Stories
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El Buen Celebrates 35 Years  Club representatives for El Buen's 35th Anniversary Celebration are Beth Long, Gary Cataldo, Jack Gabig, Roblyn Thorne and Bill Poplin. It was a fun day and we are proud to support El Buen.
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Welcome New Member |
Welcome New Members |
Rotarian of Month |
International Womens Day 2024
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Weekly Meeting on Thursday, Jan 18 is at Hampton Public LibraryIf you are joining us for our meeting on Thursday, January 18 - we will not be at D K Maria's. We WILL meet at the Will Hampton Public Library located at 5125 Convict Hill Rd. Please come hear from our speaker Troy DeFrates. Troy is currently serving as interim Dean for the Design, Manufacturing, Construction, and Applied Technologies division at Austin Community College (ACC), where he oversees 11 workforce education departments including, Manufacturing, Automotive, Building Construction, Welding, Agriculture Sciences, and Architectural-Engineering Computer Aided Design, and HVAC.
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February Rotarian of the Month
When the district used to host Bi-District events with Mexico, Bob went on a tour in Matamoros to see the international projects we had done with Rotary clubs there, and being with the Matamoros Rotarians, and seeing the computer labs, school projects, food trucks truly helped solidify Rotary in his heart. Along with that experience, he fondly remembers a vocational scholarship presentation. Being with the scholars and them speaking about how much the scholarship meant to them, and looking across the room to Jack Gilchrist and seeing how much it meant to him that will always be a fond memory of Rotary and what it means to him. |
A New Home for Sytrofoam Jan 2024 Thanks to Community volunteers, Enrique H. and Genie K. for helping us staff our booth SFC Farmers' Market Saturday as we collected un-recyclable Styrofoam to take to Austin Reuse/Recycle. Keeping it out of the landfill…We welcome anyone who’d like to help! Next Date=Feb.2 8:30-11:00 or 11:00-1:30 shifts available |
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year |
December Styrofoam ProjectFantastic turnout from the south Austin community bringing Styrofoam for us to take to Austin Recycle/Reuse. The 4th ‘First Saturday’ to staff our “New Home for Styrofoam” booth at SFC Farmers' Market. Working together to keep it out of the landfill!  |
Welcome New Member |
Kaavya Venkat
Kaavya Venkat serves as the coordinator for the Texas Public Health Coalition (TPHC). She is also a Public Health Policy Analyst for the Texas Medical Association (TMA). As part of her role in TPHC, she works with multiple stakeholders around the state to develop educational one-pagers and talks titled "Distinguished Speaker Series" on public health priority topics. Kaavya grew up in the suburbs of Dallas, TX and now resides in downtown Austin. She spent a few years in California completing her undergraduate studies at UC Berkeley and then went to Dartmouth for her Masters in Public Health. She is passionate about working towards creating an equitable and just world. For fun, Kaavya loves to create graphic design artwork! TPHC meets once a month to discuss organizational/legislative updates and plans for future public health advocacy and awareness. Welcome Kaavya! |
25th Annual Charity Golf Tournament |
DAP Grant Project at El Buen Samaritano
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November Member of the Month
Our Rotarian of the Month is Bill Poplin. Bill is the smiling face we see at each meeting as sergeant at arms. Bill is a faithful participant in our El Buen Samaritano projects - the food bank, community garden, ESL program and Hands for Hope. Thank you, Bill, for your smile, your professionalism and your servant heart. |
2023 Vocational ScholarsWe are so proud to share our 2023 Vocational Scholarship awardees at Austin Community College. |
A New Home For Styrofoam Please sign up for this new initiative by clicking this link, there are two shifts available. Volunteers do not have to be Rotarians so you may sign up friends, family or neighbors to help us. |
August Rotarian of the Month
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Volunteering at BookSpring Brenda, Roblyn and George volunteered at BookSpring on Thursday. Please notice the empty shelves. If you have books to donate please let us know. Easy peazy job and in the air conditioning! Come join us the third Thursday of the month.
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Family Eldercare Fan Drive
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New Rotary Year 2023-24 We had a wonderful celebration of President Rebekah's year and kick off of President Brenda's year at the beautiful Onion Creek Club.Highlights: Paul Harris Awards presented to 4 Rotarians and 1 friend of Rotary. We became a Paul Harris Club! Roblyn received a well deserved award for her service to the club. Keith honored as Rotarian of the Year. Rebekah gifted outgoing board and chairs with books to read. Rebekah received a beautiful journal and pen for her travels. PDG Ronney, Mary and Michelle joined us. New AG Ann and Stan joined us. |
24th Annual Golf Sponsor GroupOne of the great photos from our golf tournament. Thanks HPI for your support.
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24th Annual Charity Golf Tournament a Success!A BIG thank you to Roger Beasley Mazda, sponsoring us since 1999 and first TITLE sponsor this year. This was our 24th annual charity golf tournament. Can’t wait until our 25th year! |
Community Gardens Project to Feed the HungryIMG_5027.MOV from roblyn thorne on Vimeo. The Rotary Club of Austin-Southwest recently worked at El Buen Samaritano to get their community gardens ready for planting. This project is part of their DAP grant and included the purchase of soil, fertilizer, water hose, rainwater containers, tools, seeds. The yield from the community garden provides produce for the food pantry with 19 production plots. Additionally there are 17 community plots. |
Ramp Build Project On March 4th, our members joined with Texas Ramp Project Austin and the Rotary Club of South Austin to build a much need wheelchair ramp. We were happy to pay for the supplies out of funds raised by our golf tournament & pitch in with the work!
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Street Books ATX
Patrick Crowley, Street Books ATX, joined us today. We were so pleased to donate 200 books and magazines as well as a check to this great organization. They strive to:
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Buy Your Drawing Tickets, $20 Each This is last years basket but shows what a great deal it will be this year. 1st prize: University of Texas basket: game tickets to the UT vs Wyoming game on September 16, club passes, parking pass, UT related items (approx.value $600)  2nd prize: Adult Beverage basket featuring Tito's Vodka, choice wine, fine scotch and other premiere beverages (approx. value $400) |
Volunteers Wanted - Ramp Build Project We are seeking volunteers for our upcoming Ramp Build on March 4, 2023! Details about the location will be disclosed closer to the day of the event. Click here to sign-up.
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Congratulations DGN Todd Smith It is my honor and privilege to officially declare Todd Smith, from the Rotary Club of Georgetown, our District Governor-Designate. Todd will become District Governor-Nominee on July 1, 2023 and serve as our Governor in the 2025-26 Rotary year. Todd is a great Rotarian who will serve our district well. Please join me in congratulating Todd on being selected as our 111th District Governor. Shannon Coleman |
January is Vocational Service Month The Object of Rotary is a philosophical statement of Rotary’s purpose and the responsibilities of Rotarians. The concept of vocational service is rooted in the Second Object, which calls on Rotarians to “encourage and foster”: Those objectives are:
Paul Harris wrote: "Each Rotarian is a connecting link between the idealism of Rotary and their trade or profession". Vocational Service is the way Rotary fosters and supports the application of the Ideal of Service to the pursuit of all vocations. It is the shared responsibility of both the Rotary Club and its members. The role of the Club is to implement and encourage the objectives by its own actions in dealing with the community and by the development of projects that enable members to use their vocational talents in the service of the community. The role of members is to conduct themselves and their businesses in accordance with Rotary principles and support the Vocational Service projects that the club has developed. During January, Rotarians are encouraged to focus on this important avenue of Rotary service. Discussions on vocational service can lead to projects that not only develop the ethical consciousness and vocational skills of Rotarians but also the talents within their communities. Vocational Service Month is an opportunity to begin year-long vocational service activities, ranging from Rotary discussions to awards to community projects. |
Merry Christmas from Austin-Southwest Rotary Wishing everyone a very Merry Christmas! May your holiday season be all wrapped up with cheer and filled with celebration for the New Year!
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Hands of Hope 2022
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Service Above SelfClub m
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Vocational Scholarships 2022
We are so pleased to honor our five 2022 Vocational Scholarship Recipients at our meeting Thursday, October 13. Special thanks to Amy Bawcom, Executive Director Austin Community College Foundation and Ann Schubert, ACC Foundation Operations Coordinator for their invaluable assistance. Edwin Moeslein - Workforce Scholarship in honor of Roger Beasley Mazda Scholarships are funded by proceeds of our annual golf tournament. |
Rotary Club CitationOur club has earned the Rotary Citation, the most significant award a Rotary club can achieve, for 2021-22. This past year, our club demonstrated a commitment to achieve our goals, which ultimately helps strengthen Rotary and shape the future. |
Army Futures Command
Great informative program! |
Settling In To New LocationWe are settling in nicely to our new meeting location! We are also working on becoming a hybrid club so you can join us from anywhere. Thursday, August 25 we will not meet at noon but will have our monthly fun social at Easy Tiger on South Lamar. Need more info? Click here. |
AG David Jessich We welcomed AG David Jessich who shared his award winning unique license plate collection and international background. Raised in Saudi Arabia and living overseas during his career interested him in Rotary and it's international aspects. Thanks David for being with us! |
Back To School ProjectThe Rotary Club of Austin Southwest members assisted in passing out back to school back packs to students who are clients of the West Rural Center. This year was in person and not a drive through as it was during the pandemic so it was great to see the faces of the children and to see them having fun. Thanks to Roblyn, George, Bob and Bill for their service above self.   |
El Buen Samaritano Food Drive! On June 16th, over 200 cars lined up at the food bank for free diapers and meals all for the community. We all enjoyed being able to serve our community and help families in need. This is what Rotary is all about!
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Welcoming New President! To the left is our incoming president, Rebekah Goolsby! This picture was taken at the Rotary International convention In Houston with our Club! She is standing next to another club member, Ann. We are so excited to welcome Rebekah leading our club into filling our clubs goal into the year 2023!
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Thank You To Our Golf Tournament Supporters |
Our Program Today, Jack Gabig!
CAM Laboral is a state funded facility constructed several years ago in Rosarito to provide trade and technical training for young (teenage) individuals with developmental disabilities. The school’s training programs focus on four areas: - gardening & agriculture -hospitality and baking - construction labor - art. CAM has been particularly successful in placing students in the local hospitality industry where there is a growing demand for labor to support local restaurants and hotels. Project Expenses Although the CAM facility is new and well maintained, it has limited ongoing funding and lacks some essential equipment. Welcome Jack! |
Fighting Hunger Around The World Our Club enjoyed joining Rotary Club of South Austin to pack food for Rise_Against_Hunger Saturday. Great hands on project providing rice & beans to those with food insecurity. We packed 15,000 meals in 2 hours! |
Thank You Sponsors! Thank you to all the Sponsors and Golfers that joined us for our 23rd Annual Golf Tournament! Your support helped us raise funds for vocational scholarships & literacy projects.
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Buy A Drawing Ticket To Support Our Youth Help support our Vocational Scholarships & Literacy Projects, please consider purchasing drawing tickets ($10)for a chance to win:
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Annual Charity Golf Tournament - April 22 The Rotary Club of Austin-Southwest is going to have our Annual Charity Golf Tournament at the beautiful Falconhead Golf Course on Friday, April 22, 2022. The format is four person scramble, low gross and blind bogey. Registration will open at 11 am and at 1:00 pm we will have a shotgun start. A box lunch will be provided before the tournament and a light supper at the end. GOLFERS and SPONSORS WANTED. |
Literacy Project Our club loves literacy projects!!The Club donated funds to the Oak Hill Elementary Book Fair and anadditional “grant” to Oak Hill Elementary of $1,500 to purchase dual language books for kindergarten and first grade students to help students learn to read. We also donated funds to Patton Elementary for their Book Fair. |
Ace of Hearts Winner
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Coat Distribution at West Rural Community Center Holiday Event Rotary Club of Austin-Southwest assisted with the Travis Co. Constables and West Rural Community Center Holiday Event. We collected 300 warm coats in our “George’s Coats for Kids”.
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Check Presentation to El Buen Samaritano Rotary Club of Austin-Southwest was honored to present a check for $3000 to El Buen Samaritano Episcopal Mission supporting their ‘English as a second language’ program. Thanks to the Rotary Foundation and District 5870 for helping our club make these funds possible!
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Thaksgiving Meal Distribution Austin SW Rotary pitched in to help with the El Buen SamaritanoThanksgiving meal distribution of 800 turkeys + fixings for some of our south Austin neighbors.
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Ocotber Social with South Austin Rotary |
October Club Social Our October social will be at the Broken Spoke. We want to support the White family and it is a great place for food and fun. See you 5:30 pm October 28 at the Spoke. 3201 South Lamar. Bring a friend!
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Take action for World Polio Day! Rotary International President Shekhar Mehta says that polio eradication can be achieved if Rotary members stay committed. He calls on every club to offer support this World Polio Day. Click photo to play video message.
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George's Coats for Kids Southwest
We are excited to continue our long tradition of collecting Coats for Kids Southwest in conjunction with the Travis County West Rural Center. The West Rural Center is a non-profit run by volunteers that supports the Travis County Community Center in Oak Hill. This service project has been led by George Kennebeck (holding pink jacket) for the last five years and George is passing the torch to Gary Cataldo after this year. George is one of our beloved senior members who helps with all the projects and he is very much appreciated and loved. This year in his honor we will name the project George’s Coats for Kids. Coats are needed for all ages and sizes. With the ice storm we had last winter and our unusual summer weather, we want to be prepared to hand out lots of coats for the kids. Our goal is to break the record number of coats collected which is 210. Collection will begin October 4 and the deadline for receiving coats and monetary donations is December 7. Distribution day will be December 11. We do accept gently used coats which are cleaned by Wash and Dry Cleaners. Collection barrel locations are: 1. Bancorpsouth (Monterey Oaks Branch): 5501 Hyw.290 W 2. YMCA Oakhill: 6219 Oakclaire 3.Southwest Family Fellowship 71: 8203W. Hwy.71 4. Oak Hill United Methodist Church: 7815 W. Hwy. 290 5. Sage Blossom Massage: 6705 Hwy 290 |
Trifecta of Service for Austin Southwest Rotary As the start of school approached this month, Austin-Southwest Rotary had not one but three opportunities for service and jumped on it. The Club helped out with traffic control as El Buen Samaritano, an Episcopal mission in Southwest Austin, gave out 500 backpacks and provided Covid vaccinations for the neighborhood. The next opportunity was to assist Constable George Morales at Dove Springs Community Center. The Club donated 400 boxes of crayons and helped hand out much needed school supplies. This successful event provided the East Austin community with 3900 backpacks and school supplies, 3200 hand sanitizers and 12, 000 masks along with 399 Covid vaccinations. |
Public Relations CommitteeThis year's PR Committee is Brenda, Beth and Roblyn. and YOU! We will meet next Wednesday at Kirby Lane at 10:30 am to discuss our focus and gather some ideas. If you want to join us please do. The club will participate in the Public Image Super Star Challenge this year. There is a public image training tomorrow Saturday, August 21. If you are interested please click here to register. Please take a minute to look at our website from the eyes of someone who is considering membership. Do you see info about our club and what we are doing (yes!), is there info about Rotary, is there something that lets you know we are a part of a international organization, anything that says we are a fun group, anything that says help wanted (members). Then take a look at other Rotary Club websites- Austin, E-club, South Austin, Northwest Austin for example. Anything stand out that you like? |
It's Back To School Time! Backpack and school supply handout at George Morales III - Travis County Constable Pct.4 this past week. Our Club provided crayons for the kids & assisted in the handout of school supplies. We handed out:
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Congratulations Rebekah! Congrats to our Treasurer & Pres-elect Rebekah Goolsby in obtaining her Paul Harris fellow in support of the Rotary Foundation-Rotary International. Her donation will be felt throughout the world |
Rotary Clubs Austin Southwest & South Austin Join Forces To Build Wheelchair Ramp The Rotary Club of Austin-Southwest and the Rotary Club of South Austin and friends worked together in the heat this past week to build a wheelchair ramp for a disabled gentleman who desperately needed it to leave his home. Under the supervision and leadership of Texas Ramp Projects, the work crew from the clubs built a sturdy wheelchair ramp from scratch, reconfigured porch bannisters and installed a small ramp by the front door to assist the client to achieve mobility to leave his home. The club members and friends enjoyed working together for this worthwhile project and plan another one in the fall. |
Service Project at Oak Hill Elementary Library Assisting the Oak Hill Elementary library with needed books.
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Austin Southwest Supports Book Fairs at Oak Hill and Patton Elementary Schools Austin SW Rotary Club donated $250 to both Oak Hill Elementary and Patton Elementary Schools for a "bank" for students who are unable to purchase books when the schools hold their Book Fairs. In that way, all students who want to purchase a book of their very own to take home, can do so.
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Planting Trees in Whose Shade We Will Never Sit, But Someone Will Austin Southwest Rotary held a workday at the Will Hampton Library in Southwest Austin in March. In the past, the Club put in a trailhead, prepared a Learning Tree area for outdoor classes and maintains a gazebo at the Library built by a club member, Ross Baldwin. These projects were initiated as the Club’s Centennial project when Rotary International celebrated its 100th anniversary sixteen years ago. The current hands-on project involved planting 20 small trees, preparing flower beds and planting plants, assisting the City of Austin crew who maintains the library grounds. The project culminated with lunch in the gazebo after the planting was finished. The Will Hampton Library is named after a member of the Austin Southwest Rotary Club who was tragically murdered in a home invasion in South Austin several years ago. The Austin SW Rotary Club and many friends lobbied the Austin City Council to name this library after Will Hampton who was an outstanding South Austin citizen. |
“Snow-vid 2021” Food Needs Met with Help of Austin Southwest Rotary
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Austin-Southwest Rotary Rises Early to Help Fight Hunger Although 6:45am rolls around early to arrive to help at El Buen Samaritano Food Pantry, members of the Austin-Southwest Rotary saw clients’ cars already in line waiting for the parking lot grocery box delivery to open at 8:00am. El Buen Samaritano serves south Austin. This food pantry hands out food boxes twice a week to 150-180 families each delivery day. Club members helped fill boxes with a variety of fresh vegetables, a protein, cheeses, baked goods and pre-made meals; loaded boxes into the trunks of clients’ vehicles as they drove through; broke down boxes for recycle and helped with clean-up at the pantry. A goal has been set this year by this Club to sponsor some type of service project each month especially since we are not meeting for our noon meeting in person yet. These projects are outdoors and socially distanced with appropriate mask wear for safety. When the shift was over at the food pantry, members said they felt like they had started their day off right! Service Above Self. |
Southwest Travis County “Coats for Kids”
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Ramp Project With South Austin Rotary Club The Rotary Clubs of Austin-Southwest and South Austin joined forces to build a 54-foot wheelchair ramp in conjunction with Texas Ramp Project of Travis County. Members of the two clubs worked together to build this extensive ramp for someone in need. This major project was accomplished in a day. When a few come together, you can build anything! |
800 + Thanksgiving Meals Provided Members of our club assisting with other volunteers in southwest Austin at El Buen Samaritano delivered over 800 Thanksgiving meals complete with turkeys donated by HEB to residents of this neighborhood. The car parade proceeded through the grounds of El Buen Samaritano and provided a safe way for clients to pick up their family meals. The yummy meals were slipped into the trunks of their vehicles while they proceeded through the check points. It was a great way to show our Thanks! |
Austin SW Rotary Collects 350 books for Street Books ATX
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Feeding Families in South Austin Started the day out early with Service as our Club helped El Buen Samaritano food pantry supply 140 families with food. |
Census, Covid-19 Awareness & Prevention Project for the Rotary Club of SW Austin The Rotary Club of Austin-Southwest joined the Travis Co. Constables of Precinct 4 in SE Austin in a campaign to sign people up for the census and distribute PPE's and information about Covid-19. This particular area of Austin has been hard hit by the virus. The Club also helped with purchasing HEB gift cards to go into each bag. The response was good and recipients were thrilled with their goodie bags as they drove through the distribution area. |
Service Project - Travis Heights Christian Outreach Helping to feed those who are in need. Some of our club members pitched in at Travis Heights Christian Outreach to package food which was distributed to 300 people.
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Service Project - Central Texas Food Bank Service project at the Central Texas Food Bank. Our Team sorted and packaged 4500 lbs of food. This will feed 3750 meals.
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Myke Rousell - The Way ForwardClick on the arrow to play video |
Central Texas Food Bank Day A Success On Friday, May 22, 8 volunteers from the Rotary Club of Austin-Southwest met at the Central Texas Food Bank to sort frozen foods to go to Distribution Centers. They processed and sorted 4200 lbs of frozen foods and that will provide 3500 meals. The Central Texas Food Bank did a very good job of social distancing volunteers and Club members adhered to all the rules and felt safe. |
Our Why Rotary StoryWatch our WHY ROTARY video |
Meetings Cancelled
Thursday April 2 UNTIL FURTHER NOTICE, WE WILL NOT BE ABLE TO HAVE IN-PERSON MEETINGS.
Thursday, April 9: MEETING STATUS TO BE DETERMINED Thursday, April 16: MEETING STATUS TO BE DETERMINED |
Golf Tournament Cancelled
Due to the health crisis, the Rotary Club of Austin-Southwest has decided to cancel its annual golf tournament on 4/24 until more favorable times. We appreciate your past support and look forward to planning another tournament in the future to help support our community.
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Wheelchair Ramp Build On Saturday, March 14, our Rotary Club in collaboration with South Austin Rotary under the supervision of the Texas Ramp Project completed a sturdy wheel chair ramp for a family in need. The ten members of our Club who gave of their time and talents were Bill (chair), Roblyn, Beth, Rebekah, Russ, Gary, Allison, Stan, George and Kaelin plus 5 family members and friends joined us as well as 2 members from South Austin. We even had two Canadians assisting us: Russ' parents who had just arrived to visit Russ & family. A yummy lunch was provided by Bill, Roblyn, Beth and Betsy.
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Insides Books Project Rotary Club of Austin SW was excited to collect over 100 books to go to Texas inmates through the Inside Books Project. Our members and friends Karavel shoes of Austin contributed to this worthy Austin charity.
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Club Foundation Awards The Rotary Club of Austin SW was visited by Past District Gov. Jerry Chapman. We were proud to be presented with 3 Foundation awards for 2018-2019: 100% Every Rotarian Every Year Club, 100% Foundation giving & the #3 highest giving Club in the District. Good going Club members!
It’s going to great community and worldwide charitable projects! (L to R: 2019-2020 President Keith McComb, PDG Jerry, Foundation Chair, Roblyn Thorne & Past President 2018-2019, Beth Long) |
Coats for Kids Christmas Event The Rotary Club of Austin SW was excited to supply over 200 coats for the SW Travis County Teddy Bear Christmas. Thanks to BancorpSouth, Boone elementary school, SW Family Fellowship Church and Oak Hill elementary school for putting out barrels to collect coats. Special thanks to Wash and Dry Cleaners of Oak Hill for cleaning all the coats free of charge. We were gratified that we could help kids warm with new coats this winter!
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Nov. 5 - Polio Plus Fundraiser Come support the Rotary Club of Austin-Southwest and listen to some GREAT music from local country recording artist Dale Watson at the HISTORIC Broken Spoke on Nov. 5th at 6:30PM! A night of fellowship, good music and fun all for a great cause! Tickets are $20.
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Will Hampton Library Service Project Austin SW Rotary pitches in at the Will Hampton Library for its upcoming grand re-opening. Assisting the library has been a club project for several years.
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Austin Southwest Rotary in the Community Thanks to Oak Hill Elementary for their accolades to our Club with this banner hung on the fence by the School; We enjoy our partnership with them!
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SW Community Church Back To School Event Austin SW Rotary participated in the Back to School kid’s backpack handout complete with pizza, watermelon and water slides with Travis County Sheriffs Law Enforcement Association, & SW Travis Co. Rural community center plus Southwest Family Fellowship. Great fun,great service! See all the photos.
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Proud Supporter of Start-Up Kid's Club We were excited to present Amber Wakem,Executive officer & Founder, a check for $5000 for Start-Up Kid's ClubShe updated us on the program to teach entrepreneurship to kids elementary school through early high school.
Our Club is helping provide mentors at Boone Elementary in Southwest Austin this year in this after school program in entrepreneurship. Scholarships are available to help offset registration fees. |
District Governor Visit We welcomed DG Jim Henry and DGE Rick Stacy at our meeting Thursday Thank you for your support and service to Rotary District 5870 Central Texas. L to R: President Keith McComb, Pres elect Stan Barnes, DG Jim Henry, DG elect Rick Stacy
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July - Club Social We enjoyed our first social meeting of the New Rotary Year at The Park on South Lamar. Fun to relax with friends!
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Congratulations Keith McComb Our annual end of year celebration & Installation dinner was this last Saturday at Onion Creek Club. Great night saying thanks to last year’s leadership and hello to next year’s folks. President Keith McComb installed by DG Jim Henry. Thank you to our sponsors! Cook-Walden Forest Oaks Funeral Home, Dagar's Catering and Freytag's Florist.
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District Installation Ceremony Attending the District/Club Leader Installation Celebration for District Governor Jim Henry
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Seyi Odufuye -
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Memorial Day Services Austin SW Rotary was proud to join with Cook-Walden/Forest Oaks Funeral Home and Memorial Park for Memorial Day services and wreath laying.
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District Award Winners Congratulations to our award recipients - Roblyn Thorpe and Gary Cataldo!
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Rise Against Hunger Service Project We joined fellow Rotarians at the Rotary District 5870 Central Texas Conference in San Antonio in a service project for Rise Against Hunger. In less than hour, we pack 10,152 meals!
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Ramp Project  Thanks to Duane, Brandon, George, Gary and Project Chair, Bill for helping make this gentleman's home wheelchair accessible. GREAT JOB, Rotarians! |
Visiting Rotarian, Mario diGesu We also welcomed visiting Rotarian, Mario diGesu who is a Physical Therapist from Truth or Consequences, New Mexico. He brought us information about a program his Club supports in prevention of drug addiction. Their program for elementary school age kids is called "Don't Meth with Us".(don'tmethwithus.com) and is focused on prevention rather than the need for treatment after addiction begins. Great to have you!
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Speaker - Lauren Roberts We learned alot of tips on the recycling and composting plans for the City of Austin as Lauren Roberts from Balcones Resources spoke to us at last week's meeting. Thanks Lauren for sharing your time with us. Quite an operation to bring Austin to zero waste in the landfill!
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District Foundation Gala
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Donation to Hardin County Strong Our Club finalized donations accumulated last year for Hurricane Harvey relief. This donation for $1075 from us went to Hardin County Strong recovery group in SE Texas which is still rebuilding from the disaster. We partnered with the Rotary Club of Hardin County. In this photo Past President of the Hardin Co. Rotary Club, J.J. Elizondo (on the right) presents a check combined with a donation from their club to Michelle Brewer Disaster Recovery Director, Hardin County Strong.
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Coats For Kids Austin SW Rotary collected over 14 bags of gently used coats for Coats for Kids, had cleaned at Wash & Dry cleaners and assisted in the distribution at Travis Co. Brown Santa of SW Austin on Saturday Oct.8. See the photos |
Dictionary Day At Oak Hill Elementary With DAP grant money and funds from the Club we purchased dictionaries for 3rd graders and thesaurus’ for 4th graders at Oak Hill elementary which is a title 9 school. Club members met to put 4 way test labels in the materials and then presented them in an assembly led by club members. See the photos |
Rotary 101 Info. Session Great turnout last night for our new member orientation..Rotary 101...good food & beverage plus learning about Rotary. Thanks to our hosts The Royals plus new members and longstanding members who participated! |
Service Project - Central Texas Area Food Bank |
Really Good Reading Program At St. Elmo Here is St. Elmo principal, Ben McCormick accepting a check to help fund the "Really Great Reading" Phonics Reading Program for the Kindergarten at St. Elmo Elementary. They are super excited to start this program to help their Kindergarten kids learn to read and to help them in the future on the STARR Tests. Their long range plan is to institute "Really Great Reading" program in the whole school as they can afford to.
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September Social Fun “Last Friday” Social meeting at Red's Porch on South Lamar... Lots of visiting and business taken care of!
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Welcome New Members! Austin SW Rotary welcomes 2 new members: Duane Galligher and Rebekah Goolsby
We are so pleased you’ve joined us in Service Above Self! |
Congratulations Adam Weber Congrats to Adam Weber of Edward Jones off Manchaca Rd. who won two tickets to the first UT longhorn football game at our annual golf tournament. Special delivery by President Beth. Enjoy, Adam and we look forward to you playing April 2019 Falconhead Golf Club
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Aug 9th - Rotary Foundation We sincerely thank Past District Gov.Rich Kaye from the Rotary Club of Killeen for his informative story talk today on The Rotary Foundation ... 4 Star Rating on Charity Navigator so you know your monetary contributions are being spent wisely.
All this to promote peace, provide clean water,assist in medical care, help mothers and children, support literacy and build stronger economic structures for developing countries Your dollar goes a long way when donated to the Foundation |
August 10 - Service Above Self Austin SW Rotary helped some deserving kids pick up new backpacks filled with supplies.And there were bouncy houses & pizza! Fun for all Thanks to West Rural Community Center, Southwest Family Fellowship And Travis Co. Pct.3 for your sponsorship!
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July 12 - Guide Dogs of Texas We were excited to welcome Peggy, Antoinette and Helmi of Guide Dogs of Texas, Inc.to present our program. These dogs change lives!
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Marble Falls Fish Fry 10 of our Club travelled to Marble Falls to enjoy the 69th annual Fish Fry of the @marblefallsrotaryclub. Excellent fried fish, wine, Fellowship, program and music.. We had lots of fun!
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RYLA Camp 2018 We had a great crew helping to prepare, serve and clean up after a meal for the kids participating at Camp RYLA of Rotary District 5870 Central Texas (Rotary Youth Leadership Awards) Camp. Our Club was excited to pay for this meal too. Thanks to George K.,Vikki G.,Bill P.,Gary & Gracie C. and Beth L.for 4 hours of fun in the kitchen feeding 125 hungry campers. We appreciated the expertise of Chef Heidi from the Austin Centennial Club directing us so expertly! Great fun supporting Youth in learning about leadership!
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Hail & Farewell Induction Dinner We had bunches of fun at our “hail and farewell” installation dinner tonight Onion Creek Club. Great food, fun event. Wonderful to have Brandon Benavides...Former St Ed’s Rotaract student speak to us. Brandon is now an Executive producer at KSAT tv in San Antonio
Thanks ADG Gaines Bagby for doing the installation |
Thank You Golfers & Sponsors! Our 20th anniversary charity golf tournament at Falconhead Golf Club was superb! Thanks to all our sponsors, golfers and workers for making it successful so that we can award multiple vocational scholarships next month to deserving students and continue our many community service projects. A big Thank You to our two Championship sponsors, Roger Beasley Mazda and First State Bank of Central Texas ! Great supporters of the community!
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20th Annual Golf Tournament Our 20th anniversary charity golf tournament at Falconhead Golf Club was superb! Thanks to all our sponsors, golfers and workers for making it successful so that we can award 8 vocational scholarships next month to deserving students. A big Thank You to our two Championship sponsors, Austin Area Mazda and First State Bank of Central Texas ! Great supporters of the community! |
Southwest YMCA Annual Easter Egg Hunt .jpg) Rotarians had great fun today helping out at the annual Easter egg hunt of Southwest Family YMCA of Austin!
Soccer ball and Art basket raffle.... Congrats winners! Fun for all |
Coat Distribution at West Rural.jpg) The coat project team came through with flying colors. The cold snap got people’s attention and the coats were flying off the rack. Thanks to Rotarians and friends Linda, George, Emily, Cathy and Deb.
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Club Social at the Icehouse Fun Social meeting at Waterloo Iicehouse on Slaughter Lane tonight. The last Thursday of each month Austin-SW Rotary skips the noon meeting and has a Happy Hour. — with Vicki Goodwin, Ray Gilley, George Kennebeck,Linda Lee Stuart and Beth Long.
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Veteran's Day Ceremony |
Will Hampton Library Project.jpg) Back row: Bob Royal, Gary Cataldo, Dave Capshaw, Derrick Flint Front row: Betsy Priest, Beth Long, Grace Cataldo, Julianne Flint, Eva Flint, Max Flint Eric Travis called and expressed his thanks for the work done on Saturday. And that was before he had seen the trailhead. Vicki Goodwin, a candidate for District 47 and a possible member, came out to say hello. She posted photos of the Learning Tree on her website and thanked the club for the hard work. Thanks to Betsy and Beth for the sandwiches. Just would not have been the same without them. Special thanks to our non-member helpers, Dave Capshaw, Grace Cataldo and especially to the “Fantastic Flints” Max, Eva and Julianne. You really made a difference and made it a very fun day. |
Service Project At Central Texas Food Bank |
Meeting With The Mayor The Rotary Club of Austin-Southwest participated in the "Meeting with the Mayor"(Austin Mayor Steve Adler) to hear how our Rotary clubs can work with the city to leverage the community assistance Rotarians provide.Our own presidentGary Cataldo was the moderator. Several helpful ideas spun off from this gathering.also represented were Rotary Club of Austin,Rotary Club of South Austin,Austin Cosmopolitan Rotary Club,North Austin Rotary,University Rotary, Austin E-club and Rotary Club of East Austin.
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Dictionary and Thesaurus Gifts to Elementary Schools Rotarians from Austin SW Rotary Club delivered free dictionaries and thesaurus' to students at St. Elmo elementary, Oak Hill Elementary and Patton Elementary to start the school year off in the right foot. Thanks Rotarians and guests: Linda Stuart, Constable Pct.3, Stacy Suits, Tom Cripps, Gary Cataldo,Gracie Cataldo, Bob DeJong, George Kennebeck and Emily, Ray & Jane Gilley, Bill Poplin, Betsy Priest.
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Dictionary Project Members got together this week to prepare dictionaries and thesaurus for distribution at Patton Elementary , St.Elmo Elementary and Oak Hill Elementary schools to kick off their school year right. This program provides the students with their own personal reference books.
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Site Visit to Austin Community College.jpeg) Reps of Austin-Southwest Rotary got a personalized tour of the Austin Community College Eastview Campus - Health & Sciences. This is where 6 of our 8 scholarships went to students in dental hygiene, occupational therapy, nursing, radiology, PT assisting. Fabulous teaching campus for Health Sciences. |
Honoring a Legacy – 35 Years of Service
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Will Hampton Library – Mulch Maddness This was Sara Enno’s first project and she was the project leader. She was assisted by Robyn, Bill, Ray, George, Gary, Gracie and her 7 year old daughter Molly. In an hour, the team spread 20 bags of mulch, and, around the gazebo, trimmed dead brush and raked up grass. While this project was limited in scope, it gave the front areas a much needed grooming. This coming fall will call for a major effort as we will need to do all areas of the library grounds. Sara wanted to thank everyone for their support and sweat. |
Rotary Club Total For Scholarships Awarded Exceeds $170,000 Back Row (l-r) Alexa L. Sanchez, Elizabeth Ann Henry, Lacie Brooke Herrin Front Row (l-r) Gary Cataldo, Chapter President, Sunmi Kim, Kassidy Blair, Thomas Kyle Dunn, Heather E. Orellana, Jack Gilchrist, Committee Chair * Not attending: Crystal Brewster The Rotary Club of Austin – Southwest adds eight to its roll of scholarship recipients. The Rotary Club of Austin - Southwest (formerly Austin - Oak Hill) presented eight $1000 scholarships at Thursday’s, June 8, 2017 awards luncheon hosted at DK Marias Restaurant. The Rotary Club of Austin – Southwest firmly ascribes to the sentiment expressed by the South African leader Nelson Mandela “Education is the most powerful weapon you can use to change the world.” In over 19 years, 150+ scholastic and vocational students have benefited from the club’s ‘Lend A Hand’ scholarship program. This year’s recipients are working adults, many with families. Fields of study at Austin Community College and Baldwin Beauty School include vocational nursing, occupational therapy, chemical dependency counseling, dental hygiene, cosmetology and diagnostic imaging radiology. Theirs is a common theme of persistence and hard work, overcoming personal and systemic obstacles as they seek to better themselves and the lives of those close to them. At the luncheon’s conclusion, club president, Gary Cataldo, left the awardees with these thoughts: ”Your scholarship is not a handout. You earned it. It was earned by challenging yourself to improve your education, by excellence in scholarship, by having the self-confidence to put your accomplishments on an application and risking rejection. As Rotarians, we see your scholarships less as gifts, and more as investments in people of promise. You are people whose efforts are transforming ‘potential’ into ‘measurable accomplishments.’ Our Rotarian challenge to you: As you have been helped, help others. In doing so, you will know the spirit that is Rotary. Best wishes. Now, go out there and, keep making good luck. “ |
May & June Student Of The Month  |
April Student Of The Month We were were pleased to honor our student of the month from Patton Elementary accompanied by his Mom & nominating teacher
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It's Official! |
New Member Induction |
November is Rotary Foundation Month |
Veteran's Day ProgramNov 10, 2016 Veterans Day Program will be hosted by Cook-Walden/Forest Oaks Funeral Home and Memorial Garden, 6300 W. William Cannon, Austin, TX 78749. Guests and family are most welcome.
Schedule:
Park in front and walk to the memorial, recommend early arrival.
12:10-12:20pm Remembrance ceremony at memorial
12:20-12:30 pm Assemble in the funeral home meeting room, pick up lunch meal and be seated
12:30-12:35pm Club announcements, introduce guest speaker
12:35-12:55 pm Speaker Mr. David Carter Austin Veterans Center – warrior and families transition
12:55-1:00pm Close
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Halloween Party Fun |
Welcome New Members! Welcome aboard Craig, Kevin and Chris!! Left to right are Jack Gilchrist, Craig Jennings, Kevin Hull, Chris Carroll, Gary Cataldo, and Tom Cripps. |
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Capitol Area Food BankThank you to Tom, Angelo, Bob and Derrick for your willingness to volunteer for sorting donations at the Capital Area Food Bank Tuesday evening.
 They were joined by others from the community and got a behind the scenes view of the food bank.
This event partnered with previous efforts of the Interact Club fighting hunger in our community! |
Gazebo ProjectThe gazebo at the Hampton branch library was a gift of Ross Baldwin fifteen years ago and occasionally needs a bit of attention. A club community service project this year is to give the gazebo a hearty dose of TLC. Actually, a series of three doses are envisioned:
The first involves repairs to the gazebo. Stan Barnes inspected the gazebo and found that mechanically it is in good shape except for a few missing trim pieces and a number of fasteners that are loose. Stan has fabricated replacement wooden trim and will lead the effort Saturday (Nov. 8, noon) to restore the gazebo's mechanical health.
The next stage is to clean and re-stain the gazebo. (We last re-stained the gazebo as part of a 2008-2009 DAP grant that includes other improvements around the gazebo.) This part of the project will benefit from many Rotarian helping hands, but the details are not yet settled, so stay tuned.
Finally, we'll spiff up the landscaping around the gazebo by filling in the gaps with the types of plants that seem to do well there plus making the bed easier to maintain in drought conditions. This will be a good, hands on, dirt under the fingernails Rotarian project.
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African Christian College Macadamia Nut RoastingHere's a few pictures from our latest Rotary Service Project!
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2014 VOCATIONAL SCHOLARSHIPS AWARDEDVOCATIONAL SCHOLARSHIPS AWARDED ON JUNE 2ND
 Kelly Jones (for Austin Area Mazda Dealers)
 Daniel Pitts (for Dan G. Bjeletich, in Memory of Marguerite Bjeletich)
 Deborah Silva & Donor Gary Cataldo (for Hayner Valley Grove LLC)
 Courtney Waffle & Donors Kay (& Ron) Landry (for In Memory of Bonnie Brumit)
.JPG) Lacee Goode (Donor Ross Baldwin Memorial)
 Liana Elwood & Donor Patrick Johnson (for First State Bank)
 Micah Hassell
.JPG) Kallie Yoas
Wendy Bushman
.JPG) Travis Baxley
 Chioma Dike
 Shelli Bird
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THANK YOU TO ALL OF OUR 2014 GOLF SPONSORS16th Rotary Club of Austin-Oak Hill Charity Golf Tournament
It's not about the golf: It's about the kids and our community
Our 2014 Championship Sponsors
 In Memory of Bonnie Brumit
 Hayner Valley Grove LLC, Hatch, NM
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EARLYACT CLUB VISITS RETIREMENT LIVING FACILITYOAK HILL ES EARLYACT CLUB VISITS QUERENCIA AT BARTON CREEK
On Monday, May 12th, the Oak Hill Elementary School Student Council/EarlyAct Club visited the residents of Querencia at Barton Creek. The kids and the residents shared stories and music. Afterwards, we had our annual joint meeting with them at the Oak Hill ES Annex. The pizza was good.
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CALL FOR VOLUNTEERSNEED VOLUNTEERS TO REVIEW SCHOLARSHIP APPLICATIONS
After our May 5th club meeting, the Scholarship Committee will meet at a location TBD to review applications for our Vocational Scholarships. Talk to Jack Gilchrist for more details.
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VISITING ROTARY CLUB IN SOUTH AFRICA Kay & Ron Visit Rotary Club in Cape Town
While on vacation in South Africa, Swaziland, Botswana & Zimbabwe, Kay & Ron Landry took the opportunity to visit the Rotary Club of Table Mountain in Cape Town, South Africa. It was a small club of 15 members and we saw a great presentation on water rescue of small water craft. The presentation focused on the problem with overloaded or unsafe boats capsizing and the limited resources available for rescue. Slides were shown of a recent boat capsizing near Cape Town. The import of the presentation was driven home the next day after our meeting with the news of that South Korea ferry capsizing.
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BOARD MEETINGSBOARD MEETINGS
Our club board meetings will usually be held on the 3rd Tuesdays of each month. The meetings will usually be held at the West Rural Community Center on 8656 West Highway 71 in Building A and sometimes at other locations. The meetings will start at 6:15p and will adjourn at 7:30p.
All club members are welcome to attend. Committee chairs desiring board action should attend.
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CLUB LEADERSHIP TRAININGCLUB LEADERSHIP TRAINING
Date: Saturday, April 12, 2014
Time: Registration table opens at 8:00am, sessions begin at 9:00am, anticipated completion by 3:00pm
Place: Central Texas College, 6200 West Central Texas Expressway, Killeen, TX 76549
Lunch: Provided on-campus and included in registration fee
Who Should Attend: Presidents-Elect, President Nominees, Club Officers, Committee Chairpersons and anyone else who wishes to learn more.
Purpose: Provide Rotary Club leaders with the necessary skills to
(a) Support & strengthen their Rotary Club
(b) Focus & increase humanitarian service
(c) Enhance public image and awareness
How To Register: To register on-line go to District 5870 Website or by mail download the form. Registration fee is $25 payable on-line or you can mail completed registration form and check (payable to Rotary District 5870) to:
Kirk Pate, District Registrar
P.O. Box 1072
Flatonia, TX 78941
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EARLYACT CLUB OFFICERS VISIT OUR CLUB 2014-2015 EARLYACT OFFICERS VISIT OUR CLUB
The new officers of the Oak Hill ES Student Council/EarlyAct Club visited our club on the last meeting in 2013. Above (not in order of appearance) are Ben Woytek - President, Josh Machado - Vice-President, Brooke Williams - Secretary, Caroline Latham - Treasurer, Kelly Woytek - Ben's mom, Shea Williams - Brooke's mom, Rotarians Tom Cripps & Kay Landry
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CLUB DONATES $500 TO WEST RURAL COMMUNITY CENTER CLUB DONATES $500 TO WEST RURAL COMMUNITY CENTER
Here's Jane Prince-Maclean receiving a check for $500 on behalf of the West Rural Community Center from President Susan Steeg. This money will be used for the assistance of families in need during the holiday season.
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PROGRAM FOR JANUARY 6 CREDIT UNIONS COMPARED TO BANKS
By
Billy O'Briant, Business Development Officer
Billy has been in financial services for 10 years, in a variety of roles. He started as a Lieutenant in the U.S. Army Finance Corps, serving in roles stateside and in Iraq. He then transitioned to the banking industry, working in operations at Wachovia and Wells Fargo banks. About three years ago, he saw the light and came to A+ Federal Credit Union, and has become and outspoken advocate for credit unions.
Welcome George Bailey, or rather, Billy O'Briant!
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PROGRAM FOR DECEMBER 16, 2013CLUB MEETING & ELECTION OF OFFICERS
It's time for our last club meeting of the calendar year. Today, we will be presented with the Slate of Officers & Directors for the 2014-2015 Rotary Year. There will be an election for the new slate and nominations from the floor will be welcomed.
Your participation will be appreciated.
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PROGRAM FOR DECEMBER 9, 2013 VIOLET CROWN TRAIL UPDATE
By Randy Scott
Randy Scott is the project director for the City of Austin project to improve the trail between the Will Hampton Library and the Dick Nichols Park. The trail will intersect with the Violet Crown Trail, a 30-mile regional trail system that will extend from Barton Springs Pool into Hayes County.
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OUR CLUB ASSISTS WITH FLOOD RELIEF PARTICIPANTS IN FLOOD RELIEF EFFORTS
On Saturday, November 16, 2013, members of the Austin-Oak Hill Rotary Club provided assistance to the Dove Springs community that was devastated by the Halloween flood. Club members included President Susan Steeg, Treasurer Ray Gilley, Bob Royal, Tom Cripps, and Lee Stuart. Also present was Robert Marler and his daughter Sofia. The club members staffed the distribution site that was set up on South Pleasant Valley Road at Quicksilver. Tables were stocked with donated items which included food, diapers, cleaning supplies, buckets, rubber gloves, masks, clothing, and water. Donations were received at the site during the day and distributed to residents who stopped by to collect what they needed. The distribution site has expanded since it started following the flood. From our vantage point, you could look across the street at homes that were flooded with more than 10 feet of water.
Over 300 community volunteers participated in ongoing cleanup activities at homes in the community, including club member Steve Swanson. The community will be needing assistance as we near the holiday season. A toy drive is planned, and club members are asked to bring a toy to the meeting to donate to this drive. George Morales, Chief Deputy Constable for Precinct 2 (pictured below with President Susan), and a lifelong resident of Dove Springs thanked the members of the club for assisting their community in this crisis.  |
PROGRAM FOR DECEMBER 2, 2013 SHAKESPEARE UNDER THE STARS
By Ann Rolling
Rotarian Ann Rolling is co-founder and Executive Director for the EmilyAnn Theatre & Gardens. The EmilyAnn Theatre was founded on August 1, 1998 to celebrate the life of Emily Ann Rolling, a vivacious 16-year old, who lost her life in a car accident in 1996. The theatre provides a home for Shakespeare Under The Stars, a unique educational program for high school students in which Emily excelled as both an actress and a costume designer. Shakespeare Under The Stars is now in its 12th year at the EmilyAnn. The scope of the work at the theatre has been expanded to include a variety of community and cultural events.
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RELIEF EFFORT FOR HALLOWEEN FLOODS IN SOUTHEAST AUSTINInstead of the Will Hampton Library maintenance project that was planned for this Saturday, we will be aiding in the relief efforts for Halloween floods in southeast Austin. We will be working at a support center to distribute cleaning materials and provide other support to the clean up effort, i.e. we will not be doing deconstruction or cleaning (let those with younger backs and knees take on that work!).
WHEN: Saturday, November 16th 8:30 a.m.-Noon WHERE: Intersection of South Pleasant Valley and Quicksilver (Tents are set up) DIRECTIONS: Take William Cannon east of IH35 and turn right on South Pleasant Valley. Quicksilver is about 0.5 miles on the right. WHAT'S NEEDED: Cleaning supplies and gloves for the volunteers, if you would like to donate these or $ to purchase. CARPOOL: Please call me if you would like to ride together, or organize your own!
PLEASE WEAR YOUR ROTARY PINS, SHIRTS, ETC.! |
COATS FOR KIDS |
PROGRAM FOR NOVEMBER 18, 2013 ROTARY YOUTH LEADERSHIP AWARD
Today, John 'Garrett' Rowe, who was a RYLA counselor for three years, will be speaking to us today about next year's camp. The camp for 2014 is set to run from June 29th to July 4th at McKinney Roughs in Bastrop.
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PROGRAM FOR NOVEMBER 11, 2013 HONORING OUR VETERANS
Today, on this Veteran's Day Holiday, our program will focus on honoring our members, and their spouses, who served in the United States Armed Services. We will also be working together to stuff Christmas stockings with goodies for our troops now serving in Afghanistan.
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DICTIONARY DAY THE DICTIONARIES, THESAURII & ATLASES ARE IN!
Here's Kay, obviously in need of caffeine, standing next to a shipment of more than 1,000 dictionaries, thesaurii, and world atlases. Watch the website and newletter for dates early in December for distribution to Oak Hill ES, Patton ES & Sunset Valley ES.
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SCHOOL SUPPLIES FOR OAK HILL ES  SCHOOL SUPPLIES FOR OAK HILL ELEMENTARY SCHOOL
On October 25th, Kay & Ron Landry distributed school supplies that were donated by the club to the Student Council/EarlyAct Club of Oak Hill Elementary School.
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PROGRAM FOR NOVEMBER 4, 2013 SHOW ME THE MONEY!
THE ROTARY FOUNDATION
By
PAST DISTRICT GOVERNOR TIM BUCKLEY
Tim Buckley was born & raised in Wichita, Kansas. Majoring in history, he earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from Wichita State University. In 1972 Tim joined the family business, Buckley Industries, Inc., which fabricates fiberglass insulation, foamed plastics and sponge rubber materials for various industries. He is currently Vice President of the Polyplastics Division, and a director and co-owner of the company. His Rotary classification is "Plastics-Foam Fabrication."
In 1979, Tim met and married Gail Edwards Roper, and in April of that year, he also became one of the first fourth-generation Rotarians in the Rotary Club of Wichita, Kansas.
Moving to Austin in 1986, Tim has been a member of the Rotary Club of Northwest Austin since 1988, and has served his club in many areas, including President in 1993-1994. He served District 5870 as the Governor Nominating Committee, as District Trainer, New Club Extension Chair, Assistant Governor, District Secretary, Finance Committee Chair, District Governor in 2009-2010, and currently chairs the Stewardship Subcommittee of the District Rotary Foundation Committee. In 1998, Tim was inducted into the District Roll of Fame. He has more than 20 years of perfect attendance. Tim is a RI Foundation Benefactor, a member of The Paul Harris Society, The White Hat Society, and he and Gail are Major Donors to the Rotary Foundation. Tim and Gail have joined Rotarians in immunizing children against polio by participating in two National Immunization Days; one in Ghana, West Africa, in 2006, and the other in Ghaziabad, India, in 2011. He has also served since 2010 on the Zone Institute committee for Zones 21b & 27.
Tim's interests beyond Rotary and work include hunting, fishing, golf, and church, although not necessarily in that order. While in Kansas, he served three years as State Chairman of Ducks Unlimited. He and Gail have served on a number of committees, and chaired several, at their home church, Bethany United Methodist Church, in northwest Austin. Tim also serves on the Board of Directors and the National Advisory Council of the Wichita State University Foundation.
Tim and Gail have three children, three grandchildren, and one great-granddaughter.
Welcome PDG Tim!
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LAST THURSDAY SOCIAL MEETING LAST THURSDAY SOCIAL MEETING
RED'S PORCH
From 5:30p til 7:30p
3508 South Lamar Blvd
(Across from Golden Corral, behind Citibank on West side of Lamar)
$5.00 Meeting Charge includes appetizers
Cash Bar
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FIRST OAK HILL ES EARLYACT MEETING FOR 2013/2014    FIRST OAK HILL EARLYACT CLUB MEETING FOR 2013/2014
On Friday, October 12, the Oak Hill Elementary School Student Council/EarlyAct Club held its first meeting and elected new officers. Rotarians present were Kay & Ron Landry.
Officers elected: Ben Woytek - President, Josh Machado - Vice President, Brooke Williams - Secretary, and Caroline Latham - Treasurer.
Each club member received new wallet insert Rotary Four-Way Test cards. At the end of the meeting, the members recited the Four-Way Test with clarity, vigor & enthusiasm that us Rotarians could emulate.
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OCTOBER 14TH PROGRAM DAVID VALDEZ, WHITE HOUSE PHOTOGRAPHER
Upon graduation from high school, David Valdez enlisted in the US Air Force where he was trained as a photographer. Following four years of active duty, Mr. Valdez entered the University of Maryland at College Park. He earned a Bachelor of Arts degree with a major in journalism and a minor in radio & television production. While attending the University of Maryland, he was employed by the US Department of Agriculture and the US Department of Housing & Urban Development. He left the Federal Government to become Chief Photographer for the US Chamber of Commerce.
In 1983, Mr. Valdez became personal photographer to then Vice President George H.W. Bush. In 1988, when Mr. Bush became President, he appointed Mr. Valdez as Director of the White House Photo Office. After travelling to 75 countries and all 50 states with President Bush, Mr. Valdez left the White House in 1993.
To view Mr. Valdez's work and the rest of his bio, check out his website at davidvaldez.org
In 1997, he published a book, George Herbert Walker Bush, a Photographic Profile.
Welcome David!
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OCTOBER 7TH PROGRAM DISTRICT 5870 GOVERNOR RICH KAYE
Rich Kaye is a member of the Killeen Heights Rotary Club. He got his BS in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Pennsylvania. He served for 20 years as an officer in the US Army including a battalion command during Operation Desert Storm. He retired in 1993 with the rank of Lieutenant Colonel.
After the Army, Rich worked for 17 years in the defense contracting industry with stints at AT&T, L-3 Communications, and Kellogg, Brown & Root.
He also has a MS in industrial design from Kansas State University and an MBA from the University of Mary Hardin-Baylor.
Rich has held vitually every leadership position in his club and at the district level and is a member of numerous associations. There is not enough bandwith in this website and newsletter to name every one of the positions he has held. Check out the District 5870 website and be amazed by his record of service to Rotary.
Rich will prompt us today with his view of Rotary's direction and will touch on Rotary's Future Vision initiative which is now 'live' for all clubs.
Welcome Governor Rich!
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NEW WEBSITE DESIGNA special thank you to Robert Marler for redesigning our website. Robert is a Freelance Web Designer, IT Support & Project Manager who has volunteered his expertise to help us. We really like the three-column design with the calendar feature.
Thank you Robert!
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SOCIAL MEETING SOCIAL MEETING AT THIRSTY PLANET MICROBREWERY
WHEN: Thursday, September 26th, 5:30pm til 7:30pm
WHERE: Thirsty Planet Microbrewery, 11160 Circle Drive (5 miles west of Oak Hill 'Y' via 290 West)
COST: Only $5 per head!
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SEPTEMBER 30 PROGRAM TRAVIS COUNTY ASSISTANT DA GARY COBB
Gary Cobb is an Assistant District Attorney in Travis County and is the Director of the Grand Jury/Intake Division, Member of the Capital Murder Review Committee & Member of the Sexual Assault Response & Resource team.
Gary will be speaking to us about the grand jury process.
Gary has a B.A. in Political Science from Mississippi State University. He earned his J.D. from UT. In addition, he is a teaching specialist in the UT School of Law.
Gary is a board member of People Against Violent Crime (PAVC). He is a board member & Vice-chair at Council on At Risk Youth (CARY). And he is a faculty member of the National District Attorneys Association.
Welcome Gary!
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AUGUST 12 PROGRAM KVUE SPORTS BROADCASTER MIKE BARNES
Mike Barnes has been with KVUE since 1989 - almost 24 years. His wife, Kim, was an anchor at KVUE for 12 years. Mike has two kids, a son, 16, and a daughter, 13.
Mike grew up in the Dallas area and went to school at UT.
Mike has won the Austin Chronicle 'Best Sportscaster' ten times.
Mike has covered National Championship games, Super Bowls, Final Fours, been to 20 Texas-OU games. He has a big place in his heart for high school football. Friday Football Fever is KVUE's award winning show in the fall that highlights high school football.
Welcome Mike!
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SEPTEMBER 9 PROGRAM CONFESSIONS OF A VIDEO PRODUCER
By Curtis A. Craven
Curtis Craven has more than 20 years of experience in the field of film & video as producer/director and director of photography with an emphasis on documentary. Since the early 1970's, he has lived, worked and traveled extensively in Latin America and is fluent in Spanish.
He is an experienced SCUBA diver and has shot numerous underwater projects throughout the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean.
He is producer/director of Hecho a Mano Productions, a full-service production company based in Austin and San Luis Potosi, Mexico.
Welcome Curtis!
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AUGUST 19 PROGRAM YOUR SOUTHWEST FAMILY YMCA
By Kurt Turner
Kurt currently serves as the Membership Director for the Southwest Family YMCA. His YMCA journey began 13 years ago when he started as a lifeguard and swim instructor for the Lake Highlands YMCA in Richardson, Texas. During his time with the YMCA, Kurt spent time in child care, aquatics, youth & government, sports, and healthy living programs. He received his YMCA Organizational Leader certification in January of 2010.
Kurt received his bachelor's degree in history from UT in 2005, where he lettered on the 2004 Rose Bowl Championship Team. He received his master's degree in history from UT in 2011. Outside the YMCA, Kurt works as an Instant Replay Official for the Big XII Conference, enjoys playing tennis, and loves watching the Dallas Cowboys.
Welcome Kurt!
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TODAY'S PROGRAMx FLYING AROUND THE WORLD IN EIGHT DAYS
By Carol Foy
Carol Foy, from Spicewood, learned to fly about 23 years ago, because she wanted to be able to land her husband's plane if the situation presented itself. After getting her licence, she logged up more airtime than her husband. In 2008, she teamed up with CarolAnn Garrett and flew around the world in only eight days, raising awareness for Lou Gehrig's Disease.
There's much more flying that she as done but I'll let her tell us about it.
She holds a flight instructors licence and is a multi-engine and instrument instructor. She is a contract pilot for King Air Aircraft.
Wheels Up Carol!
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VIOLET CROWN TRAIL UPDATECheck out the July 25-August 21 issue of Community Impact Newspaper - Southwest Austin Edition for a great article on the Violet Crown Trail. This trail will run for 30 miles from Zilker Park to FM 967 in Hays County near Buda. As some of you know, the trail is expected to run right past the Ross Baldwin Memorial Gazebo, the Will Hampton Library Trailhead, and the Rotary Learning Tree - all constructed by members of the Austin-Oak Hill Rotary Club.
See the full article by typing in your browser the key words 'Community Impact Southwest Edition' or use the following web address:
http://impactnews.com/austin-metro/southwest-austin/violet-crowns-next-stop-circle-c/
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Social at Jack Allen's |
W E L C O M E |
Join us for our last program of the year on Thursday December 7. 
Friday, October 27, the tool shed for El Buen was installed. 
Friday, July 14 the Rotary Club of Austin-Southwest delivered fans to Family Eldercare at Roger Beasley Mazda South drop off site. We collected fans and had an online fundraiser and raised $500. Thank you to our supporters! 
embers Bob, Gary and Rebekah assisted the Rotary Club of Austin South with putting up some sheds at Mainspring Schools this past Saturday. 
Thanks to Major Mike Ohman for updating us on the Army Futures Command planning the future of the US Army.
Jack will share information and update us about a project our club will be working on with the Rotario de Rosarito club in Mexico.
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