News

KASZ BY-LAW AMENDEMENT PROPOSAL – 

Voting on the amendment proposal will take place Tuesday, November 4th at 11a

Section 2:b States (Currently)

KASZ nomination Committee shall consist of a nominating chair, and if needed, two more members. The Nominating Committee will present a slate of candidates for vacant positions of President, Vice President, Secretary, Treasurer, and five members at large.  Nominations from the floor will be accepted.  No member will nominate any member without first obtaining that member’s assurance that he/she will serve the term if elected.

KASZ BOARD proposes removing the following sentence: “Nominations from the floor will be accepted.”

Section 2:b (with amendment)

KASZ nomination Committee shall consist of a nominating chair, and if needed, two more members. The Nominating Committee will present a slate of candidates for vacant positions of President, Vice President, Secretary, Treasurer, and five members at large. No member will nominate any member without first obtaining that member’s assurance that he/she will serve the term if elected.

Hello KASZ Members and Friends of KASZ…

The Summer heat is already here. Please stay cool, hydrated & safe from the  heat. Remember, KASZ is a cool place to hang out when its hot.

Included in our June Newsletter, you will find the breakdown of our donation funds (Building & General). We are getting closer to our goal. Keep on sharing about KASZ and it’s mission. Don’t forget about Amazon Smile…where your shopping helps KASZ. Let family & friends know how they can gift towards KASZ’s mission. Together we can reach our goal! Thank you to all those who have donated & pledged.

KASZ’s calendar is opening up for new activities during the Summer. Don’t miss out, come participate. Wear red, white and blue to Tuesday (6/14) Lunch, in honor of Flag Day. Mark your calendars for a historical activity hosted by KASZ and A&R Auto Center, on June 19th. Kyle’s first Juneteenth Flag Raising Ceremony. The day is about celebrating unity & freedom, perfect to add to your Father’s Day plans.

Lastly, thank you to all the volunteers that help in so many ways to keep KASZ going for the members and the community. You are the heart of KASZ.

Team KASZ,  Larry Simone

HELLO KASZ MEMBERS AND FRIENDS OF KASZ…

My apologies to those that are getting turned away at the door for Tuesday lunches; it just breaks our hearts! But it is the price KASZ will continue to pay as long as the only place we have to meet is a room that only holds 125 people in a community that has over 1,200 seniors! The sad truth is our need for a new, 30,000-square-foot building is growing every day. Have you been to the property that the City of Kyle has donated for this project? In April, it started with a walk through a field of bluebonnets—it was so thick with blooms that you could not get through it without stepping on a few–followed by dense forests on either side that opened to a Gorgeous view of the lake! The City of Kyle already maintains lots of mowed lawn to stroll around! I think it’s about a mile all the way around the lake.

Can you see a wall of windows right off the main room in the new building overlooking this view with doors that step out to a large, covered porch? On the other side of the lake, off to the left, there is a large nesting of birds—egrets I think. The next time I visited, a large flock of ducks were enjoying a swim.

Wouldn’t you just love to sit there all day enjoying nature’s peaceful gifts and friendly encounters with people your own age?

We Can Make This Happen! Email me your pledge to send your donation by January 1, 2023—help us make this dream come true for Kyle seniors.

I’ll contact you when KASZ has all the matching pledges we need to make the dream a reality:

Our Goal is $65,000 by January 1, 2023. It’s All or Nothing!

Team KASZ, Larry Simone (lsimone@austin.rr.com)

Hello KASZ Members and Friends of KASZ…

   I opened up this new year saying that the process of getting our new facilities is well on its way. This is the year. The train has pulled out the station……I also said the bottom line is to get the funding for our portion of our shovel ready documents and it has begun. We had an anonymous donor and some businesses contribute so far and we are so thankful. Our new donation box even saw a $100 bill.  

As you know we are working close with this City and County to reach our building goal. Vanessa, our Program and Entertainment Coordinator, has previous experience in fund raising and she plans to have a dedicated theme fundraiser each month. Elvis was our kickoff and we want to especially thank Dennis and Susan Hall for their time and talent.  What a great time for all. If members have ideas for fundraisers, please share your experience and ideas. 

Remember to show up at our many events and support us. We have started our scripture reflection activity and want to thank all who came and conducted the classes. We are excited about the Hays County Food Bank providing cooking classes & a senior nutritional program for the next 5 months. We celebrated MLK Day with partnership of the Kyle Public Library. Thank you to Councilman, Dex Ellison, for helping with set-up. It was inspiring to see the community enjoy cake, watch a documentary and come together on this important day.

  Please spread the word about KASZ and what we are trying to do to become a great facility for the active seniors and community. This Senior and Community facility can bridge generations and bring a much-needed service to Kyle and the surrounding area.

Please remember to thank the facilitators, volunteers & board members- they give a great deal of their time, talent and treasures.  

Happy Valentine’s Day,

Team KASZ

Larry

HELLO KASZ MEMBERS,

As we draw near to the end of 2021, KASZ thanks all who participated in our 15 Year Anniversary Campaign, $15 for 15! The funds raised help KASZ meet the needs of seniors. We will continue to accept donations through the I Love KASZ Campaign. If you plan to make year-end, tax deductible contributions we ask you to consider KASZ. Also, as you plan your year ahead, and make any New Year’s resolutions, consider sharing your time and talents with KASZ. It’s good to be connected!

After 15 years of service to the Hays seniors, Kyle Area Senior Zone (KASZ) is planning to partner with Hays County, and the City of Kyle, in a new Senior Community Center. An architect has designed a 45,000 square-foot building that will serve the needs of the senior citizens of Kyle and surrounding areas. The initial phase of this project will cost approximately $600,000. KASZ, City of Kyle, and Hays County will split this initial expense. KASZ has an immediate need of $200,000 to fund our share of the initial expenses. Any additional money raised will be used to support new programs. We are asking for your help covering this need, so that a modern senior community center to serve the growing senior population of Hays County can proceed. Thank you for your support.

We send our best wishes to you in the Holidays and in the New Year!

TEAM KASZ

Larry Simone, Betty Conley, Jacci DiCarlo, Kathy Carpenter, Ellen Ermis,

Cynthia Bentley, Le Duran, Domingo Castilleja, Vanessa Westbrook

BIGGER DREAMS…

     This past year has been challenging for everyone, but through a grant from St David’s Foundation, our consultant, Brenda Coleman-Beattie, helped the Building Committee complete a Feasibility Study for a new facility. Local architect, Steve Butler developed architectural drawings and cost estimates for a 33,000 square foot senior center. KASZ increased collaborations with the City, County and other groups and invested in LPi – technology to better manage programs, administration, marketing and communication. Our consultant will help develop a formal business plan outlining the necessary

collaborations, marketing and fundraising.

     Several KASZ members spoke in July at the City Budget Workshop resulting in positive change. Mayor Travis Mitchell wrote to a new member “We are looking at city dollars, county dollars, CDBG dollars, philanthropic donations and more. We have made it a priority to move the project forward in a meaningful way this year. ” City Manager, Scott Sellers later spoke about plans for road improvements, utility access, geo-tech survey and rezoning for the site. Scott and Jerry Hendrix, Chief of Staff will meet with our committee and County Commissioners Ingalsbe and Jones for updates and to seek feedback from our county officials.

-Ellen Ermis

Grants/Attendance/Fundraiser Chair

Hello Members,

Thank you for your patience as we reevaluated how we can keep members safe and healthy during this wave of Covid. We were able to gain feedback from all the facilitators and are very thankful for their insight. We respect their feedback because they are the forefront of the programs and know the precautions that best work for their program. There will be some changes to the calendar and how some programs will function, but we hope these are only temporary.

We highly recommend all members vaccinated and unvaccinated to wear their masks. Some facilitators will be requiring temp checks, this will be announced by the facilitator in their program. We ask everyone to wash their hands/use hand sanitizer when around food. We highly recommend all those who can receive the vaccine, to do so and to look into the booster shots. We remind all members that you are entering the building at your own risk. Please stop attending programs if you have any symptoms and please notify your program facilitator or Board member if you do test positive for Covid.

KASZ will re-open on Tuesday, 8/24, but there will be NO lunch. Tuesdays, will be opened for members to come play games.

The following activities/programs have been adjusted in their participation. Please respect the facilitators’ request to limit their class capacity:

Beginner’s Line Dance Class: Maximum participants (including instructor) 25 people

Intermediate Class & Line Dance Social: Maximum participants (including instructor) 15 people

Tejano Dance Class: Maximum participants (including instructor) 20 people

Thursday Games: Maximum participants (including instructor) 25 people

Kyle Quilters: Monday’s Meetings maximum participants (including leadership) 50 people, Saturday’s Sew-in 20 people

The following activities are suspended until further notice (We are exploring different avenues to help bring these activities back as soon as possible):

– Tuesday Lunches

– Jam Session

– Saturday Night Dance & Social

What happens if we have another exposure risk in the organization? We feel that the best course of action is to only suspend the activity(ies) that exposure risk for 10 days. For example, if a member reports they have attended Dance Class and was positive for Covid, only this one program would be suspended for 10 days. If no other members report they have Covid, the class would restart.

As booster vaccines come out, we hope that all these precautions will no longer be needed, but until then Senior Safety First. Thank you for understanding our goal to keep members safe and the precautionary actions placed for each program. Provided below is the remaining schedule for the month.

We hope to see you soon!

Stay Safe,

KASZ Board

8/24- Tuesday

NO LUNCH

Games 9:00am – 4:00pm

8/25- Wednesday

Domino Club & Game Day 1:00pm – 3:00pm

8/26- Thursday

– Beg. Line Dance Class 10:30am – 11:30am

– Hi Beg./Improver Line Dance Class 12:00pm – 1:00pm

– Intermediate Line Dance Class/Social 1:15pm–3:00pm

– Game Night 5:00pm- 10:30pm

8/27- Friday

The Silver Screen Movie Night 5:00pm

8/28- Saturday

NO SATURDAY NIGHT DANCE & SOCIAL

8/30- Monday

Tejano Dance Class 1:00pm – 2:00pm

8/31- Tuesday

NO LUNCH

Games 9:00am – 4:00pm

HELLO KASZ MEMBERS, 

     Welcome July! Happy Independence Day to all! We have a great nation and as seniors we did our part to make it better. God Bless America!

     A special welcome to all our new members and thank you for joining this fun, active & energized KASZ family. Your participation and talents will continue to help us grow. 

     As you read this newsletter, you are seeing history in the making. KASZ has teamed up with a publishing company called, LPi Seniors, to bring us to the next level in communications. Please review the articles and especially the ads throughout that are a major component to the making of this newsletter. Be sure to support the many businesses that sponsored ads towards the printing of our newsletter. 

     We have completed another month post-Covid, and I want to thank everyone for their cooperation & assistance. We learned many lessons and are adjusting to the “new normal”. Many senior centers in the surrounding area have still not opened fully. Masks are optional and we ask you to be respectful to participant’s choices. We will stop the temperature checks this month, but still have new participants sign waivers.

We have out grown the building and have charted a course to build a modern senior center. The City of Kyle is focusing on helping us to get to our next level. We will soon meet with the Hays County officials to ask for help. We will keep you updated.

     We have many programs blooming and I want to thank Jesus Hernandez from the Kyle Public Library for his assistance with our programs. Genealogy will soon begin, as well as, our Movie Night- all thanks to his care for our seniors. Remember, we have a great brand-new library in Kyle and it is a great resource for seniors.

Our Board is a dynamic and talented group that is very busy. I can only ask you members to do your part as the board members do. That is – support our programs. Volunteer where we have needs. Give us your feedback and promote our cause. 

     Next month, Ray Conley, our Nominating Chair, will be taking nominations for several positions on the Board. We need to find amazing Board members who will contribute both their time and talent to help KASZ continue to move forward with the vision of a new and larger Senior Center to accommodate all seniors in the Kyle and surrounding areas. 

     If you have any needs, please reach out to us. As we all get a bit older, it’s time now more than ever to come together and help each other.

     It will be a hot summer. Please stay cool & safe.

Thank you,

TEAM KASZ

Larry Simone

Hello KASZ Members,

Wow, it’s finally happening! This month, KASZ re-opens to its fullest with the exception of the kitchen. We will continue to practice the recommended guidance from the State & CDC. Covid cleaning supplies will be available at each event. We will ask you to sign our waiver just once and will continue to take temperatures at the door. Our soft-opening in May taught us many things to be aware of and to do. 

First, we have learned that some members have not yet received their vaccination, some are unable to receive a vaccination and some plan not to get vaccinated. We can’t force anyone to get the vaccination, so we all have to do our part to practice healthy habits in preventing the virus (i.e., wash hands, refrain from coming to programs when sick, and etc.). 

Second, the City is under a State mandate to control energy cost. The thermostats are inaccessible to us, which means the temperature is pre-set and cannot be changed. During May activities, we learned many were cold & asked that we warm it up, but we can’t, so please bring a sweeter or jacket to stay warm. Other members have been too hot. We are doing our best to keep the building as cool as possible with fans and closing the blinds…please bring cold drinks to stay cool. The A/C was not the only thing changed due to the energy cut. The light switches are on motion sensors and we have no dimmer capabilities. The changes are out of KASZ’s control. 

Lastly, the City is still planning to renovate the park and start construction on the new building on S. Burleson. Once the park is fenced for construction, the KASZ building entrance will be the doors facing Burleson. With the construction comes parking issues, so please plan ahead.

Tuesday lunches are back! Our lunches will be brought in since we won’t use the kitchen. When we purchase outside meals the timing is essential for delivery, so we ask that on Tuesday’s we show up at 11:30a so we can make announcements and serve exactly at 12:00p. We ask that you are respectful during announcements and keep conversations to a minimum. Meals will be $4.00. Dig out your badges and, please wear them, especially for our lunches. For our new members your badges will be coming soon.

You will also see some new and exciting programs and entertainment coming up. See below for details. I ask that you support all that we present.  It takes a lot of work to get these organized and all we ask is your support. 

I want to give our board of directors: Betty, Kathy, Dawn, Ellen, Cynthia and Olivia a special shout out as they never stopped working during the past year and we

all grew closer.

Let’s keep in prayers those who are ill and those who lost family members and continue to grieve.  We especially need each other as we grow younger.  

If you are able, please visit our new conference & planning room upstairs.  

Thank you 

TEAM KASZ 

Larry 

P.S. I have had many ask about a possible Coushatta Casino trip and I asked Shirley to look into it. Shirley will make some inquires if a trip is possible however, will not be able to run the trips anymore. She is willing and would love to coach someone to become the new Coushatta Trip Facilitator. If you are interested, please let a Board member know.

Hello KASZ Members,

It saddens me to hear of the death of the KASZ past President, Carl Gilson. I succeeded Carl and he was wonderful to help me take on this job. He was active not only with KASZ but in many other community groups. Our deepest sympathy to Peggy and family.

Now on to some exciting news. KASZ had a soft opening in April with the Line Dancing Classes and Game Nights. All went well, as we implemented the new safety and sanitization procedures for re-opening. On May 11th, we will have a Welcome Back Tuesday Luncheon & Games. There will be no Grab-n-Go Lunch for May. See details in this newsletter.

We acquired an upstairs storage room and converted it exclusively for the planning of our new facility. In honor of Tom and Joan Searcy who are Chartered Members of KASZ (and still very active), the new conference room has been named the “Searcy Conference Room”. Tom and Joan’s active role in helping KASZ become a successful organization is a true gift to KASZ for which we are extremely thankful.

We have teamed up with the publishing company, LPi Communities. We have been working with them in new technology and now turning our attention to the newsletter. Look for a bright new newsletter in July.

Finally in June, we plan to “come alive” and resume regular pre-Covid activities; such as our weekly Tuesday Lunches. With the kitchen closed for safety, box lunches will be served and the cost for lunch will be $4.00 per person

Here is some building news: For the month of May, there will be no KASZ Activities from May 17th – 20th due to City Summer Programs. The entire park around our building will undergo a massive renovation with a prominent, playscape and walking trails. This area will be fenced off and parking may be a challenge till November. Also, the home in front of KASZ will be demolished with a large commercial building with a food venue to be constructed.

I would like to thank the following individuals: Nancy Cowart & Sybil Childers, Christmas Dinner & Dance Party Planners. Susan Hall, New Beginner’s Line Dance Teacher. Finally, a special thanks to all our Board members who have been working very hard to get KASZ back-up and going during this Covid year.

Let’s all stay “younger together” & have fun with KASZ. Our future is bright, lots of new seniors arriving and lots about to happen. Please take time to update yourselves with the KASZ Covid protocols in our waiver & come back when you feel ready.

God Bless,

Team KASZ

Larry Simone

 If I did not receive over 100 calls or texts since I last wrote you asking about when we will open, I would be lying. Finally, after over a year I can safely say our Board has decided to begin opening our facilities in stages. In the middle of April, we will open up our advanced line dancing for a limited amount of people. We also will open up card playing in a controlled fashion. In May, we will begin our Tuesday Game and Lunch Program, as well as, a Jam session and a Dance.

     Somethings will change. For instance, we will not open the kitchen, but we will bring in prepared meals and our cost of the meal will go from $3 to $4. We will also ask all entering members to sign a waiver and wear masks while walking about. We will limit table seating and the amount of people entering. While seated as for playing cards or socializing or eating we will not require a mask. While dancing we will not require a mask. But up and about you will need to wear a mask. We will sanitize between each event.    

Please bear with us as we take these baby steps to ensure everyone’s safety. Our Board is not professionally trained in all the precautions, but we are learning as much as we can.

I hope you have enjoyed the grab-n- go lunches and we will do another one on the second Tuesday of April. These of course will be free. Sign-up will be required and slots are limited.

We have some open positions on the Board and again we are appealing to our members to step up and help us out. When we are retired, we realize there’s not a lot of commitment like when we were younger. However, we are a corporation and we need our positions filled.

Finally, I would like to wish you a blessed Easter and God’s blessings and love & care to all of you. It’s been a heck of a year and we want to make up for our loss with a new outlook that would be meaningful and fun for all.

Team KASZ

Larry Simone

Hello everyone, welcome March. 

I hope everyone survived the frozen Valentine heart spectacle. I hope this March doesn’t give us any more of that madness.

By now, most of us should have had their first Covid shot if they’re willing to take it. Don’t give up -the second shots are becoming more and more available. If you can’t get online to get an appointment, I found out by just going to a facility and pleading with them that they have openings.  

We finally had our first Grab-n-Go curbside lunch for our members. It was a huge success and it was wonderful to see so many members. We know you all are tired of being boxed into your homes and apartments and we can sympathize with you. Our Board has voted to do a Grab-n-Go for each and every holiday this coming year. We are planning to do one for St. Patrick’s Day. We will be announcing the details in a separate email. We know from our last Grab-n-Go that there were more people that wanted to sign-up, but could not. We will have 65 meals available for members only for this March’s Grab-n-Go.

We are still in need of a Secretary and Program Entertainment Coordinator (PEC). I know as we get older we don’t want to volunteer for things, because we’ve “been there done that”, but please rethink about it. We need you and during our low volume of programs, it’s a good time to take these positions. 

We had our required annual audit for our financial records and all were in order. I want to specially thank our Treasurer, Kathy Carpenter, who just took over the job from the previous Treasurer and for putting all this together between the year. Also, would like to thank Ray Conley for being one of the auditors and for Doris Kushner a friend of KASZ, a financial professional with non-profits. 

We are getting very close to seeing the first rendition of our building on the property. I plan to brief the City on where we are with our future building. When it’s all said and done it will all be about money. We will try everything we can to raise money through foundations, sponsors, grants, and individual donors.

I recently sat with the City Manager and he is very excited in KASZ’s plans and looking forward to see more to come. He made a great suggestion that perhaps the County of Hays could step in and fund and build the facility. Cities don’t typically have extra money for senior centers without creating a bond. Counties typically have more money for programs such as this. In a way, it could be a partnership where the City gives the land to the County and the County operates and builds the center for us. We will always keep you posted. If you can’t do anything else, please offer some prayers for our Building Committee team that they could be strong enough, wise enough, and determined enough to see Adell Hurst’s dream grow.

We wish our best to Don Crowe, one of our senior charter members, who has had some surgery, but is doing well. We also wish our members who are suffering with the effects of Covid well and we will keep them in our prayers.

Once enough of our seniors get both vaccinations, the Board will see how we can begin some type of limited control programs going back into our building. I will always keep you posted.

Be sure to call, text, visit, email, or drive by and wave to our members. We all need each other more than anything else at this time. But we will get through this.

Team KASZ

Larry Simone

In case you missed it…Here is the video.

From the Prez,

Blessings to all of our members. Finally, the cool weather and now the holiday rush begins ….or so it use to. By now, our Board would have been finalizing all of our end of year events ….The Parade , Halloween Party, Veterans Day Ceremony, our (standing room only) KofC Thanksgiving Lunch, our beautiful Christmas Holiday Meal/Dance and finally our “Noon” Year’s Eve Party …..but looks like none will happen this year as we yield on the side of caution. But, for us long time members, we sure can savor the past years and good times with last-memories.

You may be hearing that the City is opening up some offices and facilities, but we still want to hold off.

I get so many calls that you are all itching to just play cards or see friends again. I promise I will work close with the Board to open as soon as we can. We all want to be together again, but at the same time staying safe and healthy. Meanwhile, Check out our upcoming virtual activities.

One thing that will not be cancelled is the National Election. We all know seniors are consistent voters, so please take advantage of this Covid down-time to really understand this coming election. Attached to this email you will find a sample ballot for our local Hays County….plz take time this election to walk in or mail in your ballot and really know the candidates and resolutions.  It really matters. Then say a special prayer for our great nation. 

     As October taps at our door, I want to proudly congratulate Pauline (Mary) and Don Crowe as they reach the milestone of 70 years of marriage together. Both are KASZ Charter members and a great example of love for all. They elected not to have a celebration in the Krug Activity Center in the interest of health and safety….but we won’t forget them and once all is safe we will make it up. Happy Anniversary Pauline and Don …. your KASZ family loves you. 

Please call, text, email or drive-by showing our members to you care.

God bless you all and have a blessed rest of the month,

Team KASZ Larry

September is here, school is back (kind of sort of), and Fall is just around the corner. The Board is continually to work hard and make inform decisions via Zoom Board Meetings for our members. I encourage you to make any suggestions or comments to a board member or to email to kasz78640@gmail.com and we will answer you to the best of our ability.

Traditionally, we would be celebrating Labor Day at our Tuesday Lunch, but due to Covid-19 things have changed.  Covid-19 affects everyone of us in different ways and there is no exception. Because we are seniors and the most vulnerable group for contacting the virus, we have to take extra Health Precautions to stem the tide of infection. Unfortunately, we are still unable to open KASZ at this time, but we are diligently working with the City and keeping tabs on the progress to re-open.

Meanwhile, Dawn (our Communication Chair) is looking on taking us virtual with classes to learn about Zoom, games and DIY programs.  Please be patient, as she reaches out to members for help.

Please, continue to stay in touch with each other by phone, email, or other social media platforms. Reach out to others who may be lonely and feeling lost due to Covid-19. And if you can, we would appreciate that you go online and fill out our survey as we continue to work for our new Senior Community building. We need your valuable input.

Be Healthy and Stay Safe.

God bless you all and have a blessed month,

Team KASZ

Betty