Three of last year’s Wounded Warriors with their catch.

May 21 might seem like a long way off to some, but not to those who are preparing for the fifth annual Warrior’s Weekend, working as hard and fast as they can to make sure our wounded soldiers experience a refreshing day of good fishing, good food, and good fellowship in Port O’Connor.

Putting this event together is a year-long project for Ron Kocian and the other directors of  Warrior’s Weekend.  Coordinating all the aspects of getting wounded soldiers here from several military hospitals across the country, the food, the lodging, the special activities, is a job no one would want to undertake who did not have a special love and respect for our military.  According to Sherry Kocian, Volunteer Coordinator, more than 1,000 volunteers were involved in some way in last year’s Warrior’s Weekend.  These “Americans in Action,” as Sherry called them, volunteer all kinds of goods and services; some we can think of here locally would be: providing boats and operators, cleaning fish, preparing and setting up the grounds, decorating the Community Center, cooking and serving food, baking cakes, and providing free lodging.

And, once again, local volunteers are being sought to help honor our wounded heroes this year. This is your opportunity to put into action those words we all express: “We support our troops.”
A volunteer meeting will be held at Cathy’s Restaurant in Port O’Connor on Friday, February 4th, at 6:00 p.m.  For information, please call Connie Rowney at 361-652-4677, and please consider playing some part in helping this year’s Warrior’s Weekend.

Sherry Kocian is the Volunteer Coordinator for Warrior’s Weekend. She can be reached at sherrykocian@g.mail.com or (361) 572-0001.

A “Warrior’s Muster” is planned for April 1 to help raise the considerable funds needed to support this worthy project. (Phone 361-550-0187 for information.) Ron Kocian, President of Warrior’s Weekend says, “Warrior’s Weekend is a very important part of the healing for our wounded soldiers. We know because they tell us so.”

For more news and photos of Warrior’s Weekend, see their web site: www.warriorsweekend.org .

Eagle Scout Joseph Christopher Mendez with his parents and brother Fernie.

An Eagle Scout National Court of Honor was held in Seadrift on January 22 conveying the rank of Eagle Scout on Joseph Christopher Mendez. Joseph has been a member of Troop 106 since 2004, where he advanced through the ranks, serving in leadership positions of Patrol Leader, Senior Patrol Leader and Quartermaster. He has earned 31 merit badges, including the most difficult qualifications of Boy Scout Lifeguard.

Joseph took on as his Eagle Scout project, assisting the Friends of the Seadrift Library in their effort to create a larger, more modern library for Seadrift. Their dream will soon be realized thanks in part to Joseph’s assistance in fund raising and in collecting books to stock its shelves.


17-year old Joseph is a Senior at Calhoun High School. He hopes to continue his education and become an engineer. He is the son of Fred and Delores Mendez of Seadrift, and the grandson of Fred and Andrea Mendez of Port Lavaca and Elvira and the late Juan Carbajal of Seadrift.


Joseph has earned a position in an elite group of Boy Scouts – only four of 100 ever reach Eagle Rank.

Melissa’s winning entry excelled in this year’s contest theme, 50 years of Human Space Flight.

Calhoun High School (CHS) student, Melissa Albrecht of Port O’Connor has been awarded third place in Category III in The Texas Department of Transportation’s (TxDOT) International Aviation Art Contest. This is the second year in which Calhoun Air Center has promoted the art contest in Calhoun County schools.

Following the airport’s local art contest which is structured around TxDOT’s International Aviation Art Contest, a total of 352 entries were submitted from Calhoun County. TxDOT received approximately 1,200 entries; the theme was “50 years of human space flight.” The contest is designed to motivate and encourage children to study aeronautics, engineering and science.

Airport manager, Dianna Stanger said, “At Calhoun Air Center we strive to get kids interested in aviation which can lead to a future career. We are delighted that the county has embraced this project.”
As a winning contestant, Melissa, along with her family and art teacher, will be invited to the Texas Aviation Conference Awards Banquet which will be held on May 26, 2011 at 6:30 p.m. at the Renaissance Hotel in Austin, Texas. Her artwork will be featured in the 2012 Texas Kid’s Aviation Art Calendar Contest. The calendars will be distributed in schools in early September.

“The students are extremely motivated to win; we had numerous entries that were great. I’m glad to hear that one of our students placed,” said Mr. McIntyre, Melissa’s art teacher.

Melissa’s winning entry will now be sent to Washington D.C to be judged in the national competition and could go onto compete at an international level. Special thank you to Calhoun County schools, students for their participation and to 2010 sponsors. Each student will receive a participation certificate from TxDOT Aviation Division in the spring.
For more info, video and photos please visit: www.CalhounAirCenter.com

We here at Dolphin Talk are excited about our new web site: www.thedolphintalk.com and hope that if you haven’t already done so, you will check it out. You’ll find most of the articles from the printed edition and you’ll see all of our photos in color. You can find the articles by categories or read everything as a continuous page. Deity Design has done a fabulous job and will continue to “tweak it” as we see the need.

And, you will find updated information as we receive it, announcing events that did not reach us in time for print publication, or events of which we think you’d like to have more advanced notice. We’d appreciate any comments or suggestions you may have. Plus make sure to check us out on Facebook; simply search “The Dolphin Talk.”

Next issue, February 11th, will be our annual Valentine’s issue. As we have done for many years, we welcome your Valentine greetings to be published in it. There is no charge. Send one or a dozen – just keep them short and sweet. Send them by email, fax, or regular mail to arrive by Monday, February 7th. You may also submit short poems, essays, or photos which may be published as space permits. We look forward to hearing from you!

Thank you for reading Dolphin Talk!
-Joyce Rhyne, Editor

Send your Valentine Greetings to be printed in Dolphin Talk.

dolphin1@tisd.net
Dolphin Talk, P.O. Box 777, Port O’Connor, TX 77982
Deadline: Monday, February 7 at 5:00 p.m.

January 28: Duc V. Nguyen  February 1: Susie Jaycox; John Burkhart  Feb. 2: Pat Hatcher; Larry Gibson  Feb. 3: Bill Reeves  Feb. 4: Allan Berger; Bobby Smith; J.J. Johnston  Feb. 5: Mary Sue Thumann; Frank Mahalek  Feb. 6: Christopher Gaines, Jr.;  Marjorie Gotcher; Dorothy Ramos  Feb. 7: Louis Ragusin; Phuong T. Nguyen  Feb. 8: Crystal Dobecka-Johnson; Casey Carter; Grace Stone; June Pitonyak  Feb. 11: Micki Morris; April May