The third Excellence in Education Awards for teachers in the Clear Creek Independent School District was presented May 2, 1993  at the Club luncheon. Theresa Walker  was awarded the Teacher of the Year. The Club has honored excellent performance by outstanding teachers in the Clear Creek Independent School District. Others honored were Angelee Chiver, Ellen Conner, Melinda Mills, Judith Puhr and Milton Pullen. These teachers were introduced by Rotary members Beth Stus, David Taylor, LaWann Tull, Lynette Masen-Hale and Richard Hergert. The Excellence in Education committee has selected Theresa from 69 nominations for 59 different teachers from 231 different schools.  Additional pictures and information about the teachers can be viewed in the   May 10, 1993 Blastoff.  

The Club 's Environmental Issues Committee had its  fourth   Annual Celebration   at Baybrook Mall on April 17, 1993.  This event, organized and directed by the Space Center Rotary committee, brought in the entire Clear Creek School District with the Earth Day Art Contest. In addition, a wide variety of organizations concerned about environmental issues were granted a forum to present themselves to the public at Baybrook Mall. 

Children's Protective Services in Harris and Brazoria Counties had a program called "Three Wishes for Christmas" which fulfills wishes for children in their care up to 18 years of age. The children are in this care not for something they have done, but for something that has been done to them, such as abuse or neglect by parents or others.  Bicycles make a big hit with these kids, and thanks to support from a number of you in our club I was able to make a very advantageous purchase of twelve bicycles for the program. Just imagine the happiness of these children when they awoke on Christmas morning to find their name on one of these bicycles.  Being ever optimistic, I hope that next year we will be able to purchase and furnish 24 bicycles.  You all have made this a very special Christmas for 12 children.  The above was from part of a letter from  Vic "Three Wishes" Maria.  More can be viewed in the January 11, 1993  Blastoff.  

Two children were treated  by Dr. Fustok working at St. John Hospital as part of the Rotary's World Health Foundation.  Norma Rivera received serious reconstructive surgery.  Norma has visited Dr. Fustok many times with progressive improvement showing.  Now comes an important break for her as a result of interclub activities.  She will receive a scholarship enabling her to train to become a secretary and thereby become self-supporting.  This vocational scholarship was awarded as part of the joint action of the Gulfway Hobby Club and its sister club, the Mixcoac Rotary Club in Mexico City.  By good fortune, Anne Weseman heard about the Mixcoac Club's vocational scholarship program and was able to make a strong proposal to the president of the Mixcoac Club about Norma and her need.    Fares abu Fares, who suffered a gunshot wound to his face in his native Jerusalem, received the  first stage of the surgery at St. John Hospital as part of our Club's Rotary World Health Foundation cooperation with the hospital and Dr. Fustok.  The next step is dental work. 

There was several documents regarding the Project Free Enterprise program.  A letter from Dr. David Taylor, Director Project Free Enterprise summarizes the program as of September 2, 1992, a District 5890 newsletter, a Rotary International newsletter , and an application form.

The Club received a letter dated March 17, 1993, RE: Clear Lake Community Center Project, from Commissioner Jim Fonteno stating "Consequently it is my recommendation that  your club consider delaying further fund-raising until we can give  you a realistic timetable for completing this project.  In a letter dated May 24, 1993, President Hesson responded in part: "Your letter to me dated March 17, 1993, was presented to our board of directors for discussion and, in light of the unforeseen complications and uncertainty of timing for this project, the Board has decided to suspend any further fund raising activities for the Center. While we will certainly consider this project again, when the problems have been solved, Space Center Rotary Club must withdraw it previous pledge of $100,000.00 and be relieved of this obligation. Because our budgeting is annual, it is difficult to sustain financial commitments that extend beyond the term of one president."  Read the entire letter.

The Club once again participated, the 5th year of the program, in the Annual Drug Awareness Essay Contest sponsored by District 5890.  Three of the Clear Creek Independent School District schools participated through the Club and the following 8th Grade Students were winners from their respective schools. Clear Creek Intermediate, Mickey Hanna; Webster Intermediate, and Yoni Adegun; Space Center Intermediate, Nicole Luedeman.  Mickey Hanna was one of the top four district wide winners.  His essay was chosen from some 60,000 submitted through the District.  At the May 7th awards Dinner, Mickey received a personal computer, a $500 savings bond and a season pass to Astroworld and Waterworld.  The Club also awarded him a plaque, pen and pencil set and a paid week at the Huntsville Alabama Space Camp.  Other winners received similar club awards with a week at Space Camp Houston and the Space Center YMCA summer camp.  More information and a picture of Mickey are shown in   May 24, 1993 Blastoff.

Five local police officers were awarded the Space Center Distinguished Law Enforcement Award, the first year of the program, on April 12, 1993. The officers receiving the presentations were: Jeff Wagner, Regina Ellis, Randy Derr, Larry Fleener, and Russell Herrera. Making the individual presentations were committee members Ken Gurry, Charlotte Garner, Dick Hergert, Claire Taylor, and Dick Gregg. The officers' backgrounds were detailed in the  February 22, 1993  Blastoff. Each officer received an individual standing ovation, as unusual.  Each also received a plaque and a paperweight symbolic of the award.  Committee Chairman and originator of the program, Dr. David Taylor, announced that Officer Herrera had been named "Officer of the Year" and awarded him a check from the club for $1000. Terry Hesson announced that the Board had named Herrera an Honorary Member of Space Center Club for a year. Officer Herrera, visibly moved but making light of his accomplishments, said "It takes the police and the community working together to bring peace to a neighborhood."  David Taylor also presented Officer Herrera's Police Chief with a beautiful plaque bearing Herrera's photo (by member Carver Shivers) for the lobby of the police station. Herrera commented that "The Chief would like to borrow my paperweight since I don't have a desk to set it on."  Finally, Vic Maria displayed a plaque to be permanently displayed with the name of this Officer of the Year and ones to be named in the future. Judge Phelps has given permission for this plaque to the displayed in the Harris County Court House Annex in Clear Lake City.  (Note Historian 2009: Dr. David Taylor was the originator of the program and recalls in 2008 how it came about.  " I think it was the following year that Rodney King was beaten in Los Angeles and caught on video (March 3, 1991), and police were being bashed in the media and painted as a bunch of thugs.  So I began the same sort of recognition for Law Enforcement, but it had to be based on professional achievement and not heroism.  It extended to all law enforcement agencies that served the Clear Lake area.  Detective   Rusty Herrera;   of Pasadena Police Department was our first Officer of the Year." ) More information and pictures in the   April 19, 1993 Blastoff  and an article in the Bay Area Sun.

The Club has been in the process of developing a mentoring program over the last several years. The purpose of the program is to provide strong role models for school age boys and girls in the Clear Lake area. The mentoring committee, in cooperation with Bridgeport Communities in Schools, qualifies and trains Space Center Rotarians to be mentors, then matches Rotarians to youth based on common interests.  Mentoring is an opportunity for Rotarians to provide one-on-one adult companionship to interested boys and girls during important formative years. The mentoring program enables Rotarians to have a positive impact on the youth of our area by spending as little as an hour every other week. Several of our members are already qualified as mentors and are actively working with youth in our community.   A testimony on mentoring by Club member, Johnny White, is in the    November 16, 1992   Blastoff.  Read letter to Dr. David Taylor from Dr. Huey Barnett.

Pictures of the participants in the International Youth Exchange hosted by the Club can be viewed  in the  August 10, 1992 Blastoff.  Karen Birchenough, International Youth Chair, led off the October 19, 1992 Club meeting program with the introduction of   Priscila (nickname "Pree") Leopoldo e Silva from Sao Paulo, Brazil, one of 8 Rotary Exchange Students now in District 5890. Pree entertained the Club members with facts about her homeland (which is 12 times the size of Texas).  Tim Kropp reported that the Club is very active at the district level with 6 students overseas in Brazil, Sweden, Hungary, Denmark and South Africa. (Karen's son, Robbye Birchenough, is in Sweden, north of the Arctic Circle).  Surprisingly 80% of host families come from outside of Rotary. The Interact Clubs help provide many host families.  The South Central Rotary Youth Exchange winter meeting in Tulsa was well represented by the Club Rotarians: Alan Wylie, Billy and Anne Weseman and Karen Birchenough. There were 87 students representing 26 countries and four of the students were ours: Aaron Wylie, outbound to Norway; Tammy La Breck, outbound to Sweden; Kelly Blacknoll, outbound to Germany, and our own    Alexandra Fluerentine from France.

An interesting story and pictures about some medical supplies and equipment being collected for shipment to Mexico can be viewed in the   December 14, 1992   Blastoff.  After a tremendous effort by the Club and District 5890, the effort had a surprising ending. The Board of Director's Meeting minutes of July 7, 1992 stated the following: " The aeropuerto club membership has dropped to 12 people,  Gonzalo Montoya was recently in Mexico City and received a plaque for service in joint projects,  the aeropuerto club wants to know what Space Center's level of interest is because we have not made a club visit there for two years,  a joint project of collecting used clothing was mentioned as a possiblity, the aeropuerto committee will study the relationship and make a proposal to the board.  The March 3, 1993 Board of Directors meeting minutes stated that a meeting with the Aeropuerto Club had been called off due to lack of sign-up.  It was suggestd that the Club terminate its club relations with the Aeropuerto Club because this was the third year that a trip ws planned and had to be called off.

The following thank you note was from Irene Shu-Wei Yao, as Ambassadorial Scholar sponsored by the Club.  "To the Gentlemen of the Space Center Rotary Club:
I regret that I am unable to be with you today, but I trust this note finds you in good health and humor.  I'd like to thank all of you for supporting my application for the Rotary Ambassadorial Scholarship.  Because of your help, I will be attending the National University of Singapore next year, studying Southeast Asia in international relations and sharpening my command of Mandarin Chinese........".   The entire thank you note can be viewed in the  June 28, 1993   Blastoff.

The Rotaract and Interact Clubs were active during the year.  Write-ups about their activities are in  February 22, 1993   and   May 10, 1993  Blastoffs.

The Club added  10   Paul Harris Fellows   bringing the total to 177 since the first recorded Paul Harris Fellow in 1973.

The 84th Rotary International Convention was held at Melbourne Vic., Australia.  There were 20,083 in attendance. Names not availabe as who attended  from Rotary of Space Center, Houston.

District 5890 Conference was held on March 25-27, 1993  at the Austin Marriott at the Capitol Hotel.  The district gave special awards to Jack Lister for outstanding action as the Governor's representative to four clubs; to Alan Wylie and Karen Birchenough for their International Youth work; and to Charles Hartman for his service above self in such major projects as the Rotary National Award for Space Achievement Award.

The Rotary National Award for Space Achievement (RNASA) Foundation presented Thomas P. Stafford with the 1993 National Space Trophy at the 7th annual stellar banquet held on February 18, 1993 at the Hatt Regency, Houston, Texas .  The front cover of the 1993 Rotary National Award for Space Achievement Program can be viewed by clicking on 1993 RNASA Program .  The names of the members of the 1992 RNASA Foundation  can be viewed by clicking on 1993 RNASA Foundation.

Rotary year 1992-93 was placed in the archives March 2010.