The Rotary Club of Flatonia’s signature project, Flags Over Flatonia, will have it’s next launch the weekend of 29 March 2025. This date commemorates National Vietnam War Veterans Day and was created by the U.S. Congress within the Vietnam War Veterans Recognition Act of 2017 and signed into law by President Donald J. Trump. It designated March 29 as an annual day to celebrate and honor the sacrifices and dedication of all Vietnam era veterans and their families. March 29 was chosen for this annual observance since that was the date in 1973 that the last combat troops departed Vietnam. The National Vietnam Veterans Day observance was enacted to help ensure that the veterans of that era all feel the gratitude of a grateful nation. The Rotary Club of Flatonia chose to begin the 2025 Flags over Flatonia program with the Vietnam Veterans Day observance to ensure that our community joins in this annual recognition of sacrifice.
Funds from this project are used in service projects for the youth in Flatonia. Among these include scholarships for high school seniors, sponsoring pre-K through 5th grade students in Early Act First Knight, sponsoring high school juniors in the Heritage Pride Tour, sponsoring students, ages 12 - 18 in the Rotary Interact Club, sponsoring a student in the 4H & FFA Livestock Show, and sponsoring high school students to attend the Rotary Youth Leadership Awards.
Bernie Satterwhite, chairman of the Flags Over Flatonia program and member of the Rotary Club of Flatonia, explained “Any business or resident in our immediate area can subscribe to this program. You may click here to subscribe online. Flags Over Flatonia is one way that ensures that we continue to serve our community and the youth of Flatonia”. Pat Nickerson, President of The Rotary Club of Flatonia added, “I am proud of our club and the many service projects that we do in our community and for our youth. Flags Over Flatonia is a patriotic way to express our Service Above Self”. More information for all these programs can be found at www.flatoniarotary.org.
On Wednesday, 17 July, The Flatonia Rotary Club held its first meeting with newly elected President Pat Nickerson opening the meeting. Nickerson welcomed District 5870 Governor Todd Smith and District Governor Elect (DGE) Todd Smith for their their official visit. Each new Rotary year, the District Governor (DG) makes a visit to each of the 57 clubs in the distict, which gives the Governor an opportunity to communicate directly with the club members, and recognize individual Rotarians and outstanding projects. DG Doug Smith is a member of Rotary Club of Temple-South
and DGE Todd Smith, who will be Disrict Governor in 2025-2026, is a member of the Rotary Club of Georgetown. Bernie Satterwhite, member of the Flatonia Rotary and Assistant Governor to the District Governor, introduced DG Smith, who gave an inpirational presentation on his themes, goals, and events for this year in Rotary District 5870. “We’re going to have a great year by continuing our service projects, giving to the Rotary Foundation, growing our membership, and serving our communities, as the Flatonia Rotary Club has done in the past,” emphasized Smith.
After the Governor’s presentation the club welcomed guest Alex Hernandez invited by Rotarian Tammy Collins and then gathered for a a potluck meal and fellowship, which was enjoyed by all.
(l-r) Club President Pat Nickerson, DG Doug Smith, AG Bernie Satterwhite
Rotary Club of Flatonia sponsors the 7th annual Heritage Pride on 7 May 2024 for the FHS junior class. It is a full day of touring and entertainment on the USS Lexington Museum in Corpus Christi, Texas. The students were treated to a breakfast on the bus trip down, and lunch on the ship. The day began with a tour of the flight deck and the aircraft displays, guided by 2 Navy aviator veterans, Bernie Satterwhite, and Mark McLaughlin, who both flew the A-6 Intruder. They enjoyed explaining the routine, yet exhilarating, experience of being catapulted off the carrier and then landing with the help of the ship’s arresting gear and the A-6’s tailhook which caught a large cable stretched across the ship. A film on US aircraft carriers was included and were presented with personalized dog tags as a souvenier. On the educational and inspirational tour, they were educated on the aircraft aboard the USS Lexington along with the experience of up to 3,000 crewmembers serving on an aircraft carrier for months at sea.
Flatonia Rotarian and Naval Aviator veteran, Bernie Satterwhite remarked, “Heritage Pride is a hands on project that the Flatonia Rotary Club sponsors to familiarize the students with U.S. Navy operations, especially during World War II. Why does this matter? Because and it is with great pride, that we have the opportunity to nurture a better appreciation, to both students and adults, on the history of American activities to secure and maintain freedom in our country.”
On Thursday, 21 December, Rotary Club of Flatonia collected food items and donated two Christmas baskets. Each donation was a laundry basket plus 3 bags of food for Christmas and beyond.
One donation went to James and Kathy Fox, who had their house and most of their belongings in Hostyn burn down on Thursday, 14 December, 11 days before Christmas. Their two dogs perished in the fire, while they were at work. They have no insurance. Many friends and community members have come forward and helped them. The other donation went to the manager of the Flatonia RV Park who distributed the food to 5 families.
Flatonia Rotary President, Pat Satterwhite remarked “Hunger exists in Flatonia and we recognize the need. Our members were very generous with their donations of food and I would like to thank them for their generosity during the Christmas season. We were humbled by the Foxes experience and were happy that we could help in this small way.
On Sunday, 26 November Rotarians, Stu Mica, Bernie Satterwhite, and Pat Satterwhite selected, purchased, and set up the Ci
ty of Flatonia Christmas Tree in the park next to the Gazebo. On Monday, 27 November, Rotarians, Larry Haas, Bernie Satterwhite, Kristine Schaffner, and Pat Satterwhite decorated the tree with lights and oranaments. The FISD Art students contributed by making special ornaments for the tree. Everything was done in time for the lighting of the Christmas Village and the arrival of Santa Claus on Wednesday, 29 November.
At the Flatonia Rotary meeting on 16 November, the guest speaker, LaDonna Boyd, the Regional Director for Bluebonnet Trails Community Services, gave a presentation on the vast services that Bluebonnet performs for 8+ counties. She provided pamphlets and rack cards for the club to share at the Fall For Flatonia event on the 18th.
On Saturday, 18 November 2023, The Flatonia Rotary Club had a booth at Flatonia's 150th celebration, Fall for Flatonia. Information about the Flatonia Rotary Club and Mental Health Awareness was shared to all those who attended. Giving out free popcorn as a fun bonus! It was a beautiful day for sharing and fellowship in the sun.
While preparing for the start of school can be exciting for students, it can also be a financial burden on the families when they are asked to to provide multiple paper products and school supplies. On Thursday, 31 August 2023, addressing the need for paper products, the Flatonia Rotary Club delivered 5 cases (210 boxes) of facial tissues, 7 cases (84 packs) of baby wipes, and 4 cases (60 rolls) of paper towels to the school to offset the burden of school families having to supply them. “The Rotary International September theme is ‘Basic Education and Literacy." We are proud to be able to help our Flatonia students and kick off their year,” said Flatonia Rotary President, Patricia Satterwhite. 
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CLICK HERE TO SUBSCRIBE OR RENEW ONLINE
The Flatonia Rotary Club’s “Flags Over Flatonia” Program is a fundraising project that is managed solely through volunteer efforts of Rotarians. The subscription fees are applied to projects and services that benefit our community and the flags are an attractive and patriotic addition to local residences and businesses. For more information, CLICK HERE.
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Service Above Self
Flatonia, TX 78941
United States of America