The TipOTex RPC

Hello you all,

The week end started kind of shaky with rain and cold windy weather on Thursday and Friday. Some people, who had planned to be here, did not make it. The Calcutta was fun because we had a professional auctioneer, Mr. Buddy Moody rattling off the bids. After the donation to the club, there was still over $2500 in the Calcutta prize.

With $7200 in entry fee prize money and a few Belgian pools, there was enough on the line to get a few people excited.

The weather changed over night, but was still not to people friendly. It was clear and nearly freezing at release, 9:00AM with North winds at 10-15 mph or more. Here it cleared up completely by noon with a high in the 50’s and strong NNW winds. The release point was Manor, TX approximately 290 miles from the loft at Bayview.

We were unable to get the auction birds on IPigeon and with a small crowd the bidding was low. Ken Pair struggled and strained with those few bidders until all of the birds were sold. The club coffers are not over flowing, but the good news is that a bunch of very good pigeons stayed right here in our club. The auction finished and we made a dash for the race loft, with several of us pulling into the driveway as the first 2 birds circled and trapped at 1:21PM. That is right, 4 hours 21 minutes to cover 290 miles is 67 mph and nearly 2000 ypm. About 10 minutes later 5 more birds came in, struggling to land in the high winds. Another 10 minutes passed before a large group of birds arrived and trapped quickly.

Now, we could relax and eat some of the best fajitas you can imagine. Romeo Hernandez and Victor Valdez did a bang up job of preparing the feast. Then, with a little help from my friends from Houston, we crunched the numbers and prizes were paid out. The pools were gone after the first 9 birds, with 9^th place taking the winner-take-all-prize. You can guess-timate the Calcutta prize at 50, 30, & 20% to the top 3 birds.

The Mexico caper was aborted and we could have used some snacks and more beer during the Calcutta. Other than that, I think everyone had a good chance to enjoy the experience. I know our club members enjoyed hosting this event. We learned a lot and we made some money for the club.

Thank you to all of those who donated birds and participated in the race and the auction and to Wayne and Linda Kelm for a perfect release.

Please see the attached result sheet and congratulate all of the money winners. Eight birds stayed out overnight, and some of them returned on Sunday. Only a few are still M.I.A.

For the members of the TipOTex Racing Pigeon Club, thanks again, Mike Roark.

11/1/2007-Gentlemen,

The birds are looking healthy and exercising very well around the loft. I will start tossing them soon. The last 3 that are missing may be due to hawks. Fred Stark’s injured bird was knocked down by a Coopers Hawk.

I am still missing some entry fees. If you are one of those who have forgotten to pay, please send me a check as soon as possible. Check out the website for this update and the Resort information. Updates should be more frequent as I start training.

Thanks for participating and I hope to see you in January. Mike Roark.

We will be holding the Calcutta Auction and the Texas Center’s Winter Meeting at the La Copa Inn Beach Resort on South Padre Island, Texas. On the web, go to http://www.lacoparesort.com/ . There are at least ten standard rooms reserved for our group until December 21, 2007, at which time if not used by us, these rooms will go back to the general public. As you can see from the website, it is a fairly new resort right on the beach. To get the most out of your week end, I suggest you reserve a room for Friday and Saturday nights, January 18 and 19, 2008. The larger rooms and suits are very reasonable too, but feel free to select any hotel on the island and you will be no farther than three miles away. The race loft at my house is 18 miles from the La Copa.

Gerald if you would please update the website at your earliest convenience, we would appreciate it. If all of the rest of you would please forward this information to anyone you know may have an interest in attending, I am sure they will appreciate it. That website is http://www.txcenter.org/ . The phone number is 866-452-2672. Mention the TipOTex Racing Pigeon Club and you should receive a 10% discount.

Of 72 entries, I counted 65 birds in the loft tonight. The birds are healthy except for a couple of banged up wings.

Ed Marshal is working on getting birds donated for our auction to be held on race day. Please email him if you would like to donate a bird or two, or know someone that we should ask. Ed_Marshall@fws.gov We already have 4 birds from Rich Steele in Arizona and pledges from Tom Beard and Gerald Hebert and from Robert Foust in Oklahoma.

There are still a few people who have not paid their race entry fees. Please do that as soon as possible.

Thanks in advance for your help in spreading this message. Yours in the sport, Mike Roark. 956-433-6965

Remember that it will probably require a passport if anyone would like to go to Mexico for lunch and shopping.

Supper is on your own Saturday evening. Join us at our favorite restaurant, if you like.

1- One Loft Race, approximately 240 miles, adjustments for weather maybe in order

3- Start sending birds March 1st thru May 31st 2007 to avoid shipping problems in heat of deep south Texas summer.

8- Claiming Calcutta with a $100 buy-back, if you buy your bird back before Calcutta starts. (High only)

9- Pooling available- pooling sheets sent out and available to all participants.

We will try to negotiate a discount for TX Center members. There are literally dozens of nice motels in a two mile stretch of the island.

Anyone wishing a guided tour of Progresso, Mexico on Saturday will need to bring their passport. It will be lots of fun. We will drive you and buy your lunch but the shopping and margaritas are at your own expense.