OKC Rotary News

Nov. 5, 2024 | Volume 113 | No. 18
In-Person and Livestreamed from Christian Life Center - St. Luke's Methodist Church | 11:55
Link to the Livestream 11:55am

“The Ministry of Equestrian Elegance”

Billy Smith is the Commissioner of the National Reining Horse Association in Oklahoma City, a worldwide membership organization that celebrates the reining discipline. He has previously held executive positions with the American Paint Horse Association and the American Quarter Horse Association, prior to more than 10 years as a non-fiction writing professor at West Texas A&M University in Canyon, Texas. He has held board positions with the American Horse Council, United States Livestock Genetics Export, Inc. and Tarleton State University Equine Production Advisory Board. READ MORE

Chair of the Day: Scott Blubaugh
Attendance Scanner/Greeters: Sonny Wilkinson, Paul Moore
Registration: John Settle, Evan Walter
Introduction of Guests: Terri Cooper
Invocation/Pledge Leader: Joe Fleckinger
Microphone: Bart Binning, Bobby Mills
Menu: Mixed Green Salad; Roasted Beet Salad; Chicken Marsala; Broccoli Cheddar Soup;
Zucchini and Squash; Roasted Potatoes

club 29 breakfast

Nov. 7, 2024 | 7:00am
Quail Creek Country Club | Wingspan Room
Chairs: Susan McVey, Bud Oehlert
Speaker: Dr. Ronald Grant, Senior Director of Finance for Metro Tech Centers
"Metro Tech's Role in Workforce Development"

reflections

A Civic On Ramp

by
Rachel Hubbard

Having worked in news and as a political observer in Oklahoma for decades, as elections approach, I often get calls from friends and family asking for my thoughts. During the 2020 cycle, a woman I know well pulled me aside in the grocery store. “Rachel, I’m embarrassed,” she said. “I registered to vote years ago. I’ve driven to my polling place multiple times, but I’ve never gone inside.” I tried to keep my mouth from gaping open as this perfectly intelligent woman told me that she hadn’t gone inside because she was nervous that she would be mocked for never voting. She was worried that she would struggle to fill out her ballot, and someone there would know she didn’t know what she was doing.

Rotary is a civic organization. By the nature of our participation, we are civically engaged citizens, but that is not true of our state as a whole.

According to data from the 2022 midterms and the 2022 Harvard Cooperative Election Study, voting and other forms of civic engagement including those described above are lower in Oklahoma than the rest of the country. This includes contacting public officials, attending community meetings, volunteering and making charitable contributions. READ MORE

Announcements

High School Rotarians

The 2024-25 class of High School Rotarians will attend the meeting. High School Rotarians are seniors in high school, and will participate in various community service activities, attend Club 29 meetings and orientation, write essays, and will be recipients of scholarships made possible by the OnePledge.

November 5 Proposed Bylaws Revision Vote

On November 5 at our weekly lunch meeting, a proposed bylaws revision will be put forth to the club for a vote. In completing an annual review to ensure our practices and bylaws are current, a small change is proposed to our existing bylaws as it relates to our election timeline. With our transition to a secure, online voting portal, results for the election are now made available immediately following the close of voting and results can be announced at the first meeting in December, without need to delay and count paper ballots. With that, our board has recommended the update of the language from “On or before the date of the first Rotary Club meeting following December 4th” to “On or before the date of the first Rotary Club meeting in December.” This small change will allow our upcoming election results to be announced at our meeting on December 3 without delay.

Rotary OnePledge - Rotary Bike Barn

=>Online Pledge/Payment Form

Fellow Rotarians:
October 8, 2024, we announced the OnePledge Committee’s selection of Wings Special Needs Community for the Rotary Club of Oklahoma City’s 2024-2025 project.

Founded in 2002 by six families, Wings offers qualify, affordable educational programs for adults with developmental disabilities. Over the past twenty years, Wings has grown from six clients to serving nearly 100 Day Program members on a five-acre leased campus in Edmond. READ MORE

RSVP for Rotarians and their Guests

Memorials

The Rotary Club 29 Foundation accepts gifts honoring loved ones.
A contribution can be made here

November Rotary Magazine for Rotarian Subscribers

It's been nearly two years since a pair of earthquakes tore through Turkey and Syria, killing more than 50,000 people and leaving millions homeless. Within hours of the disaster, Rotary district leaders in Turkey were mapping out a plan that would grow into a multimillion-dollar relief effort. In this issue of Rotary magazine, we visit southern Turkey to see how that relief effort remains for many a path out of the wreckage.

Click here to read your digital copy of the November 2024 issue.

In another of this month's features, you'll read about the Rotarian who is at the center of a statewide drive to eliminate cervical cancer in Alabama, which ranks near the top nationally in both incidence of and mortality from the disease. Isabel Scarinci's determination stems, in part, from her experience as a survivor of another vaccine-preventable disease: polio.

In the Our Clubs section, we check in on the Rotary Club of Mostar, one of the first multiethnic organizations to emerge from that city after the war in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Like the landmark bridge they helped reconstruct, the club remains a symbol of reconciliation and understanding.

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.

Wings of Rotary - 2025 - Deadline Dec. 1, 2024

Each summer, District 5750 sends a team of 10th to 12th graders to District 2520 located in the Miyagi and Iwate prefectures in Japan for approximately two weeks. 2025 Wings of Rotary Information

In taking part of WINGS of Rotary, students learn a new way of living, a great deal about themselves, and maybe even a new language. They will be ambassadors, teaching people they meet about their country, culture, and ideas. Help bring the world closer - and make some good friends in the process.

More than 8,000 young people each year have experiences like these through Rotary Youth Exchanges. It's the opportunity of a lifetime. Do you know any students who would be interested? Contact Keith Oehlert, District 5750 Wings Chair. Application

In the News

If you have good news - honors, awards, new achievements - to share with the club please let us know!

Upcoming Events

November 12, 2024 - Rotary Afterhours - Restaurant 74
December 6, 2024 - Salvation Army Bell Ringing
January 7, 2025 - Winter Party
January 25, 2025 - Pickleball Tournament - Chicken 'n Pickle 10-1
April 23, 2025 - Rotary Club of Okla. City visits Rotary Club of Tulsa

Rotary Club 29 Online Directory
DacDb has a new App 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.

FUTURE PROGRAMS

2024-2025 Program Schedule

Nov. 12 2024 - Drew Edmondson – “Win Some, Lose Some: My Experiences Playing a Great Game”
Nov. 19, 2024- Ricky Dickson, Former CEO, Blue Bell Creameries