La Mesa Volume 48 Number 01 August 16, 2010 www.rotarywestelpaso.org - Club # 1342 August Birthdays & Service Anniversaries August Birthdays Robert Sanderson - August 4 Rob Sesich - August 13 Chava Gonzalez-Barney - August 15 Russell Autry - August 16 August Service Anniversaries Robert Sanderson - 37 Years Dave LeMone - 27 Years Marcos Lizarraga - 2 Years Kristi Albers - 1 Year Beate Burdett - 1 Year 2010-2011 Rotary Year Opens with Inaugural Celebration at Coronado CC 1
Past President - LuAnn Wieland (Parting Remarks to the Club) It s so hard to believe that my year as President of the Rotary Club of West El Paso has already come to a close. It was truly one of the most rewarding experiences of my life. I met so many new friends while attending trainings, conferences, and other events. I was able to travel to Birmingham, England for the international conference, which was really an unbelievable adventure. My husband Tim, and daughter Elyse traveled with me and we visited and stayed with two of our former Rotary exchange students in Denmark and Switzerland. The experience of staying with their families in their countries was something that could never be replaced. People often ask What is Rotary? It s making new friends and building lasting relationships with old friends. It s helping children to succeed in life through literacy programs, or lending a helping hand to those that are less fortunate than me, through delivering food baskets to families of kids with cancer, or watching the faces of needy kids as they get brand new school supplies. It s watching the high school kids in interact get involved in so many worthwhile projects in the community. It s meeting new exchange students every year, and learning new things about Rotary every week, especially how our small amounts of money can be turned into large amounts of money through the Rotary Foundation to feed and clothe and provide fresh water to people in El Paso and Juarez as well as those in Africa, other parts of Mexico and all over the globe. Rotary is one simple word that means hope to millions of people all over the world. The theme of my Rotary year was The Future of Rotary is in Your Hands This is a two-fold message asking for Rotarians to reach out and extend our hands to help to people all over the world both financially and on a volunteer basis whenever we can. Even more important is the message that it is only us as Rotarians who can ensure that Rotary will be in existence 100 years from now by working together to promote Rotary, therefore building more clubs and increasing the power that Rotary has in the world. Every President wants to achieve so many things during their year. I m proud to state that we brought in 10 new members during this year. We were the 2 nd highest club in new members in our district and received the Presidential Citation for the first time in many years. We also started the first scholarship program for our interact students, giving three $500 scholarships. Fun is always part of our 4-Way Test and actually is the 5 th. In celebration of fun, we started the monthly evening social happy hours and not only do we have fun, but we get to know each other in a relaxed atmosphere without time restraints. As my year comes to a close, I want to thank the wonderful group of Rotarians that made up my board of directors and all the other members of our club who work so hard to make things happen. It simply wouldn t be possible to do everything we do, without all these talented people. I also want to thank my family for all the support given to me and always being there to be a helping hand. I look forward to working with our members in heading up the nomination process for 2011-2012 and hope that many of you will consider the many important roles that you could play in our club. I wish my dear friend Lorraine and her board the best of luck as we continue to work together in Building Communities- Bridging Continents and strive to achieve even higher goals. Thank you and May God Bless You All, LuAnn Wieland President, Rotary Club of West El Paso 2009-2010 2
Independence Day Parade - Record Crowds Witness a Real Blast 3
Golf Tournament Preparation is Underway The Second Annual First Tee Desert Classic The Rotary Club of West El Paso has once again joined forces with The First Tee of Greater El Paso to host The First Tee Desert Classic, a premier golfing event for all levels of local golfers. Proceeds from this tournament will benefit The First Tee of Greater El Paso along with other community projects of The Rotary Club of West El Paso. The Rotary Club of West El Paso The Rotary Club of West El Paso was established in 1962 and its members have been actively involved in the El Paso community ever since. Since 2000, our club has donated over $150,000 to various community projects and has been actively involved in promoting quality of life and youth initiatives throughout El Paso for more than 40 years. The First Tee of Greater El Paso The First Tee is a national non-profit youth organization where life skills and core values are taught through the game of golf. The First Tee was established by the World Golf Foundation in 1997 and the First Tee of Greater El Paso became the 207th official chapter when it was formed in April of 2008. See Chairman - Rob Sesich for further details. Rotary Friendship Exchange - Cornwall, Deep River, Toronto - Ontario, Canada Three couples from District 5520 (Johnny & Hilda Lane, Carey & Donna Beamesderfer, and Lonnie & Ardeth Leslie - Clovis, NM) participated in the District's annual RFE from June 26 - July 8 in Ontario and Quebec, Canada. The group met with our Canadian hosts (District 7040) in Cornwall, Ontario and traveled to numerous places throughout the District. The details of this exiting trip will be presented to our club at our Monday, October 11th meeting. Stay tuned. The Rotary Friendship Exchange is a program enabling Rotarians and their families to carry out reciprocal visits with Rotarians and their families in countries other than their own, either on an individual or team basis. It provides them with an opportunity to experience other cultures firsthand. Introduced in 1984, this program aims to advance international understanding among Rotarians by offering them an opportunity to form personal contacts and make long-lasting friendships while exploring different areas of the world. 4
RYLA 2010 - It Was Awesome RYLA is an exciting camp where your leadership skills are identified, developed, and improved. The Camp lasts six days and is held in the beautiful Manzano mountains in central New Mexico.The camp is a weeklong seminar run by volunteer Rotarians and spouses. RYLA provides each staff member and participant with the opportunity to reach for the highest standards and to experience leadership at its best. RYLA's main focus is to develop young leaders. RYLA aims to: demonstrate Rotary's respect and concern for youth, provide an effective training experience for selected youth leaders, encourage leadership of youth by youth, and recognize publicly young people who are rendering service to their communities. We do this through speakers who address: ethics of positive leadership, community leadership and involvement, problem solving and conflict management, the importance of communication skills, building confidence and self-esteem, exploring values and moral responsibility, and what is Rotary. We develop leadership skills by team building activities with organized games such as volleyball, relay swimming and a low ropes course. The challenge of the high ropes course then builds self-confidence. 5
Current Applications for Membership in Our Club Nicolas Chapa - Environmental Engineering Consultant - Ninyo & Moore (Geotechnical, Environmental, and Materials Testing Consultant Specialists) Nicolas has been an El Paso resident for over 15 years - Proposed by: Carina Munoz Cheryl Lee - Sales Manager - Thrifty Nickel (Want-Ads Newspaper) Cheryl is a native of El Paso and was formerly a member of the Rotary Club of Northeast El Paso. - Proposed by James Heard. Rodrigo Hernandez - Financial Advisor - Waddell & Reed - (Asset Management & Financial Services Firm) Rodrigo has lived in El Paso for the past 3-1/2 years and came to us via our Club Website. Looking Forward in 2010 August 2010 *** Membership & Extensions Month ******************** August 16, 2010 - Mon - Interact Clubs - Gail Gale August 20, 2010 - Fri - Board Meeting - UBS Bldg 7:30am August 23, 2010 - Mon -Sun Bowl - Bernie Olivas August 30, 2010 - Mon - To Be Announced September 2010 *** New Generations Month ************************* September 6, 2010 - Mon - Labor Day Holiday - No Meeting September 13, 2010 - Mon - To Be Announced September 17, 2010 - Fri - Board Meeting -UBS Bldg 7:30am September 20, 2010 - Mon - To Be Announced September 23, 2010 -Thu - 1st Day of Fall September 27, 2010 - Mon -To Be Announced October 2010 *** Vocational Service Month ************************ October 2, 2010 - Sat - Celebrity Chef Gala October 4, 2010 - Mon - To Be Announced October 11, 2010 - Mon - Friendship Exchange Presentation Ontario & Quebec - Canada October 15, 2010 - Fri Board Meeting - UBS Bldg 7:30am October 16, 2010 - Sat - First Tee Desert Classic Golf Tournament 2nd Annual October 18, 2010 - Mon - To Be Announced October 25, 2010 - Mon - To Be Announced October 29-30, 2010 - Fri-Sat - Institute for Leadership - Las Cruces, NM October 31, 2010 - Sun -Halloween November 2010 *** Rotary Foundation Month ************************ November 6, 2010 - Sat - District Rotary Foundation Seminar - 9:00am-Noon November 7, 2010 - Sun - Daylight Savings Ends November 11, 2010 - Thu - Veterans Day November 15, 2010 - Mon - District Governor Visit Tim Parker November 19, 2010 - Fri -Board Meeting - UBS Bldg 7:30am November 25, 2010 - Thu -Thanksgiving Holiday 6
17th Annual Celebrity Chef Gala - October 2, 2010 This event will be held at the El Paso Convention Center on Saturday, October 2, 2010 and is presented by the seven Rotary Clubs of El Paso. They will use the net proceeds from this event to support scholarships for medial students at Texas Tech Paul L. Foster Medial School. Come and sample the best of El Paso's most celebrated chefs - 19 food stations, including entrees, complimentary side dishes, desserts; wines, etc. A casual evening includes both a live and silent auction offering trips, jewels, clothing, gourmet meals, etc. and a gift basket raffle. Individual ticket - $100. - Table for 10 - $1,000. See our website: http://www.rotarywestelpaso.org/ for registration and other forms. ********************************************************************************** ********************************************************************************** 2011 Rotary International Convention - New Orleans, Louisiana Join thousands of Rotarians in New Orleans! 2011 RI Convention in New Orleans, Louisiana, USA, 21-25 May Register early now to receive the best rates and accommodations, and Let the Good Times Roll Again! Find out more about New Orleans! Visit the RI website for more details. 7
******************************************************************************** Websites: Rotary Club of West El Paso - www.rotarywestelpaso.org Rotary District 5520 - www.rotary5520.org Rotary International www.rotary.org eclubone www.rotaryeclubone.org ******************************************************************************************** The 4- Way Test of the things we think, say or do: 1st - Is it the TRUTH? 2nd - Is it FAIR to all concerned? 3rd - Will it build GOODWILL and BETTER FRIENDSHIPS? 4th - Will it be BENEFICIAL to all concerned? ************************************************* and 5th Is it fun? ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Officers & Directors of the Rotary Club of West El Paso Officers President: Lorraine Huit Vice-President: Dana Vogelmeier President-Elect: David Veloz Executive Secretary: Carey Beamesderfer Treasurer: Joanne Latimer Sergeant-at-Arms: Kristi Albers Immediate Past President: LuAnn Wieland Directors Director Club Services: Sandy Boswell Director Community Services: Marcos Lizarraga Director International Services: Chava Gonzalez Director Public Relations: Jim Weddell Director Vocational Services: Cliff Walsh Director Youth Services: Gail Gale Other Staff Positions Matching Grants: Chava Gonzalez Golf Tournament Chair: Rob Sesich Parade Committee Chair: Jesse Allen Holiday Party Chair: Sandy Boswell Rotary Foundation: Gerri Wootten RYLA Girls Camp Director: Dana Vogelmeier Webmaster/Newsletter: Carey Beamesderfer 8