NIOSA News - San Antonio Conservation Society

SAN ANTONIO CONSERVATION SOCIETY
®
NIOSA News
A Night in Old
San Antonio®
Summer 2014
From the Chairman:
Could we have had better weather, crowds, volunteers or more fun with our 66th? I don’t
think so! We had record breaking nights on Tuesday, Thursday and Friday ! Our attendance was certainly not the highest on record, but considering the results, it was an indication that our guests
moved around more and ate and drank everything we had to offer as we hit a new all time revenue
record in 2014!
As volunteers and members, we proved we could do it all and set new heights for NIOSA! I just
couldn’t be prouder of our combined efforts. It was a tremendous accomplishment. Thanks to everyone for allowing me the opportunity to chair this event; it was an awesome experience! We are still
paying bills and working on reports so it will take some time before we know the final results in
terms of the total amount the Society will benefit from this year’s event.
The pages of this publication are filled with highlights and information to make you proud of
your involvement, accomplishments and hard work.
Viva NIOSA!
Barb Machado, Chairman
Huichol Mascot and the Buffalo Soldiers
Bio Hazard Brass Band — Ft. Sam Houston
227 S. Presa St. SATX 78205
(210) 226-5188
www.niosa.org
Our pin and matching props
in the Mission Trail area.
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We had two completely new and different groups of volunteers
this year that we need to thank for getting involved and playing
a successful role in NIOSA 2014:
NIOSA Crafters: A dar ling gr oup of ladies joined us ear ly in the
year to make those crazy/popular
“fascinators” with all things colorful, sparkly and bright plus so many
other items we can’t even list them
all. They worked in our prep room
off the NIOSA kitchen three days a
week curling ribbon, gluing eyelashes on pigs, turning old medals into
Three of the “Crafters”
awesome necklaces and oh so much more. They sold their treasurers
at meetings, weekend shows and off our front porch. What was left
was sold in the Sombrero Wagon and the Tienda booths. Their efforts added almost $8,000 to our revenue and they will be back next
year! Thank you ladies for sharing your wonderful talents and so
much of your time for our event!
La Quinta Inns - ”At your Service”
That LAQ motto played right into our hands this
year as a group of General Managers, Sales Directors,
Front Desk Managers and their family members joined
together to take on the new Fried Oreo booth in Main
Street. This spunky bunch of ser vice or iented executives jumped right in and learned how to deep fry and had
a great time (minus a couple of “owies”) doing
it! Those little fried delights may never
make it on the breakfast menu at their hotels scattered all over our city but with
the NIOSA crowd, they were a big hit!
Thanks LAQ for offering to take on the
entire booth and becoming a part of our
NIOSA family - see you next year!
“Fascinators” (ignore the hats)
“NIOSA Nights”
Our 2014 Poster: by Brad Braune is available while they last
on our website and at the NIOSA Office. Signed by the artist, it looks great in a standard 16 X 20 frame; it is priced @
$35. Note: For our office poster (below) we used a burnt
orange mat in a flat black frame.
This year’s NIOSA medal and set of six commemorative
cups have a longer “shelf-life” than our 2014 event.. Each
promotes the Society’s effort to gain World Heritage Designation for our five Missions. The website address to add
your support for the designation is found on the back of
the medal and below the Society’s Seal on each cup.
Available at the NIOSA Office
Medal: $10 Set of 6 cups: $5
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Jo-Lynne Smith and Pat Driver gave of their time and talents to NIOSA for many many years.
Each lady graciously stepped aside in 2014 for new Area Chairmen to step into their shoes and
get their “feet wet”! It would be next to impossible to thank them enough or to describe all the
things these ladies have done for the Society and for NIOSA but here are some of the highlights
of their efforts:
Jo-Lynne taking a taste from her Fruit Cart at a Niosita.
Jo-Lynne Smith joined the Conser vation Society in 1968. and moved quickly to Active Membership in 1970. Joanna Parish remembers her working a booth in Mexican Market
during her days as Chairman of that Area.
In 1974, Jo-Lynne served her first term as
a member of the Board. For NIOSA, she moved
"next door" to Mexican Market on Villita street
to Chair a new area called The Midway; and, in
her “spare time”, she was the chair of NIOSA’s
public ticket sales. The Midway was successful
under her leadership and in 1980 the name was
officially changed to South of the Border - the
name it still carries some 34 years later.
Through the years, Jo-Lynne has served
on the Society’s Board as a director and on the
Executive Committee in several officer positions.
She has always been a very active Society participant serving on such committees as: Publications, Texas Over Six Flags, Community Tours,
Properties Chair... just to name a very few.
For over 39 years, Jo-Lynne and her family played an awesome role in “S.O.B.”/NIOSA.
We are truly grateful for their time and dedication to the event and this area. The picture above
is another hat she wore proudly as an Ambassador for the Society and the City at NIOSITAs.
Pat Driver’s aunt, Minnie Campbell, got her
involved in the San Antonio Conservation Society in 1983
and once she came on board she’s been a “go-getter” ever
since.
Always involved and dedicated to the success of
NOISA, she became the Vice Chair of Mexican Market in
1989 and moved quickly into the chairman’s position the
following year, During 1992-1993, NIOSA Chairman Beverly Zaiontz called on Pat to wear two hats: she served as
the NIOSA Treasurer and continued her role as the chair of
Mexican Market. (WOW, talk about dedication!)
Pat has served on the Society’s Board numerous
times as a Director has been involved in - again - far
more committees than we have the space to name. Several
noteworthy positions were her efforts on more than one
occasion to chair and stage two of the Society’s (now retired) annual events: Las Pastores and Los Posadas. Many
happily recall the extra effort she always gave to her responsibilities when she served as the chair of the YturriEdmunds property site.
The Mexican Market area of NIOSA has always
been on of the our largest with as many as twenty-five
booths to stage and oversee. Her mark on this segment of
NIOSA will always be special and appreciated. Pat gave so
much of herself and her energies to its success; we will always be indebted to her for the twenty four years she served
as its chair.
Pat Driver (right) with her Vice Chairman, Patti Zaiontz
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NIOSA doesn’t happen without a dedicated staff
who put in incredible hours year round on this
event. There are not enough adjectives to describe
what they do or how they get it all done!
This year’s team of Vice Chairs, Treasurer and Finance Room Chairs made
up the total team working for and with the Chairman. Each one put in tons
of volunteer hours day and night to support every facet of the event! This
was truly a team effort and they never failed to step up and help out no
matter the project, the crisis or the need. Signing up to take on these enormous tasks meant sometimes working through serious family situations,
health issues and professional responsibilities but they did their assigned
duties, pitched in to help other team members while never missing a beat.
Who could ask or want for more. Every minute with these ladies was pure
JOY!
Whenever you have the opportunity to say thank
you to our tireless team - please do so!
Thank you! - Thank you!- Thank you!
Glenda, Yvonne, Lisa & Nanette
The 2014 Super Team Left to r ight: Lor aine Zaiontz, Cindy Smith,
Rose Moran Vice Chairs; Mary Ann Turner, Finance Room Chairman,
Missy Fertitta Vice Chair, Kathy DeWaal Finance Room Co-Chair and
Jackie Fellers NIOSA Treasurer
Nic & Manny
NIOSA’s Signature “Eggs”!
So many of our volunteers are frantically working while the Opening Day
Parade goes on so only a few get a chance to see these wonderful handpainted likenesses of the Kings and their ladies presented as gifts at the
Hitching Post. These incredible “eggs” were created by Loraine Zaiontz,
NIOSA Vice Chair ; who also designed our medal , t-shirt and the souvenir
cup.
Roland
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Nic Yanes, Warehouse Manager, is a pretty remarkable man! He has been staging
NIOSA and our NIOSITAs since 1986 (28 of our 66 NIOSAs and too many NIOSITAs to
count). During a recent visit to provide a Thank You lunch for his part time crew who have
now completed their work on #66, Nic shared some pretty amazing and fun facts that are
worth repeating:
In those early years, one of Nic’s assignments as second in command was to go out
and find workers to assist in loading up every NIOSA item at the warehouse to deliver to La
Villita for staging and then to reload and return everything at the end of the event. Every day
he would jump in the truck and head for the Commerce Street Bridge to recruit 8 to 10 workers for the day. Each trip might result in a completely different set of workers becausemany didn’t like those full days of hard work. Once his quota was met, he headed for the warehouse only to see some of the
unchosen men chasing after the truck trying to jump on board. Each worker who put in his time was given a token. At the end
of the work day, Nic would collect the tokens and pay each man $25 from the wads of cash he carried in his pockets!
Now skip forward to 2014 and take a look at the process as it unfolds today:
Starting in January, Nic’s staff will include 4 temporary workers and grow to 10 shortly before staging begins. The crew begins building new requested items, repairing and painting props and organizing everything by loads for the many upcoming
trips to La Villita. The color designated for a particular area has double meaning to the crew; it helps them to identify where an
item it is to be stored, packed and where it ends up once it gets to the event. The golden rule is always “last in the warehouse
is first out to the site”.
Staging Tuesday (19th) through Monday (21st)
With the crew up to its maximum number, the fine-tuned process of transporting begins:
During the first six days, our two (2) leased bobtails and two (2) flatbed trucks will transport between 20 – 24 loads
EACH DAY to the site. We own four (4) 40’ enclosed trailers filled with stored NIOSA items; these become a part of the delivery schedule - once emptied they are returned to the warehouse to be reloaded for at least two more full loads to the site.
What’s in those loads?
 Booth props and stages for all areas
 500 appliances
 125 braizers
 250 large trash cans
 200+ hand-washing buckets
 125+ Ice chests
 54 Refrigeration units – 18 freezers
 All things paper: cups, napkins, plates, plastic forks/spoons, plastic/foil wrap, rubber
gloves, etc. enough to fill almost ½ of the Assembly building’s basement space
 Souvenirs
 1500 feet of fencing
 New lumber, nails, screws, etc of building materials for on-site jobs
During NIOSA,
Trips to and from the warehouse slow down but never really stop, there is always something that is missing, last minute
items or something that doesn’t work that needs replacing. The crew takes a bit of a rest and waits for the gates to close.
After NIOSA – Our staging volunteers and the warehouse crew have just four days to tear down the fencing, load everything
from the areas back into the trucks and return it to the warehouse. Once there, the color code becomes a big part of sorting,
big items get shrunk wrapped for better storage then its “first in” and “last out” as it all sits and waits for next year!
Our hat is off to Nic for this incredible effort and even more so for his mild temperament in satisfying
the needs of so many volunteers in such a short period of time! In sporting events there are always new
MVPs voted in every year. For NIOSA, we don’t need to vote, NIC will always be our MVP 24/7 year in and
year out! Thanks, Nic
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Wayne Bowden , a Society member since in 1976, was never without a project or a purpose. Stories abound about Wayne efforts for NIOSA from running
booths to chairing an area, cooking around the clock to have enough to feed the
crowd, nurturing new volunteers and preparing the seasoned ones to move into positions with greater responsibilities, staging, cleaning and for the so many years the
“member ticket salesman” for the event!
Recognized for his outstanding service to the Society, Wayne was elected to
Honorary Member status in 2009. Working with Wayne could be a joy but it also
meant working as hard and a long as it took to get the job done and always above and
beyond what was expected. Looking over the list of the Society’s committees, it
would be difficult to find one that doesn't carry Wayne’s signature.
A special standing room only gathering was held at his beloved River House
shortly after his death. The wonderful stories brought much laughter and many tears.
Wayne’s legacy with the Society will endure - we were all blessed by having known
him.
Marilyn Engelking’s first stint in San Antonio began in 1971 at Ft. Sam Houston.
There she met and married her life-time partner, Donald. Both civil service employees,
they would enjoy numerous duty stations in the US and abroad and loved to travel. They
returned to San Antonio and Ft. Sam in 1990 where Marilyn would shortly retire. This
retired status lasted only a short while before she and Don became members and devoted
volunteers for the Society. They worked hand in hand on many of her assignments and
Board committees. Always involved with NIOSA, this eager team took on many service
and support positions that required long hours and lots of effort before, during, and after
the event.
Marilyn was a joyous person who never found any task she wasn’t willing to
tackle. An active Board member until her recent illness, Marilyn bragged about how she
could work her way - with her cane - through the thickest of NIOSA crowds to get to her
Enchilada booth in Mexican Market. Marilyn’s cheerful attitude and fun-loving personally
will be missed by all who knew and loved her.
Tribute to a beloved Grandmother
By Michelle Vega, Chairman Sopapilla Booth - Frontier Town
Duvinda B. Martinez, my grandmother, was a beautiful lady with a heart of
gold. She was 87 years old. She was always willing to help someone in need; and remembered others on their special days.
My grandmother volunteered for NIOSA for nearly 30 years and loved
FIESTA. She helped me in the Sopapilla Booth for over 20 years.
There are so many stories that I remember. She always came dressed for FIESTA with FIESTA beads and a colorful flower crown. She always arrived early to
help setup the booth every day; and would help roll the dough. However, she loved
selling even more. In fact, she used to tell people that they were grandma's homemade
sopapillas; and, in fact, they were since she had probably just rolled them. She and her
sister (Elena) were always together; and would walk around NIOSA to try all the different foods. They loved being there.
Her sister, my husband, my mom, step-father, uncle, brother, two cousins, a
niece and a nephew are all very involved with NIOSA and have been for many years. It
has been and will continue to be our annual family event.
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St. Philips Students in their special shirts!.
The City’s Clear Streams in use at NIOSA
We made terrific strides this year to increase our efforts to recycle. We can’t thank our
volunteers enough for stepping in to participate by tearing down their product boxes and stacking
their glass containers each night to help the morning crew dispose of them in our special glass
roll-off. We continue to work with the public to get them to properly use over 160 recycle containers placed on the grounds; however the problem remains that too many times we found food,
used napkins and plates mixed in which then contaminated the entire bag! Ah, but we won’t
give up! We will just work harder next year!
Recycling played a large role in the planning for our
66th event. Early on, we began to work with the Hospitality
Department at St. Philips College to see how we could involve
their students in this segment of NIOSA. The result was twofold. (1) Students volunteered their time to work the event each
night to “encourage” our guests to use our 160 containers to
dispose of their plastic cups and bottles . (2)We discovered SPC’s Southwest Campus (located near Port San
Antonio) offered a degree program in
Woodworking and they had a Student
organization, Learned Trades Club, that
would build us additional stations to
attract recyclable items! We purchased
enough material for the group to build
15 wooden recycle stations and they
went to work! Their finished product
was awesome and far more than we expected!
Glazer’s created two large
containers for guests to
“Pitch for Preservation”
The cups will be sanitized
and given to the Mt.
Westley Summer Camp
for disadvantaged youth!
Thank You SW-SPC & Learned Trades Club!
SPC - SW
Built 15
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NEW - Recycling Glass
See, There’s nothing to this job!!
NIOSA® Says Thank You!
There are so many businesses and organizations that step up
each year to lend support to our event. Their individual
contributions in products, equipment, services, etc. make
such a tremendous difference in the overall success of the
event and in the revenue we turn over to the Conservation
Society to continue its mission.
We appreciate our donors—please join us in thanking these
local businesses and organizations for their generosity!
Alamodome
Loaned five bike racks
Bolner’s Fiesta
Products, Inc.
Spices
Bay Valley Foods
Salsa
Brigman
Enterprises
Eiffel Tower prop in French Quarter
China Garden
Cooked rice, sweet & sour sauce, and hot mustard
City of
San Antonio
Loaned 60 clear stream recycling containers
Downtown hotels
Accommodations for key members of the
NIOSA® team
Equipment Depot
Forklift, scissor lift, and pallet jacks
Glazer’s /
Halo Distributing
Provided beer for River Parade Party and Kings
Party, sponsored Chairman’s Dinner, setup and
teardown with Staging Crew, and constructed two
“Pitch for Preservation” recycling bins
H&P Paving
Asphalt installation & removal
H-E-B
Alon Market
Gift certificate (Herdez Sauce)
Keep SA Beautiful Loaned 60 clear stream recycling containers
Mireles Ice
Freezer and refrigeration units
PSAV
Equipment and technicians to project slideshow
and social media wall above Haymarket
Ricoh USA
Loaned copier
Loaned five folding tables
St. John’s
Lutheran Church
Twang
Beer Salt, Margarita Salt, and Chili Lime Salt
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Our recycling effort was over the top!
Surplus foods donated to local charities:
17.2
tons recycle materials
(cardboard/cans/plastic)
8.6 tons - recycle glass
8.38 tons - old coupons/tickets/files in ware
house storage recycled in March
34.18 total tons recycled in 2014
We are truly working to keep San Antonio Green
Capital Club
This year, our NIOSA® beer vendors joined the
Capital Club, a non-voting membership group created specifically for our friends who support the
Foundation’s mission to encourage knowledge and
stewardship of San Antonio’s historic resources.
Corinthian Level Donors
Glazer’s / Halo Distributing Co.
Ionic Level Donors
GLI Distributing, Inc.



Catholic Charities
Daily Bread Ministries
San Antonio State Hospital
At the close of NIOSA, these donations included fresh
vegetables and fruits, ice cream, numerous bread products, tortillas (flour and corn), cheese, orange juice, condiments, pickles, a variety of meats and much more.
Total contribution value: $6,000
Each year we support local non-profit youth groups by
making a donation equivalent to the number of hours each
group worked at NIOSA.



Madison High Solar Car Club
(students assigned to work in specific Areas)
Teddy Roosevelt Dance Team
(manned all of our coupon booths)
Palo Alto College Student Leadership Club
(manned a portion of our Gate ticket booths)
Total donation: $13,340
Silent Auction/drawings for local fund-raisers
The NIOSA office is called upon throughout the year to provide items for fund raising events for local charities. Our festive packages including a variety of items such as posters, pins, note cards and gate tickets to the “next” NIOSA always sell well!
Here is the list of those we helped this past year:
Aggie Mom’s Club
Assistance League
Bexar County Young Democrats
Bradley Middle School
Carmelite Learning Center
Churchill Orchestra Boosters
Classic Theatre of San Antonio
Colonial Hills United Methodist School
Deep in the Arts of Texas
ETA PHI Beta
Fair Oaks Ranch Elementary
Harland Clarke - United Way Drive
Hermann Sons Fraternal Organization
Lanier/Fox Tech Chili Bowl
LULAC/LNESC
Kinetic Kids
KLRN
March for Babies
Mexican American Bar Association
Queen of Soul
SA Transportation/Capitol Improvements
SACS Heritage Education Tours
San Antonio Aggie Moms' Club
San Antonio Area Tourism Council
San Antonio Hotel & Lodging Assn.
San Antonio State Hospital
Seton Home
St. Luke's Catholic Church
St. Mary's Alumni Assn.
St. PJs Children's Home
St. John's Lutheran Day School
St. Luke’s Catholic School
St. Paul's Episcopal School
State of Texas Kidney Foundation
TEAMobility
Teresa Champion Dance Academy
Texas A & M Club Foundation
The Acorn Group
University Health System - Foundation
University Health System Holiday Event
USO (NIOSA tickets for servicemen)
YMCA
The retail value of the items we have donated this past year: $6,700
Note: We also make it known our “NIOSITAs” make gr eat Fund Raiser s for non -profits because of our ability to draw from a large
volunteer base to keep our pricing low allowing room to mark up their ticket prices. By adding silent and live auctions to their events and
letting us do all the preparation, presentation, entertainment and cleanup - it couldn’t be easier way to raise money!!
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