Marfa Rotary Club

Meeting Mintues, April 9, 2008

2008-05-18T15:02:00.000-07:00

Welcome Rotarians and Guests !

After the pledge and the prayer announcements were made.

RECYCLING MARFA....Sandra says that this weekend we will need
volunteers to help at the collection site between 2-4 on Saturday.

VOLUNTEERS NEEDED at the community gardens 4 P.M. this Sunday. We need to
finish painting the sign as well as do some spring planting.

SPRING FLING BINGO was a big success with more than a thousand dollars
cleared. Dr. J. will thank contributors with an ad in the newspaper
this week. Thanks to Johnny,Sandra,Amy,David,Cory,Rachel,and other
members for their contributions.

CINCO DE MAYO / MARFA FILM FESTIVAL Outdoor screenings will take place
May 2 - 5 at the golf course.

After the Five Way Test the meeting adjourned at the sound of
St. Mary's bells.

Meeting Minutes, April 2, 2008

2008-05-18T14:51:00.000-07:00

5:00 at the Tipikiva in the patio of Adobe Moon Restaurant

Welcome Rotarians and Guests

After the pledge and the prayer announcements were made.

We are proud of the sign we put up during the Great Day
of service, but we were not able to complete the painting
of it.

SPRING FLING BINGO IS THIS WEEKEND. We need everyone to
pitch in at 12 o'clock to set up the hall. The City Council
did not give us a waiver or reduction of the rental fee.
David remarked that our appearance and solicitation of a
waiver has caused the council to consider changing the
way they handle waiver requests. Everyone is asked to
turn over the prizes they have collected to Dr. J. so he
can prepare the prize list for the bingo day. Amy will
coordinate the prize groupings.

CINCO DE MAYO FIESTA fundraiser is coming up next.
The group discussed the cascarones, the chicken bingo, the
turtle races, the loteria, and the entertainment.
Pinatas are needed for the pinata party and folkloric
dancers have been hard to line up this late in the year.
Marfa Theater has agreed to present the Battle of Pueblo
re-enactment on the lawn of the courthouse. The fiesta
will start at 6 P.M. and end at 10:00 P.M. because it
is on a Sunday.

Rudy offered his treasurer's review of the Rotary Accounts.
We have to think ahead to the scholarships (1000), the Ryla
awards ($950) and the exchange student fee ($450).

The meeting adjourned with the bells of St. Mary's.

Meeting Minutes, March 26, 2006

2008-05-18T14:35:00.000-07:00

Welcome Rotarians! 5:00 at the Tipikiva in the Adobe
Moon Restaurant Patio
and Guest....David Beebe

After the pledge and prayer announcements were made.

Johnny Calderon announced he will not take over the
Amvets Post as he had thought earlier.

SPRING FLING BINGO is next weekend on Sunday at 1:00
Keep soliciting the prizes we will need.

SYLVIA ZUBIATE has agreed to cook hamburgers for
people at 1:00 and the Bingo will begin at 2:00.

as ROTARY GREAT DAY OF SERVICE this weekend on Saturday.
Meet at the community gardens at 1:00 to plant the
sign and paint it.

CINCO DE MAYO AND MARFA FILM FESTIVAL Marfa Rotary
will take over the hosting of the Cinco de Mayo fiesta
from the Spanish Club of the High School. For the past
two years the festival has been a good fundraiser
according to Dr. J., who was the faculty sponsor of the
club. The current faculty sponsor has no intention to
make this festival happen. Some time was spent discussing
how to create some synergy and coordination between the
Cinco de Mayo and the Marfa Film Festival. Robin and Cory
are enthusiastic about the Cinco de Mayo fiesta.
Frank Cauble of Fort Davis suggested as a supplier
of portable toilets. Cory has a friend that can bring the
cascarones from San Antonio.

At the end of the meeting David announced his intentions to
become a member.

The meeting closed at the sound of the bells of St. Mary's.

Meeting Minutes, March 19, 2008

2008-05-18T14:19:00.000-07:00

5:00 Welcome Rotarians and guest: Sharon Berryman
After the pledge and prayer announcements were made.

SPRING FLING BINGO FUNDRAISER

Community service television channel exposure....Johnny
Newspaper publicity in Big Bend Sentinel...Jon
PSA on KRTS community radio station....Rachel
Need to promote the event with posters around town
at the Chamber
at Pueblo Mkt.
at Food Shark
at El Cheapo Liquor store
at Newspaper office
at KRTS Radio station
at Dairy Queen
at Conchita's Restaurant
at Nutrition Center
at Alice's Restaurant

POSTER CREATION SESSION...While we talk we'll work on
posters, with markers and a model of what the poster
ought to look like. Then we divide the posters among us
for posting around town.

ROTARY GREAT DAY OF SERVICE ....March 29th
Our project is to create a sign for the community
gardens project. Felipe Cordero has an old sign he
will donate. Rotary must buy the paint and get the
sign planted in front of the gardens.

PRIZE SOLICITATION FOR THE SPRING FLING BINGO
The group divided the list of donors from last fall
from the three communities of Marfa, Fort Davis and
Alpine.

The group closed the meeting at the bells of St. Mary's.

MEETING MINUTES (continued) from 3 / 12 / 08

2008-03-16T18:09:00.000-07:00

ANNOUNCEMENTS (continued from previous post)

WRITER IN RESIDENCE:
Mona announced that the International Women's
Foundation will host their first writer in
residence....a Swiss national named
Jim Lojinger.

FILM FESTIVAL:
Robin announced that her Film Festival contacts
in Austin are calling the Marfa Film Festival
on the Cinco de Mayo weekend their "Sister
Festival"

She is working to get "Azul" to perform onstage
that weekend.

PARADE FOR CINCO DE MAYO (SUNDAY)
10 - 15 Volunteers will be needed to help with
the parade. The police department must get on
board and Highland can be blocked for the afternoon
parade.

DONATIONS to the Film Festival:
Can now be made to Marfa Live Arts, a 501C3 org.
(In return,MLA gets a 5% cut of donations)
Please provide a list of people that Robin
could contact for a tax deductible donation.

EXCHANGE STUDENT:
Because of difficulties finding other exchange
student profiles on the district website, Jon
will notify Melissa Metcalf that we will host
Martin Rasmussen if he chooses to come to
spend his exchange year in Marfa.

MEETING MINUTES, March 12, 2008

2008-03-16T15:24:00.000-07:00

WELCOME ROTARIANS, and guests!

ANNOUNCEMENTS:
Mona announced the First Hispanic Art Show to take
place in Building 98 during the Cinco de Mayo
festivities. She will invite Dr. Ricardo Aldana
of San Juanito (see below)to do a showing at this
exhibition.

Jon announced that he will meet Michael Degiglio,
the President of Village Farms next week. Jon hopes
to have an opportunity to propose a stronger community
profile for the company in Marfa.

UPDATES:

SISTER CITY INITIATIVE:

Jon reported that the Sister City initiative of
Marfa Rotary is perfectly aligned with the goals
and strategy of Rotary International, which is
the focus on international understanding, goodwill
and peace.

Our leadership in this arena has been noticed by
the community of Alpine, which is now considering
a sister city relationship in the state of Chihuahua
also.

Jon has written to Sol and Lauro Marquez of the
Noritari Cabins in San Juanito, inviting them to
come to Marfa in April.

Dr. Juan Silveyra of San Juanito visited Marfa
last week and is applying for the position of
Medical Director for the Presidio County Health
Clinics. Much of the credit for this goes to
Rudy Garcia, who met Dr. Silveyra during the
Rotary Club visit to San Juanito, and saw in
him a potential candidate to fill this recently
vacated post.

John and Hilary Slaughter, part-time residents
of Marfa, traveled through San Juanito over
this past weekend and presented a box of
Village Farms tomatoes from the club to Sol and
Lauro during their overnight at the Noritari
Cabins in the high Sierras of Chihuahua.

Jon has made contact with Bea Pierce, who is
part owner of the firetruck that sits on the
Pierce Motors lot in Marfa. He wants to find
out if this truck is working and if it could
be donated to the community of Carichi, a
community situated near to San Juanito, and
whose representatives made an appeal for help
in equipping their firefighters during the
Rotary visit to San Juanito in early February.
Mr. Pierce is communicating our interest to
the co-owners of the truck.

CINCO DE MAYO FUNDRAISER:
Robin told the group that the First Annual
Marfa Film Festival has secured a portable
screen and projection system for the outdoor
screening of movies during the festival.

She has also secured permission from TXDoT
to close the highway on Highland street for four
hours on Sunday evening, May 4. This should
allow more space for vendors.

SPRING FLING BINGO
Everyone is reminded to get busy soliciting
prizes for the event on Sunday, April 6.

MEETING NOTES, March 5, 2008

2008-03-16T14:54:00.000-07:00

WELCOME ROTARIANS !

Amy Allison and Rudy Garcia stood in for
Jon, who was absent from this meeting.

ANNOUNCEMENTS:
Jon will attend PETs (President Elect Training
Session)in Albuquerque this weekend.

FUNDRAISER:
The club worked on assignments for soliciting
prizes for the Spring Fling Bingo on Sunday,
April 6.

TREASURER'S REPORT:
Rudy Garcia presented the monthly Treasurer's
report.

MEETING MINUTES, February 27. 2008

2008-03-16T13:41:00.000-07:00

Welcome Rotarians and
Today's guests:

Martin and Brenda Ross
Alpine Rotary

Our presenter: Graydon Hicks, Principal
Marfa High School

ANNOUNCEMENTS:

SECRETARY NEEDED:
Jon asked members of the club to nominate a
member for the office of Secretary for the
club. His new job will allow him less time
in the future to do many of the secretarial
functions that the club requires so he is
asking for help with these tasks.

Nominations received during today's meeting were:
Amy Allison.........................Declined
Sandra Harper.......................Declined
Rachel Lindsay......................Declined.

Jon repeated his request for nominations from
members of the club.

MUSIC PERFORMANCE:
Rotarian Johnny Caldero and his musical
group will perform at the Marfa Bookstore
this Friday, between 4 and 6 P.M. Everyone
is invited and the event is free to the public.

TRAINWRECK: Martin and Brenda gave the group
an update on the aftermath of the trainwreck
that happened in Alpine just this morning.

ROTARY GREAT DAY OF SERVICE: Jon reminded the
group of this annual event, which happens across
the world this year on Saturday, March 29th.
Options for this day of volunteerism were discussed.
The members decided that building a sign for the
newly named "WAGONWHEEL COMMUNITY GARDEN" is
the project we would most like to participate
in on that day. Members should meet at the Garden
at 1:30 on that Saturday. Oscar has a welder.
Johnny has a sheet of plywood. Poles will be
purchased at McCoy's.

MARIACHIS TO PERFORM:
On May 9th a group of mariachis will perform at
Marfa's Nutrition Center.

UPDATES ON PROJECTS:

ELEMENTARY SCHOOL BEAUTIFICATION PROJECT:
Sandra told members that the brochure for this project
is now complete, and that the funding targets for Phase I
have been achieved. Volunteers will be needed soon. She
will advise the club of developments.

WAGONWHEEL COMMUNITY GARDEN:
Volunteers are needed this Sunday at 1:30 to clear the
grounds and prepare the beds for planting. Jon will
contact Mike Green about his tiller.

FUNDRAISER:
Marfa Rotary's annual Spring Fling Bingo will take place on
Sunday, April 6th. In order to make this fundraiser a success,
the members are being asked to go out into the communities of
Alpine, Marfa and Fort Davis to collect prizes for the Bingo,
which will be moderated by Johnny Calderon at the Amvets Hall.

A request must be made to the City Council in order to get the
Amvets Hall for that date.

PRESENTATION: "Establishing a Positive Peer Culture"
by Graydon Hicks of Marfa High School....

Mr. Hicks made an interesting case for this method of helping
students to make behavior choices that are appropriate. He
showed how important this is to maintaining a proper learning
environment in the school. Harry Vorath is the author of this
method (in the Sixties).Mr. Hicks has worked with the
methodology at the High Frontier school. The approach moves
resonsibility for problem situations to the students by
refocusing on what is happening inside the peer group. Teachers
facilitate student explorations of alternatives available for
the internal management of difficult situations.

The presentation was followed by some discussion and questions.

The group adjourned with the sounding of the bells at St.Mary's.

Meeting Minutes, February 13, 2008

2008-02-20T11:48:00.000-08:00

Welcome Rotarians and Guests

Guests today include:
Chuck Stephenson
A Bellaire Rotarian from SW Houston

Jenni Urbanczyk
of the TillieArts of Marfa Gallery

1.The Marfa School District person proposed to be honored by Marfa Rotary this month is Graydon Hicks. Amy will work to line him up to be our guest at a meeting later this month.

2. Jon Johnson announced his new position with Village Farms as Human Resource Director for the company, which produces greenhouse tomatoes at its facilities near Marfa and Fort Davis. Village Farms has fairly faint profile currently in community giving and participation in community events. An open house day may be proposed for the company.

3. Spring Fling Bingo approaches and in the month of March all members will be asked to solicit prizes from merchants and vendors in the three county area. It’s possible that we can sell hamburgers at this event as an additional fund raising activity.

4. Cinco de Mayo events update….Cory says that contact was made with Dennis Hopper asking him to come to the film festival. Since he was in the movie Giant, it would be a significant return visit in more ways than one. He may also have a gallery showing of his visual art here in Marfa.

Discussion continued regarding the Queen of the Fiesta pageant and dance. It was proposed that these events be moved to 16 September, when there is less going on at the high school and junior high. Johnny will be consulted regarding this idea.

Locating a band or bands to perform onstage at the Festival on Cinco de Mayo was discussed. Jenni talked about hearing a youth band in Fabens. Johnny Calderon is also starting up a band.

The group adjourned at the sounding of the bells of St. Mary's.

January 23 Meeting Minutes

2008-02-13T11:08:00.000-08:00

January 23 Meeting minutes

The meeting came to order at 5:00 in the Tipikiva of Adobe Moon BBQ.

Topics of interest:
1. Sister Cities Initiative….Travel to San Juanito, Chihuahua is planned
for six members of the club. The group will leave Marfa on Superbowl
Sunday (Feb 3) and will spend three nights and two days before
returning on Wednesday, February 6, hopefully in time for the
regular Wednesday afternoon meeting. Travelers include Jon Johnson,
Rudy and Mona Garcia, Sandra Harper and Rachel Lindsey. The group
Is going to represent themselves as citizen diplomats only, and not
as representatives of the club or the community. Therefore, the club
will not be expensed for any of the expenses of this trip, the purpose of
which is purely exploratory.

Joe Duncan of the Paisano Hotel has agreed to host any visiting delegation
from San Juanito with free rooms on any weeknight(s) of any proposed
visit.

2. Cinco de Mayo Festival….Update from Johnny C. The Amvets
Hall is already taken and not available for that Saturday. Johnny will
Talk to Heidi at the Thunderbird about the availability of the Capri
Space for early May. Virginia Lieberman may also need to be contacted.

Other locations were discussed for the dance….If it is held on the street
Then charging for admission would be ruled out. Admission was
proposed to be $5 for princesses, their escorts and families, and $10.
per person for everyone else.

Getting a band that Johnny knows from El Paso would cost the club
$1300 plus they would need rooms to sleep over.

Because High School Students are so busy in May, it was suggested \
That the Fiesta Queen and Princess activities be limited to the Junior
High and Elementary grades. A Princess and an escort would be selected
from each grade level. They and their families would help promote the
festival The dance itself is suggested as more for the adults in the community.

Johnny proposed a cash raffle for $1000. with tickets priced at
One ticket: $5. Ten tickets: $10.

A street fair and parade are still proposed for Sunday, May 4.

3. Cibolo Creek stay Raffle Fundraiser
The club proposes to raise funds through this raffle again this
year. Jon will contact Mr. Poindexter.

The meeting adjourned with the sounding
Of the bells at St. Marys at 6 o’clock.

MEETING MINUTES, JANUARY 16, 2008

2008-01-23T10:39:00.000-08:00

Members welcomed guests: Felicia Martinez……honored teacher this month
Dan Dunlap……….Presentation

Felicia described the most memorable project from her 25 year teaching career:
As the G/T teacher her students proposed and helped design the Marfa Lights
Viewing Center on Highway 90. When asked what she would like to see at
that center now, she said she would like to see more attention paid to the indigenous
flora and fauna of the region, with plantings and information for tourists to read.

ANNOUNCEMENTS:
Club Treasurer, Rudy Garcia will present his report on club finances once a month, probably during the last meeting of each month.

DISCUSSIONS:
1. FOUR ENTRANCEWAYS to Marfa have been discussed before, but this
subject resurfaced during this meeting. The idea of creating an entrance gateway
into Marfa on each of the four main roads into town (90 East, 90 West, 67 South
and 17 North) is one that has much appeal.
Each entrance gate could be different, with sculptural elements created, possibly
expressing the multi-cultural nature of Marfa itself….
Dan Dunlap mentioned that the Chamber was re-doing the signs that welcome
visitors to Marfa.

2. CINCO DE MAYO FESTIVAL:
Johnny Calderon outlined more of his ideas for the Cinco de Mayo weekend, with plans to reserve the AMVETS HALL for that weekend’s Saturday night dance, where
Admission tickets would be sold in advance. NOTE: There is a deposit of $250 that is refunded if the hall is cleaned up after the event. Johnny said burritos and other food could also be sold at the dance.

A Queen of the Festival contest is proposed, with scholarships of $500 for the winner, and $250 for the runner up. Johnny says he will organize the contest, but that contestants might need advances of money to spend on their campaigns. The queen candidates would compete in more ways than just beauty. They would sell tickets to the dance, sell fund raising raffle tickets, have a booth at the Fiesta on Sunday, etc.

Concerns: a. Will Rotary having enough money in the till to advance money to the families of the candidates…..who would receive money and on what terms?
b. Will the candidates be able to work campaigns such as the ones envisioned into their schedules? Several teachers present reminded us that April-May is a very busy time with school prom preparations, sports and other events. Seniors especially are
busy with preparations for graduation.

3. SISTER CITIES INTERNATIONAL INITIATIVE:
A small group of Rotarians will travel to San Juanito to be hosted at the NoriTari Cabins on the lakeshore north of town on February 3 through the 6th. Rotarians going are Jon Johnson, Rudy Garcia, Mona Garcia, Sandra Harper, Rachel Lindsey, and……
There are two other seats in the car, and as of this meeting it was not sure who could be free to take them. Jon said that February 4 being his and Aase’s anniversary, he wanted her to go. That still leaves one seat. Robin Lambaria had said she wanted to go but was not sure she could. Dr. J. will try to reach her.

Rudy reminded the group that we are not representing the community of Marfa at this point, but only ourselves and our club. We should therefore, be careful what we say to the people we meet on this first visit. Our goal is to meet some people who are interested in the Sister Cities idea, and who could conceivably come to Marfa during
the next few months to propose this relationship with Marfa.

4. RECYLING IN MARFA
Dan Dunlap presented together with commentary by Sandra Harper on the initiation of recycling in Marfa. The goals of the program are to reduce the tonnage going to the landfill and to reduce the bill from Duncan Disposal. The city has utilized a grant from the government to create a building, buy a pickup and trailer. They also have a compactor for paper that is used and not running. It’s a 3 phase 220 powered machine, and help is being sought to get it up and running.

Butts Recycling out of San Angelo is providing containers for three kinds of paper….
Office paper, Slick magazine type paper and newspaper. There are also bins being provided for plastic, aluminum and glass. The bins are being placed in Marfa at Texas and Nettle streets, across from Tom’s Appliances. Flyers, e-mails and school visits are planned to educate the public about this effort.

VOLUNTEERS NEEDED-- to jump-start the recycling effort. Please show up at the Golf Course Road City Composting Landfill between 9 A.M and 5 P.M. this Saturday and next Saturday to help sort the paper that is in the large steel containers into the bins that Butts Recycling can pick up. They must have enough material in the bins to pay for the gas expense of coming to Marfa for it. Volunteers are asked to devote at least one hour of their Saturdays to help. John Ortega is the man employed by the city the landfill to supervise the project.

The meeting thanked Dan Dunlap and adjourned under the bells from St. Mary’s.

January 9 Meeting Minutes

2008-01-14T18:45:00.000-08:00

Rotarians gathered in the Tipikiva at 5:00. The group welcomed two guests, Rachel Lindsey was Dr. J's guest and Cory Van Dyke was a guest of Robin Lambaria.

Club business at this meeting included
1. HONOR A TEACHER...It was decided that Rotary would honor Felicia Martinez of the Marfa public school system this month. She is to be invited to next week's meeting.

2. RYLA (Rotary Youth Leadership Awards) were discussed.The plan to
limit the awards to a single gender this year was an effort to save money on transportation expenses for the club. After some discussion, Joe Denham volunteered
to drive one of the students to and from Marfa at his own expense in order to assure that the club could give both a boy and a girl an award this June as was done last year.
The group applauded this decision.

3. SISTER CITY INITIATIVE: Jon has received an answer to his inquiry to Lauro Marquez in the town of San Juanito. Mr. Marquez'letter is highly supportive of the initiative and he states that he is ready to move forward. The group discussed the next step and
made the decision to take a small group of between six and nine people to San Juanito on February 3 through 6 (Sunday through Wednesday of that week). The cost per person should be limited to $200 per person. At this time, Oscar Martinez, Rudy Garcia and Jon Johnson plan to travel by car. Johnny Calderon, Rachel Lindsey and Robin Lambaria may also travel with the group. Jon Johnson will write Mr. Marquez to arrange for lodging and introductions.

4. COMMUNITY GARDENS: The clean up at the Community Gardens went as planned, and Jon proposed that the club consider doing a second project at the gardens. The proposal is to construct a sign that would span the width of the entrance gate.The sign would identify the community gardens and raise awareness of its purpose and function in the community. Jon suggested that the people responsible for the garden's existence be honored by having their names on the sign...the Driess-Harper Community Gardens. Several people offered materials and ideas for the sign, and it was decided not to proceed with the idea until Sandra Harper could be consulted.

5. EXCHANGE STUDENT: The club is waiting until mid month to decide whether or not to press forward in a request for a student from Egypt.

6.SKEET SHOOT FUNDRAISER: This fundraiser is probably going to be set for the month
of August. There are many questions which will have to be answered, and several members agreed to work on researching these questions: Insurance, Money Prizes, Location, Clays, Entry fee.

7.CINCO DE MAYO FESTIVAL:Dr. J. proposed that the Cinco de Mayo festival be sponsored by Rotary this year. It was agreed that this could be a good fundraiser. Johnny Calderon proposed that the club organize a Queen of the Festival contest with several nominations and the winner be the recipient of a money scholarship.
He also suggested that each grade at the school have a representative to the festival. A dance might be organized for Saturday night, with a parade and the festival on Sunday.
More discussion will follow on ideas for this festival.

8.PRESIDENT ELECT for 2008 - 2009. Lacking any other nominations, Dr. Johnson was chosen by club members to a second term as president by acclimation.

The pealing of the bells of St. Mary's Church signaled the end of the meeting.

Community Gardens Service Project

2008-01-06T18:54:00.000-08:00

January 6th:

The small group that came to the gardens between
one and two o'clock on this beautiful, warm Sunday
afternoon included Rudy Garcia with a powerful mower,
Jon Johnson with a trailer and hand tools, Michelle
Kirk and Robin Lambaria with Cory Van Dyke,and Joe
Denham with a get-it-done attitude.The tumbleweeds
were six feet high in places, but the crew worked
steadily for two hours until the corner was clean
and welcoming in appearance. Nice work, everyone!

January 2 Meeting Minutes

2008-01-05T11:58:00.000-08:00

A small group gathered in the Tipikiva for a warm fire
and camaraderie.

ANNOUNCEMENTS AND UPDATES:

1. SISTER CITIES INITIATIVE
Jon reported that Lauro Marquez of the NoriTori cabins in
San Juanito had responded finally to the inquiries Jon had
sent him.
He letter suggests that he is enthusiastic about the Sister
City initiative and ready to help us go to the next step.
We discussed several ways to go forward, the most logical
being to get together a small group of six to nine people\to travel down to San Juanito to start up relationshipand conversations that could lead to a partnership.

The date for the trip to San Juanito will likely be in
February, and it was decided that it should be Rotary
members only at this point. We would leave on a Sunday
and return on a Wednesday. It is expected that we could count
on accomodations being provided, and it was estimated
that each person going should expect to take between $150 - 200
spending money for meals, etc. Also the gas expense would be
between $25- $35 depending upon how many decided to go
on this trip.
Among those at this meeting who were interested in going,
and could get free in February were Jon Johnson, Rudy Garcia,
Robin Lambaria and Johnny Calderon. Johnny was tentative
because he as yet has no passport, and must first obtain an
official birth certificate. He is working on this.

We also talked about finding hotel operators who would be
willing to host members of a delegation to Marfa from San Juanito
at some point in the future. Rudy Garcia offered two room at
the Arcon Inn. Others that need to be contacted are Pat Quinn,
Joe Duncan and Lucy Garcia.

2. COMMUNITY GARDEN CLEAN UP
The group identified this Sunday afternoon as a good time to
clean the perimeter fence around the Community Garden. Rudy
Garcia will bring his tractor mower and Jon Johnson will bring
his trailer. Others are encouraged to bring hand or power tools
and gloves. Jon Johnson will provide trash bags. Everyone is to
meet at 1:30 P.M. at the gardens, which are on first street,
about a block north of the Elementary school.

3. SUPERBOWL TELEVISION RAFFLE
Jon will travel to El Paso this week to talk to Sam's Clubs
about donating a television that the club could raffle for
Super Bowl Sunday.

4. CLUB ELECTION
Due to lack of a quorum, the nominations for President-Elect
for a one year term from July '08 to June, '09 are still
open. Jon will take nominations by phone at 729 - 3109, or
by e-mail at aasejon@gmail.com.

Meeting adjourned at 6:00 under the bells of St. Mary's Church.
See you on Sunday!

December 19 Meeting Minutes

2007-12-19T18:52:00.001-08:00

WELCOME !
Two visitors were hosted at tonight's meeting:
Jon hosted Oscar Martinez and Robin Lambaria hosted Michelle Kirk.
At the end of the meeting both visitors expressed their intentions
to join the club.
This brings our membership up to fourteen, and Jon reminded everyone
of the charge to host new member candidates at any meeting. Our new
city manager, Jim Mustard will join the club after New Year's.

ANNOUNCEMENTS AND UPDATES:

1.NO MEETING NEXT WEEK(December 26)
This is due to the closeness to Christmas. Members were given the
address of this blogsite, and Buck Johnston's contribution was
acknowledged.

2.CLUB PRESIDENT ELECTION:
Two nominations have been received. One
for Amy Allison and the other for Sandra Harper.

During the meeting Amy declined her nomination, citing her previous
tenure and service as an club officer for several years running.
Sandra also declined her nomination, citing her many other
commitments.

Jon has stated his willingness to serve another term, but due to
the lack of a quorum at this meeting, the voting is now delayed
until the January 2nd meeting, and nominations will continue to be
accepted until that meeting. Please e-mail Jon with your nomination
at aasejon@gmail.com, or call him at 729-3109. Amy reminded people
who cannot attend the January meeting to vote by proxy, again by
e-mail or a call.

2. SERVICE OPPORTUNITIES:
Jon explored the possibility of serving
mobility-challenged older adults in our community who may lack the
funds/energy to construct a ramp at their home. His meeting with Sylvia
Zubiate (another Rotary prospect)produced one potential candidate
for this type of service project. His name is Tacho Magallanes.
Johnny and Oscar both know this individual. Discussion included
consideration of the level of his mobility, the type of construction
that might be needed, and the liability incurred by building some-
thing like this. Joe Denham will check into the liability issues
before the club proceeds with any decision.

3.ROTARY EXCHANGE STUDENT / FRIENDS OF MARFA LIBRARY COLLABORATION:
Alice Jennings, president of the "Friends" says that a decision on
the Big Read grant will be made in January. By the end of January
we will know whether or not we want to press for a young person from
Egypt or not. Melissa Metcalf, the inbound exchange coordinator for
our district, wants to know if we would host a student from somewhere
else. If Marfa gets the Big Read grant, we will be sending two Marfans
to Egypt (Cairo alone has five Rotary Clubs) and they can work for
to make the contacts and arrangements for Rotary. So we feel we have
some leverage to bargain with the Rotary coordinators here for flexibility.

4. SISTER CITIES INITIATIVE:
Jon has sent two e-mails (one in Spanish)
to Lauro Marquez in San Juanito, but has received no response to either.
He asked members for ideas. Four ideas were discussed. First, Jon will
re-new his communications with Sandra's acquaintance in Creel, a priest
named David Ungerlei. Second, Jon will try to make contact with Ernesto
Estrada Gonzalez, who was running for Presidente of the Bocoyna Municipio
last summer. Third, Jon will contact Nazario Martinez, who is the Rotary
district governor in the state of Chihuahua.

5.MARFA'S COMMUNITY GARDEN:
Sandra Harper is looking for adults interested in leading and supervising
elementary students in the community garden Just contact Sandra at
farmstandmarfa@gmail.com. The garden also needs piles of leaves for making
leaf mulch. Jon proposed that the club work to improve the outer appearance
of the garden, which at the present time is surrounded by large tumbleweeds.
Mona suggested that we try to go beyond that and cut the weeds in the lot
that surrounds the gardens. Jon will check on using the school's mower for
this purpose. Johnny reminded club members that in projects like this, his
"hundred percent" will not be on a par with younger, more physically
robust members. Joe Denham suggested that the school's National Honor
Society kids may be able to provide some of the volunteer labor.

PROGRAM:
Robin Lambaria presented a short introduction to her initiative, The 1st
annual Marfa Film Festival. She acknowledged that Sul Ross has WestFest,
and suggested that she envisioned a smaller version of the Telluride Film
Festival (Colorado)that would bring many films to Marfa that might not
otherwise be screened, as well as film-makers from across the country to
talk about their work. She has already reserved the Goode Crowley Theater
and other venues in the community. She envisions a parade and a number of
bands coming into town to perform. Celebrating Cinco de Mayo is also part
of her plan, and Jon spoke about his desire to present the festival for the
third time again next year. He wants some of the proceeds to support a
Mexico trip for the at-risk students from the county. He and Robin will
do some planning and report back. Robin told the group about her past
experience leading to her decision to take this on. In this regard she
mentioned a music festival which she was largely responsible for
presenting in San Antonio, and which was successful.

The meeting adjourned to the sounds of the bells from the church and the
snapping flames of the wood fire in the tipikiva.

Merry Christmas, everyone....and Prospero Ano Nuevo!

Club Minutes Dec. 12 (Jon)

2007-12-16T07:40:00.000-08:00

Club Minutes, December 12,07

Sandra,Amy and I welcomed Tana Gutierrez as our guest for the meeting.
Where is everybody else? Is an e-mail or telephone reminder necessary to
help our members remember this meeting?

Announcements:

1. Jon has received a DVD called Humanity in Motion from Rotary International, which is a compilation of the best PSA's (public service announcements) for TV, radio,print, billboards, etc. which might be used to increase public awareness in Marfa.

Suggestion is for Jon to take this to Tom Michaels of KRTS to see what might be done to share the Rotary story with the community.

2.An agenda item for our next meeting is the election of a president for the club.
No names have been received by Jon as nominations this week. Please make nominations to him by e-mail: aasejon@gmail.com. And everyone please plan to come to next week's Dec.19 meeting so we can achieve a quorum.

Business taken up without a quorum:

1. Need to call TXDOT about putting Rotary sign back up on highway east of Marfa.
Jon will do this

2. Exchange Student update....More info needed from Alice Jennings about the timetable for the Big Read. Marfa Rotary can be more assertive about an exchange student from Egypt once we know this grant has been won. Jon will call Alice

3. Discussion about Service opportunity categories....

a. Sandra suggests that English as a Second Language classes are needed. How can Rotary help?
b. Jon suggests that Rotary might build wooden access ramps for older or disabled people around here. Jon will contact Sylvia Zubiate at Senior Center.
c. Sandra is asked about the Teaching Garden....how might Rotary help?
First the garden needs leaves for compost. Oops....most of the leaves have been raked already, but the invitation is to bring leaves to the garden at 1st and Kelly street
Second, the garden needs adults willing to lead children in year-round gardening tasks.
d. Amy suggests that the garden might acquire the high school's greenhouse that was 80% complete and yet has never been finished or used. Amy and Sandra will check into this possibility.

These are some excellent suggestions as action items for moving forward and thank you to the members who came. By the way, the Tipikiva now has a liner around the perimeter and with a fire we were comfortable during the meeting.

See you all on Wednesday the 19th, and Merry Christmas everyone.

Marfa Rotary Online!

2007-12-12T16:36:00.000-08:00

The Marfa Rotary Club is now online.

We encourage anyone interested, to please join us on Wednesdays, 5 - 6 p.m. at the Tipi Kiva just behind Adobe Moon BBQ at the corner of Highway 90 and Abbott.

At our meetings, you can learn more about Rotary's mission and network with other leaders from our community.
The club offers various short-term and long-term volunteer opportunities -- including fundraising for student scholarships, home improvement for disabled and elderly and hosting a foreign exchange student (Rotary has 32,000 Clubs worldwide).

For more information, please email Dr. Jon Johnson, current Club president at aasejon@gmail.com or call 210.410.4880 or 729.3109.