A Christmas to remember

Every year, over 50,000 families in San Antonio don't get the chance to celebrate Christmas like the rest of us.

As a part of my final project in speech class, I joined a group of nine classmates in giving a needy family Christmas this year. In three weeks, we gave "persuasive" speeches and held a bake sale to raise over $2,500 in donations, providing the Martinez family of five children - three of them triplets - with a Christmas they will never forget.


On a mission to pick up a donated fridge and industrial freezer.

Joy spills over in the Martinez home.


posing for the camera








Jasper (left) takes in the moment. We are fortunate to have the things we need at hand.




Martina is from Germany. She was the treasurer a major part of the project's success.



The Martinez family said it would take a couple days to soak in.

She picked up the phone right before our team member was getting ready to choose another family.

Stevenson Holiday Concert

Jim Cain conducts the wind ensemble to Sleigh Ride Tuesday at Coke R. Stevenson Middle School. Cain has directed the band for over twenty years.

Jim Cain stands still following the concert. Cain said that he still deletes e-mails from the district requesting notification of retirement. His wife, Virlie, who works as a librarian at William H. Taft High School, said they plan to retire together and "always wait another year."

Assistant director Pam Trevino (? center) watches on as Jim Cain conducts the wind ensemble to Sleigh Ride. Trevino entered Stevenson's halls after former assistant director Gordon Bade died unexpectedly in June 2008.

Pam Trevino laughs with Virlie Cain following the holiday concert.


 I played percussion from 2001-'04.





Gordon Bade taught music to students at Stevenson for over 30 years. He was a joyful and lovable person to know, and I remember how well he played the clarinet. Bade married his wife, Becky - a fellow musician - during a performance intermission, with the band playing Frank Sinatra's “I've Got a Crush on You,” the San Antonio Express-News reported in an obituary. Bade was 58.

warm gym; cold night.