Stories

The Rotary Club of Vidor was honored to partner with United Way of Orange County for their Day of Caring!

Our club had the wonderful opportunity to serve at Stable Spirits, where we rolled up our sleeves and got to work! From cleaning out horse stalls and repairing fences to staining the showing deck, weed eating, and cleaning horse trailers, our Rotarians were happy to lend a helping hand wherever needed! With help From the Vidor Chamber of Commerce! 

We are so grateful for the opportunity to give back to an organization that does so much for our community. A huge thank you to United Way of Orange County for bringing us together for a day of service and to Stable Spirits for allowing us to be a part of their mission!

This is what Rotary is all about — Service Above Self! 💙💛

 

What an incredible morning for our Vidor Rotary Club Community 5K Run/Walk!

We were so excited to see our community come together for a morning of fitness, fellowship, and fun. From our runners and walkers to our volunteers, sponsors, vendors, and Rotarians working throughout the event, it took so many helping hands to make our 5K a success!

A special moment during this year’s race was seeing our local firefighters participate in full gear in remembrance of 9/11. Their dedication added an incredibly meaningful element to an already special morning and reminded us of the service and sacrifice of first responders everywhere. 🇺🇸🚒

Our Rotarians were busy throughout the morning helping with check-in, the course, awards, refreshments, vendors, and all the behind-the-scenes details that brought the event together.

Most importantly, events like our Community 5K allow the Vidor Rotary Club to continue giving back and supporting projects that make a difference right here in our community.

Thank you to everyone who ran, walked, volunteered, sponsored, donated, or simply came out to cheer! We are so grateful for the support of our community and already look forward to the next one.

💙💛 Service Above Self — one mile at a time!

What a great way to kick off the first meeting of the Rotary year!

We are excited to welcome two new members to the Vidor Rotary Club:

🎉 Kristie Baxter with Sabine Federal Credit Union
🎉 Dylan Skibo with Memorial Funeral Home of Vidor

Please join us in giving them a warm Rotary welcome! We are excited to have you both as part of our Rotary family and look forward to serving our community together.

Service Above Self 💙💛

Here’s a look back at some of our favorite moments as we welcomed President Brandon Gaspard-Cole and kicked off a new year of service. Let’s create lasting impact together!

Thank you, Benoit's Louis Hall Event Center for hosting!

Thank you, Wendy's for the beautiful (and yummy dessert).

Thank you, Two Amigos for the taco bar.

Thank you to everyone who joined us  for the dedication of our second Peace Pole.

It was truly special to come together as Rotarians, community members, friends, and neighbors to celebrate a shared message of hope, unity, and peace.

Peace Poles serve as a daily reminder that peace begins with each of us and that even small acts of kindness and service can create lasting impact in our communities and around the world.

Together, we continue to show that when people of action unite for good, amazing things happen.

May Peace Prevail on Earth.

#PeopleOfAction #CreateLastingImpact #PeacePole #RotaryClubOfVidor

 

2025–2026 Rotarian of the Year

Some people serve because they’re asked. Others serve because it’s simply who they are.

For the 2025–2026 Rotary year, we are proud to recognize someone whose heart for our community shines through in everything he does. While he loves serving Vidor, his greatest passion is investing in the youth of our community.

Whether he’s driving the Green Bus, handing out meals to kids, standing in the rain at our BBQ fundraiser, packing hundreds of meals at Feed the Funnel, or simply showing up with a smile at our regular club meetings, you can always count on Matt to be there with a servant’s heart.

His dedication was on full display when he attended RYLA alongside two Vidor High School juniors. The experience made such an impact that he stepped up to serve as our 2026–2027 Youth Chair, ensuring even more students will have opportunities to grow through Rotary.

Please join us in congratulating our 2025–2026 Rotarian of the Year, Matt LaPray!

Matt, thank you for leading by example and for reminding us what “Service Above Self” truly looks like. We are grateful to have you as part of our Rotary family.

Join us for our very first Community 5K Run/Walk! 🏃‍♀️🏃‍♂️

This exciting event is made possible by the support of our amazing sponsors and community partners. Every registration and sponsorship helps us continue to serve our community through projects and programs that align with Rotary's motto, "Service Above Self."

Whether you're running, walking, volunteering, or cheering from the sidelines, we invite you to be a part of this special event. Together, we can make a difference while promoting health, fellowship, and community spirit!

Thank you to our sponsors and supporters for helping us reach our goals and continue serving our community in meaningful ways. We can't wait to see you at the starting line!

In May 2026, we were proud to award four scholarships to graduating seniors from Vidor High School. Thanks to the success of our Link Sale, Trivia Night, and Hometown Holiday Fundraiser, we were able to invest in the future of our community's students.

We extend our sincere gratitude to our community for your continued support. Your generosity allows us to provide opportunities for local students and make a positive impact in so many ways. Congratulations to our scholarship recipients, and we wish them the very best as they begin this exciting new chapter!

On the second and fourth Tuesday evenings of each month, you’ll see our Green Bus out in the community for our Read and Feed program! This is the largest service project of our club and one that is very close to our hearts. Through this program, we provide meals and promote literacy by sharing books with children and families throughout our community. We are proud to serve our neighbors and make a positive impact, one stop at a time.

A group of our Rotarians geared up and hit the streets to participate in the Mayor’s Main Street Cleanup! This is one of the annual service projects we always look forward to supporting as we work together to keep our community clean, beautiful, and welcoming for all. Thank you to everyone who volunteered their time and energy to make a difference. Service Above Self in action!

We recently hosted our first Trivia Night, and it was an incredible evening filled with laughter, friendly competition, and lots of fun! Thanks to the amazing support of our participants, we were able to raise funds to support our largest community service project, the Green Bus, as well as contribute to our scholarship program. We are grateful to everyone who attended, volunteered, and helped make this event such a success!

August brought us inspiring presentations that highlighted the impact of local organizations and the arts in our community.

 

🌟 Maureen McAllister, fellow Rotarian from the Orange Texas Rotary Club and President & CEO of United Way of Orange County, shared just how much United Way is doing for our neighbors. Members were especially excited to hear about the upcoming Day of Caring on Friday, September 12. 

🎭 JT Robertson from the Lutcher Theater gave us an exclusive behind-the-scenes look at planning and upcoming performances. Rotarians and guests loved getting a sneak peek at the incredible shows taking the stage right here in Southeast Texas. Big thanks to JT and Andy for giving us a front-row seat to the magic of the Lutcher!

 

Select ‘read more’ to see the pictures of our speakers!

July brought us inspiring speakers who reminded us of the incredible impact we can have in our community.

✨ Jessica Irvin with the Orange County Economic Development Corporation 

🎒 Kelly Meadows with Back to School Orange County 

🤝 Rita Ballard with Be Blessed Orange 

🏡 Patricia Allen with Garlyn Place

 

Select ‘read more’ to see all of the pictures! 

 

 

Rella Powell, Secretary and Amanda Gibson, President we’re proud to present the award to our rockstar, Gayle Nagai! 

 

Our annual banquet and installation ceremony was a beautiful evening filled with fellowship, gratitude, and inspiration!

Pictured left to right: Rella Powell, Secretary - Amanda Gibson, President - Brandon Cole, President-Elect - Gayle Nagai, Treasurer

💙 This year, we’re ready to Unite for Good – and we can’t wait to show you what’s in store!

 

 A huge welcome to our newest members, John Nickum and Rachael Felice of State Farm.  John has been a member of our club before, and served as president.  Rachael's last Rotary membership was in San Clemente, California!  WOW!  So glad to have John and Rachael with us.

Here you can post little tidbits of information, reminders, or anything else!

Congratulations to the members of the Vidor Rotary Club.  They received two membership awards at the District 5910 Conference in Galveston.  One was for percentage increase in membership.  We had an 82% increase this year!  WOW!  The other was for the most new members of any of the 41 clubs in the district...nine new folks.  Those new members are Dr. Jay Killgo, Trey Haney, Tim Andrews, Misty Songe, John Nickum, Barbara Smith, Rachael Felice, Ken Crawford and Shannah Mackey.

The club also received a newsletter award and a literacy award. The Vidor Club provides many books to children in the community, hosts a Four Way Test essay contest, participates in Books for the World, and provided school supplies for a child in a Third World country for a year.

 

2011 was an amazing year for Vidor Rotary Club!  Here is what we did:

 

*Held our first ever Four Way Test essay contest. WOW!  Our Vidor High School student winners very professionally read their winning essays, and we had dinner for them and their families, plus the generous businesses who sponsored the prizes.

 

*Had our first scholarship breakfast in conjunction with Vidor Casa Ole and raised over $2000 for VHS senior scholarships.

 

*Sent VHS junior Krupa Kanti to RYLA (Rotary Youth Leadership Award). She had a fabulous weekend and the club loved hearing from her.  Hopefully she will help us start an Interact chapter at VHS.

 

*Sent five pallets of books to Books for the World.  Children in Third World countries can have help getting educated now.

 

*Paid through Samaritan's Purse for a child in a foreign country to have school materials for a year.

 

*Put flags on MAIN STREET in Vidor, Texas!  Thanks to Boy Scout Troop 220 for their aid.

 

*Donated more than one hundred pair of blue jeans and several bags of coats to the United Christian Care Center for back-to-school and cool weather.

 

*Donated to Rotary International's Polio Plus program to eradicate polio worldwide.

 

*Held our first ever chili dinner, which was quite a success!

 

*Had two socials --- a wine tasting in the home of Dr. and Mrs. Eugene Boone (Peggy is a Rotarian) and Christmas in the home of Tim and Sally Andrews (Rotarians).

 

*Donated books to children who completed the Vidor Public Library's summer reading program, to kids in the ACE afterschool program, and to needy children in the summer, along with food.

 

*Helped a senior citizen through Santa for Seniors.

 

*Participated in the Chamber of Commerce's Christmas Cruise.

 

*Participated in a tri-club Christmas party with the Orange and Bridge City clubs at Sunset Grove Country Club.

 

*Welcomed new members Rachael Felice, John Nickum, and Ken Crawford.

*Won district awards for literacy and membership!

 

In 2012 so far we have welcomed new members Tim Andrews, Dr. Jay Killgo, Trey Haney and Misty Songe.  We have coming up April 20 our scholarship breakfast, and on May 10 our essay contest dinner!  We also held another chili dinner to raise money for our bus. 

Vidor Rotary Club had a good year in 2010.  New members joining were Sylvia Kerl, Suzie Davis, Nichole Martin, Derrick Bolt, Peggy Boone, Joanne Ledger, and Ken Crawford. 

 The year began with President Elect Sally Andrews attending PETS training in Fort Worth.  President Elect Training Seminar is held each year for the incoming president to get a jump on the year, to learn Rotary Club regulations, and to acquire a better understanding of how Rotary works. According to Andrews, "There is a lot of Rotary pride at PETS!  It was a wonderful couple of days, with amazing speakers who did a fantastic job of reminding us all why we are Rotarians."

 Longtime member Bob Parker was named to the Roll of Fame in 2010, and the Rotary Club received awards for membership increases, literacy, and public relations. 

In 2010 Vidor Rotary sent books to Books for the World, provided books for the after school program students and the public library children who finished the summer reading program with at least twenty books read. The club provided food for indigent families in the summer, collected blue jeans for back to school, and aided with the Fill the Bus school supply collection. In addition, the club awarded four scholarship to graduation seniors, held a blood drive and a Four Way Test essay contest, and amassed funds for Polio Plus. 

A huge scholarhip breakfast was held at Casa Ole in April.  And our new Governor Ulli Budlemann visited us in August.   

Vidor Rotary Club will have a great Christmas season! We will kick it off with a tri-club party in Orange on December 1, Thursday.  We will join the Orange and Bridge City Rotary Clubs at a holiday party, to be held at the Sunset Grove Country Club in Orange.  Included will be dinner, entertainment, and live and silent auctions.  Vidor Rotary will live auction a globe bank stuffed full of money, a barbecue basket, a holiday gift wrapping basket, and a puzzle with a surprise amount of money inside.  Silent auction items include some really good books and a bottle of Rotary Club wine!  Join us!

 On Sunday, December 4, we will have our club party at Sally and Tim Andrews' home.  Bring your spouse or significant other and relax!

 Tuesday, December 6, Rotarians will visit the Vidor ISD ACE after school program's Terrific Tuesday Family Night, taking each child a brand new book.  Many children do not have reading  material in their homes, and Vidor Rotary will be certain each child takes home a good book.  

The Vidor Rotary Club will host a chili dinner on election day, November 8th, Tuesday.  The dinner will feature homemade chili, rice, crackers, brownies, and drinks for two, all for only $10. Dinners will be available for pickup or dine in between the hours of 4 p.m and 8 p.m. at Vidor Elementary's cafeteria, located at 400 Highway 90 in Vidor. 

 This delicious meal will benefit the various programs of the Vidor Rotary Club locally, including our Four Way Test essay contest and this year's scholarships.

Tickets can be purchased from any Vidor Rotary Club member. 

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