Thomas Edwards, Daybreak's 2012-13 President was in the midst of leading the club to a great year when his job changed and he had to resign the position.
Alexandra Randolph (“Alex for short”) told us all about her experiences of being a local reporter for the Highland News group of papers.
She recently diverted from those chores by taking a role in “Drop Dead” at the Hill Country Community Theatre. A 2012 graduate of Texas A&M, Alex makes her home in the Highland Lakes.
Alex talked about community journalism as a form of community service in a small town setting. She enjoys our interesting communities with its variety of people. She also discussed the challenges of the small-town print media in transitioning to digital forms and competing with social media, bloggers and the internet in general – all of which some people, erroneously in her opinion, treat as a source of news. “You can’t get accurate news from the grapevine,” Alex noted.
The Highlander has been named the best large twice-weekly newspaper in Texas in state press association competition. It also has won numerous advertising design awards. Founded in 1959, it achieved distinction early in its history for thorough coverage of news and events in the region and is listed in the Encyclopedia of Southern Culture as one of the best non-daily newspapers in the state.
The Highlander has been a “hyper-local” focused paper from its beginning whereas many small papers are just now finding that to be a direction. She highlighted the benefit of that approach in pointing out that large stories have low impact whereas the small-scale story has a huge impact locally.
Taking questions from the attentive audience, Alex dealt adroitly with the blending of editorializing into real news. In summary the Daybreak Rotarians learned that the small-town paper business is anything but easy. Thanks for coming, Alex!
It is a busy time for the Marble Falls Economic Development Corporation.
Christian Fletcher, fellow Rotarian and Executive Director at Marble Falls Economic Development Corporation updated the Marble Falls Daybreak Rotary on current EDC projects. The EDC is making progress in the community to make room for new businesses and a growing job market. With plans to clear land in the Business Park, space will become available for new enterprises. Additionally, the EDC has been working with Central Texas College and Texas Tech at Highland Lakes to ensure the colleges will offer programs that allow local students obtain certification for careers in demand at the upcoming Scott & White hospital. Finally, the EDC recently purchased the lake front property at the corner of Avenue H and S. Main in downtown Marble Falls with the goal of advancing the downtown master plan. The master plan combines two of the city’s greatest assets, Lake Marble Falls and Historic Downtown Marble Falls, to create a quaint lake front city full of family fun and outdoor entertainment, while generating jobs and preserving the city’s natural resources.
Mr. Kirk Noaker spoke to the Marble Falls Daybreak Rotary on Tuesday June 17, 2014. The fellow Rotarian is an investigator for the Regional Public Defender’s Office.
This office represents those who have been charged with Capital Murder throughout the State of Texas and who are not otherwise able to employ counsel due to financial hardship. The role of the RPDO is to protect the rights of those who may have been wrongfully accused and to advocate for life sentences, rather than the death penalty in cases where it is appropriate. Mr. Noaker’s impressive resume includes 22 years of experience with various agencies, including: the Baltimore Police Department, Washington County Sheriff’s Office, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Drug Enforcement Administration, Federal Air Marshall Service, and the U.S. Army Military Police Corp. His training and experience with those agencies gives him an interesting perspective as an investigator for those citizens his office represents.
Falls recognized the partnership with a beautiful plaque at graduation.
On Friday, June 6, Jim and Barbara Warden together with Jennifer and myself attended the graduation ceremonies for Marble Falls Career High School where we presented three scholarships of $1,000 each. Other organizations also awarded scholarships to some of the 36 graduates.
What we did not expect was to receive recognition by way of a beautiful plaque given to Daybreak. The plaque was presented to the Club on June 10.
Beginning at her uncle's knee from age 7 Melinda has been immersed in Rotary and shared many of the ways each individual can be powerful in changing the world.
Kristen Harris is the new Exec. Director of CASA of the Highland Lakes. She is shown here with Jeffrey Bartz who brought the program to Daybreak today.
Kristen gave us an overview of the operation of the local CASA (Court Appointed Special Advocates) unit and that of CASA generally. Begun in 1991 by a judge who felt he was not getting enough information about the children who had been removed from their homes due to abuse or neglect, CASA has grown to have 1,000 units nationwide and 71 in Texas.
CASA of the Highland Lakes serves the counties of Burnet, Blanco, Llano and San Saba of the 33rd/424th Judicial Districts and also Lampasas County. It has a staff of eight including Kristen, 11 Board members (one of which is Rotarian Jeffrey Bartz), and 70 volunteers.
One of the ongoing activities of CASA is volunteer recruitment and they are having an informational meeting in Johnson City at the Pecan Street Pub from 4-6pm on Thursday, June 5.
Chris Jett, Burnet County Constable for Precinct 4, is our newest Rotarian. Daybreak Rotary welcomes Chris who will hold the classification of Law Enforcement. Chris and his wife Michelle have been active members of the Marble Falls area community for many years. Chris has already begun "Service Above Self" even prior to his induction by helping with traffic control during Daybreak's recent Foster Family Fun Fest.
Planning for the "F4" event continued at today's meeting.
The Foster Family Fun Fest "F4" event draws near as Daybreak made final plans and adjustments for the event this coming Saturday, May 17. The day of fun for foster families is part of Daybreak's effort to encourage more families to consider becoming foster parents.
Many important Daybreak activities are in high gear.
This week we had information and discussion about the upcoming Foster Family Fun Fest and will finish the planning details for that during the meeting on the 13th. All hands will be necessary on May 17 for the event and a good number on Friday the 16th for setup. Mark your calendars and roll up your sleeves!
Andy Hoffmans discussed RYLA and called for people to help with the transport and breakfast run on July 3 where the Daybreak crew will again prepare roadkill tacos including (figuratively) possum, raccoon, buzzard and the like :-(
The Rotary membership was entranced with Rebekah's lively discussion about bees and she was swarmed with questions. Rebekah obviously loves sharing all the amazing things about honeybees. Her interest in bees began when her younger brother Caleb received a scholarship beehive from the Williamson County Area Beekeepers Association. Since then her interest in bees has greatly increased, and she has gone on to keep her own beehives and to serve as a spokesperson for the beekeeping industry as the Williamson County Honey Queen and the Texas Honey Princess.
She explained about the worker, queen and drone honeybees and their functions and lifecycles. Her presentation was presented in a lively way, packed with information. We learned such things as that bees only pollinate one type of flower at a time, that they meticulously dehydrate the nectar from the flower to about 18% water content prior to injecting it into the cell in the hive, and one bee in a lifetime will only produce 1/12th of a teaspoon of honey.
Rebekah's program was one of the best in a long time, so thanks to Rotarian Jeff Watts for bringing her to us.
Teresa Chavez of Central Texas College (CTC) in Killeen spoke with the Marble Falls Daybreak Rotary on Tuesday morning.
The college offers workforce and skills based classes, along with a host of interest-based classes in cooking, dancing, exercise, and art.
In conjuncture with CTC, the State of Texas offers funding for small businesses to train employees on specific business skills. Companies with 2-100 full time employees may qualify to receive up to $1450 credit towards training for employees who have been employed less than 3 months and up to $725 credit for employees who have been employed more than 3 months. To find out more information visit CTC online at skills@twc.state.tx.us or by calling 1-877-463-1777.
The Marble Falls Daybreak Rotary Club donated $1,000 worth of art supplies to Marble Falls Middle School this week.
Ralph Hendrix from Daybreak Rotary approached the MFMS art teachers last fall and told the art teachers that the Rotarians would like to make a donation of supplies for art projects for the Middle School’s students. MFMS Art Teacher, Amy Miller, reported that her students were pleased and surprised this week when the new art supplies were delivered to the school by Rotarian Jim Warden.
“We would like to recognize our Rotary Club’s generosity and appreciation of the arts,” said Amy Miller, 7th Grade MFMS Art Teacher. “Because of their donations, we were able to buy some of the supplies we use on a daily basis like markers and color pencils.”
Miller, along with 8th grade Art Teacher, Andrea Olfers, and 6th grade Art Teacher, Stephanie Hatch, were also able to use the donations to stretch their art supply budget to purchase additional art enrichment supplies that help extend students’ learning and appreciation for the arts. The Rotary Club’s donation made it possible for the Middle School Art teachers to acquire supplies so students will be able to try their hand at watercolor, scratchboard, clay, and jewelry projects. These are all projects that the students don’t always have the opportunity to do every year. Rotary International put up half of the donation and the Marble Falls Daybreak Rotary put up the other half.
“We were a pleasantly taken aback by the Rotary Club’s generosity, and of course welcomed their support,” said Amy Miller, 7th grade art teacher. “It’s great to see our community reaching out to the arts, and we just want to say thank you for investing in our students.”
From an article published in the MFISD site (Peckover, Bruce "The Marble Falls Daybreak Rotary Club donated $1,000 worth of art supplies to Marble Falls Middle School this week" What's New Marble Falls ISD Web 12 Apr 2013 http://mfisd.ss3.sharpschool.com/cms/One.aspx?portalId=760824&pageId=5043032)
Bramer Owens, Associate Vice President, Clinic Operations for Scott & White Healthcare, Hill County, spoke to the Marble Falls Daybreak Rotary this Tuesday.
Mr. Owens discussed the services currently offered and introduced the physicians of Hurd Regional Medical Center Scott & White, located on Highway 71 at Highway 281 in Marble Falls. The extended care services and the specialty clinic are currently open for business. The full service hospital is projected to open Mid-2015. Scott & White offers free health seminars in the community to promote health and well-being to the Hill Country community: health talk on Vitamins, Herbs, and Supplements April 16, 2014, 12:00-1:00p.m. at the Burnet Library and health talk on Looking Younger Without Surgery April 17, 2014, 12:30-1:30pm at the Marble Falls Library.
St. Frederick's feeds the hungry every week through their Mission Marble Falls ministry.
Reverend George Perry, along with volunteers, Chris Bean, Tina McClain, and Grant Dean, spoke at the Marble Falls Daybreak Rotary on Tuesday morning to promote Mission Marble Falls.
Mission Marble Falls, headed by Reverend Perry and the St. Frederick Baptist Church, is on a mission to feed the hungry in our community by providing nutritious meals four days a week. All are welcome to receive meals Monday, Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday from 11:30-1:00pm at St. Fredericks, located at 301 Ave. N in Marble Falls.
The program is in need of food donations, especially uncooked and sealed meat, monetary donations, and volunteers for cooking and serving meals. For more information or to sign up as a volunteer contact Tina Bradley Mayers at (512)413-0574 or visit the website at www.missionmarblefalls.com
Dr. Rob O'Connor, Marble Falls ISD Superintendent, spoke to the Club about the Marble Falls ISD Board of Trustees calling for a second bond election for Saturday May 10, 2014 in the amount of $6,550,000 to improve the Technology and Career & Technical programs in the District.
The Supt. made some excellent points about the necessity of teaching students how to properly and effectively use technology rather than simply using technology in the teaching process. The response in the Daybreak Rotary audience was almost unanimous when he asked how many of us look at our smart phones within 15 minutes of waking up. We are surrounded by technology, but how do students use it responsibly is the question.
Jennifer McCurrach, Exec. Dir. of The 1st Tee of Greater Austin spoke on their character-building program for youth using golf as a centerpiece.
Jennifer McCurrach, Exec. Dir. of The 1st Tee of Greater Austin spoke on their character-building program for youth using golf as a centerpiece.
The 1st Tee of Greater Austin is a 501(c)(3) non-profit youth development organization dedicated to providing young people with educational programs to build character, instill life-enhancing values, and promote healthy choices through the game of golf. Jennifer provided many examples of how golf -- sometimes referred to as the "gentleman's" sport -- shows youngsters how to work as a team, to be courteous to opponents, how to meet and greet people, and generally how to develop a solid value-based system in their lives.
Jennifer is a former member of the LPGA golf tour.
Thanks to Bill Parmeter for bringing this program.
Mark McCary, a local Marble Falls Attorney, talked about Firearms and Estate Planning in Texas.
Mark McCary, a local Marble Falls Attorney, talked about Firearms and Estate Planning in Texas. Ownership of weapons needs to be specifically addressed in an estate plan. You may legally own certain types of weapons, but what about your heirs? Mark described the Texas Gun Trust and which weapons need to be included to protect your survivors.
"Turn around, don't drown" was the main message from Paul Yura, Warning Coordination Meteorologist for the Austin-San Antonio National Weather Service office.
Peggy spoke to us on August 6 and told us all about the Career HS.
Peggy Little, founder and principal of Falls Career High School, was the speaker for the Marble Falls Daybreak Rotary Club on August 6, 2013. Peggy created Falls Career High School, a part of the Marble Falls Independent School District public school system, in 2002 consisting of grades nine through twelve. The school provides special career instruction for qualified students. Each must achieve specific goals. Thirty nine were enrolled last school year. A total of 458 students have received a high school diploma over the past ten graduations.
Marble Falls Daybreak Rotary has "adopted" Falls as a project to bring additional experiences and viewpoints to these students through introduction to vocations and assistance in life skills.
In the photo President Ralph Hendricks is shown passing to Peggy a Rotary coin with the 4-Way test on it. He suggested it be shared as appropriate.
Bill, Executive Director of the Chamber updated us on happenings
Bill Rives, also a Rotarian in the Marble Falls noon club (and its current president), is Executive Director of the Marble Falls/Lake LBJ Chamber of Commerce. We always enjoy having Bill come update us.
Once again the Marble Falls Adult Soapbox Derby is upon us.
Fun for all with a significant impact on the local economy at the derby in June, according to Shannon Heep. Set on Father's Day weekend on purpose, the derby brings families together and out to Third Street in Marble Falls. Shannon shared with Daybreak Rotarians the plans for the current year's event and bit of it's history.
The largest part of Judge Klaeger's update regarded water and roads, two of the areas of greatest concern to us in Burnet County. She also told us of the recent inclusion of Burnet County in "Campo" -- the Capitol Area Metropolitan Planning Organization which gives us a leg up in planning and access to resources. Water, of course, continues to be a major issue according to the judge.
Scouting, in this case Boy Scout, provides a bright ray of hope for America as demonstrated in Thom Fairleigh's presentation on April 23.
Thom, an Eagle Scout himself, is Scoutmaster for Troop 284 in Marble Falls. He has been involved in scouting as an adult since 2005. Thom shared with the Club some of the activities the local troop undertakes and outlined a number of interesting statistics that show how important scouting is to our society. For example:
In 2012, the centennial year of the Eagle Scout Award, 57,976 Scouts earned the Eagle Scout rank—more than in any previous year.
2,175,878 merit badges were earned by Boy Scouts in 2012.
On average, Scout volunteers give 20 hours per month in service to Scouting.
181 NASA astronauts were involved in Scouting (57.4% of astronauts). 39 are Eagle Scouts.
189 members of the 113th Congress participated in Scouting as a youth and/or adult leader. 27 are Eagle Scouts.
36.4 percent of the United States Military Academy (West Point) cadets were involved in Scouting as youth. 16.3 percent of cadets are Eagle Scouts.
Scouting is alive and well in the Highland Lakes and is important because, simply, it makes a difference. (Editor's note: in 16 years on the District Court/Juvenile bench I never saw a Boy Scout in Juvenile Court). Our own Wade Whiteside is also involved in scouting as a leader for Troop 284, shown here with Thom.
It's a new world with tremendous benefits, according to Jeanette Jones who presented modern home-schooling to Daybreak Rotary on April 15.
The support of others in the area who also home-school and the availability of curricula from publishers make home-schooling viable for a family willing to put in the effort. Jeanette shared a lot of information about how the process can work and how the lessons are organized while Martha did a little "show and tell" with the children who were present. They were very impressive in their demonstration of acquired facts.
The program was arranged by Rotarian Jeff Watts who is shown in the photograph with his daughter, Ruth.
Photo left to right: Ruth, Jeanette, Jeff (back row), Johnny, Joshua and Martha.
Daybreak Rotarians unanimously cheered the initiative for adoption awareness and foster parent recruitment.
Co-chairs Eddie Arredondo and Barbara Warden explained the program to the membership today. In a comprehensive push to increase the number of foster homes and adoptions in the Highland Lakes Daybreak Rotary has undertaken a life-changing service to abused and neglected children. Daybreakers will be involved in three major areas of activity which include (1) an "Adoption Day" event each November, (2) helping the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services (TDFPS) to recruit prospective foster parents, and (3) assisting TDFPS in conducting the training necessary for certification as a foster parent.
Members Arredondo (Burnet County Attorney), Leslie Vance (Burnet County's civil attorney) and Gil Jones (retired District Judge) all echoed the tremendous benefit that will come to abused and neglected children by increasing the number of foster homes in the area. Many new foster homes will become certified as "foster/adopt" homes meaning they are pre-approved for adopting a child needing a home.
Awards were made to the Club members by incoming District Governor Rich Kaye.
The Daybreak Rotary Club of Marble falls is a 100% sustaining member club. That means that every member contributes at least $100 annually to the Rotary Foundation. On April 2, 2013 incoming District Governor Rich Kaye presented certificates to all of the members, recognizing their contributions. All but three of the members were present which also is a comment on the vitality of this club.
The impact of the "Every Rotarian [at least $100] Every Year" program is summarized by RI thusly:
"Sustaining Members are critical to the Foundation. If every club member contributed $100 every year, Rotary could nearly double its efforts to help needy people worldwide and support the continued growth of its programs."
Good work, Daybreakers!
In the accompanying photo Foundation Chairman Jeff Watts receives his certificate from Governor-elect Rich Kaye.
The ugly specter of bullying is being addressed at MFISD in a big way, along with other aspects of safety, according to MF Elementary Principal Bruce Peckover and Ass't Superintendent Allen Roberts.
Bruce described a very comprehensive program on how MFISD is addressing the problem of student bullying. They have implemented a comprehensive student-led Bully prevention program from elementary through high school campuses. The program is based on the No Place for Hate® model and has proven to be quite successful.
Allen spoke about the more general safety program as the coordinator of the Safe and Drug-Free school environment. In addition to periodic self-audits of physical and procedural safety, the school recently participated in a Safety Summit conducted jointly with area emergency medical, police and other first responders.
Daybreak Rotarians Eddie Arredondo, Barbara Warden, and Ed Cole participated in an Adoption Awareness "match party" last Saturday. That event is part of the kick-off for Daybreak's adoption initiative.
(Story by Eddie Arredondo, Adoption Awareness co-Chair for Daybreak Rotary)
The Marble Falls Daybreak Rotary Board recently met and approved its initial support in the promotion of adoption for local children. As part of this response, President Jim Warden appointed a committee to investigate what our club can do.
The co-chairs for the group are Eddie Arredondo and Barbara Warden. The Adoption Awareness Committee has formed and had several meetings. It soon will be presenting its findings to the overall membership. In the meantime, the committee was presented a unique opportunity.
The Centennial Club in the Cedar Park area of Austin held a "match party" on Saturday March 23rd. Such parties involve inviting pre-qualified parents interested in adopting a child to a social gathering to meet children needing adoptive parents. As the event involves the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services, strict security measures were required for all volunteers and participants.
Three Marble Falls Daybreak Adoption Committee Members were given the opportunity to learn and participate in the event. Barbara Warden, Ed Cole, and Eddie Arredondo all passed security clearances and were put to work.
The photos speak for themselves. Barbara prepared food, Eddie grilled, and Ed served the meal. Additionally, the three learned a lot about hosting such an event. More importantly, they met persons from around the State who are involved in the promotion of adoptions. This networking opportunity is deemed to be a big help as Daybreak Rotary hopes to promote this important cause in the future.
The children had a great time, requests for some adoptions are underway, and the effort met the 4-way test. This was the Centennial Rotary Club's first match party, and it was an outstanding success. The Adoption Awareness Committee thanks the Centennial Club and its President, Jerry Lozano for their invitation . Together, we have made a difference.
While the "match party" participation was valuable to us, Daybreak intends to take a slightly different direction in promoting quality foster care and adoptions in the "Greater Burnet County" and Highland Lakes area. More to come.
The program will detail the pending demolition of the old bridge structure on Highway 281 over Lake Marble Falls.
The Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) will give a presentation at the Daybreak Rotary on Tuesday March 5th at 7:00 a.m. The program will detail the pending demolition of the old bridge structure on Highway 281 over Lake Marble Falls. Representatives from TxDOT and Archer Western, the contractor for the bridge, will explain how they intend to use explosives to bring down the old structure as a part of the demolition process. The presentation will include the planning process, transportation plan, and safety safeguards being taken to assure the safety of homes, businesses, the environment, and the public during the demolition process.
You should get a real bang out of this presentation.
Bryce Gage, MFHS Choir Director, spoke to us about the current activities of the choir including their upcoming trip to England. The Marble Falls Choir has become recognized as one of the outstanding choir programs in the state and has performed at numerous prestigious events including a performance at the White House. The program continues to grow. He is losing 16 students to graduation and picked up 68 incoming freshmen! He has had five choirs, is adding a sixth, and no doubt will have to continue the program.
The upcoming London trip has all of the 45 students and the 45 adults (Bryce is grateful for the 1:1 ratio) quite excited. One of their bookings came after many rejections (caused by the musical director not even listening to the CD that was sent), but when he finally listened then suddenly the MFHS choir was THE program they wanted. We could have told them so.
Rotarian Gil Jones inquired about the choir members who also participate in other activities. The choirs include athletes from almost all the sports and students involved in still other extra-curricular activities, according to Gage. He was quickly reminded to keep Daybreak Rotary on the list for Christmas-time entertainment -- now a seven year tradition -- when prompted by Rotarian Jeffrey Bartz.
From 19 students when Gage came to MFHS, the program has grown to 240. Gage's outstanding program clearly develops leadership, motivation, discipline and all-around fine young people who will be the leaders of tomorrow. Congratulations Bryce, and thank you.
Today's program was brought by Rotarian Keith Powell.
Coach Norris regaled us with a full litany of his extensive and very interesting coaching career.
Program highlights
Coaches move a lot and he sure did. Each move was described as his being happy where he was but someone had called. Well, he would just go make a visit but was not making a change. Going just to be cordial.
Then he would be swept away with the program he saw and could not sign fast enough! He's glad to be settled here in the Highland Lakes now and Daybreak Rotarians were glad to hear from him today.
Background
Rex Norris was born in Tipton, Indiana and raised in San Angelo, TX as a true Texan. He graduated from East Texas State University and started his 45 plus year coaching career. He began at R.L. Turner High School and from there went to Texas A&M with Emory Bellard. Oklahoma then sought his skills and he spent the next eleven years as a Sooner. He has coached at every level, including stops at Arizona State, Florida, Tennessee, Texas, Detroit Lions, Denver Broncos, Houston Oilers, Tennessee Titans, and Chicago Bears.
After moving to Horseshoe Bay he has been with the Toronto Argonauts, the Amsterdam Admirals in NFL Europe, the UFL's Omaha Nighthawks and various high school All-Star games. He will be discussing his long and illustrious career.
The first annual Marble Falls Walk-A-Dog-A-Thon will be held March 2. An exciting, new event.
The first annual Marble Falls Walk-A-Dog-A-Thon will be held March 2. An exciting, new event. The speaker today was Barb Robertson from the local SPCA no-kill shelter who spoke about the work of their shelter and the need for support of a no-kill facility. She shared personal stories of her seven years of volunteering there including the walking of two Great Pynenees described by some as small horses.
Shannon Heep, shown on the left of the photo introduced Barb and gave details on the event which is a family event beginning in Johnson Park and featuring a 2-1/2 mile walk with our friends,family, and your canine companion. According to Shannon there will be vendors, doggie contests and more. Of possible special note is a shortcut stop at the R Bar where you can enjoy a beverage of your choice and wait for the crowd to catch up.
Today's program was Gail Wood, local handgun CHL instructor who gave us a comprehensive overview of the landscape affecting the carrying of a handgun.
Gail refreshed the members and guests on the existence and import of the 2nd Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, talked about the Texas Penal Code provisions affecting the ability to carry a handgun, and spoke in some detail about the Texas Castle Doctrine and "Stand Your Ground" issues and awareness. The requirements for qualifying for and obtaining a concealed carry license in Texas were also covered.
The members were slow to start in their questions to Gail -- apparently awed by the scope and depth of this critical and timely topic -- but came alive with many good questions.
An interesting fact that was a surprise to many was that as a percentage of the population Texas is actually far behind many other states in the number of CHL licensees.
The following was received from Daybreak Rotarian Brooks, who received it from Trudy Marshall whom we support in her Ugandan/Kenyan Libraries of Love mission.
Daybreakers,
Trudy is leaving on Wednesday for Kenya on a special mission trip. This is new and separate from the Libraries of Love. Once again Trudy has headed the call of the Lord and is off to do His will.
Below I have included a copy of her email regarding this trip.
We all need to keep her in our prayers.
Brooks
Dear Friends,
I will be leaving Wednesday, the 30th, to my other home across the ocean. I wanted to share with you about the upcoming trip.
In Uganda, I will be working in our 24 libraries. The team will come June 15th. We will complete two libraries started last year and create four new ones. I am looking forward to my two-day meeting with headmasters, and later two days with all of our librarians.
Before going to Uganda, I will go to Kenya. This is not a Libraries of Love trip … simply a ‘Trudy’ side mission. Last year, as I wrote in a newsletter, after leaving Uganda, I went to see a Masai pastor friend, Peter, in the remotest part of Kenya. We visited places where school and churches meet under trees. After returning, I shared the situation with the pastor of Pflugerville Community Church. Their church is now donating funding to build three buildings in Masailand. Two will be schools – also used for churches. The third was Peter’s request, as he needs a building to use as a seminary to train the approx. 60 pastors under his care. **May God bless PCC and their pastor, Steve Clem, for this incredible donation.
Peter had shared that the pastors needed Bibles, so I posted the need to Facebook. With the help of friends and New Life Baptist Church in Pflugerville, I will be able to purchase around 100 Bibles in Nairobi, which will be in the Masai language. There will be some happy pastors! Peter has a pastors’ conference in April. Wilber, my Ugandan pastor, is going to preach at the conference, so I will go to Uganda the first of March – and return with Wilber for the five day conference.
There you have it – by the time I return in August, there will be two new school – churches, one seminary, two completed libraries, and four new ones. How incredible is that?! I am so thankful for the donors and volunteers that make it all possible. Amazing people they are! As always – all the glory belongs to God.
I will try to stay in touch and plan on returning August 15.
May our God keep us until we meet again.
Trudy
She continues her incredible mission and I need not try to add more to this story. But in case you have missed what her mission is all about:
From the earliest days of the organization, Rotarians were concerned with promoting high ethical standards in their professional lives. One of the world's most widely printed and quoted statements of business ethics is The 4-Way Test, which was created in 1932 by Rotarian Herbert J. Taylor (who later served as RI president) when he was asked to take charge of a company that was facing bankruptcy.
The 4-Way Test
From the earliest days of the organization, Rotarians were concerned with promoting high ethical standards in their professional lives. One of the world's most widely printed and quoted statements of business ethics is The 4-Way Test, which was created in 1932 by Rotarian Herbert J. Taylor (who later served as RI president) when he was asked to take charge of a company that was facing bankruptcy. This 24-word test for employees to follow in their business and professional lives became the guide for sales, production, advertising, and all relations with dealers and customers, and the survival of the company is credited to this simple philosophy. Adopted by Rotary in 1943, The 4-Way Test has been translated into more than a hundred languages and published in thousands of ways. It asks the following four questions:
Republic Services will be helping the City of Cottonwood Jan 26th at 9:00 AM clean up a nature preserve. We will meet at the end of Dogwood street at 9:00
Joseph's Food Pantry is more than just a food pantry. Roy Guerrero told Daybreak Rotarians all about it today.
The Pantry is also a resource place where people of the Hill Country can come and get help with food, clothing, household items, help filling our form, and help finding resources to pay essential bills such as water and electricity. They serve approximately 6,000 people monthly within the several programs available.
As a partner with the Austin Capitol Food Bank Joseph's Pantry has a valuable ally in purchasing. One of their large evolutions is to receive and distribute 10-12,000 pounds of produce once a month.
Roy and his wife both volunteer at the Pantry. Roy is a full time employee elsewhere and spends his days off there. Theirs is truly a ministry of love and the community is fortunate to have them.
More information is available at http://www.josephsfoodpantry.com/. And see the Daily Tribune article in December, 2012.
Jim Berg opines: "Finally, Rotary gets the recognition it justly deserves! Our main focus of our beloved Rotary is the project conceived and driven by our 34,000 clubs and districts. This is a wonderful tool to support our ongoing drive to raise the funding to complete this important job : eradication of polio." Learn more about the tremendous progress in killing polio.
"Finally, Rotary gets the recognition it justly deserves! Our main focus of our beloved Rotary is the project conceived and driven by our 34,000 clubs and districts. This is a wonderful tool to support our ongoing drive to raise the funding to complete this important job : eradication of polio" as reported by Jim Berg. Apparently the Asian and other editions of editions of the current Time magazine has a big spread on the polio eradication.
Read about the progress in fighting polio and Rotary’s role in eradicating this crippling disease. “Thanks to aggressive global vaccination programs led by Rotary International, UNICEF, the World Health Organization, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control, and, most recently, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, the year just beginning could be the disease’s last.”
(from an email by Jim Berg, RRFC 2012-2015)
Here is part of the Time article:
There’s no one place a virus goes to die — but that doesn’t make its demise any less a public health victory. Throughout human history, viral diseases have had their way with us, and for just as long, we have hunted them down and done our best to wipe them out. In the developed world, vaccines have made once-common scourges such as measles, rubella, mumps and whooping cough rare to the point of near-extinction. Only once, however, has any virus been flushed from its last redoubts in both the body and the wild and effectively vaccinated out of existence. That virus was smallpox, which ceased to exist outside high-security labs in 1977. Since that day, humanity has been free to put the vaccines against the disease — and the terror its periodic outbreaks would cause — on the shelf forever.
Now we are tantalizingly close to another such epic moment. This time the disease in the medical cross hairs is polio, and there’s no minimizing the progress made against it. Just 25 years ago, polio was endemic to 125 countries and would paralyze or kill up to 350,000 people — the overwhelming majority of them children — each year. Now the disease has been run to ground in just three countries: Afghanistan, Pakistan and Nigeria, and in 2012, it struck only 215 people worldwide. Thanks to aggressive global vaccination programs led by Rotary International, UNICEF, the World Health Organization, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control, and, most recently, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, the year just beginning could be the disease’s last.
But polio still has strong-armed friends. On January 1, as the rest of the world celebrated the New Year, gunmen in Pakistan shot and killed seven medical aid workers — six of them women or girls — who had been part of the anti-polio drive. Those killings followed nine others in December, as well as the shooting of a Ghanaian doctor, also conducting polio-vaccination work in Pakistan, in July. The month before that, the Pakistani Taliban blocked the planned vaccination of 161,000 children until U.S. drone strikes in the country were halted.
Polio is a notoriously slippery disease, one that relies on — indeed its very survival depends on — just the kind of holes such sabotage efforts open in the vaccine safety net. In 2003, polio was similarly near its end when clerics in Northern Nigeria halted inoculations — claiming that the vaccine contained HIV and was designed to sterilize children. Within two years, cases of polio linked to the Nigerian strain were raging across 16 countries. And since once case of paralysis can result for every 200 cases of polio infection, that means there may be 199 other carriers silently and unknowingly spreading the virus.
Using children as viral suicide bombers this way is a new — and grotesque — form of bioterrorism, and the world, for now at least, is not standing idly by. After the December killings, Pakistani officials pledged to continue with the country’s plans to deploy 250,ooo health care workers to vaccinate 35 million children this year. The governments of Nigeria and Afghanistan have similarly vowed to see the eradication drive through to its end, as have the U.N. and the other institutions involved in the battle. The Islamic Development Bank has put fresh money behind the push, donating $227 million to the vaccine program in Pakistan in particular. This is on top of the billions already provided by Rotary and the Gates Foundation alone.
All of that money could turn out to be very very well spent. One billion dollars per year over the next few years could save $50 billion over the next 20 years in the costs of continuing to chase the disease around the globe and treat the children who are felled by it. And there is no way, of course, of putting a price tag on the suffering of those stricken children — or the importance of sparing other victims the same fate. The war with the polio virus and its human defenders has been joined — and 2013 could be the year in which the climactic battles are fought.
Dr. Kelly Fox spoke to Marble Falls Daybreak Rotary today about the partnership between Texas Tech and the Marble Falls ISD for an innovative mentor-education student program.
The students are mentored and evaluated over the course of a year in classroom student teaching assignments and upon graduation they have a full year of experience under their belt. Kelly is shown here with one of the two students in this pilot program. The school district and the student get to look at each other for that one-year period and if it's a fit, then the school knows it is getting a quality teacher who already knows the local school district, and vice-versa.
The program is known as "TechTeach" and is a teacher education program at Texas Tech University which is a clinically intensive, competency-based program designed to prepare teachers. Those teachers will be better prepared to improve the academic performance of K-12 students.
The program was sponsored by Rotarian Rick Edwards who serves as the Marble Falls ISD Board President.
Each Christmas season Daybreak Rotary along with the other two area Rotary Clubs helps in the bell-ringing for the Salvation Army. We hear grateful stories which we now share with you.
While the current bell-ringing raises the entire budget for the local Salvation Army effort and is appreciated by them, many people have stories from years and decades past where the Army helped them or a loved one. Heart strings are tugged. Additions to the stories below will be forth-coming. The quoted material is the person's story as recalled by the Rotarian ringing the bells.
Giver: "My brother came back from WW2 and made it to the U.S. but we did not know where he was. The Red Cross would not help us, but the Salvation Army did. They looked for him for months." Rotarian: "Did they find him ok?" Giver: "No, but they tried. They tried hard." -- as told by Gil Jones
I had a lady stop her car in front of the bell ringing , holding up traffic, and pulled her ash tray out full of change to give to Salvation Army. Kinda cool. Another stopped, wrote out a check and came running up to deposit. Fun to see. -- Dick Nicholson
My job tends to lead me to dealing with the tougher side of people; I had no idea what to expect.
I’m a numbers guy and naturally had to see my score at the end. During my 2 hour ringing I made about $200; I’ll take $100/hour any day. This included 2 - $10’s, 13- $5’s and then a large pile of singles and change that I didn’t expect. Multiple people thanked me for even being there. A father stopped with his two young sons and described how the Salvation Army had saved his life when he was orphaned at a very young age, making their lives possible. It was truly amazing.
Looking back at Christmas 2012, this was when I felt the spirit of giving and genuine human desire to help one another selflessly. Thank you for allowing me to be involved; it helped me quite a bit also to see the power of giving.
This was something I had thought would drag down my day; it was the true bright spot instead.
This was something I expected to add to my stress; it got my mind off of my problems completely and gave me a sense of accomplishment.
This was something I expected to endure; it instead strengthened me.
Those people gave me more than $200 for the Salvation Army.
-- from Whit Holcomb
An older gentleman with the gait of a much younger man came up to me and, as he was making his donation to the kettle, he told me that the Salvation Army was the only organization that he gives money to. He explained now that he was on social security he he had to watch his pennies. However he could not pass up a Salvation Army kettle with out giving all the money he had in his pockets to help out.
He said that the worst time in his life was as a young man in World War 2 where he served in the European Theatre. While he was there, the only time that any one gave him anything was when the Salvation Army gave him hot coffee, a free doughnut, and a warm smile. Even today he hasn't forgotten the Salvation Army's outreach, and he continues to give back what he can.
-- shared by Jim Warden
Hill Country folks sure are generous, and especially around Christmas. We're not born knowing how to give, though, and it takes some patient training from those who love us to develop that compassion for others. I saw this in action as I rang the bell this year. A little boy about six proudly walked over to the kettle to deposit the money his mother had tucked into his hand. She watched thoughtfully, and said "Son, what's in your wallet?" He looked over in surprise and said "my money." She said, "put in the bucket." With a shocked look, he stated "it's MY money!" She directed him, "put it in - all of it."
He did so, a LOT more slowly than he'd deposited the first donation, and with a rather troubled look on his face. His mother smiled and said, "Son, your gift will be returned to you with so many blessings - many more than you gave." I could see the doubt in his eyes, but I knew her lesson was heard and would prove true. I felt a big lump in my throat, hearing that reminder, so well taught that afternoon in front of Wal-Mart.
-- an experience by Barbara Warden
A WW2 vet walked over to the bucket & emptied every pocket, including his jacket. He explained that he never passed up a Salvation Army bucket because they were the only ones who cared & went all the way. I asked what he meant.
He explained that he was in WW2 as a young man, fighting in France after the invasion. His unit had just taken a small village from the Germans, but the Germans retreated all around the village. They were "sort of" under siege surrounded by the German troops they just ousted. The Germans didn't attack, but just kept them in the town. They soon found out why, as food, water, shelter & clothing were scarce. All they could do was wait for reinforcements.
The few locals remaining told them that red cross was nearby, but refused to come in, stating it was too dangerous & not a great enough need in the village.
A few days later the salvation army showed up in town, with food, water & most of all, dry boots & socks for everyone. He never forgot. They never asked for "thanks" & refused even the smallest token of appreciation. He gives his "thank you" in every red bucket he sees, every year.
-- Wow. What a story as related by Allan
Did you know that you can make contributions on the website? Both one-time and recurring payments can be made by credit card. Here's where and how ...
Did you know that you can make contributions on the website? Both one-time and recurring payments can be made by credit card. Here's where and how ...
Go to www.rotary.org and look for the link to "Member Access"
If you have already signed up there, just log in. Otherwise create an account. You will need the club number which is 62133 and the District, if you need it, is 5870. You will also need your member number. If you don't have that number I **think** the rotary site gives you a way to look it up. If not, the club secretary can give that to you.
Once in, you will see this menu where you can do two things regarding contributions, plus some other stuff
There you go. Easy as eating a Blue Bonnet Cafe pie!
I just made a year-end contribution to be sure I had the sustaining member status made for the 2011-12 Rotary Year, to get over the next Paul Harris hump, and to get the tax deduction before year-end. I designated it for
Literacy Highland Lakes and its 100 volunteers continue to enhance adult education in the Highland Lakes.
Orville Cleverly, an active volunteer in LHL's GED program gave us an overview of the many services they provide. In addition to tutoring "non-traditional" students toward attaining their GED, the group also has a citizenship program with English as a Second Language assistance.
Notably, LHL has added to its fixed location GED tutoring with the ability to meet one-on-one at alternative times for students who cannot meet at the scheduled times. This added outreach is but one example of the efforts to which LHL goes to assist anyone who wants to further their education in spite of the rigors of family and work life.
Wow, what a program! Even as the hallowed adjournment time came, and passed, Daybreak Rotarians sat in quiet awe. Not one left the meeting. What passion: THAT is what puts the "R" in Rotarian.
Tacit approval was clear from the quiet and considered response of the Club. It is clear that an Adoption Awareness program is something the Daybreak will consider carefully.
Armed with the concept of Service Above Self, one small club in San Benito, Texas embarked on what has led to a major program developing in the USA. This program simply is one that honors children who have been taken from their parents for reasons of abuse or neglect and placed in foster care. Adoption Awareness throws a party for these children once a year. It is a venue that provides a special time for prospective adopting parents to observe those who are the few who will never be allowed to return to their birth parents. It is there that they find special children in the direst of needs and special people who need a special child to complete their family.
Lionel Betancourt is the "father" of the program. He explained its origin and workings while enticing the Club to think about this as a project. Lionel spoke of how 15 years ago the San Benito Rotary Club had only a handful of kids to the party and now the Rotary-sponsored Adoption Awareness has spread across Texas, to other states, and to a few other countries.
He mentioned Nigerian officials calling and wanting to know where to send their children. Lionel had to explain that the idea was to do match-ups right there in their own country. Nigeria now has a similar program.
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Alexandra Randolph (“Alex for short”) told us all about her experiences of being a local reporter for the Highland News group of papers. 
Mr. Kirk Noaker spoke to the Marble Falls Daybreak Rotary on Tuesday June 17, 2014. The fellow Rotarian is an investigator for the Regional Public Defender’s Office. 
Ralph Hendrix from Daybreak Rotary approached the MFMS art teachers last fall and told the art teachers that the Rotarians would like to make a donation of supplies for art projects for the Middle School’s students. MFMS Art Teacher, Amy Miller, reported that her students were pleased and surprised this week when the new art supplies were delivered to the school by Rotarian Jim Warden.
Mark McCary, a local Marble Falls Attorney, 
Three Marble Falls Daybreak Adoption Committee Members were given the opportunity to learn and participate in the event. Barbara Warden, Ed Cole, and Eddie Arredondo all passed security clearances and were put to work.
The program will detail the pending demolition of the old bridge structure on Highway 281 over Lake Marble Falls. 
Dr. Kelly Fox spoke to Marble Falls Daybreak Rotary today about the partnership between Texas Tech and the Marble Falls ISD for an innovative mentor-education student program. 
Notably, LHL has added to its fixed location GED tutoring with the ability to meet one-on-one at alternative times for students who cannot meet at the scheduled times. This added outreach is but one example of the efforts to which LHL goes to assist anyone who wants to further their education in spite of the rigors of family and work life.
