The 2011 Community Welcome through a San Marcos neighborhood was highlighted with a rainbow arching over volunteers at the end of their walk. PHOTO by DON ANDERS

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SUBMITTED REPORT

The Community Welcome walk at the Hills of Hays will be held Thursday, Sept. 27 with volunteers from Texas State University and the San Marcos community gathering at 5:15 p.m. at  Paul Peña Park, 1209 Crystal River Parkway. The originally scheduled event on Sept. 13 was rained out.

The Community Welcome is part of the ACT Campaign (Achieving Community Together) to develop good relations between long-term residents and students.

Teams of police officers, city and university staff, and student and permanent residents will walk the area distributing ordinance information and welcoming new residents to the neighborhoods.

“The Community Welcome is an excellent opportunity for all residents of San Marcos to welcome new neighbors to our town and promote positive relations between student and non-student residents,” said Mayor Daniel Guerrero.  “San Marcos residents place a high value on building community to create a high quality of living in our neighborhoods.”

The ACT campaign is a collaborative effort of the City of San Marcos and Texas State University to build a resilient community of student and permanent residents through teamwork, education and integrity.

“Texas State is committed to continuing our relationship with the City of San Marcos to achieve the goals of ACT.  Our ACT initiatives assist all permanent and student residents with regular communication, effective problem-solving, on-going assessment and moving through conflict with respect.  We are excited that out ACT program continues to make a difference in the community” said Dr. Joanne Smith, Vice President for Student Affairs.

Elena Duran, neighborhood representative from the Hills of Hays, supports the September 13 outreach effort and the goal of building community.

“This is the second Community Welcome for our neighborhood and we have seen how it has improved the relationship between the permanent residents and students,” she said. “We get to meet each other which helps in how we interact and all get along as neighbors.”

To volunteer, or for more information, contact Lisa Dvorak at 512-753-2310, ldvorak@sanmarcostx.gov or Toni Phelps at 512-245-3219, tp1150@txstate.edu