Rotary Club of El Campo

donates $200,000 to

Wharton County Recovery Team

What happens when 1 in 4 homes in a small town are flooded?

In Texas, we band together to offer what we can, do what we can, and help a community heal itself.

Please consider becoming a corporate sponsor of this fundraiser benefiting the Wharton County Recovery Team. Contact Carolyn Gibson at 979-484-7602 or ECWhartonCountyRelief@gmail.com.

Rotary Club is seeking sponsors for the March 12, 2015 fundraiser at the Civic Center. This event is one of the most highly attended events in Wharton County, with over 1000 guests each year. Your support is needed to underwrite the cost of the event.

With the success of our annual fundraiser, Rotary has been able to make a positive impact in our community with recent donations to many causes, including Early Act and Interact programs in ECISD, the El Campo Heritage Center, the Crisis Center, the Boys & Girls Club, scholarships for ECISD graduates, and many more. In addition to the various causes, our Club also chooses a local project that will benefit from the majority of the funds raised at this annual event. Our current focus is the New El Campo Little League Baseball/Softball Complex.

Please consider one of the sponsorships below. Thank you for your support!

$ 1,000 Event Sponsor
Includes exclusive recognition as key event underwriter on event marketing materials, 1 reserved table, 8 meal tickets, 2 sheets of bait bucket raffle tickets and your preferred beverage and set-ups.

$ 500 Corporate Sponsor
Includes 1 reserved table, 8 meal tickets, and recognition for sponsorship in the printed event program.

We inducted our first new member of 2015 this week. Monica Carroll, District Executive for Brahmann Dist., Sam Houston Area Council, is sponsored by Kyle Smith. Welcome to the family of Rotary, Monica!

Thank you to Rev. John McCord for the fantastic program on “The Dreaded Sign of Life and Its Antidote”. We enjoyed a delicious Thanksgiving meal followed by an interesting and thought-provoking message <

Thank you to Paul Sherland for the informative presentation on "Three Tactics to Market Your Business Online Now and in 2020”.

PINTS FOR POLIO - BEGINNING NOVEMBER 1-30

Purchase a 16 oz pilsner glass for $20 from any participating establishment during their designated Pints for Polio hour and drink your favorite brew for 5 cents a glass.  100% of the proceeds will be matched by the Bill Gates Foundation - 2 to 1 match!

Participating Establishments:

• Pincher's - Tuesdays 6:30 pm - 7:30 pm
• Britt's Bar and Grill - Wednesdays 6:00 pm - 7:00 pm
• Sunnyside Saloon - Wednesdays 6:00 pm - 7:00 pm
• Greek Brothers - Thursdays 6:30 pm- 7:30 pm
• Wild Hibiscus - Nov 5-8 5:30 pm - 6:30 pm

JOIN THE FIGHT AGAINST POLIO

We are thrilled to announce our newest member was inducted yesterday: Linda Joy Stovall. Linda Joy is sponsored by Terry Stanphill. Welcome to the family of Rotary, Linda Joy!

Thank you to Jay Stanka for the program on the works of HUMANI (a magazine for medical humanitarians) and the Austere Medical Program (http://www.austeremedicine.com/). Jay has over 23 years of combined military and government contracting experience, including the Marine Corps Reconnaissance and the Army Special Forces Reserves and National Guard. He has extensive training in medicine, anti-terrorism, and languages, and he now trains medical humanitarian workers what to expect and how to thrive in the 3rd world and emergency situations.

Thank you to Diane Pavey with the Girl Scouts of San Jacinto Council for the presentation on the Girl Scout Camp being built in the Nada area.

Thank you to Peter Johnston for the program on the "Declaration of Rotarians in Business and Professions and Beyond". Peter shared the Rotary ideals and code of conduct, asked some thought-provoking questions and had our club brainstorming on our accomplishments and potential areas for growth.

District Governor Lisa Faith Massey inducted our new member, Daniel LaBruyere, Asst. District Attorney.  Daniel is sponsored by Terry Stanphill.

District Governor Lisa Faith Massey presented Mindi Snyder with a diamond lapel pin for achieving the Foundation Major Donor Level 1 status. This signifies her personal commitment and substantial donations to the Rotary Foundation thereby promoting international understanding and peace. Congratulations, Mindi!

We were honored to have our District Governor Lisa Faith Massey lead our meeting as part of her "official visit" to our club. Lisa shared her history as a Rotarian, her vision and goals for this year as District Governor, and commended our club for the successes in our membership drive and our camaraderie and fellowship as a team.

Lisa also presented our President, Sherry Roddy with a guitar to decorate as an auction item for the District Conference in New Orleans in April 2015.

Congratulations to 2014 Paul Harris Fellow recipients, Chandra Spenrath and Shawn Freeman. Standing alongside them is our Club Rotary Foundation Chair and Paul Harris Society Member, Mindi Snyder. Paul Harris Fellow recognition was created in memory of Paul Harris, the founder of Rotary, as a way to show appreciation for contributions to the Foundation's charitable and educational programs.

Thank you to Mindi Snyder for the program on "What You've Always Wanted to Know about the Rotary Foundation (But Were Afraid to Ask!)". Check out more about the Rotary Foundation here: https://www.rotary.org/myrotary/en/rotary-foundation

Did you know? In 1951, the Rotary Club of El Campo started the first Summer Youth Program for Special Needs Children. Bob Meisel was chairman. This is just one of the many projects that Rotary has done in our community since chartering in 1939.

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Did you know? In 1950, Rotary Club of El Campo began the Junior Rotarian Program. Currently there are several Rotarians who were active Junior Rotarians in high school. This is just one of the many projects that Rotary has done in our community since chartering in 1939.

Interested in hosting a "Block Party" for National Night Out? The event is Tuesday, October 7. Mark Biskup is the coordinator and can be reached at the Police Department. Contact him for more information. 979-543-5311 http://natw.org/

We enjoyed a visit from our Asst. District Governor, Tom Crayton and our District Membership Chair, Alicia Casias. Tom shared his story about his Rotary moments, when he witnessed first-hand the power of Rotary and Alicia discussed some of the top 20 reasons to join Rotary. They are pictured with our President, Sherry Roddy. http://www.clubrunner.ca/Data/5890/3927/HTML/230428//20ReasonstoJoinRotary.pdf

Tremendous thanks to Tamara Rodriguez, M.Ed., Continuing Education Corporate Coordinator at Wharton County Junior College, for the presentation on employee training grants for small businesses.

Thank you to Mark Pool, Superintendent ECISD, and David Bright, Assistant Superintendent for Finance, for the informative presentation on the Campus Facilities Improvement Plan and proposed funding.

Donoritaville Blood Drive A SuccessDonoritaville

Today we welcomed two new members - Jordan Gresham, sponsored by team 3 member, Chip Jenkins, and Steve Zetsche, sponsored by Marauder Team member, Chris Barbee;

A very warm welcome to our new members: Mary Arrendondo, sponsored by Wesley Lange and Mark Biskup, sponsored by Terry Stanphil. Welcome to the family of Rotary!

Thank you to Mindi Snyder, City Manager, for the excellent program, "Life, Well Run", which is the ICMA's (International City/County Management Association) material revealing what the local municipal government does for its citizens and the role of a Professional City Manager in the day-to-day operations of the city. She reviewed current city projects and highlighted the efforts and accomplishments of her staff.

Thank you to Dr. David P. Stapenhorst for the informative presentation on skin cancer. He discussed types, diagnosis, treatment and prevention. Dr. Stapenhorst is a plastic surgeon with Memorial Hermann Medical Group. His primary office is in Sugar Land and he also visits patients in Wharton.

We had an excellent program yesterday with "Cool Jazz" by Charles Herring on sax and Demetrius Hollins on keyboard. Here is a snippet of what we enjoyed.

Great program by Austin Viktorin who shared his story about his participation in the Lone Star Leadership Academy Camp, sponsored by the Rotary Club of El Campo and Dr. Ross Anderson. Lone Star Leadership Academy Camp is offered to outstanding 4th-8th graders and participants travel to Dallas/Fort Worth, Austin/San Antonio or Houston/Galveston to develop leadership skills and experience what they are learning in school through visits to significant Texas sites. In the photo, Austin is pictured with his mom, Charlene Viktorin.

Huge thank you to Gary Williamson and Justin Soza with the El Campo Police Department for the discussion and live demo of a Taser Electronic Control device. Sgt Soza explained the details of how the taser works and Asst. Chief Williamson took one for the team! Gary was tasered, while being held by Chief Terry Stanphill and Community Services Officer Mark Biskup in what he described as "a long five seconds."

Thank you to El Campo Police Chief Terry Stanphill for the insightful program on the El Campo Police Department. Chief Stanphill shared the history, staffing, training, and responsibilities, etc. of the department. Chief Stanphill is striving to achieve "Recognized" status from the Texas Police Chiefs Association, whereby the department has to achieve and demonstrate compliance with 170+ Texas Law Enforcement Best Practices.

Thank you so much to Sanah Jivani for sharing her truly inspirational story. Sanah was diagnosed with Alopecia (a hair loss condition) at age 3 and by 7th grade, her condition worsened and she hit an all-time low. She shared how she recognized that she needed to make a change and how she overcame her struggles. From her website, "My true beauty came from letting go of my insecurities and loving myself – and that is when I realized the power of being natural." She is currently a senior at Klein Collins High School in Spring. She founded "Natural Day", an international movement that takes place on February 13, a day to love yourself as you are. To learn more about Sanah and her story, visit her website. http://www.internationalnaturalday.com/

Super program by Katrese Skinner, ECHS Speech/Debate teacher, and One Act Play Director. In UIL competition this year, El Campo high students performed very well! One of her students, Matthew Graff, was on-hand to give his Student Congressional Debate speech. Matthew is competing in the National Student Congressional Debate competition this summer. Good luck Matt! In addition, the ECHS One Act Play team advanced to State for the first time in school history. Great job!

Thank you to D.C. Dunham and Carolyn Thames, both with the Bay City Community Development Corporation, for the update on the Tenaris Steel Pipe facility in Matagorda County. For information on the project, http://www.tenaris.com/en/usa/tenarisbaycity.aspx

Bill Garth with Indeck Energy gave a presentation regarding their proposal to build a gas driven electric peaked plant near Danevang. Many questions were asked by attendees regarding tax incentives, employment numbers, local property tax impacts, capital investment, environmental impact, water usage, noise and possible emissions, etc.

Mindi Snyder honored her niece, graduating senior Paxton Lutringer, with a Paul Harris Fellow. This Paul Harris fellow is in recognition of Mindi's $1000 contribution to the Rotary Foundation in Paxton's name as a thank you for all of her time helping with our Rotary Exchange Students.

2014 El Campo High School Rotary Scholarship recipients.

Front row l-r: Kaycie Capak, Alexis Crowell, Kari Wilkins, Lauren Herrman, Taylor Fuechec, Ally Thonsgaard. Back row, l-r: Benjamin DuFour, Paxton Lutringer, Ross Curran, Erin Niemeier.

Thank you to Doug and Beth Reed of Lavaca Bluffs Winery for the terrific program today. As former educators, they "aspire to honor this rich Texas Gulf Coast history through story labels and quality wine worth of the legacy and history of the area". For details, http://lavacabluffs.com/

Excellent program today by Glen Frels, "turning a lifelong hobby into a business". He brought his UAV (unmanned aerial vehicle), a quadcopter mounted with a GoPro camera, and explained how he operates it for aerial video and still photography, and showed a demo video.

Thank you to Michael Petter for the presentation on "Fatal Errors in Retirement Planning" during today's meeting!

Great program from Angelina Brown-Hudson with NAMI (National Alliance on Mental Illness) Greater Houston. Their mission is to improve the lives of all persons affected by mental illness through support, education and advocacy.

Thank you Alan Alatkovic, left and Matt Hernandez, right with the Houston Astros for being the awesome Rotary program today.
Alan is the Director of Season Ticket Services.
Karen Meinardus, center, is a lifetime season ticket holder of the Astros. Way to go Karen!

Jodie Socha and Cindy Blaha presented an informative program on the history (35+ years) of the Wharton County Youth Fair and brought us back up to our current time with the location in Crescent, Texas. Cindy told us about some of the new events planned for this year's event and reminded Rotarians and guests of the importance and the economic impact on Wharton county youth for scholarships, not to mention the leadership skills they learn through FFA and some of the other programs. It's a great reminder each year and something we should not take for granted! Thanks to all of the volunteers and local citizens who participate unselfishly of their time and resources, and make it happen despite the challenges of weather and other things!

The Rotary Club of El Campo began supporting the Women's Crisis Center in 1997 by collecting toys or money from members for the displaced children of families being served by the Center. Rotarian Donald McDonald was chairman of the project, serving under then president Rick Davis. The club continues to support the Center to this day with Rotarians Lance Lurker and Kyle Smith, who deliver between 60-100 wrapped toys, along with money, clothing and other needed items. Pictured above are Rotarians, Jennifer Svetlik, Trista Lauritsen and Mindi Snyder, directors; Dana Foster, Sgt.-at-Arms; Crisis Center Executive Director JoAnne Shimek; Chandra Spenrath, Rotary president; J.j. Croix, immediate past president; P.J. Herrmann, treasurer and Sherry Roddy, president-elect.

Rotarians in District 5890 are participating in two international projects during the 2014 District Convention, which will be held May 1-4 in Cozumel. Centro de Autismo Cozumel is dedicated to the diagnostic and treatment of children with Autism and Center of Hearing and Speech "Manos y Voces, whose primary objective is to promote the early detection of the loss of hearing, make hearing aids available and provide the proper hearing and speech therapy, including sign language. Rotary Club of El Campo members passed-the-hat to raise $1,000 toward the project, which will be presented at the District Convention. Pictured are Rotarians, Jennifer Svetlik, director; Sherry Roddy, president-elect; Mindi Snyder, New Generations director; Dana Foster, Sgt.-at-Arms; P.J. Herrmann, treasurer; Chandra Spenrath, president; J.J. Croix, immediately past president; and Trista Lauritsen, director.

The Rotary Club of El Campo recently contributed $3,000 to the Children's Resale Store that will be benefiting CASA of Matagorda and Wharton counties. It is a joint project with Bay City and Palacios Rotary Clubs. CASA services both Wharton and Matagorda counties and currently serve 70+ children who have been either abused or neglected and are in foster homes, residential treatment centers or group homes. Pictured above, l-r, are Rotarians Jennifer Svetlik, Mindi Snyder, Beryl Southall (Rotarian and CASA Executive Director), Russell Rasmussen, PJ Herrmann, Dana Foster, Trista Lauritsen, J.J. Croix, Sherry Roddy and Chandra Spenrath, president. CASA is in need of volunteers to help advocate these children. CASA contact is Beryl Southall at 979-997-0527

Rotary Club of El Campo joined forces with Rotary Clubs in their district and across the globe to support the Botswana HIV/AIDS with Baylor Pediatric Aids Initiative by donating $2,000 through a Global Matching Grant, which will yield an $8,000 donation, once matched on all levels. The Botswana Baylor Children’s Centre of Excellence (COE) is a partnership between the Government of Botswana and the Baylor International Paediatric AIDS Initiative (BIPAI).  The COE provides free of charge, state-of-the-art paediatric HIV care, treatment and support to children and their families throughout Botswana.  These services include: Screening Clinic, Paediatric Infectious Disease Clinic (PIDC), Family Model Clinic, Adolescent Programme, Outreach and In-reach services, Training, Research and Psychosocial Interventions.  Today, over 4,000 children in Botswana receive care and treatment at the COE in Gaborone or at one of its affiliated outreach sites. Pictured, l-r, are Rotarians Jennifer Svetlik, director; Dana Foster, Sgt.-at-Arms;  Mindi Snyder, New Generations director; P.J. Herrmann, treasurer; J.J. Croix, immediately past president; Trista Lauritsen, director; Chandra Spenrath, president and Sherry Roddy, president-elect.

Rotary Club of El Campo joined forces with Rotary Clubs in their district and across the globe to support the Botswana HIV/AIDS with Baylor Pediatric Aids Initiative by donating $2,000 through a Global Matching Grant, which will yield an $8,000 donation, once matched on all levels. The Botswana Baylor Children’s Centre of Excellence (COE) is a partnership between the Government of Botswana and the Baylor International Paediatric AIDS Initiative (BIPAI).  The COE provides free of charge, state-of-the-art paediatric HIV care, treatment and support to children and their families throughout Botswana.  These services include: Screening Clinic, Paediatric Infectious Disease Clinic (PIDC), Family Model Clinic, Adolescent Programme, Outreach and In-reach services, Training, Research and Psychosocial Interventions.  Today, over 4,000 children in Botswana receive care and treatment at the COE in Gaborone or at one of its affiliated outreach sites. Pictured, l-r, are Rotarians Jennifer Svetlik, director; Dana Foster, Sgt.-at-Arms;  Mindi Snyder, New Generations director; P.J. Herrmann, treasurer; J.J. Croix, immediately past president; Trista Lauritsen, director; Chandra Spenrath, president and Sherry Roddy, president-elect.

Our guest speaker today was Shane McAuliffe, Emmy-award winning host of The Texas Bucket List. He hails from the Bryan-College Station area but has made it a point to visit all eclectic and interesting sites around the state, especially where invited. We look forward to a return visit in a few months and another program. They are on a perpetual search to locate and consume THE best burger in Texas!! Today, after our meeting they visited the El Campo BigGame Wildlife Museum and the Danish museum in Danevang. That piece should run in mid-February, KPRC Ch. 2, airs at 5:30 am!! Thanks to Cheryl Roitsch, today's program chairperson. BTW, Shane visited Germany with a Rotary Group Study Exchange team. He commented the liquid refreshment there was "better than average"!

Thank you to Brady Peterson for his interesting discussion on his recent backpacking adventure.  Brady and his brother went on a 10 day, 120 mile trek in July "thru-hiking" (without a supply drop) along the Wind River Range in Wyoming. He shared his adventures and the amazing vistas with photos and video and shared his tremendous passion for hiking. What an adventure!

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Rotary Club of El Campo Benefit has new date

The Rotary Club of El Campo has reached out to Bolivia, South America by donating $3,000 to the Aqua Tuya Water Project through the Rotary International Foreign Relief program. Aqua Tuya is a civil engineering firm in the area of Cochabamba, Bolivia that specializes in water and sanitation projects that provide safe drinking water and proper sanitation to the poorest of areas in Bolivia. Rotary members, pictured left-right include: P.J. Herrmann, treasurer, Diane Hill, District 5890 assistant governor, Jennifer Svetlik, sgt.-at-arms; Chandra Spenrath, president-elect 2013-2014; Richard Kerzee, immediately past president and Sherry Roddy, secretary.

The El Campo Rotary Club presented the El Campo Little League Association board with a check for $325,000 as the first payment of the club’s $550,000 commitment toward their new baseball/softball complex. This money comes from several years of fundraisers. Pictured left to right are: Little Leaque board members Kelly Garner, JaLynn Kocurek, Brent Bubela, Bryan Rasmussen, Pat Krpec, Little League president; Rotarians Keith Rioux,  J.J. Croix, president, Scott Rod, Scott Blackburn, P.J. Herrmann, treasurer, Sherry Roddy, secretary, Richard Kerzee, ex-officio and fundraiser chairman and William Key.

Local scholarships, one of the many projects to benefit from the Rotary Club of El Campo's annual fundraiser, were presented to 10 high school seniors recently. Each recipient was presented a $750 scholarship to the college of their choosing. Pictured left to right are: Tyler Rasmussen, son of Russell and Elizabeth; Savannah Stockton, daughter of Kenneth and Susan; Benjamine Haas, son of Milton "Bo" and Jennifer; J.J. Croix, Rotary 2012-2013 president; Hannah Weinheimer, daughter of Ed and Lisa; Pedro Hernandez, son of Alfredo and Maria Vargas; Angel Rodriguez, daughter of Paul and Kristie and Jimmie Triska, Rotary scholarship committee chairman. Not pictured are Samantha Counts, Stephen Gaines, Montray Johnson and Tim Pflughaupt.

Welcome to our Rotary Club!