Texas Center of Racing Pigeon Cl

Here you will find important club/combine information, upcoming races, important issues,

Please contact Gerald Hebert if you have some news that the Texas Center membership would need to hear!

Jessie "Sonny" William Scott, a well-known pigeon flyer in the Texas Center area for the last 46 years, passed away on Monday, June 1, 2009 at the age of 66. He was born October 9, 1942, in Little Rock Arkansas. He graduated from Harlandale High School in l962 and married Mary Linda Tolson on November 27, 1964. Sonny was a letter carrier for many years at the Terrell Wells postal station. He was an avid fisherman and teller of long tales. He loved Nascar, card playing, baseball, Babe Ruth, Mickey Mantle, Nolan Ryan and all things Yankees. Sonny enjoyed coaching for many years in the Harlandale Senior League where his "Coca Cola" team enjoyed many great seasons; with one season of 57-2. He also coached the 1973 Senior All-Stars; taking them to state where they placed 2nd. His greatest joys were visiting and celebrating Christmas with family and friends He is survived by his wife, Mary Linda Tolson Scott of San Antonio. Memorial Service will be held at Mission Park South Saturday, June 6 2009, at 1:00 PM. Reverend Lewis Retzloff officiating. Memorials may be given to the American Red Cross or the SPCA Humane Society of San Antonio.

This 2007 young bird season the Beeville club reinstated its John DuPont futurity race. The futurity had been suspended during the time that the club was suffering low membership and just struggling to stay alive. Now that the membership has increased there was a renewed interest in the futurity.

The John DuPont futurity is named to honor an original founding member of the club. Primarily for club members only it is designed to encourage members to know their birds and their how they race. The reward for winning this race, other than a slight monetary gift, is the pleasure of having your name and the number of the winning pigeon inscribed on a continuing plaque that is displayed on banding nights.

Prior to the start of the races club members have to nominate 5 birds that will participate in the futurity that will be flown on the first 300 mile race of the season. This way the futurity can be used in both young and old bird contests. Hopefully the flyers pick wisely and their choices are still there when the race is flown.

This season winner was Fred Stark flying a grizzle cock. The race was from our 300 mile station and the weather was cloudy with a south wind. The winner flew at a speed of 1267.317 ypm and was way out in front of second place. We want to congratulate Fred and look forward to old birds and seeing his name emblazened on the John DuPont plaque.

It is with great sadness that we inform you of the passing of Chris Peeman on September 29, 2007. His passion was his pigeons and the sport, but his Love was his family. His desire to put others before him never left him, even through his last days. We thank everyone for their prayers and concerns through this difficult time, it has really been a blessing to see how many people Chris has touched in his lifetime. Chris is survived by his wife Bea and his two sons Duncan & Dennis and a wonderful family. We would ask that in lieu of flowers, that a donation be made out to the Solaris Healthcare in Decature, 2250 S. FM 51 Ste. 400, Decatur , TX 76234 . We are planning to hold a Memorial Celebration of Chris’s life during this year’s Texas Shootout Race Weekend in November.
CHRIS PEEMAN
June 23rd, 1946 – Sept 29th, 2007

President Thornley called the meeting to order at 8:35am. Officers present were: Jim Keng Vice President, Zone Directors Dean Ledet, Roland Gutierrez, Butch Shoop, and Raymond Taylor. Also present was Sec/Treas. Ray Cothran. Craig Nidever gave to invocation and Gary led us in the Pledge of Allegiance. The first item of business was the seating of the delegates. A total of 37 delegates representing 22 clubs were seated.

Gary thanked the Convention hosts for a great convention and called for Ray Cothran to read the minutes of the 2007 winter meeting.

A motion by Jim Keng to dispense with the reading of the minutes as they were posted on the Texas Center website. Seconded by John McSweeney and passed by a majority vote.

The treasurer’s report showed a balance in the general fund of $ 24,321.26 and a balance of $5,000.00 in the legal defense fund. A motion was made by Don Barker and 2^nd by Craig Nidever to accept the Treasurers report. Passed by a majority vote.

Gary asked Fred Warner to say a few words as convention chairman. Fred thanked everyone for being here and hoped everyone was having a good time. Short and Sweet.

The next order of business was the newsletter. Jim Keng gave the report since Webmaster Gerald Hebert was unable to attend the meeting. Jim said that Gerald stated that we have not even broken the surface of the crust on the website. There have been many thousand “hits” on the website and we need more information of it. Pictures, news items, etc. Also, anyone wanting a link to the website, contact Gerald. There have been inquiries about ads on the website. More discussion during new business.

Gary then introduced John McSweeney Zone Director for the AU. John explained that any time he was needed at a local meeting club, combine, etc. contact him. He would try to attend if possible if an AU point of view was needed. He asked all Texas Center members to remember that the AU was there to help all members. John went on to introduce the officers of the AU that were in attendance. They were Northeast Zone Director Bill Desmarais, Freddie Riveria show chairman, Steve Lawler President, Robert Tomlison Executive Vice President, Frank Greenhall, Past President and current recording secretary, and Herb Cartmell Constitution & By-Laws chairman. Both Bill and Steve will speak later in the convention.

Gary announced that Dean’s term of office has expired and Keith LaJack will be the new Zone One Director.

Ray is moving up to Vice President and James Allen has been appointed to the Zone 4 Director.

Vice President and Constitution & Bylaws chairman Jim Keng said everything was quite. Jim will be the new President of the Texas Center for the next term of office.

Hall of Fame chairman Craig Nidever informed the delegates that the Hall of Fame forms have been revamped to be more “user friendly”. He encouraged everyone to send the forms in for anyone in the club.

Jim Keng stated that the duties of the Vice President and Constitution & Bylaws chairman be separated. With that, incoming President Jim Keng asked Sterling Leroy to take on the job of Constitution & Bylaws chairman. Sterling (after some thought) accepted the position

Getting back to the website. The board will determine the cost of ads on the website. More discussion later.

The Texas Center Board voted to again place an ad in the AU yearbook. The cost of the ad last year was $300.00. We will put a color ad this year.

Gary then recognized Bill Hill. Bill encouraged everyone to support the World of Wings. It has something for everyone including one loft race, auction site, and the biggest money maker the gold band program. The World of Wings needs your support.

Dawn Allen speaking for the Texas Center Ladies Auxiliary stated that after this year the Auxiliary will no longer be able to accept credit cards. She went on to say that there will be no reimbursements without a receipt. This applies to shipping costs, auction items, etc.

Richard Segelken, speaking for winter meeting host Mike Roark and the Tip of Texas club, encouraged everyone to “come on down ” next January for a good time. He thanked everyone for their support of the birds shipped to the winter meeting race. He reminded everyone that at this time you do not need a passport to go shopping in Mexico. So bring your wives to the meeting for a really good time. The dates are January 18 & 19 next year.

Discussion to change the elections for all of the officers to the same year. After a lot of discussion both pro and con it was decided to stay as it is. More postings on the websites for the officers positions might be the answer for more participation. Jim encouraged everyone to get more involved.

Dennis Aycock asked to speak concerning the 2008 summer convention. He stated that in 2002 the Phoenix area clubs hosted the summer convention and everything went well. The races, tours, casinos, etc. but he stated for them to have another successful convention they needed more backing. It is hard to plan a convention when you are not sure how many people are going to show up. Biff Taylor said the hardest thing was the convention host has to book “X” amount of rooms and hope they are filled up. He asked everyone to sign up early to help them plan. With that, Dennis asked for the 2008 Texas Center summer convention for the Phoenix area with the caveat that he needed to talk to other members in the Phoenix area. Passed by a majority vote.

Joey Jones asked to speak on the control of sickness. He stated that there are very few Vets that really have knowledge of the diseases that we fight daily. It was brought up that a lot of diseases are transmitted by reusing shipping boxes. If you reuse a shipping box change the litter and use a disinfectant in it. Steve Lawler, president of the AU, stated that the AU is currently working with several Vets to find cures for certain virus most of this is going on in California and South Carolina.

Ray Cothran reminded everyone of the deadline for ordering AU bands for 2009, The deadline is 2-15-08. Also send ALL AU& TC dues to the Texas Center secretary. The extra money that the AU lets the center keep helps fund the scholarship fund for the Ladies Auxiliary.

Jim Keng then presented outgoing president Gary Thornley with a plaque of appreciation for his 7 years as president of the Texas Center.

If you have any questions, comments, or suggestions about or for the website please contact Gerald Hebert