I can’t begin to express how blessed I feel to be a member of Rotary District 5870 Central Texas! We have such a great group of Rotarians lending their support to our club and district service opportunities, events, and our Rotary Foundation in order to ensure that we can continue to do good in our communities, district and our world.
We have concluded the 2023 PDG Gonzalo Garza Memorial Match with a total $70,519 in total contributions! The match was funded by the following Rotarians who donated up to 5,000 of their Foundation Recognition Points to be used for fellow Rotarians: Amy Bawcom, PDG Beverly Luedke, DGE Bob Crouch, Betty Richardson, Debbie Tam, PDG Jerry Chapman, PDG John Salem, PDG Jim Henry, PDG Steve Dulle, DG Shannon Coleman, Tim Harris, and DGND Todd Smith. To those who funded the match, I cannot thank you enough for your support. This match would not have been possible without you.
I am pleased to report that Raffle Mania was a huge success! Working together as a community, we raised $30,675 in additional contributions for our Rotary Foundation Annual Fund. If you are one of the 119 Rotarians who purchased Raffle Mania tickets or one of the 175 Rotarians who participated in the PDG Gonzalo Garza Memorial Match, a special thanks goes out to you for your contributions. Combined, Raffle Mania and the Gonzalo Garza match raised over $100,000. That, my friends, is an incredible accomplishment.
Thank you to all who attended the Conference of Clubs last weekend. A very special thank you goes out to those who worked tirelessly to organize and facilitate this fun event. The feedback I have received has been excellent and I think everyone had a great time in Corpus Christi. Winners for Raffle Mania were announced, as well as several more I decided to add at the last minute.
As we begin to approach the end of our Rotary year, we are looking to fund a District 5870 Cozumel Green School / Water Project. You are likely unaware that Cozumel public schools do not have access to drinkable water through their school water system or that all food consumed in Cozumel must be brought from the mainland. This dependency was fully realized during the pandemic, when the island was completely shut down.
Through a partnership with the Rotary Club of Cozumel, the help of Rotarians / Rotary Clubs who would like to partner, and remaining district designated funds, we can fund a district project that will provide drinkable water to a 1200 student Cozumel middle school. If there is interest to expand the project, we can further expand the rainwater collection for drinkable water to also include irrigation & creation of growing beds. This would allow the students to be taught how to produce their own food in an organic and sustainable way which is a foreign concept in this mainland dependent society. If you or your club are interested in participating in this project, please let me know. So far, the Rotary Clubs of Waco Sunrise, Killeen and Pflugerville have committed to partner and sponsor the project. In addition to the project that will take place during the upcoming 23-24 Rotary year, I will be organizing a District 5870 Cozumel group trip to further participate in the project, in the fall.
Now for the news you have been waiting for! Raffle Mania winners are … Water park Adventure (Waco Sunrise), Longhorn Football Weekend Michael Weigel (Burnet), FC Soccer Package Gaye Bland (Rockdale), We’ve Gone Coastal Cozumel Dale Ricklefs (Georgetown). Additional We’ve Gone Coastal Cozumel winners: Todd Smith (Georgetown), Virginia Craig (Northwest Austin), K Paul Holt (Waco), Sylvia Holmes (Austin), Tammy Sander (Marble Falls). Conference fee registration reimbursement winners were: Lily Reeley/ Josh Reeley (Northwest Austin), Susan Stacy (Texas Hill Country Passport), Charles Smaistrla (Austin University Area), and Nancy Lehmann-Carsow (Northwest Austin) have received refunds for their conference registration fees. The winner of the club highest Raffle Mania participation per capita (PHF) is: Rotary Club of Waco Sunrise. All winners will be notified by email to claim their prizes.
During Conference we also awarded the following: Roll of Fame Honorees: Dr. Tina Ady (Killeen Heights); Carol Barton (Marble Falls); Joan Bohls (E-Club of 5870); Ben Carsow (Austin - North by Northeast), K. Paul Holt (Waco); Ellen Hunt (Austin); Daniel Junek (Caldwell); Kenneth Kidd ( Pflugerville); Lindsay King (Corsicana); Chuck Mazac (La Grange); Hanspeter Tobler (Northwest Austin). District Service Award recipients: Cindy Brummer (Austin), Dee Thomas - (Cedar Park-Leander), Joan Bohls (E-Club of 5870), John Schwebke(Georgetown-Sun City), Barker Keith (Lakeway/Lake Travis), Ellison Crider (Marble Falls), Nancy Lehmann-Carssow (Northwest Austin), Beverly Luedke (Temple South).
Congratulations go out to all Raffle Mania / prize winners, Roll of Fame Honorees and District Service Award recipients.
I have been honored to serve as your Governor this year. It has been an amazing year in District 5870 and I look forward to seeing what we accomplish these last two months of our 22-23 Imagine Rotary year.
DG Shannon