Come participate in the election of the 2010-2011 Board of Directors and find out what's new in the neighborhood.

The King William Artist Display Program features a new artist opening in conjunction with the First Thursday Art Walk. The exhibit, "Celestial Bodies," features the photography of Deborah Keller-Rihn and Ramin Samandari. At 7 pm the artists will talk about their work; it's your opportunity to have a conversation with them about their intriguing work. Their photographs will be on display through October. They can be viewed weekdays from 10 am to 2 pm. This is free and open to the public.

The King William public art committee invites artists living within the boundaries of the King William Historic District (http://tinyurl.com/kwdistrict) to apply to exhibit their work at the KWA office. Exhibits open during the First Thursday Art Walk. Email king.william@sbcglobal.net or drop by the KWA office for an application.

Villa Finale's Buildings and Grounds department needs volunteers to help with landscape projects before the Opening Celebration at the end of September. If you enjoy working outdoors and can volunteer a few hours within the next month, please contact Orlando Cortinas, Landscape Maintenance Technician, at 223-9800 ext. 34327. Thank you!

During September, the Animal Defense League (ADL) will be hosting special spay and neuter Fridays, focusing specifically on feral and stray cats. ADL will offer stray/feral cat spay and neuter surgery and a rabies vaccine for the very low cost of $10 per cat. All cats will also be ear-notched.

Appointments Required: Call 655-1481 ext. 104 to schedule an appointment. Limit 3 cats per person. More information at adltexas.org.

Zocolocos is a "meet and greet" sponsored by the Downtown Residents Association. Enjoy happy hour drink specials and complimentary appetizers with fellow downtown residents.

The KWA Board met on August 18, 2010, with 12 board members present. The primary order of business was to approve the KWA operating budget for 2011 and allocate funds against grant applications.  An operating budget of $56,547 was approved.  At the July meeting, the Board had approved allocation of 50% of net revenues from the 2010 King William Fair for Community and Cultural programs. This allocation amounted to $80,593 of which $16,000 was already released for our ACCD scholarship program. We received 13 grant applications totaling $107,124, a record for both number of requests received and total amount requested. After careful consideration of the applications and Finance Committee recommendations, the Board voted unanimously to fund the following requests:

A request from Girls Inc. was referred to the Finance Committee for further consideration. The Board agreed to retain a reserve in the Community/Cultural budget, especially in light of possible tuition increases at ACCD that may require us to review our scholarship amounts.

These funded grants, made possible by revenue from the King William Fair, reflect KWA's continuing support of Say Sí and our neighborhood schools and also includes two new applicants. The Communities in Schools - San Antonio College Focus program at Brackenridge High is an initiative to mentor and encourage high school students to pursue higher education. The pilot program by Villa Finale will develop curricula for San Antonio area public schools focused on historic preservation building trades.