President John Mayfield started the meeting with the traditional ringing of the bell at 12:06 pm. David Hartman provided another thoughtful prayer. Stacie Cook lead the pledge and song, “America the Beautiful”. The members proceeded to greet one another while Susan played “Rotary”.
Birthdays: There were no birthdays.
Visitors and Guests: There were no visitors or guests. LT. Colonel Ronald “Spin” Van Steijn, future member, was present today.
Sunshine Report: No items.
Announcements: Everyone will need to RSVP for the meeting next week, May 1, 2025, at Rotary Park. Head count needed for box lunches. In case on inclement weather, we will have a door hanger workday for the flag program.
There will be a MSU Rotaract project to volunteer and assist the Salvation Army on 5/5/25 starting at 10:30 am.
On May 8th the club will meet at the Kemp Center for the Arts.
Our Annual Banquet will be on June 26th at the Kemp Center for the Arts.
Cara Herr-Sauceda discussed the request from the district for hosting a Rotary exchange student. We need to let the district know by this coming Monday (4/28). We need one family to start plus two additional families. Each family will have the student for 3 months. If you are interested, call Cara ASAP.
President Mayfield called a Board Meeting following today’s meeting.
Brag Bucket: Lance Spruiell announced that his 3rd daughter is having her 1st baby. He will have a total of 9 grandchildren. Cara Herr-Sauceda is helping with a homeschool basketball league and her son is playing. His team won their first two games. Greg Brownfield announced that the Boy Scouts are having a raffle. Tickets are $20 each for some great prizes.
Jeremy was appointed as Executive Director in May 2024. He is married with two daughters and is a member of the University Kiwanis Club. Jeremy has been around museums for 30 years and graduated from the University of Oklahoma in 2020.
The mission of the Museum of North Texas History is to collect, preserve and exhibit the history of the North Texas area. The official start date of the museum was March 21, 2000. The museum is currently located on the first floor of the Lindemann Building in downtown Wichita Falls, 720 Indiana Avenue. There is a 50-year lease for the space which contains approximately 18,000 square feet.
The museum originally started with a military collection going back to the Call Field and early Sheppard AFB days. With the focus on aviation history, there is an exhibit at the Wichita Falls Regional Airport featuring the “Jenny to Jet Exhibit”. The Jenny is one of five original flying aircraft of its model type from World War I. Since the start, the museum has added exhibits including the Nat Fleming Hat Collection and a children’s area featuring vintage toys.
The museum is looking to expand with an exhibit section on automobile racing from the Wichita Falls including Eddie Hill. Jeremy is also looking to make the museum more user friendly with text labeling in English and Spanish to enhance the visitor experience. This approach has been very successful at other museums.
As the museum is expands, a new Educational Specialist has been employed starting on June 1, 2025. Jeremy noted that volunteers and donations are always appreciated. The biggest fund raiser is the Annual Gala each year. There is an organization called Friends of the Museum you can join. You can also sign up for the newsletter at Director@MuseumOfNorthTexasHistory.org. This email will be changed soon, but you can visit the website for more information and for several scheduled summer events.
Jeremy was presented with the gift of a donation to the Wichita Falls ISD Foundation.
The meeting adjourned at 12:45 pm by President Mayfield with the “Four Way Test.”