Weekly Newsletter February 3, 2025

Dear Democrats,

“Do not get lost in a sea of despair. Be hopeful, be optimistic. Our struggle is not the struggle of a day, a week, a month, or a year, it is the struggle of a lifetime. Never, ever be afraid to make some noise and get in good trouble, necessary trouble.” John Lewis

Upcoming events in the next few weeks 

1. The Nacogdoches County Democratic Party will meet on Monday, February 10, in the Courthouse Annex, 203 West Main Street. The Executive Committee will meet at 5:30pm. This will be followed at about 6:00pm by the general monthly meeting. Vicki Wood, the County Election Administrator, will train us to be Volunteer Deputy Registrars so we can register voters. No need to sign up in advance, she has the applications we will need.

2. The Nacogdoches NAACP unit will hold their Executive Committee meeting on Tuesday, February 11, at 5:30pm, in the Little Zion Baptist Church, 305 Shawnee Street. The monthly General Membership meeting will start after this meeting, at 6:20pm. Contact the NAACP Secretary, Lisa Colston, at (504) 905-8720, for more information.

3. The Concerned Black Men of Nacogdoches (CBMN) is hosting its Ninth Annual Valentine Scholarship Gala on Thursday, February 13, at 6:30pm in SFA’s Grand Ballroom. The purpose of this event is to raise funds to provide scholarships, mentoring activities, and other programs that uplift and support the youth of our community. For tickets contact Roy Boldon (936) 564-5615 or (713) 494-1709, G.W. Neal (936) 554-0390, or Terrence Reeves (936) 371-2144.

4. The last day to file to be on on the City Council or NISD School Board is Friday, February 14.

5. The Nacogdoches Community Coalition will meet at 5:30pm on Monday, February 17, in the Little Zion Baptist Church, 305 Shawnee Street discuss final preparations and arrangements for the Black History Expo.

6. The 21/7 Association will have their monthly meeting on Tuesday, February 18, at noon at Cypress Ridge, 2701 Logan Circle.  Contact Nancy Niehaus for more information.

7. The Black History Expo will be held from 10:00am until 2:00pm on Saturday, February 22 at McMichael Middle School.

Nac Dems

At our last monthly meeting we established six committees to help organize our activities during the next couple of years, focusing especially on local issues and elections. So get involved, contact a committee chair, and get to work!

o   Education - Gale Chenault

o   Communication - Karen

o   Search - Tory Free

o   Event -Betty Jacobs

o   Finance and Fundraising - Sean Hightower

o   Watchdog -Anne Keehnen

Nacogdoches City Council

The Nacogdoches City Council will hold a regular meeting on Tuesday, February 4, at 5:30pm, in the City Hall, 202 East Pilar Street. See the City’s “Friday Update” for more information about meetings and more on their Facebook site https://www.facebook.com/CityofNacogdoches. Agendas for city meetings can be found at https://www.nactx.us/agendas. Meetings are streamed at www.nactx.us/1198/Channel-21.

Agenda items for the February 4 meeting include:

o   Receive the 2024 Annual Racial Profiling report from the Chief of Police, as required by Texas Code of Criminal Procedure

o   Approve a contract for $249,724 between the City and The Goodman Corporation for professional services related to downtown project planning, development, funding, and implementation. Currently identified strategic projects are:

·       Development of a centralized parking facility;

·       Amenitization (?) of Festival Park, including as the potential home for a Stephen F. Austin University sports facility;

·       Enhancing and adding amenities along Banita Creek; and

·       Review of the existing public property and buildings, their potential for repurposing, identification of their highest and best use, and identification of potential locations for administrative buildings.

City Council will hold a workshop on Wednesday, February 12, at 4:00pm in City Hall.

Commissions and Committees

CANCELLED The Planning & Zoning Commission meeting on Monday, February 10..

The Historic Landmark Preservation Committee will meet on Monday, February 3, at 4:00pm in City Hall to consider five Historic Restoration Grants.

Nacogdoches County Commissioners

The Nacogdoches County Commissioners Court will meet on Tuesday, February 4, at 9:00am in the Commissioners’ Courtroom, Suite 170 of the Nacogdoches County Courthouse, 101 West Main Street. Recordings of meetings are posted on the county website.  

NISD School Board meetings

The NISD School Board will have a regular meeting on Thursday, February 27, at 5:00pm in the E.J. Campbell District Support Center Annex, 420 South Shawnee Street. Go to their website for more information.

Nacogdoches County Hospital District

Nacogdoches County Hospital District Board of Directors meets on the fourth Tuesday of every month at 5:15pm in Memorial Hospital’s Auxiliary Conference Center, 1204 North Mound Street. For information about the Hospital District go to their website https://nachd.org.

Major holidays and events in Nacogdoches and elsewhere in the near future

A list of events that will, or probably will, take place in Nacogdoches in 2025 is attached. Please let us know of any additions or corrections.

See you there!

Mike Strong

Nac Dems

2025 Events in Nacogdoches                                                             Draft - February 3, 2025

1 January        First day to apply for ballot by mail

6 January        Executive Committee and Nac Dems monthly meetings

11 January      SFA dorms open

20 January       MLK Day

20 January      Martin Luther King Jr. Day of Service, SFA’s Office of Multicultural Affairs

15 January      First day to apply for place on City Council and School Board local elections

tbd February   SFA’s ninth annual Diversity Conference

tbd February   SFA’s Black History Month Celebration

1-28 February Black History Month

1 February      CASA Texi-Gras fundraiser

10 February    Executive Committee and Nac Dems monthly meetings

13 February    Concerned Black Men’s Annual Valentiane's Scholarship Gala

14 February    Last day to apply for place on City Council and School Board elections

17 February    President’s Day

22 February    Community Improvement Program’s “Black Cultural Expo”

tbd March       SFA’s Annual Women’s Empowerment Summit

1-31 March     National Women’s History Month

10 March        Executive Committee and Nac Dems monthly meetings

tbd April          Farmers Market “Spring Fling”

3 April             Last day to register to vote in Local Election

14 April           Executive Committee and Nac Dems monthly meetings

22 April           Earth Day

22 April           First day of early voting in Local Election

22 April           Last day to apply for ballot by mail for Local Election

29 April           Last day of early voting in Local Election

3 May             Local Election

3 May              Last day to submit ballot by mail or (5 May if postmarked 3 May)

5 May              Cinco de Mayo

12 May            Executive Committee and Nac Dems monthly meetings

9-10 May         SFA graduation

23 May            NHS graduation

26 May            Memorial Day

14 June           Blueberry Festival

14 June           Flag Day

19 June           Juneteenth

21 June           Juneteenth celebration – parade and picnic

tbd July           CIP Community Brown Bag Lunch

4 July               Freedom Fest in the Park

4 July               TACDL lawyers read Declaration of Independence at Courthouse

14 July             Executive Committee and Nac Dems monthly meetings

19 July             First day to apply for place on Hospital Board local election

tbd August      PAL Community Heroes Hoops Tournament

11 August       Executive Committee and Nac Dems monthly meetings

22August        SFA dorms open

tbd September 5th Annual RISE event for local entrepreneurs

1 September   Labor Day

15 Sep-15 Oct Hispanic Heritage Month

16 September  National Voter Registration Day

tbd October    Farmers Market “Fall Fling”

tbd October    African-American Heritage Project BBQ

tbd October    Pineywoods Fair

tbd October    Ability Strong Festival

6 October        Last day to register to vote in November Hospital Board election

13October       Columbus Day/ Indigenous Peoples' Day

21 October      First day of early voting in Hospital Board election

24 October      Last day to apply for mail in ballot for Hospital Board election

tbd  October   SFA Homecoming Parade

31 October      Last day of early voting in General Election

tbd November Veteran’s Day Parade

tbd November Solid Foundation gala

1 November    Día de los Muertos

4 November   Hospital Board election

5 November    Last day to submit ballot by mail or (4 November if postmarked 5 November)

11 November  Veteran’s Day

27 November  Thanksgiving

6 December    Christmas Parade

13 December  SFA graduation

25 December  Christmas Day

Recurring events

Second Monday of month                 Nacogdoches County Democrats monthly meetings

Second Tuesday of month                 NAACP Executive Committee and Members meeting

Third Monday of month                     Community Coalition monthly meeting

Third Tuesday of month                     21/7 Association monthly meeting

First and third Tuesday of month       Nacogdoches City Council meeting

Every other Tuesday                           Nacogdoches County Commissioners’ Court

Third Thursday of month                   NISD School Board meeting

Fourth Tuesday of month                  Nacogdoches County Hospital District Board of Directors