Club Office
Rotary Club of Galveston
2301 The Strand, Suite
270
Galveston, TX
Phone: 409-763-8688
12:00 Noon each Wednesday,
Fisherman's Wharf
Location: Harborside &
22nd Street
Galveston, TX
See Map!
ROTARY
THE FOUR WAY TEST
of the things we think, say or do:
1. Is it the TRUTH?
2. Is it FAIR to all concerned?
3. Will it build GOOD WILL and
BETTER FRIENDSHIPS?
4. Will it be BENEFICIAL to all
concerned?
THE OBJECT OF ROTARY
The Object of Rotary is to encourage and foster the ideal
of service as a basis of worthy
enterprise and, in particular, to encourage and foster:
FIRST: The development of acquaintance as an opportunity
for service;
SECOND: High ethical standards in business and professions;
the recognition of the worthiness
of all useful occupations, and the dignifying of each
Rotarian’s occupation as an opportunity to
serve society.
THIRD: The application of the ideal of service in each
Rotarian’s personal, business, and
community life;
FOURTH: The advancement of international understanding,
goodwill, and peace through a world fellowship of business
and professional persons united in the ideal of service.
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HIGHLIGHTS
OF THE 2008-2009 YEAR
RI
Theme: Make Dreams Real
The
Rotary Club of Galveston had hoped to make many dreams real
this year; the year, however, became very challenging and
difficult instead. On Saturday, September 13, 2008, Hurricane
Ike hit Galveston fully and left a terrible devastation.
The storm itself was not that strong but the water surge
that came with it (in downtown Galveston between 8 and 10
feet) was ferocious and flooded most of our beautiful island.
Who better than Bets Anderson, a nurse by training, could
have handled the wounds that the hurricane caused to our
Rotary dreams and to the personal lives of so many of our
club members. The meeting on September 10 already had to
be cancelled to allow everyone to prepare fighting the impending
storm, secure their belongings, and then evacuate. The damage
to the island was so severe that Galvestonians were not
allowed to return before Wednesday, September 24. As was
almost every place downtown, our meeting place at Fisherman's
Wharf was heavily damaged as well. In fact, for several
weeks there was nowhere a place to meet. Finally, on October
13, Fish Tales on Seawall Boulevard was ready to accommodate
our first post-Ike meeting. We enjoyed perfect treatment
there through January 28 and then moved back to Fisherman's
Wharf on February 4. The hurricane surge washed away dreams
and many belongings of those who lived in Galveston but
the surge could not wash away the spirit of our club and
the 96th year of our existence still became a very successful
year of Rotary "Service above Self".
Contributing
to that success was the over $33,000.00 that our Club directly
received in generous recovery donations from Rotary Clubs
in Orlando (Florida), Babylon (New York), Wilson (North
Carolina), Dallas (Texas), and our own District 5910 Relief
Fund. The Board decided to give most of that money to the
following non-profit groups in Galveston, who serve the
Galveston community in one or the other way and with whom
members of the Club are affiliated: Gleanings from the Harvest;
The Jesse Tree; The Ball High School Fine Arts Department;
The Children's Center; The Family Service Center; The Galveston
Art League; The Galveston Historical Foundation; The Galveston
Symphony Orchestra; The Grand 1894 Opera House; The Resource
& Crisis Center; The Ronald McDonald House; The Rosenberg
Library; The Salvation Army; The Seaman's Center; and The
Strand Street Theater.
During
her year as president, Bets Anderson was assisted by Ulli
Budelmann, who served as Assistant Governor (not only for
the Galveston Rotary Club but also for the Galveston Island,
Friendswood, and Mainland [formerly La Marque] Rotary Clubs).
More importantly, however, she was assisted by six Officers,
10 Directors, and 40 Club Committees. Bets successful leadership
as president earned her the club's 15th consecutive "Rotary
International Presidential Citation Award for Balanced Club
Achievement".
As
of July 1, 2009, our club had 135 members, 12 members less
than at the beginning of the year (July 1, 2008). The club
welcomed seven new members: Peggy Baldwin (re-instated),
Mary Beth Bassett, Robyn Bushong, Vikki Carpenter, Keith
Gray, Barrett Ingram, and Kelli Kennington. On the other
hand, for a variety of reasons, 14 members are no longer
with us: Bert Bagley, Nelda Engstrom Knapp, William Kyle
Gillespie, Jonathan Hale, Sid Holliday, Jr., Dwayne Jones,
Muppathi (M.K.) Joseph, Donnie Lera, Barbara Lober McGuffey,
John Moon, Beth Shriner, Lesley Sommer, Richard Sutton,
and John Swartwout Jr.. To avoid a confusion for future
historians, two of our current members (for sure merrily)
changed their names: Ruth Finkelstein is now Ruth Suhler
and Elise Ott is now Elise Worthen. It is with greatest
sadness to note that five of our members died during this
past year: Jack Bushong, Edward Futch III, Adrian Levy,
Jr., Jack Miller, and Lee Weber. Together they served Rotary
for 258 years: Jack Bushong was a member of the club for
44 years, Ed Futch for 54 years, Adrian Levy for 58 years,
Jack Miller for 46 years, and Lee Weber for 56 years. Edward
Johnson, a former long-time member, also passed away.
More...click
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