History
of
The Rotary Club of Space Center (Houston), Texas, and U.S.A.
 Rotary International District 5890 (589)
Club 2010
for 
Rotary Year 2008-09

President
Miguel "Mike" A. Hernandez, Jr. 

Chartered August 6, 1964

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


Officers
President Elect
Jon McKinnie
Past President
Dick H. Gregg III
Secretary
John Wilson
Treasurer
Marilyn Musial
Sergeant-At-Arms
Michael Dennard

Directors
Club Administration
Mark D. Humphrey
Public Relations
John C. Nugent
Membership
Bill H. Geissler
Fund raising
David B. Coney
Community Service A
Belinda K. Skloss
Community Service B
Dick F. Hergert
International Service A
Mike L. Cornett
International Service B
Dick H. Kidder
Vocational Services
Rae DeCastro



 Space Center Rotary Club named  Best Large Club
in Rotary District 5890

"What an honor to our Club and our members; an acknowledgment of the efforts and contributions that every member made that allowed the club to achieve this coveted award"




Space Center Rotary Club received  Rotary International Presidential Citation

Jon McKinnie named District 5890  Rotarian of the Year

Micki Craznik named Club Rotarian of the Year

President Hernandez's closing remarks about his tenure:


Summary History
An overall  summary of the Club's goals and accomplishments during the Rotary Year by President Hernandez and a summary of the goals and accomplishments on a committee basis by the respective Club's Directors are provided in the Summary History.

Narrative History
The Club continued to meet at the Bay Oaks Country Club each Monday at noon.  The Programs Committee, chaired by Kippy Caraway, provided a variety of interesting programs from guest speakers with several of the time slots used for club activities such as Club Assemblies and fund raiser updates.   The title of the weekly programs and often a brief write-up on the program with pictures was captured in the club’s weekly newsletter, Blastoff.   Debby McBride led the members in songs for most of the meetings and the members shared in leading the Club in the pledge of alliance to the U. S. flag, prayer, and the Four-Way Test.  The club meeting layout was rearranged by removing the presidential table which faced the membership and replaced with a speaker's podium displaying the Rotary theme banner.   Also a banner displaying the monthly Rotary theme was added on the wall behind the podium.  The meeting agenda added a presentation on “the Rotary International Foundation Message of the Week”, the “Membership Moment”, and a “Committee Short Explanation”.  Golf outings on Thursday under the leadership of Dick Kidder continued to be a favorite.  Club fellowships, held about twice a month, were  facilitated by Roger Donnelly (Roger received an award from President Hernandez for chairing the Fellowship Committee) and held at a variety of places such as restaurants, the Bay Oaks Country Club, and the Greyhound racetrack with good attendance and great fellowship.  A  Christmas Dinner  attended by more than 50 members and guests and a trip to the Rodeo provided additional opportunities for fellowship for the club members and invited guests.  

Three of the Club members were former District 5890 (589) Governors,  Floyd Boze   1981-1982,   Billy Weseman   1993-1994, and   Susan Howe  2006-2007.  Vince Lipovsky (see write up on Vince in the March 31   Blastoff), a chartered member of the Club, 16 past presidents, Floyd Boze, and Susan Howe continued to attend the weekly club meetings.

The Board of Directors met twelve times in regular session  and 3 times for call meetings.  Actions and decisions by the Board are recorded in the Minutes.  Attendance to the board meetings by the board members for the year was 62.96 percent based on 10 months.  The avenues of service committees and committee members were very active during the  year. 

The income received from the fundraisers exceeded $87,000.  Over $61,000 was given to  service projects.   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, 2009;  
profit and loss  statement from July 1, 2008 through June 30, 2009; 
administrative budget;  and
service budget.   

The Club added 13 new members, well above the 11 new members President Hernandez set as a goal for the year, with a loss 8 giving a net gain of 5 members. The club’s  membership at the end of the Rotary year was 116 active regular members and 7 honorary members.  The  Club’s roster    was maintained electronically and could be viewed and copied from the new Web site.   Paper copies of the directory in form of a folded brochure were made and distributed to the club members.   

There were 43 color issues of the club’s newsletters, Blastoff, out of a possible 44.  The newsletters contained a variety of interesting items such as human interest stories about the club’s members; future programs; make-up opportunities; fund raisers, Shrimporee and Springoree, information including pictures and list of the associated sponsors; general information about the Club, District 5890, and The Rotary International; and write-ups about the weekly programs including pictures.  A write up was added to the newsletter called “A message from the President”  for keeping members informed about activities of the Club and District.  Billy R. Smith was the editor and Bob Mitchell the photographer.  Billy was also the Club’s Parliamentarian, who was in charge of maintaining and interpreting  the Club’s Constitution and By-Laws.  A review and re-write of the Club’s by-laws was started during the year.

A monthly report was sent to the District Governor and a copy made available for club members’ review, containing financial, administrative issues, pictures highlighting the events of the month, and press releases.  Proclaiming the 2nd Monday of February as Floyd Boze Day was approved by the Board in recognition to our first club’s District Governor whose birthday is during the week. 

The 35th Shrimporee, with the theme of “Make the Dream of  Healthy Kids Happen”, was held on October 25th at the Landolt Park, in Seabrook, Texas.  It was a beautiful sunny day with no clouds in the sky and the many guests (more than 2,500 meal plates were served with an attendance being estimated at more than 3,000 persons) enjoyed the delicious food, children’s activities, and great auctions and raffle.  Following a precedent set the previous year, President Elect Jon McKinnie was the Chairman.  President Hernandez selected three primary beneficiaries for the Shrimporee; the Early Literacy Center for the Clear Lake Library, Wheelchair rated trails for Armand Bayou Nature Center, and Recreational Equipment for the MD Anderson Children’s Cancer.  Several planning meetings were held at the Johnson Space Center Credit Union with good participation by most of the committee members.  The 2008 Shrimporee flyer and meal ticket can be viewed by clicking on   35th Shrimporee Flyer   and  meal ticket.   A DVD of the Shrimporee was prepared by Bob Swint of ATA Associates.  Words about the Shrimporee from President Hernandez and Colonel Corn can be viewed in the October 27 Blastoff.   The cash income was over $90,000 with cash expenses of about $23,000 resulting in a net profit of over $67,000 according to the  Shrimporee 2008 Financial Report. This was the largest amount made from a fundraiser.  In addition, the Women of Rotary  raised $760 from the sale of sweets which was donated to the Seabrook Intermediate School. View photos galleries: 1,  2,  3,  4, and 5. See slide show.

Springoree 2009 (the ninth year for a major fund raiser to be held in addition to the Shrimporee) was a fantastic success!  Over 130 Rotarians and friends gathered May 14 at Bailey's American Grille for a great time of fellowship with good music, excellent wine and food, and of course the opportunity to contribute monetarily to the club's future service projects and at the same time to acquire some great items being auctioned.  Steve Owens, Springoree Chair  for the second year, and a number of Rotarians put together every aspect of the event; the donors of auction items and raffle item, and the sponsor companies and the attendees to the Springoree that reached down to their pockets and so generously bid for the many auctioned items made the Springoree a great success. The event brought over $20,000   from the 16 live auction items, including the sale of raffle tickets and the more than 30 sold silent auction items.  The Club was also honored to have in attendance District Governor, Rhonda Kennedy; District Governor Nominee, Sunny Sharma and his wife, Rashmi; and District Governor Nominee Designate, Rhonda Walls Kerby.  Club member Jennifer Keller’s sister was the winner of the raffle prize, a beautiful Tag Huer wrist-watch donated by Travis Vermeer and  Ben Bridge  Jeweler.  President Hernandez expressed his appreciation in the May 18 Blastoff.    An article and additional pictures are in the The Bay Area Citizen.   Income from both fundraisers bought the total raised since 1968 to at least $1,297,147.

The dedication of the Early Literacy Center for Children (funded by the Club) located in the Clear Lake City-County Freeman Branch Library was held on December 1.  More information about the center and pictures of President Hernandez receiving a plaque on the behalf of the Club from Karen Akkerman and of the activities in the center are in the December 8 Blastoff.

On May 19 the Clear Creek Independent School District (CCISD) and the Rotary Clubs of Space Center, League City, and Seabrook recognized the 39 teachers selected to represent their campus, acknowledging the six finalists, and ultimately announcing the two teachers who will move forward and represent CCISD in the regional competition.  The two finalists were  Elizabeth Radicioni of Victory Lakes Intermediate and  Dawn Gibbler of P. H. Greene Elementary.  The Excellence in Education Committee is chaired by David Coney.  A list of all the teachers, comments by President Hernandez, Superintendent of the CCISD Gregg Smith, and words from the two finalists can be viewed in the June 8 Blastoff.   This was the 19th year to present the Excellence in Education award.

Youth Activities were involved giving two Clear Creek Independent School District Drug Awareness Essay scholarships, one to Ryan Dooley for $500 and one to Peter Lavell for $500.  Pictures of the winners (Peter was not present, his father read his essay) are in the February 23  Blastoff.     

After three years of inactivity, a Rotaract club and an Interact club  were organized. The Rotaract was still in the process of getting registered with The Rotary International by the time the year ended. Information on  re-establishing the Interact Club  can be viewed in  the May 4 Blastoff under title of Rotaract Update.  The Clear Lake High School Interact Club ended the year with  over 40 student members. President Marissa Alento, officer Kathryn Hageman, and one of the club's projects can be seen in the June 1 Blastoff. The club had their first service project in May where they painted the house of an elderly woman.

The Scholarship Committee, chaired by Belinda Skloss, awarded six $1000 scholarships to students who met the following requirements:
• Active Interact participant
• Average grade point of 3.7 or greater
• Good standing in school
• Commitment to Rotary principles
The 2009 Scholarship recipients were Lauren Anderson, Sandra Grossman, Marcella Jamicek, Richard Hicks, and Andrew McDonald.  Pictures of the recipients are in the March 2 Blastoff.

The Senior Citizen Committee, chaired by Steve Waldner, was active with  senior citizens in the area.  On Friday, February 13th, Rotarians visited Rosemont, Baywind Village, Regency Village, and Neighborhood Centers bringing residents Valentine greetings by presenting them a red rose.  Close to 300 senior residents were surprised and in awe when Rotarian smiling faces came into the rooms handing out roses and greeting cards. “This is one of my most rewarding moments, seeing their faces glow with a smile when they receive the roses”, said one of the Rotarians when asked what prompted him to visit the nursing homes.  The Committee was also involved in developing the Discovery Loop Accessibility Project of The Armand Bayou Nature Center.  Pictures are shown in the  April 6, 2009 Blastoff .

The International Youth Exchange Program, chaired by Dick Meyer,  was very active during the year.  District 5890 held its annual outbound camp the week end  of June 27-29 at Presbyterian Camp Cho Yeh in Livingston, Texas.  Thirteen of the district's 14 outbound students attended.  Alan Wylie wrote a good article on the outbound program in the July 7 Blastoff with picture of the students.    Lisa Nichols was the outbound student and left for France in July.  A letter from Lisa and some pictures of her adapted family are in the November 10 Blastoff.   Pat Doughty introduced foreign exchange student, Fabiola Ramirez, from Veracruz, Mexico in the September 8 Blastoff.   "Get to know her and make her feel welcome to Texas and Space Center" noted Pat.  She will be with us for a year and hopefully will visit the club regularly.  Fabiola had to return to Mexico in October due to personal reasons.  Foreign exchange student, Sofia Berglund, from Sweden delivered a very interesting and informative presentation about her home country, family, pastimes, and experience in her visit to the United States as noted in the February 9 Blastoff.   She also won the longest drive at the golf tournament at the District conference in Lake Charles.  The Club sent a donation to the Youth Exchange Student Foundation in Oregon in support of the families of the student victims of an unfortunate random shooting incident. There were short term exchange students Allie Abney and Julia Svalberg from Sweden and Vivian Zapata and Daniella Hermes from Germany.  This was the 24th year that the Club supported the International Youth Exchange Program.  View the students at the District 5890 Conference.

On Sunday March 29, the Boys and Girls Harbor received from Health and Safety Committee, chaired by Sheryl Berg, and on the behalf of the Space Center Rotary Club, an Automatic External Defibrillator (AED). The Boys and Girls Harbor provides family environment in a home setting to children who are experiencing family hard ship, neglect, abandonment or abuse.  President Hernandez has much more on this worthy project in the  April 6 Blastoff. Under the leadership of Courtney Lindberg, a blood drive was organized and conducted where 15 pints of blood were donated.  Under the leadership of Stan Galanski a District Simplified Grant for $2,000 was obtained and together with $5,000 from the Club, recreational and raining equipment was bought and donated to the MD Anderson Children Cancer Hospital. A picture poster was put together of children using the recreational equipment and displayed at Club meetings and District events.

The Club tried unsuccessfully to arrange travel to Houston for two young boys that needed reconstruction surgery.  The Club has assisted bringing children from outside the United States to the Clear Lake area for medical treatment not available in their home area.

The Club continued to support and the members continued to visit the Rotary Eye Clinic in Guerrero, Mexico.  Earl Maudlin provided a informative article on his visit in the December 8 Blastoff.   Like other club members who have visited the clinic, he noted " I also encourage you to take the time to go and see first hand. I was so touched as were many others, I will be going back. Thanks for supporting Rotary, Earl Maudlin".   Johnny White was also  part of the group that went and worked at the Guerrero Clinic in Mexico. The Club presented two checks to the Crystal Foundation, one for $1,000 for the Guerrero Clinic in the name of District Governor Rhonda Kennedy and another for $2,000 in support of the construction of an orphanage.  The club also sent a washer and dryer for the orphanage in Guerrero, Mexico.

The Water Project in Carbonera, Mexico continued to progress well.  It is hoped that the project can be finished on the next trip this month (August 11 Blastoff).   After the project is finished, the water purification plant will be started.  Additional pictures are in the  February 2 Blastoff.   Builders Without Borders  was given  $1,000 by the Club for the project.  Club member Jack Bacon spent two weeks working in Rwanda, Africa as part of the Johnson Space Center Engineers Without Borders group.  A donation of   $1,000 was given to Jack for the work of the Engineers Without Borders in Rwanda. The Club members donated clothes, packed into 6 large boxes and delivered them to District 5890 to be sent to Nicaragua for their resale shop which helps run the schools and clinic.

Other information and activities regarding the club were as follows: There was no Group Study Exchange Team to visit the Club.  However the Club  sponsored one of the members of the Group Study Exchange that went to Egypt.  The history of the Club, dating back to 1964 (year the Club was chartered) started being placed in electronic archives accessible vie the internet to a web site. Michael Smith was nominated by the Club for Ambassadorial Scholar, but was not selected after the interview at the District 5890 level. He was encouraged to present his candidacy again next year.  The Club coordinated and several members accompanied Rotary International President D. K. Lee  and other Rotarians to visit the  NASA Johnson Space Center.

The Club dedicated the meeting of the 4th of May as a Memorial meeting where members that had past away were celebrated and their names were added to the memorial stone located in the Landolt Park.  View photo gallery.   

Public relations under the direction of Director, John Nugent, provided a variety of information to the public and to the Club members.  Many  photographs and information from the Club's activities were used for display posters at Club meetings and District 5890 events. More than an average of 3 publications per month were in the local paper and more that 5 publications were placed in the District 5890 news letter over the year.  There was a  large media exposure during the Shrimporee, Springoree, the Teacher of the Year Awards, and the RNASA Awards Dinner.  A banner displaying the Rotary Theme was introduced monthly, and a presentation, as part of the Club's meeting agenda, of "the Rotary international Foundation Message of the Week", the "Membership Moment" and a "Committee Short Explanation" was introduced for the purpose of keeping members informed.  A different committee made a presentation of its activities at each Club meeting  and  information was also available on the Club's web page  Three Club Assemblies were conducted during the year with the objectives and accomplishments placed in the weekly newsletter, Blastoff as well.  The "President's Remarks", and  a summary of the monthly Board meetings' minutes and financials were also placed in the weekly Blastoff.

The Excellence in Public Service committee under the leadership of Phil Sandlin selected six candidates for the Excellence in Public Service Award: Michael Scambray, Friendswood Police Department; Reagan Pena, League City Police Department; Christy Galyean, League City Police Department; Dru Greer, Pasadena Police Department; and Wayne Gerrish, Harris County Constable Pct. 8.   From this group, Christy Galyean was awarded the “Officer of the Year”.  Each recipient of the Excellence in Public service Award received $600 with the Officer of the Year receiving an additional $600.  Each one also received a certificate along with a paperweight with their name on it.  This was the 17th year to present the Excellence in Public Service award. Pictures of the winners can be viewed in the June 15 Blastoff.

The Club added 2  Paul Harris Fellows   bringing the total to 337  since the first recorded Paul Harris Fellow in 1973 and gave $20,325 to The Rotary Foundation resulting in a total of $363,807.71 since 1964.  There were 4 Paul Harris Society Members, 21 sustaining members, and 28 Benefactors.  The Club members also gave $4,910 to Polio Plus.

The Rotary National Award for Space Achievement (RNASA) Foundation presented former NASA Administrator Michael D. Griffin, Ph D with the 2009 National Space Trophy at the 23rd annual dinner event held May 8, 2009  at the Houston Hyatt Regency.  Additional write-up and pictures can be viewed in the RNASA Special Edition Blastoff.   Proceeds of the event went to benefit the High School Aerospace Scholars   program held at Johnson Space Center (http://aerospacescholars.jsc.nasa.gov) for the 10th year.  The front cover of the 2009 Rotary National Award for Space Achievement Program can be viewed by clicking on  2009 RNASA Program.   The names of the members of the 2009 RNASA Foundation  can be viewed by clicking on  2009 RNASA Foundation.   

Over twenty of the  Club's members attended the District Conference held April 30 - May 2, 2009 at Lake Charles, Louisiana.  To start with, Sofia, exchange student from Sweden, won the longest drive at the golf tournament.  Then on Saturday night, during the Awards Dinner, Assistant District Governor, Chris Schneider was selected and given the Assistant District Governor of the Year Award.  Jon McKinnie was given the Rotarian of the Year Award. Then to top it all, The Rotary Club of Space Center received the District Large Club of the Year Award.    What an honor to our Club and our members; an acknowledgment of the efforts and contributions that every member made that allowed the club to achieve this coveted award noted President Hernandez.  The Club won the Presidential Citation again this year.

Twenty-eight Club members attended the All Club Meeting and many of them participated in other events related to the welcoming of the Rotary International 2015 Convention site selection Team. Unfortunately Houston was not selected.   Twelve members of the Club attended the Membership Seminar, where one of the Club's  members, Jon McKinnie, was a speaker.  Five members attended the Rotary Foundation Seminar, where one of the Club's  members, Past District Governor Suzi Howe, was the District Director.

Suzi Howe attended the 100th Rotary International Convention held in Birmingham, England June 21 - 24, 2009.

Approved by President Hernandez and placed in the archives in May 2011.