It’s Fiesta Season! THROUGH ERYN’S LENS!
Capturing some of the Rio Grande Valley’s beautiful nature scenes. See photos on page 11.
• • • December 5, 2018 UPCOMING VALLEY EVENTS!www.welcomehomergv.com BON APPETIT! Check out this week’s listings of what’s happening in the RGV! See calendar starting on page 18.
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Executive Chef Bettina Tolin shares an recipe of warmth for those cool nights! Try this recipe on page 33.
VOLUME 4 • ISSUE 8 • December 5, 2018 • • • your official connection to the rio grande valley • • •
hello FROM KRISTI
There are a lot of
programs out there that provide volunteer opportunities for our Winter Texans, but a group of volunteers near and dear to my heart is the 1st Responders. Over the last 10 years, I’ve been lucky enough to work with many of them through our 1st Responder Leadership Program. Each season, through partnerships with hospitals, service providers, and physicians, we host monthly meetings for the coordinators of 1st Responder programs at parks across the Rio Grande Valley. These monthly meetings allow responders to network with each other, learn about local resources, and exchange ideas. We are blessed to have Rita Huether on our team. Rita is Welcome Home RGV’s 1st Responder coordinator. She, herself, is also a 1st Responder--at Winter Ranch in Alamo--so she knows, first hand, what programs and services our volunteer 1st Responders need. Over the years, Rita has assisted countless parks in developing their own program. Just as every park is unique, no two 1st Responder programs are alike. They do, however, have the same goal--to keep their residents safe at all times. At Welcome Home RGV, we are honored to provide this critical outreach program. We want to keep our Winter Texans happy…and healthy. If you are interested in learning more about our 1st Responder Leadership Program or how to create a program in your park, please call Rita at 956-687-5115. • We’re just connecting the dots,
Kristi
THANK YOU TO OUR
2018-2019
SEASON SPONSORS
Jim Hancock has called upon the 1st Responders twice in his time at the Tropic Winds RV Resort in Harlingen. Hancock poses for a portrait with his dog Delilah in the spot his leg was cut open by a machine he was using on his lawn. // photo by Nathan Lambrecht
A little help from friends 1st Responders provide medical assistance in RV parks Story and Photos by Nathan Lambrecht
T
hree seasons ago when the Hancocks arrived at Tropic Winds RV Resort in Harlingen from their home in Alabama, Jim knew his wife was not feeling right. “She had been sick for some time,” said Jim, 87. “When we got down here, she didn’t want to even get out of the motor home.” The Hancocks went to a local doctor, but the underlying condition of Frances’ illness had not yet been
diagnosed when one evening she became unresponsive. “That night when she really got bad, she was like she was going into a coma,” recalled Jim. “So, I said ‘I’ve got to have some help.’ I knew about the 1st Responders, so I got ahold of them, and here they come. The lady across the street came over here, bless her heart. She came over and said, ‘Jim, she needs to go to the hospital now.’” 1ST RESPONDERS CONTINUED ON PAGE 4 >>
“I can’t thank them enough for what they have done for my wife and for me. They are wonderful people. They’re angels.” • Jim Hancock •