Last Thursday night, January 15, at the Marble Falls Pavilion, the Hill Country 100 Club held it Annual Meeting and Recognition Banquet. Law Enforcement, Fire Fighting and Emergency Medical Responders from Llano, Burnet and Blanco Counties gathered along with HC100 Club members and officers to recognize their outstanding comrades, do the Club’s business and enjoy a catfish dinner catered by the Catfish Barge. That’s right, I did say Blanco County. In 2008, the Board of the HC100 approved the extension of its coverage area to include Blanco County. The transition and solicitation of new members has been smooth due to the support of local Public Safety Officials like Sheriff Bill Elsbury. New Board members from Blanco Country David O’Bannon and Lyn Boyd have added their expertise to our organization. Also, for the first time, officers of the Parks and Wildlife, DPS and Constable organizations were recognized and joined the festivities. In addition to Sheriff Elsbury, newly elected Sheriffs W. T. Smith of Burnet County and Bill Blackburn of Llano County were in attendance. Several other elected officials from the 3 county area attended and as always we appreciate their support.

A highlight of the evening was the recognition by Board Member Jeff Robinson of the Melcher family. Yvonne Melcher, a part-time Horseshoe Bay resident is the daughter of the late LeRoy Melcher, one of the founders of the original 100 Club in Houston, Texas. Yvonne, her husband, Magic Schwartz, sons Trey and Cody fund and manage the Melcher Foundation. Prior to the Banquet, they presented a check to the Club for $10,000. This is the largest individual contribution received by our organization. Thanks again to the Melcher’s.

Following dinner, recognition plaques were presented to 33 first responders in the three county area. Included in this years awards were the following first responders from Blanco County -Don Jackson, Texas Parks and Wildlife, Officer of the Year;

Mike Bacon, Texas Dept of Public Safety, Officer of the Year; Chief Allen Harrison, Round Mountain VFD, Firefighter of the Year; David Brunner, Bulverde-Spring Branch EMS, Support Person of the Year.

As a wrap-up to the meeting, outgoing Chairman Tom Shaw introduced Dewey Hollingsworth as 2009 Chairman and Wade Whiteside as Chairman-elect for the coming year.

If you have an interest in joining this important organization, which provided support to the families of fallen or severely injured families of first responders, please contact Blanco Country board members – David O’Bannon and Lyn Boyd – or visit our web site www.hillcountry100club.org