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OKC Rotary News
April 29, 2025 | Volume 113 | No. 41
In-Person and Livestreamed from Christian Life Center - St. Luke's Methodist Church | 11:55
Livestream Available 11:55am
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Parks of Okla. City: A History
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| Bob Blackburn, PhD, is the author or co-author of twenty-eight books—including A History of the State Fair of Oklahoma, Sonic: The History of America’s Drive-In, and Love’s: Fifty Years of a Family Enterprise—which tell the stories of some of Oklahoma’s most iconic institutions. After completing his doctorate in history at Oklahoma State University, Blackburn joined the Oklahoma Historical Society, where he served for forty-two years as editor, deputy director, and executive director. Among his greatest achievements was planning, building, and managing the Oklahoma History Center, which opened new opportunities to collect, preserve, and share the story of his native state.
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Chair of the Day: Liz Eickman
Invocation: Kelly Kay
Introduction of Guests: Mary Jane Calvey
Welcome New Rotarian Table: Dawn Byram
Scanners/ Greeters: Kristin Killgore, Paul Moore
Registration: Dub Peace, Charlie Price
Roving Microphone: Ellen Fleming, David Battles
Menu: House Salad; Watermelon Salad; Roasted Mixed Vegetable; Wild Rice; Parmesan Crusted Tilapia; Beef Tenderloin
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Club 29 Breakfast May 1, 2025
Quail Creek Country Club | 7:00am | Wingspan Room
Chairs: Susan McVey, Bud Oehlert
Speaker: Alex Corbett, Independent Insurance Agent, Alcor Insurance LLC, “Medicare Clarified.”
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| In the News
If you have good news - honors, awards, new achievements - to share with the club, please let us know!
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The Enduring Power of Rotary Connections
by Lauren Branch
In 2016, some of our fellow Rotarians, including my husband, Doug, and I had the honor of hosting a group of attorneys from Azerbaijan through the Open World program. Doug and I hosted a young human rights attorney named Samed, and from the moment he arrived in our home, it was clear we were meeting someone extraordinary. He was deeply engaged in human rights work in his home country—passionate, articulate, and unflinchingly dedicated to justice. Over the course of a week, we spent our evenings immersed in conversation about law, liberty, and the courage it takes to stand up for others in the face of adversity.
What we couldn’t have known then was how lasting and significant that Rotary connection would be.
Recently, nearly a decade after his visit, Samed reached out to me. His message was heartfelt and humble. He shared that, due to ongoing political repression in Azerbaijan—part of a broader crackdown on activists—he had been forced to flee the country. Now in Strasbourg, France, he is seeking asylum and trying to rebuild his life from the ground up. With his funding for human rights work cut off, he is struggling to find local support.
And yet, amid all the uncertainty, Samed remembered Rotary. He remembered the hospitality, the conversations, and the shared values. He remembered that someone across the ocean had once welcomed him into their home—not just as a guest, but as part of a global family. And so, with great humility and courage, he reached out to ask for help.
His message moved me deeply—not just because of his circumstances, but because it reminded me why Rotary matters. In a world that often feels fragmented and uncertain, Rotary builds bridges. We create connections rooted in service, in mutual respect, and in a shared belief in the dignity and worth of every person. And sometimes, those connections become lifelines.
Rotary is often most visible in the service projects we support—clean water initiatives, youth exchange programs, literacy efforts, disaster relief. But its impact goes far beyond what can be measured on paper. It lives in the relationships we form, the values we embody, and the trust we build. It lives in moments like this, when a man fleeing persecution remembers a Rotary connection from years ago and believes, even in hardship, that he is not alone. READ MORE
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Congressional Office for International Leadership - Open World - Guests
Judges from Mongolia will be guests at the April 29 luncheon. They will be hosted by Rotarians through May 3.
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April 2025 - Rotary Magazine - for Rotarian Subscribers
It may not seem like much, but our habit of tossing out a mushy tomato here and a stale bread slice there adds up to sizeable dollar losses and environmental costs. A third of all food sold in the U.S. goes to waste, and about half of all wasted food comes from our homes. In this issue of Rotary magazine, we look at the real reasons we still trash so much food and what it will take to stop.
Click here to read your digital copy of the April 2025 issue.
In another feature to mark Rotary’s Environmental Month, we bring you the work of a Rotarian and polar photographer on a mission to capture the beauty and fragility of a warming world. That fragility was on display earlier this year in the Los Angeles wildfires. In the Our World section, read about the Rotary members helping neighbors there even after suffering their own losses.
Finally, in the “Where are they now?” story, we catch up with a former Rotary Scholar working on the front lines of climate change in the Solomon Islands.
Prefer to listen? Check out the Rotary Voices podcast for audio versions of the magazine's best storytelling, along with full episodes featuring bonus interviews
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| =>Accounting Email Change - Statements were emailed April 1 - after 2:00
On July 1, 2024 the Rotary Club of Oklahoma City updated our accounting software to QuickBooks Online. With this change, the email address that sends your statements has been updated to:
quickbooks@notification.intuit.com
Please add the above email address to your safe senders list and check your spam/junk folders for communications from our Rotary office. Quarterly statements were emailed and we appreciate your assistance to ensure timely payment.
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| Memorials
The Rotary Club 29 Foundation accepts gifts honoring loved ones.
A contribution can be made here
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| Rotary Club 29 Online Directory - App is in the App/Play store
Rotary Club 29 has an online membership directory which contains current content information for all club members. The link to access the Club 29 directory can be found at the top of the home page of okcrotary.club or by clicking here.
OKC Rotary has provided this tool as a convenience to help members stay in touch with one another. The online directory, just like the printed roster, should only be used for Rotary purposes. If you need help in accessing the directory, please email the office.
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FUTURE PROGRAMS
May 6, 2025 -
Hart Brown, Future Point of View – “AI, Ethics, and the Future of Business”
May 13, 2025 -
Joseph Thai, Glenn R. Watson Centennial Chair in Law, OU Law – “An Obscure Judge and His Remarkable Habit”
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attendance & MEMBERSHIP
Attendance
April 22, 2025 - In-Person, Online, Makeups: 223
Total Present & Makeup: 40%
Membership: April 22, 2025 - 575
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Upcoming Events
April 25, 2025 - May 3, 2025 - COIL Open World - Judges from Mongolia
May 13, 2025 - Rotary AfterHours
June 10, 2025 - Rotary Car Show
July 1, 2025 - Rotary Inaugural
July 29, 2025 - Vocational Tour Day
January 31. 2026 - Pickleball Tournament
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| Visit These Advertisers' Websites
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