Members of the Fine Arts Association of the Hill Country were treated to a free workshop and lunch on Saturday, September 15th at the Mason Eckert Civic Center. Abstract acrylic painter, Judy Surles of Kerrville, Texas, led the workshop and introduced members to different techniques of applying acrylics to paper and canvas.

The Mason Punchers met the Comfort Bobcats on Friday night and added a third win to their 2012 record, defeating the Comfort team 48-7. The Punchers continue to show improved offensive skills each week, and their defensive strategies improve with each contest. The Bobcats experienced the Punchers firsthand, and now become another number in the record book as the season moves forward. The action on Friday night began with the first play, and scarcely slowed down at all d ...

On Tuesday, September 11th, the Fine Arts Association of the Hill Country members had their first meeting of the 2012-2013 year at 6 p.m. They met at the Mason Eckert Civic Center to receive new yearbooks and were encouraged by President, Nan Loeffler of London, Texas, to accept the challenge of creating “Unexpected ART”! Following a welcome back, members took a road trip south of Mason to the property of artist Bill Worrell.

The Mason Punchers opened their 2012 season with an exposive win over the Winters Blizzards Friday night. The Punchers ended the game with a 62-20 win and demonstrated that they had control of the ball on offense and defense, and that they are ready for the upcoming season. It was a great night for both Rio Schmidt and Raul Silguero.

The annual "Meet the Punchers" will be August 18th 2012, at the Puncher Dome. The meal will be fried catfish and all the trimmings with donations gladly accepted. There are a lot of questions that face this year’s squad with the graduation of 17 seniors off of last year’s State Championship team.

On June 30th and July 1st the Loyal Valley Volunteer Fire Department held its first annual fund raiser in the form of a Gun and Crafts Show at the Fort Mason Community Center. It was a resounding success. We would like to thank all those who donated items for our auction on Saturday evening and the many, many folks that baked wonderful items for our bake sale to help keep our waistlines intact.

I had forgotten how good Maine smells! As we unloaded from our rental vehicle at the cottage in Pemaquid, Maine, on the Thursday night we arrived, my senses were overcome with the smell of balsam, salt water and flowers. It was a cool 53 degrees, and we made quick work of unpacking our bags and settling on the porch for conversation and cocktails. The trip to Maine was long overdue.

Mason junior tennis players fared well in the Mason Summer Swing Tournament held her last Friday and Saturday. The Summer Swing Circuit is a group of tournaments hosted by Kerrville, Wimberley, Mason, and Fredericksburg to get the summer tennis started. Each tournament has singles and doubles only with all singles played on the first day and the doubles played the following day. The next Mason tournament will be the Mason Dr Pepper/Babolat Open which will be held July 19-22.

Riata’s end-of-year social event was held at the beautiful country home of Nonie Stringer. A lovely meal was catered by Mary Scholibo, and everyone enjoyed the evening. Riata’s next fund raiser will be a pie booth at Round-Up.

=Riata Service Organizations Luncheon was held at The First Baptist Church on Wednesday, May 9, 2012. The Civic committee was in charge of organization and members cooked for the event which is intended to raise funds for our local community. Bobbie McMillan introduced the entertainment, which was music by Karen Mitchell accompanied by Marilyn Kahan on the piano.

Dorrett Townsend led the Fine Arts Association of the Hill Country Creative Session program on Saturday, May 5, using “TWIGS” for inspiration. A variety of sculptural, as well as, two dimensional expressions was made with Dorrett’s creative instructions. Officers of the FAAHC are already planning the programs and Creative Sessions for the new year which begins June 1st.

Mason High School art students were honored with an opening reception for the 8th Annual Lamplight Designs Art Competition on Friday, May 4th at Topaz Confections. The reception was held in conjunction with the First Friday Art Walk on the Square. A record number of family and friends were on hand to view 37 entries displaying a wide range of medium.

Riata Service Organization met April 24, 2012 at home of Judy Cordes on the beautiful Llano River. Twenty six members were in attendance. Tammy Parish & Vondell Jordan were guest speakers. They recommended a book, The Leader in Me , by Stephen R. Covey. They feel it has made a great impact on schools.

Last week’s Mason County News carried an article identifying the two homes in town that will be on the April 21st Mason County Republican Women’s (MCRW) 2012 Home Tour. This week’s article introduces the homes in the county area. Three of the county homes are off Highway 87 South toward Fredericksburg.

Blue Lake WGA hosted the annual Nanny Goat Invitational on Tuesday, March 27th at the Blue Lake Golf Club. There were golfers from Austin, Mason, Burnet, Bandera, Georgetown, Marble Falls, Horseshoe Bay, Lago Vista, Kingsland & San Antonio. The theme this year was “Wear Your Easter Bonnet”. In keeping with this theme there was an Easter Bonnet contest.