By The Cordillera Ranch Social Club
When the neighborhood was new and in its early stages of development, the Cordillera Ranch Social Club was formed with the primary mission to offer social gatherings for the benefit of the Cordillera Ranch residents, never forgetting that the sole purpose was to foster a neighborhood sense of community and to simply have fun.
So it began. These early neighbors wanted to make this beautiful 8,700-acre ranch have a small town atmosphere. They drafted guidelines and activities they hoped would help make neighbors feel connected even though their homes were far apart. They also knew that residents would need ways to stay in touch and communicate with each other easily so the Cordillera Ranch Newsletter came into being to communicate information for each month’s activities. Just like it has been all along, the newsletter is produced by a resident volunteer with the major difference from the old to new is that now a variety of ads are included in each issue. Revenue from these ad sales funds the large-scale Cordillera Ranch Social Club neighborhood activities and the publications. Currently there are no dues collected nor is any money received from the POA for the operations.
In addition to the Newsletter, a neighborhood Directory is published and provided at no charge to all home/property owners who wish to be included. In keeping with the times, there is now a neighborhood website (www.lifeattheranch.com) maintained by a resident volunteer webmaster. Information on all of the activity groups and a monthly calendar is always at your fingertips.
While all activities and groups are organized and scheduled by individual group leaders, the Ladies’ Social Club Board takes care of the planning and orchestrating of several large events during the year, all of which are provided at little to no cost to residents. Family fun activities during the year include both the Memorial Day and 4th of July Pool Parties. Ladies always enjoy the Annual Summer Social in September, the Ranch Holiday Market in October and the Annual Baked Potato Social in January.
A wide variety of groups and activities are available to all residents. Whether you want to learn something new about nature, explore the world of wines, play games, discuss the latest movies, enjoy social outings or just go dancing, there is most likely a group for you. Some of our monthly groups are so popular, they have both daytime and nighttime gatherings.
The Men’s Group meets monthly in different residents’ homes where speakers cover a wide variety of topics of interest such as men’s health, local government and even residents who’ve had interesting careers.
The Nature Club is a large co-ed group that has speakers on subjects of interest regarding local flora and fauna, including area wildlife and other inhabitants before people invaded.
The Garden Club loves to go on field trips around the San Antonio/Hill Country area and invites experts to speak about which plants will grow with little water as well as the ones deer won’t eat.
If you’d like to brush up on your cooking skills, the Cooking Group is for you. Local chefs are invited numerous times throughout the year to teach classes to small groups in a resident’s home. Twice a year there are hosted Progressive Dinners; this is a great way to meet new neighbors and visit with old friends.
Caring and providing food when sickness or loss touches a neighbor’s family is just another way we make our community feel like home. There are also several Bible Study groups for men and women that meet regularly.
While the group’s original mission was to foster a neighborhood feeling among residents and to have fun, it has developed to also become a conduit to reach out to the many charities in our surrounding area. Our groups readily volunteer in many arenas sharing our manpower, ideas and finances for the benefit of the greater Kendall County community.
All of these groups are just the tip of the iceberg of activities available to residents and are what make Cordillera Ranch such a special place to live. As new people move into the neighborhood, they bring with them activities and interests that they feel others will enjoy.
For further information and to see just what groups and activities are available to residents, please visit lifeattheranch.com to find both group descriptions and contact information for each. Please note that the neighborhood Social Club is independent from The Clubs of Cordillera Ranch and that there is also a ‘Social Club’ as part of The Clubs of Cordillera Ranch.
