President John called the membership to order and asked Cara Sauceda to present the invocation. Cara actually did a “hat trick” by following the invocation up with the pledge and song. Because we were not meeting in the Forum’s ballroom we had no piano, so she completed the “hat trick” with leading us in the a cappella singing of “Do Re Mi” from the “Sound of Music“. Afterward we did the Rotary “meet and greet” with our fellow members.
We had no visitors joining us this week nor any birthdays to recognize. For the Sunshine report, Tina reported she had received a text from James Hughes that his dad, Jim, was in the hospital with double pneumonia. Please pray for a speedy recovery for Jim.
For announcements, Carol Murray told the membership that nomination submissions for the outstanding citizen award were extended another week. Nomination forms were provided at each table. President John reminded the membership that District Governor, Andy Eads, will be visiting next week and be our speaker. All Paul Harris Fellows were reminded to wear their medallion to the meeting next week.
Announcements were followed up with Colton coming around with the brag bucket and President John started things off by telling us his son was 1 of just 9 that had been selected by his Air Force organization for a special duty. Will Goodner then bragged on his 8th grade 13-year-old son who scored 3 touchdowns in his last game and the last one was a 96-yard run into the end zone. Cara then boasted about her daughter, Penelope, who had just found out she made the travel Volleyball Team for her school.
President John then had Steve Preister come to the podium and presented Richard Boyd with his long-time coming coveted Blue Badge. Congrats Richard!!
At this point in the program, Josh Philips, representing the Grants Committee, came to the podium to present a $5000 donation to Rod Tieken, representing the Boys and Girls Club of Wichita Falls. In expressing appreciation for the gift, Rod told the membership that Rotary has had a long association with the Wichita Falls Boys and Girls Club that started in 1929. But many may not know that even before the Boys and Girls Club started here, Rotary was assisting a group of young boys called the Knot Hole Gang back in 1922. These were a group of boys who would watch local baseball games through knot holes in the wooden fence and this group was the start of the Wichita Falls Boys and Girls Club.
Josh then introduced Chris De La Garza from Base Camp Lindsey (BCL) for our program. Chris is the founder of Base Camp Lindsey which will be a living facility in Wichita Falls for homeless veterans. She explained that right here in Wichita Falls, we have 50 -75 veterans who spend the night on our streets because they have nowhere else to go. Statistically 20% of all veterans suffer from some degree of PTSD and alcohol related dementia is becoming a huge concern among this group. The goal of Base Camop Lindsey is to take a holistic approach to homelessness where each person is assigned a case manager who will work with that veteran to develop a plan of action to help them regain their independence. Each veteran will have a room ,access to a kitchen and living facilities, laundry and a computer room for online job searches. BCL acquired a 14,000 sq ft former nursing home at 1908 6th Street in the city that had been vacant since 2007. That facility is undergoing renovations that will house 25 veterans when complete and is just 1 step of Base Camp Lindsey’s long-term solution. Their next step would be the development of a “tiny home” community. The final step would be then to re-use the old nursing home facility as convert it into a permanent living solution for veterans who cannot live independently. Currently BCL assists local veterans by providing homeless veterans with food and hygiene products through their street outreach program. Their passion is fueled by the words, “We wouldn’t leave a soldier on the battlefield – why would we leave a veteran on the street”.
One of the questions Chris answered from the members was what did the name Base Camp Lindsey mean. Chris explained that in Army lingo “Base Camp” stands for a place of safety, reinforcements, provisions, and rest and “Lindsey” comes from a Veteran from right here in Wichita Falls. Sgt Felix Lindsey was posted at Fort Sill and fought in the Indian Wars and was a buffalo soldier. He was wounded over a dozen times and had to be forced to retire from the Army. He personified honor, bravery, determination and a “never say die” attitude that Base Camp Lindsey intends to carry on.
Following Chris’ presentation, President John and Josh told her that the Rotary Club Grants Committee had voted to make a special presentation to Base Camp Lindsey with a donation of $500 to help them get back on their feet following a recent break-in at their facility where many of their supplies for the veterans were stolen.
President John thanked Chris for the presentation and told her that our speaker’s gift of a donation to the Wichita Falls ISD Foundation would also be made in her name. We then closed the meeting with the Four-Way Test.