Kridel Takes Over As New Senior Connections Executive Director

We have an extremely busy week ahead. Are you ready? On Monday, July 15, at the Schulenburg campus, after a morning of dominoes and Torok cards, we will enjoy a lunch of roast beef, buttered potatoes, salad and dessert. The main dish is coming from Koopman catering. Volunteers will cook the rest.

Did you know that members sign up to bring desert? If you would like to donate a desert, let us know. The Lunch and Learn speaker for Monday will be Sandy Anderson with TrueCare Living Center in Columbus.

Tuesday, July 16, we return to Weimar at First United Methodist Church. We were so stoked by the good reviews from the first day there, and we can’t wait to see how many new faces we will see. We look forward to getting to know all of the new members. Games, coffee and conversation starts at 9 a.m. at the First United Methodist Church on St. Charles St. Lunch is served at 11:30 a.m. Be ready to line up for king ranch chicken casserole from Schobels’ Restaurant and mixed vegetables, salad and dessert from Senior Connections volunteers. Sandy Anderson will be joining for the lunch and learn program. Bingo caller will be Jennifer Wilson with Paradigm at the Oak Nursing Center in Schulenburg. We were so happy to have Jennifer and four of her residents join recently in Schulenburg.

On Wednesday, back in Schulenburg, we’re going to get spoiled with food from Oakridge Restaurant. A meal of fried fish, hush puppies and coleslaw will be served. On this day, July 17, we will be celebrating birthdays in Schulenburg. After lunch, Joshua Lovejoy with Crown Hospice of Victoria, will be calling the bingo game.

The outing for the month of July is going to be very interesting. On Thursday, July 18, Seniors are going to visit Fluent, the medical marijuana facility for a tour on our way to the Lyric Theater in Flatonia to watch a movie. It will be great to see owner Terry Ehler, one of our board members. Her father is one of our well loved members in Schulenburg. Following the show we will dine at Edna’s Café for lunch.

The week ends with Artful Friday at the center in Schulenburg. Lots of creativity will be going on with Georgia Pohl and Stephanie Shroyer, and then we will have a light lunch.

We are patiently waiting on our Tower Garden so we can start growing our own vegetables for our meals. If you would like to help, contact Stephanie Shroyer at (979) 702-1246.

Excitement builds as we begin planning for the next satellite campus in Flatonia next month. Starting Aug. 13, we will be providing our meal-based program there on the second and fourth Tuesday of every month at the Flatonia Methodist Church. If you would like to help make this happen as a Lunch and Learn speaker, bingo caller, donating bingo prizes of items people use every day, help to serve coffee and the meal, or cleaning up after, bake deserts, or donate produce from your gardens, please let Stephanie know.

In all of the excitement of the changes that have happened in the past few months we have failed to publicly announce that Amanda Kridel has taken over the Executive Director since Cindy Villarreal retired. The amazing changes you all have witnessed over the last few months are all thanks to this amazing lady and her vision, drive and energy.

Amanda Kridel is a native of Columbus. She joined the Senior Connections team in the spring of 2023. Hired as the Director of Marketing and Development she has now transitioned into the role of Executive Director.

Proud graduate of TCU, she brings a diverse professional background spanning marketing, restaurant management, practice management, and non-profit board service. Amanda brings a multifaceted perspective to her leadership role. She is deeply rooted in the community and committed to the success and growth of Senior Connections.

Outside of her professional endeavors, Amanda finds joy in spending quality time with her family. She shares her life with her husband, Blake, and their three children, Hayes, Anna, and George. And some days she brings them along to the center to add some youthful energy to us all.

Senior Connections is a community based non-profit organization, dedicated to serving the elderly population of Fayette, Lavaca and Colorado counties. Established in 2015, our hub is located in Schulenburg. If you are 55 years and up, and would like to meet with us at any one of our campuses for any of our events, please don’t hesitate to join us. Membership and meals are free.

You can support our efforts with generous donations, or by volunteering. The physical address is 1111 Bohlmann Avenue, Schulenburg, Tx 78956 and the mailing address is P.O. Box 33, Schulenburg, TX 78956. For more information, call (979) 743-3227 or email Amanda@srconnections.org.