History
of
The Rotary Club of Space Center (Houston), Texas, and U.S.A.
Rotary International District 5890 (589)
Club 2010 
for
Rotary Year 1997-98
Chartered August 6, 1964

Thirty four years of serving the local and world communities with a passion for “Service Above Self”

"Rotary Builds Tomorrow "
Rotary Themes

President
Donnie Patrice Johnson


Officers
President Elect
Dick H. Gregg, Jr.
Secretary
Ron Blilie
Treasurer
Bill Geissler
Sergeant at Arms
David Baldwin
Past President
Bill Lowes
Parliamentarian
Billy Smith

Directors
Ed Geissler
Johnny Gibson
Jim Saxe
Tamara Anderson
Ava Lundsford
Claire Taylor
Suzi Howe
Dick Hergert
Jim McDonald 

 President Johnson with U.S. President George H. W. Bush
at The Rotary National Award for Space Achievement Banquet


  Rotary Club of Space Center named " Club of Year "
“As a group, we set aside our difference of opinions, geography and culture and united together to make a difference in the lives of so many people.”.... President Johnson

Space Center Rotary Club received   Presidential Citation  (Club)



Words from President Johnson

President Johnson was the third   woman to be accepted into the Club and became its first woman President.

President Johnson sent a package of the Club's accomplishments and activities  to District 5890 Governor Harris for consideration of a Presidential Citation.  Excerpts from the package were used in this narrative as appropriate.  A hand written  summary of the the accomplishments and activities was also in the forward of the submittal.  Salient portions of the avenues of service reports in the submittal are appended to the end of this narrative.

The Club continued to meet at the Nassau Bay Hilton each Monday at noon with interesting programs from guest speakers and several programs regarding the Club’s activities, Ken Hoffman was the Program Committee Chair.   Jerome Bourgeoisled  the members in songs and the members shared in saying the pledge to the U. S. flag and prayer.  Golf under the leadership of Bill Predmore was a favorite fellowship activity with four outings and a tournament in November. There were two major fellowship events. The popular Holiday Season Wurstfest in New Braunfels was enjoyed by all participants. The second major event was the very popular Christmas Holiday Dinner at Lakewood Yacht Club.

Two of the Club members were former District 5890 (589) Governors,  Floyd Boze 1981-1982,  amd   Billy Weseman  1993-1994.  Vince Lipovsky  and Bev Steadman, both chartered members of the Club, 14 past presidents, and Floyd Boze continued to attend the weekly Club meetings.  See article on Floyd's 50 years of perfect attendance.  The Club’s membership at the end of the Rotary year was  171 members based on District 5890 information.  Information in the avenue of service Club Service C  write-up in the Presidential Citation submittal contains elements which contributed to the large increase in membership.   A pictured Club directory was produced in January 1998.  The first Space Center Rotary Club brochure was published in promotion of the new member campaign.

The Board of Directors met 17  times in regular session and one standup meeting according to President Johnson in 2010, however only 10 Board meeting Minutes were available. The January 6, 1998 Board meeting minutes stated that the Board would meet only once a month for the rest of the year.   The avenues of service committees and committee members  were very active during the  year.   Billy R. Smith   was the Club’s Parliamentarian, and maintained and interpreted the Club’s Constitution and By-Laws.     
 
There were 34 out of a possible 47 issues of the newsletter, The Blastoff.  It was printed on fourteen by eight and one half inch paper on both sides and folded the long way like a book in black ink by The Boeing Company.  It contained the call to order, future events, the song of the day, the Directors' reports, make up locations and other information associated with the Club such as  fundraisers and fellowships.   Robin Riley was the editor, there were no pictures in the newsletters.

The Club donated $36,357  to service projects, The Rotary Foundation, and the Space Center Rotary Club Endowment Foundation bringing the total donations since 1964 estimated to be $643,402 (Note Historian 2009: Based on the balance statement dated June 30, 1998 and other information (the original investment was $15,000 re: February 1, 2000 Board meeting minutes) the amount of money not spent was $17,071.28, thus assuming that all the funds rasised was donated except for this amount).    The amount of monies made from the fund raisers during the  year was $35,609  bringing the total amount raised since the first recorded fund raiser in 1968 estimated to be $633,479.    A comprehensive overview of the  financial condition of the Club can be viewed with the following documents:
summary of the cash and investment balances in various accounts as of June 30, 1998   administrative budget    and service budget.  Read a letter dated September 18, 1997 to President Johnson on  the "forward funding" concept.

The 24th Annual Shrimporee and Auction was held October 25, 1997 at the Landolt Pavilion, Clear Lake Park, Seabrook, Texas.  Rotary International District 5890 Steve Harris, his wife Lee, and daughter Sophia  served as the Honorary Chairman, along with (see photo of the following honoraries) Harris County Precinct 8 Constable Bill Bailey, Judge Louie Ditta.   Port Commissioner Steve Phelps, and Harris County Precinct 2 Commissioner Jim Fonteno    Johnny Gibson  was the Shrimporee chairman.  In addition there were 17 service projects which were supported by the funds from the Shrimporee.  The net income from the Shrimporee was $23,635.  See gallery of newspaper articles about the Shrimporee.  View the Shrimporee poster.

Other fundraisers were the Da Hat.   By dropping a donation into Da Ha t ($331.00), a member or guest could make an announcement, tell his or her latest good or bad news, even a funny story. Others were the afghan sale ($6,243.86) and garage sale ($1,316.00).

The Public Relations campaign was a major success with the Club receiving over $25,000 in publicity and promotion. The reason for this great success is due to new members Rick Clapp of Bay Runner Publication, The Bay Area's Favorite Publication and Mary Alys Cherry of the Citizen/Exchange News. Major articles appeared covering RNASA, Christmas Toys for Tots, Food Fest, Pancake Breakfast, Commissioner Fonteno's recognition, Councilman Roach received a Paul Harris Fellowship, Wings Over Houston, Floyd Boze 50 years perfect attendance, Garage Sale, and 50 Years of Excellence of the CCISD.  Publicity also appeared in the Chronicle, Enterprise and The Sun, Pearland Friendswood Journal, The Enterprise and many more. Fifty articles were in the history file.  A first this year was the Space Center Rotary Brochure, which is a great sales piece used to educate and recruit new top quality members.

President Johnson was very appreciative of the support received from the Club members and others.  She was gracious in her compliments and received many thank you notes and letters.  Read these: TY1, TY2, TY3, TY4, TY5

The Club selected Cathy Hudson of Clear Creek High School as Teacher of the Year.  Five teachers were honored from the 25 schools throughout the Clear Creek Independent School District (CCISD) on May 11,1998 during the regular Club meeting.  The awards program marks the eighth year the Club honored and recognized outstanding CCISD teachers.  The five recipients of Certificates for Excellence in Education awards, along with Hudson, included Linda Andrews of Hall Elementary School, Janet Barksdale of Space Center Intermediate School, Catherine Roberts of Ed White Elementary School, and Sally Wall of Seabrook Intermediate School.  Hudson will receive a Rotary Excellence in Education award of $1,000, an honorary membership in the Club, a personal plaque and a plaque for display at the teacher's school.  Her name will he added to a permanent plaque on display at the CCISD administrative offices.  The other four recipients will each receive certificates and a $300 award.

The Club honored the top school nurses in the Clear Creek Independent School District during a regular Club meeting.  In the photo, Rotarian and Red Cross Executive Director Shirley Lindquist, right, and Rotary committee Chairman Luciano Gaigher, present the awards to Lori Rogers, left, nurse at Wedgewood Elementary in Friendswood, and Connie Poon, nurse at Armand Bayou Elementary in Clear Lake.

The five finalist of the Law Enforcement Distinguished Service Award were named on April 6 at the regular Club meeting.  The winners were Michael A. Barrett, Roger M. Carter, Stuart A.  Harrris, John J. Henderson, and Philip A. Shaffer all of the Houston Police Department.  Officer John J. Henderson was named the Officer of the Year.   Each received $300 and the winner $500.

The Club announced the winners of the tenth drug essay contest at the February 9 Club meeting.  The first place winner was Kris Zaporteza of Clear Lake Intermediate.  First runner-up was Libby Taber of Space Center Intermediate and second runner-up, Vanessa Grandy of Webster Intermediate.  A total of $500 was given the winners.

The Interact Club of Clear Lake High School was very active during the year and some of the accomplishments are listed as follows:  supported Seabrook Fall Music Festival, donated $500 to charity; battle of the bands, a project designed and implemented by Interact to allow the high school bands to perform before the student body for cash prizes which benefited local charities; hosted international student breakfasts for all international students attending the school,  the breakfasts built networks of friends for the international students; and activities continued in the Habitat for Humanity Program.  More activities are contained in the avenue of service Community Service A  write-up  in the Presidential Citation submittal.

Rotaract at the University of Houston Clear Lake was active again with the leadership of Student Ambassador President Kanchana Weerasinghe.  Mr. Weerasinghe reestablished the charter for the University of Houston Clear Lake Rotaract Chapter.  Rotaract organized a book drive for the area women's shelter and local child care agencies.  They assisted in the Space Center Rotary Shrimporee, and  helped with the Rotary Garage Sale.  Rotaract continued to foster humanitarian service and to build friendships among the young college students.

Academic scholarships were given to seven students at the May 4, 1998 regular Club meeting.  Cara Carver and Thomas Robert Coulson of Clear Brook High School; Julie Bowers and Jennifer Yandell of Clear View High School; and Angela Hernandez, Edward Hsieh, and Jennifer Stephens of Clear Lake High School were the winners. 

The Club had a book drive called "Lay-up for Literacy" (so named because we will have donation boxes at the CCISD basketball games during December and January) which was on December 4 at the Clear Creek High School's basketball tournament and at the Club meeting on Monday, December 8.  "Lay-up for Literacy" emphasized "service" rather than "selling" and really made a difference for young people who need help with their reading.  Read more on "Lay-up for Literacy".

Bay Area Red Cross Shirley Lindquist, right in photo, and Assistant Director Sherri McGavern show off one of the four mannequins they were able to buy for their CPR classes with funds donated by the Club’s Health and Fitness  committee.

Rotary District 5890 presented Sandy Johnson, president and owner of Barrios Technology, the "Vocational Excellence Award" at the district assembly held at the University of Houston Hilton.  After being named "Outstanding Business Person of the Year" by the Club, Johnson's name was submitted to the Rotary District 5890 Vocational Excellence Award Committee along with other award recipients from some of the other 55 clubs in the district. The "Vocational Excellence Award" is awarded to individuals who excel in their vocations, have made notable achievements, support their communities, and whose efforts make a difference.  See gallery of newspaper articles about the award and photo of group.

The International Youth Committee was extremely busy during the year.  Kristal Quinn will be sent to Australia next school year.  There was a huge Space Center Weekend for 50 exchange students from several districts from April 2th to the 5th.  The students went to Galveston, the Johnson Space Center, and Armand Bayou during the three days.  The two outbound exchange students, Sean Riley in Poland and Kellyn Jezierski in Switzerland, were doing quite well

The District Group Study Exchange (GSE) Committee has been very busy this year with outgoing and incoming teams to two different countries, Czechoslovakia and Chile. The GSE Team from Czechoslovakia came in October and will help the Houston team tour their country when they arrive there. The Houston GSE team is scheduled to leave in June for a 5 week tour of Czechoslovakia.  The second GSE Team was from Houston to Chile. The GSE team from Chile arrived in April and attended District 5890 Conference in Orlando, Florida.   Hilmar Zeissig was District 5890 International Service Chairman.

The World Health Committee worked to request help for a young Syrian boy named Fayez Katbeh who was severely burnt.  He was brought to the Club’s attention by Dr. Fustok, a plastic surgeon and an honorary member of the Club.  Dr. Fustok has performed surgery on several children since ???????.  Read more on the young boy.  Also Dr. David Taylor sent a letter dated October 29, 1997 to Dr. Fustok regarding treatment on Luis from Mexico.

There were several pieces of correspondence regarding a visit by police who were wanting to visit their counterparts in Houston, Texas that involved some of our Club members.  The police were headquartered in Nalchik, capital of the tiny Caucasian republic of Kabardino-Balkaria, in the Russian Federation.  The police were in the Organized Crime and Narcotics department of the MVD (not to be confused with the former KGB or current equivalent FSB). As David Taylor suggested, there was three police officers, one prosecutor and one person from either the mayor's office, or republic government office which is responsible with organized crime and narcotics problems. And at least one of the group was English speaking who acted as the group's translator. The visit was approved by the Chief of Police of Houston, Texas.  Read all of the correspondence.

The Club added  3 Paul Harris Fellows    bringing the total to 221 since the first recorded Paul Harris Fellow in 1973.

President Glen W. Kinross  and wife Heather, Rotary International President 1997-98 visited the NASA Johnson Space Center on May 28th, 1998.  President Elect James L. Lacy, Rotary International President 1998-99 visited the NASA Johnson Space Center on March 27th, 1998.

The 89nd Rotary International Convention was held at Indianapolis, Indiana  June 14-17, 1998.  There were 19,002 in attendance.  See Rotary Year 1996-97 for the Rotary International Convention which President Johnson attended.

District 5890 Conference was  held April 23-26, 1998 in Orlando, Florida. View additional information, item 1 , item 2 .

The Rotary National Award for Space Achievement (RNASA) Foundation presented U. S. President George Herbert Walker Bush with the 1998 National Space Trophy at the 12th annual stellar banquet held at the Space Center Houston.  The front cover of the 1998 Rotary National Award for Space Achievement Program can be viewed by clicking on 1998 RNASA Program.   The names of the members of the 1998 RNASA Foundation  can be viewed by clicking on 1998 RNASA Foundation.   In President Johnson's own words: "I even had the valuable experience of meeting President George Herbert Walker Bush".   Read  gallery of newspaper articles.

The Rotary National Award for Space Achievement Foundation gave the Space Center Houston  a donation of $10,000 in honor of U. S. President George Bush, recipient of the 1998 National Space Trophy.