Meetings

This Saturday, the Seminole Indian Scout Cemetery Association (SISCA) will have a meeting. Our meetings take place once a month, on the second Saturday of each month, at one in the afternoon. During our meetings, we, like many other organizations, discuss pertinent issues, plan upcoming activities, and generally do our best to keep everything moving forward.

Personally, I like meetings. Over the years, I’ve seen how an idea that is mentioned at a meeting can flourish into a huge, concrete thing. The idea of SISCA, I am sure, began with the meeting of a few like minds and has flourished into an organization that is historic and honored and necessary in its own right. In Jeff Guinn’s Our Land Before We Die, the Seminole Indian Scout Cemetery Association is described as “the de facto keepers of the tribal flame” (i.e. history/legacy). Because keeping our legacy alive and making sure that the next generation knew where they came from was so important to her, Miss Charles Emily Wilson created two special events that we celebrate each year. Juneteenth and Seminole Days began as ideas for Miss Charles Emily Wilson, and it was during SISCA meetings that the first Juneteenth and Seminole Days events were planned in 1979, and this year, we (SISCA) will be celebrating thirty-seven years of celebrating both events here in Brackettville, Texas.

I am saying all this to say that being involved in something that you are passionate about is never a small thing. You never know what your voice, your ideas, or your presence might do to help change, better, or expand an organization. I’ve always encouraged others to volunteer. I’d also like to begin encouraging everyone to meet. There are so many great organizations here in Brackettville that anyone can get involved in. There is the Fort Clark Historical Society, Kinney County Historical Commission, the Kinney County Chamber of Commerce, the Montalvo House, the H.O.P.E Church Alliance, S.A.L.T, the Boy Scouts, and of course, the Seminole Indian Scout Cemetery Association. All of these organizations (and I apologize to the ones I did not mention) meet regularly, have relatively affordable membership fees, and would love to see more smiling faces at their meetings.

Generally, the meetings take up no more than an hour or two of your time. While there, you’ll become privy to how many of the events that take place in Brackettville get off the ground. There is a lot of planning that goes into pulling off some of the events that our hometown has come to see as annual occurrences. And many of the aforementioned organizations work together to pull them off. Therefore, if you’re even just a little bit curious, I would encourage you to attend a meeting. Just go to one and see what you think. If you like it, become a member. And when you get a chance to, speak up because so many of us have such wonderful ideas, but never get the change to voice them.
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Note: This blog appeared as article in the 4/6/17 edition of the Kinney County Post.