The first meeting of the Rotary year kicked off to a great start.  President Elect Mike Dennard officiated, with Assistant District 5890 Governor Chris Schneider welcoming the year's first new member, Darryl Smith.  District Governor Schneider was assisted by sponsor Mary Alice Cherry and Director, Club Administration, Kippy Caraway. 

John Branch, Programs Committee Chair, introduced the speaker, Dr. John Jacob, Director of the Texas Coastal Watershed Program.  Dr. Jacob reminded the membership that population growth in coastal areas has resulted in significantly more folks in harms way when a hurricane does hit.  He discussed Hurricane Carly, a hypothetical worst case scenario model, and recapped information from the Coastal Resilience Symposium held at Rice University.  He also compared the structural and non-structural approaches to damage mitigation, comparing the proposed Ike Dike as a structural solution, and restricted land use as an example of a non-structural solution.  Dr. Jacob stated that there are two kinds of levees:  those that have failed, and those that will fail.  He also touched on the moral hazard of structural-only approaches, in that they create a false feeling of safety for those living behind them.  He discussed the need to work with nature instead of against nature.

A Planning Committee meeting for the October Shrimporee was announced, with a call for additional volunteers, especially among the red badgers.

PANCAKE BREAKFAST COMMING SOON

By Chef Jack

The Space Center Rotary Club Endowment Foundation's pancake breakfast will be held August 14 at the Nassau Bay Baptist Church from 7:30 to 10 am.  Tickets are $7 each or 5 for $30.  Members of the Endowment Foundation will be selling tickets at the club meetings.

This is a good time to get together with family and friends .  The food is good and is cooked by Rotarians, none is catered.  Park in the area where the canopy is.  Signs will direct you to the eating area.

This is a great event for new members to work and get to know other members that otherwise you may not for some time.