MARCH 27, 2024 www.wintertexantimes.com 16 WINTER TEXAN TIMES Call Today For Your Free Estimate Call Mark Anytime At 956-357-1048 WE WANT TO BUY YOUR TRUCK•CAR•SUV•VAN RVTRAVELTRAILER•5THWHEEL•MOTORHOME•BUS CARGO OR FLATBEDTRAILER•ATV•MOTORCYCLE•BOAT MINI-MOTOR HOME•CAMPERVAN•TOYHAULER •GOLF CART WE WANT TO BUY YOUR RV We Love Our Winter Texans! Thank you for making us your home away from home! • Nightly, 7 Day Plus Rates Available • Fully Equipped Kitchens • Free Wi-Fi • Outdoor Pool • Small Pet Welcome (with fee) • Guest Laundry Service Walking Distance to the La PlazaMall and several restaurants. For Reservations 956-378-4046 www.mcallen-studio6.com 700 Savannah Ave. McAllen, TX Lock In Your Rates For Next Winter Winter Texan 7 Day Plus Special! $327.67 Queen Bed • $375.97 2 Full Size Beds PLEASE MENTION I AD FOR SPECIAL! SPECIAL! 7 Day Plus of the vacant housing inventory in Mission is destined for seasonal use – indicative of an attractive touristic destination. Mission’s beautiful locales that welcome birding and nature enthusiasts, such as Bentsen-Rio Grande Valley State Park and the National Butterfly Center, are contributing factors to bringing winter visitors to the area. Also contributing factors are the climate, friendly people, and affordable cost of living. The city says its citizens eagerly look forward to welcoming and warmly receiving our Winter Texans each year as valued members of the community. The Winter Texan Fiesta serves as the city’s welcome and thank you to Winter Texans that visit the area and is widely attended by Winter Texans throughout the Valley. “We are so thankful to have our Winter Texans come and visit our community,” said Brenda Enriquez, president and CEO of the Mission Chamber of Commerce. “We love that they love where we live. We couldn’t be more grateful.” She noted the four Winter Texans that joined them for the reading and passing of the proclamation have been volunteering with the chamber for at least 20 years. The Winter Texans present were James and Mary Ann Wegrzyn and Gene and Barb Besse. The Wegrzyn’s have been coming to the Valley since 1996, after James retired from teaching (and has been married to his wife for 58 years). The Besse’s have been visiting the Valley since 2000. After the proclamation, the couples talked about how long they have been volunteering and the changes they have seen. They mentioned they have served with seven different CEO’s and a handful of presidents. When they began, they would volunteer at least four hours a week at the chamber. They have even helped man the offices when chamber personnel have had to travel to functions. You can usually see them helping with activities like the chamber booth at the Winter Texan Fiesta. Through doing things with the chamber, the Wegrzyn’s adopted three local kids as their grandkids. James said all the little kids here are beautiful, and they love helping the chamber out with community projects. One child they ‘adopted’ is now a junior in college. Both couples said they look forward to coming back each year, even if there is a little less to do at the chamber. Barb noted since everything has gone digital, there aren’t as many people that come in person to the chamber offices, but they still help out wherever it is needed. James said they used to be quite busy when they first started coming to the Valley – and they still stay active, just probably not as much as before. “We’ve had fun here in the Valley,” said James. And they look forward to visiting the Valley as long as they can. MISSION From pg. 1 Winter Texans, Chamber board members and employees were thrilled to be honored by the Mission City Council as they proclaimed March as Winter Texan Month during a recent city council meeting. Photo by Alisabeth Brunson
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