Thurs., Feb. 1    POC Serivce Club, 10 am Comm. Center
Sat., Feb 3    Roll-off Trash Container for POCID custormer.
Sat., Feb. 3    Warrior’s Weekend Muster 2:00 pm    Port Lavaca VFW
Mon., Feb. 5    Calhoun County Republican Club 12 Noon    Beijing Restaurant, Port Lavaca
Mon., Feb. 5    Intercoastal 4-H Meeting 6:30 pm    Port O’Connor Elementary Library
Thurs., Feb. 8    Republican Candidate Forum 5:30 pm    Grace Episcopal Parish Hall, Port Lavaca
Feb. 9-12    Tunes & Tales Noon to 12     Port O’Connor Community Center
Mon., Feb. 12    Port O’Connor Chamber of Commerce 6:30 pm    Port O’Connor Community Center
Sat., Feb. 17    Abandoned Crab Trap Removal 8:00-Noon    TPWD – POC Facility

Citizen of the Year, Madeline Bourg, and some of her family members.

The Port O’Connor Service Club is proud to announce the deserving recipient of 2017 Citizen of the Year is Madeline Bourg. Madeline serves tirelessly in our community. She is a lay leader at St. Joseph’s Catholic Church, she has jobs of many descriptions and is well known for her sacrificial giving.

Madeline is a standout worker in every project the Service Club undertakes. The linen department at each garage sale is organized and beautifully sorted under Madeline’s able direction. When she was awarded this honor at this year’s luncheon, she was directing the kitchen and had to be made to leave her post to be recognized.

She was surprised to find more than 20 of her family members including children, grandchildren, her husband of 41 years and seven of her siblings present to help honor her. Madeline is number 11 of 13 POC Hawes children. Madeline has two daughters, three sons and five grandchildren. She has an array of friends from her many areas of service in our community. Madeline works at the POC Hardware Store and is quick to make you feel special when you come in.

After Hurricane Harvey, she was the support to Danny Bourg and the linemen crew who worked so tirelessly to restore power to our community. She not only cooked for those hard-working linemen, but many had hot food and dry clothes and a little rest because of her labor.

Madeline is devoted to family, to her faith and to our community. Several guests at the luncheon where she was honored shared stories and gave account of her generous heart and giving spirit. Friends told of her support during loss of loved ones, delicious food cooked and brought to their homes and countless community events, her hard work added to numerous jobs that made the work much easier and other times she went above and beyond to be a neighbor and a friend.

Her family recounted cute, funny and touching tales of her also. Her daughter April stated that Madeline’s mother Clara Hawes was well known for her kindness and generosity, but stated that her mother has filled those shoes and more. April says that her mother Madeline is the best role model, the perfect mother and grandmother and she could not have asked for more.

Her sister-in-law Joyce stated Madeline was the most positive person and always gave generously never asking anything in return, and that Madeline always keeps everything on track in their big and busy family making sure that everyone has presents at Christmas and support in tough times.

Daughter Lesley said her mother’s faith is unwavering, no matter how evil our world may seem or how hopeless things may become. Lesley said Madeline’s quiet faith stays firm and sees her through. Lesley also said she was her mom’s favorite child, but her loving caring mom never let her siblings know because she loves them all so. (she also said she is the favorite no matter what the others might tell me!)

Club members say Madeline loves to laugh and never fails to help when asked. Madeline Bourg is a friend, a servant, a woman of faith, a mom, wife, sister, grandmother and coworker that commands respect and love, a hard worker, a community leader and a selfless giver.

We congratulate her on being named POC Service Club Citizen of the Year 2017. We are blessed to call her one of our own.

-Kelly Gee

Santa Claus visited the Port O’Connor Fire Station on December 10tth. Luna and Lyric Lopez were among the delighted kids who got to talk to him – and enjoy a ride on the fire truck!

Letters to Santa From Local Second Graders

Dear Santa, Thank you for my bike last year. I am so happy for what you got me! It is the beast thing I have ever had in my life! I have been waiting all year for Christmas. I hope this Christmas will be so fun! Can I please have unicorn slime and a bag of hot tamales. I will not cry or have a fit if I do not get what I want.
Sincerely, Lexi – Port O’Connor

Dear Santa, I have been really good this year. I was trying not to fight with my brother. Can I have an iphone 7 and a computre and a ipadd? What is your phone number? You are awsom!
Love, Gaige Cady – Seadrift

Dear Santa, Are you elves and Mrs. Claus ok? I would like a yacht for Christmas. I know that I can’t drive it but my dad will take me out to the Gulf in the blue water. I will go off shore to catch a Bluefin Tuna. Thank you for all of the presents. Christmas is my favorite season. Thank you for all of my toys last year. I hope you feel good this year. You are nice and I hope you stay nice. I understand if you don’t give me a yacht because I’m not old enough to have one. But I would really love one!
Love,
Waylon – Port O’Connor

Dear Santa, My name is Nikolas. I have been very nice. Here are some things I did that were nice. I did the dishis and cleaning the living room. If you’re not too busy here are some things I would love. May I please have a big metal tall remote control truck. May I have a dirt bike. Something I need is mittens. How are the elves?
Love, Nikolas Clayton- Seadrift

Dear Santa, I know you have been working hard and your elves have been too. I want to ask you 3 questions. How do you like your job? How do you like your elves? Do you like your reindeers? I like Christmas and I know you like Christmas too. What I really want for Christmas is a puppy because they are cute and cuddly. I don’t want anything else because I have everything I need.
Love, Alexandriia – Port O’Connor

Dear Santa, I been cinda good and bad. I rock my sister to slep. How are you? Pless let me have a doll and a dron and a toy car. How do you eat so miney cookies. Santa, I love you!
Preslei Haden – Seadrift

Annette, Mark and Kole with the little pink bike

A little pink bike with training wheels and a baby seat for a doll will be lovingly placed under a tiny artificial Christmas tree in a small trailer on Christmas morning. This little bike made its way to POC in the annual Freeport to POC Toy Run.

Three people who do not know the child who will get this bike made this special gift possible. Annette Houseman, who happens to be our own Chris Mapp’s little sister asked two friends to join her in the Toy Run. Annette is a retired executive who lives in Freeport and has participated in 8 or more Toy Runs. Boat Captain Kole Rudasill is a young Aggie from College Station who breeds and sells deer and had a new fishing boat named Cheyenne that he really wanted to run down the coast. So, with no ties to POC he allowed himself to be recruited by Annette. First Mate Mark Poole is a busy Oil and Gas Account Exec in Sugarland and was convinced by Annette to leave serious behind and join them on the adventure.

These three pooled their own money, asked some friends and coworkers to donate and filled the boat with toys and bikes. None of them have children, live in POC or nearby areas, or have family served by The Toy Run. They gave time, money and toys out of generous hearts. They arrived in the first boat on Saturday, sunburned and smiling and unloaded those toys along with thousands of others at Clarks Inn. Trucks and trailers were loaded down with more toys than Santa’s sleigh and made their way to the Community Center where those toys were sorted for distribution.

More than 6000 toys were given to more than 2800 children and teens in POC and surrounding areas who wouldn’t have had Christmas otherwise. 45 POC children were placed on the Angel Tree list and will be sponsored for Christmas. A trailer of toys was sent to Rockport to be given to children of families who are still trying to recover from Hurricane Harvey. Children, each deserving and in need for many different reasons, in Seadrift, Port Lavaca, Tivoli, Refugio, and other communities will get toys on Christmas morning. Children in foster care, those whose parents may be incarcerated or hospitalized, many in group homes and care facilities will all be served by the POC Toy Run toys.

The family of a little girl who will shout with joy over the little pink bike is one of those families. Her daddy John was working a good job when life changed. He drove an old beat up car to work, but with two little ones at home and a baby on the way he couldn’t afford another. Then, the baby was born with a hole in her heart. Surgeries and stress and days off work made keeping the car impossible, and loss of the car meant the job was next and John and Leslie were soon unemployed, overextended and feeling so alone. Hurricane Harvey took their home and they were displaced for weeks until a POC friend connected them with a donated trailer with only two small bedrooms, but to them it seems like much more. They didn’t expect to have gifts for the kids this year but now they will thanks to the Angel Tree donors, the Toy Run and the generosity of this community.

So, thanks to Annette, and Mark, and Kole and all those Toy Runners who brought boatloads of toys. Wendy Fry coordinated more than 35 boats in this year’s run, and those same boats made our annual Lighted Boat Parade something special. Thanks to Wanda and Judith and Teddy and all the POC Hardware staff who organize the Angel Tree. Please take time to go by and get an angel off the tree. you could buy a few clothes and things to wrap and give with the toys. Thanks to school staff who help us find those local children who need a little help this year. And huge thanks to Marie Hawes and her enormous team of volunteers who work tirelessly to distribute all the toys to all the children in many organizations and facilities. It is an enormous undertaking and they do an amazing job.

One of the Toy Run boats loaded with toys-Wendy Fry

Toys ready for distribution at the Community Center
-Russell Cain

Thank you, Toy Run! And thank you, all the local volunteers!