SPJST FAMILY FUN IMPORTANT DATES &

April 13 Night at the Museum

Czech Heritage Museum, Temple (2)

April 14-16 Lodge 25, Ennis Youth Club Garage Sale Fundraiser (3)

April 15 Lodge 88, Houston Blue Room Casino Night (5)

April 16 District One Annual Meeting • Lodge 9, Snook (1)

April 16 District Six Annual Meeting

Cathedral Center St. Gabriel Hall, Victoria (6)

April 17-18 Executive Committee Meeting

SPJST Home Office, Temple

April 19 Home Office Closed: Staff Development Day

April 22 Lodge 47, Seaton Tarok Tournament (2)

April 22 Lodge 47, Seaton Dance: Czechaholics (2)

April 22 Lodge 81, Needville hosts SPJST Float:

Needville Youth Fair Parade (5)

April 23 District Three Annual Meeting • Lodge 6, Cottonwood (3)

April 23 Lodge 48, Beyersville Bingo Social (2)

April 23 Lodge 219, El Paso Participates in Walk for Wishes

Ascarate Park (4)

April 29 Lodge 219, El Paso Day at the Zoo • El Paso Zoo (4)

April 30 District Five Annual Meeting • Lodge 88, Houston (5)

May 6 Advisory Council (Delegates) Meeting (online)

May 7 Lodge 6, Cottonwood Mother’s Day Lunch (3)

May 13

District Five Youth hosts Night at the Ballpark

Constellation Field, Sugar Land (5)

May 13 Lodge 88, Houston Blue Room Jazz Night (5)

May 22 Lodge 8, Weimar Memorial Service

Oakridge Smokehouse, Schulenburg (6)

May 27 Lodge 25, Ennis hosts National Polka Festival Event (3)

May 29 Home Office Closed: Memorial Day Holiday

June 21-25 State Camp • Camp Kubena, Ledbetter

July 4 Home Office Closed • Fourth of July Holiday

Heart 2 Heart Ladies Fellowship Group at First Baptist Church Robinson expresses thanks

The ‘Heart 2 Heart’ Ladies Fellowship Group at First Baptist Church Robinson display a hat filled with dollar bills and a jar filled with thousands of pennies that were collected at its March monthly meeting.

Dear

Readers, The ship Group at First Baptist Church Rob inson was very excited to participate in the 100 Pennies Scholarship Fund Drive at our March monthly meeting. We were honored to invite Melanie to join our group and speak about this very wor thy cause for deserving SPJST gradu ates. Her speech and demonstration on the art de sign contest was very in formative, and we are submitting our designs with the donations we collected. We appreciate the time she spent with us as we chose this as our March mission, and we feel it was well received by our group.

Sincerely, Debbie

Veselka

Faye Hudson

FBCR Leaders Lodge 24, Cyclone Members —SPJST—

ABOVE: Lodge 24, Cyclone members Faye Hudson, left, and Debbie Veselka display their 100 pennies designs. LEFT: SPJST Vice President of Communications Melanie Zavodny speaks to the ‘Heart 2 Heart’ fellowship group on Tuesday, March 21, 2023, about SPJST and the 100 Pennies Scholarship Fund Drive.

Night at the Museum premieres April 13 at Czech Heritage Museum in Temple

Night at the Museum, a new community engagement series premieres April 13 at the Czech Heritage Museum and Genealogy Center, located at 19 West French Avenue in Temple, and will continue on the second Thursday of each month through August. The event will run from 5 to 7:30 p.m. and is free of charge to the public.

“This is a new monthly series — an open house for the community to connect and network,” said Brian Vanicek, president of the SPJST Foundation and SPJST Fraternal Life Insurance. “We’re testing the waters for five months and hope to make it a regular event.”

“We want to broaden the perception of what museums are all about,” Vanicek said. “We want the Czech Heritage Museum to be a relevant part of the Temple community. We are planning to host a variety of events and activities ranging from live performances and exhibits to food and beverage tastings and outdoor events.”

Three well-known Central Texas businesses — Ratibor Country Grill, Kolache Kitchen, and Mikeska Distributing — will be providing food and beverages for the inaugural Night at the Museum event. Future celebrations will be on May 11, June 8, July 13, and August 10, and businesses interested in sponsoring a gathering should contact Vanicek at vanicek@spjst.com.

“If your business, civic or cultural organization, church, or school group is working to make a positive difference in Temple, you are invited,” he said. “Likewise, if you’ve got a project or coming event to promote, this is your time to spread the word. We’ll have an open mic for you to promote your activities. We’re also inviting individuals who are engaged in the performing arts – youth/collegiate/adult – to present snippets of upcoming performances, including plays, musical performances, dance ensembles, and theatrics.”

Popular Central Texas artist Lisa Chase will present a collection of 12 paintings that will be sold during an online auction during the month of April. Proceeds from the auction will go toward a newly created memorial scholarship in honor of Susan Chandler, the museum’s curator and director who died unexpectedly on September 4, 2022.

“Susan had been working to establish a local advisory team consisting of movers and shakers from Temple’s business and civic communities,” Vanicek said. “The advisory team has been reestablished and is already making a positive difference.” One of the group’s members is RVOS Corporate Secretary Jamie Smith, whose organization will be hosting the state’s first Czech-American Heritage Run — a 5K walk and run on October 7 that will support the Temple museum.

Please contact Brian Vanicek at vanicek@spjst.com or 254-534-2902 for more information on the Night at the Museum program.

—SPJST—

Come