2008

• Richard Uriegas

  Commissioner, Texas Community Health Network, which sponsors Pinatas in the Barrio.
  
  Bio to come.

• Virginia Van Cleave

  Commissioner, Alamo Couriers Chapter of the Daughters of the Republic of Texas. It sponsors the Children’s Texas History Forum.
  
  Bio to come.
  

2007

• Mary Begia

  
  

  Mary Begia joined the Miss Fiesta San Antonio Scholarship Pageant Board of Directors in 1997; served as its president from 2001 through 2003; as a PMO Commissioner from 2000 to 2001 and is serving as the Fiesta Commission Executive Committee’s 2005 treasurer. Holding these positions has provided her the platform she needed to move the organization forward. The scholarship program has grown under her leadership and now includes scholarships for all participants. She successfully spearheaded an effort to bring former contestants into the organization providing a new dimension and strength to the organization.

• Amelia Garza

  
  

  Amelia C. Garza has been a Fiesta volunteer extraordinaire for 20 years, beginning with raising scholarship money for her husband’s reign as El Rey Feo XL and continuing to support Fiesta events. As a founding member of Lo Bello de San Antonio Women’s Club in 1993, she has served in many leadership roles and has helped to raise more than half a million dollars for education. In 2005 and with her leadership attributes, Lo Bello’s Champagne and Diamonds event made its debut. In 2007, after two very successful years, Lo Bello became an official Fiesta PMO – a dream come true for Amelia.

2006

• Rosemary Kowalski

  
  

  When Sticky Wickets, the Blessed Sacrament Academy’s annual celebrity croquet tournament, came into being in 1991, Rosemary Kowalski was there. Not only was she there, she was largely instrumental in the shape it took. Her organizational skills along with her ability to plan and execute events helped Sticky Wickets to become a wonderful, ever expanding, successful fun event that engages communitywide participation. Now, 15 years later, she is an ongoing advocate of this yearly event and of the programs it helps fund, all at no cost to the organization.

  
  

• Mary Schug

  Not one but two events. Mary Schug has made a lasting impact on Fiesta beginning with founding of the first King William Fair in 1968, serving as Arts and Craft Chairman for the first two years. The Fair has grown to be one of the most popular Fiesta events. In 1974, Mary worked to establish the River Art Group’s first Fiesta River Art Show, thus establishing the River Art Group as a Fiesta PMO. Mary has given thousands of volunteer hours to these two Fiesta events and has been a constant presence at the monthly Fiesta Commission meetings and other related functions over many years.

2005

• Jack Hebdon

  
  

  Jack Hebdon’s official involvement in Fiesta began at age 4 when he served as a Page to the Princess in the Order of the Alamo’s “Court of the Golden Journey.” But it is the work he’s done in the past 17 years that have earned him a place in the Order. In 1998, as Ticket Sales Chairman for the Texas Cavaliers River Parade, he reached out to several other participating member organizations, or PMOs, and established a centralized ticket booth at RiverCenter Mall. The following year he instituted a customer database and ticketing system that greatly improved ticket sales and led to annual sellouts of River Parade tickets. In 1995 Jack secured a local station to become the “Official Fiesta TV Station.” In 2000, he negotiated a TV agreement for broadcast of the 3 main parades, public service announcements, ads and other Fiesta promotions. He convinced the station to add more cameras and remote locations. In 2002 Jack chaired the first Corporate Partners Committee and increased revenues to the Commission by almost $140,000. He helped sponsors find ways to better promote their products during Fiesta and initiated parade packages for increased sponsorship value. Net sponsorship dollars increased. As Fiesta Commission Treasurer, Jack made changes to the PMO allocation process to make rules consistent and to ensure fair administration. As chair of the Insurance Committee he moved the Commission’s insurance to a new provider with improved coverage. He served on 17 committees over five years and chaired eight.

  
  
  

• Susie Martin

  Susie Martin is an initiator. In 1996, she brought fireworks to the Band Festival, giving the event a needed boost. She introduced souvenir patches for the students’ letter jackets. As Battle of Flowers Parade Chair she created the first Battle of Flowers button and designed the present Battle of Flowers official flag. She added music to the public school floats; enlisted local banks to furnish 10,000 fans and popular foam hats for the parade spectators. She brought in the “Big Horn” from Georgia and broke the record for sales of the giant helium balloons. As Battle of Flowers President, she created the first Battle Bulletin Newsletter and designed a new medal for previous Parade Chairs.

• Penny McCutchen Gardner

  Penny McCutchen Gardner’s Fiesta contributions across the years have been considerable. Penny was a founding board member of the Queen of Soul Pageant and has been responsible for the personal development and etiquette training for hundreds of young women who might not otherwise have strong role models or opportunities to participate in the Fiesta experience. She was also instrumental in bringing about the inclusion of the Queen of Soul Pageant as a PMO, and the Queen of Soul is a now a recognized member of Fiesta Royalty. She is currently President of this organization. Her dedication and commitment to young women and pageants spans 31 years of service to the San Antonio community, and has spread to the Miss Fiesta San Antonio Scholarship Pageant, where she has served on the Board of Directors since 1983.

2004

• Les Paulick

  As a transplanted Texan, Les began to understand and truly appreciate the Fiesta Commission and the work it does while serving on the Rey Feo court in 1989. Following the Centennial celebration and the Commission's unexpected financial loss, Les stepped forward and successfully contacted numerous vendors negotiating a "donation" to the Commission. As the Conservation Society made plans for a NIOSITA fund raiser Les got busy selling tables. In 1993, the Fiesta Commission attended the IFEA meeting in Rotterdam to promote the following year's meeting in San Antonio and once again Les was there. Paying his own expenses Les took on the responsibility of packing and shipping food and decorations to Rotterdam for a Mexican Fiesta. In fact, Les and his company paid the freight charges. When Les was asked to host a guest festival for the Commission, he eagerly accepted and using his own personal funds he welcomed them in