San Marcos issues series of proclamations honoring GIS Day, library accreditation, veterans, Arbor Month, nurse practitioners and hunger relief

San Marcos Mayor Jane Hughson on Monday read a sequence of ceremonial proclamations declaring November 2025 as Geographic Information Systems Day, San Marcos Public Library Accreditation Day, Veterans Month and Turkey’s Tackling Hunger Month, while also proclaiming October as Arbor Month and the week of Nov. 9 as National Nurse Practitioner Week.

The mayor said the GIS proclamation was intended to highlight the technology’s role in “operating [the city’s] infrastructure, sustaining natural resources, planning for the future of our community, and stimulating economic growth,” and called on residents to learn how maps and geospatial tools support local decision-making. A representative of the city’s GIS work group accepted the proclamation and presented the second annual GIS Ambassador Award to Eddie Dry of the streets division for his work applying GIS to the city’s five-year sidewalk and road maintenance planning. “GIS Day is a global event that celebrates the power of location-based data,” the work group representative said.

Mayor Hughson also read a proclamation recognizing the San Marcos Public Library’s compliance with minimum accreditation standards under Title 13 of the Texas Administrative Code. A library representative thanked staff and volunteers and said the accreditation reflects year-round work to meet state benchmarks for hours, collections and services. “This is really for the team, for all the hard work that they did this year,” the library speaker said.

For Veterans Month, Hughson named Captain William Hosler of the U.S. Marine Corps as parade marshal and recounted his service record and medals. Recreation Programs Manager Lisa Morris gave logistics for the Veterans Day parade: road closures will begin at 7:30 a.m., pre-parade entertainment starts at 9 a.m., and the parade will begin at 10 a.m. Morris said the event will include more than 70 entries. A veteran in the chamber offered brief remarks honoring fellow service members.

The city extended its observance of Arbor Day to an Arbor Month proclamation, urging residents to plant trees and participate in community plantings. Kelly Eby, San Marcos urban forester, said recent outreach included giveaways and school plantings and described ongoing tree care events.

Hughson proclaimed the week of Nov. 9 as National Nurse Practitioner Week and acknowledged local practitioners. Two representatives of Hill Country Nurse Practitioners accepted the recognition and thanked the city for continued support.

The meeting also included a proclamation supporting the Hays County Food Bank’s “Turkey’s Tackling Hunger” campaign. A food bank representative said the agency aims to provide holiday meal kits to more than 1,500 households and announced capacity increases — “we are adding, right at 400 extra shopping spots for the San Marcos market for November and 500 for December” — and a planned Thanksgiving hot meal on Nov. 20 expected to serve roughly 450 neighbors. The representative cautioned that SNAP shortfalls persist and urged continued community support.

The meeting concluded with a brief reminder that the town’s outdoor warning sirens signal a need to take shelter immediately when sounded. No votes, motions, or formal policy decisions were recorded in the segment covered by this transcript.

Next steps: the proclamations are ceremonial recognitions; organizers and partner agencies will proceed with the announced events and program expansions on the dates stated.