Notes from April 23 2026 by Jackie Lebow Jr
Invocation: President Cara Sauceda rang the bell at 12:05 pm. She provided the opening prayer focusing on the youth and the Boys & Girls Club.
Pledge and Song: Arnold Oliver lead the pledge followed by singing of “You’re a Grand Old Flag” followed by our traditional Rotary handshake.
Visitors and Guests: Sarah Key with ServiceMaster was a guest of Alan Donaldson.
Sunshine Report: Lance Spruiell mentioned that Kenny Weeks young daughter has been diagnosed with diabetes. He also mentioned that his wife is having her third eye operation. Judy Koetter’s 2nd son is in pain and has gone to the emergency room. Please keep these mentioned in your prayers.
Brag Bucket: Carla Dowlen passed around the brag bucket. Her nephew pitched last week for the Memorial Mavericks JV baseball team. Josh Phillips noted that CycleRun had its grand opening last week. Noel Filer recently lost her dad, and the family is trying to sell his Lexus for $21.5K. If anyone is interested, give her a call. David Kelly said Sport Clips ordered eight trash cans and they were the wrong size. If interested, he will sell each for $20. Also, Sport Clips on Lawrence Road was just named #1 in stylist retention. Monica Horton thanked two Rotarians for their support in finding two recruits for Camp RYLA. David Adams thanked his flag team for their hard work. Lance Spruiell mentioned that his daughter in Seattle who in the glass blowing business is going to Switzerland to study for a week.
Birthdays: Greg Brownfield, Rod Tieken, Bill Miller, and Richard Boyd were birthday honorees and received homemade cinnamon rolls from Judy.
Member Spotlight: Brycen Whittaker sponsor was Lisa Stephens-Musick. He is from Iowa Park and part of the family that owns Whittaker Wild Game (familiar with local hunters). He attended Murry State College where he played baseball. He received his bachelor’s degree from Southeastern State in Oklahoma. He is married with three young children with one having special needs. His wife has a bachelor’s and master’s degree from MSU in nursing. He owns a State Farm Agency in Wichita Falls and has a strong Christian faith.
Youth of the Month: Ariyane Rogers was introduced by Tori Smith from the B&G Club. Stacy from the B&G Club staff was also in attendance. Ariyane is active at home doing family chores. She attends First Baptist Church and is in the eighth grade at Rider Middle School. She is a B+ student and on the volleyball team. She hopes to attend the University of Florida and wants to be a veterinarian. She has been a member of B&G Club for 8 years.
Announcements: There will be no regular meeting or meal next week. Instead, all flag teams will have a flag workday. Door hangers provided.
Program: Josh Phillips introduced our program Orlando Flores, Pulitzer Prize Winner in Journalism. The program streamed live. Mr. Flores currently is the Managing Editor with Gulf States Newsroom in New Orleans, LA. He is originally from Burkburnett and received his degree in Communications and Journalism from MSU. He also worked with the Wichita Falls Times and Record News as well as the MSU newspaper where he covered everything and gained valuable experience. He is responsible for the daily operations at Gulf States Newsroom. In 2019 he received a Pulitzer Prize with his team for the “Tilting the Scales Series”. He discussed the changes today in digital content which is his primary focus. With the digital age, he currently works mostly from home. He noted that collaboration between team members is important. Anyone can be a reporter with a phone camera. Maintaining accuracy in reporting is extremely important. Bias and disinformation are real problems today.
A donation will be made to the WFISD Foundation in honor of today’s speaker.
Four Way Test: President Cara concluded the meeting at 12:54 pm.