Our Civic Club Story
In March of 1979, a group of 12 women living in Wimberley recognized the increased needs of a rapidly-growing community. They gathered and discussed forming an active service organization, The Community Civic Club. It was their purpose to "nurture a strong community spirit, to be ever aware of our community's needs and services, and to welcome newcomers."
These 12 women laid a solid foundation to the current organization of the Community Civic Club; they also began the tradition of service and financial support to the community through their first fund raiser in 1981. The Civic Club has grown to 200 comprised of long time members and new led by an elected board. Every year members come together to welcome new members, form and continue friendships as we raise funds for the community through the Hill Country Home Tour, The Style Show and Market, Breakfast with Santa, Tablescapes and Spring Events. Our dedicated members offer their time, talents, and resources as we progress through the year. In the spring we all gather to celebrate the fruits of our labors by sharing our proceeds with local non-profit organizations and college-bound seniors.
In our 45th year, we continued to honor the goals our founders set in 1979 and had a great time interacting with our community. We welcomed 51 new and returning members and ended the year with a roster of 173. Members new and old volunteered to create many special events and took leadership positions.
Our meetings were held at Messina Inn and at Wimberley Methodist Church. We hosted many guests at our general meetings who enjoyed a lively set of programs. Community speakers provided us with interesting programs including WCCC Publicity Chair Heidi Knight on the use of social media, Paula Glover explained the Master Naturalist program, a new Barnabas Connection mental health program was introduced by Kate Sowell, Chick Morgan shared stories from her new book, and Amber Waken told us about Camp Community. Our Spring Event Co-chairs and Home Tour Co-chairs kept us up to date and encouraged volunteers.
A Style Show and Market returned with great success in November. December saw Breakfast with Santa grow in popularity and a festive Holiday gathering of members. Spring brought 26 fantastic Spring Events – including 4 major events - a mesmerizing Magic Show, a sold out Trivia Night, a romantic comedy movie screening with info from a Hollywood insider, and a lovely Tablescapes contest. Another 22 imaginative events included cake decorating with a Food Network contestant, a class on writing press releases from a newspaper editor, and the 9th Annual Mahjong Marathon!
Home Tour moved from fall to April to enjoy better weather. A lovely evening kickoff party in a fabulous home was enjoyed by many partygoers dressed in white. And Home Tour attendees had a great time visiting five inviting and diverse homes.
The Board thanks everyone, including the chairs, volunteers and participants who continue to participate in our efforts to give back to the community. This year we awarded scholarships to nine deserving students and bestowed grants to 28 nonprofits. We supported the Wimberley Valley with $67,000 in giving. We continued to generously support the Hays-Caldwell Women’s Center through our Benevolent Fund with cash and donated undergarments.
It was a great year to CONNECT, HAVE FUN, DO GOOD!
Nancy Robertson, Historian