Stories

2025 TdC visit HH100

A group from the Rotary Club of Mount Vernon's Tour de Cypress bike ride traveled to Wichita Falls on Thursday, 21 August, to promote the TdC 22nd Annual Bike Ride coming up in April 2026. In the past, our presence at HH100 helped us get the word out and attract new people to our ride.

For the HH100 three day event, we decided to promote our ride by offering a HH100 discount. We are excited to report that 12 cyclists signed up for our 22nd annual ride in April 2026!! While that doesn't sound like many, this is the first time for us to even attempt signing up participants before January 1.

A Bit About HH100

Back in 1982, Wichita Falls was celebrating their centennial. A group of bicyclists proposed a bicycle ride, 100 miles in 100-degree heat to celebrate 100 years and came up with the name HotterN'Hell Hundred. It is the largest 100-mile ride in the nation and typically has in excess of 10K riders EVERY year. There are also hundreds of volunteers and it add approximately 5M dollars to the local economy. The CamelBak hydration pack was even invented by a participant of the 1989 HH100 (who knew?)!

MV Rotary Motivational Scholarship Program

The motivational scholarship program was started by a group of Rotarians, in the early 90’s who wanted to encourage at-risk kids to stay in school throughout high school and begin college. The scholarships are awarded to students at their 8^th grade graduation. Students are selected by teachers and counselors based on those with a financial need and are at-risk of dropping out of school. Additionally, selected students and their guardians are required to sign a contract stating they will stay out of trouble and be active members of the high school Rotary Interact Club.

The scholarship program initially awarded one female and one male student but has grown since inception and has awarded as many as 20 scholarships in past years. Another change, since inception, is a partnership with Northeast Texas Community College, which was instrumental in making additional scholarships available each year. The partnership agreement entails Rotary paying one year of student tuition and related expenses, then, if the student remains in good standing and maintains a minimum GPA, NTCC picks up the tab for year two.

Past recipients have gone on to attend medical programs to become doctors or nurses while others have obtained business degrees and work in the finance, etc. Some past recipients struggled and did not complete the program only to return to school later after they matured. It has been observed that even if a student didn’t complete the program, the program still provided opportunities leading most to improve their lives and financial position in a positive manner. Several of our students have returned to share their story at a Rotary meeting or other Rotary function.

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RYLA

ROTARY YOUTH LEADERSHIP AWARDS (RYLA)

Rotary Youth Leadership Awards (RYLA) is Rotary's leadership training program for high school students.
RYLA emphasizes leadership, citizenship, and personal growth, and aims to:

Demonstrate Rotary's respect and concern for youth
Provide an effective training experience for selected youth and potential leaders
Encourage leadership of youth by youth
Recognize publicly young people who are rendering service to their communities

TdC "Meredith Mile"

The “Meredith Mile” is inspired by our local football legend, “Dandy” Don Meredith, who played for Mount Vernon High School in the 1950’s and later quarterbacked for SMU and the Dallas Cowboys. Don Meredith was an original member of the Monday Night Football broadcast team and additionally starred in several films and TV series.

For more about Don Meredith, check out this link Don Meredith - Wikipedia.

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2025 TdC visit HH100

MV Rotary Motivational Scholarship Program

RYLA

ROTARY YOUTH LEADERSHIP AWARDS (RYLA)

TdC "Meredith Mile"

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