The next monthly meeting of the Board of Directors of our club will be on December 17, 2024 at noon via zoom.  If you are not on the board you are always welcome.  Please contact Stan Edwards for the login and/or Brittany Johnson if you have an agenda item prior to Sunday, December 15.   During this meeting we will need to address those who have not yet paid dues and consider dropping memberships prior to the end of December.  If we do not drop those who have not paid the club will incur additional expenses for dues paid to Rotary International.  If you desire to disconnect from our club, please give your notice in writing to President Brittany Johnson or Charles Mickens, Secretary.

On December 15, 2024 we will have a social at a wine bar in the Houston Heights area at 5:00 pm.  Anyone in the Houston area is welcome to attend.  It will be BYOB or Buy Your Own Drinks (not bring your own).  Many have calendar events bumping into each other, especially during December.  Please rsvp to Robin Charlesworth, Club Director, at 970-880-0960 (text or call).  More details to follow soon on our club WhatsApp and December newsletter.  If you are not on WhatsApp, please let me know as it is a good tool for us to inform our members of Rotary information,  planned events, and member news.

We will not have a speaker in December, but will have a holiday social online to get to know each other better.  Prior to the meeting, we ask that you share your favorite holiday recipe to be compiled into a Holiday Cookbook for all of our members.  We have an international membership and may find a few new and interesting items to try in our own kitchens.   Please email your recipes to Robert Stein as follows:  rwstein58@gmail.com.  Be sure to write Rotary eclub Recipe in the subject line.  Please submit your recipes by noon of December 10th.  Our compilation will be shared with all active club members.

 

5:15 PM:  Registration & EXPO Tables Open

5:30 PM:  Train Rides of the Safari Texas Ranch Event Center begin!

5:30 PM to 6:15 PM:  Major Donor & Bequest Society Reception & Donor Recognition Event  - *See details below to discover how you can be invited to this Reception)

7 PM - 9 PM:  Dinner & Presentation by Stephanie Urchick, President of Rotary International

 

"Regular Table for 10"  :  $1,000  (Includes Expo Table)

  Individual Tickets:  $150/person

 

The Rotary e-Club of Houston has secured one table for this event and the following members are confirmed:  

PDG Nick Giannone & Fabiola, Evelyn Traylor, Ruben Santos, Glenda Guzman Macal, Leenette Wilke, Protus Onyango, PDG Ed Charlesworth and Robin and our exchange student.

 

We can continue to accept names and see if we may complete another table of 10.  It is a savings of $50/ticket.

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Your generous contributions to The Rotary Foundation are essential to securing and growing Rotary programs throughout the world. We recognize donors to express our gratitude for your commitment

When your cumulative donations reach $10,000 you become a Major Donor and can choose to receive a crystal recognition piece and a Major Donor lapel pin or pendant. 

When you make a commitment for future gifts of $10,000 or more to The Rotary Foundation, you’ll be invited to join the Bequest Society.

 

On November 17, 2024 we had a successful social event to meet our exchange student from Taiwan.  We met at Sam's Seafood and Steaks in NW Houston and enjoy getting to know each other.  We had 14 at the table including the following members:  Linda Caruso, Anais Watsky,  Olivia Hernandez, PDG Nick Giannone, Protus Onyango,  Ruben Santos,  Glenda Guzman Macal, Robin Charlesworth and PDG Ed Charlesworth.  Additionally, we had the following guests in attendance:  John Caruso, Buddy Watsky, Geovanni  (Olivia's husband), and Fabiola Giannone and, of course, our exchange student. 

 

Ed Socha - Recovered from a broken leg earlier this year and still teaching three Real Estate courses at the University of St. Thomas in Houston.  He surprised his students with a "Pizza Thanksgiving" before their holiday break.  He has been teaching at the University of St. Thomas for 15 years.

 

Olivia Hernandez -   Life has been at a fast pace - She is working as in-house counsel for a petrochemical company and traveling frequently to Paris.  She got married to Geovanni and moved to new digs.  Congratulations on your marriage!

 

Sidik  Ibrahim -  Had serious health issues due to a stroke.  Please keep him in your thoughts and prayers as he continues to recover and regain strength.

 

Joanna Herr and Stan Edwards and four others - Exploring Laguna Lachua.  Lachua Lake is a karstic lake nearly circular in shape and likely to be a cenote or doline.  The water has a slightly suphurous smell.  The name means "the fetid water".  It was an hour hike to the laguna, but an easy hike.  These two members reside in Antigua, Guatemala.  Joanna will be speaking about clean water projects in March, 2025.

 

PDG Bob and Jaime Hauser -  Congratulations on both of these new members, albeit experienced Rotarians,  completing the entire Camino de Santiago!  They have stories to share and are working already to put together a power point presentation.  We look forward to learning more about their challenges and experiences along the Camino!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Our Foundation Chair will be reaching out to each member of our club to promote support for the Rotary International Foundation.  She has probably spoken to some of yoou already and will resume her calling on December 2, 2024.  We will benefit as a club if we can have 100% of our members give some amount to support the Rotary Foundation as it will improve our standing to apply for DDF grants (District Designated Funds).  A motto often heard in Rotary clubs is "Every Rotarian Every Year".  We strive for a giving level of $100 per Rotarian to the Rotary Foundation Annual Fund and another donation to support the End Polio campaign.    Earlier this month we had the privilege of learning about the giving levels and why we are inspired to give each year in an excellent program presented by PDG George Yeiter.  If you have any questions, please ask ML Brookshire (516-902-4011).

Our Houston E-Club community service theme for November is “Food for the Needy & Veteran Support” – Concentrating service efforts to make the lives of those less fortunate more comfortable as we head into the Thanksgiving season. Three areas of specific needs are shown below with connection opportunities to volunteer and help in the Houston area. For those outside Houston look for similar needs and support opportunities in your community …. These needs are everywhere this time of year.

 

OUR DESTINATION:  TEXAS A&M HOTEL AND CONFERENCE CENTER

 

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