West U Rotary Newsletter Week of Dec. 11th (Dec. 08, 2025)

Stephen Smith

Their Last Full Measure

“...that from these honored dead we take increased devotion to that cause for which they gave the last full measure of devotion — that we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain...”
— Abraham Lincoln, Gettysburg Address, 1863

As we gather with family and friends over this Memorial Day weekend, let us pause to remember those who made the ultimate sacrifice in service to our nation. Lincoln’s immortal words at Gettysburg still remind us that freedom is never free and that the sacrifices of our fallen heroes must never be forgotten.

Memorial Day is more than the unofficial start of summer. It is a sacred time of remembrance — a moment to honor those who preserved the liberties we enjoy today through courage, service, and sacrifice. May we carry their memory in our hearts throughout this holiday weekend and beyond.

On the West U Rotary home front, we enjoyed a fascinating presentation from Memorial Assistance Ministries Executive Director David Vassar, who shared the compelling story of MAM’s mission and impact across Houston. Gentlemen, it sounds like a visit to the MAM Heights Thrift Store may be in order for stylish bargains that also support a truly worthy cause.

We were also proud to present one of our longest-running community service partners, Challenger Baseball, with a “Big Check” to help fund new rolling shutters for the concession stand. Those of you who volunteer with the program know how badly these improvements are needed. Special thanks go to our own John Barnes and West U City staff member Jill Hoard for their outstanding efforts in promoting and sustaining this incredibly worthwhile program.

There was also plenty of good news to share from Davis Radford, John Collier, Steven Vaughn, and others who returned from memorable travels and remarkable encounters near and far over the past few weeks.

That’s all for now. Hope you enjoyed the long holiday weekend, and don’t forget to retrieve your DRY flags later this week. Our next meeting will be June 4 when fearless leader Bentley Sanford returns to the helm.

Yours in Rotary Service,
Stephen

Last Week's Breakfast Meeting

Great week of updates on all the amazing things our club is doing!

RAH Last Week Loved Their New Roost at OWL Bar!

Rotary After Hours had a fantastic meet up last Thursday evening at OWL Bar. The new start time of 6pm and location change worked great!

We had an amazing turn out, and there was a mini-update from the morning's session. This interactive crew had a fantastic time together with many staying until 8pm and sharing food and spirits. We're excited about this companion club and look forward to more great meet ups. If you plan to attend, keep in mind that the area is popular and parking can be a challenge, so arrive a little early for opening bell.

Jim D. did his classification talk, and had us all fascinated sharing his favorite vocational rabbit hole: Zoning & Historic Preservation. Everyone learned something new and useful.

Hito's Houston Adventures

Hitomi is making excellent use of her holiday time and practicing the giving spirit. She was recently spotted visiting with Santa and volunteering with Second Servings. Thank you again to Kim & Jay for hosting Hito in this interim period and showing what true holiday hospitality is all about.

West U Rotary Community Services Committee Update

Thank you Ralph for the Community Services Committee update! For any who couldn't attend this week's meetings, get caught up below-

Bagel Program to Star of Hope – Wally reports that we could use more volunteers.

Blood Drive – Ralph is trying to schedule dates for our semi-annual blood drive

Second Servings Pop -up Grocery – Pop up grocery event scheduled for 1/23/26 at MD Anderson (Cavalcade) YMCA

Camp for All/Easter Seals – Nothing to report

Lamar High School Scholarships – Program will gear up in spring 2026

YMCA Club Mid Afterschool Program- Carol reports that Weekly YMCA is working to combine YMCA program and Pershing Middle School programs offering tutoring and sports activities for middle school students. WURC financial assistance makes the programs affordable.

Kinetic Kids – Craig reports that the calendar is being finalized and will provide some volunteer opportunities in the current school semester and near the end of the year for holiday party

West U Challenger Baseball – Challenger Baseball in the spring. John reports that games haven’t yet been scheduled

City of West University Place – July 4th, volunteer at Senior’s luncheons
Buffalo Bayou Cleanup – Will schedule an event for the 2nd quarter. Would like to increase participation.

Community Family Center (CFC) – A new initiative. CFC is a community based social and educational services organization in Houston’s east end. Bently Sanford is a member of their advisory board. Ralph is coordinating a volunteer opportunity for 2nd Quarter that would be similar to a popup grocery.

Holiday Haircuts with Santa!

WURC Foundation project at Columbia Tap Trail update

Were you able to attend our breakfast meeting a few weeks back and hear from Chris Canetti, FIFA World Cup 26 (FWC26) Houston Host Committee President? If you did, you may recall in his introduction by club member Kimberly P-N the mention of an interesting tie-in with one of our WURC Foundation donation projects at the Columbia Tap Trail. A reminder that we are indeed part of something way bigger.

For a quick refresher: WURC Foundation was the first to collaborate with Friends of Columbia Tap (local non-profit) to commit funds to the proposed Kirk Jackson Memorial Farmer's Market Pavilion at the Blodgett node of the Columbia Tap Trail. Our club's commitment inspired architecture firm Perkins&Will to donate the design for the pavilion (images and plan below) to facilitate fundraising for the permitting and construction of the project. Because of these two commitments, Kimberly (in her role as FWC26 Green Corridors Columbia Tap Trail lead) was able to convince the host committee and major sponsor AirB&B to announce their further commitment to investing in the CTT at the Blodgett node this past week. While AirB&B's investment won't go to the pavilion itself, it is supporting the planting of an edible forest and pollinator gardens around the area of the proposed pavilion and along the 4 mile length of the trail. It also gave this node, and the new awareness and fundraising signage (with our and other sponsor logos) the ability to be featured in last week's press event. Link to the formal press release here: FWC26 PR

We'll be sure to keep WURC updated as the Kirk Jackson Memorial Farmer's Market Pavilion at the Blodgett node of the Columbia Tap Trail raises more funds. Thank you again, WURC Foundation and all of our club's members for helping to make the world a better place, both across the world and right here in Houston.