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Notes from the President
 
Last week we were honored to give Tommy Diserens and Rosy Jones
Teacher of the month awards.
Also, last week we gave out quite a few Paul Harris Awards.
  
District 5870's outgoing GSE Team is currently in Japan. If you'd like to get a taste of what they're experiencing, go to http://gse2010austintojapan.wordpress.com/ to look at their blog. You can also subscribe to the blog there and then they'll send you an e-mail whenever it is updated. They are short entries but always include lots of pictures, so it's a quick and fun read!
Last week Tommy Valle announced a membership drive for May. If you bring a guest who joins the club, those club members names will be put in a drawing to win $100 toward their Paul Harris fund. Let's get motivated!!
Kurt Toliver announced a new Paul Harris matching fund drive for the month of May. The club will match up to $200 toward a members Paul Harris.
Early Act First Knight
Friday May 7, 11:45am - Service Meeting
Friday May 21, 1:00pm - EAFK 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 - by Gail Peek
Roscoe Harrison and
The Lively Art of Conversation
Roscoe Harrison presented an entertaining program about his KNCT TV program FOCUS. Roscoe is currently Director of Community Affairs for Scott & White Healthcare, as well as Pastor of the Eighth Street Baptist Church in Temple. He is a former Rotarian, who now is President of the local Kiwanis Club.
Roscoe Harrison came to us after having visited the Temple Independent School District Wheatley Alternative school. He encouraged Rotarians to get involved with the Wheatley Alternative school because the students need role models to help guide them to a future as productive members of our community. This statement probably best captures the essence of Roscoe Harrison. He cares deeply about our community and its members. His booming voice, twinkling eyes and wonderful sense of humor enable him to worm his way into your psyche and before you know it you are engaged in a lively exchange about interesting topics of the day. You also end up volunteering for things you had no intention of doing! But as they say, “That is a good thing.”
Roscoe Harrison explained that Max Rudolph, General Manager of KNCT-TV asked Roscoe to develop a public affairs program that would allow Central Texas College (“CTC”) students to learn about such programming. Horace Grace, a community leader in the Killeen area who helped establish the African-American Studies Institute at CTC, encouraged Roscoe Harrison to create the program.
Roscoe Harrison noted that several years ago he and our own Kat Johanns started a public affairs program on KCEN TV called “News Watch Presents.” This was at a time when commercial television stations had to dedicate some time to public affairs programs. Today there is no such requirement. Rather, commercial stations sell that broadcast time. As a result Public Broadcast Stations (“PBS”) are the primary source of public affairs programs.
FOCUS airs on the fourth Friday of the month, with a rebroadcast on the following Sunday. Roscoe Harrison is no stranger to television. He was the first African-American news anchor at KCEN TV in the 1970’s. He also served on the staff of Ebony/Jet publications, one of the most successful magazine formats in the African-American community in this country.
For about one-half hour, 27 minutes to be exact, FOCUS provides programs of interest to the Temple-Belton-Killeen area covering such topics as economic development, education and the arts. Stephanie Turnham, Director of the Bell County Museum and our Spaghetti Supper guru, was a guest on FOCUS. She discussed an excellent exhibit now at the Bell County Museum called “1968 in America.” Also Roscoe Harrison sees FOCUS as an opportunity to get all parts of Bell County to learn about each other. For example, he stated that from its humble beginnings, Harker Heights is now a core driver of economic growth in Bell County.
While events in Bell County are the center of the program that serves about 40,000 local households in the County, Roscoe Harrison expressed surprise that he also has a wider audience as evidenced by calls from viewers in Austin.
The guest for the most recent program was Sue Ellen Jackson, Executive Director of Aware Central Texas (website: www.actcentex.org). Aware Central Texas focuses on instances of domestic abuse, with an emphasis on cases of child abuse and neglect. Roscoe Harrison shared some sobering statistics with us. Bell County leads the State of Texas in reports of child abuse or child neglect per 1,000 children. Roscoe Harrison quickly dispelled any notions that this fact is due to Killeen and/or the military. These two factors do not and cannot explain the horrible incidents of child abuse and neglect in many parts of Bell County.
Ever the host looking for programs ideas, Roscoe Harrison volunteered that the prospect of a bond issue for Temple Independent School District would be a fine topic for FOCUS. Yours truly thinks that any opportunity to have Roscoe Harrison’s undivided attention and to engage in the lively art of conversation is simply not to be missed.
District 5870 Information
The February, 2010 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 March
Please let me know if you have a program you would like to share and we will book them.
May 6 - 4 Way Test Essay Contest Winners
May 13 - Lanelle Holbrook - Western Hills Elementary
May 20 - TBD
May 27- Lamar Eidson - Kids Against Hunger of Central Texas
June 3 - TBD
June 10 - Sheri Givens - Texas Public Utility Council
June 17 - TBD
June 24 - Rotary Assembly
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