I want to thank all Rotarians who made contributions to the fight to eradicate Polio in October.  So many of you participated in events to raise funds and awareness about our efforts as Rotarians to eradicate Polio and it truly means a lot!  November is Rotary Foundation Month.  This month is dedicated to promoting awareness, engagement, and support for The Rotary Foundation.

Join us for an informative public image training on Tuesday, November 19th on Zoom at 6PM focused on the latest ClubRunner features! This session will cover essential updates and improvements, along with a hands-on demonstration of the new Cloud Events feature, designed to streamline club event management. We’ll also introduce ClubRunner Nova, the latest evolution of the platform, showcasing its enhanced user interface, powerful customization options, and new tools tailored to make club management easier.

We have received the final report from RI showing results of our World Polio Day Challenge on October 24, 2024. Together, we raised $5,125 to help eradicate Polio! THANK YOU for your commitment to END POLIO!

Rotary Club of San Antonio Pearl and friends came out to help distribute bag lunches to 168 people with Under The Bridge Inc. Members of Rotary Club of San Antonio South joined us while members of the Rebecca Court #2 and Moussa Court 119 donated funds and supplies to make this service project another roaring success.

The James Madison High School Interact Club volunteered to unload pumpkins for St. Margaret's Episcopal Church and School's "Most Sincere Pumpkin Patch" on Saturday, October 12, 2024, in San Antonio. Mrs. Downen's hardy crew and other Madison Mavericks helped unload 1,800 pumpkins.

On October 10, 2024, San Antonio Airport Rotary Club members Kim Munoz and Pete Siegel presented English dictionaries to the 3rd grade classes at San Antonio's Northeast Independent School District's Serna Elementary School. The school mascot is a seal, the pinniped variety, not the US Navy variety.

On Tuesday, October 15th the Jourdanton Rotary made their annual trip to Jourdanton ISD to deliver dictionaries to third graders and constitutions to eight graders. 

More than 100 community volunteers helped San Marcos Rotary sponsor a Rise Against Hunger event on October 19. In just over 90 minutes the volunteers bagged and boxed almost 15,000 packets, each of which serves six meals.

San Marcos, TX, October 22, 2024—The Rotary Club of San Marcos and the Texas State University Rotaract Club have partnered to sponsor a free workshop to help area residents recognize and curtail human trafficking activities. The event will be hosted by San Marcos CISD on Monday, November 11 from 7 to 8:30 p.m. at Owen Goodnight Middle School Auditorium, 1301 State Highway 123, San Marcos.

On October 15 three members from the Rotary Club of Acuna A.C. gave a presentation to the Boerne Sunrise Rotary Club regarding the annual Crayola Project. This marks the 20 year anniversary of this joint program which provides elementary school students with much needed school supplies.

Fredericksburg Nimitz Rotary partnered with Texas Heritage Vineyard for the quarterly Vino and Bingo for a Cause event. The Nimitz Rotary provides food and raffles gift baskets for these events and Texas Heritage donates all proceeds from the sale of bingo cards

The 11th Annual Golf Classic held at Fair Oaks Ranch Country Club on October 9th was a huge hit! Over 30 club members and several spouses raised revenue in record sponsorships and auction sales. We had record player participation too! Our only fundraiser of the year will provide needed assistance to help change the lives of youth and adults throughout the Fair Oaks Ranch/Boerne areas and around the world.

There were several World Polio Day events held by clubs in our district. The intent of these events is to bring awareness of Polio and to raise funds to help eradicate this terrible virus. Currently, there are only three places in the world where polio cases remain. Polio is still active in Afghanistan, Pakistan, and more recently in the Gaza Strip. 

All three Rotary clubs in Fredericksburg got together for a Pints for Polio event held at Alstadt Brewery. Fredericksburg Rotary Club (noon club) president Ken Esten Cooke updates the group on his club's activities.

On Saturday, October 26, the Winston School Interact Club with the supervision of Interact District Chair and Interact sponsor Mike Canales assisted 10 children and their mothers from Acuna for a fun day at Morgan’s Wonderland. Of the children who attended the park, three have down syndrome, three had just completed their final treatment for leukemia, and the remaining had challenges with gross motor activities.

Rotarians from the RC of San Antonio Oak Hills volunteered to supply and cook 180 plates of bacon and pancakes. This benefit helps students involved in Model United Nations San Antonio (MUNSA) at the International School of Americas (ISA) to fundraise for competition travel. Some students are also in Interact and are a great service to the community and internationally. 

Pete Siegel, Airport Rotary Club member, is the District 5840 Coordination for the International Fellowship of Scouting Rotarians. http://scoutingrotarians.org/ (IFSR). The fellowship has recognition certificates for the Girl Scout Gold award, the BSA Eagle Scout rank, The Venturing Summit award, and the Sea Scout Quartermaster Award.

The Rotary Club is delighted to announce a generous donation made by our Youth Director, Rachel Beavan. On behalf of Del Rio Rotary Club, Rachel presented a $500 contribution to support the All Kids Bike Program to be used at Garfield Elementary. 

On Sunday, October 27th members of the Jourdanton Rotary Club met at Argent Court for some fun cookie decorating!

Thanks to Fellow Rotarian Don Williams, he was able to get a donation from Unifirst for soap dispensers and soap for the elementary schools in Cd. Acuna. This project will help in ensuring kids are safe of germs and bacteria.

On October 29, 2024, the Guadalupe County Commissioners Court issued a proclamation recognizing October 24, 2024, as World Polio Day. The proclamation cited Rotary International as being instrumental in establishing a global polio eradication program that has reduced worldwide polio cases by 99% and continues to work toward complete eradication.

Rotary District Governor Kristen Salazar presented a Citation to the Rotary Club of Boerne for its many accomplishments and achieving its goals in the 2023-24 year. Receiving the award on behalf of all the members was Joe Anzollitto, club president for 2023-2024 and Susie Smith, current president. Thus, the photo is of the whole club in attendance last week since the members are the backbone of the club and its ability to accomplish so much. 

Fair Oaks Ranch Rotarians checked in Classic Cars and drivers at the Annual Car Show & Music Event held in Fair Oaks Ranch. The gathering brought the young and old together to build friendships and connections. 

Lieutenant General Darrell D. Jones, USAF (Ret) the President and Chief Executive Officer of Blue Skies of Texas, became an Honoray Rotarian at the Rotary Club of San Antonio West meeting Tuesday, October 15, 2024. Blue Skies of Texas is the top-rated continuing care retirement community with two campuses in San Antonio.