Oak Hills Rotary Club
ABOUT OUR SAN ANTONIO OAK HILLS ROTARY CLUB
Our Beginings:
In the spring of 1977 a group of men came together and began another proud chapter of service to their community, their professions and their fellow man through Rotary International. The Oak Hills San Antonio Rotary Club began as a Provisional club. Our club’s Sponsor was Harry Newman, a Senior Active and member of the downtown San Antonio Club. The San Antonio Club has subsequently helped to start most of the now 18 Rotary Clubs within the greater San Antonio area. By late 1977, our charter was granted and presented officially on Charter Night, December 7, 1977 With 35 charter members, the Club embarked on its journey of service.
Our Past Projects:
For Rotary’s foremost concern, the youth of the World, we have tried to do our part. Over the years with the belief that organized sports activities teach teamwork, sacrifice and discipline plus provide good clean fun, we sponsored a basketball and baseball team of San Antonio boys and girls. For the elderly we provided wheelchairs, televisions, a key board, and a yearly Christmas Party for San Antonio senior citizens. Our club completed the Centennial Project providing a renovated home for students who grow out of foster care. Through our major fundraiser, Shrimp Fest, over a twenty year period, we have contributed Seven Hundred Thousand Dollars to various charitable organizations. Our club has also hosted and participated with the Youth Exchange program, and provided greeting bags for the Rotary International Convention which our District 5840 hosted in 2001. Our Club sponsored three Interact Clubs: Clark High School, the International School of Americas, and O’Connor High School. Interact Clubs promote the principles of Rotary to High School students.
Our Current, On-Going Projects:
We continue to sponsor the Interact Clubs at Clark High School, the International School of the Americas, providing college scholarships to participants in these Clubs. We started a scholarship program at St. Philips College in 2011, now know as the Dave Ives Vocational Scholarship Program. Dave Ives was a long time member of Oak Hills Rotary and felt strongly that there a general lack of educational support to develop the "service industry" skills in our community. Our scholarship program at UTSA is funded and currently available to UTSA students through the University.
Our Meetings:
Our weekly meetings are lively and full of good fellowship. We have been fortunate in the diversity and quality of our programs. They have covered subjects from the Archaeology of South Texas to the San Antonio Zoo. We’ve learned more about institutions as diverse as the Witte Museum to the State Prison. We have enjoyed speakers from many Non-Profit organizations to broaden our understanding of their goals and objectives and perhaps be able to provide some level of financial support in the future.
Rotary added women to the membership rolls in the early 1980's and they now serve in important leadership roles, from Club Presidents to District Governors. For those that join us in the months ahead, we will do our best to be up to the 4-Way Test and above all, will seek to always put “Service Above Self.”
