September 2013

the monthly newsletter of

Greetings! September’s Rotary theme is Youth Services and we loaded this issue along that theme. Our Youth Exchange team welcomed our inbound international students at a gathering in New Braunfels this month and they are excited about being in Texas. In an accompanying photo, I added one more pin to the jacket of Guille von Knoblock, a RYE student from Paraguay hosted by the Rotary Club of Fair Oaks Ranch. In late August our Interact club at Winston School gave me the honor of installing their new club officers. That was right after PDG Sherri Muniz presented several recognition award certificates from the President of the United States to students who had given hundreds of hours of community service. Parents were beaming, as were sponsoring Rotarians from Boerne Morning and San Antonio North Central. These are a couple of examples of our youth programs. With school back in session, most of you are doing literacy projects and fundraisers around hometown football games (parking cars, selling program ads, carne guisada dinner tickets, etc.) and otherwise immersed in youth service. And then there are the big projects like the Fredericksburg Morning skate park and San Antonio Rotary’s Diploma Plus venture. Here’s a look ahead to upcoming events. October 9

th we have area

Rotary clubs sponsoring Pints for Polio in San Antonio and Wimberley. These are always lots of fun and where else can you get a bright red tee shirt with POLIO blazing across the front. Then on October 12th we are presenting our Rotary Foundation Seminar at the Kroc Center in Kerrville. More information, including registration, is on the district website. I’ll close with a final pitch for Halloween festivities for kids at Morgan’s Wonderland in San Antonio. Last year Rotarians started helping on relatively short notice and were immensely gratified working with children and adults with special physical and cognitive needs. So it is growing this year to include more Rotarians under the leadership of PDG Lisa Herring, District Community Service Chair Jo Ann Browne and DGE Jan Livingston. I thank them and all of you for embodying our RI President’s theme of “Engage Rotary, Change Lives.”

DG Jerry

Fair Oaks Ranch president

Jim Wade looks on as DG Jerry

"pins" Guille von Knoblock

from Paraguay.

Rotary District 5840 Leaders

District Governor Jerry Hardy

DGE Jan Livingston

DGN Lou Miller

District Secretary Brenda Sanchez-Carrasco

District Treasurer Priscilla Sanchez-Silva

In This Issue

- Governor’s Corner 1 - San Antonio South celebrates 60 Anniversary 2 - Hondo Sip & Stroll / 3 - Alamo Heights presentation 3 - San Antonio Northwest Jeans & Jewels 4 - Rotary at Morgan’s Wonderland for Halloween 5 - Hondo/D’Hanis 5th Annual Golf Tournament 6 - Rotary Night at The Playhouse / 7 - Interact News 7 - 2 events for Pints for Polio 8 - Kerrville Rotary and Covenant Academy / 9 - Newest Del Rio Rotarians 9 - Kerrville Morning promotes Gift of Sight 10 - Applications for 2016-2017 District Governor 11 - Protocol, Manners and Common Sense 12

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Happy

60th

Anniversary

San antonio

south

rotary club

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On September 10, 2013, Catherine Austin, Owner of Run Wild Sports, presented a donation check for $600 to Buzz Griffeth, Alamo Heights Rotary President. The money comes from the used running shoes and sneakers collected by her company in the Green Sneakers program where the shoes are recycled for use in third world countries. The funds raised are used in Alamo Heights Rotary Club’s Scholarship program. Donations of these used items can be made anytime at Run Wild Sports, 1900 Broadway.

Running wild in Alamo Heights Submitted by Rick Berchin

Sip and Stroll with the Hondo/D’Hanis Rotary Club Submitted by Jannie Bryant

The Rotary Club of Hondo/D'Hanis will have a booth at the new monthly event in Hondo called "Sip and Stroll". It is the second Saturday every month, 6-9pm. It is visible from Highway 90 at the second traffic light. There are artisans, live music, antiques, wine tasting and others. The purpose of the club's participation is to promote public awareness of Rotary, promoting a fundraiser for international projects, educating the public on Rotary's involvement with polio eradication, and recruiting new members. The upcoming dates for the Sip and Stroll event are: October 12th November 9th December 14th

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San Antonio Northwest Rotary Club’s 10th Annual Jeans & Jewels Jubilee

The San Antonio Northwest Rotary Club will host its 10th annual charitable Jeans & Jewels Jubilee, for Any Baby Can, SA, and other charities of Rotary, on Saturday, October 12, 2013, 6:30 pm at Pedrotti’s North Wind Ranch, 13715, FM 1560 N., Helotes, TX, featuring The Rick Cavender Band. Doors will open at 6:15 pm for food/beverage service. A Casino Night will be offered, featuring popular games of chance for charity. A silent auction is also available, which includes a variety of fine art of local artists, leisure, dining, sports activities, travel excursions, luxury, and memorabilia items. Art offerings artists in the art sale include Brother Cletus Behlmann, featured artist, and various popular local artists and crafters. A raffle for one of Raul Gutierrez’s oil paintings, valued at $8,000, and a fine

jewelry piece from Americus Diamonds, will occur at the event, also. Mr. Gutierrez has been recognized as a Texas Artist of the year, and is a renowned Western artist and long term resident of San Antonio. At 6:45 p.m. the music begins, featuring the best of traditional country, acoustic rock, and Tejano music. In 2001, The Rick Cavender Band was nominated by the Greater San Antonio Hotel and Motel Association for outstanding performance; and won the coveted “Entertainer of the Year” Hospy Award. Tickets for the event are $60 per person. The ticket price includes free parking, the VIP reception, casino bucks, an outstanding food buffet and cash bar, as well as the music and entertainment by The Rick Cavender Band. For tickets and further information, contact Northwest Rotary at (210)576-5475, or visit the club website at www.rotarynorthwest.com Checks and credit card charges for items purchased will be made payable to the Northwest Rotary Foundation. Proceeds from this event will benefit the local family services agency, Any Baby Can, of SA, Inc., the Northwest Rotary Foundation’s college scholarship fund, and Rotary International’s various global initiatives, such as Polio Plus. Over the years, many South Texas residents have benefited from Rotary’s programs promoting world peace and understanding.

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District 5840 Rotary clubs are so excited to be assisting again in this year’s More Delightful Than Frightful Halloween event. Last year was quite successful, and, this year they are expecting over 2,000 visitors to the Park on Halloween Night. There are three things that are being asked of District 5840 clubs:

Non-Perishable Food Items or Cash Donations

Bags of Candy to hand out at 9 different Candy Stations the night of the event (no peanuts please)

Volunteers for the night of the event

All proceeds and food donations are to benefit the San Antonio Food Bank. Food drive most-needed food items are peanut butter, cereal, tuna, rice, macaroni & cheese, chili, canned soups, canned luncheon meats, full meals in a can/box and pop top food items. Please no glass containers. Please see the flyer to the right for more details. If your club cannot deliver your candy and food items to Morgan's Wonderland, please e-mail Jo Ann Browne at joannbrowne1@gmail.com and she will come pick them up and deliver them for your club. Please also e-mail Jo Ann to get on the volunteer list. Please hurry and volunteer - we need your help.

Morgan's Wonderland is located at 5223 David Edwards Drive, in San Antonio, 78233. The website for Morgan’s Wonderland is:

www.MorgansWonderland.com

K e r r v i l l e Morning Rotary Club w e l c o m e s new club member Submitted by Ray Buck

The Kerrville Morning Rotary m e m b e r s recently voted to accept Waverly Jones as their newest club member. "Having the pleasure of being a member of the Kerrville Morning Rotary fulfills many facets in my life.” Waverly is the current Dietert Club Ed Director where she tirelessly promotes continued education thorough the hundreds of classes that are part of the Texas Hill Country's largest lifelong learning program. Waverly was sponsored for membership by Mike Hunter, former Rotary president and current Morning Rotarian.

Kerrville Morning Rotary president, Arthur Clough

(L) and new member sponsor Mike Hunter (R),

officially welcome Waverly Jones (center) to

Kerrville Morning Rotary

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Hondo-D’Hanis 5th Annual

Rotary Golf

Tournament Sunday, October 13th

Registration begins at 8:30am

Alsatian Golf Course-Castroville (Breakfast tacos at registration – Hamburger lunch)

10:00 AM shotgun start

4 person scramble $75.00 per player

Includes green fees, ½ cart, and lunch

HOLE IN ONE PRIZE –

2014 Chevrolet Silverado Pick-up

Sponsored by Wommack Chevrolet

Team Prizes:

1st, 2nd and 3rd place prizes, plus other contests

Send Registration form and payment to:

Hondo-D’Hanis Rotary Club PO Box 662, Hondo TX 78861

Jean Callaway, 210-724-8342. – jeanspeedcall@yahoo.com

Registration and sponsorships forms available at: www.hondodhanisrotaryclub.org

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Interact News Submitted by Mike Canales

Members of the W inston School Interact Club were on hand at Sea World on Saturday, August 3, 213 to help with the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation Captain's Kickoff. This event officially kicks off the "Walk to Cure Diabetes," which is scheduled for Saturday, October 19, 2013 at Sea World. The photo includes Alexis Duda, JDRF Race Manager, staff members from JDRF and eight Interact members.

Fifteen Interact members from the Winston School Interact Club worked a S A R e a d s p r o j e c t o n S a t u r d a y , August 31, 2013 at the Firstmark Credit

Union on Gulfdale. The project consisted of cutting up pictures, sorting and organizing them in bins, to used by teachers later in the year in support of this literacy program. Isaac Olivares, SA Reads Volunteer Manager was very pleased with the effort and emphasized to the Interactors just how important their contribution is to this literacy initiative.

The Winston School San Antonio Interact Club hosted the first District Interact Meeting on Saturday, August 24, 2013. Members from the following Interact Clubs were represented: Burbank HS, St. Anthony Catholic HS, International School of the Americas, Clark HS, Holmes/Business Careers HS, and the Winston School San Antonio. Mike Canales, District Youth Services Chair, announced some of the major projects and activities scheduled for school year 2013-2014.

San Antonio Rotary Night at The Playhouse Submitted by Leroy Alloway

The Playhouse - (formerly the San Pedro

Playhouse) will be offering a special San Antonio

Rotary Night at The Playhouse on Thursday,

October 17, 2013. Rotarians, along with friends,

families and co-workers are invited to attend a

performance of Les Miserables at The Playhouse.

Rotarians will be able to purchase $20 tickets.

To redeem this offer, please visit

www.ThePlayhouseSA.Org, order tickets, and

apply coupon code ROTARY1017 at the end of

your transaction to receive your discount! In

addition to your ticket discount, there will also be

a special pre-reception with wine and a backstage

tour! Don't miss out on this special opportunity .

Order your tickets today! Please call the box

office with any questions at (210) 733-7258.

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4035 North Loop 1604 San Antonio, TX 78257

Please come out to either event for a fun evening of Rotary fellowship

to support the final push to rid

the world of polio.

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Rotarians helping fund character-building

Early Act First Knight program in academy Article by Joseph Benham Photos by Jimmy Hutto

Making combined donations totaling $3,000, nearly 200 Kerrville Rotarians are helping launch a character-building program called EarlyAct FirstKnight for elementary and middle school students at the local Covenant Academy. On behalf of the 100 fellow students in the private Christian school, Ashton DiCiccio accepted checks for $1,500

each on Thursday from officers of the Rotary Club of Kerrville and the Morning Rotary Club. Information provided by EarlyAct FirstKnight says that the program is designed to "motivate and teach children of all backgrounds to become civil, service-oriented people during their most formative years." The First Knight part of the name reflects emphasis on the rules of chivalry, including honesty, honor and helping others without expecting reward or recognition. The words EarlyAct identify it as one of the three student affiliates of Rotary International, the parent organization of the two Kerrville organizations and the nearly 35,000 additional clubs, with well over 2.1 million members throughout the world. Other student groups are more than 15,000 Interact clubs at high school level and nearly 10,000 Rotaract bodies for university-age persons. Organizers of EarlyAct FirstKnight say that the "Service Above Self" motto of Rotary International dovetails with the purpose and goals of the program being implemented at Covenant Academy. The school accepts students regardless of their ethnicity and economic and social backgrounds. Covenant Academy is an independent school launched in 2009 with 22 students. It offers pre-kindergarten through sixth-grade instruction, adding one grade per year as it works toward the goal of 12 years plus pre-K and kindergarten. Judy Carpenter is Head of School at Covenant, with Tiffany DiCiccio as Early Act First Knight Coordinator and a financial supporter of the program.

Mike Hunter, Robin Miears (Covenant Liaison), Kim Clarkson

(President-Elect), Chuck Coleman (President Noon Rotary),

Courtney Barton (President of the Board), Judy Carpenter (Head

of School), Tiffany DiCicco (EAFK Coordinator), Arthur Clough

(President Morning Rotary), Phyllis Fischer, Ray Buck ( Vice

President), Waverly Jones, Nancy Riley (Covenant Liaison)

The Del Rio Rotary Club recently inducted three new members to their club. New members include Guy Aguirre, Steve Sosa and Allen Gullett. Guy is the editor of the Del Rio News Herald. Steve is the manager at La Vida Serena. Allen is the general manager at Ford Lincoln.

Pictured are past club president Pat Bowers, and new

members Guy Aguirre, Steve Sosa and Allen Gullett.

Photo and information courtesy of Del Rotario, the

weekly newsletter of the Del Rio Rotary club.

The Del Rio Rotary Club meets on Tuesdays at

12:00 p.m. at the Ramada Inn, 2101 Veterans Blvd.

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Kerrville Morning Rotary Promotes Gift of Sight Submitted by Ray Buck

“It’s estimated that worldwide there are between 40 and 50 million cases of blindness with another 135

million people living with some degree of visual handicap. Of that number, many can be treated or cured, yet go without help. The main causes of avoidable blindness are cataracts, eye infections, vision loss in children, glaucoma, and injuries. It’s estimated that seven million people become blind each year, meaning on average one child goes blind every five seconds,” said Christopher Alvarez Chedzoy, former Kerrville Morning Rotary President.

“It’s heartbreaking to know that there are so many people, including small children, who will lose their sight without treatment. A keystone project for Kerrville Morning Rotary is our Medical Eye Equipment Loan Program for medical eye mission projects. Our passion is to do our part in reducing worldwide blindness by encouraging eye-care medical mission trips,” said Arthur Clough, Kerrville Morning Rotary President.

The medical eye equipment loan program is a result of the generosity of Dr. Jack and Lois Thurman. A number of years ago, when Dr. Thurman retired from his medical practice in Weslaco, Texas, and moved to Kerrville, he continued his quest to prevent worldwide blindness by taking his equipment on medical mission trips. After joining Kerrville Morning Rotary, Dr. Thurman decided to put the equipment to greater use and promoted the idea of a loan program to medical eye missionaries. He brought this vision to fruition by donating his expensive medical eye equipment to Kerrville Morning Rotary. Even though Dr. Thurman passed away in 2011, his idea and passion live on through the medical eye equipment loan program initiated and continued by Kerrville Morning Rotary. “Jack’s passion was eye care. He and I served on twenty medical mission trips to undeveloped countries, travelling with Medical Missionaries International and Weekend Border Ministries. Jack loved Rotary and after noting that some medical missionaries had difficulty procuring equipment, he initiated the idea of the loan program in partnership with Kerrville Morning Rotary. It warmed his heart to serve those in undeveloped countries,” said Lois Thurman.

Charter Kerrville Morning Rotarian, Bob Green said, “Dr. Thurman and Lois paid for all the maintenance costs for the equipment and were responsible for loaning it out. After Dr. Thurman was no longer with us, Chris and Dr. Nancy Alvarez Chedzoy graciously took on that responsibility. We owe a debt of gratitude to them both.”

All or part of the eye equipment has been loaned 12 times in the past 18 months. The goal is to loan the equipment out a minimum of eight to ten times per year or about once every six weeks. The equipment is loaned to qualified eye care professionals with the only cost being shipping costs to the mission field and back.

Available equipment includes:

Welsh portable mission microscope with stand and carrying case

Nikon Retinomax K+2 hand-held autorefractor/kerotometer

Clement Clarke 904 silt lamp

Kowa SL-15 portable silt lamp

Sonomed 100A+ microscan A-scan system

W e ls h A l l e n 1 1 8 2 0 p a n o p t i c ophthalmoscope

Tono-Pen XL tonometer

Keeler spectra indirect ophthalmoscope

Interested persons may email Rotary Club Kerrville Morning Foundation Inc. at rckmfinc@yahoo.com for more information.

A young patient recuperating after eye

surgery performed by medical missionaries

with equipment from the

Kerrville Morning Rotary medical eye

equipment loan program

Kerrville Morning Rotarians with the equipment loan coordinator

displaying one of the loan items, a hand-held auto refractor.

(L to R) Randy McClay, Mike Hunter, Ron Hackett, Nancy Riley,

Christopher Alvarez Chedzoy, and Bob Green

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The District 5840 Nominating Committee is now accepting completed application forms for Governor of District 5840 for the Rotary Year 2016-2017. Application deadline is October 1, 2013. All suggestions must be submitted on the Club Suggestion for District Governor Form and Governor-nominee Data Form which can be downloaded from the District website. Both forms are available in "Download Files" on the right side of the Home Page. Please note that suggestions must be approved by the club’s Board of Directors. Fully completed application forms accompanied by a recent digital photograph should be submitted via email to: sherri5840@msn.com or mailed to: Sherri C Muniz, PDG Chair, District 5840 Nominating Committee 5602 US Hwy 87 E #2 San Antonio, TX 78222 Qualifications for District Governor are prescribed by the Rotary International Manual of Procedure. In summary, the RI Manual of Procedure stipulates that at the time of selection a governor-designate must:

Be a member in good standing of a functioning club in the district

Have served as president of a club for a full term, or as president of a charter club from the date of the charter to June 30th, for a period of at least six months

Demonstrate knowledge of and the ability to fulfill the duties outlined in the RI Bylaws, section 15.090

Have completed seven years of membership at the time of taking office

Demonstrate knowledge of the qualifications, duties and responsibilities of governor and demonstrate willingness, commitment and ability to fulfill those duties and responsibilities faithfully

RI bylaws stipulate additional requirements for governor in section 15.070. Please consult the Manual of Procedure for these details. It can be accessed at http://www.rotary.org/ridocuments/en_pdf/035en_full.pdf Your attention is especially directed to Rules for Candidates for Elective Offices (page 60 of the Manual of Procedure). Interviews will be held on Saturday, October 19th. Candidates will be notified of the time and place for their interview. Please feel free to communicate any questions to DG Jerry Hardy or to PDG Sherri Muniz. Thank you in advance for your thoughtful participation in this very important procedure for selecting our District Governor. Thank you also to the following Rotarians for their Service Above Self in agreeing to serve on the District Nominating Committee: PDG Lisa Herring, President Kevin Behr of Beeville, President Crawford Guthrie of Fredericksburg, and President Craig Hardy of San Antonio North Central, as well as Alternates President Melissa Sadler-Nitu of Seguin, President James Wade of Fair Oaks Ranch, and President Leslie Wynn of Kenedy.

Applications for District Governor for Rotary Year 2016-2017 now being accepted

Submitted by PDG Sherri Muniz

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It is my pleasure again to serve as your district newsletter editor. I always find it very amazing and uplifting to see what Rotarians in District 5840 can do for our community. Yours in Rotary. Please share your article and photos with me so that I may share them with the rest of Rotary District 5840. Dan Clark, editor danclark@ibc.com

Protocol, Manners, & Common Sense! or PMCS for short by Jim Wade, president of The Fair Oaks Rotary Club

Guest Speakers are just that, Guests! How would you treat an invited guest at your home? Would you leave him/her standing in the entry way and have them have to introduce themselves to the other guests as they arrive, even though they have never met them? I doubt it very much. You would be anxious to ensure that YOU introduced them to all and that they felt welcome. So why should it be any different when we invite a guest to our Rotary Club? If you are the host, you should try to arrive prior to your speaker arriving and welcome him/her at the door. Find out what their equipment requirements are and help them get set up for their presentation. Then introduce them to as many members as possible. If the assigned host is not there, it is the responsibility of each of us to welcome any visitor and to introduce them to other Rotarians. Many of us have had the unfortunate experience of making up at another club and we simply were ignored, how did we feel verses the experience of a warm welcome? So remember they are visiting our "home". Common sense and good manners should tell us what to do. Also a guest speaker is invited to provide information or share a point of view. They are not invited to our club to take a verbal beating. Even if we vehemently disagree with their presentation on either a factual or moral basis, our meeting is NOT the forum for debate! Again good manners dictate that we treat the speaker with respect and listen to what he or she has to say. I have been to a club meeting when one of the members got into a heated debate with the guest speaker. It was ugly, and should never happen during a Rotary Meeting. Again we invited this person to give us a presentation, not to be beat up. Another issue that I believe we should address up front is that the acoustics are not always (or ever) the best. Therefore it is only common curtsey to not engage in side conversations while our guest speaker or anyone else is talking from the podium. During the informal portion of each meeting we have time to catch up on all the latest with our Rotary friends. This is a very important part of our Rotary structure. However, once the formal part starts please give your attention to whoever is speaking from the podium. It is very rude and distracting to your fellow Rotarians to hear your side comments but miss the main point that the speaker is making. In the past I have been guilty of this so let's all work together to correct it so we can all enjoy the program. Finally let's talk about cell phones!!!!! PLEASE turn them off or at least on silent mode. If it is absolutely necessary that it is on and you get a call go outside before you answer it. Again it is very disruptive to the speaker and in some cases can totally destroy the presentation. Some clubs go so far as to fine members who violate the cell phone rule. We should not have to do that if we are all working together to present a professional image with proper: Protocol, Manners & Common Sense.