VVolume 1 ~ No. 3 ~ SPRING 2011olume 1 ~ No. 3 ~ SPRING …VVolume 1 ~ No. 3 ~ SPRING 2011olume 1 ~ No. 3 ~ SPRING 2011 As we continue to wait pa-tiently for the outcome of the State

Volume 1 ~ No. 3 ~ SPRING 2011Volume 1 ~ No. 3 ~ SPRING 2011

As we continue to wait pa-tiently for the outcome of the State Budget and how it will shape the future of the Texas Tropical Trail Region, we’ve kept busy and on the go with meetings, community involvement and plans of our own. We’ve met from one end of the Region to the other (Refugio – Alice – Brownsville) with stops in between in Corpus Christi and Kingsville. Our Regional Executive Director, Lane Hollingsworth, resigned in early March and headed for greener pastures in the Dallas Metroplex area. At present, there are no plans to fi ll that position. Never known to let grass grow under our feet, as we wait patiently, we’re working on interactive maps of the Region, Partnership Grants

and a possible visit to a newly con-structed reproduction of an authen-tic 18th century Spanish mission hidden in the brush country of Live Oak County.Looking Behind Us…March 2011 March found us in Refugio en-joying a tour of the Refugio County Museum and adjoining Linney House, a wine-tasting, courtesy of the local Braman Winery, and a picnic lunch at downtown Kings Park. Fund-raising Chair Wanda Greenhill brought us up-to-date on the successful 2011 partner-ship donations program and Vice Chair Valerie Bates summarized the March 14 THC/Heritage Trail Regions Conference Call. The day was hosted by Bart Wales, Director of the Refugio County Museum and Secre-tary of the Texas Tropical Trail Region Board of Directors. On March 2, I had the pleasure of attending the “Toast to Texas” ceremonies at Cen-tennial House in Corpus Christi to commemorate the Terquas-quicentennial (175th anniversa-ry) of Texas Independence Day. The event was hosted by the Daughters of the Republic of Texas (Clara Driscoll Chapter) and the Nueces County Histori-cal Commission.April 2011 Our focus in April was

nature and history and Alice has it all! Alice Chamber of Commerce Executive Vice President Juan Navejar was a great help in shap-ing plans for the day that took us to La Copita Ranch and to the Third Coast Squadron Commemorative Air Force Museum. La Copita Ranch is located south of Alice near Ben Bolt and is a Texas A&M University Demon-stration and Research Ranch. The ranch includes nature trails and is primarily a nature tourism training facility for ranchers. We then headed to the Maxine Flournoy Third Coast Squadron Commemorative Air Force Muse-um located near the Alice Airport. This museum honors American military aviation through fl ying, (continued on page 3)

Corpus Christi Convention and Visitors Bu-reau hosted the annual National Tourism Week Luncheon at the American Bank Center on May 12 and Board Members Bart Wales and Mike Carlisle of Corpus Christi worked the exhibit table to promote the region.

Since 2010, the Texas Agril-ife Extension Service has been providing an educational Wildlife Guide training program in part-nership with The Corpus Christi Convention and Visitor Bureau (CCCVB), Texas Parks and Wild-life, & Professional Guides of the Coastal Bend. Eventually, the CCCVB will only recommend guides that have gone through this training and are thus certifi ed Wildlife Guides. Visitors to South Texas rely on the professional Wildlife & Adventure Guides & Outfi tters to help them have the best outdoor experience possible. Ecotour-ism travelers to our area look to the professionals for information about the natural environment, where to see, hunt and catch the wildlife of the day. They listen to advice on which hotels and lodges to use and in turn increase the de-mand for outdoor experiences and lodging in the Texas Tropical Trail region. These visitors also like to experience and acquire informa-tion about the history, culture and

heritage of the area. Through guide education, training and certifi cation; profes-sional guides will be able to dif-ferentiate themselves from non-professionals. It is the hope that professional guides will be better able to communicate the impor-tance of high quality management and conservation of our natural resources, wildlife habitat as well as the heritage and culture of our region. Wildlife Guides & Outfi t-ters who complete and pass the training program are eligible to be certifi ed by the Corpus Christi Convention & Visitor Bureau (CCCVB) and to receive market-ing and promotion benefi ts from the CCCVB. The Wildlife Guides will be trained to identify selected key wildlife and plant species of the Texas Coastal Bend. The guides will be trained and have knowl-edge and understanding of the basic history of local land use, settlement, geology, climate, and vegetation in the Texas Coastal Bend Area. Guides from South Padre Island have also been in at-tendance at these trainings and are in turn listed by the CCCVB. Wildlife Guides are also trained in tourism industry prac-tices, small business planning, customer service, and practical in-terpretation skills. These skills are important skills to make a wildlife guiding activity a memorable one and increase business and under-standing of the fun and importance of the wildlife, nature, culture, history and environment of South Texas.

(continued on page 6)

TTTR BOARD TTTR BOARD OFOF DIRECTORS DIRECTORSNancy DevineyNancy Deviney ......... ......... BOARD CHAIRBOARD CHAIR

Lake Corpus Christi, Tx. Lake Corpus Christi, Tx. Rick StrykerRick Stryker .. .. PAST BOARD CHAIRPAST BOARD CHAIR

Corpus Christi, Tx.Corpus Christi, Tx.Valerie BatesValerie Bates .. ..BOARD VICE CHAIRBOARD VICE CHAIR

Port Isabel, Tx.Port Isabel, Tx.Toni NagelToni Nagel .... .... BOARD TREASURERBOARD TREASURER

Kingsville, Tx.Kingsville, Tx.Bart WalesBart Wales ..... ..... BOARD SECRETARYBOARD SECRETARY

Refugio, Tx.Refugio, Tx.Wanda GreenhillWanda Greenhill . . BOARD MEMBERBOARD MEMBER

Harlingen, Tx.Harlingen, Tx.Lili DeRousieLili DeRousie ...... ...... BOARD MEMBERBOARD MEMBER

South Padre Island, Tx.South Padre Island, Tx.Mike CarlisleMike Carlisle ....... ....... BOARD MEMBERBOARD MEMBER

Corpus Christi, Tx.Corpus Christi, Tx.Eileen MatteiEileen Mattei ....... ....... BOARD MEMBERBOARD MEMBER

Harlingen, Tx.Harlingen, Tx.

ABOUT THE TROPICALABOUT THE TROPICALTRAVELER NEWSLETTERTRAVELER NEWSLETTER

Published Published quarterly, quarterly, the Tropi-the Tropi-cal Traveler cal Traveler newsletter newsletter

is compiled by the Board of Directors is compiled by the Board of Directors and the Executive Director. The objec-and the Executive Director. The objec-tive is to further promote both the tive is to further promote both the unique and beautiful heritage, culture, unique and beautiful heritage, culture, attractions and nature tourism oppor-attractions and nature tourism oppor-tunities within our 20 county region. tunities within our 20 county region. Without the generous coopera- Without the generous coopera-tion of our Partners in this region, we tion of our Partners in this region, we wouldn’t have a story to tell or a way wouldn’t have a story to tell or a way to tell it, so we want you to know we to tell it, so we want you to know we appreciate this valuable partnership. appreciate this valuable partnership. Eleven times a year our board meets Eleven times a year our board meets in a different location and brings with in a different location and brings with it an opportunity for host communities it an opportunity for host communities to show off their best and most unique to show off their best and most unique features. And this newsletter will retell features. And this newsletter will retell that story to a bigger audience!that story to a bigger audience! To subscribe to our quarterly To subscribe to our quarterly newsletter email: newsletter email: info@[email protected].

Unless otherwise indicated, photogra-Unless otherwise indicated, photogra-phy is copyrighted by Valerie D. Bates.phy is copyrighted by Valerie D. Bates.

The Tropical Traveler NEWSLETTER Page 2The Tropical Traveler NEWSLETTER Page 2 Volume 1 ~ No. 3 ~ Spring 2011 Volume 1 ~ No. 3 ~ Spring 2011

(continued from page 1) exhibitions and remembrance. The honorary Colonels of the Third Coat Squadron teach and preserve history through restoring the air-craft and memories of the people who paid the ultimate price for our freedom from World War II to the present. The Tropical Trail Board of Directors went into Executive Ses-sion at the conclusion of the busi-ness meeting to discuss alternative and sustainable business options for the program should funding from THC be eliminated or re-duced. In mid-April, I was invited to participate in one of the Focus Groups as part of the development of the Corpus Christi Tourism Ambassadors certifi cation program, sponsored by the Corpus Christi Convention and Visitors Bureau. The sessions were conducted by Michael Lawler, Ph.D., Learning & Instruction Systems Consultant for Mickey Schaefer & Associates

LLC of Chicago. At the end of April, Toni Nagel, King Ranch Visitor Program Services Director and Treasurer of the Tropical Trail Board of Direc-tors, and I attended the Texas First Lady’s Tour in Kingsville. First Lady Anita Perry was in town to celebrate the fact that Kingsville has been accepted back into the Texas Historical Commission’s program as a recertifi ed Main Street city beginning this year. Kingsville had originally been a Main Street city during the state program’s years in 1982.May 2011 The Texas Historical Commis-sion held a day of celebration and tours on May 10 in Brownsville in honor of the fact that Brownsville has been named the recipient of the 2011 Texas First Lady’s Texas Treasures Award City. The Tropi-cal Trail group was invited to par-ticipate in all the festivities of the day to commemorate this special occasion and approximately 20 of our tourism partners spent the day in Brownsville with us. Seven tours were scheduled for the day beginning at the historic Alonso Building. Other stops in-cluded the Old City Cemetery, Fort Brown, Palmito Ranch Battlefi eld, Brownsville Townsite District, the relic Sabal Palm forest and Brownsville Heritage Museum & Market Square. The Corpus Christi Conven-tion and Visitors Bureau hosted the annual National Tourism Week Luncheon at the American Bank Center on May 12. As in the past, the Tropical Trail Region shared an exhibit/trade table, prior to the luncheon, with the Texas Coastal Bend Regional Tourism Council. Tropical Board Members Bart Wales and Mike Carlisle of Corpus


A twist on culinary tourism with this offering from the Braman Winery, the only Texas winery bottling a ready-made mimosa.


Christi worked the exhibit table with me to distribute brochures and information about Tropical Trail Region attractions. The theme of the luncheon was “Travel Matters”. Our luncheon partners were Toni Nagel and Janelle Rand of the King Ranch, Bart, Mike, Tina Crow of the Port Lavaca Chamber of Commerce, Patti Young of the Coastal Bend Wildlife Photo Contest and Mer-rill Ulbricht of Brackenridge Recreation Complex on Lake Texana in Jackson County. On May 17, I was selected to serve on the Subject Matter Expert (SME) Panel as part of the development for the Corpus Christi CVB Tourism Ambassadors Certifi cation Program. Seven other persons served on this Panel including representatives from the Corpus Christi’s Mayor’s offi ce, the Omni Hotels, the Corpus Christi Regional Transportation Authority (RTA), the American Bank Center, Domino’s Pizza, South Texas Botanical Gardens & Nature Center and The Coastal Wave online calendar of events & entertainment guide. A curriculum will be developed for this certifi -cation process, based on the input of the SME Panel, by the staff at Mickey Schaefer & Associates LLC of Chicago. Looking Ahead… The summer will remain busy for all of us as we

work towards our goals and wonder what the State Budget holds in store. June plans include being involved in the Kingsville Main Street Program THC Resource Team Visit, participating in the Partnership Grant Review Committee meeting and our monthly Partner Event and Business Meeting in Robstown. The Robstown Partner Event will be our 70th monthly gathering and will be hosted by the Robstown Area Historical Museum with a focus on the agriculture heritage of the community. The quarterly THC Heritage Trails statewide meeting will be held in mid-July in Van Horn and plans are being made for some of the Tropical Trail board members to attend. This may require some changes to our regular monthly calendar. Right now plans are in the works for a visit to the Live Oak County replica of an 18th century Spanish mission, and we hope everything falls into place for August. Some of you will remember a similar trip a couple of years ago to the Lonesome Dove Village replica in McMullen County. A good description of both these sites would be “a living history exhibit”. In the meantime, please make plans to join us when you can. I’ll look forward to seeing you… Nancy Deviney Texas Tropical Trail Board Chair

Refugio Museum’s Bronze Age on display! Visit: http://www.refugiocountytx.org/museum.htm for more informa-tion. (photo by Bart Wales)


The Rotunda at the State Capitol in Austin.

The State Budget has been passed by the Senate and the House and is awaiting the Governor to sign. The new budget, $172 billion, was approved by a House vote of 97-53 and a Senate vote of 20-11 and now goes to the Governor who has commended the proposal for not raising taxes or tapping into the States Rainy Day Fund, $9.7 bil-lion. The cuts that were made were not as deep as originally thought in House Bill 1. However there is concern that this budget may have some pitfalls that may cause the budget for the following 2 years, 2014-2015, to be even worse. It looks as if the Texas His-torical Commission will still be with us but with the loss of several important aspects that helped Rural Texas. Luckily the Heritage Trails Program will be with us for the next 2 years. Here is some information I think we should remember for our next election year and the next ses-sion of the Texas Legislature. I would like to quote an article by Christopher Smith Gonzalez, of

the Texas Tribune in early March, found on the Preservation Texas web site. A new window to some ad-ditional funding for historic preser-vation was opened yesterday in the House Appropriations Committee when members, acknowledging the great interest shown by their constituents, had a very substantive discussion about the Texas Histori-cal Commission’s needs and how to continue, at some level Court-house Preservation, Heritage Trails, and County Historical Commission activities. “I have received more letters on the Historical Commission up to this point than anything from my constituents,” said Rep. Geanie Morrison-Victoria (Refugio). But not all committee mem-bers were as concerned about the agency’s plight. Rep. Raul Torres, a Corpus Christi Republican who sits on the committee, tweeted: “30min+ spent on Historical Com-mission spending needs….. trails, courthouses, programs…. Why?” Mark Wolfe, the Historical Commission’s executive director, said communities already partici-pating in the Main Street program, which helps Texas cities revitalize their Historic Downtowns and neigh-borhood commercial districts, would con-tinue to receive funding but that no new cities would be admitted. Appropriations Chairman Jim Pitts, r-Waxahachie, worried the cuts would leave courthouses under reno-vation with “scaffolding

for two years.” Wolfe said no new courthouses would be added to the renovation program, and that the Commission would use the money it has left on the 30 active court-house projects. Wolfe suggested that his agency could be part of the solution for the state’s economic quandary. Morrison agreed, pointing out that Historical Commission Grants are a big economic driver in rural areas. “We create jobs and we generate taxes and those are good things for Texas,” Wolfe said. “I hope we can continue in that capacity.” Rep. Sylvester Turner, D-Houston, said urban representa-tives like himself need to help their rural colleagues maintain funding for these programs. “I am joining forces with Main Street and with rural Texas,” he said, “because in this budget we are all in this sink-ing ship and together we are going to patch in and move forward.” As we wait to see what the Governor does with the budget we need to start on our next campaign to protect the great works of the Texas Historical Commission in coming budget years.


(continued from page 2) This training involves partici-pation in live workshops as well as online materials and testing. The program is not intended to train and document guides as experts

but to insure a basic broad level of wildlife species knowledge, basic tourism and business practices, environment and natural resource management practices and regula-tions.Guides are expected to have:• the ability to identify major wild-life and plant species of the area. • a working knowledge of the his-torical and cultural aspects of local wildlife and natural resource use, including key individuals impor-tant to the conservation of the area. • a good understanding of local en-vironmental systems and resource management issues and policies. • a good understanding about the social and economic aspects of outdoor recreation and tourism in the Coastal Bend Area. • a good understanding about local land and water use and the histori-

cal settlement of the region. The Wildlife Certifi cation Cur-riculum is designed to evaluate knowledge about two over arch-ing themes pertaining to Wildlife Guiding in the Coastal Bend Area:

1) Wildlife and Natu-ral Resource Man-agement 2) The Business of Wildlife & Nature GuidingThese themes are the core modules of this certifi cation program. The Wildlife Adven-ture Guide Training Program is primarily an online program, including testing. Module One: ad-dresses knowledge and skills pertain-ing to local wildlife

and natural resource management practices. Guides are trained and tested on four distinct areas: 1) Species Identifi ca-tion & Features2) Historical, Cultural & Economic Aspects of Wildlife3) Environmental Systems4) Resource Manage-mentModule Two: address-es knowledge and skills pertaining to lo-cal business develop-ment management and guides are trained and tested on four distinct areas: 1) Business Opera-tions

2) Product Development3) Marketing4) Regulations For information on the next training offered, contact: Miles Phillips, Asst. Professor and Extension Specialist-Nature Tourism at 979/845-1023 (offi ce), 979/204-8448 (cell) or email: [email protected]. Visit:http://naturetourism.tamu.edu. 2261 TAMU, College Station, TX 77843.______________________________ The Tropical Trail Region’s story is also our beautiful and varied nature as well as our Historical and Cultural Heritage. Top left: This Turkey Buzzard was interested in protecting his din-ner. Photo taken near Goose Island. Below: Spring time brings beautiful color along the roadways in south Texas. Purple Thistle (Cir-sium horridulum). Photo taken near Refugio on Highway 77. (Photos by Valerie D. Bates)


Most of you are aware of the hard times we are all ex-periencing. Funding has been cut in many important areas of Tourism. Because many of you have continued to partner with the Texas Tropical Trail Region, we continue to market

all of the Texas Tropical Trail Region! Some of you have not sent in your donation and pos-sibly with very good reason. Remember, all the revenue generated from partner’s do-nations is used to bring peo-ple into the Texas Tropical Trail Region. We have many wonderful sights, sounds and great events that need to be made known to those inside and outside of our Region. As the summer is begin-ning and many are looking for less expensive and closer to home vacations, we must do our very best to get them to our area for a wonderful experience. Be it climbing to the top of the Port Isabel Lighthouse or taking a tour of the King Ranch, our Texas

Tropical Trail Region has something for everyone. We have only received around 57% of your Partner Donations. Thank you to those who have sent their do-nations! If your City, Cham-ber, or Historical group has not sent their donation, please ask them to send in something now. If you need a new in-voice or some help please feel free to contact me at [email protected]. The Texas Tropical Trail Region appreciates everything you have done in the past. Please help us keep the Texas Tropical Trail Region one of the most visited in the State of Texas.

“Marketing draws Tourists& Dollars to our Region”

Valerie Bates, Nancy Deviney and Lili DeRousie (TTTR) and Cheryl LaBerge (Downtown Manager for the City of Harlingen) and April Garner (THC Program Development Specialist) on hand to celebrate Brownsville’s First Lady’s Texas Treasure Award.


Snapshots from our travels...by Valerie D. Bates Traveling through the lower 20 county region in Texas will put your camera in front of a wide variety ofsubjects. From wildlife to history to the people makingit all happen, we are a colorful slice of Texas.This summer, take the time to stop and look more closely at a landscape or at that museum or attraction you beenmeaning to visit. It will be wellworth it and add memories toyour travels. To the right: Little blossoms likethis Firewheel (Gaillardia pulchella)cover the roadsides of south Texas.Be inspired to stop and take a closerlook!

(photos by: Valerie D. Bates)

Tucked away in places like Refugio, the Refugio County Museum features artifacts, like those below, from their deep roots in the Texas oil industry. Without preservation efforts, important parts of our history would be forgotten and lost. To the right, this monument was erected in 1936 to honor the fallen who defended Refugio during two battles fought in 1836 between the fall of the Alamo and the Goliad massacre . Fewer than 100 faced approximately 1,500 Mexi-can Army soldiers. Learn the importance of the role of Refugio in Texas history! Visit the Refugio County Museum.


The Texas Tropical Trail in ALICE Alice, named for rancher Richard King’s daughter, was at one point the largest cattle ship-ping station in the U.S. Today Alice, the Jim Wells County seat, marks the intersection of coastal plains and brush country. The region is still big on beef—the Beefmaster breed originated here--and oil fi eld services, as you might guess from the full-sized, retired oil rig which sits in the center of town in its own park. Alice is branching out into ecotourism. Seven miles south of town, La Copita Ranch is a Texas A&M eco-

tourism research facility, which provides opportunities for nature photographers, birders, and Texas ranch fans. On Alice’s east side, the recently revamped Maxine Flournoy Third Coast Squadron of the Commemorative Air Force is truly a fl ying museum. The volunteers who run the museum work to restore and fl y old war-birds and honor the local men and women who fl ew military planes, mostly during World War II. Visitors can tour the hangar’s aged planes and marvel at their old-fashioned construction tech-niques. They can even sit inside a few like the 1941 Bearcat which has wings made of wood. “It fl ies like a dream,” said Col. Don Eammons, “but it’s called Shakin’

Jake” for its rough ride. Various restored planes are available for short fl ights, piloted by museum members and other licensed vol-unteers. Flournoy, the museum’s namesake, is an Alice resident and was a WWII WASP-Women’s Air Service Pilot. She helped pull together the exhibition on WASPs and their contribution to the war effort. Third Coast displays include vintage fl ying uniforms, poignant fl ying memorabilia, and a form-fi tting cockpit of a Blue Angel jet, as well as a signal light used by beach masters during beach land-ings. The museum has an oral his-tory project underway to capture the memories of airmen.

View inside the 1941 Bearcat on display at the Maxine Flournoy Third Coast Squadron, Com-memorative Air Force Museum. Known as the Shakin’ Jake because of the plane’s vibration during fl ight, training in the craft was a rite of a pilot’s passage. (photo by: Valerie Bates)


Revised Texas Tropical Trail Region Mission Statement (What we DO) The Texas Tropical Trail Region and its partners identify, preserve, interpret and promote the natural, historic and cultural resources of South Texas.Revised Texas Tropical Trail Region Vision Statement (What can happen as a RESULT of our work) The Texas Tropical Trail Region’s unique attributes and resources will be preserved and developed to create a strong economic impact in our communities.

Tales from the Tropical Trail: REFUGIO By Eileen Mattei In 1795 the Spanish mission Nuestra Senora del Refugio was established along the Guadalupe River and soon populated by Span-ish soldiers and their families and local Indians. The mission was abandoned in 1830, but Irish im-migrants settled at the site in 1834. The Texas battle cry of ‘Re-member the Alamo! Remember Goliad!’ omits a major segment of Texas Independence history, according to Bart Wales, curator of the Refugio County Historical Museum. Between the time of the fall of the Alamo and the Goliad massacre in 1836, two battles were fought at Refugio, delaying the Mexican army. Approximately 1,500 Mexican attackers were briefl y held off at the old mission by less than 100 defenders, many of whom were later captured and killed. Why is Refugio omitted from history’s roll? No one knew how to pronounce the name, Wales asserted. The town’s name is most often heard as Re-furr-ee-oo. Nevertheless, in 1936 Refugio erected a centennial monument to the defenders of the town. Unfor-tunately, the townspeople detested the heroic statue to the men who had lost their lives nearby. They planted a grove of trees to hide the statue which had been created by a nationally known sculptor. Finally

in March 2011, a large marker was unveiled, dedicat-ing the 74-year-old monument and noting the populace’s resis-tance in the 1800s and 1900s. When Highway 77was widened in 1999, preservationists reinterred graves from the original church cemetery to the modern Catholic church on the river bank. Archeologists also recovered Spanish ceramics, loom shuttles and other colonial artifacts, many of which are now in the log cabin-style county museum building, built in 1985, that fronts Highway 59. The interesting and well-tended museum showcases the bell from the mission and the town’s early history. It’s well worth a stop. Inside, a saloon’s massive, 30-foot-long back bar boasts a mirror framed by carved wood columns that rise ten feet tall. A photo ex-hibit notes that Refugio was the site of Texas’ fi rst legal liquor distillery. The museum’s refurbished displays include Remington bronze sculptures, (representing the Bronze Age in Refugio, Wales quipped), a blacksmith’s door with the brands he crafted burned into it, a Model T, old typewriters and a nicely-labeled shell collection. An interactive exhibit of ‘What is it?’

gets visitors puzzling over a WWI code transmitter, an oil fi eld seis-mograph and more odd tools. Past the oil patch Christmas Tree is another museum building, the Linney House built in 1876, the oldest family home in the town. Built of pine and cypress, fash-ioned with high windows in dog-trot style, the house withstood the hurricane that destroyed Matagorda only 12 miles away. Before leaving the museum pick up the Parade of Homes self-guided driving tour CD. It leads you past 12 Victorian era houses and briefs you on their history. One new stop is the Braman Winery, the only Texas winery bottling a ready-made mimosa. White merlot, zinfandel, meritage and sparkling wines are available in the tasting room which is open Thursday to Saturday noon to 7 p.m. The wines are available online and in stores in Refugio and Victo-ria.


FIRST LADY’S TEXAS TREASURE AWARDBROWNSVILLE WINNER 2011

On May 10th, Texas Historical Commission presented the First Lady’s Texas Treasure Award to Brownsville to recognize and honor all the community’s extraor-dinary preservation efforts. Held in the historic Alonso Building, the ceremony began with a screening of a 13 minute video showcasing various preservation projects. Click here to view the video http://www.thc.state.tx.us/awards/awdBrownsville.shtml. Mem-bers of the Texas Historical Commission, the Texas Heritage Trails Program and the

Texas Tropical Trail attended the ceremony and the day’s events. Event fl yer: http://www.thc.state.tx.us/heritagetourism/htpdfs/htfl yer_May10br-wnsvll_11.pdf

Top: Mark Wolfe of the Texas His-torical Commis-sion, presents First Lady’s Award in the Alonso Building, pictured right. Below: living quarters up-stairs in the Alonso Building. (photos by: Valerie D. Bates)


NANCY DEVINEY is a native Texan, born in Corpus Christi and raised in Kingsville. She has lived in the South Texas area for over 60 years. Nancy has been active in South Texas tourism for over 20 years. She currently serves as Chair of the Board of Directors of the Texas Tropical Trail Region, and as President of the Texas Coastal Bend Regional Tourism Coun-

cil. She was Executive Director of the Freer Chamber of Commerce for 15 years and also wrote a monthly feature ar-ticle for the South Texas Traveler magazine for many years. She and her husband, Frank Deviney, live on the shores of Lake Corpus Christi in Live Oak County near Orange Grove.

RICK STRYKER graduated from Austin College in Sherman, Texas with a bachelors degree in history and then earned a masters degree from the Uni-versity of Delaware in American his-tory with a museum studies certifi cate. He was a curator with the Historical Society of Delaware before becom-ing the Assistant Director of the Grand Rapids (MI) Public Museum. In 1985

he came to his current position as Director of the Corpus Christ Museum of Science and History, a department of the City of Corpus Christi. He has served in various capacities including the governing council of the Texas Association of Museums and also served in various capacities including the president of the Museum Association of South Texas.

EILEEN MATTEI is a freelance writer and editor. Her travel and na-ture articles appear in Texas Parks & Wildlife, Texas Highways, Texas Co-op Power and Texas Wildlife Associa-tion magazines. She is the author of At the Crossroads: Harlingen’s First 100 Years and Valley Places, Valley Places. She is writing a history of McAllen due out in 2011.

Eileen has a degree in Anthropology and worked for the Connecticut State Archeologist. After 20 years in fi sh farming in Africa, Oklahoma, and Mexico, she settled permanently in Harlingen. She has assisted the Harlingen CVB in the cre-ation of brochures, tour manuals, and numerous articles for state and national travel publications. She has been a bus tour guide for South Texas and Mexico tours. She volunteered for many years with the Rio Grande Val-ley Birding Festival and is now vice president of Texas Mas-ter Naturalists-RGV chapter.

WANDA GREENHILL was born in Alice, Texas and moved to Harlingen at the age of four. Wanda’s grandpar-ents came to Harlingen in 1928. Being a native Texan, she is proud of her state and wants to promote tourism in every way possible. Wanda and her husband Paul live outside Lyford in Willacy County. They have four children and ten extra

special grandchildren. Wanda is past President of the Harlingen Arts & Heritage Museum Advisory Board. She is Treasurer of the RGV Mu-seum Association, which is the fundraising arm of the Har-lingen Arts & Heritage Museum. She is an active volunteer, Treasurer of the RGV Birding Festival and past President of the Northern Cameron County United Way. She has been a Board member of the Harlingen Area Chamber of Commerce and past judge of the Miss Texas USA Pageant. Wanda was the fi rst woman president of the Bethel Lutheran Church Council. Wanda Greenhill currently serves on the Texas Tropical Trail Region Board and represents the Harlingen Arts & Heri-tage Museum.

BART WALES is a native 5th genera-tion Texan, Bart was born in Midland, Tx. and raised in Refugio, Tx. He attended school in Refugio and attended College at Texas A&M Uni-versity College Station, Tx. receiving degrees in Environmental Design and a Masters in Architecture. Bart returned to Refugio where he operated his own business and has

worked with many non-profi t groups. He served on the City Council and as Mayor of Refugio for 3 terms. Currently Bart is the Director of the Refugio County Mu-seum, and President of the Refugio County Historical Soci-ety. He is also President of The South Texas Back Thru Time Historical Association, a group that promotes Historic Sites and Businesses in the Rural area from San Antonio to Corpus Christi to Victoria back to San Antonio. Bart can also be found in Corpus Christi on the weekends where he works as a Designer for The Home Depot. Bart has always had an interest in History, Art, and Ar-

chitecture. He currently lives in a His-toric Home, that is open for occasional tours, with a Collection of Art and An-tiques to rival none.

MIKE CARLISLE is from Corpus Christi and serves on the Nueces Coun-ty Historical Commission and with the South Texas Historical Association. Mike has a personal interest in pre-

The Tropical Traveler NEWSLETTER Page 13The Tropical Traveler NEWSLETTER Page 13 BOARD MEMBERSBOARD MEMBERS

Texas Tropical Trail Region ~ 635 East King Avenue, Suite 102 ~ Kingsville, TX 78363 ~ Phone: (361)592-4603 www.texastropicaltrail.com ~ Travelogue: www.thetropicaltraveler.com ~ [email protected]

The Tropical Traveler NEWSLETTER Page 14The Tropical Traveler NEWSLETTER Page 14 BOARD MEMBERSBOARD MEMBERS

serving historic sites, encouraging and promoting historic preservation across the Tropical Trail Region. Mike works for Verizon and has experience and current-ly serves as the 2009-2010 President of the Corpus Christi Northwest Rotary Club.

VALERIE BATES has been involved with the Texas Tropical Trail Region since 2005 and is serving on the board as Vice Chair. A resident of the Rio Grande Valley since the late 60s, Val-erie has developed an appreciation for this region’s history and culture. As a photographer, Valerie enjoys the op-portunity to both document and show-case the unique beauty of south Texas.

Valerie is the Marketing Director and Public Information Of-fi cer for Port Isabel in Cameron County where she lives.

TONI L. NAGEL is the Director of the King Ranch Visitor Program Ser-vices where she oversees the King Ranch Museum and Visitor Center and related tour program-ming. A native Texan, she has been working in the fi eld of history/museums for the last 20 years. Before coming to the King Ranch

in October of 2008, she worked as the Photo Archivist/Curator of History at the Whatcom Museum in Belling-ham, Washington and prior to that as the Archivist at the John E. Conner Museum at Texas A&M Kingsville. She received a BA in Archaeology and Museums Studies from Baylor University and Masters in History with a historic preservation emphasis from the Univer-sity of San Diego and has published numerous articles and curated dozens of exhibits on a variety of facets of our American History. Toni currently serves as the Texas Tropical Trail Re-gion Board Treasurer.

LILIA DEROUSIE hails from Monterrey, Mexico, and has re-sided in the US for over 30 years. A proud naturalized American citizen, she has hung her hat in the Rio Grande Valley for nearly 20 years. Before moving to the tropical tip of Texas, she lived in Honolulu, Hawaii, where she was also involved in the tourism and

hospitality industry. Better known by her friends as “Lili,” Lilia brings

spunk, energy, and over 20 years of experience in tourism to her position as the International Tourism Coordinator for the South Padre Island Convention and Visitors Bureau. Member of the following associations: TIA (Travel Indus-try Association), TTIA (Texas Travel Industry Association), NTA(National Tour Association), DMAI (Destination Mar-keting Association International), AMAV (Association Mexi-cana de Agentes de Viaje) Mexican Association of Travel Agents, BTA (Border Trade Alliance), TACVB (Texas Asso-ciation of Convention & Visitors Bureaus), TAMACC (Texas Association of Mexican American Chambers of Commerce), USHCC (United States Hispanic Chamber of Commerce), FTASA (Free Trade Alliance San Antonio), Rio Grande Val-ley Partnership, Good Neighbor Council, Harlingen Chapter, Harlingen Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, San Antonio Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, McAllen Hispanic Cham-ber of Commerce, Discover America Canada, Toastmasters International SPI. Lili also volunteers in local projects and community events. Lili is the proud mother of two children and currently lives with Keanu Reeves, her cat.


All Movie Times: 9:30 p.m.CALL 956/943-7602 for info

FREE FAMILY FUN!www.portisabelmuseums.com

6/17. . . . . . . . THE GREEN HORNET7/1. . . . . . . . . . . . . DESPICABLE ME7/15. . . . . . . . . . . . THE KARATE KID7/29. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . IRON MAN 2 8/5. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .TANGLED8/19. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . TOY STORY 3Day of the Dead Celebration

10/28 (8:00p.m.) . . . . . . . . . . . . . RANGOSponsored by: Museums of Port Isabel, Port Isabel Economic Development Corporation, Texas Pack, Inc., Port Isabel Merchants Committee, Quik Stop

(schedule subject to change.)

2011 Lighthouse Establishment Cinema Movie

Schedule



Documents

VVolume 1 ~ No. 3 ~ SPRING 2011olume 1 ~ No. 3 ~ SPRING …VVolume 1 ~ No. 3 ~ SPRING 2011olume 1 ~ No. 3 ~ SPRING 2011 As we continue to wait pa-tiently for the outcome of the State