Past programs

3/2/2010  T. Michael O’Connor, Victoria County Sheriff, talked to the Rotary Club about the South Texas Coastal Sheriff’s Alliance. It was originally founded with four offices and now 25 offices are part of the Alliance. The idea is to pool information to become more effective in stopping crime--especially drug and gang activities. Drug cartels do about $2 Billion in drug sales every month and the Alliance is able to confiscate about $3 Billion a year.

2/23/2010  John Beck grew up in Victoria County—where we hold our annual sporting clay shoot. He showed the club some of the tools of the veterinary medicine practice and explained their use. He says an enema or neutering will cure nearly everything. Animals are subject to several kinds of worms. He showed pictures of heart worms, whip worms, hook worms, and tape worms. You should treat your animals for them. In addition to diseases animals sometimes get foreign objects that have to be removed.

2/16/2010  Three students from St. Joseph High School competed in our annual Four-Way Test Speech Contest. Pictured in order of finish: Brett Hager—winner, Chris Mason—second, and Jessica Uresti. Louis Boldt was master of ceremonies and the judges were Omar Rachid, Peggy Cunningham, and Doug Anderson.

2/9/2010  Six students from Memorial High School and St. Joseph High School completed Rotary Youth Leadership Awards (RYLA) over the last weekend in January at Camp Zephyr on Lake Mathis near Corpus Christi. Attendees (l tor) Michael Petrash, II (SJHS), Julia Pullin (SJHS), Jullian Thompson (MHS), Omied Nielsen (MHS), and Rachel Galvan (MHS) told the Victoria Rotary Club how much they learned and how much they enjoyed the leadership training for high school juniors. Michael Valdez (MHS) attended the training, but was unable to participate in the presentation.

Rotary Clubs throughout South Texas hosted the Rotary Youth Leadership Award (RYLA) camp for area high school juniors. This weekend leadership camp is designed to shape leadership skills in students who already possess and demonstrate outstanding leadership characteristics in their high schools and communities.

At this weekend retreat, high school juniors learn about the many phases of leadership from individuals who are already leaders in their communities and in businesses. Students also develop and enhance their own leadership skills through challenging role-playing activities. Weekend activities are facilitated by high school seniors who participated as juniors in RYLA in 2009, as well as area Rotarians.

2/2/2010  The Victoria Rotary Foundation awarded five grants and recipients spoke:

1/26/2010  Dr. Gloria Gonzales spoke about the importance of awareness of the 2010 census. The first census was done in 1790 and the US Constitution mandates a census be taken every ten years. The 2010 census questionnaire was designed to be easy, important, and safe. It is ten questions and the information is not disclosed for 72 years. It is important because $400 billion is distributed among communities for programs such as education, grants, and medical services. For every 100 people not accounted for, the community loses $1.2 million over a ten-year span. 1100-1300 people will be hired to help take the census. If you would like to test for a job, please call 489-3200. Census Day is April 1, 2010.

1/19/2010  Kevin Nurse spoke about his journey to Victoria from New York City. In 2004, Nurse had a chest cold that developed into a virus that destroyed his heart without any symptoms. His deterioration was very rapid and by 2006, Nurse was on the list for a donor heart. The heart had to have the capacity to serve a large man making it more difficult to find a donor. He had to settle for an artificial heart in his stomach. This limited his activities for the next six months while he waited. When he had almost given up on life, he received a phone call at 2:40 AM that he had a donor. Nurse had worked for UPS for 17 years, but decided to attend culinary school after the transplant. He received a job at the Four Seasons after graduation. Then, he decided to learn more about his donor so he contacted them through the Organ Donor Network. He found out that his donor, Daniel, had been studying to be a chef in DC when he was in a fatal car accident. Nurse came to meet Daniel’s family and loved Texas. Nurse is carrying out his joint dream with Daniel and would like to open his own restaurant in Victoria. He is currently a chef at The Mustang.

1/12/2010  Victoria is rich in history. Dr. Robert Shook spoke about the ten friends of Don Martin De Leon. Main Street was named Calle de los Diez Amigos after a dream he had about 12 apostles. He could not recall all twelve names, so the street was named after ten friends. Dr. Shook has been conducting research to find out where these ten people lived. He started with a Maximo Sanchez Solar Title from 1835 and located the property of the ten friends. Surprise! The ten friends were not the same as those commonly published last century.

1/5/2010 The Victoria Rotary Foundation awarded five grants and recipients spoke:

12/22/2009  Barbara Zimmerman with the Area Agency on Aging is the ombudsman for nursing home residents in our area—seven counties including Victoria county. There are 23 nursing homes with 4,400 residents in the area. Forty-three percent of people over 65 will spend some time in a nursing home. The average stay is two years. The residents are lonely; sixty percent have no close family. There is a movement spurred by cultural change to make the homes more homelike. Residents are getting more choices of food and activities. Some facilities are adding facility pets. Nursing home populations are declining. She is looking for volunteers to help represent the nursing home residents.

12/15/2009  Bruce Ure gave an update on the Victoria Police Department. They strive for transparency and believe that this is a key component to detecting and preventing crime. Our crime rate is about average for the state. Murders are up by two, but all except one are solved. And that one is close. One surprise is that the number of guns on the street is less than we may think. In one case the Pistoleros could not find a gun to use in a murder-for-hire, so used a hammer. The Department offers free VIN etching for your vehicle. Per capita, they are busier than San Antonio police. Crime Stoppers works. They are changing to a new radio system—all digital. Existing system is on its last legs.

12/8/2009  The Victoria Rotary Foundation awarded five grants and recipients spoke:

12/1/2009  Victoria Advocate Editor Chris Cobler spoke on Building Trust by Engaging Your Audience.

11/24/2009  Art Zeitler, District 5930 Rotary Foundation Committee Chair, told us how the Rotary Foundation could be a Rotary Club’s best friend. A portion of the monies that the district clubs send to the Rotary Foundation each year returns to the district in the form of District Designated Funds (DDF). There is a three-year delay between the payment and the return. These funds are used for District matching grants, Ambassadorial Scholars, and Group Study Exchange. So, the more we give; the more we get. For clubs to benefit they must apply for these funds or nominate Ambassadorial Scholars or Group Study Exchange members.

11/17/2009  Jerry James, City of Victoria Director of Environmental Services spoke. The four areas of concern are trash, energy, water, and air. The most effective way to help the environment is to reduce the use of resources; for example, buy products in bulk to avoid throwing away extra packaging. The Recycling Center is located at 142 Huvar Road and takes paper, metal, and plastics among other things. Recycling reduces the amount of trash going to the landfill. He expects air emission standards to be reduced making compliance more difficult. You can reduce emissions by driving less and stopping at the click when filling the gas tank. This keeps excess gas from being vented.

11/10/2009  Dr. Kathryn Tart, Founding Dean of UH-Victoria School of Nursing, discussed the new nursing program at the university. It is a program in its infancy, but one with great need and potential. There is a nursing shortage and it is projected to last several years. One of the choke-points to increasing the number of nurses is the lack of qualified nursing faculty. The UH-V program offers a master’s program which addresses the qualified nursing faculty problem. Masters and RN-BSN nursing students do their practical training at various healthcare facilities throughout the Crossroads area. Over 270 people applied for the Second Degree BSN class which will have 48 members on the Sugar Land campus in January 2010. The School of Nursing received national accreditation through the Commission for Collegiate Nursing Education (CCNE) for all of its programs. The web site is: www.uhv.edu/nursing

11/03/2009  Ben Keating, Port Lavaca Dealerships, discussed Viper Days. Viper Days offers a unique and leading edge High-Performance Driving School, time trial "Challenge" Series, and Racing series. Driving school students get two hours of track time on Saturday and two hours on Sunday. Students are encouraged to watch the Racing Series and have a lot of fun. The focus is on safety, instruction, and having fun with friends. Ben brought a Viper to show members after the meeting. He won several of the Racing Series races to become the national champion. In theses races he drives a specially manufactured Viper that cannot be driven on the street.

10/27/09  Dr. Tom Butler, Victoria College President, talked about Victoria College and the advantages of community colleges. He pointed out that tuition at state universities varies from $2,100—$3,100 per semester. At The Victoria College a student can take the same courses for a little over $800. The courses are transferrable to the state universities. When asked about how long it takes to establish new training courses, he stated that it depends on the course. Some can be established in as little as 12 weeks, but those requiring state certification require a lengthy period. They don’t want start a training course unless there are jobs waiting.

10/20/2009  Bruce spoke about his trip to South America. He and Vicki flew from here to Lima, toured some in Peru, then flew to Quito, Ecuador, where they boarded their Amazon River cruise ship. Quito is not accessible by road or rail--only by air or by the Amazon River. Pirates boarded and robbed the cruise ship on the second day. Passengers were held at gunpoint and forced to open room safes. He lost some valuable possessions but managed to deal with the situation by adding humor to his journal when writing about the incident. He also provided a slide show from his trip showing flora and fauna along the Amazon as well as pictures from the subsequent visit to the Peruvian Andes including Machu Picchu.

10/13/2009  Michael Phelps from Boerne told us about the Guadalupe-Blanco River Authority Land Trust. Currently, they have 1,100-1,200 acres in conservation easements and expect to add another 8,000 acres this year. This is only a small portion of the over 1 million acres of conservation easements in Texas. It is the obligation of the Land Trust to see that the easements are being respected. These easements are legal agreements to restrict development on the land in perpetuity. The owners can still own and use the land, but because of the easement the land value is less. This saves on property taxes while keeping the land unchanged.

10/6/2009  Mark Menn, an agent with Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission (TABC), said TABC manages the alcoholic beverage industry and promotes voluntary compliance to stay within the law. The agency investigates complaints more than responding to on the scene calls. TABC concentrates on businesses that cause problems, such as selling alcohol to minors or to intoxicated people. They investigate complaints, conduct sting operations, and perform surveillance of premises to find and confirm violators. The agency’s four cornerstones are courtesy, integrity, service and accountability.

9/29/2009  John Johnson, Red Cross Crossroads Chapter Board member, went over the basics of disaster management, how the Red Cross and the rest of disaster responders anticipate needs and prepare for future disasters in the Victoria area. The Red Cross and other organizations in the area report services availability to the established call center, 211, and the call center refers callers to the appropriate agency. Disaster preparedness is an on-going process. Incremental improvements are made with each disaster. Several changes were made after we received refugees from Hurricane Ike.

9/22/2009  We had the pleasure of the District Governor, Dennis Roberts, visiting the Club. He addressed the Club and focused on raising membership and giving to the Rotary Foundation. It is important to bring in new members and financially contribute to the Rotary Foundation so Rotary programs continue for years to come. The governor presented Lorene her graduation certificate and class picture from President Elect Training Seminar (PETS).

9/15/2009  Lorene led the Club Assembly to finalize committee assignments prior to the Governor’s visit on September 22. The directors responsible for each area gathered their committees and noted changes and answered questions. Officers and board members were scheduled to meet with the Governor at Homewood Residence Monday, September 21, 6:30 PM.

9/8/2009  Michael Welton gave his classification speech. He grew up in Victoria and attended Brownson, Juan Linn and Crain Schools. He started property management in 1971 in Phoenix. His philosophy was to manage based on an owner’s objective. He was willing to provide any service clients were willing to pay for and he provided this service well. In 1988 he sold the company to take early retirement. He moved to California in 1989, and as a result of connections through his Arizona management company, he formed a relationship with two men who owned a tremendous amount of land purchased in the 30’s, 40’s and 50’s. Together, they developed and built 125 industrial, apartments, retail and commercial projects from 1989–97.  While in California Michael gathered 500 friends one evening and raised over $6,000,000 to build a camp for pediatric AIDS patients. Today, about 1000 children attend the camp annually.

9/1/2009  Dee Dee Hudson, Bur Dobbins, James Johnson, and Tim Hudson discussed the Trinity Episcopal Church mission trip to Piedras Negras. Dee Dee felt that even though Piedras Negras citizens benefited from their work church members were really the ones who got the most out of the mission work. She felt that there is an advantage to having a mission so close to Victoria. The main advantage is that church members develop relationships with the people being served. Therefore, it is harder to skip participating in a mission because it has become a personal commitment. They felt safe there and were amazed at how happy the people are with their lives. Tim advised that this is a good way for young people to develop relationships with another culture. They were very complimentary of the priest and nun that they work with.

8/25/2009  Jason Turner with the Victoria Police brought his dog, Robby, and discussed the use of dogs in police work. The use of dogs was revived in 2008. The department currently has two dogs. Jason works mostly narcotics cases. He said it is very difficult to hide drugs and not leave enough scent for Robby to detect. He put an envelope containing cocaine and another containing marijuana in two of several purses then let Robby identify the purses with the drugs. Robby found them and got to play with his toy as a reward. Robby is a Belgian Malinois trained in Holland to work under distractions. In addition to narcotics he us used to search houses for occupants and to pursue criminals. He lives and works with Jason. His expected service life is five to seven years. It costs about $12,000 to purchase a dog with Robbie's capabilities. The purchase price includes training the dog, training the handler, and a warranty.

8/18/2009  Cheryl Johnson, owner of Outburst Advertising, told about the new quarterly, 48-page magazine, Victoria in Motion, she is starting. The idea started when hurricane Katrina hit New Orleans and the news was filled with bad things from there--she bet there were many good things happening that went unreported. She wants to promote the good things about and happening in Victoria. She thinks of the magazine as the Texas Monthly without politics. The magazine will be written and produced locally. Cheryl is the editor and she introduced her assistant editor, Ingra Sparkman. The first issue will feature the Sweat Equity Challenge, an effort to raise money for the Habitat for Humanity. There will be a secret story in each issue. She noted that we have a lot of talent in Victoria and have a large art culture. She hopes to highlight one non-profit organization each issue. Her goals are to make Victorians feel good, feel proud. 11,000 magazines will be printed and it will be available on-line along with a community calendar. She asks for input for both the calendar and subjects for articles.

8/11/2009  Ginny Stafford, Mid-Coast Family Services CEO, told about the services they offer. Their Family Violence Shelter is open 365 days a year and only closes for acts of nature. They run a 15-unit apartment for the homeless. They spend $30-$260 thousand per year to assist people on the verge of eviction. Additionally, they run drug abuse and abuse prevention programs where they saw 19,000 people last year. More than 4,000 have used their family violence shelter. The house used for this is no longer adequate and Mid-Coast has acquired the land and plans for a new shelter. They have raised ten percent of the money, but still need almost $2 million.

8/4/2009  Randy Vivian, Victoria Chamber of Commerce President and CEO, gave the history of the Victoria branding project. The project started a year ago and was paid for with hotel/motel tax and private donations--no general revenue taxes were used. Fifteen stakeholders donated. The company from Nashville that did the grunt work on the project found Victoria's assets are location, positive and determined attitude, proximity to large population centers, quality of life, healthcare, real estate stability, higher education, and shopping. Challenges are availability of labor for large employers, brain drain, tourism offerings, and downtown offerings. Opportunities are creating jobs with higher wages, engagement of the young, apply lessons learned, change old guard, seek location focused business, downtown development, and larger convention space in motels. The tagline from the project is Where the past and present are perfect neighbors.

7/28/2009  Janet Jones, Perpetual Help Home Marketing Director, says women coming to the home usually have nothing. They get a room and must follow house rules. Residents must get jobs and are given guidance and training. There is a deadline for getting a job. This is a faith based program requiring participants to choose a church, tithe, and go to bible study at church or at the home. Residents receive parenting training—some children have never had a bedtime. They receive money management training. They must put 50 percent of salaries in savings, 15 percent in rent, 10 percent to church, and 25 percent for spending. Some have saved money and are going to college. Some graduates return and become involved.

7/21/2009  Lester Green, Victoria Electric Co-Op, gave the club energy saving tips. He said that in the 41 years that he has been with the Co-Op the price of energy has gone up 10 times. Checking the Seasonal Energy Efficiency Rating is very important when buying new electric appliances. Some ways to reduce energy use are: installing a light roof, roof vents, heat barrier, patching air leaks, raising indoor temperatures, using ceiling fans, and keeping the freezer full. He said heating with gas—both water and house—was much cheaper than electricity. Use programmable thermostats. Although personal wind generators will save money it will take a long time to recover the installation cost.

7/14/2009  C.F. and Bob discussed the beginning of Rotary International and, specifically, the beginning of the Victoria Rotary Club. Rotary began with Paul Harris and four friends in 1905. By 1908 there were six clubs. In 1919 some business men met on the sidewalk in front of the Manhattan Café and decided to start a Rotary Club here in Victoria. The organizational meeting was in the Knights of Columbus Hall. They initially met in the Manhattan Café. The meetings moved to the Delaware Hotel in 1920. Later, they met in the Denver Hotel. The club had a drinking song which was abandoned by choice. The wife of the first president wrote a Rotary song published by the Hauschild Music Publishing Company. Bob distributed and read A Proclamation of Beliefs developed for the club in 1976 by Milam Reeves, Bill Fly (Northside), PDG Deon Holm, C.F. Schneider, and Bob Martin. A  copy was buried in a time capsule in front of City Hall on April 14, 2000, and will be one of the articles found when the capsule is opened in 2100. Will Armstrong provided the wildlife picture used for the background. He is currently the city mayor and is the son of Rotarian Willis Armstrong.

7/7/2009  Lorene shared her goals for the new Rotary year; introduced the officers, directors, and committee chairs; then had members gather with committees that interested them. She closed the meeting by presenting an appreciation plaque to Peggy Cunningham to commemorate her year as president. PDG Russell Cain was there to present a Paul Harris Fellowship to Joe Truman honoring his duty to the District as assistant governor.

6/30/2009  Matthew Crigger (MHS), Christian Maxwell (SJHS), and Justin Gonzales (MHS) told of their adventures at the World Affairs Seminar in Wisconsin. It took them 16 hours to get there. Matthew forgot his meal card and had to go back and get it, but the dorm was locked. They felt the large size and content of lectures led to napping. The theme was starvation in the world and this was demonstrated by students drawing cards which corresponded to a diet for the "Hunger Banquet." They were inspired by Growing in Power, Inc., who uses earthworms to create soil and grow food. One of the final activities was a student talent show. Matthew played the piano.

6/23/2009  Wayne discussed income tax in the US. He says about half the population is exempt from paying income tax. Of the half who are not exempt many do not pay taxes on all their income. We have a voluntary tax system—meaning we volunteer the information to calculate our income tax. Some payers only file if they have a refund coming. Small business is the current IRS target for tax fraud. Wayne contends few receive jail time for failure to pay taxes and cited several examples of fraudulent behavior that had little if any associated jail time. He feels that when people believe the tax system is unfair they will quit paying. His informal poll showed that the audience, overwhelmingly, felt the system is unfair.

6/16/2009  John Brill and Wayne McLeod from the Victoria Advocate discussed Market Place Victoria. They feel that it is informational and directory driven. If Bill Gates' prediction that phonebooks would be obsolete in 10 years is correct then Market Place can be used to find local businesses. Unlike Google, Market Place will list only Victoria County entities making the results more meaningful. It will provide instant web presence for those businesses that do not have a website. They feel listees will see an increase in web traffic, store traffic, and phone traffic. They are promoting Market Place Victoria in the paper, on the Advocate website, in radio ads, and on the reader board at the mall. You may activate your business using five key words for free.

6/9/2009 Victoria Bach Festival New Young Artists, Catherine Clarke and Seth Lafler, from Texas State University entertained the club with solos and duets. They were accompanied by Joey Martin.

6/2/2009  Steve discussed the Challenged Athletes Dream Complex. He reported that the Paul Harris Birthday Work Day was a success. He showed a video showing those activities and the opening ceremonies and other clips. They intend to make the facility a multi-purpose athletic field with the safety features necessary for challenged athletes. They have received a grant from the American Soccer Foundation for the design work for adding a soccer field. Normally, these grants are followed by a grant for constructing the field. He felt that the effort to get a Frosted Flakes grant from Kellogg was worthwhile because it raised the awareness of the project.

5/26/2009  Dale Fowler, Victoria Economic Development Corporation (VEDC), stated that unemployment in Victoria is 5.7 percent, which is less than the state average. Home values, here, are stable. He felt this reflects both lack of inflated home prices and the economic conditions. VEDC is researching areas for development in renewable energy and industry related to the large pipe manufacturing plant being built in Gregory. He feels the economic impact of UH-Victoria becoming a four-year institution is difficult to project—whatever it is; it will be positive. He feels that the Exelon nuclear plant is moving forward, but we need to keep selling because there is no firm commitment from them, yet.

5/19/2009  Keith Blundell from the Victoria College gave a tutorial on community college funding. Their funding is based on contact hours while state universities are funded based on credit hours. They are funded two years at a time based on the number of contact hours from the previous two years. Originally, the state would fund instructional expenses if the community would fund the infrastructure investment and expenses. Over the years the legislature has welched on the deal and now only funds 75 percent of the instructional expenses. This reduction in funding is made up by increasing taxes, fees, and soliciting more donations.

5/12/2009  Jared Mayfield from City Development Services Planning Division talked about planning the City. Development Services will provide sound professional advice and technical expertise to assist and guide elected and appointed officials, city management, the development community and citizens in planning, preserving and developing a great city. As Planning Manager Jared is responsible for code enforcement, neighborhood and affordable housing planning, demographics, historic preservation, and the Victoria Metropolitan Planning Organization. The City has annexed about 700 acres in the last two years. The next area will be around the new West High School campus.

5/5/2009  Rusty Calvez and his friend Adrian gave tips on home security. Systems should be designed to identify a breach of security as soon as possible. Doors should be alarmed first then windows. Glass break sensors are now available and are recommended. Motion detectors are good only after the bad guy gets in the house. Modern detection systems can use the internet for control. This feature is especially desirable for second homes that are frequently unoccupied. Fire and carbon monoxide detection can be included in security systems. Heat detectors (rate of rise of heat) can be used in lieu of smoke detectors. Everyone should have a fire escape plan with all residents knowing their role. Multi-floor homes need a fire escape ladder. When selecting an installation technicians make sure make sure they are state licensed.

4/28/2009  Russell Pruitt, one of the driving forces behind the amendments to the City charter, gave his take on how the process works. He said his group had several law experts helping them with the amendments. He feels that the City unlawfully changed the amendments when putting them on the ballot. He reflected on the law for getting petition signatures and presenting them to a governing body. He feels the proposed amendments will give voters more control of the City Council and stem City waste.

4/14/2009  Students from St Joseph and Memorial High Schools told about their experiences at Rotary Youth Leadership Awards (RYLA). They all enjoyed the experience and have been able to use some of the skills acquired at the weekend camp held the last weekend in January. We tried sending them on a bus with children from Port Lavaca and Edna, but the bus was too late to use.

4/7/2009  Randall Parr talked about the success of the EarlyAct FirstKnight program in the San Antonio area. The EarlyAct program is for children in grades K-8 and feeds into the Interact program. Randall was approached by his Assistant Governor to add additional elements to the EarlyAct program. The program covers not only how but why we should serve. It is a coordinated way to change the students' way of thinking. It is based on noble service and chivalry. Knight comes from a word meaning service. The theme is very visual and uses knights to teach Service Above Self. The program is teacher friendly and is eagerly accepted by teachers to comply with the state required character education. The program includes Rotary mentorship. About 90 percent of the children at participating schools join the program.

3/31/2009  City Mayor, Will Armstrong, and City Councilman, Paul Polasek, discussed the upcoming election to amend the City Charter. A group of citizens petitioned the city to change the charter. The petition did not meet state law because it covered more than one item. The city consulted with an attorney who advised that the petition could be broken into separate items. The city broke it into ten issues. None of the ten will help sell Victoria. The Mayor and City Council are opposed to all ten items. Passage of the issues will weaken the City Council and make it more difficult to get qualified people to serve. Proposition No. 4 calls for an elected city attorney making it difficult for the Council to hold him accountable. Term limits will reduce continuity. The City could no longer defend its employees which is necessary at times.

3/24/2009  Megan Zamora, Memorial High School and representing Victoria Northside Rotary Club, won the Area 2 (Victoria and Goliad) Four-Way Test Speech Contest. She is the daughter of Rotarian Lori Zamora and will compete against 12 other area winners in the District 5930 contest in Alice on April 4. In addition to Megan, two St Joseph High School students vied for the Area 2 title. Kurt Kotzur, representing Victoria Rotary Club, placed second. Rachel Grahmann, representing Victoria Sunrise Rotary Club, placed third. Pictured (l to r) Megan Zamora, Kurt Kotzur, Rachel Grahmann.

3/17/2009  The Boys & Girls Club hosted us at their building. We met with the Boys & Girls Club Board, Boys & Girls Club members, sponsors, and potential sponsors. The Boys & Girls Club had their essay contest winners present their essays.

3/10/2009  Leslie Ruta and Ingra Sparkman from Habitat for Humanity (HH) discussed their organization. Habitat for Humanity was started here in 1994. Since then they have built 71 houses which have added over $3,000,000 to the tax rolls. The average payment for HH owners is $325 per month. They are starting a twenty-house project on land donated by the Black brothers. They have had one fundraiser in the past--House Party. They are starting a second fundraiser--Sweat Equity Challenge--at Riverside Park on May 30. There will be 23 events including both silly, fun events and athletic challenges. They are attempting to break a Guinness record and need at least 5,000 people to attend.

3/3/2009  Wayne Alexander, CPA, discussed government tax policy. He says there are tax payers and tax receivers. His discussion focused on the tax receivers. He brought examples of tax returns for people with small earned incomes and showed how government policy encourages single head of household homes and encourages fraud. He showed that wage earners with 5-6 in the home and wages of $50-60,000 pay little or no tax. Those making less qualify for earned income credit. Heads of household with two children at home and earning $12,000 qualify for about $5,000 tax refund. If a head of household reports $15,000 business income then after a reduction for social security and Medicare the individual qualifies for a $3,500 refund. He reports that some families divide-up the children and each adult files as head of household.

2/24/2009  Bob Moore, Victoria ISD Superintendent, gave an update on district activities. Since he arrived teachers salaries have been raised to a more competitive rate. The first year he was here there were 44 vacancies at the beginning of the school year that had to be filled with substitute teachers. This year they had a waiting list for teaching jobs. The school ratings have continued to increase. The drop-rate is still a problem. They are working on reducing the retention rate in the lower grades. There is a correlation between how many years a child is held back and whether he or she will finish high school. All five new schools approved by the bond election are under construction. The idea is to have two learning communities comprised of smaller schools--smaller schools do better. Each community will have eight or nine elementary schools, two junior highs and one high school. They have stopped the loss of students and this year have had a slight gain. Mascots and colors are the next item on the agenda.

2/17/2009  Students from St Joseph High School competed in the Four-Way Test Speech Contest. They were accompanies by their speech teacher, Kristin Clark.

2/10/2009  Elaine Brown and Bob Houston, Victoria attorneys, discussed collaborative law as an alternative to traditional litigation. Collaborative law is a non-adversarial dispute resolution process and is a complete change to the traditional approach to the resolution of legal issues. All parties and the attorneys agree to resolve their dispute without resorting to the court system, but if they decide to go court they will have to use different attorneys. This is a global movement that started in 1990 and has statutory approval in 40 states. The process is a face-to-face process making it easy to correct misunderstandings. It is convenient because parties decide how to proceed without deadlines. The process avoids a public record—all private. Each party must take responsibility. Levels the playing field because deep pockets have little advantage.

2/3/2009  Norman Arnold with Prudential Investments feels his noble cause is to help people do what they want in retirement. He pointed out that the market has gone down 35-38 percent in the last 14 months. January was down 8.4 percent. There has been increased volatility in the market--the most ever. Markets have always recovered in the past, but for those nearing retirement age the investment horizon is short and there may not be enough time for them to recover.  For those who ask the question, "What do I do?' he recommends getting advice from a professional advisor.  He says to stay diversified because volatility is here to stay for now. Stay informed. Do your own research.

1/27/2009  Dr. Margaret Rice, UH-Victoria Chief of Staff, discussed growth at UH-Victoria. Enrollment is strong this year having grown 12 percent over last year. They have gotten both national and international attention for their humanities program. They will start offering a masters degree in publishing. They are seeking approval for an MS in nursing. They now offer a new on-line certificate for a masters degree in education. They are continuing programs with universities in China to offer courses so Chinese students can finish their education, here. UH-V athletic teams continue to generate enthusiasm. They are committed to attack global warming issues. They are making progress toward downward expansion to make UH-V a four-year college. Thirty years ago there were 25 upper level schools, including UH-V. Over time, it became obvious students were better served with four-year colleges. Only two are left in Texas. They are taking precautions not to hurt the Victoria College and have a memorandum of understanding with them. They feel we are ideally located for students from Austin, San Antonio, and Houston who want to leave home for college, but want to be near enough to visit home frequently. These cities graduate about 90,000 students per year. They have set modest enrollment goals for the first few years.

1/20/2009  Joni Brown, Keep Victoria Beautiful Executive Director, says their mission is to empower individuals through education and involvement to take personal responsibility for community appearance. They promote community awareness, involvement, and pride. She showed the new city entry sign at the airport and said another is scheduled to be installed at the intersection of South Laurent Street and Highway 59. Their Texas Trash-Off project is the Lone Tree neighborhood clean-up. The have been involved in five neighborhood clean-ups. They won a grant from HEB to start a recycling project at the Victoria College. They give out a monthly beautification award to Victoria businesses. Nominations can be made on a form available on-line.

1/13/2009  Jan Mahoney, professional organizer, gave us tips on the clutter free home. Your house is a cover for your stuff. Creating clutter is easy. The bigger the family the easier it is to clutter the home. We should get rid of those items that are damaged and not going to be repaired, are uncomfortable, are more trouble to use than they are worth, are hated, are too dainty to display, or expired prescriptions. Avoid the halfway house syndrome. Don’t keep sentimental items hidden; display them. If you do not recognize it, throw it away. Garbage cans make ideal racks for tall items like rakes, hoes, and shovels. If you can’t do these things yourself, Jan will help you. She does every room, seeks out valuables, and maintains confidentiality.

1/6/2009  Dayna Williams-Capone, Victoria Public Library Director, grew up in southeast Kansas. She studied languages in college planning to see the world. Then it dawned on her that she needed to be able to make a living and had been working in the college library. She liked the work, so she decided to get a masters degree in library science. She reported that the library has been under renovation and invited club members to come by and see the results. If you can’t make it in person there is a virtual tour on their website. She encouraged the club to attend the Friends of the Library Book Sale, January 19-24. The book scheduled for Victoria Reads 2009! is Life on Matagorda Island. A variety of programs related to the book are scheduled.

12/9,16,23/2008  The club invited the 14 recipients of Victoria Rotary Foundation, Inc. grants to come to the club to receive their check and tell the club how the funds would be spent. The club gave $15,500 to the community. The funds are available because of our annual Charity Sporting Clay Shoot fundraiser.

12/2/2008  Rhonda Fotiades presented a short program on the Sure B.E.T. (Business and Education Together) organization. She complimented the Bob Moore's leadership and contribution to the community. She reviewed the mentoring program which also includes a tutoring components. The Patti Welder campus, Stroman campus and Hopkins campus now have mentoring labs. Mentoring only requires a 30-minute a week commitment and Sure B.E.T is currently recruiting for more mentors. Rhonda challenged members to recruit mentors in their workplace. Each child gets a notebook with a customized lesson plan for the mentor to use.

11/25/2008  Rita Williams with the Palm Tree informed Rotary members about the unique boutique located on Navarro. Models displayed the latest holiday fashions. The Palm Tree will be open on Thanksgiving Day for special holiday hours and the boutique will also host a Men's Night Out on December 11th from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. The friendly staff will help you select the perfect gift or outfit and can even deliver gifts. They also include alterations as one of their many services.

11/18/2008  Karen Stocks, First Presbyterian Church pastor and retried Air Force chaplain, discussed her two tours of duty in the Mid-East. She served in Saudi Arabia in 1991 and returned to Qatar in 2003. As a chaplain her duties were to serve the troops and advise commanders. Issues are saved-up and come forward in the desert. Her role was to see that the religious needs of all military members were met. Sometimes military duty takes priority over religion. For example, Muslims could not observe Ramadan at the normal time, but could observe it later. The big challenge was nature—it gets unbearably hot in summer and sand is everywhere and in everything. Women’s activities are restricted by Saudi Arabian customs.

11/4/2008  Lynne Voskamp, Citizens Medical Center Chief Nursing Officer, related that one million new registered nurses will be needed in the period, 2016-2020. Nursing needs have been cyclical since World War II. Nursing is the top growth area of the healthcare industry. Fifty-five percent of present nurses plan to retire during 2011-2020. All fifty states will have shortages by 2015. As the nursing corps ages fewer are entering the career. The shortage will cause overwork and increased risk for stress, injuries, errors, and turnover. Increasing output from nursing schools will be difficult because of the aging faculty. Seventy percent of nursing faculty will be eligible for retirement in the next 10 years. Locally, hospitals are better off than the rest of the country. Hospitals, here, try to accommodate nurses through flexible scheduling.

10/28/2008  Terry Koehler, president of EIDOLON Golf, shared insight into how small businesses can compete with the giants. He encouraged members to properly identify businesses with an unique name (either descriptive or mysterious), give businesses a face (logo, store front, website) and provide excellent customer service—here small businesses have a unique advantage over bureaucratic larger businesses. Koehler discussed Unique Selling Proposition (USP) and how to separate businesses from the competition. He shared tips on relationship building with customers, marketing businesses through newsletters, e-mail gathering, podcasts, blogs, and search engine ranking results.

10/21/2008  Jim Blackburn, Houston attorney representing Texans for a Sound Energy Alliance, discussed objections to the proposed nuclear plant in south Victoria County. He feels that it is a water-hog and will cause water shortages on the Guadalupe River. Its 75,000 acre-feet of annual water rights are superior to the City of Victoria causing Victoria to look elsewhere for water in times of drought. With global warming he expects drought to become the norm. He, also, reminded us that draw-down of the underground aquifers reduces river flow. Another concern was the health of San Antonio Bay. Its ecosystem requires fresh water to remain healthy. He said that current water rights already exceed water availability in times of drought.

10/14/2008  Jarrod Turley, Victoria Country Club Membership director, related that he has a fondness for Rotary Clubs. He was a student guest and later went to RYLA as both student and counselor. Private clubs no longer have a waiting list as they did a few years ago. The 1993 Tax Act reduced the deductibility of dues. There has been a change in culture—from breadwinner centric to family centric and people are getting married later in life. There are now more high-end restaurants competing directly with the Country Club. VCC can accommodate parties as large as 350. They are working with realtors to include fees in with new house mortgages. They have successfully instituted baby sitting.

10/7/2008  Louis Boldt substituted for Debbie Gillespie and discussed Affordable Housing Today. The Housing Authority manages approximately 350 units of federally owned housing and they administer subsidies for about that much more housing. They screen housing applicants in an attempt to make the housing safer. Lawbreakers are evicted and cannot reapply for several years. There is about a year-long waiting list for housing. The housing subsidies are more popular because there is less oversight of the tenants. Landlords are responsible for them—just like any renter. Tenants income is monitored to adjust their rental rates. Frequently, tenants fail to report their income properly.

9/30/2008  Carole Keeney-Harrington spoke on the Living Bank, an organ donor registry. They’ve been in business about 40 years and strive to educate the public about the need for organ donations. They have two million registered donors. Only about 3 percent of sign-ups give organs. In Texas, a family member must give permission to harvest organs even if the donor has registered as a donor. Lesson: Let your family know your desires. She recommends putting your organ donation card behind your driver’s license assuring it will be found in case of an accident. Kidneys are the most-needed organs. A new wrinkle is living donors. Live organs have a better survival rate.

9/23/2008  Sheila Arnold and Anthony Jung discussed Victoria Northside Rotary Club’s Challenger League initiative. Their goal is to provide playing fields for handicapped children. The City is cooperating by giving them two old Little League fields, near the Riverside Park Vine Street entrance. This will reduce the cost considerably because the basic facilities are there. The Club will have to raise funds to put a rubberized surface on the field and refurbish the restrooms. The Challenger League fields eliminate trip-hazards and have surfaces that are wheelchair friendly. Teams are usually paired with Little League teams and provide a learning experience for the children playing on those teams.

9/16/2008  Chris Cobler, editor of the Victoria Advocate, addressed the newspaper's response to Hurricane Ike. He discussed the two biggest challenges—power and communications. He discussed the printing and distribution of the paper during the hurricane weekend, informing the group that free special edition papers were delivered Saturday, September 13, to open businesses in the area. The newspaper also offered electronic versions of the paper on its website and posted the latest updates on the storm. The Advocate extended help to neighboring newspapers including printing the Galveston newspaper. Chris took questions and addressed issues such as letters to the editors, online blogging, and news coverage.

9/9/2008  Bruce gave a presentation on comprehensive physicals. Most important, establish a relationship with a physician. Physical exams differ for those less than 40 and those over 50. The younger group should check for cancer, high blood pressure, depression, injuries, lifestyle related diseases, and sexually transmitted diseases. The older group should check cardiovascular risk, high cholesterol, aortic aneurysm, cancer (lung, colon, breast, prostate, cervical), depression, and diabetes. In addition they should be immunized for flu, shingles, and pneumonia plus take low-dose aspirin. He closed by stressing the importance of regular exercise.

9/2/2008  Phylis Canion gave us the ABC’s of Nutrition. She started as a psychologist and her practice led her to an interest in nutrition. She observed cases with surprising results from diet changes. She is opposed to micro-waved food, unnatural food, and diet drinks. She is convinced that the off-gassing of plastic in micro-waved food is detrimental to health. She is convinced that the breakdown of common soft drink sweeteners forms formaldehyde. We do not chew enough. A critical part of the digestive process is thorough chewing of food. Many cannot digest homogenized milk. She advocates avoiding any drinks from aluminum cans. Drinks from plastic containers with recycle numbers higher than four are harmful.

8/26/2008  Gayle Cook, Area Coordinator for the NRA Foundation, assured us that the NRA Foundation is non-political. They go to great length to keep politics out of any of their functions to assure their charitable organization status. Her Area stretches from Beaumont to San Antonio then south to the border. They raise money through NRA dinners then give it away through grants to promote gun safety and firearms training. Our Victoria dinner is the second biggest in her Area. Corpus Christi raises the most money. She lives in Palacios which is centrally located in the area.

8/19/2008  Bruce Bauknight and Bill Ruddock gave classification talks. Bruce was born in El Campo after a car breakdown on the way from Ganado. He went to school in Ganado where he spotted Vicki when she was in the first grade and he was in the fourth grade. He went to Texas A&M then transferred to Texas Lutheran College. He did his medical training at the University of Texas-Medical Branch. During his internship he rotated various duties. On his first day in the emergency room a girl injured in a boating accident arrived and his response was, "Somebody get a doctor!" before realizing he was the doctor. His main hobby is travel and related that visits to Rotary International Conventions have been the most enjoyable of his travels. Bill was born at home. He went to Patti Welder High School and started Victoria College. That was interrupted by an enlistment in the marines where he spent some time in Korean combat. Afterward, he returned to Victoria College then joined First Victoria National Bank. He spent 42 years there and retired in 1997.

8/12/2008  John Handley told how and why he and his wife, Melody, started the Vine School. Vine School is Victoria's first and only school for children diagnosed with autism. Roughly, ten children each year are diagnosed with autism in Victoria, so the need is great for a special institution to meet their educational needs. The first classroom is filled and there is a waiting list for a second classroom. Each classroom will have one teacher and one teacher's aide for the five children per class. The school is currently working on its charitable designation and is trying to raise scholarship funds to aid families who wish to send their child to the school. The school's nine month program will serve those ages four to eight years old who are moderate to highly functioning. By the age of eight, the goal is to return the students to the typical classroom.

8/5/2008  Sherre Clegg-Jolly, Florida Atlantic University, spoke on effective adult learning. Aging Americans are living longer,  healthier lives and have higher education than previous generations. The fastest growing age-group is comprised of people over 85. In designing courses for  adults some considerations are: Instructor training, materials designed for skills, scheduling for lifestyle, class climate (friendly, accepted, respected), enthusiastic instructors, involve students, topics, and facility ( easy access, furniture, lighting). Adult learning dispels the myth, You can't teach old dogs new tricks. She used her parents, Robert and Margaret Clegg, as examples of life-long learners.

7/29/2008  Mike Fields explained the Coleto Creek Power Plant expansion project. The project builds a second unit at the existing site. The site was designed for two units, so infrastructure changes will be minimal. The unit will generate 650,000 KW per hour--enough for 450,000 homes. Texas needs two of these plants to be built per year to keep up with growing demand. He anticipates 18-24 months to get the required permit. Construction time will be five years once they break ground. During construction there will be 1,100 workers on site. The new unit will require 72 additional permanent employees. Besides the employment impact Goliad County tax base will grow by $1.5 billion--means $12 million per year for Goliad schools. Coal plants are more complicated to build than gas plants, but the operating cost is considerable less. When finished it will be the cleanest coal fired plant in Texas. There will be no impact on the Coleto Creek reservoir. Train traffic will double.

7/22/2008  David Way, Gulf Bend Center Director of Operations, gave the rationale for purchasing their own building. Gulf Bend has served the community for 38 years. They treat severe mental illness and mental retardation and for the past 15 years have been located in the Towne Plaza Mall. As they continue to grow their services to meet the needs of the community, they have found a need to expand. They have purchased the Regional Medial Plaza and will occupy 70 % of the building and rent the rest. Construction began in June and they hope to move in or before October 31. After renovations the cost will be $66 per square foot—about two-thirds of new cost. They will own the building outright in 15 years.

7/15/2008  District Governor Russell Cain related that President D.K. Lee with his theme, Make Dreams Real, wants to reduce the number of children who die daily from preventable causes. Many deaths can be stopped by better drinking water sources. President Lee also emphasizes membership growth. In November we will meet with Rotarians from Mexico and the Rotary Foundation to find and finalize projects including matching grants at this meeting. The District raffle has started; the drawing will be in October. There will be a Paul Harris dinner in Port Lavaca on February 23. The District Conference will be held at the Radisson Resort near San Antonio and Sea World. This is a family event; bring them.

7/8/2008  Peggy Cunningham, president, addressed the club on the mission for the next year. The message from the international president is “Make Dreams Real” and we want to incorporate this motto in our service. Peggy shared information presented in the international president’s address, touching on how many children die each day due to lack of basic needs. As Rotarians, we need to protect our youth. Peggy is starting a new collection program to benefit PolioPlus. Members are encouraged to drop loose change in a container to benefit this program. Rotarians are challenged to bring a guest to future meetings and grow our membership. Rotarians are also encouraged to join a committee and get involved.

6/24/2008  Jim Stokes, a 1961 West Point graduate, shared the history of this impressive institution. The motto of the institution is "Duty, Honor, Country." In the early 1800s, cadets ranged in age from 10 years old to 34 years old. Jim highlighted the journeys of several graduates, including the first Texas graduate, William Magee. Magee graduated in 1809. He started the Republic of the North America Army and later died in Goliad in 1813. He also noted that Henry Flipper was the first African American to graduate. Stokes shared many other stories of cadets who served their country.

Sylvanus Thayer was best known for establishing the discipline policy still in effect today. Thayer also established a four-year curriculum in the mid 1800s. He retired in 1863 and after his death was buried at West Point.

West Point started the college ring in 1835. The school now melts former graduates' rings and the gold from those rings is passed to new graduates through their class rings.

6/17/2008  Dottie Welton with the Victoria Bach Festival introduced two rising stars, Taylor Baggett and Joey Kent. Taylor, a vocal performance major, sang tenor on two solo pieces. Joey Kent entertained the audience with two jazz piano selections. The Victoria Bach Festival is celebrating their 33rd season. This was the 16th year that the Bach Festival has presented new young artists to the Victoria Rotary Club.

 6/10/2008  Doug Hotle, the new executive director of the Texas Zoo, shared information on his work background and plans for improving the Texas Zoo. Hotle has worked at various zoos since he was 15. Early in his career, he developed a love for reptiles and amphibians. He showed slides of current residents of the Texas Zoo and discussed plans to expand the Zoo. He goal is to save many of the disappearing species, such as the Atwater Prairie Chicken, Whooping Crane, Texas Indigo Snake, Timber Rattlesnake, Barton Springs Pupfish and the Texas Blind Salamander. There is a worldwide amphibian crisis, so he wants to do his part to protect them. In five to ten years, Hotle would like to build a 70-acre zoo to enhance the current zoo. This will take major fundraising, so this project will take some time to develop. Hotle also shared that they have updated education displays at the Zoo with new graphics. For more information, visit www.TexasZoo.org.

6/3/2008 Katie Kucera with the Golden Crescent Tech-Prep Partnership, shared information on this grant-funded program housed at The Victoria College. The program, offered to public school students in the Golden Crescent region, formed in the early 90s and provides free college credit courses to high school students. It creates a seamless transition from high school to college and leads many students to pursue post secondary education. There are 24 different courses of tech-prep credit, including accounting, computer networking and programming, web design, nursing and welding. Partnering with supporting organizations, the Tech-Prep program presents career days and job shadowing opportunities. The Tech-Prep partnership also provides services for teachers, including professional development, yearly conferences and summer teacher internships. Over the course of the 2007-08 school year, the program enrolled 4,700 students and held 300 individual classes.

5/27/2008  Judge Joseph P. Kelly presented a video on jury service. Narrated by Justice Sandra Day O'Connor, the video reviewed the importance of serving on a jury and explained the eligibility requirements for serving on a jury. The Constitution guarantees all the right to a trial by a jury of his or her peers. The jury system is the best model for democracy. You can serve on a jury if you are 18 years of age and a citizen of the United States. You may not serve on a jury if you have been convicted of a felony or have any charges against you. Also, you cannot serve on a jury if you served on a trial that lasted six days or more in the past six months. Following the presentation, Judge Kelly answered Rotarian's questions on jury selection and service.

5/20/2008  Grace Neibrandt, Theatre Victoria General Manager, gave an overview of the 2008-09 season. In its 32nd year the Theatre will present five productions, two of which are musicals. The season starts with Joseph and the Technicolor Dreamcoat followed by Dearly Beloved, Arsenic and Old Lace, Do Black Patent Leather Shoes Really Reflect Up?, and Noises Off. Two choices of discounted season tickets are on sale, now. For children Triple Threat Summer Camp starts June 9. There will be spring and fall Acting Academies, also. The Theatre is sponsoring a Fun-raising cruise in February. In addition to ticket sales, shows require sponsors and many volunteer hours to produce.

5/13/2008  The German GSE Team led by Rotarian, Michael Trierweiler—pharmacist, and four young professionals: Karin Ailland—Civil Engineer, Thomas Riek—IT Professional, Jerome Janke—Retail Manager, and Gernot Pehnel—Consultant, discussed their region of Germany. They are from Weimar and nearby cities. Weimar was in East Germany before reunification.

5/6/2008  Bob Martin, lead character in the 1940s and 50s show--Uncle Elihu, shared details of the time he spent on the show filmed in Waco. Waco Cable Company recently documented a reunion of the main actors of Uncle Elihu that was held in 2006 in Victoria.

Bob was the mastermind behind the show, which had its start in radio. He wrote the script for the radio show every morning and later transitioned the show to television. Along with his sidekick PJ Possum, they entertained Waco children and families at 4:00 p.m. each afternoon. They performed skits, shorts songs and promoted their sponsors, such as Triple X Root Beer and Allied Van Lines.

At the end of the meeting, Bob declared that all Rotarians present were Humdingers and Outstanding Possum Grinners.

4/29/2008  Brittany Hollas with the VISD Education Foundation (formerly Making the Grade) presented an update on the organization. While remaining a 501 (c) 3, the board and VISD decided to transition Making the Grade to the VISD Education Foundation. The organization provides creative approaches to enhance grants, contributions and private foundation funding. Some of their goals include encouraging students to reach their potential, supporting educators and informing the community of VISD's efforts. Ms. Hollas noted as State funding is becoming more and more limited, the Foundation can assist with fundraising. The Foundation funds innovative technology grants, staff development, student-teacher recognition, and the permanent endowment fund (scholarships for both students and teachers). Ms. Hollas shared the numerous ways community members can assist, including gifts, annual giving, memorials, endowments, planned giving, etc.

4/22/2008  A graduate of the Medical College of Georgia, Dr. John Bouras relocated his psychiatry practice to Victoria in May 2007. Dr. Bouras discussed psychiatry and mental health issues. He presented an overview of the role of a psychiatrist and shared details on the difference between the “brain vs. mind.” The brain is shaped by our environment and experiences. When the brain is not functioning properly, this can cause mental illness. One in five people have been diagnosed with some form of a mental disorder. Dr. Bouras shared financial figures that demonstrated the cost of mental illness in terms of missed work, lack of productivity, etc. He also shared the general public’s perception about mental illness. Medications and counseling are effective because they impact the brain. Dr. Bouras included information on the different therapies currently available to treat mental illness including counseling, support groups, medication, eating healthy, and exercise. For more information on his practice, visit www.drbouras.com

4/15/2008  Jerry James, Director of Environmental Services--City of Victoria, gave the status of automated trash pick-up. The first week of automated services is scheduled for May 12, with the carts delivered on May 5 to eight target neighborhoods. Following this initial implementation, the rest of the city can expect to have automated pick up by November 2008. Each residence will receive one 96 gallon, wheeled can with specific care instructions. Trash collection dates will change from twice a week to once a week with the new automated collection system. Mr. James provided details on where and when to place your cans for collection. He also shared the city's plan to pick up yard waste for recycling. The City will make special provisions for elderly or handicapped individuals who have difficulty placing their can on the street. For more information on this program, visit the City website and check environmental services or call 485-3230.

4/8/2008  Lorene, James, and Ronnie shared a PowerPoint presentation outlining the different responsibilities of individuals working at the Eleventh Annual Charity Sporting Clay Shoot. Members are encouraged to sign up to volunteer on the club website. Many volunteer positions are available. James shared the schedule for both days and showed photos from previous Clay Shoots. Following their presentation, board members from the Boys and Girls Club thanked Rotary for their efforts and explained how they would support the event. Mike Cavazos, vice president of the Boys and Girls Club board of directors, shared a positive story of the event's impact on Boys and Girls club youth. For more information on volunteer opportunities visit the club website, www.victoriarotary.org/shoot.htm.

4/1/2008  Fred Lewis with Wings of Freedom, literally a flying museum, told us their mission is to honor military veterans. They fly a fleet of WWII aircraft and tour the US giving rides. They are expanding to honor other era veterans and will fly as long as the planes last and the public is interested. Dr. Kevin Anderson followed with a presentation on restless leg syndrome (RLS). A large portion of people have this affliction and can be treated successfully. Some forms can be treated by raising iron levels; others can use drugs developed for Parkinson’s disease, but taken in lower doses. RLS tends to run in families. Dr. Anderson’s father had it and so do he and his sister.

3/27/2008  A joint meeting of the Victoria Rotary Clubs was the venue for the Area 2 Four-Way Test Speech contest. Hanna Moss from Memorial High School won and will represent Area 2 at the District Contest on April 19. She related how she used the Four-Way Test when competing in a UIL extemporaneous speech contest. Her opponent was Kurt Kotzur from St. Joseph High School.

3/18/2008   Jim Burnette, Vice President of Development with NuCoastal Power, presented details of his company’s plant upgrade in Victoria. Their goal is to be a regional low cost power producer. Mr. Burnette shared slides of the of the building progress since June 2007. The updating efforts were hampered slightly by the severe weather in July 2007, but the project is on time and within budget. He shared that Texas' rapidly growing market is facing a shrinking power reserve. It is not possible to wheel power from outside markets. It is their hope that they can provide competitive rates and add new jobs to the area market (between 18-19 employees). NuCoastal has also purchased four older facilities that they plan to update to deliver power to Austin, San Antonio, Corpus Christi, and Houston.

3/11/2008  Barry Cole, president of the 100 Club of Victoria, shared a brief history of the 100 Club and shared the organization’s mission. The 100 Club was founded in 1979 and received its 501(c)3. designation in 1980. The mission is to provide support for the spouses and dependants of local law enforcement officers and fire and emergency personnel who are killed or disabled in the line of duty. The 300+ members of this organization not only provide financial assistance to families, but also supply life-saving equipment to both police and firefighters and provide financial assistance for officers who wish to continue their education. Mr. Cole encouraged Rotary members to join the organization. Individual, family, and life memberships are available. For more information, call 361-580-1502.

3/4/2008  Matt Vandervoort, Texas AgriLIFE Extension, discussed his work. It is based primarily on the basic food pyramid that he gave to members. The program is USDA funded and administered by Texas A&M University. He, also, teaches groups how to save on food costs--coupons, grow-your-own. His audiences include schools, social security recipients, housing authority, food band recipients, food stamp recipients, and summer food program. In addition to eating right we need to have 30-60 minutes of physical activity, daily. Anything counts--work, sports, hunting, play. The key to healthy eating is cutting back on the quantity we eat--restaurant portions are probably twice as large as we need.

2/26/2008  Located northeast of Cuero city limits, the Stevenson Unit houses over 1,300 inmates and has over 400 employees. Major Ronald Givens addressed Rotarians on his personal experience working at the Stevenson Unit. Major Gibbons is the Chief of Security at the site. He has been with the agency for 13 years and has been with the Stevenson Unit for the past 14 months.

Major Given’s role, along with all other employees, is to provide structure for the inmates and to help prepare them for their release back into society. The unit provides not only educational opportunities, but also workforce training for inmates. Inmates can work toward their GED and can even earn college credits. The unit has a furniture factory where inmates can work and also involves inmates in community service, such as building homes for Habitat for Humanity and aiding at the Food Bank.

Major Givens explained that his particular unit has inmates with sentences from 6 months to life in prison. They range in ages from 19-years-old to 72-years-old. He shared the culture of prison life and how it is changing as crime increases.

2/19/2008  Tom O’Neill, Exelon VP of New Plant Development, addressed the group on the safety of the potential plant, as well as the economic benefits of nuclear power plants. O’Neill is the lead executive for the project to submit a Construction and Operating License (COL) to the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) for a site in Texas. The COL is the first step toward potential new nuclear construction and operation in the state but does not imply a commitment to build a plant.

O’Neill shared his appreciation for the community’s support. They hope to have a final decision by 2009 and, if Victoria is the location, the projected plant opening date could possibly be 2016. There are 104 operating nuclear plants in the US of which Exelon has 17 in operation. Each site typically employees about 600 employees, which has many economic benefits to the community. O’Neill shared graphs to explain how nuclear plants produce energy and shared information on radiation exposure. He explained the plant layout and increased security measures that have been taken since 9/11.

2/12/2008  Three St. Joseph High School students participated in the Victoria Rotary Club Four-Way Test Speech Contest. All speech participants were sophomores and members of the St. Joseph Speech Department. Brooke Rau, Kurt Kotzur and Luke Villafranca shared their thoughts on the Four-Way Test. Their speeches were judged by three Rotary past-presidents: Joe Truman, Omar Rachid and Mary Hodgkinson. Kurt took first place, Brooke came in second, and Luke received third place. Kurt will compete in the Area 2 Four-Way Test Speech Contest which involves all three Victoria clubs plus the Goliad club.

2/5/2008  MHS students, Jared Buckler and Morgan Scott, attended the 2008 Rotary Youth Leadership Awards. The camp at Lake Corpus Christi hosted over 110 attendees who were divided into 13 teams. Each team had a unique name and participated in group challenges such as a ropes course and leadership development activities. The theme for this particular camp was Leadership Through the Ages. In between the team activities participants heard from a variety of Rotary and professional speakers on leadership topics. Both Jared and Morgan appreciated the speaker who addressed goal-setting and challenged the group to develop a 20-year plan with goal sheets. Both thanked the club for sponsoring them. Jared plays varsity baseball at MHS as shortstop and pitcher. Morgan's activities include Key Club, Anchor Club, Student Council, and many other service organizations.

1/29/2008  Lt. Lillian Alex with the Victoria Police Department discussed the Civilian Police Academy. Through the Civilian Academy, citizens are exposed to many facets of law enforcement that have never been offered to citizens before. Class members attend classes on Tuesday evenings for twelve weeks. Classes are taught by over 30 instructors about how the police department works. Many of the classes provide "hands-on" experience and subjects include traffic law, handcuffing demonstrations, simulated building searches, simulated traffic stops, plus field trips to local juvenile and adult detention facilities. There is a firearms course and attendees even get to ride with a veteran officer. Classes are held twice a year beginning in the Spring and Fall and there is no charge for those selected to attend. Those interested may apply at the main police department or at the Community Services satellite office (located at Victoria Mall).

1/22/2008  Harry Anthony with Uranium Energy Corporation (UEC) discussed uranium mining in South Texas. The number of nuclear power plants is going to increase and will increase the demand for uranium to fuel them. Now the US imports 95 percent of its uranium. Anthony thinks in the spirit of energy independence we should produce uranium in the US. Uranium in one of the most plentiful elements. It occurs at about the same frequency as tin and zinc. The process UEC uses is the in-situ process--they mine it in place; the process has been used in South Texas since the 1970's without contaminating the water supply. They pump water from uranium bearing aquifers and separate the uranium and replace 99 percent of the water. Electrical power consumption will double in the next 25 years making electrical generating plants that do not emit greenhouse gases desirable--nuclear plants. The project proposed for Goliad county will consume about 50, 000 gallons of water a day to produce a million pounds of uranium a year. The project will provide jobs, tax revenues, increased industrial supplier sales, and free water testing.

1/15/2008 Fire Chief Vance Riley presented the Victoria Fire Department Business Plan. He shared the mission and vision of the staff as well as background information on his leadership team. The Fire Department currently serves 87,000 residents in 887 square miles. The main reason they are called are illness, injury, and property damage. Their goal is to respond within six minutes to all emergency situations and they are currently working on plans to relocate one fire station where service areas overlap. Their staff of 118 full time employees also provides public safety education, emergency medicine, fire suppression, hazardous materials response, extrication, fire/arson investigation, and fire code enforcement. They have a fleet of ambulances, fire engine pumpers, aerial ladder trucks, tanker trucks, and brush/grass fire trucks. Their $20 million in assets used to serve our community includes five fire stations. For more information, visit www.victoriatx.org/fire/.

1/8/2008  Pat Vandervoort, The Victoria College Vice President of Instruction, began her career in education by teaching middle school mathematics. She then moved to the community college setting and taught basic adult life skills classes. She has served in leadership roles at several community colleges and has been a faculty member of VC since May, 2006. As Vice President of Instruction, Pat is responsible for the school’s academic integrity. Pat works with the administrative team, faculty, and staff to offer the best learning environment possible for students. She reviews and develops programs, as well as develops the academic class schedules. As the chief instructional officer, Vandervoort is involved in strategic planning, supervision of faculty and staff and developing and implementing new curricula. This includes monitoring the quality of instruction offered at the college and ensuring the college meets all accreditation standards. Pat has a strong Rotary background and has been a member of two Rotary organizations. She and her husband Matt reside in Victoria and have one daughter.

12/18/2007 Jay Foreman, Trinity Episcopal School Headmaster, shared the challenges facing his institution today and current fundraising efforts. Jay is in his 20th year of private school education leadership. Trinity Episcopal School serves those 3 years through 8th grade with a 25-member faculty. Jay shared factors impacting education today such as emerging technology, student/teacher ratio, educator recruitment, as well as security in the school. He shared details on the school's programs to help special needs children, the athletics program, the discipline program, and the servant leadership program for 8th grade students. Currently the school is in the process of raising funds for a new building. They have $3.8 million in pledges and are continuing to develop the project.

12/11/2007  Randall Branecky brought the Victoria Housing Authority's drug dog, Rumble. He is a two-year old Labrador retriever who is qualified to find four narcotics, heroin, cocaine, marijuana, and methamphetamine. His reward for locating drugs is to get to play with his toy. Area law enforcement agencies frequently request his assistance. He will do a preliminary search and if he alerts agencies get a search warrant to do a search of the premises. Since posting a "Canine drug dog" sign in the Housing Authority office some people refuse to rent.

12/4/2007  The St. Joseph High School Treble Chorus entertained with seasonal songs.

11/27/2007  Houston attorney—G.P. Hardy, III—spoke on the most vital subject facing mankind, global warming. In his book, Angels of Wrath, he poses the following questions: How far is too far? How late is too late? Has planet earth already passed the point of no return? And for the sake of its very salvation, does humanity have the courage to change centuries of religious dogma, political expediency, and social tradition? The evidence overwhelms all willing to look at it honestly. The debate over global warming has long been joined, but until now the warning voices have sounded too effetely academic, too cozily intellectual, or too brazenly political to preach to many beyond their own intramural choirs. In G. P. Hardy we hear a different kind of voice with a very different intonation.

11/20/2007  Curtis Montgomery, Salvation Army Regional Resource Director, discussed charitable IRA rollovers and gifts of appreciated securities. For charitable IRA rollovers, those 70 ½ and over may make direct contributions without tax and have the gift count as part of their mandatory withdrawal. It has to a traditional IRA and must be paid directly from the IRA to the charity. The Pension Plan of 2006 that allows this will expire at the end of the year, so now is the time to act! Gifting appreciated securities is a way to provide immediate support for a charity. It allows donors to avoid burdensome capital gain taxation, enjoy a full market value deduction, and reduce the size of the estate--a consideration in avoiding inheritance taxes--as well. He encouraged those considering making these types of donations to consult tax or legal advisors before making a final decision.

11/13/07  Mark Henry, editor-in-chief of Conservative Eye on Politics and president of Talon Air, explained the purpose for his publication. It is centered on military and veteran issues including the war in Iraq, national security, and immigration. He started the publication because he felt many positive aspects of these areas were not being reported. He noted the positive military response that he witnessed first hand during Katrina, yet the media portrayed the majority of the Katrina aftermath in a negative light. For his next publication, he is considering focusing on immigration. For more information on his publication, visit www.conservativeeyeonpolitics.com.

11/6/2007  Denise Roussel, Victoria Regional Museum Association Executive Director, operates the McNamara House and the Nave Museum. The McNamara House, built in 1876, depicts life of an upper middle-class family from 1876 to 1913. It opened as a museum in 1960. The Nave Museum is a fine arts museum with new exhibits every 6-8 weeks. Dia de los Meurtos 2007 is the current exhibit featuring a 16'x18' sand painting. The museum has a program to use art to communicate with alternative school students.  The McNamara House has a program in cooperation with VISD for all third grade students. VRMA reaches out to enrich, enlighten and educate all people through visual art and cultural history.

10/30/2007  Shane Wallace, Victoria Police Department Traffic Accident Investigator, presented updates on the traffic laws and new point system. Individuals who receive citations for moving violations will receive two points while those not wearing seatbelts will receive three points. This will remain on record for three years. DWI offenders will receive an annual $1,000 surcharge for their first offense and $1,500 annual surcharge for their second offense. Businesses without a public restroom will be fined as well as businesses that sell fireworks to those under 16. Individuals cannot leave their animals unattended on a chokehold style leash system from 10:00 p.m. to 6:00 a.m. or in bad weather. Other changes include people older than 85 must renew their license every two years instead of every 5 years. Obstructed license plates will be ticketed. Fines for no auto insurance have increased to $150 a year for three years and no driver license to $100 a year for three years. With the rise in identity theft, individuals now have seven years to report a violation. Office Wallace encouraged the group to call if they have any questions.

10/23/2007  Ashley Walyuchow, UH-Victoria Athletic Director, said that UH-V will concentrate on baseball and softball for the time being. The baseball team now has 56games scheduled--22 of them at home. The softball team will play 28 games--13 at home. Season tickets will go on sale in mid-November. The intention is to make them family-affordable. Look for the sales announcement in the Victoria Advocate. They are working with a marketing consultant to develop some promotions. To get the latest information and schedules go to the Athletics page of the UH-V site.

10/16/2007  Dr. Jessica McCue, owner of Sodhana Yoga Studio, spoke on the Art of the Calming Mind. There are four paths of Yoga - Karma, Bhakti, Jnana, and Raja.

1. Karma Yoga - awareness - purifies the heart by teaching you to act selflessly, without thought of gain or reward. By detaching yourself from the fruits of your actions and offering them up to God, you learn to sublimate the ego.
2. Bhakti Yoga - devotion or divine love - through prayer, worship and ritual he surrenders himself to God, channeling and transmuting his emotions into unconditional love or devotion.
3. Jnana Yoga - philosophical - leads the devotee to experience his unity with God directly by dissolving the veils of ignorance. There is nothing new in history.
4. Raja Yoga - mind - offers a comprehensive method for controlling the waves of thought by turning our mental and physical energy into spiritual energy. The chief practice is meditation on the scientific path of physiology and psychology.

There is a lot more to Yoga than poses. There are 200 steps to become a free being. The studio gives discipline. The ten commandments of Yoga are: Truth, non-violence, non-adultery, no desire to possess or steal, non-corrupt, cleanliness, contentment, reading of scriptures, austerity-perseverance-penance, and regular prayers. Yoga advocates relaxation. Physical practice is designed to allow meditation. Prayer is to talking as meditation is to listening.

10/9/2007  Dr. Jeffrey Di Leo (right), Editor and Publisher of the American Book Review (ABR), told us that the publication had been in publication for 30 years. It is one of three top-rated book review publications. It is a not-for-profit publication while the other two--the New York Times Book Review and the New York Book Review--are commercial enterprises. The ABR focuses on books overlooked by the New York publications and publishes about 250 reviews per year. The ABR was located at the University of Colorado for its first 15 years then it moved to Illinois State University where it was about a year ago. ISU was having problems finding funding for the publication and was looking for help. Dr. Di Leo offered to help thinking it would be in the form of moral support. When he found they wanted to close it he approached the UH-Victoria President about moving it here and got immediate approval. Its new home will be in Victoria in a few days. ABR enjoys worldwide publication of about 8,000 per issue. It is especially big in Romania. UH-Victoria is establishing a masters degree program in publishing which will be tied to ABR.

Dr. Charles Alcorn, Managing Editor, who was asked to manage ABR about 18 months ago told about the UHV-ABR reading series. Reviewed writers are asked to speak and make high-quality presentations. All the speakers have enjoyed Victoria. They participate in private receptions, readings, and educational opportunities. One goal is to establish Victoria as a literary destination. Another is to get the ABR in big-box retail stores--Barnes & Noble, Borders, etc. Since this is a non-profit organization they need underwriters to defray the travel expenses for the speakers.

10/2/2007  Owen Hopkins, Past President of the Corpus Christi Geological Society (CCGS), is placing geologic maps in schools as part of the Planting the Seeds of Geological Curiosity, a program he started while president of the CCGS. The program donates maps to schools and one of his club members will train the students on how to use the map. Hopkins loves geology and did not discover it until he was in college. He wants to introduce this interesting subject to students at an early age. Most of the framed maps are placed in elementary schools.

09/25/2007   Omar gave a report on physician recruiting in Victoria. He said that US medical schools graduate 16,000 doctors per year yet the number of doctors leaving medical practice is 23,000 per year. The deficit is filled by doctors coming from other countries, primarily India and Pakistan. These doctors must pass US medical exams and complete residency in the US. He looks for doctors from good medical schools and from good residency programs. The latter being the most important. After reviewing hundreds of resumes Citizens Medical Center invited 23 doctors to come to Victoria; 16 accepted; nine were hired including four for the emergency room.

09/18/2007  Mr. Vic Padelford, Director of Special Projects at University of Houston – Victoria and UHV professor, spoke in length of the exciting cultural events that will be held in Victoria this year celebrating the Hispanic culture and discussed the enormous importance of the Hispanic community on the economic wellbeing of the Victoria area.

09/11/2007  Chief Matt Williams from The Victoria College Police Department (VCPD) discussed campus security. The VCPD is a state chartered department with four officers. They may operate in any county with a VC facility--Victoria, Gonzales, Calhoun. They report to the College, but work closely with other local law enforcement agencies. They are there because policing has become an industry standard for institutes of higher learning and the College wants to emphasize a safe learning environment. They practice community oriented policing in its truest form. He feels that, if his department is doing its job, calls will increase as the Department gains the confidence of campus residents. One thing they will never be able to quantify is the number of lives they have impacted. The Jeanne Clery Disclosure of Campus Security Policy and Campus Crime Statistics Act is the landmark federal law that requires colleges and universities across the United States to disclose information about crime on and around their campuses. The law is tied to participation in federal student financial aid programs and applies to The Victoria College. It is enforced by the U.S. Department of Education.

09/04/2007  Sue Prudhomme, Museum of the Coastal Bend Director, said that this area is where Texas history began. The mission of the museum is to enhance the appreciation and enjoyment of the region's heritage. They have two permanent exhibits--the LaSalle Odyssey Project, documenting the first French settlement in 1686, and the Early Peoples Exhibit which takes a look at life 4,500-1,200 years ago. The current temporary exhibit is Before the Cowboy. She pointed out that there were trail drives to California during the gold rush. These preceded the ones to the railheads in Kansas. The facility may be rented for special functions. A museum store stocks gifts unique to this area. The Victoria College funds the staff and building (46 percent). The Community funds the remainder. They need visitors, volunteers, and members.

08/28/2007  Clara Prater, owner of Care with Comfort, presented her classification talk on her home health business. She currently has two clients and is accepting more. Clara has a well trained staff offering 24 hour care. They take care of all the client's needs including laundry, cooking, and cleaning. Clara has been in the home health field for 22 years and shared her knowledge on the costs of healthcare and other statistics. One topic close to Clara is the need to discuss Advance Care Directives and Advance Planning. Her personal motto is "If I can help somebody, my life will not be in vain." Clara also shared many Texas facts that she became familiar with after moving from Chicago, including that Texas had the world's first rodeo and has had six capital cities.

08/21/2007  Woody Falgoust, President of Thibodaux Rotary Club, attorney, and author of Rise of the Cajun Mariners, the Race for Big Oil discussed the contents of his book that focused on the importance of the oilfield and our community's dependence on it. At the time he was writing the book starting in November of 2001, he discovered that there were few journals that discussed the major pioneers of the oil industry. Falgoust met with many founders, heard their rags to riches stories, and learned of their many challenges including weather elements, business climate issues, etc. His story focused on the stories of four main developers, many of which were poor, and didn't graduate from high school, but worked their way up the ladder to become greats in the industry.

He touched on the history of the oil field, rigs, and offshore drilling with its beginnings in 1911 and later in 1947 with the world's first rig just south of Morgan City. Many of the first oil well mariner captains were Cajuns as they understood the weather elements. Falgoust discussed how Louisiana served as a melting pot of cultures as Texans came other area in the 1930s. Texans brought education, development, and money and with that also brought a culture clash. Falgoust, also, briefly discussed the boom and bust cycles of the industry, particularly the dramatic rise in the 1970s followed by the decline in the 1980s. Falgoust shared that the oil industry is the US government's largest source of income outside of the Internal Revenue Service.

08/14/2007  Chris Cobler, editor for The Victoria Advocate, discussed his background in newspapers and internet development. He discussed the challenges to grow readership and to find new ways to deliver information to the general public. New features on The Victoria Advocate's website include audio and video interviews. One major challenge presented to all papers is how to attract younger readers and keep them engaged. In response to this challenge, The Victoria Advocate is continuing to develop their interactive website. Chris discussed the new Ethics Review Board that the paper has started to ensure credibility in print and online. The Four Cornerstones of reporting were also shared with the audience. One is to seek truth and report it, two is to minimize harm, three is to act independently, and last is to be accountable. Chris took many questions from the floor. Many were regarding local content vs. national content, how the paper is assembled, deadlines to submit news, and the opinion page both in print and online.

08/07/2007  Mayor Armstrong shared that many local organizations have been meeting to discuss how to attract more business, namely the Exelon Nuclear plant. Victoria is currently second for the plant development and the city is discussing ways to raise our ranking. Mayor Armstrong shared that the Port of Victoria had recently purchased over 1,900 acres of land adjacent to the Port for further development. The City bought the water rights on this land to help defray the cost and are in the process of studying the groundwater. On the topic of water, the mayor updated Rotary members on Edwards Aquifer. He, along with several members of the City and County leadership, met with the San Antonio mayor  and County Judge to come to terms on the Edwards Aquifer agreement. With the revised agreement, Victoria will have access to water when supplies are critical and San Antonio will have access to it in times of plenty. Both are working on the wildlife preservation issues as well. Other projects noted were several street repair projects such as Lone Tree and Laurent Streets. Improvements to the ballparks and a new fire station are in the works for this year’s budget. A major project for consideration is a $42 million project that would address the underground pipes in downtown Victoria that need attention.

07/31/2007 Hannah Starkey is a 19-year-old sophomore at Baylor. In May, 2007, she spent two weeks in Africa with her church group. Before she arrived, Hannah noted that she thought her group would be the American saviors, but was very humbled at what she found. She found the areas she visited in the state of destitution and poverty. Her group spent time with Pastor Edward, who spoke out in the pulpit about AIDS testing. He also worked with many locals to start several small businesses, including a beauty school to offer women in the community a chance at a career. Her group visited many slums in areas with over 1.8 million people that had rows of shack homes with little light and working water. Pastor Edward encouraged the group to capture the shocking images with their cameras and to share the stories back home to encourage support and change. Hannah shared photos of the schools they visited. For one school, children had to run for 45 minutes in order to get to school each day (Hannah noted they had to run to escape lions.). Hannah also shared the story of Pastor Bonifus in Nairobi. He felt a particular calling to witness to the young children in the streets, many of who were kicked out of their homes. The young children would “get high” by sniffing glue to hide their hunger pains and weather elements. His goal is to build a home outside of the city for the children to escape this life and start over. Hannah shared a powerful video of Bonifus witnessing to the children on the streets. He spoke about the power of prayer and how they prayed for solutions to many of their problems. For Hannah, this experience taught her the importance of spending time with family, incorporating prayer even more into her life, and living simply and recycling.

07/24/2007 Robert Oliver from the Chisholm Trail Heritage Museum shared the Mission of the museum: to preserve the ranching and western heritage of South Central Texas through interpretative exhibits, research, and educational programs. The Museum bought the historic Cuero Knights of Pythias Building (c. 1903) in 2002 and are currently restoring the building. He shared photos covering recent renovations. Once restored and its interiors updated to a modern museum, it will become a destination for historic tourism. There are several stages of restoration. Phase 1 and 2, which are completed, restored the original wood window and primary facades. They skipped Phase 3, the construction of a new 3,000 sq. foot two-story addition, and have moved on to Phase 4, which involves restoring the west facade. They have received a large grant and are seeking matching funds to continue this project as well as Phase 5, restoration of the second floor of the building. Oliver discussed Preserve America, a White House imitative to preserve our country's cultural and national heritage. Cuero is one of over 500 cities in the United States to have this distinction and Oliver challenged members to see how Victoria County could take advantage of this federal program. In conclusion, he shared a 2010 illustration projecting the future of the building and invited the Rotary Club to visit.

07/17/2007  District Governor Tom Moore felt our club meets this year's Rotary International theme, Rotary Shares. He showed a list of 36 items that we had participated in in the last year. He then went over various District and Rotary International programs. The District is giving three $23,000 ambassadorial scholarships this year. He pointed out that the District's adoption awareness program is working. Texas has the highest placement rate of any state. This year all members will get District directories. The bulk of the District Conference this year will be one day, Saturday, April 19, 2008. He pointed out that Rotarians have donated $622 million to the PolioPlus program and have successfully reduced polio cases to less than 1,000 worldwide. It is endemic in only two countries, India and Nigeria. He reminded us that the District will have two Group Study Exchanges (GSE) this year--Germany and Spain. He says there have been no applicants from Victoria during the past 10 years and recommended we avail young professionals in our area of this opportunity. Another program available is the student exchange program that has both short-term (four weeks) and long-term (school year) programs. Tamara Sanchez is the District coordinator. To help us get money from the Rotary Foundation the District is holding a grant writing seminar August 11 in Kingsville. He reminded us of District Simplified Grants.

07/10/2007  Bruno Mocarzel, MHS, Chase Goodman and Erek Loebbecke, both from SJHS, gave an account of their attendance at the World Affairs Seminar at the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater. Each student presented his academic achievements and the highlights of the seminar. They were obviously impressed by the seminar and all three of them would like to attend again.

07/03/2007 Louis talked about his graduation from Victoria Police Academy. Following retirement from the police force he became Director of Victoria Housing Authority (VHA) Section 8 Program. VHA has about 320 housing units. Louis is one of two licensed police officers serving the VHA together with Rumble, a black Labrador, who helps on drug location. One goal is to keep criminals away from children in the VHA. Tenants have a criminal background check going back three years. Tenants are responsible for their guests and causes for eviction are drugs, sex offenses, and violent crime. Anyone evicted cannot get assisted living for three years. Another goal is to practice the “broken window effect” with regard to graffiti. This is to remove graffiti as quickly as possible to deter offenders from establishing a site.

06/26/2007 Rotarians, Mike and Grace, entertained the club with both old favorite musical selections and original compositions by Mike.

06/19/2007 Dotty Welton introduced the fifteenth performance of Victoria Bach Festival New Young Artists for Victoria Rotary Club. The young artists were Katherine Schmidt, soprano, and Jonathan Subia, tenor. Each sang a solo followed by a duet and were accompanied by Joey Martin on the piano.

06/12/2007  Bob Keith, a retired electrical engineer from DuPont, gave insight into the complications of Water for Critters, People and the River. Bob is a non-voting member of the Edwards Aquifer Authority (EAA). EAA impacts the San Marcos and Comal Springs which are related to both groundwater and rivers. Groundwater is owned by landowners and rivers are owned and controlled by the State. Victoria Municipal Authority and various industries have prioritized permits for water withdrawal from the river. Victoria’s permit allows withdrawal when flows are above 300 cubic feet per second. State legislature in May 2007 passed a major water bill, but has still to be signed by the Governor.

06/05/2007  Doug conducted a Club Assembly where he outlined all activities necessary to meet the requirements for a Presidential Citation. He also issued a list of all of the Victoria Rotary Club Committee assignments which are posted on our website. The theme for the 2007-08 Rotary year is Rotary Shares.

05/29/2007  Glen Dry, President of Man to Man Ministry, explained the role of the Ministry. He stated that the Ministry exists to support men with encouragement, equip them to lead the family, and to engage them in the community. Glen said that his office has over 100 resources to assist with this job. This support is provided through involvement of the men and their families, in outdoor activities seminars, and conferences, etc. More information about the Ministry is available on the website www.mantomanonline.org.

05/22/2007  Irene Hahn, Memorial High UIL Coach (left), says that the team does no fundraising; they just study. This year's team placed at regional and went to state. Most competition is from wealthy schools. One member, Jose Aguerre (right), won the state social studies contest. The computer science team was second in state. The UIL state competitors are eligible to share in $1 million in scholarships. This is used as a recruitment tool at Memorial High to get more participation. Memorial High competed in social studies, current events, computer science, calculator applications, mathematics, number sense, science, and speech.

05/15/2007  Randy Vivian said he’s always wanted to be as CEO of the Victoria Chamber of Commerce. He likes this community and wishes to work for all to promote their businesses. His intent is to review all of the Chamber programs to confirm that they are beneficial and being done right. He issued a challenge to those who are not members to become members and for those who are members and have criticisms come forward and bring ideas for improvements. Randy wants to create the best Chamber in the state and his goal is to have every member be a member for life because of the inherent benefits.

05/08/2007  John Thurston, CEO for Scout District, explained why Friends of Scouting should support the Boy Scouts of America. He described the twelve important requirements that are used to develop the scout culture. He suggested that all of these twelve scout requirements are a good basis for building a future worker’s character. John reckons that any club with high achievers also has a high percentage of members who were boy scouts. Boy Scouts of America relies on donations such as Friends of Scouting and United Way to help keep the organization buoyant. John closed with a thought for us: “Can we afford to be without the culture provided by Scouting?”

05/01/2007  Robert H. Van Borssum presented an outline of Calhoun County Navigation District (CCND). The System has a six member Board which also covers Matagorda Bay Pilots Board, Calhoun County Navigation Industries Authority and Calhoun – Victoria Foreign Trade Zone. 85% of the County tax base is from heavy industries. Key commodities are chemicals, aluminum ore, agricultural products and petrochemicals. Port currently handles 72% exports and 28% imports. Largest customer is Formosa Plastics. Peak tonnage was handled in 2003, but the Formosa Olefins incident had a negative impact. CCND is addressing today’s opportunities and challenges.

04/17/2007  Jack, with the support of Ronnie and James, gave comprehensive details of the operation of the clay Shoot at the Beck Ranch. The event this year is scheduled for 28th and 29th of April. Everyone’s help is needed from set-up on Friday through Sunday evening closure. Saturday morning the Boys and Girls Club have fun shooting with guns provided by the 4H Club of Port Lavaca. Saturday afternoon is practice followed by the Rotary Club meet and dinner followed by an auction. Sunday is the competition day.

Victoria Rotary Club President, Omar Rachid, presented Fire Lieutenant John R. Bradley the club's annual Vocational Achievement Award. The award goes to a fire fighter or law enforcement officer who epitomizes the Rotary International motto, "Service Above Self."

Bradley obtained most of his certifications--Open Water Diver, EMT Certification, Certified Peace Officer, Firefighter Advanced, Fire & Arson Investigator Basic, Fire Inspector Basic, Fire Service Instructor II, Vertical Rescue Technician, and Paramedic Certification--on his own time and off-duty to serve the citizens better. He is an outstanding officer and leader of the Victoria Fire Department. He frequently attends training out of county and immediately shares his new knowledge with others. His patient, calm, experienced demeanor on the scene of an emergency provides natural leadership under duress that others willingly follow.

04/10/2007  Jeff was born in Austin and moved with his family to Galveston before moving to Victoria in 1972. All his old schools here are gone--Stanly Elementary, Howell Junior High, Victoria High. He went to Texas A&M where got mechanical engineering degrees--undergraduate and graduate. He worked two years for a mechanical firm in San Antonio. From there he went to work for Intel in Fort Worth. They sent him to Oregon, Arizona (twice), New Mexico, and Ireland. While in Ireland he and his wife, J. Lynn, decided they wanted to live closer to family. He looked for and found a mechanical engineering firm for sale--Crossroads Mechanical in Woodsboro and Cuero. It took about a year to finalize the deal. Since buying the firm he moved the Cuero office to Victoria and moved the headquarters function from Woodsboro to Victoria in 2004. He has 23 employees.

Paul's firm, Performance Food Group (PFG), encourages us to buy local to keep money in the community. His primary customers are family-owned restaurants and he helps them by buying in bulk and sharing the savings with customers who can not digest the minimum orders required by manufacturers. PFG keeps 6,000 items in their $8.5 million Victoria inventory. PFG consistently ranks among the best companies in the top 100, no surprise, since they believe in high ethical standards and practice the Four-Way Test. They are here to help the firms they serve and are here for the long-haul. PFG serves South Texas--Houston to San Antonio and south. Paul grew up in Roswell, NM, and graduated from New Mexico State University. He came here from Dallas and says Victoria is where he wants to raise his family.

04/03/2007  All three Victoria Clubs met for the Area 2 Four-Way Test Speech Contest. Area 2 Assistant Governor, Joe Truman, is pictured with the contestants. Pictured from left to right, winner Ashley Astolfi--St. Joseph High School representing Victoria Rotary Club, second Marett Hanes--Memorial High School representing Victoria Northside Rotary Club, and third Hannah Moss--Memorial High School representing Victoria Sunrise Rotary Club. Ashley will compete in the District 5930 contest at the District Conference on April 21.

03/27/2007  David Brown, Citizens Healthcare System CEO, discussed local healthcare. There are a number of factors causing the doctor shortage. The population is aging causing the need for more doctors, many doctors are reaching retirement age, the medical schools are not producing as many doctors, and a much higher percentage of doctors are women whose career years are shortened by child bearing. Citizens is recognized as one of the top hospitals in the country and the only county hospital in Texas not relying on tax support. He is opposed to a hospital district. Indigent healthcare is not a big problem in Victoria.

03/20/2007  Four students, Marett Hanes, Martin Ellis, Winston Smith and Luke Ryan gave a very lively report about their wonderful experiences at their Rotary Youth Leadership Awards Conference. Their report indicated that each of them had a great time and participated in many activities. Winston and Marett were nominated as Mister RYLA and Miss RYLA. An aside from the above, Marett announced that MHS Interact had raised $450 for the Rotary PolioPlus.

03/13/2007   Art explained how he started Calvo Janitorial Services together with his mother, father, and wife as business partners. The business was started 11 years ago in Victoria with one account and has flourished into 90 accounts providing services from once per month to every day of the week. They currently have about 50 contractors cleaning commercial buildings through post construction and existing homes.

Kevin explained that he has been with the YMCA for 25 years and has been in Victoria since last May. When in Chicago he met and married a displaced Texan who subsequently obtained a job with Houston ISD which led Kevin to starting with the Houston area YMCA and developed his career there for 24 years before coming to Victoria. He came as CEO covering Victoria and Port Lavaca areas. Victoria has about 1300 units (a unit is a family membership) and Port Lavaca has about 900 units.

03/06/2007  Bob outlined the upcoming bond proposal for development of the Victoria Public Schools. There have been two studies completed and the community was asked for input (7300 responses) as to what is required for the school district. The proposal is for two new high schools, one east and one west of Highway 77, one new middle school, two new elementary schools, plus other capital improvements. Total estimated cost is $159 million. These facilities will provide better educational amenities for the current 3,500 high school students and allow expansion to 4,000 students. The bond election day is May 12th.

02/27/2007  Rhonda Fotiades, Chamber of Commerce Director of Education/Workforce Development, gave a presentation about the Victoria Mentor/Tutor Program. Rhonda indicated that the student drop-out rate is around 45 to 50% and cited how those who fall behind on grades are candidates for drop-out. On any one school day in Victoria there are between 600 to 1000 truant students. This program can make a huge impact on student achievement. The program needs volunteers and requires each one to commit to 30 minutes mentoring per week for one year. A background check is required for each volunteer who is willing to become a mentor. Contact Rhonda or Lisa Bullock for more information or to volunteer.

02/20/2007  James and Ronnie gave a presentation about the organization structure for the Clay Shoot fundraiser. This included the roles and responsibilities of those members who are already involved with this year’s event. The Clay Shoot will be held again at the Beck Ranch and will be on  April 28 & 29. Member’s participation to help with various duties on both days is essential for the success of the event (Volunteer here). Volunteers will be needed for Friday afternoon for the erection of two tents. Ronnie recommended members attend on Saturday morning to see the enjoyment the youngsters get from shooting. Dwayne Bennett closed by giving thanks to Rotary for the help provided to the Boys and Girls Club.

02/13/2007  The Four-Way Test speech contest encourages ethical conduct among high school students. Students from the St. Joseph High School Speech Department presented their entries. The first speaker was Ashley Astolfi followed by Emalee Hall. Both girls are sophomores and each gave an excellent six-minute presentation. Our three judges--Joe, Terry, and Mary--had the difficult task of selecting the winner. They selected Ashley as winner of a $200 award and Emalee will receive $150 for second place. Ashley is eligible to enter the area contest in March followed by the district contest in April with a top award of $1000.

Ashley Astolfi will represent the Victoria Rotary Club in the area contest. She and runner-up, Emalee Hall, are pictured with Omar Rachid, Rotary Club President, and Kristin Clark, St. Joseph High School Speech Department. Pictured left to right Rachid, Astolfi, Hall, and Clark.

02/06/2007  Larry Blackwell, Victoria Regional Airport Manager, presented an update on accomplishments and plans for the coming year. The airport entry road was refurbished and a new taxiway was constructed from the main runway. A terminal awning and covered, ramped walkway to aircraft has been added. This year’s major project is renovating the 51 year old air traffic control tower. It will be like a new building and may have radar for monitoring air traffic. Target is completion by the end of 2007. The FAA will provide the air traffic controllers with a payroll of $300-$400 thousand per year. Continental Connection provides the twice daily flights to Houston (FAA will only subsidize 2 flights per day). Negotiations are attempting to improve the current service and to attract a new airline providing direct service to Dallas. The problems are the decline in air travelers (last year passengers were about 9,400; down from about 11,000 the previous year) and Victoria’s aircraft load factor is less than 40%. The Sky Airport restaurant is due to open mid-March and will offer steaks, seafood and cocktails. The Wings of Freedom air show is coming 28 March. Some aircraft attending will be a B-24, B-25 and B-29, Flying Fortress.

01/30/2007  Linda Wolff introduced a subject, Use it up. Wear it out. Make it do. Do without, which she found on a World War II poster. She said she and her siblings often heard the expression from their mother while growing up in the 1930’s. She then presented a series of examples such as feed sack fabrics that were used to make underwear, shirts, dresses, and dish towels. Families always bought flat sheets (no fitted) to allow interchange to equalize the wear. A can of kerosene was placed under each bedpost to prevent access of bedbugs. Socks were darned to extend their life. Holes in pots and pans were repaired with a “Mendets” kit. Lunches were either wrapped in newspaper or carried in paper bags which were reused for at least a week. Old woolen sweaters were unraveled and knitted into new garments. Old dresses were cut up and remodeled into the latest style. People learned to be creative and self reliant and not just frugal.

01/23/2007  Jerry James, City of Victoria Director of Environmental Services, made the case for automated waste collection. The City has difficulty hiring laborers to work on the trash routes. This department has the third most employee injuries of any City department. Trash pick-up is costing more than the City is currently charging. Twice-a-week pick-up is inefficient and the schedule is inconsistent. Feral animals open plastic bags allowing trash to scatter. The proposal calls for furnishing residents long-lasting, 96 gallon, wheeled containers. New trucks with only the driver will empty them once a week. On regular days falling on a holiday the trash will be picked-up later in the week--either Wednesday or Saturday. There will be special service available for the handicapped. For those generating more than 96 gallons of trash a week extra containers will be available at extra cost. He felt that the new system will reduce windblown trash, reduce costs, provide a regular schedule, solve a labor problem, improve air quality, and speed the start of curbside recycling. He assured the audience that the City has no plans to privatize trash pick-up.

01/16/2007  Annette Delgado, CASA Volunteer Coordinator, related that a 30-hour training program is required to be completed to become a Court Appointed Special Advocate (CASA). They are always looking for volunteers and donations. More volunteers means more money for the organization. CASAs are appointed by judges and represent kids (0-18) as a court advocate to make sure they have a safe, non-abusive environment.  CASAs are like mentors with more authority to see records. It takes about 10 hours per month per child. Currently there are 38 volunteers in the nine counties served by CASA. They are representing over 300 children. To volunteer you may call her at 361-573-3734.

01/09/2007  Bret Barnett, Citizens HealthPlex Director, explained that this Institution provides preventative and rehabilitation services. Some of the services provided are cardiac and pulmonary rehabilitation, cancer wellness program, massage therapy, etc. Each member is evaluated to determine an exercise program to suit that member’s needs. Cardiovascular is essentially recommended for everyone since heart disease is the nation’s number one killer in both men and women. Exercise is the closest thing to a “magical bullet” for its benefits. His experience has been that generally about 70% of people who enter an exercise program reduce weight, need for drugs, etc. The HealthPlex opened in August 2001 and currently has in excess of 2800 members with a staff of 65. It is open 7 days and 103 hours per week. Child care is available for an age range of 6 months to 10 years.

01/02/2007  Since Omar was not certain he would go, he did not tell his family about his planned trip to Lebanon to visit his ill father. Following a nearly two-hour taxi ride (~$100) along the beautiful Mediterranean coast, he knocked on his parents’ door to produce a surprised and tearful mother since he was not expected. Everyone wanted to arrange meals and he had to tell them he lives in the USA not Somalia! Omar visited three Rotary clubs, two in Tripoli (membership 30 and 20 including females) and one between Tripoli and Beirut (membership 23, but no females). Their meetings are held at 7:00 PM. Education levels are very high, but unemployment is also very high, although banks are doing phenomenal business. The fast food industry (Burger King, KFC, etc.) has seen incredible growth in the past few years. The population of Lebanon has eight women to every male. Tensions are very high in the general populace with the possibility of a coup against the government and, as a result, Omar was encouraged to cut his visit short and to leave before the expected turmoil.

12/19/2006  Jason Fry gave a fascinating introduction to the universe of astronomy. In order to understand the vastness of space he explained the units used – our earth is approx 94 million miles from the sun and equals one astronomical unit. A light year is the distance that light travels in one year at 186,000 miles per second. The nearest star to our solar system is 4.4 light years away. All the stars we see with our naked eye are within our galaxy. Andromeda is our nearest galaxy and can be seen with the naked eye. Andromeda and our galaxy are on a collision course, but that is a very long time in the future. Jason explained various types of telescopes and displayed several. He explained that a “Star Party” is a group of astronomers gathering to view the skies at night. The Texas Star Party is held at the Prude ranch near Fort Davis. The local Crossroads Astronomy Club meets on third Friday of the month at UH-Victoria at 7:00 pm. Their Star Party is held on a Friday closest to a new moon at Loblolly Ranch, Nursery.

12/12/2006  Amelia Salinas outlined the role of the Community Food Bank of Victoria. The Food Bank concept started in 1950 in Phoenix. There are now 217 Food Banks in the US, 19 of which are in Texas. The Community Food Bank was started after visits to several food banks established that Victoria qualified for a food bank which now services 100 agencies in 11 surrounding counties. The Food Bank has 6 paid employees and the rest are volunteers. In 2005 it distributed 4.3 million pounds of food – 61% at no cost to the agencies. The Food Bank has a large refrigerated storage building plus freezer and cooler. The Food Bank relies on donations – an 18-wheeler transport cost can be around $3,000 – and Rotary’s $1,500 donation was gratefully acknowledged. Businesses provide most of the donations of which HEB is the largest donor. Volunteers to help are always welcome, especially at this time of the year.

12/05/2006  District Governor Marilyn Spencer used an economics analogy to demonstrate why we are Rotarians. Economics is about choices. Everything has a cost and we choose to trade for things of more value to us. Rotarians find the value of fellowship, opportunity to serve, contacts, networking, and good programs to be greater than the value of their meeting time. She pointed out that the Rotary districts were started to support clubs, provide leadership, provide project funding, and train club leaders. Marilyn chose the white star for the District to signify a guiding light and the Lone Star state. She pointed out that Rotarians are lifesavers, but the lives we change the most are our own.

11/28/2006  Karen Daley outlined the 2-1-1 Texas referral program which is funded by the Texas Health and Human Resources Services Commission. This service is available to anyone in Texas to provide information and help in finding where to get help. The service is anonymous and is available 24 hours per day, seven days per week. The local 2-1-1 Texas service covers a seven county region and receives about 425 calls per month.

11/21/2006  Mary Susan Staton explained how she was brought from Huntsville, Alabama, to start the Texas Health Magazine which is sponsored by The Victoria Advocate. Mary Susan’s goal is to expedite health in the Victoria area. Citizens, DeTar, and other area hospitals are being very supportive to Mary Susan for this magazine. Mary Susan, a Canadian, has five children, one of whom is serving in Iraq. Mary Susan started in the newspaper industry 10 years ago. She launched a newspaper in Washington DC. Mary Susan originally envisaged a 32-page magazine, but has very successfully exceeded this mind-set limit. The Magazine was launched in September 2006 and is released around 10th/11th of each month. Currently 15,000 copies are printed. She is open to ideas from anyone for subjects for the Magazine. Anyone with comments or input can call, 361-580-6380, or Mary Susan.
 

11/14/2006  Susan Riedesel explained how Project Lifesaver Victoria helps families with members stricken with disorders making them prone to wander. Project Lifesaver Victoria provides each person a wrist transmitter with a range of about one mile. The Police and Sheriff’s Departments have receivers in cars which can quickly cover an area to locate a wandering person. The average location time is 22 minutes. Even though about 59% of affected people will wander, this tracking service allows them to be at home. Currently around 10 to 12 counties in Texas have this program. At present Victoria has 17 clients of which five are autistic children. The wrist band transmitter is fitted free of charge and every 30 days police renew the battery. Project Lifesaver Victoria is supported by local funds. If anyone knows of someone needing a wrist transmitter contact the Police or Sheriff’s Departments.

11/07/2006  Mike gave an overview of his hobby, investing. Mike explained definitions and various facets of the complex world of investing. He outlined the types of investments that are available together with the different service providers and the cost potentials of these services. He stressed that individuals should understand the implications of the costs when determining what investment is best suited for that individual. These services can be obtained from financial planners, brokers, on-line, or retail--banks and insurance companies and investment companies--versus your own direct involvement.

10/31/2006  Bruce completed his medical schooling in 1968 at UT-Galveston Medical School. He came to Victoria in 1972 and now has 11 grandchildren, but is hoping for a “Baker’s Dozen”. In 1988 he became interested in geriatrics and obtained certification. Palliative Care is his current interest and most US hospitals provide this care. Palliative Care is for people with chronic illnesses and tries to take care of the whole person. Palliative Care in Victoria is a joint venture between Citizens and DeTar Hospitals and Hospice of South Texas. Last year, Bruce went to Kentucky to learn how to set up a program. The new system starts earlier with diagnosis followed by appropriate care. Family satisfaction with hospital care is not high when any critical illness is involved. Palliative Care is trying to achieve better care that is needed from day of diagnosis of any serious illness. Many factors (aging and growth of population, etc) are leading toward a health care crisis. In 2004, 44% ($136 billion) of the Medicare Budget was spent on in hospital patient care. Palliative Care program provides cost savings and in addition improves quality of care.

10/24/2006  Classification Talk by John Roberts. John grew up in Victoria, was away for college and service, and returned to join the family business in 1972. At age 14 after only having his driving license for two weeks, he succeeded in “parking” his mother’s car upside down in Spring Creek--apparently it did not make the news in The Advocate. After college he joined the Air Force for his selective service and worked in electronics. Shortly after joining the family business, offset printing was introduced and is still used today. Digital photography and TV news channels have impacted the newspaper business. Study of The Advocate format was started early 2005. Survey and focus groups polled people in the local area. Feedback asked for more local news and health related items. Feedback on the new format has been mostly good and some not so good. Planning of The Advocate content is started eight days before the issue date. The Advocate has a website and currently about 2400 “hits” occur in a four hour morning period. The family business is now in its third generation--John is second generation. Three months ago outside Board members were introduced and is expected to strengthen the business.

10/17/2003  Walter Morrow gave an enlightening overview of PHI Air medical Group, Victoria. PHI first started in 1949 and currently operates about 300 helicopters daily. PHI operates in USA and 43 other countries and has logged over 9 million safe hours of operation. PHI mainly operates helicopters, but has some fixed wing aircraft and 12 buses in Texas. The Victoria crew consists of a pilot and Flight Paramedic both available 24 hours a day. Communications specialists operate out of Phoenix, Arizona, and are available 24 hours a day. PHI has just obtained night vision goggles (does not allow bad weather flying). Walter showed a video of the comparison of with and without goggles and it literarily was like night and day. Everyone has to do some training. PHI has a mobile training vehicle complete with a simulation dummy. Every month Paramedics must attend medical practice/training. Pilots attend simulator training every four months. PHI Victoria has a Bell 407 helicopter which is relatively small, but fast (uses about one gallon of fuel per minute). The response area is within a 150 mile radius of Victoria, but usually do not go beyond 90 miles radius. An evacuation to San Antonio costs approximately $20,000.
 

10/10/2006  Charla Borchers Leon and John Fossati gave a preview of the next Annual Garden Tour. Charla explained that the National Garden Program (NGP) sponsors the Tour. The National Garden Program began in Washington in 1970 and came to Texas in the early 1990’s. The Victoria Master Gardeners extension started in 1997 and has 144 active members. The NGP’s mission is education which is based on fact and science and support from A&M. The Garden Tour has been in existence for five years. Charla and John with a committee select gardens for the Tour from gardens in which home owners are involved. The next Tour will be on 28-29 October, come rain or shine, and an estimated 1000 people are expected to take the Tour. This year all five gardens are located downtown. Master Gardeners will provide a brochure of plants suitable for our area and will also have a plant sale. Half of the proceeds raised by this event go to Trinity School and half to the Master Gardeners.

10/3/2006  David Dollihite presented information on the history and current status of electrical deregulation. The first question is “Whose fault is it?” Pat Wood is the one who initiated the concept. Several years ago an act was passed to allow users to generate their own electricity. The old Texas BTU rate to generate one megawatt of electricity was 18/20,000 units, but the present norm is 6/8,000 units. Deregulation occurred in 2001. Generation and customer were the two deregulated facets, but the third facet power distribution, is still regulated. In the past 5 years about 32% of Texans have switched suppliers and typically have saved around $800 to $1400 per year. The differential in cost is expected to level out with about 2 cents per unit.

Residential Texans spend about $10 billion per year. Around 33% of this figure is for HVAC, but it is estimated that around 35% is wasted (lights left on, doors open too long, etc). At the current growth rate of electrical demand one 650 Megawatt Power Plant is required to be put on line per year. Texans could help reduce this growth rate by taking steps to reduce waste. One example is to have your HVAC tuned annually to keep top efficiency. As from January 2007 all new HVAC units must have an SEER of 13 or greater. Changing an older HVAC of say 8 SEER to one with an SER of 13 will pay back the cost in about 3 years.

Wind power generation is essentially located in West Texas (possibly due to easier permitting), but 20% of the power is used in transmission losses in moving the electricity from West Texas to Houston.
 

9/26/2006  Brittany Hollas, Director of UH-V Community & Alumni Relations, gave a presentation for UH-Victoria community outlook. UH-V has shown steady growth since it was established in 1973 with 100 students to today’s 2,500. UH-V encompasses the 15 counties of the Coastal Bend to provide higher education which is vital for individual student success when working anywhere in the world. UH-V has lower fees than A&M and UT and offers 30 plus degrees. UH-V has an expanding focus, e.g. nursing, global MBA. Its international studies has ties with Mexico, Spain, England, and Egypt. Fifty percent of the students are from Victoria and the surrounding counties with the other half from suburban Houston. UH-V faculty has 74 full time and 56 part-time educators some of whom are fluent in 27 different languages. UH-V participates in several outreach programs and develops community partnerships. Further information is available at either www.uhv.edu or 361-570-4UHV.
 

9/19/2006  Bob Moore, VISD Superintendent, brings a wealth of experience to Victoria from of his years in the teaching profession. His goal is for VISD to be the best district in Texas. At the start of his tenure the Accountability Ratings for two schools were “unacceptable” although this is being appealed. On the other hand 80 percent did well and two schools were rated “exemplary.” He believes that for VISD to make gains (discipline, training, and attendance) his administration must talk with the community about bad things and ugly things along with successes. Several actions have been initiated. VISD now has two experienced principals at Memorial High with a focus on student learning, reducing truancy, ensuring career training meets area business needs, and demonstrating that bond issues are used appropriately. He instituted the Customer Satisfaction Pact, a survey (parents are a primary source) to everyone involved with the education process. The survey is used to identify focus points for school improvements. In another survey businesses will be polled to identify what student skills are required. Teachers, also, define what skills they teach. Matching these two will help align the educational program with community needs. VISD attendance is only 92% as compared with 94% for other districts.

9/12/2006  Janet Lyon, Victoria County United Way (UW) Executive Director, outlined the make-up and operation of our local UW. Over the past year UW has revised bylaws and has a new location, furniture, and printer (thanks to Rotary). UW has a new slogan, Give Hope. UW , an organization of volunteers, is locally governed and partners with 18 charitable organizations in Victoria County. Their website contains guidelines, policies for fundraising activities, and audit results. Janet’s and Board Members' focus is to try to get everyone to donate. Allocation of funding is defined by the UW volunteers. The goal this year is $711,000. Many of the Rotary member employers have active fundraising in their businesses. The funding is split as 0.01% to the state UW and 1% to the national UW, everything else is distributed to the local community. Anyone wishing to volunteer may contact .

9/5/2006  Sheila works for Suddenlink Media where she produces and sells cable TV advertising. Suddenlink is the eighth largest cable company in the US with over 1,000,000 subscribers. She says she is more of a consultant than a sales person. They can tailor and distribute the commercials to a specific audience--40 different channels to choose from. Scott is the executive director of the Victoria Community Theatre (VCT). He grew up here and left after one year at The Victoria College. He got his degree in performing arts at University of Texas-Austin and moved to California for graduate school. While there he started working for Universal Studios and later transferred to Orlando. He followed his dream to Broadway. He made intermediate stops in Minneapolis, Fayetteville, and Granbury before returning to Victoria. This is VCT's 30th anniversary season. He says, "If you can dream; you can do it."

8/29/2006  Sharon Barnard, Victoria Ballet Theatre (VBT), and James Johnson gave a presentation on VBT, a non-profit organization. The Theatre was established in 1984 and the first full length ballet was Swan Lake and given in Riverside Park. The first Nutcracker Ballet was performed in 1985. They were invited to perform in Austria in both 1999 and 2003. This year they will again team with Victoria Symphony to present Halloween Spooktacular. Also, VBT will perform with Ailey II (New York Co. that attends smaller communities)-–this will be modern dance and not classical ballet. Teachers and guest artists come from all over the world for their activities each year. VBT is a member of Regional Dance America and will participate with them in activities in Pittsburgh this year. VBT is always open for recruitment for all area students of dance – 10 years old through high school and the annual fee is $150. Students can attend at their preferred studio and do not have to attend the home program.

8/22/2006  Cynthia Staley, Habitat for Humanity Executive Director, informed us about Victoria activities. They currently have 14 homes in the works and plan 19 by 2009. They have completed 55 houses--seven completed by women--in Victoria and another 11 in Mexico. Since Habitat for Humanity began in 1976 they have completed 210,000 houses worldwide. People between 35 and 50 percent of the median income qualify for a Habitat home. Currently, house payments are between $300 and $400 per month. This is less than they are paying for rent. Each adult in the family must put in 300 hours of "sweat equity" on their home or other Habitat homes. There have been no foreclosures on Victoria Habitat homes. Nationally, the foreclosure rate is less than 2 percent.

8/15/2006  Todd Votteler outlined the effects on the Guadalupe River by Edwards Aquifer management. Surface water is owned by the State, but groundwater is privately owned. Most springs originating from the Edwards Aquifer have endangered species. Comal Springs, average discharge is 217,200 acre-ft per year, and the San Marcos Springs are the major contributors to the Guadalupe River. This river is the primary source of water for the San Antonio Bay. San Antonio is the largest single user of water from the Edwards Aquifer. Senate Bill 1477 currently limits annual pumping to 450,000 acre-ft per year and will be reduced to 400,000 acre-ft next year, but actually it is being pumped at 549,000 acre-ft per year. In years following major rain this amount of draw down has been all right, but during drought periods (we are in one now) this draw down becomes a real problem.

8/8/2006 Peggy Cunningham, Robert Clegg, Ronnie Morris, and Cally Fromme covered some of the aspects of Rotary etiquette. Fellowship is the first objective of Rotary, hence the importance of attendance. Greet other members and guests, change tables occasionally to broaden your fellowship. Attendance – everyone is encouraged to maintain 100% attendance, members can make up for a missed meeting either 14 days before or after the missed meeting. Making up can be fun especially if in another country. If you know you will be visiting when out of town then we have banners available for presentation to the visited club. Even if a member knows he will arrive late, still make the effort to attend. Minimum attendance must be at least 60% of one year’s meetings and half of those must be at one’s own club. A member missing four consecutive meetings will be advised by the Board that termination will be reviewed. If a member needs a leave of absence apply to the President for a specific period of time. Participation – the goal this year is to have everyone in the club involved. Members are encouraged to participate in helping with the Clay Shoot. The more you put into the club, the more you will get out of it. Guests/prospective members – bring guest to let them see what Rotary is about. Prospective members should be brought to one or two meetings. Speakers – the duration of a presentation should not be more than 20 minutes: this can be adjusted by approaching the Program Chairman. Make sure the speaker knows the scope of his/her presentation. Be thoughtful about what you say or do bearing in mind the range of the audience. General courtesy – turn off your cell phone. If a member must leave the meeting early, approach the speaker and apologize beforehand. The designated completion time is 1:00 PM, but it is preferred that members should stay if the meeting passes this time.

8/1/2006  Rhonda Fotiades, Victoria Chamber of Commerce, described the Sure B. E. T. (Business and Educational Together) program. Rhonda is enthusiastic about her work with Sure B.E.T. and loves Victoria. She stated that education the US is faltering--23 other nations are ahead of the US. Every year about one million students drop out of school. VISD has over 800 truant students per day. The new VISD Superintendent supports Sure B.E.T.. In his last job in Oklahoma City they had over 1,000 mentors and succeeded in turning the education program around for the better. She explained that the purpose of the program is to encourage adult interaction with the education process. This is achieved through five major facets--mentoring, job shadowing, occupation investigations, Business Cents, and presentations. This year Sure B.E.T.’s goal is to recruit 1,000 mentors. Rhonda stated that if each of us mentored a child it would make a difference to “that one”. A participation letter was distributed at the meeting seeking participants in each of the major facets. She concluded by saying that the Chamber is funded by independent businesses and contributions are always welcome.

7/25/2006  described the Rotary program, Hands to Honduras. Honduras is the second poorest country in the western hemisphere after Haiti. He first started going to Honduras in 1999 and leads work crews made up of people from the US that go there. Tom’s old Rotary Club, Middlebury VT, has sponsored more than 100 housing units, provided water supplies, etc. A typical work process is for the local community to provide the foundation, say for a school, the Rotary work crew then aids in erecting the building which is finished by the community. Activities can include providing water supplies, wiring, kitchen facilities, sanitary facilities, etc. Recently $33,000 was donated to build a computer lab which is used by children during the day and by adults in the evening. He ships 100-150 computers per year to Honduras. Interact students also get involved in the work activities. A group of Interact students had painted a community center, but a leaking roof was affecting the results. They contacted their parents who pledged $6,500 to have the roof replaced. Costs are low in Honduras which enables building economically. The next project sponsored by his new Rotary club, Port Isabel TX, is for four new schools – Tom is looking for volunteers to participate (50 volunteers made up the last work crew and he has about 10 people so far). The two work periods are February 7-15 and 15-23, 2007 – the 9 days is made up of travel time and 6 work days. Accommodations available range from luxury at $47 per night to back-packers at $7.50 per night for two. Tom displayed his wife's jewelry which is sold to help raise funds for Honduras projects.
 

7/18/2006  Arthur Bluntzer reported on a Texas Farm Bureau fact finding trip to Brazil and Argentina. He was struck by the modern farming practices in both countries and the cleanliness of their processing plants and their compliance with international standards. Brazil is larger than the 48 contiguous states and has many undeveloped areas. As they develop agricultural land their laws require leaving 20 percent of the forested area be left uncut. The combined beef production of the two countries is about the same as the US production. They visited the worlds largest livestock auction in Buenos Aires—covered 86 acres and was very clean and did not smell or have flies.

7/11/2006  Ashton Crocker, St. Joseph High, and Taylor McKibbon, Memorial High, gave us the highlights of their attendance at the World Affairs Seminar held each summer at the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater. Students from all over the world attend; most are between their junior and senior year of high school. It gave them the opportunity to observe the very different ideas that others have. They found it amazing that everyone was so opinionated. Others loved it that they said "yall." The lectures--three to four speakers a day--were first-class, but they were surprised by how rude some of the students' questions were. Although the speakers were good they felt they learned the most from their peers.

6/27/2006  Mary Hodgkinson turned over the gavel and bell to Omar. Omar graciously thanked Mary by presenting her a necklace as a token of appreciation as President. Also, Robert Clegg, Jo Anne Settles and Terry Robinson discussed What Rotary Means. Robert told of how Rotary began and the importance of the Foundation worldwide. Jo Anne discussed PolioPlus and how Rotary has helped to eradicate polio; there have been only 585 known cases of polio in the world so far this year. Terry recognized many of our Rotarians as Symbols Of Rotary because of their on going commitment.
 

6/23/2006 The three Victoria Rotary clubs conducted a joint evening meeting at the Victoria College Student Center to install officers and directors. Mary Hodgkinson passed the presidential pin to Omar Rachid. Don Mebus, Rotary International Director-Elect came from Arlington to do the honors. District Governor-Elect, Marilyn Spencer, brought him from Corpus Christi. Victoria Northside Rotary Club and Victoria Sunrise Rotary Club received the Rotary Presidential Citation. The clubs announced their new Paul Harris Fellows. Lorene Bothe, Robert Clegg, Derek Cox, Ronnie Heldt, James Johnson, Tanya Scott, Larry Wedel, and Bob Zawadzki received the awards from our club.

6/13/2006  The new young artists from the Victoria Bach Festival entertained us with a variety of pieces. On the left Lauren Snouffer and Dann Coakwell sing and are accompanied by Joey Martin at piano and Jessica Anastasio with the flute. On the right Faith DeBow played the piano for Dann's solo. The program was a real treat.

6/6/2006  Terry, Doug, and Omar who referee soccer in the Victoria area told us about World Cup Soccer. Over a billion and a half households will watch the upcoming World Cup--starts June 9. Soccer is popular worldwide because no equipment is required. There have been 17 World Cups since 1930. These have been won by seven countries. Brazil has won the most with five wins. One hundred ninety-four countries will vie for the World Cup. The world is divided into six regions for the competition. The US is ranked fifth in Group E. During the 64 games of the last World Cup there were 2.7 million spectators and 28.8 billion viewers. Soccer officials must be in excellent physical condition. The rules are fairly simple and are enforced with penalties. A red card penalty ejects the player from the remainder of the current game and the next game. A yellow card is a warning; two yellow cards equal a red card. The World Cup teams have 18 players on the roster. Eleven are on the field during play. Once a player leaves a game he cannot return.

5/30/2006  Omar thanked us for the opportunity to serve us as president next year. He introduced the new leadership plan being pushed by Rotary International. He said Rotary is not about you or me, but about working together as a team. We need to get out the message that Rotary does make a difference. We must do a better job of tooting our own horn. To increase membership he organized a contest consisting of eight teams. He will cook a Lebanese meal for the winning team. The contest will run from July through November. Teams get one point for bringing a prospective member and another five points when a prospective member joins.

5/23/2006  Dr. Caesar Velasco told us that more people die from stroke than from breast cancer and AIDS combined. A stroke happens when the blood flow stops to the brain. It is the third leading cause of death in the US--one occurs every three minutes. They can cause serious long-term disability. Men are affected more often than women. Risk factors that can be changed or treated are high blood pressure, tobacco use, diabetes, carotid or other artery disease, TIAs, heart disease, certain blood disorders, high cholesterol, inactivity, obesity, alcohol intake, and illegal drug use. More information is available from the American Stroke Association.

5/16/2006  Art, owner of Calvo's CLEAN-ALL, gave a classification talk on the environment as his background and education is in occupational safety and health. Important questions he asked of the group was if we were up to date on smoke alarms, fire extinguishers, and carbon monoxide detection equipment in our homes. We should be prepared for hurricanes by having water, batteries, and canned food on hand (June 1-November 30 is hurricane season) as well as having a fire evacuation plan in place for your family. Also, only one person knew the Poison Control Hot Line number, 1-800-222-1222. Be prepared as you can never plan too much to save lives.
 

5/9/2006  The Group Study Exchange (GSE) from RI District 4320—northern third of Chile—introduced themselves and told about their district. It has the world’s largest copper mine and the world’s driest desert which will bloom with as little as one tenth of an inch of rain. Luis, an agronomist, works in a vineyard growing table grapes for export to the US. He was sponsored by the Coquimbo Rotary Club. Lucia, an attorney sponsored by the Valparaiso Rotary Club, teaches labor law. Hector, the team leader and past president of the Coquimbo Rotary Club, is an industrial engineer who is now a university professor. Karen, an English translator/interpreter, was sponsored by the Quillota Rotary Club. Jorge is a metallurgical engineer who works in a lab at a copper mine and was sponsored by Copiapo Rotary Club.

5/2/2006  Larry Wedel related that he was called to the ministry when he was 14 years old. At the time he was very introverted and could not conceive of how he could stand in the pulpit. He got his BA in European History with a minor in secondary education from Oklahoma Baptist University. From there he went to the Southern Baptist Seminary in central Kentucky. He was there three and a half years. His two daughters were born during this time. His son came later. From seminary he was called to be the Minister of Education in a large Kentucky church. His experience there was not fulfilling and he became interested army chaplaincy. In April 1970 he joined the US Army for a 22 and a half year career. His career was a blend of assignments to combat and administrative units. His overseas assignments included two tours in Germany and one in Vietnam. Two of his most memorable experiences included the August 1988 air show accident at Ramstein GE and the October 1991 Luby's massacre in Temple. He was senior chaplain at Landstuhl Army Hospital where many of the injured were taken after Italian planes crashed into the crowd after a mid-air collision. The army used 16 chaplains to minister to the wounded. The Luby's shooting took place while he was stationed at the Ft. Hood Hospital where many of the wounded were treated. In September 1992 he began working at Citizens Hospital. He considers it the best job. He walks and talks with people. His ministry, there, is very ecumenical. Chaplains do not take away the pain, but help people work through it.

4/25/2006  Cheryl Johnson; Owner of Outburst Advertising discussed great marketing tips and how rearranging your marketing dollars can increase sales significantly for your business. It is important to know your market; always prepare a Marketing Plan to follow and adjust it according to seasons or time of year critical to your business; discuss what's in it for the client not who you are. Don't spread your marketing budget too thin on too many mediums, it's good to have two and ten percent of sales budgeted for marketing each year. The four key rules are: Be real; keep it simple; be consistent; and have fun with advertising.

4/11/2006  Cally gave her classification talk which was postponed by the great flood of 1998. She was raised here in Victoria and completed college at Southwestern University at Georgetown. From there she worked on a Fort Worth politician's campaign for US Congress. This succeeded and he invited her to intern on his staff in Washington, DC. Her workday was complete by 3:00 PM, so she methodically visited all the Washington tourist attractions. From there she went to San Francisco as a department manager for a store similar to Dillard's. After gaining experience there she took a position as manager of a San Francisco Lane Bryant store. As charming as San Francisco was, she missed Texas and decided return. She came home and her father welcomed her into the company--Zarsky Lumber--with open arms. Established in 1935 they have 10 stores that focus on contractors and are set apart by service. They, also, have a drilling mud division. She met her husband, Travis, at Rotary and thinks that was almost as respectable as meeting him at church. They have two children, Karoline (5) and Coleman (2.5). She served as Victoria Rotary Club's first woman president. She was, also, the first woman president of the Lumbermen's Association of Texas & Louisiana. As a member of the board of National Lumber and Building Material Dealers Association, she is actively lobbying for several initiatives to reduce risk for small business. She is active in the community having served as chair of the City Recycling Committee, member of the Victoria Regional Museum Board, and tutor and tutor trainer for the Adult Literacy Council. Currently, she is chair of the First United Methodist Church Building Committee.

4/4/2006  Jim Franks shared his experiences of living in India three different times. One of the strangest things he experienced is riding on a crowded commuter train with people and cows. The most difficult thing to understand was the 700,000 impoverished people and no charity organizations to help them out. The infrastructure was another tough issue; labor force is overwhelmed with workers and the birth rate is skyrocketing. It is a beautiful country where growth is inevitable; there are three malls today with approximately 200 more expected to be developed in the next ten years.

3/28/2006  Mikey Ruddock gave her humorous presentation, Rocks of Ageing. At her Patti Welder Class of 1954 Fiftieth Reunion everyone was so old and wrinkled that they did not recognize her. She says as we get older we become a storehouse of information, but we have trouble finding the key. She points out that it is hard to be nostalgic when we can't remember. The snap, crackle, and pop at breakfast is not necessarily the cereal. As time passes men's hair goes through three stages: 1. Parted, 2. Un-parted, 3. Departed. She finds the easiest way to get rid of wrinkles or dust is to take off her glasses. Each day is a gift and we have a choice in how we live it. Just because we have pain doesn't mean we have to be one.

3/21/2006  Victoria native Bret Baldwin, Straet Global Consulting, who lived and worked in China gave us his perspective on China, its people, and its economy. He predicts that China’s economy will surpass ours by 2040 to become the world’s largest as it was in 1803. Currently, they graduate four times as many engineers as we do. They have more cell phones than we have citizens. The Chinese company, Lenovo, bought the personal computer division from IBM and is the third largest personal computer manufacturer behind Dell and HP. They will start marketing cars in the US, soon. Their labor rate is $2 per hour compared to $22 for Korea and $60 for the US carmakers.
 

3/14/2006  Rodger Branson, Crossroads Home Educated Children President, told of his experience with home schooling. He and his wife have been home schooling his son for the past eight years. In his occupation he moved a lot and wanted his family with him, so home schooling seemed to be the answer to his son's education. His 13 year old son reads at the twelfth grade level and has asked to start algebra. He relates that studies show that home schooled children score high, in the 85th percentile, on standardized tests. He points out that home schooling is hard work for the parents. 

3/7/2006  Richard told us how he became Police Chief. His father encouraged a military career. He was not interested in the Army and tried unsuccessfully to get into the Air Force Academy. As a result he enrolled in SWTSU. While there, he got married then transferred to UT-Arlington where he could work while going to school. While in the Metroplex he saw a couple of police operations that inspired him to become a police officer. He returned to SWTSU, got a law enforcement degree, and joined the Victoria PD after graduation. He worked his way through the ranks and became Chief, November 1, 2004.

2/28/2006  Jorge & Olga Verduzco: The Governor's visit was enthusiastic as he encouraged participation from the crowd on what we want out of our club. He highly encouraged recruiting new members in order to bring in new ideas, more participation, outreach into the community, diversity of members and greater opportunity to raise more money. He gave us ideas on how our club could generate more money for scholarship funds.

2/21/2006  Dr. Owensby related that colon cancer ranks third among cancer-killers for both men and women. He says it is highly treatable and made a good case for getting a colonoscopy. They are an accurate diagnostic tool and have the added benefit of allowing removal of tumors and polyps during the procedure. Other diagnostic tools are less accurate and require a colonoscopy-like procedure to remove any identified problems. He recommended that everyone over 50 have one. Twenty-four percent of people over 50 will develop colon cancer if untreated.

2/14/2006  From the left Caron Peace and Keith Epley—Memorial High, Christina Henry and Clay Barker—St. Joseph High, and Liz Rosengrant and Austin Seyfert—Bloomington High reported their experiences at Camp Zephyr, January 27-29. Victoria’s three Rotary Clubs sent these six students to Rotary Youth Leadership Awards (RYLA), a leadership training camp near Corpus Christi. Each club sponsored two juniors; our club sponsored the Memorial students. The students found the camp to be a great experience. They learned the difference between a mentor and a leader. They have many of the same qualities, but a mentor must listen. The camp helped them learn more about themselves and others. They felt that the experience will help them be their own person while resisting peer pressure. All felt the leadership training was great training in an enjoyable package. Caron Peace won an award as the most outgoing attendee.
 

2/7/2006  Dr. Jimmy Goodson, The Victoria College President, introduced Dr. Larry Garret, Associate Professor of Biology, who gave a PowerPoint presentation of The Victoria College Facilities Master Plan. He and his team gathered inputs from minutes of faculty luncheons, student/faculty surveys, email solicitation, a student developed survey, and tours of the campus facilities. From those his team recommended new allied health classrooms, laboratories, and offices; anatomy, microbiology, and physics classrooms and laboratories; art and music classrooms; speech and drama classrooms and studios; and infrastructure improvements along Red River Street. This translates into a new allied health building and an addition to the science building this decade. After 2009 a third floor will be added to the language building, the administration building will be renovated for one-stop-shopping, and the student center will be modified to make it more student friendly.

1/31/2006  Kristin Herrera’s students from St. Joseph High School participated in the Four-Way Test Speech Contest. Bethany Longoria (in pink) junior class president won. Rhett Goodman who is number one in his junior class placed second. Senior, Hannah Starkey, who will be going to Baylor University next year placed third. They all won small scholarships from us.

1/24/2006  Judith Haley, President - Texans for the Advancement of Medical Research, spoke on the importance of stem cell research. It will change the way physicians treat patients in the next 20 years based on research so far. The goal is to get the current administration to approve Federal funding under strict guidelines in order to improve our quality of life against diseases such as cancer, Alzheimer's, diabetes, spinal cord injuries, blindness, cystic fibrosis, Lou Gehrig's, Parkinson's and sickle-cell anemia. Progress has begun in these areas but funding is critical in order to continue research. The Victoria Advocate is the leading promoter of information in Texas according to Ms. Haley.

1/17/2006  Lewis Neitsch and Doug Cochran gave us an overview of the proposed sports complex to be built in Victoria. One proposed site is a 72 acres piece of property next to the Community Center. It would include 12 softball fields, a BMX course, tennis court, pool, playground and park as well as up to 1,000 parking spaces. This proposed site is estimated to cost around $1.3 million with an annual upkeep of $275,000.00 and a completion time of approximately 15 months.

1/10/2006  Sandy Dallas--Health Service Coordinator with Life Line Screening--discussed the importance of determining undetected health problems as we get older. They are the nation's leading provider of vascular and osteoporosis screenings which provides your physician with valuable information to identify your risk of stroke, abdominal aortic aneurysms, peripheral arterial disease and osteoporosis. To test for these Silent Killers, it typically takes about one hour and costs about $130.00

1/3/2006  Chris spoke about his profession as an attorney. He specializes in labor law and represents only the employer. He feels it is unethical to work both sides of the issue. He recommended four areas for all employers to follow: Prepare employee policy guidelines (they're different for all companies); prepare job descriptions (expectations are clear for everyone); do at least annual evaluations (every six months is better) and document discipline or praise of employees (allow them to comment, give them a copy, and retain a copy in their record).
 

12/20/05  Ruthi Krier from the Child Study Clinic now doing business as South Texas Assessment and Referral Services (S.T.A.R.S.) told us about her organization. The Child Study Clinic has been serving Victoria and surrounding counties for 41 years. They have eight employees who take care of premature babies, their related health problems, and other babies with health problems. They have 763 patients on their service. Most live below the poverty level. They are a United Way agency. They get other funding from grants, donations, and Medicaid. They collect food and baby clothes to give to the families and limit the amount of food given to families to discourage dependency. There is one other similar organization in Texas located in Dallas.

12/16/05  Approximately 150 people attended the Christmas Party, a joint meeting with the other two Victoria clubs. About half the attendees were from our club, 76 members and guests. Pictures of our members are posted.

12/13/05  Clara, Ann, Bill, Joe, Sheila, Jack, Larry, and Peggy shared memorable Christmases. Clara’s was her first Christmas in South Texas. Ann’s was last year when all of her family were home safe. Bill shared when his first child was born. Sheila told when she discovered the Danish Santa Claus. Jack’s was a Christmas in Naples. Larry told about a Christmas eve blizzard. Peggy saw last year’s Christmas snow as a sign from God.

12/6/05   Guy and Dolores Watts told us about the Salvation Army (SA) Christmas programs. Everyone thinks of the SA Christmas bell ringers and some assume that the SA is only here at Christmastime. Not true, they have been in Victoria for 44 years. They offer stockings that individuals can get to fill with hygiene products to be given to young and old. They, also, have an angel tree with angels placed for each $25 donation. The proceeds go to the needy and families of prisoners. If you can’t get to a kettle a kettle-card is available to mail. HEB is supporting Ring in a Miracle. Just tell the checker how much you want to donate.

11/29/05  Mary conducted a club assembly discussing our accomplishments so far this year and tasks remaining. We had a successful Kids Fest and Adoption Awareness Picnic. The collection for the Mexican orphanage went well and Joe and Billy Settles are working on shipping more books to South Africa. Two big events are on the horizon—the Christmas party, December 16, and the Ninth Annual Charity Sporting Clay Shoot, April 22-23. We, also, will be nominating and electing officers and nominating a Citizen of the Year.

11/22/05  Janet Lyon, Executive Director of United Way Campaign in Victoria, shared her goal of reaching $750,000.00 this year. Though she realizes this is an ambitious goal in light of hurricane Katrina, there is still a need to take care of our people in our own community. UW is an all volunteer organization except for two paid employees; they are always in need of volunteers, money and in-kind donations. Currently, they are looking for a 600 sf office space. Eddie Rodriguez of Boy Scouts of American is one of the many recipients of the UW organization. He spoke of how important money from UW helped sponsor young boys that have been touched by becoming a Boy Scout. He also thanked Rotary for their sponsorship of 1,400 units--about 54,000 scouts.

11/15/05  Nora Hutto, Scholarship Committee Chair, had some of the scholarship recipients share their stories on how the monies have been so helpful in their quest for their education and what their goals were. Half the students were mature adults returning to school to finally obtain their degree. For many, it was the only scholarship they will receive. They were all very appreciative and took time out of their hectic schedules to show their gratitude.

11/8/05  Jennifer, The Victoria College Executive Director of Institutional Advancement, was born and raised in Victoria. She has two children and lives in the Inez area. She worked for First Victoria National Bank for 12 years prior to going to work for VC in 2000. The Victoria College is one of the oldest community colleges in the state. It was chartered in 1925 as part of the Victoria Independent School District. It separated from VISD in 1947. It is a multipurpose open-access institution. Anyone may enroll. They have taxing authority in Victoria county and are governed by a seven-member board. The college's five goals are outreach, retention, excellence, efficiency and service. The state mandated service area includes Victoria, Calhoun, Jackson, Dewitt, Lavaca, Refugio, and Gonzales counties. The college also serves Goliad county. Funding comes from a variety of sources: State (25%), taxes (16%), tuition (17%), federal government (9%), Student aid (13%), auxiliary enterprises (12%), debt service (6%), and miscellaneous (2%). Fifty-four percent of the approximately 4000 students come from Victoria county and are 66 percent female and 34 percent male. Nearly 50 percent of new enrollees require remedial courses. A growing area is dual-credit courses--high school students get both high school and college credit. Because of the precipitous drop in state funding over the last 15 years VC has started a 501(c)(3) foundation which provides scholarships, grants for equipment, and an endowment.

11/1/05  Mario Gonzales with MasterGuard shared concerns and safety tips for Fire Safety and Prevention. He explained that everyone must have a smoke detector; it should have batteries replaced once a year during the time change (better if done twice a year). Fires take more lives than a natural disaster; you only have 1-3 minutes to save a life; it takes on average 4.5 minutes for the fire department to reach your home. Misconceptions are: It won't happen to me; there's plenty of time to get out; only large fires kill and my smoke alarm will give me plenty of notice to get out. Things everyone must have in their home are: fire extinguisher, carbon monoxide detector, photo electric smoke detector and heat alarm for attic and garage areas. Every family should minimize fire hazards, have fire drills with escape routes planned, and provide and early warning system.

10/25/05  Elena Stone, Mid-Coast Family Services, told us that Mid-Coast serves domestic violence victims and persons affected by drug and alcohol abuse. Their services have grown every year. They now serve 48 counties including Bexar county. They have a satellite office in San Antonio made possible by a $1 million grant to cover San Antonio. They operate a Thrift Store and get additional grant-funding from government, foundations, and individuals. They shelter both women and children and men. There are some men who are victims of domestic violence. They try to find employment for people living in shelters, so they can become independent and go out on their own. In addition to shelters their services include accompaniment and advocacy, counseling, support group, battering intervention and prevention, and substance abuse screening and referral. They do not provide treatment for substance abuse, but help with identification and referral for treatment. In answer to the question, Why do women stay?, she pointed out that brainwashing goes along with a violent relationship. The techniques are similar to those used on POWs. It happens slowly. The victim loses a sense of identity and is isolated from friends and family and feels he or she has no self worth or means of support. The most dangerous time for domestic violence victims is at the time they decide to leave.

10/18/05  Derek told how he came to build one eighth scale steam locomotives. He was born in Birmingham, England, and got his mechanical engineering degree in London. He found that he was getting paid for doing what he loved to do. Over the years he lived in six different countries--United Kingdom, United States, Belgium, Canada, Italy, and Kuwait. While working for British Aluminium he was part of the team that manufactured special aluminum plates for the Concorde. He moved from metals to chemicals and worked for Union Carbide and companies related to it. He first worked in high-pressure processes. Some of the tubing had to withstand 160,000 psi pressures. Later, he was involved in low-pressure processes. In Kuwait he worked on a plant that had 42 different nationalities on site during construction.  The Kuwait plant was designed to operate in +50 C temperatures contrasted to a later Canadian plant that had to operate in -40 C temperatures. He retired from Carbide in 2001 and was able to get serious about his hobby of building miniature locomotives, a hobby he started in 1972. He is building scale models of British locomotives (Three are under construction) which use the same track gauge, but are narrower and less tall than American locomotives and use vacuum for braking instead of compressed air like the American ones. He has a 1000 foot oval track planned.

10/11/05  Greg Najvar (l) and Marshal Wood (r) described their experience in Louisiana after hurricane Katrina. They are two of the three individuals from Victoria that are part of the Urban Search and Rescue team on the Texas Task Force One which is made up of 80 volunteers from all parts of Texas. It was originally activated in 1995 and over the years they have perfected their specialty areas for rescuing people after major devastation. They spent two weeks in Louisiana living in makeshift quarters, in sleeping bags with three bottles of water per day. They pulled people from roof tops and attics and had to bag hundreds of bodies. It was difficult at best to experience what these people had to endure and despite dodging bullets they felt their efforts were much needed by those that kissed them and thanked them for all their help.

10/4/05  Ric Tinney-Director of Devereux described the enormous responsibility of raising $1 million a year to cover the cost of doing business. It is his job to expand awareness and programs such as the Community Living Program recently developed.  Devereux handles about 200 people each year ranging in age 0-18 years in the Therapeutic Foster Care Program and ages 18-100 years for the adult services.  Approximately 36-85 are children from in Child Protective Services; 65 are adults in residence, 10 of which are private pay; 30-35 come from out-of-state and 26 currently came from the U.S. Virgin Islands due to some severe disabilities.  There are over 260 employees making Devereux one of the top ten employers in Victoria.  Many volunteers such as Friends of Devereux help raise money or items such as gifts and clothing to provide the children in Protective Services. Thanks to the help of Dr. George Constant, the Victoria Devereux facility was put on the map in our area and today is the third oldest in the system.

9/27/05  Phyllis Hunt, Executive Director of the Victoria Chamber of Commerce, gave an overview of the accomplishments over the past years. The Buy Here campaign has been a great success with continued increase in our revenue. Victoria Day in Austin was great exposure, especially for recruiting new businesses. With a new future-focused Mission Statement to be revealed in January, the Chamber is always looking for “innovative and smart” ways to be successful, and ever changing to move Victoria forward. A successful Chamber represents the “Heart and Soul” of the business community and should lead, empower, and unite the business community. Phyllis encouraged everyone to become a member and to please share your ideas to help make our Chamber better for the community.

9/20/05 Rae Ann Curry, Greater Paris (Texas) Rotary Club, told how she became a Rotarian. It fit in with this month's theme, New Generations Month. She is Jack Whitmire's daughter and her classification is Elementary Education. She is a communications major with a master's degree in broadcast journalism. In the workforce she found she did not like her chosen career field, so she went back to school to get her teaching certificate and was certified in 1997 with a specialty in reading. She taught in the Richardson School District who supported her in getting her masters degree in elementary education. She taught two years in the Dallas Public Schools before getting her Talented and Gifted (TAG) teaching certificate. She taught TAG to K-6 for several years before getting married and moving to Paris. At her father's suggestion she joined Rotary to meet people in her new hometown.

9/13/05 Charles Windwehen and John Kaminski from the City of Victoria us some positive indicators for Victoria. The population is growing steadily at about 2.2 percent. The county is growing faster, 3.6 percent. Tax receipts are growing at about 7 percent and we have higher than average sales tax receipts per capita. Building permits are healthy. There has been significant private and public investment. New digital maps will be available shortly on the city web site. They are in color and fairly high resolution and include both city and county and can be viewed at www.victoriatx.org.
      Joe Truman presented Sheriff's Officers Jeff Thompson and Travis Gundebach Officer of the Year awards for their rescue of car wreck victims from a toxic chemical cloud.

8/30/05  Jackie Vrazel, Eric Neill, and Elizabeth Blumberg told of their experiences at the World Affairs Seminar held at the University of Wisconsin--Whitewater. They all made many good friends there. Jackie thought she was stereotyped as a Texan. She felt the seminar had a liberal bias. Eric found the international students to be amazing. He especially enjoyed the talent show featuring acts typical of the represented country. He thought a Muslim speaker was the best. One of his Jamaican friends could not believe there was crime in the US. Elizabeth had a wonderful time and still corresponds with friends from there. Her roommate is now an exchange student in Japan. She found the last day to be the saddest because of parting with the friends she made there.

8/23/05  Rev. Ricky Dodd spoke about "The Mission of Hope", a private ministry designed to reach out to the homeless and the needy in Victoria. He defined homeless as "an individual living in the brush." They are without homes, friends or family to fall back on, and are living under porches, highway underpasses, or in the brush. These individuals are referred by churches in the community. Several churches support this mission through funds, gifts in kind and volunteers. Whoever comes in becomes a part of the family and, like a family, may invite others to the mission. The ministry, occupying the original Dick's Grocery at 1010 E. Juan Linn St., started as a soup kitchen. As more food became available meals were served. They serve 36-70 meals a night. They have expanded services as more resources have become available. They now have clothing and a housing area for men. A women's facility is under construction. Phone 655-3687.

8/16/05  Ronnie was born and raised in Victoria. After graduating from Victoria High he went to work for First Victoria National Bank. This followed advice from his grandfather not to get into farming or ranching. After having worked there for a few years Bill Ruddock told him he needed a college degree if he was going to progress in the bank. He started going to Victoria College where C.F. Schneider taught him speech. One of his speeches was on screw worm eradication in Texas. Later, when he was going to Texas A&I some of the ag majors used it in their classes. Finally, the professors had to outlaw it because they tired of it. After finishing at A&I he went back to work for FVNB for seven and a half years. He has been in insurance ever since. He got into flying when he bought an interest in an insurance agency in Nederland, near Beaumont. A big portion of their business came from the Vietnamese owned shrimp fleet. They were hard working, kept the boats busy year around, and paid their premiums in cash. They quickly learned that claims could make the down payment on another boat. So, the accident rates went up. He worked with Lloyds of London to underwrite apartment insurance. He had to go to London once a year to meet with 18 different investors. They did business on a handshake and word of mouth. Insurance is unwanted, complicated, and required. He has enjoyed Rotary and making up at other clubs all over the country.

8/9/05 Gypsy Cole and Dan Jezioro of The Billy T. Cattan Recovery Outreach is a non-profit, faith based, outpatient recovery counseling center. Adults 18 and over are referred by doctors, counselors, probation officers and ministers, however, they treat the whole family as everyone is affected. Through co-counseling, group counseling and family counseling, they lead individuals with chemical addictions to find physical sobriety and spiritual wholeness through Christ-Centered recovery. They can be reached 24/7 by pager 503-HOPE.

8/2/05  Dr. Bain Cate & Delores Gonzales, Victoria County Health Dept, talked about TB in our area. It is not a big problem. They see 8-15 active cases a year. These take six months to treat requiring 12 pills per day. The state pays for medicine, laboratory work, and x-rays for active cases. Cases occur where poor nutrition and poor living conditions exist. The border treatment programs have been successful in reducing the numbers of cases. Each successful treatment prevents more down the road.

7/26/05  Joe, Omar, David, and Jerry reported on their impressions of the Rotary International Centennial Convention. Joe said he was invigorated after seeing the world that Rotary is. He reported that the people of Chicago were very accommodating. He enjoyed the Hall of Friendship and brought back several souvenirs. One was a food packet that would feed six people. He recommends the conference experience. Omar became an interpreter for a Rotarian from Kenya. He went to the Paul Harris lunch and his table of eight had people from seven countries. This was David's seventh international conference. He thinks everyone should make attending an international conference a goal. He and Bruce went to Rotary Headquarters in Evanston where they occupy the bottom three floors of an 18-story building. Jerry's interest was Rotary on Stamp Fellowship. Eighty countries issued stamps commemorating Rotary's Centennial. He said the best part was working with people from other countries. He brought back a fancy banner from Morocco. He finds the opening flag ceremony to be very impressive. This year they brought the flags in on bicycles.

7/19/05  James Wayne told us how he got into commercial real estate. He says he tends to change careers about every ten years. He was an army officer, milk & ice cream vendor, and a firearms dealer prior to turning to commercial real estate in the late eighties. His intention was to buy repossessed houses in Houston, but after Formosa announced it was going to spend over $1.5 billion on their plant he correctly predicted that Victoria would be the bedroom community for the expansion. He decided to stay here. Commercial real estate was available at 10 cents on the dollar of valuation. Most of the properties were repossessions of banks or the FDIC. Banks would finance only their repossessions. The exception was FVNB who would not finance their inventory. This changed when Nationsbank came to town and made money more readily available. He had a positive cash flow from the beginning. He acquired the Town Plaza Mall by buying the paper from the financing company and foreclosing on the FDIC because of its failure to make payments. He tries to keep his properties occupied, uses single source suppliers, pays suppliers quickly, and works with them to solve problems.

7/12/05  David Christian told us about the Ebenezer Methodist Steel Orchestra. It was formed in 1994 by the Ebenezer Methodist Church, St. Croix, VI, as a community outreach program. It is an after school program to keep the children off the streets and encourage them to do well in school. They are given computer instruction in addition to the instruction in steel drums. They will be here July 24-26 performing at churches, the YMCA, and the Boys & Girls Club. They return July 30 for a fundraiser at the Leo J Welder Center. Tickets are $10 and available at the Welder Center, 576-ARTS. They vary in age from 6 to 20 years old with most being 10-16 years old.

7/5/05  Michelle Callis, Profit Academic Principal, told us about the new Profit Expeditionary Magnet High School. It will accept 60 freshmen for the fall semester. Students will come from the VISD area. Home schooled students are eligible. In the succeeding fall semesters they will accept 100 Freshmen. This is possible through a grant. Expeditionary learning is just a name for good instruction. Profit students are motivated to finish high school and ask to attend. The hammer is that they will go back to regular school if they do not comply with Profit requirements.

6/28/2005  Russell Cain, a member of the Port Lavaca Rotary Club and Assistant District Governor Rotary International District 5930, gave the oath of office to the officers and directors for 2005-06. Mary Hodgkinson, President, will lead the club for the next year. She will be assisted by Omar Rachid--President Elect, Doug Anderson—Vice President, Peggy Cunningham—Sergeant at Arms, Vance Riley—Secretary, and Jack Whitmire--Treasurer. The sworn directors are Joe Truman, Ann Castner, John Lenihan, Robert Clegg, and Bob Partain.

The club announced donations to the Rotary Foundation for nine new Paul Harris Fellows. Anyone who contributes – or in whose name is contributed – a gift of $1,000 or more to the Annual Programs Fund may become a Paul Harris Fellow. Each new Paul Harris Fellow receives a commemorative certificate, a Paul Harris Fellow pin, and a medallion. The mission of The Rotary Foundation is to support the efforts of Rotary International to promote world understanding and peace through local, national, and international humanitarian, educational, and cultural programs. The club honored Denny Arnold, Wondra Chang, Jim Hoffman, Pat Kelly, John Lenihan, Ronnie Morris, Ron Peace, John Roberts, and Fred Sanchez with these items. Other Victoria Rotary Club Paul Harris Fellows are listed on the Paul Harris page.
 

6/21/2005  C.F. who considers himself an archivist rather than a historian gave us the early history of the club. It was started in May, 1919, by some coffee drinkers including Dr. Shields at the Manhattan Cafe. Their first-year project was  a city-wide clean-up. Frank Crain, our Frank's father, was president in 1921. The club first met at the Manhattan Cafe, then the Delaware Hotel, before moving to the Denver Hotel where they met for many years. The club sponsored a softball team in the 1930s. The uncatalogued historical documents are stored at the Victoria College library. Copies are available on DVD through Terry Robinson.

Bob told of a 1976 project--a proclamation of beliefs--printed and sent to every Rotary Club in the world and every county in Texas. A copy was put in a time capsule in 2000. Recently, Bob sent a copy to President George W. Bush and received an answer agreeing with the sentiment of the document. Copies are available.

6/14/2005  The Bach Festival New Young Artists, (l to r) Ivan Trevino, Mark Dupere, Paul Tipton, and Joey Martin, gave us a taste of what to expect at the Bach Festival performances. Ivan, a Victorian, played the marimba honoring us with one of his compositions. They played pieces from several composers. Paul, a baritone, sang two selections and was accompanied by Mark and Joey.

6/7/2005  Dexter gave us insight into capital punishment. He prosecuted a capital punishment case last fall—the first in Victoria county since 1927. Not just any murder case can be considered for capital punishment. It has to happen during the course of a robbery, during a kidnapping, or the victim must be under six years old. Then nine of the 12 grand jury members must approve. Death penalty cases are expensive. The judge must appoint two highly qualified defense attorneys. Cases take eight times as long as other murder cases. After conviction appeal is automatic. The county foots the bill. Dexter takes three days in isolation to make a decision whether to prosecute.
 

5/24/2005  John regaled us with his humorous classification talk. He grew up on the ranch where he now lives and where we have our clay shoot. He studied agriculture at A&M and worked as a county agent for a while before going back to A&M to complete prerequisite courses for veterinary medicine. He was then accepted to study. He pointed out that now it is very difficult to get into Vet school. A&M accepts 125 to 140 each year out of 1,800 applicants. The selection is biased toward better students which, as a rule, are women.

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