The Sixth Annual Charity Sporting Clay Shoot is less than three weeks away and things are falling into place. Team captains are making arrangements to insure a great shoot. The main thing lacking is getting Club members to sign on the dotted line to do all the little chores necessary for things to run smoothly.

To this end, Mary Hodgkinson will have sign-up sheets at the next meetings. Please do your share. There are plenty of tasks to keep us busy. We will need two people at each station for most of the day Saturday and Sunday. There are five stations and we will need someone to run an extra station for a shooting game. On Saturday, during the registration rush, Jack will need several people to help with registration. Then Saturday night at least three people are needed to administer the auction and another three people are needed to spot for the auctioneer. Another five or six people are needed to prepare and serve the meal. Of course, the trash will have to be emptied all weekend.

On the weekend of the shoot we need everyone, but if you can’t be there you can do your share by helping with all the planning and preparations beforehand.

For new members, this is our big annual fundraiser, a five-stand sporting clay shoot. Pairs of traps are placed at five stations and simulate upland game hunting including rabbits. Shooters practice on Saturday then attend a dinner and auction that night. There are two auctions—a charity auction of donated items and a Calcutta selling the shooters. Whoever buys the shooter has the right to that shooter’s share of the Calcutta pot. On Sunday, starting at 11:00 AM, each shooter shoots 50 targets—10 at each station—to determine his or her class. There are four classes. Finally, there is shoot-off in each class to determine first and second place. The owners of the first and second place winners share the Calcutta pot. About 20 percent goes to the winner of the highest class and about six percent goes to the second place winner of the lowest class. We sell sponsorships to the event. There are four levels of sponsors—corporate sponsor ($600), station sponsor ($300), youth sponsor ($200), and auction sponsor (any amount including auction items). Sponsorships is the largest revenue center followed by the charity auction. A raffle is another, smaller revenue source.

Each member will receive one packet of tickets to sell or buy and will be billed $20 for them. The Boys & Girls Club will sell the remaining tickets. Any unsold tickets will be available at the shoot.

The remaining revenue comes from entry fees, practice rounds, and games.

This year’s revenues are shaping-up nicely. As of this writing we have sponsorship commitments matching last year and there are several potential donors remaining.

Food Underwriter: Feedlot Steakhouse will underwrite the cost of steaks.

Corporate Sponsors: The 15 corporate sponsors are First Victoria National Bank, Alexander & Marek, Brannan Paving, Chesnick Furniture, CLEAN ALL, Crossroads Abstract & Title, Dow—Seadrift Operation, PPG Auto Glass, Pryor Sales & Service, Ruth L. Constant Inc., Speedy Stop Stores, Suwannee Supply, Texas Glass & Tinting, Jack Whitmire, and Zarsky Lumber.

Station Sponsors: Fourteen have signed to be station sponsors. They are All American Awards & Trophies, Atzenhoffer Chevrolet-Cadillac-Mitsubishi-Mazda, Barbara Briggs, Brown & Associates, Bruce Bauknight & David Drost, Friendly Oaks Bed & Breakfast, Greg Haynes Allstate, HEB-Gulf Coast & Border Regions, JHC Insurance, Shirley Breedlove, Pat Pachta State Farm, The Victoria Advocate, Victoria Business Magazine, and Victoria OMS Associates.

Youth Sponsors: Our 11 youth sponsors are Associated Engineers & Surveyors, BHP Engineering & Construction, Cole Cole & Easley, Colonial Funeral Homes, Frost Insurance, International Bank of Commerce, P & H Goodyear Tire Company, Truman Transfer & Storage, and Wells-Fargo.

Auction Sponsors: BillBarnes.com, C.O. Farmer Firestone—Rio Grande, R.E. Clegg, Cornerstone Properties, Fagan Answering Service, Fred Kubesch Insurance Agency, Fred M. Fry—Physician’s Office, Gerald Parker, Harrison Waldrop & Uherek, HRH Insurance, Melvin’s, Victoria’s House of Lamps, and Lowe’s have all committed as auction sponsors.

Tim Braaten promises an outstanding auction this year. Let’s try to get the high rollers out Saturday night. One item, sure to create interest, will be four sky-box seats, including dinner and drinks, to an Astro’s game with a choice of four dates.▲

Less than three months to go, and this Rotary year will be behind us! Terry Robinson will then take over, with fresh enthusiasm and ideas. I feel confident that he will serve you well.

As you know, my goals for this year were not too complicated. In addition to our normal wonderful projects and activities, I wanted to meet Rotary International’s challenge of funding PolioPlus with $100 per member contribution. We are VERY close to reaching this amount. I also expected us to have at least 100 members by the end of the year…just a quiet rise in numbers, with no big push. Done. Finally, I am still trying to get 100% participation from our membership. What I desire is to have every single member of our club do something more than just come to lunch on Tuesdays.

This means, give our invocation, introduce a student guest, attend a board meeting, give blood, solicit organ donors, or participate in a committee meeting. Hhhmmm, did I leave out anything? THE CLAY SHOOT! This is the perfect opportunity to get involved!

Our clay shoot funds the projects of the Boys & Girls Club and multiple, very worthy, organizations and causes in Victoria. You will have fun serving food at the steak dinner on Saturday night, setting up tables and chairs, scoring the shooters, and running errands for Jack. You will enjoy working side by side with your fellow Rotarians, you will make new friends, AND you’ll be doing your part towards our 100% participation goal. You’ll be glad you did.

If you did not assume a participatory role in our

“Russian Project”, you missed an opportunity for great fun and really making a difference in a corner of our world. This effort was an amazing success. Jim Westermeier and Carole Parks led an incredible dream team. With the cooperation of our very generous community and the volunteers of the three Rotary clubs, our Russian guests learned a great deal about the free enterprise system, American culture, and Texas hospitality.

We just hosted the GSE team from France. The team members were a delightful group of people. Next year, our district will send a team to France.

Rotary continues to Sow the Seeds of Love, worldwide. What an honor it is to be a part of so much that is good.

I attended PETS this weekend (end of March). WOW what a great weekend...a very busy weekend, also.

I did purchase a theme pin for each club member and a small banner for the 2003-2004 year.

What does it really mean to be a member of Rotary? For many it is a time of fellowship. For others it is an opportunity to be involved in the community. I have just returned from the President-Elect Training Seminar and can tell you that being a Rotarian means a lot more then this. Over the coming year we will be visiting the many and varied reasons for being a Rotarian that many of you have forgotten or have never seen. I will ask a question during one of the meetings held in April that concerns how significant a role Rotary has had in our world and the winner will be given dinner for two (minus alcoholic beverages) at the Plaza Club. Read up on Rotary history and be prepared!! ▲

Once upon a time there were a doctor, a lawyer, a journalist, and two salesmen visiting South Texas. The first salesman turned to the group and said…..

No joke, the French Group Study Exchange (GSE) Team had members from all those professions. They represent RI District 1700 which is in the south of France. It borders Spain and the Mediterranean Sea and has about half of France’s Mediterranean coast.

They told a joint meeting of clubs from Victoria, Port Lavaca, and Edna about their District. The Rotarian leader, Michel Salviac, hails from Toulouse. Mylene Dufour, a saleswoman in agriculture, lives in Agen. The journalist, Gil Bousquet, comes from Toulouse like Michel. Emmanuel Margueritte, forensic physician, is from Montpellier. And the lawyer, Gilles Vaissiere, makes his home in Cascassonne.

They come from an interesting and picturesque part of the world. If you would like to visit it or have young professional friends who would, contact Tom Moore who is putting together a team from our district to go there next year. He is looking for people who speak French and can be gone for six weeks. ▲

The Board of Directors received Mary Hodgkinson’s report on the progress of the Centennial project. The estimate for the covered stage at Riverside Park was $80,000. The Board voted to limit the cost to our club to $10,000. Travis Fromme said he would look at the project to refine the cost. If you have ideas for a fitting monument commemorating RI’s 100th birthday send them to Mary Hodgkinson, marypt@viptx.net. ▲

The Victoria Rotary Club's Foundation, Victoria Rotary Foundation, received approval from the IRS to be classified as a not for profit charitable organization. That means that all donations made to the Foundation are considered by the IRS as tax deductible charitable giving and can be itemized on the donor's income tax return. All of the donations made to the clay shoot for this year have been transferred to the Foundation enabling all donors to take advantage of this charitable designation. It will enable the Foundation to solicit donations from organizations who's corporate policy is to give only to charitable organizations. This a great step for us in the Victoria Rotary Club. ▲

Income

Dues Initiation Fees Meals Paul Harris Donations PolioPlus Donations Wells-Fargo Savings Wells-Fargo CD Interest Rotary Foundation Donations Weekly Raffle Donations Macaroni Fest Revenue Russian Efficiency Program District Raffle Income

6,547   760 39,708 2,586 7,202  13 1,659  342 2,130 2,035 102 220

Total Income less Expense           (1,996)