Sometimes it feels like Seguin is at the center of the world, and everything else revolves around or ties back to it. For example, it’s common nowadays to see San Antonio area news stations reporting on our local stories (and growth) while labeling us one of their area communities or a suburb. This bothers me.
Seguin is such a unique and diverse community, and to see its individuality stripped away like that highlights why this magazine is so special –– we are this community’s storytellers.
Humanity has always held stories in a place of the utmost importance. People started telling them around campfires, and now we post them on Instagram reels and email newsletters. We watch television, read books, and listen to podcasts because humans are nosey, and we want to know the tea. But that’s because stories are a part of us. They inform who we are and where we are going. Stories can be fun or educational, and we need them as much now as we ever have.
As the area grows, Seguin Today remains committed to capturing the most authentic stories we can and sharing all aspects of our community because at the end of the day –– we love Seguin.
So while San Antonio creeps into our coverage area, what once bothered me, is now just another indicator that we are getting noticed, and it’s our time to shine.
Lizz Daniels Creative DirectorSEGIN SPACE INVASION
Showcase Seguin trade show brings together local businesses and the community for space-themed fun
BLUE’S CLUES LEAD TO TLU
TLU brings the wider world to Seguin via the Brown Cultural Enrichment Fund
COMMUNITY CALENDAR
Community events & special promotions happening in the area this month. Plus an all new crossword puzzle
DIY: RECIPE TO TRY
A meatless meal that’s perfect for Lent
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT
If you’ve ever looked up into the night sky from the outskirts of Seguin, you know Guadalupe county has some pretty good stars. On a clear night, the big dipper, Orion, and other familiar constellations are easily visible to the naked eye. And if you get lucky, you might just glimpse something unexplainable.
The night sky and all its mysteries inspired this year’s Seguin Showcase, held Thursday, February 9, at the Seguin Coliseum. The event brought together area businesses to connect with the community and each other. Seguin Chamber of Commerce Membership Coordinator Maria Castilleja helped organize the event.
“A lot of this is a big committee effort, of course,” Castilleja said. “I think my part of it is just loving the ideas, and going along. I’ve never even been out of this world so I’m pretty excited that I’m in it. I think the best part is, for example, today somebody wanted to join as a member, set up a booth today, and we did that.”
Space monsters, Jedi, aliens, and astronauts roamed the coliseum floors enjoying the entertainment and signing up for giveaways at the different tables. Kids played Rock ‘Em Sock ‘Em Robots at one booth while nearby Han Solo stood frozen in carbonite, mocked by Darth Vader –– who stylishly wore a blazer.
Castilleja said the showcase offers a unique opportunity for businesses that would typically not cross paths to network with each other while also connected with the larger Seguin community.
“There are chiropractors here, there are people from banks, people who are doing digital lighting, so just knowing their services and what is offered in our community, you don’t have to go fifty miles –– a hundred miles out –– I love it,” Castilleja said.
One of those chiropractors was Dr. Brent Johnson from Pecan Country Chiropractic who was happy to share a little about his practice.
“I’m an associate chiropractor at Pecan Country Chiropractice. We focus on corrective care as opposed the lay them down, rack and crack them,” he said. “We take films on everybody so we know exactly what we’re doing. We’re able to find the underlying cause of people’s problems and correct them so they don’t just get a quick fix –– their problems don’t come back. And that’s our goal. We’ve met a lot of people [at the event] who have been wanting chiropractic care, or are looking for it, but haven’t taken that first step. A lot of people are scared to take that first step, and it’s understandable.”
Story & photos by Lizz Daniels
Dr. Johnson said many people could benefit from chiropractic care, even for general bodily maintenance. However, he said many of their patients come in for more chronic issues.
“We get a lot of people with migraine headaches,” he said. “Another one is hip issues, and then lower back pain –– that’s kind of our bread and butter.”
Healthcare is big in Seguin, and many local health-oriented businesses were in attendance, including GRMC, and PAM Health at Home.
Many other local industries were represented among the booths as well, including manufacturing, news, and other media.
Chris Larson of Blue Horizon was dressed in a yellow Star Trek uniform as he interacted with other event-goers.
“We knew everybody was going to do Star Wars,” he said. “So we decided Trek because, as you know, there’s been no Star Trek stuff so far. My dad was a Trekky, so we grew up and I watched all of it with him and the fact that I’m a bald guy really helps because the main character from Next Generation was a bald captain.”
Star Trek has proven to fans many times over the years that episodic storytelling works, but the reason for that is the story at the core. And Larson says he knows how to apply the human affinity for stories to his professional work.
“I partner with one of my best friends Kevin, and he has a company that he runs the websites and logos,” Larson said. “I tell everybody’s story in a way that they probably don’t know how so they can run their business and focus on what they know, and I’m going to connect it to people in a way that they maybe don’t know how to put it in two to three sentences.”
-Chris Larson-
Larson’s Blue Horizon media recently produced a promotional video for the city of Seguin. If you’re on social media or have visited the city website, you’ve probably seen the video, which is packed full of sweeping, cinematic drone shots of Seguin. Local connection powered the inspiration behind the project.
“We want to stay very local,” Larson said. “Typically, companies like us are in Ohio or Kansas City, and every bit of it over email. We are in your office. We’re sitting there with you across the table, meeting you for coffee, and we desire that when Seguin businesses are lifted up, and the story is told, we helped hold the pin.”
With the event theme being Space Odyssey, people went all in with their costumes just like Chris, but one burning question remained –– With all those aliens in Seguin, what’s really going on out there in space? Dr. Brent Johnson had some thoughts.
“I’ve never seen any aliens,” he said. “But to assume that we’re the only life out there –– especially with the new James Webb Space Telescope –– we can see all of these other stars and galaxies millions and billions of lightyears away –– to think that’s a whole galaxy, but we’re the only ones...I just don’t think it’s true.”
While there are millions of stars out there with limitless possibilities for life, one thing is for sure ––the brightest stars are all right here in Seguin, and so are some pretty out-of-this-world businesses. •
In 1996, creativity and children’s programming collided, bringing a show to television that would define a generation – that show was Blue’s Clues.
Each morning, kids would gather around the TV in their pajamas and hang out with their friend Steve as he went about his life in an animated house with his cartoon dog, Blue. Steve Burns left Blue’s Clues in 2002, and other friends have filled his place since then, but for those that watched him growing up, he is the ‘real’ host of Blue’s Clues and nothing short of an icon.
Recently, Texas Lutheran University added the actor and musician to its lineup of celebrities it has brought to campus as part of the Jessie S. and Jack Harold Upton Brown Cultural Enrichment Fund. During Steve Burns’ visit, a small group of students participated in a round table discussion with the actor. Senior Devin Castillo was one of the lucky participants.
“Blue’s Clues was very much a
show that brought me joy and brought my family joy,” she said. “It was routine that I would get up, and I’d be in my pj’s; I had messy curls in the morning, and I remember deliberately getting up and putting on Blue’s Clues and watching Steve. It was always a lot of fun for me as a kid because it’s a kid’s show, so it was meant for me, but my family even got into it. The mail song would come on, and my grandfather, who is very much like ‘I do the yard work and I cook and clean,’ would take a moment to sing the song with me and do the little dance –– like he would pretend to wag his tail.”
Castillo went all in with her outfit inspiration for the big event with a Blue’s Clues mini-backpack paired perfectly with khakis and a striped shirt –– just like Steve used to wear when visiting her house each day. But as excited as his daily visits made Castillo as a child, it paled compared to the excitement she experienced when learning he was coming to her university campus.
“When we found out that Steve was coming, I was here for another speaker, and they announced it, and my friend was right next to me, and we instantly gripped each other’s knees and were like, ‘did we just hear that?’” Castillo said. “So the anticipation was building, the excitement hit as soon as that announcement came, and to know that our school provided something like this –– I mean like financially, one that’s just amazing and two, the meaning behind it is also a lot. I talked with some of the people that helped coordinate bringing Steve, and to know that they think about what students resonate with and what is meaningful to them, is something I really appreciate.”
Burn’s visit to the campus was orchestrated in part by TLU Director of Marketing & Communications Ashlie Ford, who explained how it all came together.
“The Brown Cultural Enrichment Fund is an endowment that was established in 2005 by Jessie S. and Jack Harold Upton Brown to enrich the arts, sciences, and culture at TLU,” Ford said. “The Browns wanted the university to be able to bring guest speakers and performances of notoriety to campus to not only enhance the experience for our students and the Seguin area, but to also elevate the university’s reputation. Making sure these events are free and open to the public are key to the purpose of the endowment. The university is a wonderful resource for the greater Guadalupe County area and TLU’s role as an institution of higher learning is to offer a variety of events about timely topics for Seguin residents. TLU is a community partner and we value our home and the people who live here greatly.”
Past guests to visit TLU include Olympians Laurie Hernandez, Abby Wambach, the Hiplet Ballerinas and many more. Funding for these enrichment opportunities come from the Brown Cultuural Enrichment Fund. Photos courtesy TLU Facebook page.
The excitement hit as soon as that announcement came, and to know that our school provided something like this – that’s amazing.
- Devin Castillo -
Reserve Grand Champion Turkey - Brooke Reininger, New Berlin 4-H
Grand Champion Steer - Karlie Schneider, Marion FFA
Grand Champion Pig - Hadley Mote, Marion FFA
Grand Champion Lamb - Wil Schulz, Seguin FFA
Grand Champion Goat - Jazmine Missildine, Shooting Sports
Grand Champion Turkey - Coleson Mooney, New Berling 4-H
Reserve Grand Champion Steer - Bentley Wells, New Berlin 4-H
Reserve Grand Champion Pig - Ryan Rust, Navarro FFA
Reserve Grand Champion Lamb - Kambrie Boeder, Navarro FFA
Reserve Grand Champion Goat - Railee Childs, Kingsbury 4-H
Seguin Chevrolet
Rush Enterprises
Guadalupe Valley Pecan
Classic H-E-B
Buck Fever
Caterpillar
Williams Pipe and Supply Company
Wright Oilfield Services LLC
Allan Dreibrodt Memorial Fund
John Kuempel
Marion State Bank
Fred Goerke Memorial
Photos courtesy Dylan Voyles, livestockphoto.comGuadalupe Valley Pecan Classic
Wade Busby Memorial
Ann & Bethany Bertling and Tristan Gonzalez Fund
BAR-Y Backing Ag Raising Youth
Sweet Savanna Hog Wild
Allan Dreibrodt Memorial Fund
H-E-B
Navarro Ag Boosters
R&D Custom Builders, LLC
Williams Pipe & Supply
Producers Co-op
Marion State Bank
John Kuempel
Blake Bertling Equipment Rental
Guadalupe County Farm Bureau
80/20 Fund
Mondin Farms
SACC Utility
Seguin Chevrolet
Mandrill Energy Solutions
D&D Texas Outfitters
First United Bank
Wright Oilfield Service LLC
M & S Engineering LLC
Creek View Veterinary Clinic
Caterpillar
Jon Wayne Heating & Air
Quarter Moon Plumbing AC & Heating
CMC Steel Texas
Grand Chamption & Reserve Grand Champion Chicken Presley Just, Navarro 4-H
Grand Champion Ag Mechanics - Wade LeSage, Marion FFA
Reserve Grand Champion Handicraft - Kinley Strey, Marion FFA
Grand Champion Photography - Harlie Bode, Navarro FFA
Reserve Grand Champion Ag Mechanics - Brady Reason, Marion FFA
Grand Champion Needlework - Kaitlyn Schaefer, Navarro FFA
Reserve Grand Champion Photography - Dominic Rodriguez, Navarro FFA
Grand Champion Handicraft - Austin Wright, Shooting Sports
Reserve Grand Champion NeedleworkRebekah Wright, Shooting Sports
Grand Champion Baked Good - Megan Ohnheiser, St. James 4-H
Reserve Grand Champion Rabbitt - Harley Thornton, Seguin FFA
Grand Champion Rabbitt - Allison Lysssy, Steele FFA
To promote your event on this page contact advertising at 830-379-2234 or email communitycalendar@kwed1580.com
The Guadalupe Chapter of the Native Plant Society will have its monthly meeting at 7 p.m. Tuesday, March 14 at the First Presbyterian Church, located at 1121 E. Walnut St. in Seguin. The presenter will be Master Beekeeper, Mark de Kiewiet on the cycle and seasonal interaction between climate, plants, and bees. A plant/seed exchange will take place at 6:30 p.m., followed by the program. For more information visit http://npsot.org/ wp/guadalupe/.
The Teatro De Artes De Juan Seguin will offer its Inaugural Juan Seguin Festival del Mariachi Showcase at 7 p.m. Friday, March 10, followed by a Master Class Saturday, March 11. Tickets for the Showcase are $10 and can be purchased online at www. teatrodeartes.org or at the door. (cash, check, & Venmo only). If there are mariachi musicians who would like to only participate in the Master Classes, visit www.treatrodeartes.org to download a registration packet. The cost is $25 and must be paid by Saturday, March 4. For more information, call 830-401-0232.
There will be an Adult Pickleball League held from 6 to 8 p.m. every Tuesday beginning April 11 at the Seguin-Saegert Pickleball Complex. Participants must commit to all five weeks of league play. Inclement weather day is scheduled for Tuesday, May 16. Players must wear athletic closed-toe shoes. Equipment will not be provided. Online registration is required at www. bit.ly/SeguinPickleballLeague. For more information, call 830-401-2480.
19
The Southwest Preparatory School will be hosting Active Shooter Response Certification Training (ALICE Training) from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday, March 14 and Wednesday, March 15 at the Main Building, located at 6535 Culebra Rd. in San Antonio. Attendees will range from law enforcement, local school officials, and area business leaders. For more information, visit www. alicetraining.com. To register, visit https:// cvent.me/4Oe7g4?RefId=social.
The Seguin Guadalupe County Hispanic Chamber of Commerce and TAMACC Education Foundation will have its 34th Annual Awards Banquet presentations beginning with a Social Hour at 6 p.m. Wednesday, April 19 at the Seguin Coliseum. Tickets are $50 and are available by calling 830-372-3151.
The City of Seguin Parks and Recreation Department will offer a Pickleball 101 Clinic from 6 to 8 p.m. Tuesday, April 4 at the Seguin-Saegert Pickleball Complex, located at 418 W. Mountain St. in Seguin. The clinic is for ages 18 and older. Players must wear athletic closed-toe shoes. Equipment will not be provided. Online registration is required at www. bit.ly/SeguinPickleballClinic. For more information, call 830-401-2480.
The Seguin Kiwanis Club will have its Kiwanis Club Flapjack Jamboree from 6:30 to 11:30 a.m. Saturday, April 29 in the parking lot adjacent to the First Methodist Church on N. Austin St. in Seguin. Plates of pancakes and sausage are $10 each. This is a drive-thru event and the Navarro Jazz band will be providing live music. Proceeds benefit scholarships, sponsorships, and other community needs.
Makes 8 tacos
3 3/4 ounces tempura flour
3 3/4 fluid ounces soda water
7 ounces sea bass fillets, skin removed, deboned and cut into 3/4x 1 1/2-inch strips
Vegetable oil for frying
Sea salt
Kimchi salsa
3 1/2 ounces cabbage kimchi, chopped into 1/4-inch pieces
3/4 ounce tomato, diced into 1/4inch pieces
3/4 ounces pickled jalapeños, diced into 1/4-inch pieces
Slaw
4 teaspoons yuzu juice
3 tablespoons Kewpie mayonnaise
1/2 red onion, thinly sliced
1/2 cucumber, deseeded and julienned
1/2 Asian pear, peeled and julienned
To serve
8 taco shells (5 inches in diameter)
8 teaspoons sour cream
1 small tomato, finely diced Baby coriander (cilantro)
First, make the kimchi salsa. In a medium bowl, toss together the kimchi, tomato and jalapeños until evenly mixed, then set aside.
Next, to make the slaw, whisk the yuzu juice and mayonnaise together in a medium bowl. Stir in the red onion, cucumber and pear. Cover and leave in the fridge.
Half fill a heavy-based saucepan with oil and heat to 350 F. Make the tempura batter just before frying. In a bowl, whisk together the tempura flour and soda water, making sure to keep it lumpy.
Salt the sea bass on both sides. Working in batches, dip the fish into the tempura batter, and fry for about 3 to 4 minutes, until the batter is golden brown and the fish is cooked. Place on a rack to drain off any excess oil and keep warm while you cook the rest.
Heat the taco shells according to the packet instructions.
Line the shells up on a plate and add a piece of the fish to each one. Top with the slaw and then the salsa. Garnish with a dollop of sour cream, diced tomato and baby coriander.
Never in her wildest dreams did Kimberly Guerrero, a senior at Seguin High School think that a glimpse into her future was only a few hundred feet away from her classroom window. That glimpse turned more into a full workday experience as she and other students from Seguin, Navarro and Marion High Schools took part in the 4th annual Seguin Job Shadow Day program. Orchestrated by the Seguin Economic Development Corporation, students shadowed and participated in hands on training in a variety of job roles throughout the Seguin community.
For Guerrero, it was serving as a tech at Core Veterinary Pharmacy located just a block away from the high school campus at 1136 E. Kingsbury St.
With a goal of one day being a veterinarian, Guerrero tells the Seguin Daily News that she spent part of her day Wednesday mixing and compounding medication for equine and small animals.
“What we are making, this helps horses, and it helps them with ulcers whenever they get too stressed when they are racing or just doing something and it helps them digest, I guess a little and to let them be less stressed,” said Guerrero.
Guerrero says investing her time in the prescriptions that help to heal and protect animals was just a new level of veterinary medicine that she was exposed to during this experience.
“It seems very interesting -- something to do every day, new medicine. It’s something that I’ve looked into, but this was just like an opportunity that I was given by my teacher because she thought I would really like (it) -- because I’ve been really into it and she thought that this was a quick job opportunity that I could look at,” said Guerrero.
Perhaps what was most eye opening for Guerrero was the opportunity or opportunities that exist right here in her own community.
“I definitely did not know that this was here. This was my first time seeing it. I think it’s very nice to have this here in a small town. There’s not really a lot of things and having a pharmacy for animals, it’s pretty great,” said Guerrero.
Guerrero says she plans to attend Palo Alto College in San Antonio and then later Texas A&M University in College Station. Guerrero says
thanks to this experience, she has claimed yet another outlook in the veterinary field which includes veterinary medicine.
Sharing the lab space at Core Veterinary Pharmacy was Trinity Aguirre, a senior at Marion High School.
Aguirre says like Guerrero, she too was surprised to learn that Seguin was home to such a specialized field.
“It’s really eye opening and like a really big learning experience. I’m learning lot about all the stuff you normally don’t see on TV and stuff. It’s going good,” said Aguirre.
All in all, Aguirre says she is thankful for the overall Job Shadow Day experience and hopes to see it continue.
“I think this is really important and it’s really fundamental for high school students because it allows us to dip our toes in it and it’s really cool,” said Aguirre.
The continuation of this Job Shadow program in Seguin appears to be likely -- that is if it is left up to folks like Triena Brand, the owner and operator of Core Veterinary Pharmacy.
Brand, who has operated the business for the last three years, says she applauds this pairing up of students and professionals.
“I’m super excited about it. I heard about it through Seguin and my kids go to Navarro, so they have these programs and I’m super excited that they have this in school. I wish I had it when I was in school because I didn’t know what I wanted to do. You have this idea of what you want to do but you don’t really know what it’s about when you go to work actually. For me, giving these kids -- like she wants to be a veterinarian, but she also wants to get experience -- this is just an eye opener for them because they might have not been interested in it. Maybe they thought they were interested in it but it’s not actually what they wanted to do -- but just the fact that the schools offer it so they can have certification when they finish with school, it is even better. I would help with anything that I can because if I had this when I went to school, I would probably have ended up a different way maybe you know just because you have an idea of what you want to do. But work is different than what you think it is and this will give the kids the experience to open up the minds about what the job actually entails,” said Brand.
In fact, such experiences also allow the professionals to share with the students their own pathways. Brand says it’s just a way to widen any career choice for a student.
‘Most people don’t even know that this part of pharmacy is actually a thing. I didn’t know it. I worked in retail for 14 years and I kind of stumbled onto this as an opportunity. I didn’t’ know it was something that existed so these kids that want to think about going into pharmacy school, pharmacy tech, it’s just not retail. It’s not Walmart’s, the Walgreens, the CVS’s that you see. There are so many different things. There are hospitals. There’s these lab type of situations that they can work with -veterinary compounding or veterinary medications only -- even this side that we do for the veterinary side, there’s a human side too. So, people don’t know about that, and these kids don’t know it. All you think your pharmacy is retail. It’s not just that. There are so many specialties out there,” said Brand.
Brand says the Job Shadow Day Program also provides awareness to all students about the careers already lurking in their own back yards. She says whether a student chooses to stay in Seguin or purse college and return home, there are always options even those that are rare and sometimes only significant to Seguin.
“There isn’t any other facility like this in southern Texas. I know there is one in Houston and one in Dallas but there isn’t anything in the southern (area). There are some pharmacies that are human and a little bit of veterinary, but we specialize only in veterinary. We do equine, wildlife, small animals so we do the whole thing. We are not an open-door pharmacy. That means we don’t have a front shop. We only do prescription medications, so they have to go to their vet first. This is specifically tailored for the animal. It’s not something you can buy off the shelf. We make it from scratch, and we have certain formulations that we make. We can adjust it to what the animals need so it’s a really interesting field,” said Brand.
Participating businesses in this year’s Job Shadow Day program included Caterpillar, City of Seguin, Dietz Flower Shop, Funky Monkey Vintage Venue, GBRA, Guadalupe Regional Medical Center, Lone Star Home Solutions, Niagara Bottling, Republic Plastics, Schulze’s Pit Room, Seguin Fire Department, Seguin Independent School District, Seguin Police Department, Tier One Dental, and United Alloy. •
These unique programs
TLU provides to the community are free and open to the public providing access to speakers Seguin might otherwise not have the chance to experience. Past speakers have included other notable celebrities such as Olympic athletes Abby Wambach and Laurie Hernandez as well as RJ Mitte from ‘Breaking Bad.’
“The university wants to make sure people and their families have access to all of the wonderful events we host and that they feel welcome to not only attend, but spend some time getting to know the campus,” Ford said. “It’s a point of pride for us that we can host a speaker or a musician that many people would not have the chance to see if they didn’t make a stop at TLU. Some of our most recent and most popular guests include: Animal expert Jack Hanna, Olympic gold medalist and FIFA World Cup champion Abby Wambach,
EGOT (Emmy, Grammy, Oscar, and a Tony) winner Rita Moreno, actress Diane Guerrero, Olympic gold medalist Laurie Hernandez, Selena Tribute group Bidi Bidi Banda, and of course former Blue’s Clues host Steve Burns.”
Students, faculty, and the community have all happily engaged with TLU’s celebrity offerings. Each time an event occurs, Facebook feeds fill up with posts about whatever big name is in town that day. During Steve Burns’ visit, posts such as ‘my university is > than yours’ flooded news feeds along with selfies and excited posts about the experience.
During his visit, Steve addressed issues directly related to his now-adult audience. He didn’t hold back when discussing finding your path in life and the realities of depression. But, as always, he did this with an air of authenticity and realness that his fans appreciate.
Blue’s Clues, continued.Photos cortesy TLU
“I loved seeing him as a person because I think we all have our darker sides,” Castillo said. “I mean, he left the show when he was twenty-five, I believe, and I’m twenty-two now –– he was going off to college, I’m in college, so this advice that he’s giving about finding what you’re passionate about and find what drives you to pursue that passion is really something meaningful because a lot of younger generations have been hit, so to see a childhood icon look at you and be real for a minute, that meant a lot.”
Steve’s career has managed to mirror the lives of those who watched him growing up, and now meeting him in college made the entire experience come full circle for Castillo, who will graduate with a degree in Communication at the end of the semester.
“My favorite part of this whole experience was how full circle this came for my inner child,” she said. “He was just on the screen, I was convinced he was in my house, but now he was actually in front of me, and we were having adult conversations about his career and things we struggle with as young adults and how we’re going into the world. To see this come full circle has been my favorite part, and to know I get to do this with my friends, with who I study with, and with my school and my community. It just means a lot, especially since I’m graduating after this semester. So this is like the shebang of it all.”
At the end of the round table, Castillo excitedly approached Steve, grinning as he autographed a few things, including her Blue’s Clues mini backpack. She happily clutched the bright blue bag afterward –– now a prized possession and favorite memory made possible by the school she’s proud to attend –– Texas Lutheran University. •
