Today's guest speaker is Rick Guerra. He will share the state of things from the trenches.
Stories
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There will be no meeting on Friday, July 28th. Instead join the club and your friends at Tony Roma's on S. 10th St, Thursday, July 27th at 5:30 pm. We will have food and drinks. This is a great opportunity to mingle and meet your fellow Rotarians. Let us know you will be coming by clicking on the RSVP below. |
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Our program today will feature Mark Curriden, author of "Contempt of Court: The Turn-of-the-Century Lynching That Launched a Hundred Years of Federalism." In this profound and fascinating book, the authors revisit an overlooked Supreme Court decision that changed forever how justice is carried out in the United States.In 1906, Ed Johnson was the innocent black man found guilty of the brutal rape of Nevada Taylor, a white woman, and sentenced to die in Chattanooga, Tennessee. Two black lawyers, not even part of the original defense, appealed to the Supreme Court for a stay of execution, and the stay, incredibly, was granted. Frenzied with rage at the decision, locals responded by lynching Johnson, and what ensued was a breathtaking whirlwind of groundbreaking legal action whose import, Thurgood Marshall would claim, "has never been fully explained." Provocative, thorough, and gripping, Contempt of Court is a long-overdue look at events that clearly depict the peculiar and tenuous relationship between justice and the law. We encourage you to invite guests to what should be a powerful program. Click on the RSVP link below to let us know you are coming and if you are bringing guests. |
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Join us this week as Dr. John Gerling will be our guest speaker. John always puts together a wonderful and thought provoking program, so you don't want to miss it. |
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New McAllen South Rotary Club President Dan Worthington will update us on this year's club goals and future program speakers. Dan will also share some exciting ideas on fellowships. You won't want to miss this one! |
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Hansel Ibarra |
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Jonathon Coody
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Mari Partida
Gabby Jones
Larry Delgado
John Tippit IV
Dianella Cantu
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 Oktoberfest is October 27, tickets will be out next week. Need everyone to volunteer to work at the event. Don't want to sell tickets? Sponsor a table instead! Contact Grand Pooh-bah Eric Newton for more info! |
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Featuring our own Dr. Cayetano Barrera III, MD
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Bill Martin with Raymond James & Associates
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Thursday, September 29 come watch the 1-2 Bungles play the 1-2 Dolphins. At least the food, drinks and fellowship will be fun!
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On Friday, the McAllen South Rotary Club welcomes its District Governor, Art Zeitler to our Club for his annual visit and state of the union address.
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Join us this week when our guest is Mariachi Siete Leguas. They will perform some music and talk to us a little about their history. It should be a festive meeting!
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The Club's annual installation and awards dinner will be next Friday, June 27th at the Wine Room at Pappadeaux. Cocktails start at 6 pm. The opening bell will ring at 6:30 so we can take dinner orders. You and your guest will be able to order a three-course dinner from a menu of selected items. As always, dinner and cocktails are complimentary for you and your guest. Please RSVP with Karen Valdez at kvaldez@inbweb.com.
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Join us this week as Sally Gavlik, Director of McAllen Parks and Recreation, gives the Club an update on projects.
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McAllen South Rotary Club was recently awarded a Presidential Citation with Distinction from Rotary International. This citation is awarded to clubs who have completed specific goals, established by RI, in membership growth, Rotary Foundation participation, and connecting Rotary to the community. Only a handful of clubs qualify for the Presidential Citation each year and this is the first time McAllen South has received this award. Congratulations to all of you for your hard work this year.
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Join us this week as Keith Patridge from the McAllen EDC updates the club on the city's economic development efforts.
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Mr. Rock Stone, (no joke) from the FBI wants to talk to us. I don't know about what, but we better keep our mouth shut. Nobody likes a snitch.
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Join us for happy hour at Tony Roma's North on Thursday, May 22nd from 5 to 9 pm. Complimentary food and drinks will be provided until the budget runs out! Contact Karen Valdez at kvaldez@inbweb.com to RSVP.
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Please mark your calendars, our next service project is on Saturday, May 31st. We pushed the date back a couple of weeks to give folks a better chance to volunteer. Tim Ousley, executive director at the Palm Valley Animal Shelter, is putting a list together of items that badly need attention at the shelter. |
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If you haven't already, please turn in your Crawfish Boil money, including any money for t-shirts you purchased.
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I am excited to submit the following individuals as proposed members of the Club. If you have any comments or concerns, please contact Membership Chair Phil Brown.
Gabrielle Espino - Proposed by Amanda Gomez
Laura Corpus - Proposed by Amanda Gomez
Bob Crow - Proposed by Bob Boggus
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McAllen South Rotary is working with other area clubs to put on the Adoption Awareness Picnic for McAllen. It will be at the The Zone on Sunday, May 18th from 9 am to 12 pm. At least 38 children and 10 to 15 prospective adoptive families will attend this event. If you are interested in attending this event, please contact Betty Lara. It is a private event to protect the children, so you need to contact Betty if you would like to help out. A special thanks to the Memorial High School Interact Club for helping with this event.
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This week we have our very own Dan Worthington who will speak to us about the jury system. Can't wait to see you there!
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This week, we have Diann Whisnand from the Rio Grande Valley Literacy Center.
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The Crawfish Boil is just a few short weeks away. Please pick up your tickets if you haven't already. Several Rotarians have already picked up extra tickets to sell. VIP tables are sold out. This is going to be a great event and we're going to raise a lot of funds for Rotary. Keep it up!
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Join us this week when Laura Corpus, with the Rio Grande Valley Colonoscopy Assistance Program, talks to us about colon cancer. Colon cancer is the nation's second leading cause of cancer deaths, but is also the most treatable and preventable.
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Today is the last day to sign up for a golf team and still order your shirt. After today, you can still sign up, but we can't guarantee you will get your shirt size. Talk to John King about getting signed up.
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Please contact James Credo immediately if you and your family would like to join us at the Killer Bees hockey game on Tuesday. The Club will pick up the cost of tickets. The game starts at 6:30. It will be a fun night for all.
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Tickets for this year's Crawfish Boil will be distributed to Rotarians starting at this week's meeting. Rotarians are expected to sell eigh tickets at $60 each. Invoices for tickets were emailed out to help those who need them for payment. Rotarians who sell 10 tickets will receive one ticket for free. The Crawfish Boil is on Friday, April 11th at the Las Palmas Racepark. Charlie Robison is this year's headliner. You can visit www.thecrawfishboil.com or facebook.com/thecrawfishboil for more details.
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Join us this week as our very own Dr. Cayetano Barrera gives us the story of the early history of the Rio Grande Valley. It promises to be an interesting topic.
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February is Rotary World Understanding Month. This week we welcome Dr. Mohammed Farooqui from the Islamic Society of South Texas as our guest speaker. Dr. Farooqui will speak about the Muslim community in McAllen and Rio Grande Valley.
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Join us this week as the Children’s Advocacy Center of Hidalgo County will visit the club and share with us their work with abused children.
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Comfort House will have their annual Walk-a-Thon on Saturday, February 22nd. Join your fellow McAllen South Rotarians in cooking sausage-on-stick and serving the walkers and volunteers for their fundraising event.
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Join us as Todd Teulon, RN, BSN at Rio Grande Regional Hospital will talk about infection protection.
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Join us for great food, drink and fellowship at this year's Valentine's Party! The event will be held at the Santa Fe Steakhouse from 6:30 to 10:00 p.m. on Saturday, February 15th. Food will be served until 8:30. Hope to see you and your Valentine there! |
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This week we will have Dr. Jungseok Ho from the Civil Engineering Department at the University of Texas Pan American. Dr Ho will discuss computer modeling for Lower Rio Grande Valley flood control and water quality. Its an important topic and hope to see you there.
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Join us this week as Marianella Quiroga-Quintanilla, Director for Sustainability Programs at the University of Texas - Pan American will be our featured speaker. The title of her presentation is Sustainable Economic Development and Smart Sustainable Communities.
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On Saturday, February 15 at 7:30 am we will gather at Comfort House for our next service project. We plan to revitalize the prayer garden and repair a fence. In addition, the Club will also pay for needed repairs and replacement of the sprinkler system. This is going to be a great event with lots of work to do. Tom Polzin is leading the fence repair crew. Roger Stolley is heading up the Prayer Garden crew. Jon Klement and his staff will manage the sprinkler system repairs. Please speak to any of these Rotarians or Service Project Chair Amanda Gomez to volunteer or for more information.
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Our annual Rotary Pool Tournament is set for Thursday, January 23rd at Fast Eddie's on Nolana. We will also have new member orientation right before the tournament begins. The orientation starts at 6 pm. Complimentary food and drinks will be available for Rotarians and your guest. Michael Wingard and Phil Brown have all the details. We hope to see you there.
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IDEA Public Schools is looking for judges for its Science Fair on Saturday, January 18th from 9:00 am to 11:30 am. The science fair will take place at the IDEA College Prep Campus in San Juan. McAllen South Rotary has pledged at least 20 volunteers for this event. Please email jleal@inbweb.com your interest in participating in this event. No science background needed!!
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Saturday, January 25th is Rotary night at the the RGV Vipers. Save the date, and we will get you more details next week on where to get your tickets!
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Join us this week as Rebecca Stocker visits the club to share more about the services provided by the Hope Family Health Center.
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There will be no meeting next week. Enjoy the holidays!
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This week, we will have a very full program so we will start early! We will have our students of the month for October, November and December. We will also have our Rotary Youth Exchange student Camille Delhoux join us to speak about her native Belgium. Finally, we will have the non-profit Kids Talk About God tell us about their program. Don't miss out!
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Join us this week as Texas Monthly BBQ Editor Daniel Vaughn joins to talk to us about the different kinds of BBQ across the state.
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Next week we will have our official Annual Meeting. At this club assembly we will elect next Club year's slate of officers. We will also update the club on our progress on our goals and current finances. Its traditional that this meeting be closed to only club members.
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For you consideration, listed below is the nominated slate of Officers for the 2014 - 2015 Club year. Election of club officers will be held at the Club's Annual Meeting, on Friday, December 13.
President - John King
President Elect - Alvie Britton
Treasurer - Troy Gearhart
Secretary - Dan Worthington
Sgt.-at-Arms - Dirk Westphal
Immediate Past President - Jay Leal
Presidential Advisor - Artie Hughes
Director (Fundraising) - Brandon Wallace
Director (Rotary Foundation) - Michael Wingard
Director (Membership) - Chris Graham
Director (Programs) - Neil Westerman
Director (Fellowships) - George Kuhn
Director (Public Relations) - Melyanne Martin
Director (Service Projects) - Amanda Gomez
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We will not have a Club meeting next week. Enjoy your Thanksgiving!
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This week Paul Chapman joins us to speak about Stress and Decision Making. It should be a wonderfully thought provoking discussion.
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Join us for our next fellowship at Flamingo Bowl on Thursday, November 21st at 6 pm. We will have complimentary bowling, beer and food. It promises to be a good time. If you have any questions, contact event Chair Armondo Brenen.
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Oktoberfest Chair Reid Markle is happy to report we raised more than $27,000 at this year's event. Congratulations to the the entire club! Thank you for everyone's help at the event.
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Join us this week when the Rotary Foundation District Chair Andy Hagan visits the club. Andy will talk to us about the work the Foundation is doing and ways we can help.
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Tomorrow, Saturday, November 16th, we need everyone's participation for a great service project to help needy children. Our Club has donated funds for this event and Betty Lara helped get a district grant to provide shoes for over 1000 children. Now we need your assistance to properly size the children for their new shoes and to feed them and their families.
Please contact John King to confirm your volunteer time. If you have questions about the event, you can ask John or Betty Lara. |
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Join us as fellow Rotarian and certified financial planner Artie Hughes leads this week's program.
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Early voting for the Texas Constitutional Amendements along with the South Texas College and City of McAllen bond elections ends today at 7 pm. Election Day is Tuesday. Exercise your right to vote.
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The Veterans War Memorial dedication will be on Monday, November 11th at 11 am. The McAllen Rotary Clubs and Rotary District 5930 contributed funds to erect the monument to honor those who gave their life in service of this country. We invite you and your family to come out to this wonderful event.
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Oh what a night! This year's Oktoberfest was a great success. Chairman Reid Markle will prepare final numbers to share with the club. Thank you to everyone who came to setup, cook and to serve at the event. Please turn in any outstanding ticket or sponsorship money before November 15th.
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Join us as Gayle Reger, Executive Director of the Ronald McDonald House Charities of the Rio Grande Valley speaks to the club about the activities of the charities.
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Brandon Wallace has invited Ricardo Gomez, with Xella Aircrete North America to speak to us about aerated concrete products. It promises to be a solid presentation.
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Can you believe that Oktoberfest is NEXT THURSDAY! Make sure to sell your tickets and get all your friends and family to come out! It's going to be a great time. Come by the sign in table at today's meeting to pick a volunteer slot to work the evening.
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Join us today to learn more about the South Texas College bond election this November. STC Board of Trustees Gary Gurwitz, District 4, and Paul Rodriguez, District 3 will speak to the Club about this important election. You can also visit http://bond2013.southtexascollege.edu/ to read more.
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This week we welcome Coach Dan Hipsher from the UTPA Bronc Basketball team. Coach Hipsher will tell us about the Broncs program and about prospects for its inaugural season in the WAC.
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This week's meeting will be at Quinta Mazatlan where we will learn more about a new Paleolithic trail to be installed with funds from the McAllen South Rotary Club, our Rotary district and the City of McAllen. We will present a check to Quinta and it promises to be a special event. Catering will be provided by Macaroni Grill.
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We have a new proposed member. If you have any comments or concerns, please direct them to Membership Committee Chair Phil Brown.
Brenda Bocanegra
Human Resources Manager
Idea Public Schools
Proposed by Misty Martin.
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Larry Tidwell is in his first season as the head coach of the Broncs women's basketball team. This his 37th season in coaching both at the high school and college levels, almost exclusively in Texas, and he has a career record of 669-321. Coach Tidwell has had 31 winning seasons, including 21 postseason appearances, winning three coach of the year awards, three conference tournament championships and two regular season conference championships along the way. Coach Tidwell came to UTPA from Lamar, where he spent the last six years turning around their program both on and off the court before leaving as the most successful coach in program history.
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Director of Aviation for the McAllen-Miller International Airport Phil Brown will update the club on expansion at the airport.
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Rotary International recently launched a completely redesigned website and introduced an updated logo. If you had a logon to the old site, you will be prompted to create a new profile.
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Oktoberfest is just six weeks away. Reid Markle and the Oktoberfest Planning Committee are working to put on the best Oktoberfest in years! To spark up excitment for this year's event, we will pass out tickets to members this Friday. That will give us plenty of time to sell tickets and get the word out about our fantastic fundraiser. Each club member will be responsibile for selling 10 tickets this year. Tickets will be $40 and still include all food, drinks and entertainment.
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Join us as aviation and technical security expert and consultant, Rich Roth speaks to the Club. Rich Roth is the Executive Director And Chief Operating Officer of CTI with over 35 years of experience in the field of security. Mr. Roth has been a trainer for the U.S. State Department's Anti-terrorism Assistance Program (ATAP) as well as for the U.S.Sheriff Association's High Security Trials program. He is an instructor on the development of security plans and procedures, and also conducts physical security assessments and bomb search and evacuation procedures. Starting later in September, Rich can be heard every other Saturday as the Host of the Radio Talk Show, The Philosophy of Security, where he and his guests will talk about on going security issues around the world.
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Bill Stewart from the NAHL Rio Grande Valley Killer Bees will join us to bring us up to date on the new team, the new league and the new season.
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Our annual skeetshoot and fellowship is scheduled for Thursday, August 29th at the Mission Skeet and Trap Club. For those shooting, please bring your own shells and protection for your eyes and ears. The pistol range will also be available for those who want to target practice. The cooking crew will be in full force so you know there will be some good food and cold drinks available. The Mission Skeet and Trap Club is located south of Expressway 83 on Conway Rd. We will get started around 6 pm. See you there.
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Gary Barlow will discuss new cancer treatments available which may be more effective with fewer side effects.
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If you haven't already, please pay your membership dues. Please don't make us come after you.
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Our first hands on service project of the club year is scheduled for Saturday, September 14 at Camp Perry in Rio Hondo. McAllen South will assist the Scouts with renovations to their facilities and help donate a wheelchair lift for their swimming pool. We will cap the day off with a BBQ fellowship. For more information, please see Project Chair, Laura Warren-Olgetree.
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McAllen Economic Development Corporation President Keith Patridge will provide us an update on the activities of the EDC.
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This week we are back at the McAllen Country Club for a visit from our Rotary District 5930 Governor Maxie Houser. Maxie will update us on the latest news from the district and Rotary International.
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Join us next Thursday at The Office Bar and Grill for a Rotary Happy Hour. We will have complementary appetizers and discounted drinks from 6 pm to 8 pm. You are more than welcome to invite guests to join us. The Office is located one block west of 10th St on Pecan St. Let Karen Valdez, Fellowship Chair, if you have plans to attend so we can make sure to have plenty of food. Kindly email her at kvaldez@inbweb.com by Wednesday.
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We are on the road again for this week's meeting. Join us at the McAllen Public Library where architect Bob Simpson and Library Director Kate Horan will discuss what makes our McAllen library unique. There will be an opportunity to tour the facility after the presentation. Did I mention we will have steak for lunch from Tony Roma's?
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Join us this week as we welcome new McAllen Mayor Jim Darling to the McAllen South Rotary Club. Due to construction at the McAllen Country Club, our club meeting will be at the McAllen Chamber of Commerce, 1100 Ash St. Catering will be by Alberico Fine Wine
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The date for Oktoberfest is set! Mark your calendar for Thursday, Oktober 24th at the Las Palmas Racepark. Committee Chair Reid Markle is recruiting volunteers to help him put this fantastic fundraiser on. If you are interested in helping plan this event, or if your business would like to be a sponsor for Oktoberfest, you can email Reid at rmarkle@select-staff.com.
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We are on the road again for our meeting on July 26th. Join us at the McAllen Public Library where architect Bob Simpson and Library Director Kate Horan will discuss what makes our McAllen library unique. There will be an opportunity to tour the facility after the presentation. Catering will be by Tony Roma’s.
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This club year marks the 40th anniversary of the McAllen South Rotary Club. Since 1973, the McAllen South Rotary has assembled business and community leaders for the purpose of service above self. We became Rotarians because we each believe success is not only a measure of bank accounts and titles, but rather, how we have helped our neighbor; how we’ve built a stronger community; and, how we’ve touched each other’s lives. This Club year, I am calling on us to refocus our efforts on service.
In honor of our club’s 40th anniversary, I am asking each of us commit to volunteering at least 40 hours of community service this year. Whether its directly through Rotary, or through your church, business, or another service organization, will you commit to invest at least 40 hours in your community? I am looking forward to a wonderfully successful club year filled with service, fellowship and great times.
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The meeting room we normally use for our Friday meetings will be undergoing some renovations. So instead, we will meet Friday, July 12 in the Founders Room. This is the meeting room in the northwest corner, just past the dining room. On Friday, July 19th, we will hold our meeting at the McAllen Chamber of Commerce and on Friday, July 26th our meeting will be across town at the McAllen Public Library. We hope to be back at the Country Club in August.
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PROPOSED NEW MEMBERS: Armando Martinez, Jr. - Commercial Banking Tim Ousley - Director, Palm Valley Animal Center Maria Cameron Martinez - Marketing & Advertising |
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This week's jackpot is at least $563. Good luck! |
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We will ratify a new club constitution at the Club meeting on Friday. Changes to the constitution were mandated by Rotary International and will be emailed to all club members before the meeting. |
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The following slate of candidates has been nominated for the 2013 - 2014 Board of Directors. Election will be held at the Club's meeting on Friday, December 21st. President - Jay Leal |
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Bring the kids to a very special program this week. Palm Valley Animal Shelter will have an adoption showcase starting at 11 am. You will get to see first hand pets which are available for adoption. PVAC will be at the McAllen Country Club until 3 pm to help you adopt a new pet or you to accept your donations. |
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You and your guest are invited to an evening of catered dinner & holiday spirits. Please join your fellow Rotarians for laughter and cheer December 11 from 5:30 to 8:30 pm at the Republic of the Rio Grande, 1411 South 10th St. Please send your RSVP today to misty.martin@ideapublicschools.org |
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On an otherwise calm Sunday morning on December 7, 1941, the Japanese shocked the world by bombing the American naval base at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii.
This 'dastardly attack' was the turning point for America. On December 8, the nation was gathered around its radios to hear President Roosevelt deliver his Day of Infamy speech. That same day, Congress declared war on Japan. On December 11, Congress declared war on Germany. Flags around the country will fly at half staff in observation of this event which plunged us into World War II. |
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Sugar & Spice is McAllen Memorial High School’s new freshmen and sophomore women’s show choir. Many of these students are also involved in athletics, “The Pajama Game” musical, yearbook, as well as auditioning for the Texas All-State Choir. Sugar & Spice is made up of the following ladies Draik Banks, Imelda Reimer, Andrea Lopez, Salma Cantu, Arianna Gonzalez, Jordan Standard, Cynthia Fu, Miranda Saenz, Brooke Baus, Erica Salinas, Daniela Pacheco, Krystal Villareal, Briana Hernandez, Natalie Young, Gina De La Garza, Caroline Dietz, Vanessa Jinks, and Mary Osorio. Kelly Hinojosa is their director. She has been at Memorial High School for 5 years. She also teaches the freshman Choir and the Varsity Treble Choirs at Memorial High School. |
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This week, we will have our Rotary Club Assembly Meeting & Budget Update. We are also pleased to welcome William Brinsdon, inventor of the "Seat Buddy". |
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The following are proposed new members of the McAllen South Rotary Club. Ryan Solis, Attorney John David Davenport, Jr. Classification - Commercial Construction Management Joby Mills Classification - Banking Trust Services If you have any comments about these proposed members, please contact Charles Marina. |
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This week we welcome Robert L. Olivarez, who is the founder and CEO of Vanguard Academy, a charter school in Pharr.
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Please see James Credo to sign up for your shift at Oktoberfest. We have a couple dozen Rotarians who have yet to sign up. We have more available shifts than last year's Oktoberfest because we need Rotarians to serve beer. Now how fun would that be?? Oktoberfest is next Thursday, so hopefully you have sold your tickets. VIP tablets are sold out! If you are on Facebook, make sure to like the OktoberfestRGV page. Can't wait for next week!
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This week we have a double header! Our featured speaker is Roy Balli, a DPS certified concealed hand gun law instructor. He will discuss important aspects of the concealed hand gun law and what you can legally do to protect your personal safety.
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Hidalgo County Judge Ramon Garcia will speak to the club about the upcoming county draining referendum and outline why this project is vital to citizens of the county.
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Folks! Oktoberfest is just two weeks away. How are you doing with your ticket sales? Momentum is building for this event. People are talking about it on Facebook; VIP tables are almost sold out (I believe we only have one $1000 table left.) This is going to be a great event. We will have students from both Memorial HS' Interact Club and STC help at the event this year to make sure everything runs smoothly. We have a sign up sheet at today's meeting. Please sign up for a time slot to help out at the event. If you have any questions, please ask committee chairs Melayne & Misty Martin.
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Louis Maresca is the Director of the Rapid Response Manufacturing Center at the University of Texas Pan American. Rapid Response Manufacturing Center is critical to economic development for the South Texas and all of North America. Rapid Response Manufacturing integrates technologies, management, and systems that significantly improve the speed to market of new and refreshed products, speed in response to customer needs, and demand for customized products at mass produced prices and quick delivery time.
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Dr. Ken Romano will join us this week and give us some insights to the University of Phoenix campus located in Sharyland.
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Oktoberfest is less than THREE weeks away! Brent Smith will distribute tickets to members again today, so make sure to check in with him so you have plenty of time to sell.
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We are excited to propose another new member to our Rotary Club.
Dr. Sobia Nasir - Medical Doctor Proposed by Charles Marina If you have any comments or concerns about the proposed member joining our Club, please contact membership chair Pat Risica. |
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For eight years Veronica Gonzales has represented the Rio Grande Valley in the Texas State Legislature. Now, she will represent the Valley's largest university, The University of Texas-Pan American, as its vice president for University Advancement. Veronica will speak to the Club about her new role.
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This week, we welcome guest speaker Erasmo Martinez Martinez who heads the Mexican consulate here in McAllen. He will discuss the services they provide and give some insight to the current state of Mexico.
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Here are some handy resources online which were discussed at last week's meeting. If you have any questions about Rotary resources online, please don't hesitate to ask.
Rotary.org's information on how to make up a meeting - http://bit.ly/OfJFEv Make up a meeting online with the One World Rotary Club - http://www.OneWorldRotary.org ClubRunner iOS App allows you to view the McAllen South Rotary Club directory - http://itunes.apple.com/ca/app/clubrunner/id434696377?mt=8 Rotary Club Locator App for iOS and Android helps locate Rotary Clubs and meeting times worldwide - http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/rotary-club-locator/id406614602?mt=8 or https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.clubfinder&hl=en |
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We are very excited to have Dr. Guy Janin join us for a very special talk about his work in space and the future manned flights. Dr. Janin holds a Master in Theoretical Physics from the University of Lausanne, a PhD in Astrophysics from the University of Geneva and post-doctoral studies in Stellar Dynamics and Cosmology at the University of Texas at Austin. He was a Mission Analyst at the Operations Center of the European Space Agency (ESA), Darmstadt, Germany, and worked with both NASA and the Japanese Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA).
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It's time for our annual Club Skeet Shoot! Come join us Thursday, August 30th at 6 pm at the Mission Skeet & Trap Club for this fun fellowship. There will be food, drinks and of course skeet shooting. Bring your own gun and shells and we will take care of the rest. The Mission Skeet & Trap Club is located a 1/2 mile south of Expressway 83 on Conway Ave. Check out pictures from last year's skeet shoot online. If you have any questions, just talk to Tim Johnstone. See you there!
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Marine biologist, naturalist, and author, Tony Reisinger has spent most of his career as a marine extension agent with Texas Sea Grant. He holds a Master’s degree in Biology from the University of Texas at Brownsville, and serves on the Gorgas Science Foundation board of directors. He will discuss the current state of our coastal fishery.
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McAllen South Rotary welcomes back Dr. Nicolas Salameh to our Club. Dr. Salameh gave us a very memorable presentation the last time he was with us, so we can't wait to see what he does next.
Dr. R. Nicolas Salameh is a urologist with over 20 years of experience in private practice. He currently practices at Salameh Urology Institute in McAllen, Texas. His areas of expertise are general urology, microscopic surgery and pelvic reconstruction, erectile dysfunction, stress incontinence, and other urologic problems including various prostate and bladder surgeries. |
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New members are the life blood of a growing and successful club. Please take a moment to think of someone you would like to invite to a meeting. Please follow the rules, making no promises of membership at the point of an invitation. Invite your guest, ask them what they think and if they would like to learn more about Rotary. Provide your guest with information, share what is expected, i.e., working at fund raisers, selling tickets and having a good time. Let’s build goodwill and better friendships with those we know and trust.
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We are happy to announce two new proposed members to our Club. If you have any comments or concerns about these proposed members, please contact Membership Chair Pat Risica. David DeGroot, Attorney Civil Litigation |
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Please welcome to our Club Kristin DeGroot. Kristin will speak (and hopefully demonstrate) how the voice is used a musical instrument.
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Congratulations to Paul Rodriguez on his unanimous selection to the South Texas College Board of Trustees. Paul will serve out the remainder of Mike Allen's term until 2016.
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Earth has a very interesting past. Dr. Gerling's fascinating discussion will focus on what we know about the Earth and how we know it. Don't miss what will be an interesting topic.
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Dr. Ali Esmaeili is the Dean of Developmental Studies at South Texas College. Dr. Esmaeili will discuss the current state of Iran.
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Karen Valdez was recently honored by Leadership McAllen with the Alex P. Longoria Leadership Award. The award is given annually to an outstanding recipient who dedication and commitment have helped to improve the quality of life in McAllen. Congrats Karen!
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Rotarian Bob Simpson helped with the design of the new McAllen Public Library. The new library is the largest single story library in the country. It has won awards for its interior design and accolades around the world for its reuse of an abandoned building. Check out this article which shares some of the story about our beautiful library. Congrats Bob on your wonderful contribution to our city!
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A special congratulations to the recipients of Paul Harris Fellows awards at last month's installation banquet. The Club honors members with Paul Harris Fellows for extraordinary service to the Club and community.
Joe Aleman
Dr. Cayetano Barrera
Phil Brown
Roberto Gonzalez
Cam Henry
John King
Jay Leal
Charles Marina
Melayne Martin
Laura Warren-Olgetree
Tom Polzin
Army SPC Kurt Kern - Memorial High School |
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Rotarian Laura Warren Olgetree will provide us an update on improvements at Comfort House. Laura's architecture office has been working with the organization for over a year to make improvements to their facilities. Comfort House is a non-profit which provides care to the terminally ill.
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Rafael arrived in Texas in 1957 with nothing but the clothes on his back and one hundred dollars sewn into his underwear. Learn how Rafael worked his way through school and built a small business in pursuit of the American Dream. His son, Ted Cruz, is now seeking the Republican nomination for US Senate.
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In what was one of the most dramatic raffles in recent memory, Rotarian Pat McCarty won the big $2700 jackpot this past Thursday. The evening started with only two cards left in the deck. The first raffle ticket picked belonged to Rotarian Michael Wingard. Luck was not on his side when he unable to pick out the King of Spades. The next ticket drawn belonged to Pat and with only one card to choose from, he was the automatic winner.
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Congratulations to Patrick Risica on being named the 2012 Rotarian of the Year. Pat was honored for both his work as chair of The Crawfish Boil fundraiser and his unwavering dedication to the Club. Pat is a five time Paul Harris Fellow and has served on numerous committees, as well as, the Board of Directors for many years.
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Last week was the annual installation banquet. We had wonderful attendance for the event at the McAllen Country Club on Thursday, June 28th.
Club officers for the new club year were inducted. This is the Board of Directors for the 2012-2013 Club year. President - Charles Marina President-Elect - Jay Leal Treasurer - John King Secretary - Alvie Britton Past President - Brad Benter Presidential Adviser - Robert Simpson Director - Armondo J. Brennan Director - Amanda Gomez Director - Tom Polzin Director - Patrick W. Risica Director - Michael Wingard Director - Thomas Wingate Jr. Sergeant at Arms - Patrick Bason Sergeant at Arms - Kevin Picou |
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Congratulations to Rotarian James Credo & his wife Jaygee on the birth of their first child, Kaylee on Sunday, May 15th. Mom & daughter are doing well.
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Attending club meetings allows Rotarians to enjoy their club's fellowship, enrich their professional and personal knowledge, and meet other business leaders in their community. Rotary policy requires members to attend at least 50% of club meetings in each half of the year. If you miss a club meeting, you are encouraged to expand your Rotary horizons by attending a make-up meeting at any Rotary club 14 days before or after your missed meeting. Rotarians can also make up meetings by participating in a club service project, attending a club board meeting or a Rotaract / Interact club meeting, or attending an online meeting at one of several Rotary e-clubs. Four consecutive absences or attending fewer than 50% of club meetings may be considered your request to terminate membership in our club. If you have any questions about your attendance, please contact Secretary John King. |
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The date for the installation banquet has been set! Mark your calendars for Thursday, June 23rd at 7 p.m. Our Club’s installation Banquet will be at BarCelona, a wonderful Spanish restaurant located just north of the Chase bank tower on 11th St. This year’s banquet will be business casual and feature a delectable array of hors d'oeuvres and cocktails. Invitations will follow soon, but this will be one installation banquet you won’t want to miss.
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Congratulations to Memorial High School seniors who were awarded McAllen South Rotary Club Scholarships in the amount of $2000. President Phil Brown made the presentations at the Memorial High School Scholarship Awards Assembly last week. Paola Morales |
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Ayee! We had another successful Crawfish Boil! Thank you for selling tickets, decorating the convention center and helping out the day of the event. Although our Club sold 200 fewer tickets, overall 2,739 tickets were sold for the event. After expenses, The Crawfish Boil raised almost $29,915. McAllen South will keep $20,800 to use for our charitable activities. Please turn in your ticket money if you haven't already.
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Please welcome our own Phil Brown and his staff to give us an update on the McAllen Miller International Airport.
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Today will be presented a Heart of the City Update from Eve-Jean Dalton and Joe Rodriquez.
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Remember, tonight is Crawfish Boil, but we still have a meeting and a program this afternoon! Olga Gabriel, with the Texas A&M Medical Campus in McAllen, will be joining us to let us know about the programs and benefits of the campus. |
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Remember, folks! Phil announced that we will not have a meeting this Friday in observance of Good Friday. Have a safe, happy Easter with your family and friends. See you next week! He is risen! |
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Catia Hernandez from Holiday Wine and Liquor will be giving a wine tasting and giving a short class on Wine 101.
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This weeks program is to be Gabriela Reyna. She is the program coordinator for Keep McAllen Beautiful. She will be talking about the programs they provide and recycling efforts here in McAllen.
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Always a treat, we welcome Dr. John Gerling to share his thought of a Nuclear Renaissance... Mmmmm... Nuclear Family? I glow in the dark, do you?
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Reserve your tickets now for the Rotary luncheon of a lifetime! Friday March 25th at the McAllen Country Club, a heavyweight showdown between two undefeated (in their minds) former Rotary presidents in a debate to the death. In the blue corner, with a perfect record of 35-0, the Great White Hope of debate - Arthur Hughes... And in the red corner, with a record of 30-0, all wins by knockout, a man whose wit floats like a butterfly and his verbal jabs sting like a bee, George Kuhn.
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We will have the B.L. Gray Middle School Chess Team who will be competing in the National Chess Championships in Columbus, Ohio. Their Chess Master (coach) will speak about the teams and I will probably have the 12 kids challenge some Rotarians. It should be fun.
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Not sure what it will be, or if there is one... But I'll bet it will be informative and interesting!
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I received this late last night from John King, program chair for March... "I was at a meeting a few weeks ago and I realized out of the entire room, I didn't really know but maybe 20% of the members. I had no idea what they did for a living and for some, I didn't even know their names. I asked some other Rotarians at the table and they all agreed. After all, we all have to stand in front of everyone and introduce ourselves but we never hear from the established members of the club. So manana, I am going to change that. No speaker. I am going to have members sit at random tables, not with their usual clique and we are going to have people meet each other, talk about what they do, exchange business cards, whatever. Who knows, maybe we will meet someone in an industry that we need help in. It may drive business, it may bring out new friendships, who knows?" |
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Who is the program this Friday? You, and you, and you are! That's right... Club Assembly! Jamie Whittemore and the Strategic Planning Committee have listened, thought, and thought some more, and come up with some suggestions for making this club better going forward. Don't miss this... be there, or be square!
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Speaking to us today will be the Honorable John David Franz, Mayor of Hidalgo, TX. His topic is upcoming historical and traditional BorderFest festivities. Also... THIS is the week the RYLA participants we sponsored will visit with us. |
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Our guest speaker for Feburary 4, 2011 will be the Texas State Guard, there is a presentation by Paul Petit and guard members, and additionally they will play and project a video presentation on Rabies and Vaccination Program. There will also be a brief presentation from the two RYLA students that we are sponsoring from Memorial High School: Erik Meckel and Katelyn Whelan. |
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It's a SUPER SuperBowl Party!!! Sunday, Feb 6, 2011 @ Dale's store!! Festivities to begin around 4:00pm and to conclude at the end of the game. Please RSVP so he can arrange to have enough food & drink on hand for everyone. This is not exclusively a McAllen South Rotary event, spouses and significant others are also invited. Office Furniture USA Email Dale at dbwmasterofdelight@yahoo.com |
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Our speaker for this Friday will be Mr. Ray Rivera, Agent in Charge of the McAllen Office of the ATF. He will speak to us about weapons trafficking in our region.
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RYLA for District 5930 is this weekend in Mathis and our Club is sponsoring two Memorial High School students who are attending the event. RYLA (Rotary Youth Leadership Awards) is Rotary's leadership training program for young people. Memorial High School Junior Erik Meckel is treasurer of the Interact Club, and is active in the Key Club, Science Club, Mock Trial and National Honors Society. Memorial High School Junior Katelyn Whelan is Student Council Vice President and is active in National Honors Society and Fellowship of Christian Athletes. Rotarians Jay Leal and Kristina Hernandez will help chaperone the weekend long event. |
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Congratulations to Rotarians Eric Curran and Ashley Rush who were married last weekend. May your love and friendship grow throughout the years. Best wishes from your Rotarian friends!
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Please welcome James J. Ponce, Ed. D., Superintendent of Schools MISD. Dr. Ponce oversees 34 schools, 25,164 students and 3,347 employees, including multiple departments and programs. Beginning his career as a bilingual teacher, he served as a high school assistant principal, an elementary principal and directed the Reading First Program.
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Please welcome Mrs. Pat Blum as our speaker for Jan 14. She will speak to us about the Children's Advocacy Center of Hidalgo Inc. (aka Estrella's House), and their upcoming February fundraiser, "Vinos". |
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This Friday's speaker will be Pastor Tim Ousley. He has served as pastor of the North Mission Church of Christ for the past 18 years. He will give us a pep talk about when Rotarians serve the community, we serve God.
www.northmissionchurch.org |
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Please turn in your Oktoberfest ticket and sponsorship money as soon as possible. Each day you wait to turn in your money is a day that your Rotary Club is unable to fund its charitable work. If you need to make payment arrangements, please see Treasurer Charles Marina.
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Oktoberfest Chairman Jerry Wight would like to extend a sincere thank you to the Club for all the hard work everyone put in to make this year's event a resounding success. The event was planned for 1,500 people, but over 2,000 people showed up! Not only did they show up, but they also bought all 350 beer mugs we had available. The comments from those that attended have been extremely positive. Several folks have posted comments and pictures on our Facebook page. Laura Long Ribera wrote, “We had a blast!” while Jason A. Powell wrote, “Great event! This will definitely be a yearly tradition for my group.” If you haven’t joined our 1200+ member strong page, go to facebook.com/OktoberfestRGV. In all, we took in over $19,000 at the door. It will be a week or two before we have final numbers, but we expect to have raised almost $25,000 for our scholarship and charitable programs. So thank you for selling tickets, selling sponsorships, and helping before/during/after the event. |
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I know we are coming off of a big fundraising event... We are all tired. All the more reason to come, have lunch, and listen to a fabulous program... Even if I'm a little more than biased. ;-D
Speaking to us this week is Monica Folk, Executive Director for the Valley Symphony Orchestra & Chorale. She will explain why the VSO is much more than just public concerts. |
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We have discovered an issue where some members may have been double charged when using their credit card to pay dues, tickets or meals. Please review your bank statement. If you believe you have been double charged, please contact Charles Marina. |
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This Friday we welcome District 5930 Governor Gilbert Serna (shown here with his wife, Daya). Gilbert is past-president of the Laredo Gateway Rotary Club.
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This week we welcome Kristi Collier from Welcome Home RGV. She will be talking about Winter Texans.
We will also have a brief presentation from our Rotary September Students of the Month. The boy is Christopher Nyugen and the girl is Rebecca Basaldua. They are both IB students (International Baccalaureate). |
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The McAllen North Rotary Club is holding their annual Jamaican Me Crazy! funraising event this Saturday, September 11th at the Las Palmas Racepark. Ticketsare $40 and include food, drink and a chance to win an iPad. Please see a McAllen North Rotarian for more information or to purchase tickets.
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We have launched a new Club website. The new website is easier to navigate and features a cover story which we will use to promote all the wonderful activities the Club does throughout the year. Check out the photo galleries we have put up. If you have additional photos you would like to share on the Club website, just get them over to Jay Leal and he will be more than happy to get them online.
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Remember that we will meet at the McAllen Convention Center this week!
This week we welcome our own Dr. John Gerling, who will be talking about... Me! Er... I mean, Genetically Mutated Organisms. Don't miss this one! John is ALWAYS interesting. |
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Hidalgo County Judge Rene Ramirez Hidalgo County Judge Rene Ramirez will join us to discuss flooding along the Rio Grande River and how the County is preparing for the next natural disaster. |
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Rotarian Jamie Whittemore has agreed to lead the committee to develop a Club Strategic Plan. He is charged with developing a document which will provide the direction for the Club for the next few years. Jamie will assemble a committee comprised of non-board members to poll and focus group the Club to identify strengths and weaknesses in the activities the Club participates in today. The strategic plan document is due by the end of the new Club year and the current board will be tasked with approving it. If you have comments or would like to participate in the committee, please contact Jamie.
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Invoices have gone out for the 2010 - 2011 Rotary Club year dues. Club dues have increased from $250 to $275 this year to cover increases in Rotary International fees. Please take care of your dues in a timely manner. |
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Please take a moment to update your information in the club directory. If you do not have access to the Club website, please see Club Secretary Jay Leal with any updates you my have. He will also be available at the Club meeting to take photos for those who do not have a picture posted in the directory. A printed photo directory will be printed and distributed to Club members soon.
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It is with great sadness we announce, Margaret 'Peggy' Talbert, wife of Van Talbert, passed away early Monday morning after a lengthy battle with cancer. A memorial service will be held on Saturday, July 24, at 10:30 a.m. at the First Presbyterian Church in McAllen. A reception will follow in the Fellowship Hall. First Presbyterian Church is located near the Chase bank tower at 12th and Austin Streets. In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made to the First Presbyterian Church Memorial Fund or McAllen Memorial Library.
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Paul Harris Fellows:
Chris Hettler Karen Valdez John Gerling Brad Benter Tim Honeycutt Eric Currant Star Achiever Award: Pat Risica Member of the Year: David Valadez President's Message: One last note of THANKS for all the wonderful support and allowing me to be your 2009-2010 Club President. Your loyal and dedicated support to our Board made this a successful year of growth. Through this year I earned a new level of respect to our club's Past Presidents and forever be thankful for the irreplaceable opportunity in walking a year in their shoes. My best wishes to Phil, my great friend, I know your wisdom and vision will bring wonderful ideas to our club and will take it to the next level. Yours in Rotary, Laura Nassri Warren |
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Thank you for all that came out to Amberjacks's last night for the final fellowship for the Club year. The turnout was great and the food was delicious. A special thank you to Pat Risica and the Fellowship committee for the outstanding job they did all year long with our gatherings.
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As many of you know, McAllen Memorial counselor Tivo Gonzalez has been doing a fantastic job with the Interact Club, the Rotary Club for high school students. Please keep Tivo in your thoughts and prayers as he was recently diagnosed with cancer. He is currently receiving chemo therapy treatment in Houston.
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McAllen South Rotary Club Cordially Invites You To Attend Our
2012-2013 Installation & Awards Banquet
Thursday, June 27th
6:30 p.m. Reception & Cash Bar 7:00 p.m. Dinner
McAllen Country Club-Ballroom 615 Wichita Avenue McAllen, Texas |
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Our own Charles Marina, CCIM, CRB, GRI of First American Realty Company will be giving a State of the Real Estate Market.
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Our speaker is Dr. Jose Gonzalez, Principal of Cathey Middle School. In the future, I will be putting the speakers into the speaker section of the website which displays to the left of this section. You can click the link for a particular program/speaker for more information if it has been provided by the individual program chairs. Please let me know if this is not to your liking. I will have to miss this week, as I'm attending the Willow Creek Global Leadership Summit. See you next week! |
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Do you have a motorcycle at home? Scooter? Fast moped? Okay, maybe a bicycle with a lawnmower engine on the front wheel... Dust it off and let's ride! Date: Saturday, July 23, 2011 |
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Today we welcome Othal E. Brand, Jr. He will be discussing the ongoing City vs. Water District ordeal.
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Greetings from Kansas City!!! I'll see you all next week. This week, Rich Roth will be joining us. He is a security consultant, and will be focusing on the state of security, discussing issues relative to public and private security. |
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As reported at last week's meeting, the program will be another round of discussions to forward our strategic planning process. Many thanks to President Phil for his service this year, and a hearty welcome (and the good luck wishes that go along with it) to incoming President Brad! |
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What better way to cap off a short week than to have lunch with friends and hear speakers Dora Brown and Jesse De Leon talk about Operation Care Drop? Well, I can't think of anything...
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Sorry about no bulletin last week. I was notified too late about the (lack) of a speaker. On to this week... Our speakers are Patti and Crystal Felici, who will be talking about Holistic Medicine: A mind, body, spirit approach. |
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Someone, don't know who, will be talking to us about the Culinary Arts Program at ST(C)C.
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As in Bob and Doug McKenzie trying to list the 12 Days of Christmas... This week is a "mystery day"... You'll have to show up to know what the program is.
Good day! And, "Take off" for Christmas!! Seriously, I wish everyone a Blessed Season. Remember, no meeting next TWO weeks! |
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This week we welcome Vince Erickson, Sports Desk Reporter for KRGV News. His philosophy is "make it informative, make it fun, and make it worth the viewers’ time." I certainly enjoy his reporting.
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I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving break!
This should be a great program! We welcome Ernesto Carballo, Scout Executive for the Rio Grande Council of the Boy Scouts of America, who will speak to the centennial celebration of BSA. |
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Club Assembly!! Jamie Whittemore will help us cuss and discuss the results of the Strategic Planning Survey. Be sure to attend because without your input, there is no one to blame but yourself if the club isn't what you would like it to be.
Tom Polzin says he still has a few Oktoberfest t-shirts available (XL and XXL) for purchase. $10 each. |
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Linda McKenna, successful business and community leader, is now the new President and CEO of the Valley Chamber. Linda has great leadership qualities and governmental affairs experience that will enable her to increase visibility to the region and be a tremendous force in legislative advocacy.
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Welcome Mike Rhodes. Mike created Bentsen Palm Development 2,600-acre Master Planned Conservation Development., located at the entrance to Bentsen-RGV State Park in south Mission, Texas.
Mike is currently in the process of launching Alliance River Crossing, his second South Texas development; Alliance River Crossing is located at the entrance to Alliance International Bridge, also known as the Donna-Rio Bravo International. |
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Did you know, that one female cat and her offspring, can theoretically produce 420,000 cats!?! Give a warm welcome to Darin Landrum, Executive Director for the Palm Valley Animal Center, who knows this... and much more!
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This week we welcome McAllen City Manager Mike Perez, who will be speaking about (I assume) the City of McAllen.
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This week our topic is a favorite among many of you... Killer Bee Hockey, as presented by Coach Chris Brooks.
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We move our meeting back to the Country Club this week... Let's hope the air conditioning holds up!
This week, Mike Blum and our own (DJ) Roger Stolley will talk to us about retail in the Rio Grande Valley. |
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Don't forget!! This week we will have a club assembly, featuring Jamie Whittemore and his strategic planning committee. Don't miss it!
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Jerry Wight is the Chair for this year's Oktoberfest. We will have a committee meeting Thursday, September 2nd at the Inter National Bank Building, 6th floor. We need lots of volunteers and would love to have you attend this meeting. Inter National Bank is at 1801 S 2nd St, across from Embassy Suites.
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Our regular club meeting on Friday, September 10 will not be at the McAllen Country Club. We will have our meeting at the McAllen Convention Center.
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This Friday's speaker is Petty Officer Adamn Yanez. Adamn is with the US Coast Guard, stationed at South Padre Island.
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Today we welcome Officer Jorge Cabrera, a representative from the Mission Gang Resistance Education and Training (G.R.E.A.T.) Program. G.R.E.A.T. has been nation-wide since 1992, and I remember having an officer come talk to our home-school group back in the late 90's to talk to our kids. "Great" program, and I still have the t-shirt, too.
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Happy Friday the 13th!!
Today a speaker from Mariachi 7 Leguas is coming! |
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This Friday we welcome Gayle Spurr to speak to our club. Gayle is currently the President of Rotary Club of Alexandria, VA with 141 members making it the largest club in Northern Virginia.
Gayle will be giving us a report on the RI Convention.
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Please welcome Mr. Guadalupe Navarro, Assistant Chief Appraiser for Hidalgo County Appraisal District.
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This week, we welcome Victoria Hirschberg, Marketing Director, and Ralph Garcia, VP for Business Recruitment & Expansion from the McAllen Economic Development Corporation.
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Help us welcome Mr. Rene Guerra, District Attorney, who will speak to the current county issues with law enforcement.
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Here's a recap of the awards passed out at the recent Installation Banquet:
Paul Harris Fellows: Chris Hettler Karen Valdez John Gerling Brad Benter Tim Honeycutt Eric Currant Star Achiever Award: Pat Risica Member of the Year: David Valadez President's Message: One last note of THANKS for all the wonderful support and allowing me to be your 2009-2010 Club President. Your loyal and dedicated support to our Board made this a successful year of growth. Through this year I earned a new level of respect to our club's Past Presidents and forever be thankful for the irreplaceable opportunity in walking a year in their shoes. My best wishes to Phil, my great friend, I know your wisdom and vision will bring wonderful ideas to our club and will take it to the next level. Yours in Rotary, Laura Nassri Warren |
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Come join your McAllen South Rotarians for the final fellowship of the club year! It's all going down at the new McAllen Amberjacks on Nolana, across the street from IMAS, on Thursday, June 3rd. Happy hours starts at 5:30 with drinks and hors d'oeuvres. Pat Risicia has all the details. We would love to have you there.
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Hats off to the McAllen South Rotary Club Scholarship recipients. The winners and their families are joining us today at our club meeting. Congratualations to McAllen Memorial High School seniors Alberto Eng, Naim Lujan, Cynthia Sauceda and Ercilia Galvan. Also, a special thank you to all club members. Your hard work this year provided thousands of scholarship dollars to these and other local students. |
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All remaining Crawfish Boil ticket money is past due today. Please don't make us send out the goons to collect. |
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Last Friday night's Crawfish Boil was a huge success! We sold out of tickets even before we officially opened the doors. A big thank you goes out to the committee and especially Chris Hettler, committee chair, for putting on a great event. We also want to thank all the volunteers who helped decorate the McAllen Convention Center along with Glazer's. Lastly, thanks to our fellow Rotarians for selling the tickets and promoting the event. Ayee!
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Ayee! The Crawfish Boil is next Friday! Have you sold all your tickets? Remind your friends that tickets at the door will be $50, so they can save $10 per ticket buying from you. Turn in your ticket money as soon as you can. There is no Club meeting next Friday.
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Dr. Robert Nelsen Dr. Robert S. Nelsen is the eighth and newly appointed President of The University of Texas-Pan American (UTPA). President Nelsen earned his Ph.D. from the Committee on Social Thought at The University of Chicago. His Ph.D. fields of specialization were modern literature, modern philosophy and modern political theory. Prior to his arrival at UTPA, Nelsen was an administrator at Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi serving as Associate Vice President for Academic Affairs. |
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There are a few Club members who have not yet picked up their Crawfish Boil tickets. Please contact Tom Polzin at tspcobra@yahoo.com if you need tickets. By now everyone should have received an invoice for their tickets. If you have sold some tickets, please start turning in your money! |
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As we have done in the past, we are soliciting "Band Sponsors" in order to offset the added cost of bringing The Mudbugs, a real Louisiana zydeco band, for The Crawfish Boil. They have done an outstanding job for us the past couple of years. As of this morning we have six sponsors - Shepard Walton King, Denny's, George Kuhn CPA, Imagine It Studios, Boggus Ford and the Valley Town Crier. WE STILL NEED SIX MORE SPONSORS. Each sponsor will be recognized the day of the event with signage and verbal announcements at the event. The cost of the sponsorship is $250.00. Please respond to Chris Graham at cgraham@swkins.com if you are interested in helping out with this endeavor. Your support is greatly appreciated. |
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We have surpassed 1000 fans on The Crawfish Boil Facebook page! The response from folks online is they are excited about this year's event and they are looking for tickets. Find us at facebook.com/thecrawfishboil
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Dr. R. Nicolas Salameh Mission Urologist Dr. Salameh will speak to the Club about urology. Urology is the medical specialty that focuses on the urinary tracts of males and females as well as the male reproductive system. |
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Michael Barkin Consul General Michael Barkin will speak to us about the recent closing of the US Consulate office in Matamoros due to the increasing drug violence in Mexico. He will offer his opinion about the situation in Mexico and whether he fears spillover violence in the US from that conflict. |
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Dr. Jerry Polinard Jerry Polinard, Ph.D. professor of Political Science at the University of Texas - Pan American will discuss both local and national current political climate. |
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We had a pretty nice turnout last night for the Rotary Pool Tournament of around 30 people. We formed nine two person teams from all of those who signed up to play. It was a round robin format with a playoff at the end. The team of Michael Wingard and Cam Henry (formed under suspicious circumstances when both of their partners had to go just prior to the playoff) defeated Roger Stolley and Dennis Wade for the championship. Michael and Cam are a couple of the better players in the club so it wasn't much of a surprise that they won. Laura Warren's sister was in attendance making her debut, too. A special thanks goes out to George Kuhn for organizing the event for our club.
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Come join your Rotary friends at Fast Eddie's Thursday, March 25th. The fun starts at 6 pm and should run to about 10 pm. Refreshments will be provided. Show off your mad pool skills or just come have a beer with your fellow club members. Additional details will be emailed out next week. If you have questions, you may contact George Kuhn.
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If you have not picked up your tickets, please see Tom Polzin as soon as possible. Each Rotarian will be issued 10 tickets at $40 each. Limited tickets will be available at the door for $50 so, this should help you with your efforts to sell your tickets.
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Our Club will host the McAllen District 4-Way test competition during our regular meeting today. Outstanding high school students from the area will compete to represent our area State Level. Leah Sanchez from Memorial High School will represent our club with what promises to be an exceptional speech. Good luck Leah! |
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We don't accomplish anything in this world alone... and whatever happens is the result of the whole tapestry of one's life and all the weavings of individual threads from one to another that creates something. --Sandra Day O'Connor |
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A big thank you to all the Rotarians who came out to help cook and serve sausages-on-a-stick this past Saturday for the Comfort House Walk-a-thon. The walk-a-thon was lots of fun with games, food, live music and of course, hundreds of walkers. In addition to passing out free food to all walkers, our Club presented Comfort House with a $500 donation as well. |
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We are working in repairing our display box. We will be ironing and placing all the Rotary banners back in place to bring back our Rotary background. If you have a Rotary Club banner please bring it to me so we can mount and display.
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Dr. Carl Seale
Dr. Carl Seale will showcase his piece on the Hidalgo pump house. The presentation will include a beautiful collection of old and new photos of the Rio Grande and the pump house while his music plays. |
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Brian Martin
Brian Martin will speak to the Club about K&R insurance. K&R insurance is designed to protect individuals and corporations operating in high-risk areas around the world. K&R insurance policies typically cover the perils of kidnap, extortion, wrongful detention and hijacking. |
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Joey Wyatt, Stroke Scan, Inc. Joey Wyatt from Stroke Scan, Inc. will help educate us on the risk factors, warning signs, and symptoms of vascular disease. |
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The Comfort House Walk-a-Thon Fundraiser is Saturday, February 27th. This is our club's fifth year supporting the event by cooking sausage on a stick and distributing it free to the participants. Any and all members who would like to help with this event, please contact David Valadez via e-mail djvaladez@earthlink.net or 956-494-8950. The event will take place at at the Doc Neuhaus Park Park which is located on the corner of Dallas and 8th St. We will start approxiately at 7:30 am and should be over by 1 pm. |
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Candidate Forum Candidates for Texas State Representative Districts 36 & 41 will participate in a forum to make their arguments for why voters should elect them to tackle the issues facing Texas.
Candidates for State Rep District 36
Candidates for State Rep District 41 |
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The McAllen South Rotary Club cordially invite you and your guest to a Valentine's Party.
Valentine's Party |
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Candidate Forum Candidates for Hidalgo County Judge and County Commissioner Pct. 4 will participate in a forum to make their arguments for why voters should elect them to tackle the issues facing Hidalgo County.
Candidates for Hidalgo County Judge
Candidates for County Commissioner Pct 4 |
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Mike Kroeze
The new City of McAllen Urban Forester Mike Kroeze will speak to us about what McAllen is doing to help protect and expand native trees and landscapes. |
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We have 662 fans who have signed up to follow The Crawfish Boil on Facebook! There are people right now (no really, right now!) that have posted messages asking for tickets. How easier could it be to sell tickets? Go on our Facebook page and offer your tickets. http://www.facebook.com/#!/pages/McAllen-Crawfish-Boil/292538267448?ref=ts |
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There is to be a Crawfish Boil meeting, February the 1st (Monday) at 11 am at the First National Bank branch located on the corner of Trenton and 10th streets. This year we are planning on renting the entire convention center and growing our event. So if you are interested in helping please try and make it. We can always use a helping hand from a fellow Rotarian.
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A warm thank you to those of you who volunteered to be judges at the DECA Career Development Conference last week. Those that attended had a blast working with the students.
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McAllen North Rotarian and friend to many, Neal King suffered a massive heart attack last week. He is in stable condition and is in ICU at the McAllen Heart Hospital. Friends and family are kindly asking for your prayers. They have setup a Caring Bridge website to keep loved ones informed on Neal's condition. Please take a moment to visit the site and sign the guest book. www.caringbridge.org/visit/nealpking
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Norma Linda Zepeda & Laura Regan Porras Today's meeting and program will be at the Othal E. Brand Center location of the McAllen Boys and Girls Club. This is located on the corner of Galveston Ave & 27th St, just north of Expressway 83. The presentation will include a tour of the facility and an overview of all the wonderful work this organization does for our youth. |
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Boys & Girls of the Month This week we have students from Memorial High School who have been selected for the Interact Boy and Girl of the Month.
September 2009
October 2009
November 2009
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Due to the Christmas and New Years holidays, today will be the last meeting of the year. We hope you enjoy the holidays with your family and friends. See you at our next meeting January 8th.
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Thank you to those who attended our Club Christmas party at the Warren Group offices. The evening was filled with lots of friends, laughter and good food. A very special thank you to Pat Risica and the Fellowship committee for organizing a wonderful event. Photos of the event can be viewed online. |
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District Governor Dennis Roberts |
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State of the Club Today we turn the program over to our current and past Club Presidents to discuss the state of the McAllen South Rotary Club, including our challenges, our goals and ultimately how we can improve the work of the Club. Since we would like this discussion to be as open and direct as possible, this meeting will be closed to non-McAllen South Rotary Club members and visitors. |
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With the holidays here, what better time could there be to enjoy it in the company of friends. We invite you and your guest to join us for the McAllen South Rotary Club Holiday Social. The Warren Group Architects host an evening with tamales, pan dulce, drinks and lots of holiday cheer.
Holiday Party Social Please RSVP no later than Tuesday, December 15 to Erica Gallardo at egallardo@twgarch.com or call (956) 994-1900. |
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JD Salinas The U.S. General Services Administration announced the appointment of Juan "J.D." Salinas to serve as the Regional Administrator of GSA's Greater Southwest Region, effective November 9, 2009. As the Greater Southwest Regional Administrator, Salinas oversees all of GSA's activities in Arkansas, Louisiana, New Mexico, Oklahoma, and Texas; including management of federal real estate and information technology. He will also be responsible for an inventory of 1,350 government-owned buildings |
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A big thank you to Charles Marina for kickstarting our wheelchair project with a $1000 cash donation! We will start this project in earnest in January. The goal of the wheelchair drive will be to match used wheelchairs, fix them up, and then find needy individuals who can use them. We are working with social case experts to identify candidates who desperately need a wheelchair, but may not have the resources to purchase one. If you know of anyone who has a wheelchair, walker, or any DME in fair shape and may want to donate or sell at a low price, please let Laura Warren know so we may acquire it. |
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Congratulations to Charlie Lopez for being selected as our new Assistant District 5930 Governor for Area 11. Charlie Lopez will represent all the McAllen area clubs for the district starting in January.
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For your consideration, the McAllen South Rotary presents the nominated slate of officers for 2010-2011. If you have comments about the proposed slate of officers, please direct them to Phil Brown. President: Phil Brown |
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If you have not turned in your ticket money for Oktoberfest, please do so immediately. We have goons ready to rough up those who fail to turn in their money. Remember that just as attendance and dues are a requirement for your Rotary membership, so too is selling your tickets and turning in money in a timely matter.
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Deborah Case
Deborah Case speaks to us about the 37th Annual Rio Grande Valley Ballet's Nutcracker. It is the Valley's longest running show. She will bring with her video of past performances as well as eight live dancers to perform a selection from Nutcracker. It promises to be a very special program. |
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Arthur Hughes Fellow Rotarian and Ameriprise Senior Financial Advisor Arthur Hughes will discuss Social Security strategies. |
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There will be H1N1 vaccine shots available before the Club meeting at a cost of $15. The vaccine will be available starting at 11:30 am. You will need to fill out some basic information including your name, address and social security number to receive your shot. There should be enough vaccine doses available for those who want it; however, it will be on a first come, first serve basis.
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We still need donations to fill care packages we are sending to our troops stationed overseas. Please take a moment to review the list of items our soldiers would appreciate receiving found on our homepage. Some of the most requested items are snacks (like tuna, beef jerky, dried fruit and nuts), undershirts, socks, Crystal Light and AT&T Global Pre-Paid Military Calling Cards. Please bring your donations to the Club meeting today, or you can deliver them directly to Laura Warren or David Valadez. School children have created cards to include in the care packages, along with their own donations. We will have many of these cards on display at today's meeting. Join us as we will put the care packages together this Saturday at 2 pm at Mission Paving, just north of Expressway 83 on Los Ebanos Rd. Please make every effort to help out with this important cause. |
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There will be no meeting next Friday, November 27th. Enjoy your Thanksgiving holiday!
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Chris King Chris King is the new Athletic Director at the University of Texas - Pan American. Chris comes to UTPA after seven years at the University Alabama where he served as the head of compliance for 2002 through 2008. He was then promoted to Associate Athletic Director where he served until his move to UTPA. |
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Some of our local armed forces have been deployed overseas. Our Club contributes in sending care packages to soldiers based in Afghanistan and Iraq. A list of goods that are needed for the packages is listed on our website and on the tables of today's meeting. Please take a copy with you. Bring all you can to the next meeting or to Laura's office. We will announce the date when we will put these care packages together and hope that you will take some time to volunteer to put them together. |
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We are kicking-off our next set of community projects. These promise an opportunity to greatly change the life of others in a very positive way. We need your help to make these projects possible. First, our Club is conducting an international wheelchair drive. The goal will be to match used wheelchairs, fix them up, and then find needy individuals who can use them. We are working with social case experts to identify candidates who desperately need a wheelchair, but may not have the resources to purchase one. If you know of anyone who has a wheelchair, walker, or any DME in fair shape and may want to donate or sell at a low price, please let Laura Warren know so we an acquire it. |
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This year's Oktoberfest has been the best ever! Thank you, Tim Honeycutt and his committee for the great leadership and coordination efforts. All attending had offered good reviews and comments. I am specially impressed by our new members and past president's participation and hard work. Every both chair took special care in their responsibilities and it proved to be a s success in every detail. THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU! A slide show with pictures taken of the event will run before our presentation. Our committee is currently working in closing the books, please turn-in your ticket money as soon as possible. |
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Oktoberfest was fantastic. At the door, we must have taken in more than double the amount of cash from last year. So many Rotarians were involved in making the event a success and they will be mentioned at today's meeting. A special thank you goes out to the event chairperson Tim Honeycutt and of course our cooking crew.
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We like to think of November as a month of gratitude and thankfulness.
See if everyday this month you can experience gratitude- even for the tiniest things. |
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Everyone in the club should have a logon to www.mcallensouthrotary.org website. If you do not have a logon, or have forgotten your logon, contact Jerry Wight at jwwtx66@yahoo.com. We ask everyone to logon and please update your contact information on the website. Up to date information allows not only the club to contact you, but since you, as a member, can search this directory, it can help you find Rotarians to do business with.
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Dr. John Gerling |
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Congrats to Reilly Brinkley, son of Pat Risica. He was named Boy of the Month for the Mission Rotary Club.
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McAllen Mayor Richard Cortez McAllen Mayor Richard Cortez will speak about the November 3rd City Charter Amendment Election. |
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PROPOSITION #1
There are also 11 state constitution amendment proposals on the ballot. For more information on those, please see the non-partisan League of Women Voters website http://www.lwvtexas.org/2009VG/2009CAVG[FINAL].pdf |
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Due to EVERYONE participating at Oktoberfest Thursday, next Friday's meeting has been canceled.
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The true spirit of Rotary was evident in all of us with the passing of our dear friend Mike Forbes as an innumerable amount of help and good wishes out-poured towards Mike's family and friends. His Memorial Service was very well attended by friends from all over the Valley. In honor of his community and military service, an American flag was presented to his daughter by Brad Benter on behalf of the VFW Honor Guard at the end of the services. On behalf of our dear friend Mike Forbes' family, I will like to extend their most sincere appreciation for all your kind help and prayers. |
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We will have sign up sheets for Oktoberfest volunteers at today's meeting. Please sign up for a time. If you still do not have your food handler's permit, there is still time - but its running out. Your only option to receive your food handler's permit in time for Oktoberfest is to take the three hour online course at http://www.learn2serve.com/texas-food-handler-certification/index.cfm. Rotarians are asked to please show up for your assigned time slot, on time. If you don't show up, you are forcing someone to stay and work your shift for you. It is rude and not in the true Rotary spirit. |
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We are less than one week away from one of our biggest fundraisers. Thank you to all who have participated in one way or another. Please turn-in your ticket money and sign-up to help at Oktoberfest. There will be sign up sheets at today's meeting. We still need help getting sponsors! If you know of anyone that might be interested in sponsoring the event, please do not hesitate to contact Blaine Hendrick at drblainehendrick@gmail.com or 956-249-9701. |
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There will be a short meeting for all Oktoberfest booth chairs after today's meeting.
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Fellow Rotarian Karen Valdez has been chosen to be this year's McAllen Chamber of Commerce Woman of the Year. Karen has been and continues to be involved in so many organizations and worthwhile efforts that make our community a better place to live. Please join us in congratulating Karen. |
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D. Michael Forbes passed away last Friday afternoon. A memorial service has been scheduled for our dear friend and fellow Rotarian on Tuesday, October 20 at 2:00 P.M. at the Chapel located inside the Salvation Army in McAllen Texas. Mike was a shining example of service to others. Words simply can not articulate the loss his service and friendship mean to us, his family and the community. |
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Chris Brooks Rotarian John King has invited Killer Bees Hockey Coach Chris Brooks to speak to us about the Killer Bees' season! |
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Everyone who is going to help out with the food at Oktoberfest must have a food handlers permit from the city. Last night we had a special class for our club. If you did not make it, you have two other choices. One is to go online at The other option is to take the city's food handler course scheduled for next Thursday, October 22nd. DEADLINE FOR REGISTERING FOR THIS CLASS IS TODAY. To sign up, head down to City Hall. If you have any questions, contact Tim Honeycutt. |
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We have launched a Facebook page dedicated to Oktoberfest. For those of you on Facebook, just search for Oktoberfest RGV and be sure to click on the link indicating you are going. As of today, nearly 900 Facebook people have been invited to the event by a Facebook friend. Two hundred have confirmed they are planning to come. We are asking all Rotarians on Facebook to then do two things. First, click the link Invite People to Come, and send a message to all your Facebook friends to come out to Oktoberfest. Secondly, click on the Share button to post a message on your Facebook Wall about Oktoberfest. Be sure to include in your message that you have tickets to sell. If you have any questions about Oktoberfest on Facebook, feel free to ask Jay Leal. |
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If you have not yet received your Oktoberfest tickets, make sure to come to today's meeting to pick them up. As a reminder, club members are responsible for selling all of their tickets. So the sooner you pick them up, the easier time you will have getting them sold.
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It is with a saddened heart to inform you of the death of Van Talbert's son, Clifford. Clifford died Wednesday in Victoria following a lengthy illness. He was 48. A funeral service for Clifford will be held at McCaleb Funeral Home in Weslaco (Corner of Border Ave & 4th St) at 1:00 p.m. tomorrow, October 3. Visitation is tonight from 6-8 p.m. Please keep Van and his family in your prayers as he mourns the loss of his son. |
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Tim Smith
George Kuhn has invited KRGV's Chief Meteorologist Tim Smith to speak to us this week. |
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The new credit card fee goes into effect today. If you pay for your lunch with a credit card, you will be assessed a $1 fee. You can avoid the fee by paying in cash or with a check. |
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Donna Swanson has returned from her Rotary Ambassadorial Scholarship year in Ireland and will present to our club her experiences while studying abroad thanks to our support.
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Today, we welcome McAllen City Manager Mike Perez who will talk about all things McAllen. Bring your questions!
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For those who attended the new member orientation and club social this past Wednesday, you know that it was a great success! The weather was a little cool, but the party was hot. There was great food and drink plus the new members got an fantastic introduction to Rotary, our traditions and had a chance to meet other club members. Special thanks goes out to the cooking crew for the delicious food! |
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A lot has been going on this week! The Fellowship committee is tying-down all details for our new member orientation this coming Wednesday, September 23 at Pat Risica's Residence. This event is open for everyone to come and welcome our new Rotarians. This is a great opportunity for all sub-committee chairs to meet our new eager to help members. Our club's cooking crew needs our help. Please call and RSVP at 956-994-1900 and let us know if you will be able to attend. Our Oktoberfest chairman Tim Honeycutt has been working very hard with this year's committee in all the details. Tickets will be handed-out today to all members. |
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Give me a stock clerk with a goal -- J.C. Penney |
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Due to an increase in credit card processing fees, there will now be a $1 fee collected if you pay for your lunch with a credit card. This new fee is effective October 2nd. This fee only applies if you are paying for your lunch with a credit card. There is no fee if you are paying with cash or a check. Also, this fee does not apply when paying for other items such as tickets or sponsorships.
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The McAllen South Rotary Club has scheduled a New Member Orientation at the home of Pat Risica on Wednesday, September 23 followed by a member social. Come greet our new members and enjoy some good food and have a cold beer. (Yes, that is a picture of Pat dancing.)
New Member Orientation & Club Social
Orientation at 6:30 pm
Pat Risica Residence
Kindly RSVP to Laura Warren at 956-994-1900 |
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Speak when you are angry-- ---Laurence J. Peter |
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Tim Honeycutt
Rotarian and Oktoberfest Committee Chair Tim Honeycutt will update us on our Oktoberfest event, scheduled for Thursday, October 29th. He will discuss changes to the event from last year as well as the club's goals for making the event the best ever. |
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Where there is an open mind, there will always be a frontier. ---Charles F. Kettering |
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Oktoberfest is now scheduled for Thursday, October 29th at the McAllen Convention Center! We need YOUR help! At next week's meeting, Oktoberfest Chair Tim Honeycutt will update us on the planning progress and show you how you can help make this event a success.
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We are sorry to announce that our club will not be participating in PalmFest this year. The Board made the decision after evaulating the current environment to locate and secure sponsors for that event. But the good news is, the club can now focus 100% to making this year's Oktoberfest a smashing success! If you have any questions about our Palmfest withdrawal, please feel free to ask Laura Warren or Karen Valdez. |
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Mr. Samm Mercado
Rotarian David Morton has invited Mr. Mercado with the Department of Parks and Recreation for the City of McAllen to speak to us about what McAllen is doing to make leisure time in more enjoyable. |
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Mr. Xavier Cervantes Rotarian David Morton has invited Mr. Xavier Cervantes to speak to us about neighborhood planning in McAllen. |
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Sam Clifton isn't letting his 15 minutes of fame go to his head. In fact, if he had his way, no one would know his company led the build on the TV reality show Extreme Makeover: Home Edition, which provides new homes for families in need. "I asked the producers if I could do this without being known. I didn't want the media attention. But then I thought about how great it would be to get other people in front of the camera, especially guys in the construction business who've been going through a rough time," says Clifton, a member of the Rotary Club of Springfield Southeast, Missouri, USA. The rest is showbiz history. More than 600 skilled laborers -- some unemployed and many from competing firms -- volunteered to help build a 3,300-square-foot home in just six days starting 14 July. As co-owner of Millstone Custom Homes with his wife, Michelle, Clifton estimates that a project this size, which included building a barn, chicken coop, and greenhouse, would normally take a crew of 50 about six months. |
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Far and away the
best prize that life offers is the chance to work hard at work worth doing. ---Theodore Roosevelt |
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When my dearest Father (now deceased) talked to me about my future, he often spoke about the difference between dreams and fantasies. He assured me that dreams can come true. Here is why: My Father used to pause on this one... After a long sigh he used to remark that Fantasies begin also by a thought, a spark or an image. We decide to make it a Fantasy when we talk a about it, sit down, cross our arms and pretend. |
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Matt Z. Ruszczka
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It begins with a dream...
--Laura Nassri Warren |
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Mr. Mark Vega the Assistant General Manager of McAllen Public Utilities will be speaking to us this Friday August 7. David Morton is the program chair for August. Our theme for the month of August is the Growth and Development of McAllen. If you have suggestions for programs or speakers, let him know. |
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"If your actions inspire others to dream more, learn more, do more and become more, you are a leader."
--John Quincy Adams, 6th President of the United States |
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Oktoberfest is Friday, October 30th! Tim Honeycutt is working hard with our Oktoberfest event. The committee is forming so please sign-up with him!
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Our fellowship committee is been working hard to come up with some wonderful ideas for our club to do. The new member Orientation will be held this September 17th at the Residence of Pat Risica. This will be a fellowship, bring your spouse and come and join us in welcoming our new members!
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Our board is finishing our annual calendar of events. Thanks to all who have taken the time to fill-out the survey as your opinion is vital for us to evaluate our club activities and keep making this club the best one in the Valley. We will have a final round today for those of you who had not had the chance to fill the survey. Bring a pen and give us your opinion.
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Our Summer is almost over! This, to some of us is a sign of relief as it's time that our children will go back to school. Back to "normality" (we assume!) I can not help but notice how wonderful it is when some of our members bring their children to our club meetings. It teaches our children a sense of civic duty and exposes them to the community and business leaders our Club is composed off. Some of our members also bring their children to our other club activities and they become a helping hand and add a special touch to all of our activities and fundraisers. We are lining-up our children's to become future leaders of our community by example. It is about the FAMILY of Rotary, current and future generations. I guess that is what our year's theme is all about: Future Rotarians: Welcome to our Club! |
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We have ordered some beautiful canopy tents with the Rotary logo and our club name on them. We will be able to use them during all our outdoor events along with new Rotary flags as well. First event - Palmfest!
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I took a deeper look at the Rotary Magazines and found some extremely moving photos from a recent international contest Rotary held worldwide. There is no need for words... Only that Rotary is a worldwide symbol for hope. As part of one of our year's theme: "A world of understanding," I took the time and compiled some of these photos which are available on the www.Rotary.org website. I added some commentary to describe what the photo is about and the difference Rotary makes. They will be displayed before our programs at each meeting in an effort to educate our guests (and some of us) about the great role our great Club plays in bringing much needed help and hope to all corners of the world. Laura |
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On thinking positive: " A successful man is one that can lay a firm foundation with the bricks others have thrown at him" - David Brinkley |
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US Marshals We will have a representative with us from the US Marshal Service. The United States Marshals Service (USMS) is a United States federal law enforcement agency within the United States Department of Justice and is the oldest federal law enforcement agency in the United States. The USMS is the enforcement arm of the United States federal courts. U.S. Marshals protect court officers and buildings and ensure the effective operation of the judicial system. A special thanks to Rotarian Dennis Carruth for bringing us all the great programs we enjoyed during this month. |
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On Courage/Openness/Fear: -Ann Wilson Shaef |
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Sheriff Lupe Trevino Continuing our law enforcement theme for July, Sheriff Trevino will speak to us about efforts of the Sheriff's Department to keep residents and property safe in Hidalgo County. |
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I find my self learning more when my kids ask me questions. I was teaching my children about the different flags worldwide and the region they represent. My daughter grabbed a little Rotarian flag I got from PETS and asked me what region this one belonged to. I started thinking later that day the magnitude of this fact. All leaders of different countries, religions, economic and political backgrounds under this one flag. (Getting along!) working under one purpose.... Fellowship, promotion of world peace and of course, service above self. Aren't you glad you are a Rotarian? Laura |
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The deadline for turning in your Club membership dues is today. Please talk to Treasurer Brad Benter if you have any questions.
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Palmfest Committee Chair Andrina Garza will be hosting our first Palmfest Committee meeting soon. We need your help to make this a successful event. Please talk to Andrina if you are interested in participating on the committee.
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We will have printed copies of the Club Activity survey. This survey will help us plan Club activities in which you are most interested. The information we gather from your responses will directly influence the Calendar of Club Events we will finalize at the next Board meeting. Please bring a pen to the meeting and give us your feedback.
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The budget for the new Rotary year has been approved by the Board of Directors. We have made the full budget spreadsheet available for download from the club website at www.mcallensouthrotary.org. You will find it under the Downloads section on the right hand side of the home page. The spreadsheet also displays actual expenses and income for the last three club years. If you have any questions about the budget, feel free to ask a board member.
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This month you will find new Rotarian Melayne Martin greeting you as you come to the Club meeting. Make sure to say hello and introduce yourself. The Program Chair for July is Dennis Carruth. He is responsible for all the guest speakers and programs this month. The Program Chair for August is David Morton. So if you have suggestions for a great program, talk to one of these guys. |
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Well, I survived my first meeting! Thank you all for your support. Our committees chairs are already working in planning our fundraisers and will need everyone's help. As mentioned before, we are looking forward in working hard to continue to have the most successful club in the area but we are also planning to Play harder! The Fellowship committee is planning our new member orientation which is planned to be on September 17. Thank you Phil Brown, Pat Risica and Ted Link for their leadership and time with this endeavor. The Orientation promises to be a lot of fun and will follow with a smoker-Fellowship so it will be open to all members to come and have fun. Today we will be visited by the Border Patrol and they will bring a dog they use for their operations. This promises to be an interesting and educational program. Thank you Denis Carruth for all your efforts. And... yes as promised, the jokes will be back! if you have a very funny joke that will be appropriate for the club please send it to me! Yours in Rotary, |
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US Border Patrol We will have agents from the U.S. Border Patrol visiting to speak about border violence. They will also bring a K-9 unit with them, so leave your stash at home :) |
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"Being good at what we do isn't a course. It's a gift that comes from ourselves and from a power greater than ourselves" Anne Wilson Schaef |
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Victor Rodriguez Rotarian Dennis Carruth has invited Chief Rodriguez to speak to us about the efforts of the McAllen Police Department to keep citizens safe. |
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The deadline to get your membership dues turned in is July 31st. Please contact Treasurer Brad Benter for any questions. |
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The Board is working on our Fellowship programs for the new Rotary year. Please complete the online survey so we can learn which activities we want to continue or change. We have only had a dozen or so complete the survey. So please, the survey only takes a few minutes to complete and can be found at http://thecrawfishboil.com/questionnaire/.
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The opportunity of being a Rotarian brings us to open our minds in ways we usually don't by opening our eyes to the whole world. We have to reach deeper in our hearts and minds to remove that layer of doubt that we can actually make a difference... and we have. By looking beyond cultural, technological, religious and cultural differences to reach out and helping others brings us to a much higher understanding of humanity; one that is not tied by superficial believes... and thus promoting world understanding resulting in peace and thus we become better individuals. Everyday a Rotarian opens their house for an exchange student, goes to to work at an Orphanage across the border, takes the time to serve at a local fundraiser, we influence the world by touching other people's lives with positive energy. I guess that's where "Service above self" fits in. This year our club will continue to offer many opportunity of service and Fellowship. We will work hard and play harder and touch and change people's lives and way of thinking... The Rotarian Way. |
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Learn more about how you can join the McAllen South Rotary Club.