In The News

July 2021

LADIES GUILD OF BAYSIDE CELEBRATES 10 YEARS OF SERVICE

It has been ten years since a group of women from Bayside organized themselves with the mission to improve the community by encouraging all citizens to give of their talent, time and resources to enhance the quality of life in Bayside, Texas.

read the full article in the Refugio County Press July 8, 2021 issue

Search Texas History  ! The Portal to Texas History     Take a Tour

The Tocker Foundation was established in 1964 to implement the philanthropic interests of Phillip and Olive Tocker. Phillip Tocker was a practicing attorney but changed careers in his later years by purchasing the Waco outdoor advertising plant and later expanding to own outdoor advertising plants throughout the United States. His vocational career culminated to the position of President of the Outdoor Advertising Association of America. After retiring to Austin in 1973, Phillip and Olive Tocker actively pursued their avocations. Phillip and Olive Tocker endowed the foundation with their estates in 1994 and 1993 respectively.

In 1992 the foundation board decided to focus grant distribution to small rural libraries in Texas serving a population of 12,000 or less. The direction is to assist libraries in making services more accessible to individuals who by reason of distance, residence, handicap, age, literacy level or other disadvantage are unable to receive the benefits of public library services. Grants are distributed to assisting libraries to serve as community information referral centers and provide literacy and bilingual programs. The Foundation partners with community libraries to meet the particular needs of the community.

2017 August 25 - Hurricane Harvey hit Bayside

Ladies Guild of Bayside Thanks Nationwide Donors

Shortly after Hurricane Harvey hit the small community of Bayside, the Ladies Guild of Bayside, a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization, began accepting donations from individuals all across our Nation. A California donor’s family was impacted by the destructive Santa Rosa fires but they still found a way to give generously.

The vast majority of the donors indicated that they wanted their gift to be distributed to help individual residents rebuild their lives in Bayside. A few gifts were designated for the Driscoll-Rooke-Covenant Park. All donations have been distributed accordingly by the members of the Ladies Guild.

“Bayside’s spirit remains strong and our thankful appreciation goes out to all the generous donors far and near”, said Karen Clark, President, Ladies Guild of Bayside.

2016 May 16 - Coastal Happenings

The Ladies Guild of Bayside will hold their annual Appreciation Dinner honoring the Bayside Volunteer Firefighters and graduating Bayside seniors class of 2016 on Monday May 16th at 6:30 in the evening at the Community Center in Bayside, 909 First Street.  On the agenda will be the announcement of the 2016 Education Awards, the drawings for the Ladies Guild handmade quilt raffle and the James Avery necklace raffle, door prizes and a silent auction.

Tickets are $11 each for the meal provided by Tuttles of Woodsboro. Please purchase tickets in advance from

Karen Clark or Sandra Spada no later than May 14th.

2015 MAY 18

BAYSIDE Firemen Recognized and

Ladies Guild Education Awards Announced

A simply lovely neighborly event was held this past Monday evening (May 18th) at the Bayside Community Center. The Ladies Guild of Bayside hosted the 4th Annual Appreciation Banquet to recognize Bayside’s volunteer firefighters and celebrate Bayside’s graduating high school seniors. The evening commenced with people arriving to take a look at the thirty silent auction items and also to view the gorgeous Ladies Guild homemade quilt which was displayed hanging on the stage of the Community Center. Debra Bolcik was the lucky winner! By popular demand, the Guild will be creating another quilt for next year. A delicious bacon-wrapped chicken breast dinner was catered by Stanley Tuttle and his cheerful staff.

The Ladies provided the desserts as is our custom and the firemen selected Martha Conn’s Pineapple Walnut Cake as the winner and Connie Cramer’s Carrot Cake as second-place winner.  Mr. Tuttle provided generous gifts to each winner.

Ladies Guild President, Karen Clark, welcomed everyone and acknowledged all the firefighters and their families. She announced that there are seven students from Bayside that will be graduating this year from Woodsboro high school as follows: Lafe Brooks, Josie Gonzales, Amber Gray, Karah Lakeman, Garrett Mase, Cody Mayes and Kris Perez-Sandoval. Mrs. Clark stated “We want these graduates to know that your hometown wishes each of you a bright and successful future”. Six of these graduating high school students applied for the Ladies Guild Education Award. A total of $2,400 will be distributed among the applicants. Award presentations will be made by Guild members Sharon Scott and Connie Cramer on May 22, 10am at Woodsboro High School.

The evening ended with Lynette Fricks winning the James Avery sterling silver meadow dragonfly pendant necklace.  Congratulations are extended to all the lucky winners! Please visit our website at www.ladiesguildbayside.com for more pictures of the event.

2015 Mar 12 - letter to the editor

Many thanks for the support

     "The Ladies Guild of Bayside extend our thanks to HEB Refugio and to everyone who came by the Community Center last Saturday to support our annual fundraising event and blood drive. The homemade egg & sausage tacos sold out once again this year as did the chili and cornbread.

     We appreciate all the volunteers who made this event happen including the Bayside Volunteer Firemen, the representative from HALO Flight and all the blood donors plus the staff on the Coastal Bend Bloodmobile.   I especially want to thank the hard working Ladies Guild volunteers for all the planning and preparation that goes into making an event like this enjoyable for everyone.  Thank you all!"

Karen Clark

Ladies Guild of Bayside President

2015 Feb 26 -  BAYSIDE LADIES GUILD ANNOUNCES BAZAAR

The Ladies Guild of Bayside will hold their 4th annual Backyard Bazaar and Community Garage Sale on Saturday, March 7th, at the Bayside Community Center, 909 First Street, from 8:00 am until noon.  Proceeds from this event go to support the Guild’s on-going education awards.

Visitors are invited to eat breakfast tacos in the morning or have a bowl of homemade chili with cornbread beginning at 10:30.  Public service providers and community interest groups will have booths inside so that shoppers can eat and get information at the same time.  Vendors’ booths will be outside on the grounds and fliers will be available to direct people to individual garage sales in the community.  Also, get directions to the Town of Bayside’s Maintenance Facility which will be selling surplus items.   Inside booths will include HALO-Flight emergency medical service, the St. Mary’s Cemetery association, and the Bayside Volunteer Fire Department.  The Coastal Bend Bloodmobile will be present on the grounds accepting donors all morning.

In addition, Guild members will be selling raffle tickets for a James Avery necklace and a hand-stitched, patchwork quilt that the ladies have been working on for several months.

For more details, please visit the Ladies Guild’s website www.ladiesguildbayside.com and click on “2015 Annual Fundraiser BACKYARD BAZAAR Mar 7”  Local vendors are invited to participate in this event for a $10 donation.  For more information please call 361-960-9375.

2015 Feb 12 -  Ladies Guild offers education award Deadline to apply is April 10

BAYSIDE - Any graduating high school student from Bayside who plans on attending college, trade school or will enter military service

may apply for the Ladies Guild of Bayside Education Award.  We know living expenses can be difficult in college and

in the military and this award is our way to help our future leaders.

Starting in 2012, the Ladies Guild has awarded a total of $3,000 among past recipients: Taylor Galbreath, Joshua Bresino, Lauren Cramer,

Alicen Grimes, Bria Brown, Ana Garcia and Sonia Garcia.

Visit www.ladiesguildbayside.com for details on the application process. We encourage each graduating high school senior from Bayside to apply.

Contact Karen Clark at 361-960-9375 or your school counselor. The deadline to apply is Friday, April 10.

2014 Oct 20 - Bayside gets defibrillator! COASTAL BEND HERALD NEWS

On October 20, 2014, the Bayside Volunteer Fire Department’s regular weekly meeting was interrupted by a group of Ladies Guild members. Lots of quizzical expressions were observed as the Ladies entered the fire station.  Fire Chief Bob Cramer had a big smile because Karen Clark, President of the Ladies Guild, had let the Fire Chief in on the secret!  The Ladies were there to present a defibrillator to the Bayside Fire Department for the Bayside community. 

The idea of a defibrillator had been discussed at various meetings of the Ladies Guild.

But, how to raise enough money was at issue. It would take years of fundraising events to be able to purchase this expensive equipment. Therefore, the idea was set aside.   A few months ago one of the Guild members happened to be in the hallway of the Refugio County courthouse and she noticed several signs indicating “defibrillator in Sherriff’s office”.  Need I say more.  She walked into Sherriff Bolcik’s office, made a plea, and the promise was made that he would donate one for Bayside!  Our heartfelt thanks to you Sherriff Bolcik. 

Fire Chief Cramer will communicate soon to the citizens of Bayside on emergency use and training.  Check back soon and often for the latest information!

2014 May 19 -  Ladies Guild of Bayside Concludes 2014 Fundraising Season with Annual Banquet Event

A capacity crowd attended the 3rd Annual Appreciation Banquet held May 19th at the Bayside Community Center.  Neighboring Fire Chiefs, Don Pullin (Refugio) and Lee Riemenschneider (Woodsboro) joined Bayside Fire Chief Bob Cramer and the Bayside Volunteer Firefighters at the celebration dinner!   The Bayside community is very fortunate to have among its citizens, volunteer firemen, who provide fire protection and medical emergency response. We appreciate the many volunteer hours you devote to Bayside. Thank you for your service and dedication to the safety of our community!

The attendees wished each student graduate good luck in their future endeavors. Two high school graduates each received a $500 Ladies Guild Education Award. Joshua Bresino will be entering military service and Tyler Galbreath will be attending Texas A&M University Corpus Christi. All Bayside high school graduates were given a graduation gift and three complimentary dinner tickets for Stanley Tuttle’s delicious catered meal. Mr. Tuttle generously donated a $25 cash prize for the winning dessert! A big thank you to the Ladies for all the dessert entries and to the Bayside firefighters who judged the winner. There was a tie for 1st place with Dennis Clark’s “chocolate cake” and Marti Conn’s “pineapple walnut cake” sharing the honor. 

The Ladies Guild wishes to thank all of its sponsors, especially the Hummingbird sponsors who are listed at the Ladies Guild website www.ladiesguildbayside.com . We appreciate the community participation, individual donors and businesses that supported the Guild’s 2014 Backyard Bazaar fundraiser and those who donated and/or purchased silent auction items at the Banquet Event!  Your generosity will help to make next year’s gifts, awards and complimentary dinners possible. 

The evening concluded with many door prizes being given away to lucky winners and the drawing for the James Avery Jewelry necklace. Congratulations to Janet Christensen of Bayside, the lucky raffle winner!  

Lastly, but most importantly, sincere appreciation and thanks go to Event Chair and Ladies Guild President, Karen Clark, for her leadership in pulling together the resources of the Guild to produce this wonderful celebratory evening.  Mrs. Clark, along with the Guild volunteers were delighted to see so many Baysiders fill the Community Center for the purpose of celebrating the honorees and their families. There are so many wonderful people in Bayside who give so generously of their time, energy and talents to make this a great place to live. The Ladies Guild is pleased to be one of the volunteer organizations that is helping in a small way to make this lovely coastal hamlet a great place to call home.

2014 Mar 6  LETTER TO THE EDITOR Coastal Bend Herald

 The 3rd annual Bazaar and Breakfast was a fundraising event sponsored by the Ladies Guild and all of the proceeds made by the Ladies Guild go to the Bayside Fire Dept. and Bayside Graduates. It brought vendors, buyers and hungry citizens together. Vendors conveniently sold large items right off their own trailers; a few larger items sold were a riding lawn mower, a weed eater and a children’s bicycle trailer.   In the Community Center, egg and sausage tacos were sold out before 10:00 am! . Ingredients for the homemade “Bayside breakfast tacos” and coffee were compliments of a generous donation made by HEB.  A big “Thank You” to HEB for their support of Ladies Guild fundraising projects!  In addition to HEB, the Guild wishes to thank all of the vendors, customers and well-wishers who joined in this year’s Bayside Bazaar and Breakfast!Currently, James Avery Jewelry has generously donated a beautiful hammered copper and silver accent necklace for the Ladies Guild fundraising raffle. These raffle tickets are on sale through May 19th when the drawing will take place at the Appreciation Banquet. The tickets are $1 each or $5 for 6 and all proceeds from this raffle benefit Bayside high School grads. The necklace can be viewed at www.ladiesguildbayside.com   We invite you to visit our website to view the Guild’s projects and to see our new Ladies Guild Gifts page which will be updated as new items become available.  Soon Sandra’s Studio refrigerator magnets and notecards with scenes of beautiful Copano Bay and Bayside and will be added and available for purchase.    

2014 Mar 1 -  Backyard Bazaar and Breakfast 2014

There will be something for everyone, whether you’re a vendor, a buyer looking for treasure or just hungry and looking for breakfast tacos, this 3rd annual fundraiser by the Ladies Guild of Bayside will have you covered!

This event will be held on Saturday, March 1st, from 7am to 2 pm at the Bayside Community Center,

909 First Street, in Bayside, Texas.  

Vendors $10,  Lunch Vendors $15. Get ready to conveniently set up right out of your own vehicle or trailer!  Last year vendors sold jewelry, candles, crafted wood items and furniture. Some of the new items this year will be original art work, zesty pickles, notecards and plants. Lunch vendors are welcome; we will all be hungry by 12 noon and ready to buy your food and drink items! To reserve an outdoor spot, call 361-960-9375 or go to www.ladiesguildbayside.com for details. 

The Guild will be serving up “Bayside breakfast tacos”, fresh brewed coffee, hot cocoa, homemade brownies, cookies and assorted desserts , from 7am to 11 am inside the Bayside Community Center where blue gingham covered tables provide comfortable eating accommodations.  

We invite everyone to come out to sell, shop, and eat for a good cause! The items being sold by the Ladies Guild will benefit the Bayside Fire Dept. and Bayside high school graduates.

2013 Dec 16 - Bayside VFD Retired and Active Members Honored at Recognition Event

The supporters of the Bayside Volunteer Fire Department gathered to say “Thank you” to past and present members! This event provided an opportunity for meeting new volunteer recruits; visiting with retirees, looking  at historical fire department pictures, enjoying good food and was hosted by the Ladies Guild of Bayside.    

Retired members, James “Shorty” Bluemel, Smokey and Diane Stevens, Larry Crofutt, Joe Bluemel, Michael Overgard, Evelyn Barnes, and current Fire Chief Bob Cramer were each honored with a Texas flag which State Senator Glenn Hegar requested to be flown over the Capitol in their honor along with a certificate commemorating their years of dedicated service and commitment to the community of Bayside!  The fun was seeing everyone reminisce.  It was a good time in Bayside.

2013 Dec 12 -  Ladies Guild announces NEW WEBSITE

The Ladies Guild of Bayside, a Texas corporation and charitable 501(c)(3) non-profit organization, announces the launch of their new website.  Visitors to the website will have the ability to browse for meeting dates, membership information, fundraising events, student award application, and our mission statement.  Prospective sponsors will find information on the benefits of donating to our organization.

We are a small, hard-working organization of civic minded citizens who want to promote safety by supporting Bayside’s fire department. We also recognize each of Bayside’s graduating high school seniors and award those who will pursue educational goals or have made a commitment to serve our Nation in military service. The Guild membership reviews all applications very thoroughly to determine that each student has demonstrated good citizen characteristics throughout their high schools years.  

Our story began two years ago, in March 2011, when word got around town that there was going to be a social group forming and creation of a cook book was a topic for discussion.  First, we had to decide on a name for our organization which was no small matter since there are many opinioned women in this group! It took several meetings, lots of give and take, before we decided on calling ourselves the Ladies Guild of Bayside.  Discussions ensued and plans were finalized for our first fundraising event which occurred in July 2011 where we sold t-shirts, photographs, notecards and raffled the “Charm of Copano Bay” necklace.  Concurrently, we made plans to apply to the IRS to become a 501(c)(3) non-profit because we knew those credentials would be necessary  to seek grants, matching funding and in-kind gifts from businesses that encourage and support involvement in local non-profit organizations.  Many stressful meetings were required to complete the 501(c)(3) application which included by-laws, mission statement and a narrative stating goals and operation plans including projects and budget estimates for the first four years of operation. With the Form 1023 checklist completed, the application was finally ready to mail to the IRS.  About six months later, we received the IRS Letter of Determination stating that we had met all the requirements. On March 5, 2012 we became an official 501(c)(3) non-profit.  It was time to celebrate!

We are pleased to join a legacy of established Bayside volunteer organizations and we will strive to do our small part to enhance the quality of life in Bayside. Please browse our website for information on our activities and those of the Bayside Volunteer Fire Department, St. Mary’s Cemetery Incorporated,  Bayside Historical Society, and the Community Outreach groups.  

2013 June 13 -  Bayside Volunteer Fire Department Recognized

The Community Center was filled to capacity on the night of June 10, 2013 for the Volunteer Firemen and Graduating Student’s Appreciation Dinner. President of the Bayside VFD, James (Shorty) Bluemel, was surprised when he was recognized as a founding member of the VFD and for his 39 years of service to Bayside! The Bayside community is fortunate to have among its citizens, volunteer firemen, who provide fire protection, medical emergency response and the ability of homeowners to qualify for home owners insurance.  

The 2ndsurprise of the evening came when it was announced that Bayside’s State Representative, Geanie W. Morrison, requested that “four Texas flags be flown over the Capitol of the Sovereign State of Texas in honor and celebration of our four Bayside Graduates!”  Those flags, along with certificates signed by Representative Morrison, are the Guild’s gift to each of our four graduates. Lauren Cramer and Alicen Grimes each qualified to receive a $500 award from the Guild since they are pursuing university level goals. What a special night of recognition for Bayside’s firefighters and graduates!   

Stanley Tuttle catered a delicious dinner and also generously donated cash prizes to the dessert winners. Congratulations, Ladies, for all the delicious entries and to our three judges, Danny Breseno, James Dyche and Alan Mayes who unanimously decided on the favorite desserts with a “Carrot Cake” winning the 1st place $50 prize and the 2ndplace $25 prize went to “Mocha Voodoo Pie.”

The raffle winner of the “Charm of Copano Bay 2013” necklace is Elvira Reyna, who is a sister of Guild member Baudelia House.  Elvira is a retired kindergarten teacher who is still involved in education as a substitute in the fast paced oil town of Three Rivers. She will surely enjoy her beautiful necklace!

The Ladies Guild wishes to thank all of our supporters and the twenty three sponsors, especially James Avery Jewelry, ConocoPhillips, HEB Refugio, Henderson Family Partnership, Sally Crofutt and Larry Green, whose generosity will help to make next year’s gifts and awards possible.  We had some wonderful silent auction items and many door prizes were given away to lucky winners.

Many thanks to each and every one of you for recognizing our wonderful firefighters and high school graduates this year!  Wishing everyone a happy and safe Fourth of July! Look for the Ladies Guild’s “Flower Power” car in Bayside’s parade.  It’s sure to be eye catching!

2013 June 10 -  Ladies Guild prepares for Appreciation Dinner 

Summer is upon us and that means that the annual Appreciation Dinner is just around the corner. This will be the second year that the Ladies Guild of Bayside will host Bayside’s volunteer fire fighters and graduating high school students.  This year’s Dinner will be held at the Bayside Community Center starting at 6:30pm on Monday June 10th, 2013.  Tuttle’s of Woodsboro will cater the event and the menu for the evening will be chicken fried steak, mashed potatoes, gravy, green beans and iced tea. An assortment of homemade desserts and an ice cream station will be provided by Guild members.  Dinner tickets are available for $10 each, (eat-in or to-go).  You must be present for a chance to win a door prize.

The Ladies Guild’s education sub-committee, comprised of Guild members Flapper Bradley, Martha Conn and Baudelia House, is anticipating hearing from each of the four local graduating students. Ms. Lynnette Emerson, guidance counselor at Woodsboro High School, has assured us that the application forms have been obtained by Lauren Cramer, Alicen Grimes, Emily Merritt and David Nix.  They are busy describing their life stories, hopes and aspirations for review by the Committee. This Dinner is an opportunity to let our students know that their home town is proud of their success and wish them well as they begin their post graduate studies or enter military service.

The Bayside community is very fortunate to have an all volunteer fire department. The BVFD members are:  Fire Chief Bob Cramer, James Blumel, Danny Briseno, Frank Briseno, James Dyche, Joe Ferova, Jimmy Hattenback, Alan Mayes, Shane Smith and David Vega.  The Ladies Guild is pleased to be able to provide complimentary dinners for each of these civic minded citizens and their families.

The Ladies Guild of Bayside is a 501 (c) (3) non-profit charitable organization and as such, contributions to The Guild are tax-deductible as allowed by law. Individuals and businesses alike have an opportunity to be acknowledged in the Dinner Program this year as a Sponsor. For your convenience, order forms are available on the bulletin board at the Bayside Post office and on the Ladies Guild bulletin board in the Community Center.

The Guild would like to thank HEB for their generous donation to our recent fundraiser “Bayside Backyard Bazaar” held in March 2013 and to James Avery Jewelers who has generously donated an elegant silver charm pendant with a 20” spiga-style chain for our 3rd annual “Charm of Copano Bay” necklace raffle.  Raffle tickets are $2 each. The winning ticket will be drawn at the Appreciation Dinner at 8pm.  The necklace raffle winner will be notified with a phone call if not present at the Dinner.

2013 Mar 12 -  Ladies Guild 2nd annual fundraiser "Bayside Backyard Bazaar" March 2, 2013

The 2nd annual Ladies Guild Bayside Backyard Bazaar was a huge success for both vendors and the community who ventured out on a windy but sunny day to shop, sell, eat, chat and laugh with neighbors and friends. The Ladies Guild prepared and served breakfast tacos and BBQ brisket sandwiches with loving care in order to raise funds for the annual Appreciation Dinner where local graduating high school students are celebrated with monetary gifts and the Bayside Volunteer Firefighters and their families are honored for their service.  The dinner will be held on June 10th and tickets are $10/person.  The Ladies Guild will be raffling “A Charm of the Copano Bay” necklace as their 2nd fundraising endeavor. Raffle winner will be announced at the June 10th dinner event.  Raffle tickets are $2 each.  Information is posted at the Bayside post office. Dinner and Raffle tickets are on sale now thru June 10th.  Thanks to all for supporting the Ladies Guild as we strive to “Do Good Things for Bayside”.

2013 Jan 13 -  Ladies Guild of Bayside is selected as the

JANUARY 2013 MEMBER OF THE MONTH by Refugio County Chamber of Commerce

http://refugiocountytx.org/

2012

May  21  Bayside Celebrates VFD & Graduates

On Monday evening May 21st, the Bayside Community Center was filled to capacity with citizens, family and friends to celebrate and honor our Volunteer Firemen and our graduating Bayside students.  Those honored were:  Fire Chief, Bob Cramer, and firemen:  Shorty Blumel,  Danny Briseno,  Frank Briseno, Frank Ferova,  Jimmy Hattenback,  Alan Mayes,  Shane Smith and David Vega.  The high school graduates were Bria Brown, Ana Garcia and Sonia Garcia.

The ladies of The Guild were very pleased that their diligent efforts over the past year allowed them to see the fire department and graduates awarded with gifts totaling $1,200. A special thank you to Event Chair, Pat Torres, who pulled together the resources of the Ladies Guild to produce a celebratory evening that everyone enjoyed.  Ladies Guild  President , Karen Clark, was delighted to see so many Baysiders come together for the purpose of thanking our firefighters and wishing our graduates well in their future studies.   Cheers to each of the Guild  members for volunteering generously of their time, energy and talents and specifically to Pat and Karen for their leadership roles for this event.  Compliments to Crofutt’s and Tuttle’s for catering all the delicious food and delightful desserts for the evening.

The Ladies Guild was recently granted status as a 501(c)3 non-profit organization in March 2012. They welcome and encourage your tax deductible donations which support its Mission to “promote  civic  safety and educational  activities for the benefit of the community  of Bayside and its residents.”  Their address is P.O. Box 108, Bayside, TX 78340. Membership is open to the public and application forms are available at the Bayside Community Center or call 361-960-9375.  If you are interested in becoming a volunteer firefighter for the community of Bayside, please contact Fire Chief, Bob Cramer.

Thanks to all who strive to make our small and lovely community a wonderful and safe place to live.

2012 Mar 31

Press Release: Bayside Backyard Bazaar March 31st  

Begin organizing your items to sell at The Community Garage Sale!

In response to community interest, The Ladies Guild of Bayside will host the “Bayside Backyard Bazaar” on Saturday. March 31st  as their Spring Fundraiser. This Community Garage Sale is a way for you to market and sell your items and it is sure to be a treasure hunter’s paradise! You can keep the money from your sales and this event will be held behind the Bayside Community Center, at 909 First Street, Bayside, TX from 9:00am to 3:00pm.

To participate in this event, The Ladies Guild requests a $5 per vehicle donation or $10 for a truck with a flatbed trailer. This participation donation will support our volunteer firefighters and graduating seniors.  Rain date will be April 14th. For more information, call Karen Clark at 361-960-9375.