Seguin's 2017 July 4th Parade…Participants Find Their Spots

This year's Fourth of July parade was a grand success. For me, it started at the Fire Station on Austin Street, where I met D.J., a Seguin intern who volunteered to help with the parade. He drove me around the streets where the participants were lining up, and I got to meet a lot of them while photographing the whole event.

Two of the firefighters at the Austin Street station stood next to the antique fire truck they would drive in the parade. 

The gentleman on the left has been driving grand marshals in the parade for a very long time. His chevy  is a show-stopper on it's own!

This year, the Seguin Matador band was chosen to be the grand marshal of the parade. Bill and Denise Wilcox represented the band by riding in the red chevy, and anyone who is involved with the band knows how much Bill and Denise love the Matador band.

Tres Hewell was one of many local volunteers who helped make the parade a success. It should be noted that folks don't usually see Tres sporting such wild socks, but he carried it off.

Parade royalty has to wait as long as it takes for their turn to line up and travel the parade route. These lovely young women waited comfortably in the shade for their turn.

Now, this gentleman told me he originally was just going to help his wife get her entry ready, and before he knew it, she had him dressed in his uniform riding in the back of the truck as the star of their float.

This butterscotch yellow Ford already had a blue ribbon to show off. I can see why. It's a great car, and the owners were more than happy to stand next to it for me while I took their photo.

The Navarro Panthers' cheer team decorated their boat with flags.

All in all, the Seguin Fourth of July parade is about patriotism and people. That's what makes our small town so great.

Veterans' Visual Art Exhibition: Day Two

Day Two of the VVAE started off with Seguin Art League President Liz Romero showing staff reporter for the Seguin Gazette-Enterprise one of the exhibits. A special thanks goes out to Carmen Davila, chairperson of the Publicity Committee of SAL for all the media attention the exhibit recieved.

Standing behind the podium, Felisa Ramirez, Liz Romero, Dr. Henry Moore and Mary Styblo.

Dr. Henry Moore, a honorary life-time member of the Seguin Art League, shared his history with the art league, and discussed his passion for abstract art.

 Dr. Moore brought one of his abstract works and explained what influences him as he develops a piece. He showed the audience the white cross on a red background, representing the Knights Templar and the Christian faith. Also, he pointed out the word "pax", latin for peace, and said that he likes the fact that pax is only three letters, while peace is five, making pax graphically easier and nicer to incorporate into his work. One of his mentors prefers artist signatures on the back of a work, so Dr. Moore does that, but he likes to include the letter "M" somewhere on the front of the canvas, which is easy to spot once he pointed it out. The audience learned a lot about art from Dr. Moore's talk about abstract art.

The 2017 People's Choice Award for Best Veterans' Visual Art Exhibitor went to Dina Dillon for her photography entry entitled "Together We Stand".

Veterans' Visual Art Exhibit Day One

The 2017 Veterans' Visual Art Exhibit opening ceremony began with the Guadalupe Valley Young Marines, directed by Dina Dillon, posting the colors.

Before the opening ceremony, Seguin Art League member Roger Betschler made final adjustments to one of the entries.

Daryl Styblo, a member of SAL and The American Legion Post 245, took photos of the entries to document the event.

David Parks, a vet and a photojournalist, was interviewed by P.J., for the San Antonio Express News.

Veterans' Visual Art Exhibit 2017