOWNERS

ON OF THE PUBLICATI

FOr Advertising opportunities call 210-507-5250

ON

ASSOCIATION

ERS ASSOCIATI

HOMEOWN

MARLO AND BRET MULLINS

3 10 VOLUME

S AND

THE SPUR

INION THE DOM

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PURSUE THEIR HAPPINESS ECTIO IN THE DOMINION. RING CONN

- AN ENDU

Media Ventures in Boerne, TX. The Dominion Magazine and Schooley Media Ventures are not responsible for any inaccuracies, erroneous information, or typographical errors contained in

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3 ISSUE

this publication submitted by advertisers. Opinions expressed do not necessarily reflect the opinions of

BRIGHTEN YOUR HOLIDAYS WITH CHRISTMAS DECOR 830-896-2976 | www.christmasdecor.net 12

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The Dominion and/or Schooley Media Ventures.

Copyright 2014 Schooley Media Ventures, 930 E. Blanco, Ste. 200, Boerne, TX 78006

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DECEMBER

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Women’s Forum Annual Holiday Bazaar 10:00 a.m. – 3:00 p.m.

The Dominion Women’s Forum would like to cordially invite all Forum members as well as our HOA friends and their guests to this year’s “Sip and Shop with Santa” Holiday Bazaar.

Once again the admission cost is only $19.95.

That includes food stations, fabulous passed hors d’oeuvres and fifty top vendors from all over Texas! They will be selling everything from Christmas décor and furs to the latest fashions and jewelry. We are once again inviting the very talented Clark High School Choir to stroll through the club and entertain us with their acapella choir featuring great songs of the holiday that are guaranteed to put you in the mood for holiday shopping and cheer. The halls will be decked and spirits bright! Kindly RSVP to 210-698-3364 or receptionist@the-dominion.com

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Annual Elf Louise Tennis Tournament 12:00 p.m.

The Tennis is competitive, the food is delicious and the spirit is merry and bright as we all come together to help this very worthy cause - The Elf Louise Charity! If you aren’t a Tennis player, contact the Tennis Centre for information on contributing a toy for the cause! 210-698-2288

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Camera Club 6:30 p.m.

Camera Club will teach you all things Camera - the basics, the intermediate and always the interesting! A different speaker joins us each week, and light refreshments are served.

The cost is $10 per class and reservations are required to 210-698-3364.

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HISTORY CLUB 4:30 p.m. - 5:30 p.m.

Keep your mind sharp and engaged and attend History Club! No charge but reservations are required.

Please RSVP to 210-698-3364

SUPPER CLUB HOLIDAY PARTY 6:00 p.m. - 9:00 p.m.

Holidays Around the World will be celebrated tonight! Join the Supper Club gang to celebrate everything merry and bright!

This Holiday event is always a fun one, so join in to mingle and jingle!

6:00 p.m. - Cocktails, 7:00 p.m. - Dinner and Program

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Santa Sunday Brunch 10:00 a.m. - 2:00 p.m.

Don’t miss this treasured holiday event for the entire family! Wear your Sunday best for a picture with Santa! Make sure to bring your Christmas list! RSVP to receptionist@ the-dominion.com or 210-698-3364 *48 hour cancellation notice in effect

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DOMINION COMEDY CLUB 6:00 p.m.

Presenting T.P. Mulrooney - Golf Comic.

Enjoy renowned comedy, dinner and a bottle of wine for each couple at this fun event! We promise laugh out loud FUN! What a great Christmas gift for family or colleagues! $55 per person or $100 per couple

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3rd Annual Ugly Christmas Sweater Happy Hour 6:00 p.m. – 8:00 p.m.

This fun event gets bigger and “uglier” every year! Put on your favorite ugly sweater and join the fun!

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CLUB CLOSED TODAY - HAPPY HOLIDAYS!

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New Years Eve at The Dominion 7:00 p.m.

Frost Yourself in a Winter Wonderland!

Ring in 2017 at your Club! Enjoy a lavish hors d’oeuvres reception and hosted bar, followed by an elegant gourmet dinner. Save room for the fun liquid nitrogen drinks and desserts!

Dance the evening away to the music of the very popular “Oh So Good Band” and dine from the gourmet omelet station before the evening ends. $135 per person Please RSVP to 210-698-3364

January 1

HAPPY NEW YEAR! The Club is closed today. We wish you all a happy, healthy and very prosperous 2017!

Every Tuesday

Every Wednesday

Every Thursday

Every Friday

Every saturday

The Dominion Rotary Club 11:30 a.m. - 1:00 p.m.

This international service group meets at The Dominion every Tuesday.

Seafood Night in the Grille 6:00 p.m.– 9:00 p.m.

Enjoy delicious and fresh seafood, always including an action station every 1st, 2nd and 3rd Wednesday of the month. $23.95 per person. One complimentary glass of red or white wine with each buffet purchased!

Enjoy! Please RSVP to 210-698-3364 or receptionist@thedominion.com

Thursday Night 105 7:00 p.m. – 8:30 p.m.

Open to all levels, limit 10. Email Coach Dave dknaszak@thedominion.com or call the tennis shop to sign up 210-698-2288

Friday Night Happy Hour 6:00 p.m. – 8:00 p.m.

Kick off the weekend with complimentary hors d’oeuvres and happy hour priced cocktails with your fellow Dominion Members and Guests!

Tennis- Saturday Morning Workout 9:30 a.m. – 11:00 a.m.

All levels, men & women. Guaranteed to hit a thousand balls.

Loud music and lots of fun!

Burger Night in the Grille & cabana 6:00 p.m. – 9:00 p.m.

Delicious, cooked to order and just $5!

Treat the family, invite friends! RSVP to 210-698-3364 Tuesday Night 105 7:00 p.m. -8:30 p.m.

Open to all levels, limit 10. Email Coach Dave dknaszak@thedominion.com or call the tennis shop to sign up 210-698-2288

Prime Rib Night in the Grille 6:00 p.m. – 9:00 p.m.

Delicious and bountiful includes baked potato, hearth rolls, and a crisp garden salad. $23.95 per person RSVP to 210-698-3364

Every sunday Tennis- SUNDAY Workout 2:00 p.m. – 3:30 p.m.

Open to all levels.

Contact Coach Dan at dan@the-dominion.com family night dining Until 8:00 p.m.

Comfort food and free for kids 12 and under.

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THE

DOMINION CountryClub Happenings Women’s Forum Texas National Parks Program. The Honorable Mary Bomar, Director of the National Park Service, Retired, introduces our speaker, Russ Whitlock, Superintendent LBJ National Historical Park.

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SU P P ER C L U B A celebration to honor our military veterans

STEAKS & S T O G I ES If you missed it, YOU REALLY MISSED OUT! This great event featured hand rolled cigars, scotch tasting, putting skills challenges, and amazing steaks.

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COUPON REQUIRED

COUPON REQUIRED

LORD OUR BLESS DAILY BREAD John 3:16

CALL FOR DELIVERY 210-474-0959

22211 W INTERSTATE 10., SAN ANTONIO (In the Dominion Ridge shopping center) SUNDAY – WEDNESDAY : 11 AM – 9 PM | THURSDAY – SATURDAY : 11 AM – 10 PM

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H OA Happenings H O W L - O - W EEN Puppies and their human friends from all corners of The Dominion gathered on Saturday, October 29, 2016, for a fabulous HOA/DAAG sponsored costume party. Co-chairs Lisa Arcuri, Colleen Dietz, and Tamara Vandewalle, along with lots of other “DAAGers” (as they like to be called), put on a terrific event. There was live music, a photo opportunity, treats for both doggies and humans, and, best of all, costumes galore!! The event was the most well attended in recent memory and everyone looks forward to an equally successful event next year!

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T r u n k o r t r e at This Halloween event gets bigger and bigger every year!

The costumes and trunk decorations are well thought out and are such a great representation of the creative minds in the community. We hope to see you out at next year’s bash!

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B ON F I RE The Bonfire has become The Dominion’s Signature Event! The Country Club continues to provide a scrumptious meal for all in attendance and the kids enjoy non-stop fun! The weather was crisp and beautiful and the Bret Mullins Band put on yet another great show! Add the 2017 Bonfire on Sunday, November 19 to your calendar now for next year’s event. You won’t want to miss it.

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UPCOMING HOA EVENTS Landscape Committee Meeting Thursday, December 1 at 8:00 a.m.

Neighborhood Outreach Committee Meeting Tuesday, December 13 at 8:30 a.m. (at the Dominion Country Club)

Security Committee Meeting Tuesday, December 13 at 9:00 a.m.

Development Committee Meeting Wednesday, December 14 at 7:30 a.m.

Finance Committee Meeting Thursday, December 15 at 1:00 p.m.

Board of Directors Meeting Wednesday, December 21 at 4:00 p.m.

Architectural Control Committee Meetings Thursday, December 1st, 8th, 15th at 4:30 p.m.

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IMPACT SAN ANTONIO $400,000 Awarded to 4 Local Nonprofits by Impact San Antonio

By Rudy Arispe

Left to right: Pam McCray, Susan Wampler, Helene De Peralta, Denise Graves, Melora Berado, Cynthia Schluter

Impact San Antonio awarded $100,000 each to four nonprofits including Providence Place, Family Service Association, Alpha Home and Bexar County Partners for Youth. The grants were announced during the organization’s Grant Award Night on October 19 at the Whitley Theological Center.

“For the first time in Impact SA’s history, we have awarded four $100,000 grants to deserving nonprofits that we know will make an impact in our community,” said Beverley McClure, Impact SA president.

Nine finalists were selected from Impact SA’s five focus areas: Arts & Culture; Education; Family; Health & Wellness; and Environment, Recreation & Preservation.

Providence Place was awarded in the Education category. The nonprofit will expand and modernize the capability of the Work Training Center to provide hands on transferrable work skills for young adults with disabilities between 18 and 25 years of age. Providing students with needed vocational skills through the Work Training Center will increase their ability for gainful employment and allow them to become self-sufficient and lead independent lives.

“These funds will help us provide additional work skills so our students will have greater capacity to have relevant skills in an everchanging work environment,” said Judith Bell, president and CEO. Family Service Association was awarded in the Family category. “Thanks to the support of IMPACT, Family Service’s Kidshare program will continue to keep children safe, strengthen family relationships and break the multi-generational cycles of abuse and 24

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violence in our community,” said Nancy L. Hard, president and CEO. Alpha Home was awarded in the Health & Wellness category. The agency plans to restore an existing home which provides residential drug and alcohol rehab for women, 18 years and older. Women in the residential program will have an enhanced quality of life and as a result will remain in residential treatment for a longer period, increasing long term success. “This funding means the children visiting will know their mommies are being helped in a place that feels like home,” said CEO Angela White.

Bexar County Partners for Youth was awarded in the Environment, Recreation & Preservation category. Its mission is to promote innovative prevention and intervention programs for the benefit of at-risk children in cooperation with the Bexar County Juvenile Probation Department.

Funding will be used to design and build a 1.25 mile wilderness trail that will offer Bexar County children and their families the opportunity to discover the wonders of nature and to support programming that will improve outcomes for at-risk children.

“The Impact San Antonio grant award has helped fund a public/private partnership which will create a cutting-edge program that will enhance and protect the sensitive ecological nature area of Salado Creek and, at the same time, will promote and allow the healing and therapeutic intervention of the youths most at risk in our community with our successful Children and Horses Always Produce Success Program of Partners of Youth, Inc. That is a win-win for our community,” said Judge Peter Sakai, Chair of the Board of Directors.

The remaining five finalists – Cibolo Nature Center and Farms, Daily Bread Ministries, San Antonio Lifetime Recovery, Texas Diaper Bank, and Westside Development Corporation – will each receive $16,000 from the remaining balance of the funds.

Impact SA is an all-female philanthropic organization. Women join as members, either individually or in groups up to four, contributing $1,000 annually with 100 percent of donations pooled to create multiple $100,000 grants awarded to nonprofits in one of the five focus areas.

For more information, visit www. impactsanantonio.org or call (210) 617-3280.

The Dominion Women’s Forum Ron Nirenberg to Speak to Dominion Women’s Forum

San Antonio City Councilman Ron Nirenberg (District 8) will meet with The Dominion Women’s Forum in January. Councilman Nirenberg was first elected to his position in 2013 and then reelected in 2015. He has been involved with a broad range of governmental and civic activities during his long tenure in the city. He is a summa cum laude graduate of Trinity University (BA) and magna cum laude graduate of the University of Pennsylvania (MA)— both degrees in communications—and early in his career served as General Manager of Trinity University Radio Station KRTUFM, where he also spearheaded a nonprofit arts collaboration. He is a former director of the Annenberg Public Policy Center, where he was instrumental in the development of numerous civic programs throughout the U.S. The councilman’s primary areas of focus on the City Council include transportation infrastructure, environmental sustainability, economic initiatives, new technology development, and addressing the workforce skills gap. Notable achievements include creation of the District 8 Community Academy (recognized by the U.S. House of Representatives), creation of the city’s first coordinated water supply plan, creation of a unified strategy for coordinating wireless and broadband infrastructure, and an intergovernmental coalition to save the Bracken Bat Cave in 2014. He serves as chairperson and/or board member for numerous civic and community organizations, including the San Antonio World Affairs Council; Sister Cities International; National League of Cities Energy, Environment, and Natural Resources Committee; and The Air Improvement Resources Executive Committee, among others.

San Antonio is one the fastestgrowing municipalities in the U.S. and Councilman Nirenberg has worked hard to build a resilient city, including serving as a board member of the Alamo Area Metropolitan Planning Organization, where he focuses his considerable energies on alleviating congestion and improving transportation efficiency.

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Councilman Nirenberg is married to community leader Erika Prosper (with whom he cofounded a marketing company and a fitness training company) and they have one son, Jonah. He is a committed family man who also happens to be a trombone player, Elvis Presley fan, and former amateur weight lifter.

Please join us Friday, January 6 for this event starting at 11:30 with the luncheon beginning at noon.

Club Dining

HOLIDAY recipes

By Chef Jay Nash

The year has flown by once again and the Christmas season brings busy shopping days, decorating, many gatherings and, of course, lots of traditional foods. Time is always a factor when cooking and entertaining, so the following recipes are easy to prepare in advance or even on the spur of the moment.

Hopefully, these will make your season a bit brighter.

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EASY APPETIZER

Prosciutto Wrapped Asparagus 2 ½ ounces Boursin cheese ½ tsp. black pepper 1 tsp. salt 20 asparagus spears, stem ends trimmed 10 paper thin sliced prosciutto (purchase presliced ) Add the salt to boiling water and cook the asparagus until tender, about 5 minutes. Quickly remove and place in ice water to shock them, stopping the cooking process. Remove when chilled and let dry on paper towels. Place the prosciutto on work counter or cutting board and cut in half cross wise. Spread a small amount of Boursin cheese on each slice, add an asparagus spear with the tip sticking over one end and tightly roll up. These may be served as is, heating the oven for 5 minutes is recommended. You can be creative with serving by drizzling with a good balsamic vinegar or dressing, sprinkling with Parmesan or Romano cheeses, or in addition to vegetable dips, olives, and hummus.

MAIN COURSE

Herb Crusted Beef Tenderloin with Pepper Relish 6 Tbsp. olive oil 2 pieces beef tenderloin 2-3 lbs each 5 garlic cloves minced 2 Tbsp. minced fresh thyme 2 Tbsp. minced fresh rosemary 6 Tbsp. Dijon mustard You can usually find trimmed beef tenderloin already cut to this size in the meat department of grocery stores, or ask the butcher to prepare one as it may be time consuming and messy to trim at home.

Preheat oven to 375*. Rub the beef with olive oil and sear the meat in a pan stovetop, browning all sides. Mix the 6 Tbsp. Olive oil, mustard and herbs and coat the beef with mixture. Season the beef with salt and pepper and roast in the oven for approximately 45 minutes, or until 125 degrees in the center. Be sure to let rest a minimum 5 minutes before slicing. ** The beef may be seared and seasoned ahead of time and refrigerated, just note the cooking time will increase as it will be cooking from a lower temperature.

The Pepper Relish 2 Tbsp. butter 2 Tbsp. olive oil 1 large yellow onion, thin sliced 1 red bell pepper, diced 1 green bell pepper diced ¼ cup chopped olives 1 Tbsp. Dijon mustard 1 tsp. black pepper 1 garlic clove minced 1 tsp. salt Melt the butter and lightly cook the onion until golden brown - approximately 5 minutes. Add peppers and cook until tender - about another 3 minutes. Add in the chopped olives, mustard and garlic and cook while stirring for 1-2 minutes.

Remove from heat and let cool, transfer to serving bowl , or cover and refrigerate. Use as a topping for beef, other meats, crostini or garlic bread.

Slice and serve family style on a platter with your favorite vegetables or potatoes, and the following pepper relish.

DESSERT

Dark Chocolate Almond Fondue 1 cup heavy cream ½ cup honey 14 ounces Toblerone bar, chopped 2 Tbsp. Kirsch cherry brandy ½ tsp. almond extract Bring the heavy cream and honey to a simmer using a heavy sauce pan. Add chocolate and whisk until melted. Remove from the heat and whisk in almond extract and kirsch. Pour fondue into serving cups or bowl. Be creative with what you would like to dip from strawberries to star fruit, grapes, bananas, pretzels and marshmallows.

This holiday season The Dominion Country Club will have many events for members, including the very popular Santa brunch and the annual New Year’s Eve Celebration. Be sure to RSVP ASAP! The Dominion bakery will be featuring specialty breads for the month of December. Judy will be preparing zucchini-carrot walnut bread and gingerbread streusel. Both are VERY delicious and priced right at $8 per 4x8 loaf. Please place orders three days in advance to ensure a fabulous fresh bread!

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TMI Pass in Review

TMI Veterans Day

The Texas Military Corps of Cadets observed Veterans Day on November 11 with a Pass in Review honoring all military veterans.

Reviewing officer was Frank Damien Wetegrove, a member of the TMI class of 1984, Colonel, Military Intelligence (USAR). Â Alumni and other veterans attending were invited to stand and be recognized, with thanks for their service. The Dominion community was well represented, both by several students in the Corps of Cadets and by veterans attending this important event on the day set aside to honor those who have, and who will, serve our nation. These individuals were recognized near the close of the ceremony.

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Board of Governors

Meet The Dominion Board of Governors Photos courtesy of Jim Landers

The Dominion Country Club Board of Governors serves to represent the membership on issues concerning the direction, management and state of the Club. The Board meets with the General Manager who represents the Club’s ownership group.

ROBERTO ALVAREZ What is your favorite part about serving on the Board of Governors?

Participating with my fellow members and the Club Management in always striving to improve and make our Club better for all of our members.

What are you known for professionally?

I’ve worked for the past 36 years in the International Steel Trading business.

What do you like to do when you’re not working?

Playing Golf, traveling, eating out, drinking wine, enjoying my family.

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ED DEVANE What are you most passionate about—both professionally and personally?

Professionally, I am most passionate about the company that I founded and co-owned with friends.

Personally, I am passionate about my entire family.

What is something about you that not many people know?

Tennis was one of my passions since I was a kid.

Ed’s favorite part about serving on the Board is having the ability to share ideas and concerns from Club Members with his fellow Board members, the Club’s management, and its staff.

Ed states “Being a member of the club for over 20 years, I am very passionate about the Club and its future.” His background of over 30 years in the automobile industry brings extensive experience to his work on the Board. “I am still a minority partner in a local dealership but have been retired for the last 3 years. That has allowed me to spend time in my passion and hobby – which are one in the same!

Golf!” He continues “I am fortunate

to be part of a group of friends and also family members, including my son and brother-in-law, who play on a frequent and regular basis.”

When asked to share something that most people wouldn’t know about him, he pondered and then said “I’m an open book! Everybody pretty much knows everything there is!”

CHERYL J. ERNST The best part of being on the Board of Governors is learning more about the details of the different aspects of the Club from golf and tennis to membership. It is an especially exciting time with all the renovations and a new look for DCC. I also see it as an opportunity to give back to this special community that Joe and I have called home since 2003.

In my 42 year business career as a Buyer for Julian Gold, I am proud to say I developed a reputation of being fair and treating my vendors as partners—we both had to be successful. That has been invaluable during my Board tenure.

Being born and raised in San Antonio, I’ve always had a love of the outdoors: hunting, fishing and gardening. I am a water baby and love to be near water, especially sitting on the porch at our home at LBJ—that’s my ‘happy

LYN HICKS place’! The highlight of my life is spending precious time with our 7 grandchildren. Joe and I are also enjoying the opportunity to travel now that I’m retired.

I served for over 30 years on the advisory board for the University of the Incarnate Word’s design and merchandising department. I am now serving on the CTRC Board. As a cancer survivor, I am passionate in supporting the research and development of this amazing facility we have in our own backyard.

Few people realize that I am actually an introvert! I love being with people and learning more about them. However, I have to come home and ‘recharge my batteries’ with quiet alone time!!

“I enjoy interacting with the other members. They are a very diverse representation of our club membership. I find I learn something from each of their viewpoints,” stated Lyn Hicks when asked about her participation on the Board of Governors. She also is humbled by the interaction she has with other Board members and their commitment to the community.

“I get a totally different perspective on the operations of The Dominion than I did as a resident observer. We have an outstanding staff and General Manager, and they work hard at their jobs! Put that together with the brightest and best committee members who give their time and energy to help; that is what makes The Dominion the premier neighborhood that it is.”

Lyn also is the HOA Board Liaison to the Architectural Control Committee and ACC Liaison on the

Development Committee. When asked to name one more community passion she says, “the Dominion Animal Advocates Group. As one of the three founding members, this is my passion. I foster baby kittens in addition to other DAAG activities.”

One of the things most people would finding surprising about Lyn is that “John Denver was my boyfriend in HS!”

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JEFF LEWIS Jeff’s answer to the question “What do you like most about being a DCC Board of Governor?” came easily! He says “My favorite part is working with the club ownership and management to provide input from the membership -- as well as my own ideas -- on how to make the club even better. I also enjoy looking for synergies between the club and the HOA, understanding that our home prices in The Dominion are influenced by having a successful and viable country club.”

Jeff has represented his community on the HOA Board for the last four years and the Country Club Board for seven years. He states “I see the value of maintaining a great working relationship between the two entities.”

When reflecting on how his professional background as an insurance executive working for various firms (including Aetna, Prudential, USAA, and Allstate), gave him a significant understanding of

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TRACI LEWIS process, Jeff told us “This particular set of experiences brings a strong business wisdom and understanding that allows me to help both the HOA and the Club.”

Jeff’s favorite things to do right now are also easily listed. “I like to spend time with Sandy Marquez, my partner/wife. We both enjoy traveling and we are fortunate to be able to take some wonderful trips. I also love to play golf and get to do that here with a great group of friends, usually 5 or 6 times a week.” Jeff states, “I guess I'm just passionate about life in general, golf and Sandy in particular.”

As a last note, Jeff said that “not many people know that I would like to write a book, probably a guys' book, about golf, and that I would like to learn to play the piano.”

I’ve been a member of The Dominion for over a decade and have served as The Dominion Women’s Forum President and the membership director for The Dominion Women’s Golf Association. It’s a huge honor to serve on the Board of Governors because it’s a chance to really serve our amazing club members. The entire board is so inspiring to serve with and everyone really has a heart for our fellow members. We all want to make sure there are a variety activities and a place for everyone to get involved and connect!

My professional background is built on my 19 years as a realtor. My niche is selling luxury homes both in The Dominion and the surrounding areas. My husband, Scott, and I are also on the expansion team for eXp Realty, one of the fastest growing Real Estate companies in history.

We help Realtors grow and scale their business while they build an equity position in this amazing company. I’m also the author of several books including Defy the Odds & A Diva’s Guide to Real Estate Sales.

When I’m not working, Scott and I are avid golfers and travelers.

We’ve been to 20 countries in the past 9 years and have been blessed to play and stay in some amazing places! It’s a big world out there and my favorite place to visit is any place I’ve never been.

My real passion is helping people live a life of joy and prosperity. We all have the opportunity to design our lives the way we want. The first time I was ever in The Dominion was for the Parade of Homes in the mid 90’s, I was a broke school teacher dreaming of a different life. I had just finished my first book and even had a NYC agent, and that agent also signed the guys that wrote Chicken Soup for the Soul. My book never got an offer. That led me to Real Estate and after 3 years I bought my Dominion Dream Home - right around the corner from those parade homes. There is always a path. It’s just not always the path you originally planned to take.

One thing people probably don’t know about me is that I was born in the middle of the Mojave Desert and adopted 3 days later. I think that explains a lot.

LOUCEYETTE NEW Louceyette is currently serving the Dominion Community as the Tennis Committee Chairperson. She states, “this is where I represent the tennis community by expressing the views, requests, and suggestions of members. My aim is to gain positive results!” As a club member, she has been an advocate for club enhancement and has put her efforts into updating the tennis center and by landscaping areas around the tennis courts. Not only does she work hard for Dominion tennis, she also found time this year to lend her talents to the San Antonio Tennis Association by designing and overseeing the upgrades of the ladies dressing room at McFarlin Tennis Center in preparation for the WTA 2016 San Antonio Open that was held this past spring.

Prior to retirement from the North East Independent School District, Louceyette was a middle school teacher for 18 years where she was the Head of the Reading Department and the campus Dyslexia Coordinator. Louceyette, a graduate of Texas A&M University and the University of the Incarnate

MICHAEL SCHROEDER Word (Masters), is married and has four children and five grandchildren, a family that keeps her active in many ways.

“In addition to my family and club responsibilities, I am the Chairman of the Board for the San Antonio Clubhouse.

This is a nonprofit organization, founded in 2003 in San Antonio, and has a more than sixty year history since inception in New York. The organization’s focus and mission is providing meaningful work – and relationships – for adults with mental illness.”

Visiting with Louceyette, one can see the passion she has for family, the Clubhouse and the Dominion Country Club!

Michael Schroeder has served on the Golf Committee for the past three years. During the most recent year he fulfilled the role of Committee Chairman. When asked to review his perspective of this role, he stated “I see my role as representing the more than 400 golf members at the club with a particular focus on improving the member tournaments and maximizing the playability of the course. As the club grows there is increased pressure on the staff to maintain a high standard of service to our golf members. The committee members and I have been impressed with response of Kyle and his staff -- with the support of Stephen Phillips -- who have created a positive working relationship with the Golf Committee and the Board.”

Mr. Schroeder concluded a 30 year career by retiring in 2006 as CEO, North American Operations, of an United Kingdom public company.

“After retiring, in addition to serving on several boards of directors, I opened a business brokerage

business designed to help business owners sell their companies and to provide consulting services.”

Mr. Schroeder and his wife, Sandy, enjoy traveling and spending time at their place in Fredericksburg where Sandy grew up. And, of course the grandkids are a priority. This is also reflected in their community activities – the Schroeder’s are very interested in the plight of disadvantaged children in San Antonio. Sandy Keyser served as a Child Advocate for CASA, Child Advocates of San Antonio for over 8 years.

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San Antonio Spurs

Coming of Age: The Spurs and the Dominion - An Enduring Connection - part 3 of an ongoing series Gary Dudley’s Championship rings

INTO

THE FUTURE

by Brian Kenneth Swain, dominion resident

The fourteen-year impact of David Robinson on the NBA, on the Spurs (’89 – ’03), and on the city of San Antonio cannot be overstated. He also left an enduring mark on The Dominion, as anybody who has driven the length of Dominion Drive and passed Admirals Way knows. The street heading towards the north gate is named in Robinson’s honor. When he announced that he would retire at the conclusion of the ‘02‘03 season, the physical and psychological hole it left in the Spurs was immense, particularly at a time when many things were changing for the franchise.

First, there was the new arena that the team would be playing in beginning with 38

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Gary Dudley & Charlie Amato Part owners of the Spurs & Dominion residents the ‘02-‘03 season, named for SBC, the giant telecommunications firm that was headquartered in the city. The name would change to AT&T Center in short order, with the acquisition of SBC by its original parent company. With a couple of recent playoff losses still fresh in their minds in the fall of 2002, the feeling was one of cautious optimism mixed with concern as they stepped into the new arena. They led off by handing the Toronto Raptors an auspicious 91-72 loss in this inaugural game. In the end, 2002-2003 turned out to be a banner year in the team’s history, finishing with a 60-22 record, Head Coach Greg Popovich named Coach of the Year, a young Tim Duncan winning League MVP, and the franchise winning its second championship, beating the NJ Nets 4-2 in the finals. It was the end of an era, but the start of an even more successful one.

In fact, it was a changing of the guard, with the incoming leader in the form of Wake Forest University’s Tim Duncan, whose first couple of seasons with the team, starting in ‘97-‘98, earned him Rookie of the Year accolades and cemented his central role for the Spurs in the years to come. By the time the team officially took up residence in their new arena, Duncan had been joined by several other new additions—including Manu Ginobili and Tony Parker—who would contribute to that season’s championship victory and the team’s success in the years that followed.

With the coming together of “The Big Three,” the Spurs now had a firm foundation on which to build over the next several seasons. This is an advantage they leveraged to the fullest by winning more championships in ‘05, ‘07, and ‘14, and with Popovich winning Coach of the Year multiple times during this same period.

Current owner and Dominion resident Charlie Amato reflects on the Spurs’ success in recent years and observes that Head Coach Greg Popovich and General Manager R. C. Buford are a great team, a pair of capable hands that allows the owners to not involve themselves in the day-to-day operation of the organization. The stability of the team, with Popovich in the head coaching role for the past twenty years, allows the owners to maintain a successful business model in which they leave Pop, Buford, and the players to continue winning play-off games and championships.

This allows them to focus their energy on representing the community—a community that values the franchise more so than many other teams experience in their hometowns.

This is likely due to the fact that San Antonio is the only major U.S. city to have a single professional sports team. The fact that it is a winning sports team also further cements the support. In addition, it’s a community that Popovich and all of the players have embraced and for which they perform more than their share of charitable activities when off the court. The Dominion has been, and remains, proud to serve as home for numerous members of the team, both past and present.

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A LIFE OF BLESSINGS, EXPERIENCES, AND ACHIEVEMENTS A s L i v e d by V i r g i n i a K a n e

by PEGGY SCHOOLEY | photography by ben weber Sometimes you are honored to meet someone who has had a direct impact on your life without even realizing it. Somebody who is very kind, charming, and humble. I had that happen to me this week when I was asked to visit with Virginia Kane, longtime resident of the Dominion, for an article.

Many of you already know her, I’m sure. She and her late husband, Colonel (Dr.) Francis “Duke” Kane, have been living in the Dominion for 28 years. You have possibly been to their home in years past when Mrs. Kane hosted up to 150 people for musical concerts, or maybe you have seen her dashing about in her bright red car! You might have even read something about them in different publications – between the two of them, they’ve been written about many, many times. Maybe you even know that her husband touches your life every day as he invented GPS tracking system. THE GPS tracking system. The one that now lives on your phone, in your car, and on your computer. That Colonel Kane.

But I met Virginia Kane and heard HER story, and even though she protested that any article should definitely focus on Colonel Kane’s accomplishments, and not on her, as she said “I was just a satellite that existed only in Dr. Kane’s solar system!” I beg to differ. Their love story is definitely one for the ages. As he wrote a retrospective of the creation of GPS (Memoires of My Creation of GPS…), he dedicated it to her with these words “To Virginia.

The Golden Soul. Graduate of OLLU. Student at the Sorbonne School & Juilliard School. A lifetime of teaching piano music to children. Founder of the Crown Ridge Music Studios.

The living legend of the piano.”

HER EARLY YEARS Mrs. Kane began piano instruction under a young woman graduate from OLLU (Our Lady of the Lake University). She brought Virginia’s love and ability to interpret music to blossom, and Virginia ultimately moved to the tutelage of Professor John Steinfeldt, a founder of the San Antonio Symphony. As a teenager, she left San Antonio to head to Juilliard, but her parents wouldn’t allow her to live in the city (“much too dangerous!”) so she enrolled in Adelphi College, and made the 1.5 hour commute by train each way from Garden City into Manhattan daily. As she stated “I’m not sure which would have been safer – 3 hours on a train or 10 blocks walking in the city!” But this was 1944, and life in Manhattan was quite different than today. Once she married Duke Kane in 1946, his military career took precedence, and her support provided him with the ability and opportunity to become all he was meant to become.

MARRIED LIFE A stint in Paris, accompanying Duke, who was now the dashing assistant Air Attaché, became one of her favorite spots. As Mrs. Kane described those years, she said the best part: “I stayed focused on my own love of music by enrolling in the Sorbonne’s Paris Conservatory of Music.

You would recognize the names of the artists that taught me during this time.” She also had a lot of studying and learning to do about being part of the Embassy’s representatives. I asked her how she knew what to do, to say, and how to do it, and she demurs that without the Embassy’s Social Secretary she would have been lost. We laughed aloud at her memory of one particular party she and Duke were hosting. “Our housekeeper and cook, Adele from Budapest, was usually a bit testy. She was, after all, the “Madame’ of the house – and the house had been occupied

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by Germans during WWII and had been ransacked. But Adele always came through, and her cooking ability far outweighed her personality. As the first course was beautifully completed, Adele rounded a corner from the kitchen bearing a beautiful duck on a platter… which lofted into the air, hit the floor and slid right to my feet as I sat at the head of the table.” With shared looks of panic, Virginia confidently said “Adele, no problem! Please just bring the other duck!” There was no other duck! Adele swept back into the kitchen, dusted off the duck, got out the cognac, lit a match to flambé it -- and that flaming duck was met with ooh’s and aah’s from the guests.

Being young and a bit naïve regarding the more formal European behaviors on occasion got her into interesting fixes, as well. She tells of one day when “I decided that our home needed a wall removed so we could host larger parties. As I was thinking through this, I took my dog Blackie and began a walk in the neighborhood - Ave de Sycamore in Villa Montmorency. There were many wellto-do residents - the President of the Opera, the highest levels of business, and others. It was a very selective enclave provided for the Air Attache. I was out of my depth!” At one home she noticed a demure sign “Architect” under the home’s address. “Well, I thought, an architect is just what I need!” And she proceeded to ring the bell and ask for the 42

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owner. “The maid was properly offended at my forwardness, and, with nose in the air, when I said ‘May I speak with the architect?’

‘QUA?’ exploded from the maid! ‘WHAT?’ In the end, she agreed to ask the owner if he would deign to speak with an unannounced visitor such as I.” Surprisingly, Virginia was soon enough escorted into a beautiful room where a gentleman was seated. “’Are you an American? I love Americans! What may I do for you?’ So, I explained that I needed a wall removed, and he smiled and said he would come for tea the next day to examine the job.” She and Adele prepared for tea, and the architect appeared at the door with two other beautifully dressed gentlemen. Adele stood at the door and, basically, goggled. She led the man into the house with her mouth agape and her eyebrows almost off her face. “’Madame Kane! Do you not know who this man is? It is Monsieur Bouterin! He was just awarded the Grand Prix de Rome architectural award from a field of the world’s architects! He is famous!’”

Mrs. Kane laughs “Monsieur Bouterin not only did a beautiful job of removing that wall, refinishing those floors and walls, but he also never sent a bill!” A gentleman befitting the times. Sometimes naiveté is a blessing.

HER WORLD EXPANDS As a descendant of a Polish family, she always wished to visit Warsaw. This,

mentioned at a party, led to the arrival of a 10 day visa to Poland, which was locked down hard behind the Iron Curtin. The Embassy warned her “if you go there and have trouble, you are on your own to solve it.” But this is Virginia! She went! She said “I finally realized the purpose of that visa – a nice young man sat next to me during the May Day parade.

He ultimately mentioned that my Polish ancestors had a large estate outside Warsaw and inquired if we would love to see it. Maybe to live there?” The whole trip was an attempt to gain defection. For most of us who don’t remember a lot of details from those days, politics and espionage went hand in hand. As you can tell, she declined.

This wasn’t her only experience with the difficult situations raised through the intense espionage that was occurring. While in Warsaw, she attended a dinner at The Crocodile Restaurant. As she described the setting “One entered down a long flight of stairs into a smoky room -- it was just like a movie set. The room was filled not only with the usual patrons, but also with KGB that were watching for any inappropriate behavior such as speaking with any Americans! A man from a nearby table came nonchalantly towards this table of obviously American visitors. My friends and I were very concerned saying to each other ‘My gosh, doesn’t he know the KGB are watching and that we are American?’

The man leaned over the table with his cigarette and lit it in their table’s candle. ‘May I take the light from this Freedom Table?’ As he turns to leave, he begins humming the Underground’s Hymn Resistance – Pollonaise

by Oginsky.” She had never heard it before, and later discovered it was written by her own ancestor. Musicality definitely ran in this family for many, many generations.

The espionage was the saddest and hardest part of the role in Paris. She tells of one time “when Duke and I were at a party, and there was a lot of liquor. The Russian attaché was well into his cups and he and Duke began talking. Talking about nothing, just family, and songs they liked, that sort of thing. More liquor flowed.

The KGB approached their attaché and told him it was time for him to leave, but he waved them off. Ultimately the attaché left with the two KGB men holding his arms. Duke returned home to tell me this particular Russian attaché was suddenly discovered to have fatal tuberculosis and died just two days later.”

highly placed political personage in France and part of the India Air Attache. Her friend was fluent in Arabic, English, and French, and was very cultured. After an amazing Indian food dinner, which no one had experienced up until then, the dessert was being placed.

“But,” Virginia said, “it looked as though they had forgotten to remove the tin foil off the top! Not knowing exactly how to handle this faux pas, I looked at my friend, who said ‘oh, I am sorry! Please don’t be offended! Because of your rank, the covering should have been beaten gold instead of beaten silver.’” The metal was an honorific and was supposed to

could see. That was the path where he saw a beautiful young blonde girl playing ball with her mother…and wrote “Girl with the Flaxen Hair”. That is a wonderful, upbeat and happy piece. Now I could see where it came from inside him.” Then, to top it all off, as they entered the garden for dessert, her friend rang a little bell, at which the large French doors on the second floor of the house next door gracefully opened to their fullest. There stood Arthur Rubenstein! He was her friend’s next door neighbor, and as a favor especially for Virginia, he played the B flat Chopin Scherzo. He was the number one concert

EMBASSY ADVENTURES She stumbled into some fabulous experiences, as well. At one embassy party, President and Madame Coty (of Coty Perfume fame) thought that Virginia was Princess Grace. She has a lovely photograph of her shaking hands with them. That Virginia Kane meeting President & Madame Coty led to many comments from other Attache wives “Virginia, how can we get our pictures SHE PLAYED FOR ME, AND I CLOSED MY EYES AND ENTERED taken with him?” Another was A PLACE OF SERENITY AND BEAUTY. OH, TO BE ABLE TO DO that, before they left for Paris, THAT, TO HEAR THAT, AND TO LOVE THAT AS SHE DOES. Duke’s father had passed along a Cadillac – one of those huge, long, finned Cadillacs. The car made the provide health benefits. So, Virginia said “I draw of the day, and it was a blessing to see trip by ship and Virginia painted an amazing scooped some up and ate it!” and hear that. picture of her, looking like Princess Grace, The second story may be more meaningful in that giant Cadillac, cruising around the to her because of her musical heart. She RETURN TO THE USA streets of Paris! She said “Nobody ever asked and Duke were at a party held for all of the Duke and Virginia’s culture shock was me who I was, as they just jumped to open American attaché team. Her friend took immense when they left Hemingway’s Paris doors and bow!” How funny to think of this her aside and told her that the home had at and landed in…Montgomery, Alabama during beautiful humble lady smiling serenely as she one time been Debussy’s home. She allowed the Civil Rights Movement. After years in a waltzed past doormen!

Virginia to go into Debussy’s study where ALL settled culture, secure (somewhat, at least) to Two of her favorite party stories are: She of his music was composed and just quietly the upheaval being experienced in the United was at her Lebanese friend’s home for an sit. Virginia said “I could see out the window States was intense. It hit very close to home Embassy dinner. Her friend’s husband was a to a pathway (now a street) that Debussy also one day when their daughter, Kathleen, was T h e D o m i n i o n -M a g a z i n e . c o m

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Over time, they moved to Washington DC, Los Angeles, and back home to San Antonio.

Each location offered her opportunities to continue to learn and grow her joy of music from some of the most famous pianists and composers. She topped it all off with a Bachelor’s of Music from OLLU.

coming home via school bus. As Virginia recalls that day “The bus arrived and was filled with bullet holes from when it had passed through one of the very turbulent neighborhoods. Kathleen had been hidden under and behind the driver’s legs, and he told us that ‘She simply cannot continue to go to this school right now. It is too dangerous for all of us.’” From the Villa Montmorency to this experience was more dissonant than could be imagined.

One more story from the early years of their return to the US was due to Dr. Kane’s

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involvement in the space program for the US and Apollo 11. This put them in the center of the activity on the night of June 20, 1969. The Apollo 11 spacecraft was heading for the moon, and the engineers had gathered together to watch the television feeds. Virginia was approached by Dr. Getty, one of the leaders of the effort, who asked Virginia to join him at a piano to play “just the bass clef of the Moonlight Sonata while I play just the treble.”

Virginia missed the entire event because “He refused to let me move until the spacecraft had landed safely and he could relax a bit!”

AND TO THE DOMINION Twenty eight years ago, Duke and Virginia selected a lot in The Dominion, and began building their retirement home while they were still living abroad. Virginia relates that “I probably wouldn’t try to build a home from across the country again, but it worked out!”

They’ve lived in three homes in the Dominion, and many of you have been in them over the years at some of the many parties they have hosted or because of the piano lessons that Virginia has taught.

Virginia regaled me with wonderful stories of her students both here in the Dominion and elsewhere, and the wonderful parents that are the ones that make it all happen.

She spoke of David Robinson, his wife and children; George Strait and his children, her work with Bobby Sherman in Los Angeles, Lorne Green’s daughter and the fact that Duke worked alongside Lorne coming up with plot lines for Starship Galactica. She explains, “Lorne said they never thought the series would be renewed, so they didn’t have any good space stories! Well, Duke had a million and had a lot of fun crafting them.

Many, if not all of them ultimately were used in the series!” Some of her favorite student stories are very funny - “One student told me he wanted to learn to play “Taco Bell”. I could NOT figure out what he meant!” She asked him many questions “Is it a Spanish piece?” Finally she realized he wanted to learn Pachabel Canon in D. Pachabel/Taco Bell.

Sounds right to some of us. One student said “I wish to learn Beethoven’s “Pathetic Sonata”.

Even through all her questions, he remained resolute – “Yes, I am sure I want to play the “Pathetic”. “Oh gosh” Virginia relates – “it took me quite a while to figure out he wanted to play Beethoven’s Pathetique!”

She continues to musically touch people today. She recently listened to Doc Watson at Jazz Texas, she is on an Advisory Board for the International Keyboard Competition, and retains students today. All I know is that she played for me, and I closed my eyes and entered a place of serenity and beauty. Oh, to be able to do that, to hear that, and to love that as she does.

w w w. j i m b o l e s c o n s t . c o m

210.710.6441

Staff Profile

ALEX VILLARREAL This is Alex Villarreal, The Dominion Country Club’s Hair Stylist/Barber since 1985 – when the Club opened its doors to host the PGA Senior Golf Tournament.

There have been so many gracious, charming, and wonderful people pass through my chair, and with Arnold Palmer’s recent death, I was reminded of the first time I met him.

The first thing I said to him as I arranged the cape on him, was “Nice to meet you sir, I just started here and I do not play golf. However, you look very familiar to me. Aren’t you the Midas Man?” Mr. Palmer responded, “I do a little more than that, Alex.” I shook his hand and told him “Of course, I know who you are!”

We both laughed about it, and to this day it is a great memory for me. May he rest in peace.

He was definitely one-of-a-kind.

I have also been blessed to work with the King of Country, George Strait. The King of Comedy, Bob Hope. Don January, the winner of our first senior golf tournament, and many other golfers like Bruce Crampton, Chi-Chi Rodriguez, Billy Casper, Miller Barber, Jim Dent, Lee Trevino, Gary Player, and J.C Snead. The Dominion Country Club touches other sports figures, too, and I’ve had the pleasure of working with Larry Brown (when he was coaching the Spurs) and Roger “The Rocket” Clemens.

Today most of my clients are affiliated with the very best local businesses, such as USAA, HEB, Valero, Rudy’s Bar-B-Q, Ken Batchelor Cadillac and NuStar Energy, just to mention a few. These business leaders are instrumental in helping our great city by providing jobs and making substantial charitable donations that positively affect almost every part of our town.

I am proud to say that I have been providing my service to my clients for a long time and in some instances over more than three of their family’s generations. I love my craft and I am grateful to be of service.

I work only by appointment so that I can provide every man, woman and child my undivided attention.

I can be reached at (210) 273-7279. Office calls and house calls available. I look forward to seeing you in my chair soon!

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Dominion Golf

TITLEIST GOLF BALLS FREE PERSONALIZATION

DECEMBER

GOLF UPDATES

by Kyle O’Brien, pga director of golf at the dominion country club Every Member of the family will have the opportunity to participate in fun-filled instruction geared toward the new and novice golfer!

RSVP Today in the Golf Pro Shop 210-698-1146

TUESDAY

The Futures - 5:00 p.m. - 5:45 p.m.

Introduction to all aspects of the game, will include etiquette and rules. Join us for Burger Night after play!

THURSDAY

Girls, Giggles & GOLF - 8:15 a.m. - 9:00 a.m.

A special time for just the ladies to have a fun time learning about golf, followed by a 9 or 18 holes of golf for ladies play day!

FRIDAY

TGIF - 5:00 p.m. - 5:45 p.m.

Join us for some casual private instruction and additional FUN events on the driving range or practice green!

SATURDAY

Walk the Line - 10:00 a.m. - 10:45 a.m.

Join us on the Practice Range or Putting Green for tips on every aspect of your game.

Girls, Giggles and Golf - 11:00 a.m. - 11:45 a.m.

A special time for just the ladies to have a FUN time learning about golf!

The Futures - 1:00 p.m. - 1:45 p.m.

For our Junior Golfers! Introduction to all aspects of the game, will include etiquette and rules.

SUNDAY

Family Fun Day - 3:30 p.m. - 4:15 p.m.

Fun golf instruction for the entire family! Tee times will be available on the course after the clinic.

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All orders place by December 5th are GUARANTEED to be here by Christmas!

Titleist is ringing in the holiday season early this year with a great way to personalize your own Titleist golf ball or to add a personal touch to the #1 Gift in Golf. Now through the end of the year, Titleist is offering FREE personalization on all Titleist golf ball orders of 4 dozen or more.

That’s right, from Nov. 1 to Dec. 31, 2016, personalization charges will be waived on all orders of Titleist Pro V1, Pro V1x, NXT Tour, NXT TourS, Velocity and DT TruSoft golf balls. This includes custom orders of Pro V1 and Pro V1x with double-digit play numbers (00 and 10-99).

12 DAYS OF CHRISTMAS SALE Starting on December 7th running through December 18th The Golf Shop will have a different sale every single day! Ranging from Lesson Packages to various markdowns on specific items!

THE 2016 RAFFLE CART IS HERE!!!

Come see it displayed by the putting green and it can be yours...

ONLY 150 TICKETS WILL BE SOLD Purchase a raffle ticket from the Golf Shop today for your chance to win one of three great prizes! Tickets are $100 each and only 150 tickets will be sold!

The Grand Prize Winner will drive away with a brand new EZGO golf cart, with the choice of custom seat colors, custom rims and choice of color for the side curtain and club enclosure, valued at $10,500!

Raffle Drawing on or before December 23, 2016, dependent on ticket sales.

Don’t wait - purchase your ticket today!

2016 Women’s

Club Championship CHAMPIONSHIP FLIGHT RESULTS (18-HOLERS)

Gross Net Karen Steingart 180 148 Tammy Landeen 182 158 Nancy O'Neill 192 150 1ST NET Sunny Won Loy Thompson Claire Poutra Michelle Alsup Katy Garcia Jennifer Poirier

202 210 212 217 227 243

158 158 168 167 153 173

Kathy Garcia

9 HOLE DIVISION Net Cookie Belinsky 78 1ST NET Ashley DeVane 2ND NET Laura Flores Yvette Haby

79 Cookie Belinsky 80 88

Thank you to all of this year's participants and a special congratulations to all of our winners. We hope to see you again next year!!

Ashley DeVane

DEMODAY On the RANGE

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Dominion Tennis

ELF LOUISE

by Barry Mills, DOMINION TENNIS DIRECTOR The amazing Tennis staff at the Dominion Country Club has long supported San Antonio’s ELF LOUISE charity. This year, Coach Barry has invited all the top pros in San Antonio to give an hour long clinic to all participants. Following the clinic, the pros will play some fun doubles with all players, and the day will finish with a luncheon at the Club.

This event has provided a substantial level of support for Elf Louise. As Coach Barry puts it “Over the last 14 years this event has donated over 1500 gifts and over $3500 to this very worthy cause. Kids all over San Antonio have benefited from our work here.”

He continues: "This is such a great event with participation from all of our local San Antonio pros. Fair Oaks, Sonterra, San Antonio Country Club, Oak Hills, and Whispering Oaks to mention a few. Elf Louise serves such a great purpose, and it is easy to participate – simply bring any unwrapped gift to our Tennis Centre and put it under the tree! Over the years, so many, if not all, of our great members and homeowners have put gifts under the tree regardless of if they actually participate in the Elf Louise event or not. I see this as our Tennis Club’s signature event every year. My own family has benefitted because I have been able to teach all my children the value of giving as we go down to the "Grotto" and pick then wrap presents for children who otherwise would not be getting a visit from Father Christmas."

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CHRISTMAS JUNIOR CAMPS

We will have all our great pros and some returning college players to work with your children in the days preceding and following the holidays. Call the Tennis Centre to reserve your place.

December 19-22, Monday - Thursday.

December 26-29, Monday - Thursday.

TENNIS LESSON SPECIALS FOR HOLIDAY GIFTS

Our Pros are offering lesson specials! Call Barry, Dan, Dave, Raj, Thomas or JJ and arrange this great gift for your friends and family. Buy 4 and get the 5th for free!! (20% discount) Have a Happy and Safe Holiday Season from all of us at the Tennis Centre.

Thank you for all your support throughout 2016.

Happy New Year 2017!

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Charities

FOR GIVING

CATTLE BARON’S GALA 2016 The American Cancer Society held its 38th annual Cattle Baron’s Gala on October 8, 2016 at Estancia at Thunder Valley. The event raised a record breaking $1.1 Million for the American Cancer Society’s local services that they provide every day to cancer patients. These funds will help fund local programs such as transportation for patients to treatment, vital resources and information, free wigs and emotional support and dollars to fund research grants right here in San Antonio.

The event was co-chaired by members of the Methodist Healthcare System Leadership headed up by CEO Jaime Wesolowski and his wife, Lori, who reside in the Dominion. Award winning recording artist Little Big Town wowed the sold out crowd of over 1300 people. The opening act was Dominion resident and recording artist Bret Mullins.

Catered by Don Strange of Texas, this event was the most successful Cattle Baron’s in its 38-year history. This success was attributed to many things, but the Live Auction, chaired by Bob and Peggy Wills, also Dominion residents, raised over $234,000 -- the largest live auction recorded since this event’s inception!

Jaime Wesolowski holding microphone standing in front of the 2016 Cattle Baron’s Gala Committee.

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“Little Big Town” recording artists (CBG 2016 entertainment) with Lori and Jaime Wesolowski (2016 CBG Chairpersons)

COVERS FOR LOVE

By Marlo Mullins, Dominion Resident

Christmas Day in 2003 was a big day in Marlo Mullins’ world – it was the first time she headed to downtown San Antonio to hand out blankets to our city’s homeless folks. She had rounded up forty blankets with her own money and was blessed by the difference such a small effort made for the people who received them.

In the ensuing 13 years, she has raised funds by hand-crafting ornaments and jewelry, and dedicating a portion of her income from real estate to Cover's For Love (CFL). As the years have passed, CFL has also been generously supported by many amazing people who have donated anonymously to purchase brand new blankets.

In 2016, the majority of CFL blankets were donated to Roy Maas Youth Alternatives and the San Antonio Children Shelter. If it follows the path set by 2015, more than 10,600 blankets will be shared with those who need them.

If you would like to donate any NEW, UNUSED, blankets, please deliver them to the SA Portfolio offices next to the HOA office. They have graciously offered to be a drop off for this year’s effort. If you would prefer to donate money, please contact Marlo Mullins at marlo.mullins@gmail.com or 210-883-8468 with donations and contact info.

Volunteers receiving blankets for Roy Maas Youth Alternatives

BLUE SANTA

Marlo Mullins (founder CFL)

Bret Mullins

By Sgt. David Pruitt, Photos courtesy of the Blue Santa program

The time of year has arrived in which each of us is provided an opportunity to make certain that an underprivileged child in San Antonio has, at a minimum, one great day in 2016. Our cups may well runneth over, but all of our blessings pale when compared to the sight of a child’s smile and bright eyes when given the only gifts he or she will receive the entire year.

During my twenty-three years as a police officer I have had the opportunity to participate in the San Antonio Police Department’s Blue Santa program and I have been asked to write a few words to tell you what it is, how it works, and maybe help you find a place to contribute your time and/or money.

The Blue Santa program started in the early 1990’s as a means to provide gifts to underprivileged children within the San Antonio city limits. Initially, the families in need were identified by police officers who became aware of families with exceptional needs throughout the year. During the holiday season officers would solicit donations in the form of unwrapped gifts from various resources then deliver them prior to Christmas morning.

Over the years the program has grown exponentially. Citizens can anonymously nominate families and the program now accepts cash donations and “shoppers” are dispatched to buy the gifts. The program also has many volunteers who wrap presents. Hundreds of families and thousands of kids each year are treated to a fantastic Christmas morning.

There are six police substations throughout San Antonio and your donations will stay within the service area of the substation in which you donate. The closest substation to The Dominion is located at 7020 Prue Road. There are no administrative costs or overhead expenses associated with the Blue Santa program, so every penny is spent on gifts and every gift is delivered.

If you would like to donate please bring unwrapped gift(s) to a police substation appropriate for ages 1-12. Dolls, board games, bicycles, tricycles, and teddy bears are all accepted. If you would like to make a cash donation or get involved you may contact Officer Noel Mercado at the Prue Road substation by calling (210) 207-7169.

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SIMPLY DIVINE Jewelry with a Texas attitude

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BUSINESS PROFILE: DOMINION RIDGE A Shopping Oasis Near The Dominion

by IAN PIERCE, Vice President of Communications

Dominion Ridge Shopping Center visitors find themselves charmed by beautiful buildings set within an oasis of ancient trees.

Beyond its beautiful setting, Dominion Ridge offers a curated collection of shops, services and restaurants designed for, and often operated by, residents of The Dominion.

Dominion Ridge is located at IH-10 West and Dominion Drive. Come meet Santa and his elf (and his photographer!) on Saturday, December 3, from 1- 5 p.m.

Learn more at www.dominionridgesa.com Dominion Ridge offers stellar dining options. Starting literally at the top, Silo Terrace Oyster Bar offers contemporary American seafood. The Dominion Ridge location showcases Silo’s trademark “elevated” concept with a second-story location and rooftop-terrace dining overlooking The Dominion.

Aldaco’s Mexican Cuisine is a San Antonio institution serving fresh Mexican cuisine, handcrafted cocktails and more. Aldaco’s has private rooms (perfect for holiday gettogethers) and a patio under a 300-year-old tree. Aldaco’s is truly a part of The Dominion community, owner Blanca Aldaco says. “We love getting involved in Taste of Dominion, Parade of Homes, Pet Rescue and other local events.”

For an authentic Italian experience, Di Frabo Ristorante features imported Italian ingredients and locally grown produce, complemented by French Sommelier and mixologist, David Ulysse Bodden, and Italian Executive chef, Paolo Mascio.

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With a family-friendly atmosphere, Posh Sushi offers Japanese cuisine and international delicacies made with skill and a passion for excellence.

Cüppencake gives locals the perfect espresso bar and bakery lounge, owned by fellow Dominion residents, Pastry Chef Monica Correa and her mother, Ligia Aguilar.

They go above and beyond to create a warm, cozy environment.

Dominion Ridge is a great place for holiday (and everyday!) shopping, thanks to retail concepts that include: iRun is a local running and walking store offering all the major brands of running shoes, apparel and accessories, as well as nutrition and training classes. iRun’s Mitch Allen says, “We offer custom fitting by a staff with 200 years total of running experience. We’re part of the community, with weekly social runs and local training classes, from beginner to marathon.” iRun also plans a special holiday run in the neighborhood.

Toy Zone is a family owned and operated store with more than 3,000 unique toys from around the world. The staff is ready, just like Santa, to recommend the perfect toy based on your child’s age and interests.

Moda Bebe boutique is a unique children’s clothing store that offers trendy, fashionable looks and casual brands for ages newborn to sixteen. Moda Bebe’s experienced sales staff prides themselves on customer service. The boutique is known for its presence at area women’s forums, and it offers special pricing for Dominion residents.

Dominion Ridge also offers the best in services, including: NEVA Face and Body is an award-winning day spa specializing in results-oriented skincare, therapeutic massage and specialty pregnancy spa services. Check out NEVA’S “Daily Deals” Tuesday through Friday.

Owner/operator Neva Fernandez says, “Our philosophy is about building relationships with our clients in order to help them with their skincare and chronic pain needs ” Don’t miss NEVA’s SPA-liday Party on December 6th, where you’ll find door prizes, small bites, service specials and all products and gift cards for 25% off for one night only!

Blo is North America’s original blow dry bar. No cuts, no color: Just wash, blo, go.

“We offer women a red carpet look at an affordable price,” says owner Athena Boyd.

“The best part is that you’re not cheating on your hairdresser. Oh, and we’re open 7 days a week.”

Salons by JC is a Texas-based salon suite concept offering the ultimate salon experience for operators and customers.

Salons by JC features rooms for all types of beauty services.

Altesse Nail Spa offers a high-quality nail salon experience based on service, serenity and relaxation.

Dominion Ridge Dentistry offers dental care that is comprehensive and affordable.

The practice accepts most PPO insurances and offers a Patient Loyalty Program for patients without dental insurance. For the holidays, the practice offers $500 off Invisalign or ClearCorrect orthodontic treatment during December.

Office space users at Dominion Ridge include: Werkplaats Elite Business Suites is a 24/7 facility offering virtual and residential services to new and tenured business owners.

Werkplaats offers packages that include printing, scanning, faxing, a break room and even a receptionist. Werkplaats is truly local, with Dominion residents including its owner and 40 percent of its members.

First American Title offers comprehensive title insurance protection and professional settlement services for homebuyers and sellers, real estate agents and brokers, mortgage lenders and others to facilitate real estate purchases, construction, refinances or equity loans.

Cordillera Ranch Real Estate EXPERTS 107 Greystone Circle: $2,900,000 7 bedrooms, 8 baths, 2 half baths 8,362 sq. ft., lot size 5.08 acres

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116 Sendero Ridge: $2,590,000 4 bedrooms, 4 baths, 1 half bath 5,581 sq. ft., lot size 13.38 acres

27 Sunriver: $2,295,000

30 Mayacama: $2,295,000

210 Greystone Cr.: $875,000

5 bedrooms, 6 baths, 2 half baths 7,060 sq. ft., lot size 2.11 acres

4 bedrooms, 4 baths, 2 half baths 6188 sq. ft., lot size 1.25 acres

3 bedrooms, 3 baths, 1 half baths 3,817 sq. ft., lot size 3.59 acres

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Home Tour

A HOME

of Favorites

BY PEGGY SCHOOLEY

David and Lisa Ray have owned their home for almost eight years, but their relationship with The Dominion is much longer, and deeper, than that. As Lisa recounts “When I was in high school, my friend’s family belonged to the Club, and I joined her at the pool many times. I always knew that this neighborhood was where I wanted to be.

When it was time for our wedding pictures, we somehow finagled the Club to allow us in for the photo shoot! We’re still not sure how we managed that!” Additionally, in David’s case, he had a golf membership and lived in the community many years ago, and couldn’t wait to rejoin The Dominion when

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they returned after 18 years in Denver.

Their Tuscan flavored “French Eclectic” home was built by Steve Heflin about five years prior to their purchase. As David describes his favorite “room”, he said “It is hard to pick just one, but I would have to settle on the garage. It is oversized, it is the one room that is always clean and my cars just look good in there. Coming in at a close second is the wine cellar!” Lisa’s favorites were equally hard for her to pin down. Her response?

“Well, I love my kitchen. And my pantry. In fact, the whole first floor! Wait! My real favorite is the small breakfast patio next to the kitchen. We have breakfast and coffee out

there on many mornings, and we get to enjoy our next-door neighbor’s beautiful gardens!”

As you review the photos of this gorgeous home, we can all see why a single choice of ‘favorite’ would be impossible.

David and Lisa have two sons. Kevin is at UT Austin seeking a finance degree with a 2017 graduation date, and Charles is at UTSA with a focus on Architecture.

David is a past Treasurer of the Home Owner’s Association, a position he filled for about two and a half years. He shared that this experience provided him with a lot of insight into the community, and “I walked away from that role feeling and knowing that the people

who run the overall community and the HOA care deeply. They were always careful to be sure the resources were in place to keep the high standards.” He continued by saying “The whole of The Dominion should take a lot of comfort from those folks who are dedicated to the community and who work very hard to make sure this area remains the premiere neighborhood in the city. Every issue was always thoroughly discussed, thought out and handled with great care.”

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by Marlene Neslund, Dominion Resident

Our Souls at Night, a posthumously published novel, tells the story of how a small town widow finds companionship and happiness. Kent Haruf’s last story opens with an evening visit from Addie Moore, 70 and a widow, to her neighbor Louis Waters, a widower of the same vintage. Addie makes a bold suggestion that they spend the nights together in bed, sans sex, to escape their crippling loneliness. As the novel progresses, we hear their stories: the recollections of these two decent characters take up almost half of the book.

We hear of the tragic death of a young child, a serious extramarital affair, of flawed marriages and distant offspring.

About a third through the novel, when their quiet pattern of romance is purring along, Addie’s fragile grandson, 6 year old Jamie, comes to live with her while his parents work on their troubled marriage. Scenes of Addie and Louis helping this broken child heal are charming and tender - learning how to play ball, picking out a rescue dog, camping, enjoying the town parade in the rain and going to the county fair and rodeo.

Haruf has some fun in his last work. All five of his novels involve the people of Holt, Colorado, a fictional town. Addie and Louis

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talk about a Colorado novelist who writes books about Holt County. “He could write a book about us.” Addie says. “I don’t want to be in any book!”, responds Louis.

The quotations marks above are mine.

Haruf’s lack of quotation marks in this book allows one to feel more of an eavesdropper than a reader. His characters are plain spoken. Their dialogue lacks clichés and is filled with authentic sentiment but falls short of sentimentality. The author composes his story with plain, simple sentences made up of plain, simple words. But the cumulative effect is deep and reverent. Louis says, “I just want to live simply and pay attention to what’s happening each day.” A worthy goal for all. Perhaps in giving all the small, simple details of a scene, Haruf hopes to evoke in us an attitude of gratitude for all the incidentals that make life good.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR Kent Haruf pulled down a wool cap over his eyes when he sat down at his manual typewriter each morning. He wanted to “write blind”, fully immersing himself in the fictitious small town in Eastern Colorado where he set a series of quiet, acclaimed novels, including Plainsong. This 1999 best seller won him the National Book Award and was made into a TV movie in 2004.

Mr. Haruf wrote a chapter a day of Our Souls at Night in a prefabricated shed in the backyard of his home in Salida, Colorado, where he died at 71 in November, 2014. There is talk that this novel will also be made into a movie, starring Robert Redford and Jane Fonda which is something to look forward to.

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DAAG and their members aspire to raise awareness of animals in need.

DAAGers do this in so many ways. They foster, adopt, rescue, spay & neuter, and sometimes even have a little fun.

Thank you DAAGer Patricia Mitchell and her husband Dan for hosting a lovely social on September 22nd and to all of the DAAG member for putting on a great Howl-o-ween event and to all residents who attended.

This year’s pet costume party was the best one yet!

Please remember that DAAG has lots of cats and kittens up for adoption. Please contact DAAG at 210-854-8055 or daagadoptions@ gmail.com if you might be interested in adopting or fostering a cat.

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Dominion Travels

BIG BEND ADVENTURE

by VALERIE KATZ, dominion resident

The annual Women's Forum Gala committee here at The Dominion brought us all together. We worked diligently for over six months to make the "Diamonds and Pearls" evening a memorable event. As we debriefed afterwards and realized how much we enjoyed each other, we decided we didn't want to see the end of the event as the end of our relationship, but the beginning. Who could forget the "ironing" committee that ironed what seemed like hundreds of tablecloths or the glitter that we carried home on our clothes and are still finding in our closets? I suggested a "ladies trip" with this group and, after many venues were suggested, several of us agreed to join in and we decided to visit Big Bend.

As it turned out, 2016 is the Centennial year for our National Parks. Big Bend National Park is considered one of the top five parks to visit and one of the top five parks in size, at approximately 800,000 acres. It is contiguous to Big Bend State Park which is about 400,000 acres. They are about 472 miles away, depending on which way you enter the park. One of our very own residents here, Mary Bomar, was the head of all of the National Parks and she put us in touch with the superintendent of Big Bend, Ms. Ot-Jones, who sent us tons of information about the park and helped shape our trip choices.

Of course, planning this trip took continued committee meetings and, in our established tradition of lots of wine and lots of opinions, we decided to give ourselves 5 days and 4 nights to experience the area. Big Bend offers many types of lodging from log cabins to four-star rated resorts like Lajitas Golf 70

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Resort in Terlingua (home to the very famous Chili Cook-Off). Lajitas offers two bedroom suites that could accommodate our group for evening socializing, so we snagged the last two suites six months before our departure.

We spread out our Texas map and decided that there were three other must-see towns in the area: Marfa, Alpine, and Marathon. It was agreed that after two nights in Terlingua, we might need a little shopping time and "big city" fun, so we included them.

Hotel reservations made, dinners mostly set, and tours booked, Big Bend here we come!

We weren't really sure what we were going to see or do, but we were together and knew we would have fun! I rented a Dodge van and Catrina Kendrick drove her Hummer. Both cars were packed with full ice chests, breakfast bags, and a lovely picnic lunch and we were off! IH10 gets more beautiful as you drive west, where the plateaus emerge with layers of time being visible, looking like no other place on the planet.

I checked with "Siri" and found the James Rooney Memorial Park, just outside of Ft. Stockton, where, beside a babbling brook, we found facilities to enjoy our delicious picnic and some of the vino we brought.

We regrouped, traded passengers and cars, and were back on our way.

We entered Big Bend at the visitor’s center at Persimmon Gap, run by the National Park Service.

The next stop was Lajitas, a little over 50 miles more. We could already see that the park was a very special place and we were already thinking of questions to ask our guides the following day. After winding down in our suites, we enjoyed a lovely dinner at the resort, some listened to music by the fire, and we were ready for our adventure the next day.

Our tour company was close by and we left in the morning with two jeeps and three guides. Although the tour was seven hours, it was a "highlight" tour, as one cannot see all of these spectacular venues in a few short hours or days. Our guides taught us about the history and the wonderful flora and fauna in the area and showed us examples in several short stops and hikes. There are pictographs in Big Bend near the Chimneys and the Hot Springs that are from the 1500s to the 1800s and many hiking trails, but our schedule did not permit us the time to experience those. The views are incredible and often

Jan Joachim, Valerie Katy, Kathryn McCall, Catrina Kendrick, Sandy Marquez, Marilyn Farello you are looking directly into Mexico. The elevations range from over 1700 feet to nearly 7500 feet. The landscapes were all formed from volcanoes or earthquakes and there is evidence that dinosaurs roamed the area.

Our guides were most interesting, former IT people who decided they wanted to chuck it all and be near nature, giving up their former lives without looking back. They were very well-versed about the park and made it a memorable tour.

That evening we visited a ghost town in Terlingua with a fantastic restaurant, the Starlite, where you can watch the sun play tricks on the mountains as the light hits and the colors change. We were lucky enough to have a harvest moon, making the scene more fantastic. This area was a former "quicksilver" (mercury) mining area that took its toll on the ecosystem and those who mined it, but the history of those times are all around.

The next day we embarked upon our float trip down the Rio Grande. We were all surprised to see the change in landscape; it was much more verdant and lush as we crossed into the Texas State Park of Big Bend, which is half the size of the National Park and with its own special beauty. Our guide, Mike, also a former IT man, guides there and around the country. It was a three hour boat trip where striking canyons were on the Mexican side across from lovely green banks on the other. It is a beautiful sight and the setting for the John Ford movie with John Wayne, "Rio Grande". My son found a clip from the movie that was the exact place we floated. We all remarked that this place looked like something out of a thousand westerns we had seen.

We then headed to Alpine (pop. 6,054) and the Holland Hotel, built on the site that Holland's daughter was killed and thought to be haunted. One of the ladies in our group, Catrina Kendrick, had done some of the redecorating in the hotel and the western flavor was wonderful. It is located across the street from a train station that has trains passing 24/7, waking us during the night with the loudest whistle you ever heard. It is close to the McDonald Observatory, an astronomical observatory located near Fort Davis. We regretted that we did not have time to visit there, but we did enjoy the interesting shopping and people watching in Alpine. We were in Marathon for dinner at the famous Gage hotel, forty minutes east. The hotel restaurant, the 12 Gauge, has a new chef who had some very creative and delicious dishes, including a fried chicken dish that several in our group raved about. The Gage Hotel is definitely the highlight in Marathon (pop.

430), billed as "the most peaceful, serene community under one of the darkest, starriest skies in the country".

Our final night was spent in the Hotel Paisano, a little over an hour west in the burgeoning world class art center of Marfa. This hotel is where Rock Hudson, Elizabeth Taylor, Dennis Hopper, and James Dean stayed while making the movie, "Giant". Dean's suite has been kept intact; some of our group stayed in the Dennis Hopper suite, overlooking the beautiful pool, and just across from Elizabeth Taylor's suites. Some of the scenes in the movie were actually filmed in the lobby of this beautiful hotel.

Alert! If you come to this area, keep in mind that many places are closed Monday and Tuesday, and some even on Wednesday, and we missed out on a lot of gallery visits because of the time of the week. Marfa is known for the naturally occurring "ghost lights", but art is the center of life for many people who live there. There is a new hotel, Hotel St. George and its architecture was inspired by the clean lines of Donald Judd, creator of the Chinati Foundation. I would highly recommend visiting or enjoying a meal at the hotel and taking a peek into the dining room where you will see some very collectible and beautiful contemporary art. The manager of the bookstore in the hotel was gracious in explaining the art and the artists whose work he had for sale.

Three of us stayed in town the next morning to visit Judd's Chinati Foundation, where his free-standing floor pieces and horizontal wall works are housed in a former military base. It also features other contemporary artists and once a year has a festival that houses artistin-residence openings and special exhibits.

Although an unusual place, the more you understand how Judd was trying to teach that art and nature can work together, the more his works come to life. He calls upon nature with his clean lines of rectangles that, as the sun or the light hits them, take on new colors and changes.

As I left on Wednesday for our six hour drive home, I felt at peace, surrounded by wonderful Dominion friends, and with a greater respect for Texas and Texans. We live in a great community and a great state!

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AT DOMINION Brought to you by Alizon McBride

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The Dominion Homeowners Association 20 Dominion Drive San Antonio, TX 78257

PRSRT STD U.S. POSTAGE PAID FULTON, MO PERMIT #38