banner
Bulletin Editor
Mary Denton
Your feedback is welcomed. We are always striving to improve.
Club members and guests  enjoy a delicious meal while fellowshipping with the Friendliest Club in District 5840! We have interesting speakers every week.
2019 Fiesta Medal will soon be available for sale!
Executives & Directors
President
 
President Elect
 
Secretary
 
Treasurer
 
Vice President
 
Immediate Past President
 
Read the Rotarian Magazine Online by clicking the button below!
Did you know?
You can make up missed meetings online! A multitude of subjects are available such as Rotary Life, Community Service and Personal Growth.
 
Click on the button below to learn more!
Birthdays & Anniversaries
Member Birthdays
Destiny Mujica
March 4
 
Rick Tarbell
March 26
 
Anniversaries
Rick Rhodes
Sally
March 19
 
Join Date
Kenneth Ruiz
March 1, 1988
31 years
 
Rick Tarbell
March 15, 1993
26 years
 
James Daniel
March 28, 2014
5 years
 
Russell Hampton
National Awards Services Inc.
ClubRunner
Stories
Bulletin for March 20, 2019
Prayer, Pledge and Visitors
The meeting began with the ringing of the bell by President Fred Timmons. Bruce Richter led us in a word of prayer and the pledge.  President Fred introduced our speaker and guests:  Robert Allen, PI, CPS, IIA and his three interns from St. Mary's University who are working with him: Alana Pohovich, Maren Craig and Leandra Rodriguez. Robert is no stranger to our club - he is an associate of Brett Ward's - they work together at the San Antonio Livestock Show and Rodeo. Thank you all for visiting our Club today! We would love to see you again soon!
 
President Fred reminded us to continue selling District Raffle tickets for a chance to win a 6-8 night cruise on Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines.  The seller of the winning ticket wins the cruise also.  The 5 destinations are the Caribbean, Bermuda, Canada, Alaska and Europe.  The money from this Raffle helps support the Rotary Foundation..more about that later in this bulletin... Drawing is May 4.
 
President Fred pointed out that Ken Ruiz attended Rotary Leadership Institute last Saturday. Ken said that he resisted attending for 14 years!  He had a very good experience and has lots of good information for the club that he will share with us in the future.
 
President Fred announced at the meeting the volunteer opportunity is Rotary Day March 23 where Rotary Clubs join together to clean up Brackenridge Park.  No one signed up this time - our "frequent volunteer", Mary Denton shared that she would not be able to participate this year.  Hopefully next year! This is a fun event!
 
President Fred promoted Coffee Friday, April 12 again at Einstein Bagel on DeZavala Rd. at 8:00 am - if you're an early bird or need a wake up coffee before going to work....
He also mentioned the ever popular Happier Hour is Thursday April 18 at the Outback Steakhouse around 6:30 pm
 
Our speaker next week will be with Kinetic Kids.
Show Low Raffle
John Legris, who volunteered to donate wine this month, again did not disappoint with his vast knowledge of wine and interesting background info. He shared with us that Robert Mondavi is reported to have advised Becker to "cut no corners in winemaking". Apparently his advice paid off - Becker has won several gold awards!  Our wine-IQ is increasing!
 
Joe Montagna won the opportunity to draw the 2 of Clubs to win the $275 pot. He drew the two of diamonds and felt like a "winner" when he took home a bottle of Becker Vineyards Sauvignon Blanc!

 Derek Matthys owned the second ticket to win a bottle of Robert Mondavi Merlot which he generously donated to the speaker today.
 
Thank you John for not only donating wine this month but also putting so much thought into your presentations...
 
(Mary Denton is rethinking her original plan to donate a box of wine for one of the meetings....)
Humor from President Fred
Tax Humor
 
It wasn't a big surprise that President Fred was able to find some interesting and sometimes humorous facts about the IRS and tax code:
There are more words in the tax code than there are in the Bible. The tax code is about 4 million words long.
The first known taxes were in Sumer (Mesopotamia) almost 5,000 years ago. They were recorded on clay cones and paid in livestock.
The writing on the Rosetta Stone, a monumentally important artifact and the key to deciphering ancient Egyptian hieroglyphics, is mostly about taxes.
Al Capone was a famous Chicago mobster. He was eventually brought down by agents from the Treasury Department (this was pre-IRS) who were able to prove that he was avoiding paying income tax. 
The IRS has more people working for it than the Federal Bureau of Investigation!
Over 1 million accountants are hired each year in America to help with taxes.
 
 
National What Day
  • National Proposal Day
  • National Kick Butts Day – a national day of activism that empowers youth to stand out, speak up and seize control against Big Tobacco.
  • Spring Begins
  • National Ravioli Day – many popular recipes either bake or deep fry the ravioli. The toasted ravioli got its start in St Louis, MO around 1940.
  • National Native HIV/AIDS Awareness Day
 
 
This Day in History
  • 1854 – The Republican Party is founded
  • 1934 – Mildred “Babe” Didrikson pitches one inning of exhibition baseball for the Philadelphia Athletics. She allowed one walk and no hits.
  • 1852 - Harriet Beecher Stowe’s anti -slavery novel “Uncle Tom’s Cabin” is published.
 
Pass the Hat today goes to Kinetic Kids.
 
Fines and Confessions
Ken Ruiz' phone went off during the meeting so he owed a fine. Ken shared with us that for 14 long years he decided to not attend Rotary Leadership Institute. Last Saturday at last he attended Part 1!  He encourages members to attend RLI to help themselves grown into better Rotarians and to help build up the Club.  
Brenda Jackson confessed that she is excited about doing some remodeling to her home.
Ken Donoughue continues to be excited about reading at Locke Hill Elementary School's Learning Tree Program.  Marlene Mattox has begun to volunteer her time to reading to the students as well!  
Umbrella Time
Derek Matthys deferred his Umbrella Time this week - he will keep us in suspense with why he was so passionate about owning the umbrella!
 
 
Bruce Shares
The newest feature of our weekly meetings will be info that Bruce Richter will be sharing about the goals for our Club and the many things that the Club does in the community.
 
Bruce shared about the Gold Raffle that is held every year to help benefit students with scholarships.
 
Bruce also touched on the Shrimp Fest, which was a wildly popular event in the 1970's and 80's. It was held at the UTSA campus and was quite an undertaking. It took a lot of planning and manpower and raised a significant amount of money. Wise Club Members at that time used the money to build our local Club's Foundation which is carefully overseen by our Board Members and used to support several non-profits. The club donated a chunk of it to the Rotary International Foundation and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation matched our gift. 
 
Did you know? Find out more about what Rotary International Foundation does by clicking HERE.
"For the 11th consecutive year, The Rotary Foundation has received the highest rating — four stars — from Charity Navigator, (click on link to learn more), an independent evaluator of charities in the U.S."

 
Club Lunch and Business Program
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Our speaker today was Robert Allen, PI, CPS, IIA. Robert has an interesting background: he was born into a military family at Ft. Hood at the beginning the the Vietnam conflict. During his youth he lived in several cities throughout Germany. When his father was stationed at Ft. Sam Houston Robert was able to attend NEISD schools. He spent his senior year in Wiesbaden Germany where he graduated in the top 5%.
Robert served in several private security companies and started an international technology company as well as is an NRA firearms instructor, and a host of other concerns to numerous to mention....currently he works as a corporate forensics investigator, and 2 criminal defence firms. He hires former cops to work in his firm - he looks for individuals who are apt in critical thinking. He works in San Antonio, Austin and Seguin. His work is overseen by the Department of Public Safety and takes an ethics course each year. He is skilled in conflict resolution and tries to minimize danger in many situations.
A book will be donated in honor of our speaker to the Locke Hills Elementary Library.
Thank you Robert and  your interns for taking the time to visit our Club!  Please join us again soon!
    Volunteer Opportunity Learning Tree
    Marlene Mattox and Ken Donoughue donated their time last week to read to second and third grade students at Locke Hill Elementary's After School Enrichment Program, reports Ken. Hours of volunteer opportunity are from 4:10 to 5:00 Monday thru Friday. To find out more about this wonderful program, click HERE.  A background check is required. To become a Mentor or Volunteer complete the background check available on the www.nisd.net website by clicking HERE. Ken commented that,  "From kindergarten to third grade children learn to read and beginning in the fourth grade they read to learn."
    Another Daisy Pantry Delivery!
    Bruce and Gloria Richter were busy once again shopping and delivering supplies to the Daisy Pantry at the Girl Scouts Headquarters. Thanks Bruce and Gloria for always making sure that the pantry is stocked with supplies for people in need!
    Happier Hour
    Happier Hour is now at the Outback Steakhouse - typically the third Thursday of the month. The next one will be Thursday April 18. We're happier with the new venue!
    Coffee Friday
    We will be meeting again at Einstein Bagels at the next Coffee Friday! The bagels are yummy and there is a LOT to choose from!
    This group gave it two thumbs up because: lots of parking, acoustics agreeable to talking, plenty of tables & chairs, service good, food was good....
    Great way to end the week!
    Location: Einstein Bagels on DeZavala
    When: Friday April 12
    Time: 8 a.m.
     
    District 5840 News
    Did you know that there's a full calendar of events in District 5840?  Being an active Rotarian is never boring!
    Don't miss out!  For more information on these and other events going on in District 5840, visit their website HERE!
     
    These are just a few of the things happening around our District:
    The 72nd Poteet Strawberry Festival is April 5 - "This is a fun event!" reports Mary Denton and her husband Pat McGuyer who enjoyed the good food and entertainment. They enjoyed visiting with other Rotarians and Interact Students!
     
    Youth Day at Winston School of SA is April 6 - Mary Denton and her husband were amazed at the accomplishments of the local Interact and Earlyact Clubs and learning about the exciting things these future leaders are doing - while visiting with a family one of the parents of Earlyact Club members even agreed to speak to our club!
     
    March 30 District Leadership Training at the Lexus Dealership at the Dominion. 
    Who should attend: District Officers, Committee Chairs, AG
     
    In the Spotlight:  Our own James Daniel on the District 5840 Communication Team - Social Media.  Thank you James for your work with our District! You are very busy in Rotary and wear many hats - you are Vice President of our Club and served on our Club's Scholarship Committee last year and will again this year and volunteer your time to the community such as the Pancake Supper at MUNSA! We appreciate your patient, steady leadership, and good sense of humor!
     
    April 12   33rd Annual Alamo Heights Night at UIW 
    April 18   Dominion Rotary Foundation Clay Shoot for Hope Fundraiser
    May 3      District Conference at the Embassy Suites on 5618 Landmark Pkwy 
     
    Are You Selling Cruise Raffle Tickets?
    Make a donation to the RI Foundation and you may win a 6-8 night Royal Caribbean Cruise! Raffle Tickets are $10 each and are still available.
    Four Way Test
    Ken Ruiz closed the meeting with the Four Way Test.
     
    As always, President Fred challenged us with this:
    "Bring someone to Rotary Bring a friend to rotary. we all need to eat lunch, why not enjoy it with Rotarians and learn something interesting during one of our programs."