About Texas Hill Country Unit
Contact President Zephyr Marek @ faye_marek@yahoo.com
The Texas Hill Country Unit of the Wally Byam Caravan Club International (WBCCI) was created by Airstreamers whose hearts and minds envisioned the spirit of the frontier. Three members of the Texas Unit began meeting in the fall of 1965 to design and formulate a new club specifically for the hill country of central Texas. Hamp Millender provided organizational leadership. Jack Bursley wrote bulletins and maintained records. George Lieser led in the enlistment of new members. The new club was established and received a WBCCI charter on January 20, 1966. By the end of 1966 Texas Hill Country had 180 unit memberships. It continued to be one of the larger WBCCI units until some members of the unit decided to expand further to form the Highland Lakes Unit of WBCCI in March 1981.
1980-1981 was also the year that one of our members, Andy Kaiser with the first lady Bea, took over the presidency of WBCCI. The Kaiser’s leadership at the international level proved the quality of people in the Texas Hill Country Unit. Our members have regularly assumed roles of leadership at the unit, regional and international levels.
Our unit members mainly reside along the I-35 corridor. However, we have members that live as far west as Junction, as far north as Dallas/Ft Worth, as far east as Conroe/College Station and as far south as San Antonio. As you can see, we cover a large geographic area. Some of our members are retired, some are working full time, some have preschool children, and many have traveling pets.
Historically, the Unit has 8 rallies and 2 luncheons every year . Our rallies begin on a Wednesday and end on Sunday. However, members do arrive and leave as their schedule dictates. Come for a day or come for a long weekend. You are always welcome. Please check our website for our Rally Schedule to see where we have been and where we are going.
In 2012 our Unit brought back the popular Fiesta Rally in San Antonio. The San Antonio Fiesta has been on-going since the late 1890s. It has grown to be a ten day party. We will start planning for the 2014 Fiesta Rally which will include attending two of the parades, visiting the Alamo, several missions, the San Antonio Shoe (SAS) factory; we will have continental breakfasts, dinners, entertainment, plenty of Blue Bell ice cream and a lot of fun. We look forward to having you join us.
Our Unit has won the Superior Merit Award the last 7 years. To win this Award the President of the Unit assists the Unit in planning and setting annual goals; to develop an effective and well managed Unit; to serve as a tool to gather and share information on successful activities and to recognize excellence in Unit operations. With all this done it makes a good Unit for Fun, Fellowship and Adventure.
The Wally Byam Creed continues to guide our approach to travel in our Airstreams. First, “to place the great wide world at your doorstep for you who yearn to travel with all the comforts of home.”
Come join us for fun, fellowship, and adventure … and become a part of the next chapter in the rich history of the Texas Hill Country Unit.