President Stacie rang the bell calling the membership to order a few minutes past noon. Jon Dearolf than came to the podium and offered the invocation. Following Jon’s prayer, Arnold Oliver led us in the pledge to the flag and then had us step back in time a little with the singing of “The Band Played On”. Written in 1895 this song became a pop standard with many artists covering the song. One of the most famous recordings was by Guy Lombardo’s orchestra in 1941 where it reached Billboard magazine’s best seller list.
Afterward we greeted our fellow members and then our visitors for the week were announced. Noros introduced his bride, Dee Ann and Shonette Adams-Harris was visiting as the guest of Bill Miller.
Stacie then recognized several members who celebrated birthdays this past week; Danny Steed, Andy Kocher and Braden Wood. When each was asked what they hoped to accomplish in the coming year they all settled on “making it around the sun another time” would be the best gift. Happy Birthday Gents!
For the Sunshine Report Cara shared that Shirley Craft remains in Hospice in Wichita Falls for pain management and the warmth and friendship of visitors might be welcome.
Stacie then reminded us that our next flag day is next Friday, June 14th. She also said if you haven’t yet RSVP’ed for the annual Membership Dinner/Party please be sure to do so by June 13th so the committee will have a headcount for meal planning. Also, if you did not complete a committee preference sheet for the upcoming Rotary year, please contact Tina or John Mayfield. Lastly, Stacie announced that since July 4th falls on a Thursday this year, we will not have a regular membership meeting that day.
Following the announcements Carol circled the membership seeking brags for the week. Alan Donaldson shared that his granddaughter was now 4 ½ years old and had just participated in her first dance recital. Jon Dearolf stood and thanked the Club for its support of the “I Can Bike” program that had just completed. He said each participant had received a new Trek bicycle and helmet and that was possible through the generosity of caring organizations and people. Josh Phillips bragged on the young men and women of the Wichita Falls Youth Symphony who joined us today and were going to later share their musical talents with us for the program this week. Walter Coppage then told us about the publication of a new book titled, The Day Nadine Thompson Sat Down, by Peggy Browning. He indicated the book was available on Amazon and according to that website, the book is about the fictional character, Nadine Thompson, and her reaction to the 2022 tragedy in Uvaldi, TX.
Glenn Tarter then came to the podium as this week’s Member Spotlight. Before its sale, Glenn was a founder of Pinnacle Network Solutions and shared that he had started Pinnacle to provide fast, reliable internet services to rural areas that weren’t being served by larger companies. He said he and his wife, Beth, have five children and are blessed with 16 grandchildren and 1 great grandchild. Something we may not have known about Glenn is that he is quite the runner; logging over 2000 miles a year! He’s also run in 10 marathons and competed in the Boston Marathon twice!
Josh then introduced Janelle Olson, the Executive Director of the Wichita Falls Youth Symphony for our program for the day. Janelle gave us a brief update on the Youth Symphony indicating it had started in Wichita Falls in 1992. She said that her own love of music grew because she had the opportunity to participate in a youth symphony when she was growing up. She believes strongly that music is the international language and shared a story that she had gone with an orchestra on a trip to South Africa where they had played in a small village where most of the people had never even seen the type of instruments such as violins and cellos that the orchestra played. After they finished playing the villagers, ranging in ages from a 5 to 95, all gathered and started singing a cappella songs from their home land. Janelle said there was not a dry eye from any of the orchestra members and it just proved her point that music is a fabulous way to communicate.
She explained that a benefit to the local Youth Symphony is the apprenticeship program it offers. Under this program, students receive five free lessons with a symphony orchestra mentor and then they get to sit with their mentor during an actual Wichita Falls symphony performance.
Following her opening remarks, Janelle introduce the Youth Symphony String Ensemble who then came on stage to perform several selections for us. They started with a folk song from the American South, entitled, “All the Pretty Little Horses”, followed by two excepts from Vivaldi’s “Four Seasons” concerto. The group concluded with a selection by Mendelssohn which translates to “Lord Grant us Peace”. All were beautifully performed.
Stacie thanked Janelle and the members of the ensemble who shared their talents with us and told them that a donation to the WFISD Foundation would be made in their name.
With no other business to come before the membership, we recited the Four-Way Test and adjourned.