Home Page | Rotary Club of West U (Houston)

Tree Planting @ Willow Water Hole 2.0

For the second consecutive year our club joined with other clubs, Xavier Academy and even some Girl Scouts to install trees along the Willow Water Hole. Trees for Houston supplied the trees, some supplies and instructions and we helped with the installation. Thanks to everyone who gave up some time on a Saturday morning to come out and do or support this physically demanding work.

L-R: Clyde Hays, Terry LeFebvre, George Adams and Jane Richardson

Steven Vaughan along with son and daughter and Girl Scouts

View of some teams installing trees.

Operation Love Third Ward Says Thanks

In December, WURC, led by Frank Parrilla, partnered with The Oikos Ministries Communities' on their "Operation Love Third Ward Celebration" to provide toys and clothing for Blackshear Elementary School families.

On January 10th, Howard Thomas from The Oikos Ministries presented Frank (and the club) a Certificate of Appreciation for our help and donations. Thanks to all who participated in the event, donated toys, clothes or funds. You brightened the holidays for many children and families.

Even MORE Paul Harris Fellows Pinned

Rick Spencer has been parsing out the Paul Harris Fellow pins that have accumulated over the last few months and on Thursday, January 10, he awarded two more. Congratulations and THANK YOU to the latest PHF, Paul Cornett and Jim Dougherty. It's stunning the level of giving in our club, evidenced here, and our place as #1 in giving in the District!

Thank You Paul Harris Fellows

Rick Spencer had the happy task of awarding more Paul Harris Fellow pins at the January 3rd meeting. PHF either donate or are allocated points from donations to The Rotary Foundation at the $1000 level in a given year.

The latest batch of recipients are (as pictured) Jack Wallace, Steven Vaughan, John Thornton, Bob Owen, Jim Waters, Jack Hardin, Carol Gradziel and Bentley Sanford. Thank you all for your consistent generosity to TRF.

Club Wins Awards for Generosity

On December 20 PDG Bill Palko came to personally present awards to Past President George Adams for club generosity in 2017-18. George received 5 awards/citations. They are:

#1 Total giving to Rotary Foundation Annual Fund

#1 Per capita giving to RIF AF

#3 Total giving to Polio Plus

Presidential Citation from 2017-18 RI Prez Ian Riseley (meaning we met many requirements in many areas)

Recognition/Thank You from RI for End Polio Now giving

More awards than hands available to hold! Congrats to George and club!

Last Social of the Year 2018!

Posted by Margarita Hernandez

... and the last social of the year on Christmas Eve, our traditional Happy Hour at The Owl Bar. Great turnout, great people. Thanks again to Russell Schulze and his son for hosting our West U traditional Happy Hour.

Cecile Leads Home Repair Project

Cecile Schutter had a friend who needed some help around her property and recruited other club members to help her help her friend. Thanks to all who came out to do the hard and dirty work for Miss Carolyn.

L-R: Kevin (friend of Mike's), Mike Melton from Sharpstown Rotary, Clyde Hays, Bob Owen, Paul Ralph, AJ Karian, Cecile Schutter, Miss Carolyn (the homeowner).

Not pictured: George Adams and Brennan Reilly.

Congrats to Craig & Terry

Our club is full of superstars doing big and important work for the world, our community and Rotary. Two recent examples are Craig Friou becoming the club's latest Major Donor, meaning total contributions to Rotary to date exceed $10,000, and Terry Ziegler, who recently was selected as an Endowment/Major Gift Advisor for Rotary Region 26 (basically Texas) for 2019-2020. This will be the first time a non-Past District Governor has been selected for this role.

These guys exemplify the Rotary spirit of generosity and service.

Craig Friou, Major Donor

PDG Suzi Howe announcing Terry Z's appointment to the club. Excellent choice.

Holiday Party A Hit!

The halls and people were decked out on Tuesday night for the annual club holiday party. Thanks to Suzanne Diecks and Leslie Cauffman for organizing this wonderful party. Thanks to the Brevards for manning the check-in table. The musician and the entertainment put everyone in the mood for the holidays. See the photo album for more photos.

The Twelve Days of Christmas performed by the WURC choir!

Serena, Irene, Essi, and Martina and Peter Dorn share glad tidings.

Eight maids a milking, kinda.

UH Service Scholarship Winner Named

Every year our club selects a college student who performs an almost unbelievable amount of service even as they pursue their degree. This year's winner from the University of Houston is Lida Hedayatpour. She received a check for $3000 from our foundation to continue her studies. She models our own Rotary motto, "Service above self". Congratulations, Lida!

Thank you, Honey Leveen, for leading this effort after Clarence Miller resigned after years leading this project. And thank you to Dr. Jan Durrani, who will take over from Honey who is moving to sunny Florida next year.

L-R; Dr. Jan Durrani, Hannah Barker (UH honors college development officer), Amy Leggio, Exec Dir Development, Lida Hedayatpour (scholarship recipient), and Honey Leveen.

Human Trafficking Help For Victims

One of the ways to help victims of human trafficking is providing emergency items immediately after rescuing. Rotarians from across the district came out to A Second Cup to create "Go Bags" containing essential items for police to give to victims. Partners included Freedom Alliance Church, United Against Human Trafficking, and E.S.S.I. (Empower, Stand, Serve, Inspire). Consider joining in future projects addressing this gigantic problem located right in our home town.

Hearing the horrible facts about Houston's part in this.

Loading bags with items and encouragement.

Consider getting involved in our club's efforts by contacting Essi Kwabi.

Feeding Over 200 Families for Thanksgiving

We continue to collaborate with The Fulfillment Project of The Word Church in NW Houston. For the second year in a row, we helped provide over 200 turkeys and bags of food for families in the area. Thanks to all who came out to help.

And thanks to Nate Simon, Christine and Celestine Kwabi for their help, too!

Future Rotarians for sure!

Club Earns Top Awards

The club was recently recognized at the District Seminar for being a leader in generosity. Our club received the following awards for our 2017-2018 giving:

#1 in Total Giving to the Annual Fund of The Rotary Foundation

#1 in Per Capita Giving to the Annual Fund

#3 in Total Giving to Polio Plus

Thanks to everyone for making this possible.

L-R: President Clyde Hays, PE Stacy Brevard, Vice Pres. Gerard Simon

Welcome New Members Liz & Irene

We are pleased to welcome Liz Wilder and Irene Sadkowski to the club this week! Thanks, too, to sponsors and mentors who promote Rotary and mentor new members. Invite your friends and people you meet to one of our meetings. We can do more when we are more.

L-R: President Clyde Hays, sponsor Wendy Hiester, Liz Wilder, mentor Carol Lester, Irene Sadkowski, membership chair Stacy Brevard.

20,736 Meals in 4 Hours

Along with Rotarians from all over D5890, members helped package 20,736 meals for shipping to Colombia for Venezuelan refugees. Thanks to everyone who came out to our Rise Against Hunger event on Saturday, Oct. 27th. Thank you, Jack Wallace and Paul Ralph, for coordinating this event.

For more photos, go to Photo Albums on this site.

Focus on Human Trafficking

Human trafficking is a worldwide problem, but also a BIG problem in Houston. Our member Essi Kwabi has decided to focus on this problem by joining with United Against Human Trafficking (UAHT) and host her own event in January in support of them. On Thursday, October 25, we made a donation to Nathanial Arneson, Community Liaison with UAHT, of $1500 towards those efforts. For more info on how you can get involved email Essi at essi.kwabi@freiheitsolutions.com

L-R: President Clyde Hays, Nathaniel Arneson, Margarita Hernandez, Kimberly Phipps-Nichol, Essi Kwabi

Visiting Have Shears Will Travel

Posted by Cecile Schutter on Oct 26, 2018

After our club meeting, six members visited the Have Shears Will Travel RV at Sobriety Matters. Pictured are Matt, the RV driver & barber for HSWT, Margarita, Oneida, stylist, AJ (Ara), Lisa and Serena. George taking the picture and I am seated pretending to get a cut. We talked with Matt and Oneida on what they do everyday, visiting 25 different venues each month and giving haircuts and shaves to about 500 men, women and children who cannot afford them. This is an amazing charity and the work and drive of Barbara Goodson (founder) and Matt and Oneida comes deep from the heart in Enhancing the Dignity of Every Client, because a salon is not an option for everyone.

Please learn more at www.haveshearswilltravel.org and while you are there, please consider a contribution to keep this wonderful charity going.

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Celebrating 24 Years of Service to the Community and World.

2017-18 Rotary Foundation donations: #1 Total Giving, #1 Per Member Giving, #3 Giving - PolioPlus

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