October ended with a More Delightful than Frightful District Service Project at Morgan’s Wonderland where we had at least 13 Rotary Clubs, 2 Interact Clubs, and 1 Rotaract Club all participating in distributing candy. I’d like to thank these clubs for spending their Halloween providing fellowship and service while bringing joy to the children of our San Antonio Community.
I continued my DG visits this month with my first one taking place at the annual Wurstfest grounds in New Braunfels, TX. The RC of New Braunfels had me serving Potato Cakes and the RC of New Braunfels Downtown had me serving Wurst-n-taschen. I truly enjoyed visiting with all the club members and their families that helped volunteer during my shifts. Thank you AG Andrew for coordinating such a wonderful DG visit experience. Another joint club DG visit with RC of San Antonio Sunrise, Northwest, Oak Hills, and Stone Oak resulted in a wonderful evening of fellowship between all the Rotary Clubs. Thank you AG Rosie and President Mike Specia for hosting.
D5840 held its annual District Interact Conference at Winston School as part of World Interact Week. A total of 11 Interact clubs from D5840 attended with full support from sponsoring Rotary Clubs and our District Interact Chair Mike Canales. I had the honor of inducting our newest Frio County Interact Club and had a special lunch with all the Interact Club Presidents. Our youth have had such extraordinary challenges and I’m always impressed at how Interact helps them navigate these challenges with their ability to embrace service above self.
I also had the opportunity to represent D5840 at our 1st annual Bi-District International Conference in Del Rio, TX. Two countries and two District Governors signed a Certificate of Fellowship between Rotary Clubs. Growing up in a border city speaking Spanish made this Rotary experience even better for me. We got to hear about all the impactful service projects D4110 has been doing and would like to continue doing with help from our D5840 clubs. Thank you Gloria Wilson, our District International Service Chair and President Mike Coplan for hosting this special event.
Finally, I need to acknowledge that November is Rotary Foundation month. It’s a month where Rotary Clubs have Foundation dinners to raise money or invite speakers to educate members about our Foundation during their weekly meetings. We use this month to encourage Foundation giving and recognize those members that have given significant dollars to our Foundation as Paul Harris Fellows or Major Donors. This year I challenged D5840 to participate in Giving Tuesday. Each member was encouraged to make a $25 donation to the Annual Fund on November 28. Club with the most member participation will win $1000. Winner will be announced soon.
December will bring us to the middle of this Rotary year. We still have plenty of good work to accomplish as we continue to #CreateHopeInTheWorld.