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The Rotary Club
of Space Center (Houston), Texas, and U.S.A.
Rotary
International District 5890 (589)
Club 2010
Chartered
August 6, 1964
Blastoff August 30, 2010
by
Kippy Caraway and Jerrold Dewease
Photographers Bob Mitchell
and John Lee
August 23, 2010 Club
Meeting Review
The meeting opened
with the tradition of singing a song lead by Debbie
McBride, reciting the pledge of alliance to the U.S. Flag and
the Rotary Four-Way Test, and an invocation by Carlos
Villagomez. Steve Owens then extended welcomes to
visitors and guests including Assistant District 5890 Governor
Chris Schneider and Houston City Council member
Mike Sullivan
(photo shown with
Sheryl Berg).
President Coney provided the Club with
interesting life facts about one of its members, Roger
Donnelly.
Wow, what an accomplished
athlete! Read more about Roger. He also
announced District 5890 activities coming up: Family Night At
The Astros Thursday Evening, September 9th (two dollars of
every ticket sold will go to fight Polio); District Foundation
Seminar, September 25th; and "Be A Friend" Dinner, October
22nd. Details on these events can be viewed on the
District 5890 web site which can be accessed from the Club
Home Page.
Roger
Donnelly gave a boost to the “cell phone for soldiers” program
by committing his unit of the American Legion to help fill up
a pickup truck with used cell phones.
Micki Czarnik
briefed the
members about the activities of the "Ladies of
Rotary". They have 12 members and are meeting for lunch
on a regular basis. She also noted that
they had raised $1,200 and used the money to help a
wonderful family with clothing. The "Ladies" are also helping
out at the Hope Village once a month. One
of their fundraisers is the Sweet Table at the
Shrimporee.
Shrimporee chair Mike Dennard reminded
everyone the big day is OCTOBER 16th and there would be a
planning meeting Tuesday at 5:30pm at the JSC Credit Union.
"Big Shrimp" Mike announced there would be a $400 gift
certificate for wine tasting for 20 awarded to the team
chief that got to the meeting first. He also committed to
giving a good bottle of wine to the person that donated the
oldest cell phone. Scott Rainey announced three
additional Shrimporee
sponsors; $2,500, Lexus of Clear Lake;
$1,000 Delia Stephens; and $1,000 Houston City Councilman Mike
Sullivan. He also reminded members to turn in
their used cell phones for the “cell phones for soldiers”
program
Bob
Wren, President of the Space Center Rotary Club Endowment
Foundation, announced that a sponsorship had been
approved for
Mitchell
Mardis
(read
more about the sponsorship in the article following the
Club review). Past Club President Jon McKinnie made some
belated awards;
Steve Owens,
the “Service Above Self”
award and to Mike Hesse,
a Plaque of
Appreciation and a Paul Harris Fellow (his third).
Courtney Lindberg then introduced our speakers,
Mary Wood and Patsy Gillham,
Directors of Plastic
Pollution Texas. They spoke about stopping the pollution of
our Texas Waterways, in particular the Houston Bayous. They
described how fish, birds and turtles can choke on the debris.
They explained and encouraged the passage of Texas Bottle Bill
for 2011. Beverages covered are beer, malt, carbonate
soft drink, mineral water, wine, coffee, teas, juices, and
non-carbonated waters. The amount of the deposit is 10 cents
on 24 ozs. and 15 cents on greater than 24 ozs.
containers. There would be reclamation stations at
retail stores and redemption centers. Eleven states
already have a Bottle Bill. State Representative Garnet
Coleman and State Senator Gallegos are sponsors of the
legislation in the Texas Legislature. Legislation is necessary
to have a state coordinated plan and for the necessary start
up funds. They encouraged everyone to contact elected
officials and let them know they support the
Bill. Concluding, they noted the potential
additional revenue injected back into the Texas economy, the
jobs gained in other states with a bottle bill, and the green
house gases avoided by recycling. More information is
availble on the Club's
Environmental Home Page
.
President Coney adjourned the meeting at 1
p.m. See you next week.
Space Center Rotary Club
Endowment Foundation
Awards First Sponsorship
by Robert Wren
Photographer Bob Mitchell
The very first recipient of the new
Vocational Sponsorship Award, Mitchell Mardis from Clearview
High School, was presented to the Club by Peter
Wuenschel
(photo of Peter left and Mitchell at
podium). Mitch was accompanied by his uncle, Lynn
McLaren, who works with at the Bayou Vista Police
Department. Mitch will enter the Fall Semester session
at Alvin Junior College in pursuit of a goal of becoming a
Police Officer. Phil Sandlin will help mentor
Mitch. This program, unlike the singular academic
scholarship awards currently given by our Club, is intended to
support the recipient through a multi-semester path sufficient
in length to enable readiness for gainful employment.
Vic Maria has made the Foundation aware
for sometime that an unfilled niche existed in
our Club's generous recognition of and support given to our
student population. This new Vocational Sponsorship Program
fills that niche. Your Club's Endowment Foundation
intends to continue and to expand this new program benefitting
students who choose a vocational career path in their
studies.
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