D. Luke Zitman and Mandi Haynes

Don and Sheryl Haynes of Port O’Connor, Texas are pleased to announce the engagement of their daughter Mandi Haynes to D. Luke Zitzman, son of David and Paula Zitzman of Southbury, Connecticut.

The future bride graduated from Texas A&M University Corpus Christi with a bachelor degree in kinesiology. She is employed at Texas A&M University Corpus Christi at the College of Graduate Studies.

The future groom graduated from the Coast Guard Academy in aviation. He is currently employed with the United States Coast Guard and stationed in Miami, Florida.

A September wedding is planned.

Nancy Pomykal (left) and Emma Raby (right) donate to The Harbor on behalf of “Proud to be a Port O’Connor Woman”. Accepting the donation is Maria Flores, Harbor Director.

July 10th was a rewarding day for two Port O’Connor sisters, Emma Raby and Nancy Pomykal. The two are shown above presenting a check to Maria Flores, director of the Harbor in Port Lavaca. The check represents proceeds from the sale of t-shirts to women from the PROUD TO BE A PORT O’CONNOR WOMAN GROUP. The Harbor is a local advocate for women and children who have suffered from abuse, family violence or neglect.

An article written by Emma was published in the Dolphin talk on March 9th, 2012. In the article, Emma explained why so many outstanding, professional women have chosen to make Port O’Connor their home. The article received such a warm response, Nancy thought how nice it would be if the local ladies of Port O’Connor had t-shirts to show their Port O’Connor pride. She talked to Rose Stringo, a local woman who owns a small embroidery business, and together they came up with a great logo for the hot pink and lime green t-shirts. The shirts are sold in several styles. Nancy & Rose wanted to do something worthwhile with proceeds from the sale of the shirts. “We decided to donate a portion of the sales to the Harbor because it is local and it benefits women and children. We felt it would be very appropriate to give the proceeds to such a benevolent organization. We knew the shirts probably wouldn’t raise a lot of money, but we wanted to donate whatever we could” Nancy said.

In early April the three decided to start a face book group titled “Proud to Be a Port O’Connor Woman. A copy of the original article was posted to the page along with an explanation of what the group was about and inviting P.O. C women to join with all their photos and comments about living in Port O’Connor. Within 24 hours the group had grown to more than 80 members. By the end of April, the FB group had grown to 214 members. Today, July 23, the group has 236 members. The members consist of women from all walks of life who live in POC, grew up in POC, or lived there and are living elsewhere. Most of the ladies who don’t reside there say “I’ll ALWAYS be a Port O’Connor woman at heart.”

Approximately 60 t-shirts have been sold to date. After the expenses for screen print, freight, and tax, the donation for each shirt came to approximately $1.67 for each shirt. Rose donated $100.00 from the proceeds to the Harbor. Nancy matched it with $100.00, which brought the donation for each shirt around $3.34. Rose donated ALL her labor. “We want to thank everyone who purchased a shirt and let them know shirts are still available, the ladies said.”

A GREAT BIG “THANKS” to ALL the Port O’Connor women who purchased a shirt. By purchasing the fun t-shirts, showing your POC pride, you have helped a very valuable organization. Every little bit helps. The staff at the Harbor thanks you also. They are very gracious and appreciative of the gift.

T-shirt Logo

Pat Stubbs went home to be with her Lord and Savior Jesus Christ on Monday, July 9, 2012, at her home in Bastrop, Texas, at 94 years old.

Pat was born October 7, 1917, in Luling, Texas, to the late Reverend and Mrs. M.C. Rutherford. She was the older of two children. Pat married the late Austin G. Stubbs on October 25, 1937. Austin and Pat were married for 64 years before Austin’s home-going in 2002. They had two sons who preceded them in death, Austin Stubbs, Jr. and Clarence Jack Stubbs.

Pat came to know the Lord at an early age. She and Austin moved to Bastrop in 1946, and were charter members of the First Assembly of God in Bastrop. They moved to Port O’Connor in 1982, and were instrumental in the formation of Fisherman’s Chapel and the calling of Pastor McDonough to move to Port O’Connor and help begin a new work for the Lord. She loved working in the church and served as pianist, church secretary, and enjoyed singing on praise teams. She retired from South Bell Telephone in 1982. They returned to Bastrop in 2000, due to Austin’s failing health.

Pat always shared her love for Jesus with others. She enjoyed fishing in Port O’Connor and loved wading at the “Baughy”. She was also an avid hunter, loved cooking, sewing and reading. Praying for and with others, spending time with family, laughing and always wearing a smile were her trademarks. She was a loving and caring person, devoted wife, mother, and friend, and was always thinking of others first. Her philosophy in life was to live one day at a time for Jesus.

Pat is survived by her grandchildren, A.G. “Bubba” Stubbs III and wife Deborah;,Debbie Poynter and husband Mike, Tyrone Stubbs, and Jacquelyn Foreman and husband Daniel; a daughter-in-law, Bonnie Stubbs; 3 great-grandchildren, Cassandra Montis, Danielle Foreman, and Jack River Foreman; 1 great-great-grandchild, Alex Montis; and nephews Joe Lynn Rutherford and wife Deborah, and Michael A. Burch.

Pat had two grandchildren who preceded her in death, Kathy Curtis and Gary Stubbs. Her brother and sister-in-law Everett and Kitty Rutherford, along with Austin’s and Pat’s two sons, Jack Carlton “Bubba” and Major John “Sparky” preceded her in death, after Austin and Pat prayed faithfully for them for 40 years to be saved.

The funeral service was conducted on Monday, July 16, at the First Assembly, Bastrop, with burial in the Fairview Cemetery.

Revelation 14:13: “Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord from now on. ‘Yes,’ says the Holy Spirit, ‘they will rest from their labor, for their deeds will follow them.’”

PORT O’CONNOR, TX — The Port O’Connor Visitor Center will hold a Grand Opening celebration on July 31, 2012 at 10:00 am. The new center, located at 2337 W Adams Ave in Port O’Connor, was created by novusweb, llc to serve as an information source for visitors to the Port O’Connor area.

“After operating PortOConnor.com for over a decade, we felt that having a physical resource for those new to our area would be a perfect compliment,” said Bret Williams, President and CEO of novusweb. Williams explained that the Visitor Center will provide maps, handouts, business cards and other information as requested. According to Williams, since the Center opened on July 1st, there have been an increasing number of tourists and travelers stopping in. “It’s been quite eye-opening to find out what people are most interested in learning about Port O’Connor,” added Williams. Requests have included questions about lodging, restaurants, fishing trips and Matagorda Island.

The Visitor Center promotes area businesses who are top-level members of PortOConnor.com, or for whom novusweb manages their web presence. Explains Williams, “our premiere clients receive graphic displays in the Center, favored recommendations to visitors and prominent placement on PortOConnor.com.” The PortOConnor.com website remains the top result in most search inquiries about Port O’Connor. According to Google Analytics, over 4,000 people visited PortOConnor.com in the preceding 30 days, with over 70% of those coming to the site as a “New Visitor.” The website was recently re-engineered to include more robust features, such as an events calendar, FAQs on Port O’Connor, articles, news postings, business directory and real estate search, as well as a much improved user interface.

Local dignitaries, business people and Port O’Connor citizens are invited to attend the grand opening.

About nōvusweb llc

nōvusweb llc provides e-commerce development and success programs aimed at helping entrepreneurs build and profit from their own online retail and wholesale businesses. Created originally in 1996, nōvusweb today employs professionals around the globe to provide contemporary and productive systems to its clients.

nōvusweb llc is headquartered in Port O’Connor Texas.

The Port Lavaca Chamber of Commerce is bringing Market Days back to Port Lavaca on Saturday, Aug. 4th, back to its original location at the Bauer Community Center parking lot, facing Highway 35. There will be fun for the entire family with arts and crafts, food vendors, farmer’s market, and music from 8:00 a.m. until 3:00 p.m.

For more information call the Port Lavaca Chamber of Commerce at 361-552-2959 or visit our website at:

www.portlavacamarketdays.com