David Twiggs answering questions after his presentation.

The first meeting of the Men's Club for the 2014-2015 year was held on September 9, 2014 in the Lower Hall of the Church.  The meeting was attended by approximately 180 members, wives and guests, attracted to some extent by the appearance of our speaker, David Twiggs, COO & General Manager of Hot Springs Village.  After dinner, David gave a short summary of the reasons for the needed increase in monthly assessments.  After his presentation David answered several question from the attendees.

President Bob Heisler then conducted a short meeting introducing this years officers, 1st VP - Joe Lemmler, 2nd VP Larry Poldrack, Treasurer Rick Goss, Secretary & Membership Chairman Don Glinka, Sergeant-At-Arms Scott Krantz, Program Director Buddy Dixon, and Past President Bill Patterson.  Chaplin Fr. Bill Elser closed the meeting with a prayer.

Getting ready for the first pitch

On Monday afternoon, July 28 at 4:00 PM some 90 Men's Club Members, spouses, & friends boarded two buses headed to Dickey-Stephens Ballpark located on the banks of the Arkansas River in North Little Rock. The very comfortable buses took approximately 75 minutes to get to the ballpark. The group was unloaded near the pavillion where they were served dinner consisting of hamburgers, hot dogs, and other ballpark type food.

After dinner the group migrated over to their reserved seats on the 1st base side of the ballpark. The Arkansas Travelers were playing their in-state rivals, the Northwest Arkansas Naturals for 1st place in their division. There was a special treat in that C.J. Wilson, a regular starting pitcher for the L.A. Angels, was on rehab assignment with the Travelers, and was their starting pitcher that evening. After settling in their seats the group enjoyed a good game won by the Travelers, 9 t0 3.

The group was picked up by the buses at the front of the stadium and travelled back to the Village, arriving at about 11:30, tired but treated to a great outing. A good time with good friends.

Many thanks go to event chairman, Buddy Dixon and his wife Martha, for many hours of work, which was made more difficult by our original game in June being rescheduled  due to rain.

Men's Club Steak Dinner attendees

The Men's Club met on May 13, 2014 for it's annual end of the year Steak Dinner.  Approximately 180 members, their wives and guest speakers attended.  The Rick Heimenz kitchen crew cooked steaks along with green beans, baked potaoes, salad, bread and ice cream prepared by Fr. Bill.

After the meal Dr. Morgan Sauer gave a PowerPoint presentation on the Longevity Center, which he heads up in Little Rock.  As part of his presentation he pointed out some of the good things (more emphasis on preventative care) promoted by the Affordable Care Act (ACA) and some of the things that will need to get changed to make the ACA more reasonable for caregivers.  He and Buddy Dixon briefly reviewed the St. Vincent takeover of Mercy Hospital in Hot Springs and it's affect on Hot Springs Village.

President Bob Heisler chaired a brief business meeting, introducing the 2014-15 officers, President - Bob Heisler, 1st Vice President - Joe Lemmler,  2nd Vice President - Larry Poldrack,  Secretary - Don Glinka, Treasurer - Rick Goss,  Sergeant-At-Arms - Scott Krantz,  Program & Activity Director - Buddy Dixon.  

Hwy. 7 Cleanup Crew - Dick Hoepner, Mike Kerwin, Ray Ambrozich, Oliver Field, Jim Timmerman, Don Dierks, Joe Lemmler, John Rachwal, Dennis Sisson, Wilheim Brahm, John Froning, Tom Hickox & Daughter

On Saturday, April 12, 2014, fifteen Men's Club volunteers, led by Wilhelm Brahm, cleaned up approximately one mile of Highway 7, south of the West Gate of Hot Springs Village. Fifteen volunteers allowed the group to finish in less than one hour. The Club has been cleaning up this section of Highway 7 for over 15 years. Thanks to the volunteers.

Second seating crowd at the Men's Club Fish Bake

The Men's Club hosted it's annual Fish Bake Dinner on Friday, April 11, 2014.  Almost 500 meals, consisting of baked Tilipia, specialty green beans, tater tots, and cole slaw were prepared by Rick Hiemenz and his Men's Club kitchen crew.  Men's Club volunteers also served as waiters, Refreshment Center workers, Maitre 'ds, set up and clean up workers, and other jobs to make the dinner a success.  There were over 60 Men's Club Members that volunteered to help out with this project.  The dinner raised over $3000 for the Men's Club charities.

In addition, Fr. Bill prepared ice cream for this event and St. Jude's Guild of the Ladies of the Sacred Heart oversaw the dispensing of the ice cream and the CCD Students took orders for the ice cream from the attendees and served them at their tables.  Money raised by the sale of the ice cream will be used for the CCD program at the Church.

This event was one of the best attended and most successful dinners that the Men's Club has ever sponsored and the officers of the Club thank the Men's Club volunteers, Fr. Bill, the St. Judes Guild, and the CCD students for their work.  Also the Men's Club thanks the Members of Sacred Heart Parish for their support by attending and bringing their friends to the dinner.

More photos of this event are found on the Photos page.

Ruth & Mike Kerwin picking up meals for delivery

The Sacred Heart Men's Club takes responsibility during February of each year for delivering hot meals, prepared at the McAuley Center, to individuals in the Village that can't cook for themselves and in many cases are unable to drive anymore. This year there were approximately 30 delieries each week day that were made by 9 couples (husband and wife) and 20 other members of the Club during the month. The route to make the deliveries was over 50 miles and required approximately 3 hours to complete. Mike and Ruth Kerwin are shown making the pickup of the food at the McAuley Center. 

Dan Murphy is the coordinator of this project and was told by the director at McAuley Center that the Men's Club was one of the best organiztions to work with as they showed up each day and were dedicated in getting the food delivered on time.

Click the Photos tab for additional photos.

Dr. Rodney Davis with Buddy Dixon

The Men's Club meeting on Tuesday, February 18, featured Rodney Davis, MD as it's speaker for the evening.  Buddy Dixon introdued Dr. Davis, indicating he is an  Arkansas native, is a professor at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS) College of Medicine and the current Chairman of the Urology Department, and  is an internationally recognized expert in minimally invasive techniques for the treatment of urologic malignancies.

Dr. Davis talked about the current state of prostate cancer treatment, including the current trend to take a more wait and see approach to prostate cancer, because it is, in many cases, a very slow growing cancer. Dr. Davis then took a number of question from the approximately 90 men in attendance.

The Men's Club made donations in December 2013 totaling $7,200 to seven different organizations.

$1,000 each were given to St. John's Catholic School in Hot Springs and Our Lady of Fatima Catholic School in Benton (see the attached photos).

$1,000 each was also given to Meals On Wheels administered through the McAuley Senior Center of Hot Springs Village, Paul Bewie Boys & Girls Club of Hot Springs Village, Jackson House of Hot Springs, and the Samaritan Ministries of Hot Springs.  In addition $1,200 was donated to the Christmas Basket Program administered by Ed Keearns of Sacred Heart Church.  

The $7,200 was a $1,000 increase over last year ($500 increase to both Catholic schools) and was possible due to the additional monies raised by our trips to the Crystal Bridges in NW Arkansas and the Ballpark in North Little Rock.  The Fish Bake and Chicken Bake, which are our main money raisers, as well as membership dues, supplied the rest of the funds.

Thanks to all of our members who supplied their time and talent to support these donations.  We hope you will continue to support your Club during the coming year.

Angela Issacs accepts Men's Club donation from Bob Heisler for St. John's Catholic School.

Linda Good receives Men's Club donation from Bob Heisler for Our Lady of Fatima Catholic School.