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Notes from the President
Our Programs committee is doing a wonderful job delivering our speakers!
Thank you!
I wanted to give a big thanks to Justin Fuller and those folks that showed up Monday to pass out drinks at the Bell County Youth Fair.
It went really well. We had a great turnout. Here is the list of people that helped out and hopefully I don’t forget anyone.
Justin Fuller
Richard Schneider
Tommy Valle
Al Newby
Danny Dunn
Mark Smith
Vic Gillett
Lance Crews
Thank you!
Early Act First Knight
The Temple Rotary Club is sponsoring the Early Act First Knight Program at Lakewood Elementary School this year. It is an exciting program that teaches children what Rotary is and does. More importantly it is a character training program that includes the Four Way Test.
Below is the Schedule of events at Lakeway Elementary School:
Friday February 19, Lunch Time - Service Meeting
This is a meeting that Rotarians and a handful of children meet to discuss and direct their international and local community service projects.
Friday February 19, 1:00pm - First Knighting Ceremony
Friday March 5, Lunch Time - Service Meeting
Friday March 19, Lunch Time - Service Meeting
Friday April 2, Lunch Time - Service Meeting
Friday April 16, Lunch Time - Service Meeting
Friday May 7, Lunch Time - Service Meeting
Thursday May 20, Second Knighting Ceremony
If you are interested in joining this committee please get with Barbara Bozon. To find out more about this program go to the Early Act First Knight website is www.eafk.org.
Last Weeks Program
Fort Hood – Up Close and Personal 
Well, Rotarian of the Day, J. Brown, struck fear in the hearts of his fellow Rotarians last week when he said that the February 4th program might be the result of a Rotarian picking the “wrong plate.” In fact, J. Brown went from potential Rotarian “Goat of the Day” to “Hero of the Day” thanks to his special guests— III Corps Garrison Commander Col. William V. Hill and Sgt. Boger. Feb. 4th attendees were treated to an excellent presentation by Col. Hill entitled “III Corps and Fort Hood, TX ‘The Great Place.’”
We listeners were struck by Col. Hill’s humility coupled with his unwavering dedication to those over whom he holds command. Col. Hill is a highly decorated soldier who has often placed his life at risk, including serving in Desert Storm. Equally impressive is his message that the Army must see to the needs of soldiers and their families. Col. Hill pointed out that he could not possibly succeed in his mission without being part of a great leadership team.
The Garrison Commander is akin to a mayor and city manager. In this specific case, Col. Hill oversees a broad array of activities at Fort Hood, excluding West Fort Hood. It boggles the mind to consider Col. Hill’s responsibilities which include logistics, military police, public affairs, mobilization services, engineers, legal, etc. Col. Hill succinctly defines his role as follows: “WE EXIST TO SERVE UNIT SOLDIERS AND FAMILIES.”
This mission was the focus of Col. Hill’s presentation.
Col. Hill provided some background information about Fort Hood. One study by Texas Comptroller, Susan Combs, estimated that Fort Hood’s economic impact on Texas in 2007 was about $10.9 billion dollars. There are almost 500,000 people that have a direct and indirect connection to Fort Hood. This number includes service personnel, retirees and contractors. Seventy percent of families live off post. Fort Hood demographics are interesting. Males make up 84% of our soldiers. Women make up 16%. Ninety-four percent of our soldiers have a high school diploma. The racial make up of our Fort Hood Army is a microcosm of our country. Fifty-four percent are married, with 5% married to another soldier. Fifty-three percent of soldiers at the rank of sergeant and below have dependents. Col. Hill noted that when he entered the Army, it was rare for soldiers to be married or have dependents. Now Col. Hill must focus his talents on identifying and implementing ways for the Army to have more of a family focus.
The priorities are the Command Climate, Training and Family First. The phrase Fort Hood leadership uses is “Empowered Leadership at all Levels, Doing What’s Right.” This set of priorities also recognizes that the strength of our nation depends upon the strength of our Army. The strength of our Army depends upon the strength of the family. The stress level on our soldiers is unimaginable, especially in view of multiple deployments and one year on and one year off assignments. However, equally important is the impact of the military families. One Fort Hood response is ARFORGEN (Army Force Generation). This is a complete sequence of training and support for our soldiers stationed at Fort Hood. Our soldiers are prepared for deployment through training. They execute their mission and then return to base. There is a reset process to help reintegrate them into their Fort Hood-based environment.
The fortunes of Fort Hood and the communities of Central Texas are deeply intertwined. Among the Family First Programs initiated by the Army are “Adopt-a-School Programs” and a Math Tutoring Program. Of special note is the Gold Star Family Support Program designed to provide sustained help to military families that have been affected by the loss of a loved one. The Gold Star Program includes counseling services to help survivors. There are grief camps that are a part of the program. There is also a Resiliency Campus designed to help soldiers cope with the stress of military service.
The November 5, 2009 event was a fateful day for all of Central Texas. Col. Hill noted with pride how his team responded to the incident. Within 5 minutes of the incident’s start, the civilian first responders had secured the safety of the soldiers at Fort Hood.
Equally impressive was the response of the Central Texas community to this tragedy. Blood banks were overwhelmed with potential donors. Ordinary people generously donated money to provide support to our military personnel. In fact support came from all over the world.
Col. Hill described how the Army now defines the “Populations At Risk” which include (a) the survivors of those killed on November 5th, (b) the injured persons and their families, (c) those exposed to the act of violence, and (d) the broader community affected by the events. The goal is to stay involved in the lives of these individuals to help them return to as normal a pre-November 5th life as possible. By so doing, the Army will fulfill its mission of keeping that family focus and nurturing our military and their families. Or to put it in the words of Col. Hill, the Army is keeping its commitment to Behavioral Health Campaign. That Campaign involves “III Corps leading the ‘TEAM’ effort to provide comprehensive, long-term support services to meet the physical, emotional, and spiritual needs of the entire Fort Hood community in order to reduce the impact and enhance recovery from the shooting incident, while maintaining mission capability.”
When I first moved to Central Texas I participated in a group visit to Fort Hood. Too much time has passed since that visit. J. Brown encouraged us to visit this great military base. Col. Hill reminded us that access is more restricted since Nov. 5th. A little planning makes more restricted access a minor inconvenience. This is especially true when compared to the opportunity to experience Fort Hood and visit these exceptional Central Texans.
ITEMS OF INTEREST
District 5870 Information
The district newsletter is currently posted on the District Website.
The link to the district newsletter is http://www.rotary5870.com/Newsletter.cfm
Scheduled Programs for December, January & February
Please let me know if you have a program you would like to share
and we will book them.
February 11 - Richard Skopik - TxDot District Engineer
February 18 - Dr. Jim Anderson - Chancellor of Central Texas College
February 25 - B. Gen. Peter Atkinson, Canadian Army
- Deputy III Corp Commander
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