Blastoff August 30, 2010

The meeting opened with  the tradition of singing a song lead by Debbie McBride, reciting the pledge of alliance to the U.S. Flag and the Rotary Four-Way Test, and an invocation by Carlos Villagomez.  Steve Owens then extended welcomes to visitors and guests including Assistant District 5890 Governor Chris Schneider and Houston City Council member Mike Sullivan  (photo shown with Sheryl Berg).  

President Coney provided the Club with interesting life facts about one of its members,   Roger Donnelly .  Wow, what an accomplished athlete!   Read  more about Roger.  He also announced District 5890 activities coming up: Family Night At The Astros Thursday Evening, September 9th (two dollars of every ticket sold will go to fight Polio); District Foundation Seminar, September 25th; and "Be A Friend" Dinner, October 22nd.  Details on these events can be viewed on the District 5890 web site which can be accessed from the Club Home Page.  Roger Donnelly gave a boost to the "cell phone for soldiers" program by committing his unit of the American Legion to help fill up a pickup truck with used cell phones.  

Micki Czarnik  briefed the members about the activities of the "Ladies of Rotary".  They have 12 members and are meeting for lunch on a regular basis. She also noted that they  had raised $1,200 and used the money to help a wonderful family with clothing. The "Ladies" are also helping out at the Hope Village once a month.  One of their fundraisers is the Sweet Table at the Shrimporee.

Shrimporee chair Mike Dennard reminded everyone the big day is OCTOBER 16th and there would be a planning meeting Tuesday at 5:30pm at the JSC Credit Union. "Big Shrimp" Mike announced there would be a $400 gift certificate for wine tasting for 20 awarded to the team chief that got to the meeting first. He also committed to giving a good bottle of wine to the person that donated the oldest cell phone.  Scott Rainey announced three additional Shrimporee sponsors; $2,500, Lexus of Clear Lake; $1,000 Delia Stephens; and $1,000 Houston City Councilman Mike Sullivan.  He also reminded members to turn in their used cell phones for the "cell phones for soldiers" program.

Bob Wren, President of the Space Center Rotary Club Endowment Foundation, announced that a sponsorship had been approved for Mitchell Mardis (read more about the sponsorship in the article following the Club review).  Past Club President Jon McKinnie made some belated awards; Steve Owens, the "Service Above Self" award and to Mike Hesse a Plaque of Appreciation and a Paul Harris Fellow (his third).

Courtney Lindberg then introduced our speakers, Mary Wood and Patsy Gillham, Directors of Plastic Pollution Texas. They spoke about stopping the pollution of our Texas Waterways, in particular the Houston Bayous. They described how fish, birds and turtles can choke on the debris. They explained and encouraged the passage of Texas Bottle Bill for 2011. Beverages covered are beer, malt, carbonate soft drink, mineral water, wine, coffee, teas, juices, and non-carbonated waters. The amount of the deposit is 10 cents on 24 ozs. and 15 cents on greater than 24 ozs. containers.  There would be reclamation stations at retail stores and redemption centers.  Eleven states already have a Bottle Bill.  State Representative Garnet Coleman and State Senator Gallegos are sponsors of the legislation in the Texas Legislature. Legislation is necessary to have a state coordinated plan and for the necessary start up funds. They encouraged everyone to contact elected officials and let them know they support  the Bill.  Concluding, they noted the potential additional revenue injected back into the Texas economy, the jobs gained in other states with a bottle bill, and the green house gases avoided by recycling.  More information is availble on the More information is availble on the Club's Environmental Home Page.

President Coney adjourned the meeting at 1 p.m. See you next week.