President Stacie Cook rang the bell to kick off the meeting at 12:02 p.m., followed by the invocation by Dave Hartman. Cara Saucedo led the club in the pledge and song, "America the Beautiful.”
Following the friendly greetings of one another, Carla Dowlen introduced her nephew David, and Josh Phillips introduced a prospective member, Brayden Wood. This is a good time to put in a plug to continue to invite prospective members.
Carla Dowen then had Cara Saucedo come up to the front so we could celebrate her birthday, which was August 4. During the sunshine report, we learned that past member David Gately was doing well. Since Thursday’s meeting, David has fallen and broken a few bones in his ankle and is currently in the hospital. Please continue to keep David Gately in your prayers. Andy Kocher let us know that his mother-in-law was doing well and is home.
We had the pleasure of honoring our July Youth of the Month this week. Cara Saucedo introduced Michael O'Neal. Michael is the son of Clay and Stacey O'Neal, and he will be an 8th grader at Burkburnett Middle School. He is the oldest of five and he helps around the house with various chores. He does very well in school, is a member of the National Junior Honor Society, and plays tennis and football. He plans to join the military once he is done with school. We were honored to have him join the meeting.
Carol Murray took some money from Andy Kocher for selling his Star Brite Cleaners after 40 years in the business. She then took money from David Hartman for the plug about Stacie and James Cook performing at OG Cellars over the weekend.
This week's program was introduced by Josh Phillips. We had the pleasure of welcoming the WFISD Athletic Director and the three head football coaches from the three high schools. Scot Hafley started the program by reminding the club of the great year WFISD athletics had in 2022. He then introduced the head coach of Hirschi High School, Lawrence Johnson.
Coach Johnson stated that his focus is on the development of the young men on and off the field. Many of the players who graduated last year went to college, but not all of them are playing football. They will have 3 home games this year and 2 off weeks. He wants to make sure his team is healthy to make a big run in the postseason. He is very excited for this season and the team. There will be 18 seniors on the team, and one player to watch out for is Kendrick Jones, wide receiver. He feels that being a coach to these young men gives him the opportunity to develop them and assist them in any struggles they may be having in their personal lives.
Scot Hafley then introduced the Rider head coach, Marc Bindel. Coach Bindel is starting his 15th year with Rider and his 10th year as head coach. He said that when the bond passed three years ago, the student athletes and coaches decided they were going to close the school down right. Their motto for the year is "LOBO," which stands for Last One Best One. This year they will be reloading and rebuilding. They will have a new look offense due to the talent that they have now. They will have 6 returning starters on defense. He said they tend to put their speed and talent on defense to keep them in the games and give them a chance to win.
Coach Bindel also noted that Rider will be celebrating decades of past players at each of Rider’s home football games this year.
Finally, Scot Hafley introduced the head coach of Wichita Falls High School, Grant Freeman. Coach Freeman is starting his 7th year as head coach at WFHS. Last year they lost in the state quarterfinals, but felt they had a top 4 team. They lost their best player, QB Cameron Gould, but will return a lot of great players. One player returning is the first player in WFHS history to earn All-State recognition. He feels that this team will be able to compete and make some noise in the playoffs. This year will be the final Rider vs. WFHS game. Tickets will go on sale this next week. If you cannot make this one, both Rider and WFHS will play 6 games at home.
The meeting was brought to an end with the presentation of the speakers' gift, a book that will be placed at Kirby Middle School, followed by the Four-Way Test.