We need members to sign up to work the Richardson Christmas Parade on Saturday, December 5. George McKearin has been sending around a sign-up sheet over the past couple of weeks. We need to fill all the positions for staging and marshaling. For members who have not been at recent lunch meetings, I need you to contact George directly to let him know you can assist. He will be able to answer any questions you may have.
We need members to sign up to work a shift at Santa's Village. There are a number of shifts over the 3 weeks the village is open. Karen Ellis is handling sign-ups. Again, if you have not been at recent meetings, I need you to contact Karen so she can share with you the spots that still need to be filled.
Our Christmas Party is at Mark Denny's house this year on Thursday, December 10. We need to know how many will be attending. George again, has been facilitating the sign-ups. Please contact George to let him know if you will or will not be attending. It is one of our most fun social events of the year. We hope everyone will be able to attend.
Richardson ISD students who spoke in Richardson East Rotary Club's Four-Way Test Speech Contest last week. (l-r) Afif Mazhar, junior from Richardson HS; Ryan Earl, senior at Richardson; Ariel Lopez, sophomore at Berkner HS; Marisol Espinal, senior at Pearce HS; and Thomas Mayer, senior at Pearce. Mazhar won first place in the constest and will represent Richardson East Rotary at the District 5810 speech contest. Lopez finished second and Mayer third. The Four-Way Test was created by Herbert Taylor in the 1930s as an ethical and moral creed for exmployees as he tried to save the floundering Club Aluminum Products Distribution Company from bankruptcy. Rotary International adopted it in 1940. It reads: Is it the Truth? Is it Fair to All Concerned? Does It Build Good Will and Better Friendships? Is It Beneficial to All Concerned?
The latest girls toilet block dedication of the Satya Special School was just completed. The global grant that Woody Alexander was driving from our club under the DG tenure of Ean Sullivan is bearing fruition.
Rotary General Secretary John Hewko and eight RI staff members bicycled in El Tour de Tucson on 21 November. Together, they raised more than $2.9 million for Rotary’s fight to eradicate polio. When matched 2-to-1 by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the funds the team raised will total nearly $9 million. It’s not too late to contribute District Designated Funds to the team. Read more about the ride.
Woody Alexander Honored at the Chamber EDGE Awards
RERC’s Woody Alexander was presented the Rotary Ethics Award at the annual EDGE Awards banquet Nov. 12.
In presenting the award, club President Bruce MacPherson told the assembled group that Woody had always taken on challenging tasks and projects with a servant’s heart.
Bruce described Woody as “always detailed, efficient, compassionate and trustworthy.”
Bruce cited Woody’s 11 years in the Army and 14 more in the Army Reserves before working in banking and financial services as a civilian.
Woody has been the club’s international chair for multiple years, among other club offices he has held. He was the driving force in our club receiving a district grant that was matched by the Rotary Foundation, effectively turning our gift of less than $8,000 into a $90,000 project.
Woody (the gentleman on the right in the photo) has been a club member since 2007.
EDGE stands for the Economic Development, Growth & Expansion initiative of the Richardson Chamber of Commerce. The banquet is a joint effort of the Chamber and Richardson's Rotary clubs.
Chulalongkorn is unique among the six Rotary Peace Centers in packing intensive coursework and field studies into a three-month program aimed at professionals already working in fields related to peace. In its first decade, the center has graduated 355 peace fellows from 69 countries with certificates of professional development. Read more about Chulalongkorn and join a discussion on peace.
Casino Party – Great Fun at a Great Price for Great Causes
The 20th Annual Casino Night is a great entertainment value that also raises funds for a variety of Richardson East Rotary’s community and international projects.
The event is Feb. 5, 2016 at the Richardson Civic Center. A $50 ticket includes a barbecue dinner, drinks and snacks for the evening, entertainment, a “casino bucks” stake to get you started with gambling and the opportunity to bid on a variety of goods and services in our Silent Auction.
Dinner is served at 6:15 p.m. and a fun Heads or Tails game will be organized at the dinner tables at 7 p.m. Gaming starts at 7:15. Arrive early to peruse the Silent Auctions tables before you eat. Tickets are available from any Richardson East Rotary Club member or by calling our ticket chair, D Schieferstein, at 214-906-6427. For a preview of Silent Auction items for the night, click here.
The biggest beneficiaries of the fundraiser are graduating seniors from the Richardson Independent School District, who see the results in the form of college scholarships. The club also contributes in other ways to RISD schools, plus donates to the Rotary Dental Clinic, YMCA, The Counseling Center, the Network of Community Ministries, Richardson Adult Literacy Center and other local and international efforts.
Besides local charities, Richardson East Rotary contributes to Rotary International projects. The signature international project is PolioPlus, an effort launched in 1985 to rid the world of polio. Since the effort’s inception, the crippling disease has been eradicated from dozens of countries. Currently, the polio virus is isolated in two countries and is expected to be eliminated in those by the end of this decade.
Richardson East Rotary also contributes to international clean water projects and the Wheelchair Foundation. Using the partnership between Rotary and the Wheelchair Foundation, the club is responsible for placing more than 1,300 new, sturdy wheelchairs around the world.
The event is run by Rotary volunteers. Costs are kept low so most of the proceeds are given away to club charities.
Dress is party casual. Dinner is served from 6:15-8 p.m., but many patrons arrive at the Civic Center a few minutes early to peruse the Silent Auction items. A fun Heads or Tails game will be organized at 7 p.m. at the dinner tables. Gaming will begin at 7:15 and includes blackjack, craps, roulette and a Texas Hold’em tournament. The Hold’em event requires a second ticket that will be sold at the door.
Silent Auction items come from the generosity of businesses and merchants in the area. For a preview of Silent Auction items, go here. In addition, many businesses buy sponsorships at various levels to help fund the event.
Credit Union of Texas and Fair Lease stepped up this year with a major financial commitment to become Diamond Sponsors of the event.
Hello everyone, I’m sharing information about RISD’s bond planning for 2016. There are several opportunities for you to learn more, ask questions and provide feedback. I want to give a shout-out to Bill Z. and Woody who have already dedicated lots of time, thought and effort into this by serving on a committee.
Superintendent Dr. Kay Waggoner and Deputy Superintendent of Finance Tony Harkleroad along with other senior leadership will be presenting at an Inside RISD session this Thursday, Nov. 19 from 8- 9am in the RISD Administration Building located at 400 S. Greenville Ave. You are welcome to attend to hear an evaluation of potential items for inclusion and further details on the bond planning process. Your input is critical and greatly valued and appreciated. Let me know if you plan to attend this session.
There will also be four public meetings at the high school feeder patterns:
November 30 - Pearce HS Corral - 6:30 p.m.
December 1 - Lake Highlands HS Library - 6:30 p.m.
December 2 - Berkner HS Lecture Hall - 6:30 p.m.
December 8 - Richardson HS Library - 6:30 p.m.
There is also now a dedicated section of our website where info and resources will be housed and updated.
Dear RERC Rotarians, the Small Groups member selection committee has formed the groups for Fall 2015 as you will see below (click more). The purpose of the small groups is to foster camaraderie and make our club stronger. The small group needs to meet once between November 1st and January 15 2016. The meeting can be an activity such as dinner or it can involve going to the theater, do volunteer work or whatever the group decides. The event can be with spouses or not. The group captain (The first person listed for each group) has the responsibility to coordinate and to document the group's activity with pictures and an associated story about the event. In addition to meeting the groups are responsible to create 2 baskets for the Casino Night. The value of each of the baskets should be around $100.
RERC’s Woody Alexander was presented the Rotary Ethics Award at the annual EDGE Awards banquet Nov. 12.
