Home Page | Rotary Club of Kerrville

Rotary Club of Kerrville, Texas Chartered February 26, 1926 District 5840

Welcome to the Rotary Club of Kerrville!

Service Above Self

We meet Wednesdays at 11:45 AM
Inn of the Hills

1001 Junction Hwy
Kerrville, TX 78028-4913
United States of America

Email:

kerrvillerotary@gmail.com

District Site

Bulletins

Venue Map

John Hutcherson Governor Elect 5840

Posted by Jimmy Hutto

John and Judy live north of Fredericksburg, Texas, near Enchanted Rock. John works as a financial advisor with Ameriprise Financial in Fredericksburg. He earned a BA from Allegheny College, a MSW from Florida State University and a PhD from the University of Maryland. For 15 years, John worked in the mental health field, in the US Air Force at the hospital at Andrews Air Force Base, and as Executive Director of a Community Mental Center in Mississippi. John has been a financial advisor for the past 36 years.

He joined the Fredericksburg Morning Rotary Club in 2002 and served as President 2011-2012. For several years he served as Polio Plus Chair for District 5840 and has been an Assistant Governor. John and Judy have participated in National Immunization Days in India and polio eradication projects in Pakistan. In 2015 he rode 104 miles in the Ride to End Polio in Tucson, AZ.

John is a Paul Harris Fellow and a member of the Paul Harris Society. He is also a Major Donor and a member of the Bequest Society. John is a member of the Hill Country Memorial Hospital Foundation Board, Planned Giving Advisory Council for the University of Texas Health Science Center in San Antonio, Fredericksburg United Methodist Church, Fredericksburg Toastmasters and is President of the Community Foundation of the Texas Hill Country. Judy is Past District Governor for Rotary District 5840.

Posted on Nov 27, 2017 Rotary raises money to eradicate polio in many ways. One way is the "Ride to End Polio" sponsored by Rotary District 5500 and held in Tucson Arizona in November, each year, as part of El Tour de Tucson. This year’s ride raised over $10,000,000. The longest course is 106 miles around Tucson. There are several other shorter courses of 76 miles, 54 miles, and 38 miles, plus a fun ride. This year John R. Hutcherson, District Governor Nominee, completed the 106 mile "Ride to End Polio" course in 7 hours 49 minutes. Several other Rotarians, we know, also completed the "Ride to End Polio" including. John said he would be in the next ride and get to 100 miles.

When Rotary got involved with polio, there were like 39,900 new cases of polio. Last year there were only 27 & this year only 37 new cases.

Jury Selection

Posted by David Martin on Nov 27, 2018

Martin Peterson provided the program at last Wednesday's meeting, describing the art and science of jury selection. Martin is a successful consultant who assists attorneys in developing strategies to determine the biases of potential jurors. Some of his work includes doing focus groups to see how people react to certain questions, which they can possibly ask to the jury pool.

Martin described two high profile cases, which he challenged us to consider how our biases affected our opinions about the cases. One was the McDonald's hot coffee spill in the lap of the plaintiff, which produced third degree burns. At first glance, this could be dismissed as a frivolous lawsuit, but testimony showed that the cups and lids McDonald's used were not rated for the higher than normal coffee temperatures. It was also revealed that McDonald's considered the cost of settling numerous previous spill and scalding cases less expensive and better business than buying more expensive cups that would allow the lid to the cup to remain intact at the higher temperatures, thus avoiding some potential spills. The plaintiff was awarded a significant settlement.

Other interesting observations: Jurors that attorneys like to avoid (by profession): School teachers- especially elementary school- they are more likely to be rule based in their thinking, and less likely to make moral based judgments. Lawyers- they become the leaders of the panel and become a jury of one. Journalists- they may not hear the emotional part of the story. And, people who can't judge because of religious reasons.

Prayer and Pledge

Posted by David Martin on Nov 27, 2018

Lew McCoy of the Kerrville Morning Rotary Club provided the prayer and pledge. This meeting provide an opportunity for our club, the Morning Club, and the Kerrville Kiwanas Club to join together in fellowship the day before Thanksgiving, as is our annual tradition.

Families in Rotary

Posted by David Martin on Nov 27, 2018

Exciting new from George and Judy Eychner: Their son Brad, his wife, Jonelle (Lt Col USAF and presently serving a year remote assignment in Kabul, Afghanistan), and 2 boys Aiden (8) and Emmett (6) have been selected by the USO to be part of the White House tree lighting ceremony in Washington DC, on Wednesday November 28th. It will be aired on Sunday, Dec 2nd, at a time yet to be determined Pictures will surely be forthcoming.

Rotary News you can Use

Posted by Jimmy Hutto on Dec 05, 2018

Dear Club:

I just got notice from the Inn of the Hills that our meeting has been moved to the Conference Center at the back of the hotel. Please make plans to park towards the back of the hotel for easier access.

Thanks!

Rob

Tomorrow we have John Hutcherson, DGE (he'll be our next District Governor if you aren't familiar with the acronym) who will talk to us about the Rotary Foundation and some of the good things Rotary is doing around the world with our donations.

I received an email this morning from Carol Twiss asking for our help with writing letters to Santa. It sounds weird for grown adults to be writing letters to Santa, but it's for a really good cause. Tivy High School student, Zackary Reyna, is trying to beat his record of collecting 54,539 letters last year for Macy's Believe Campaign. Macy's donates $2 for every letter received to the Make-A-Wish Foundation. This organization grants wishes to kids with terminal illnesses. Zack was a recipient of the Make-A-Wish Foundation because of a congenital condition. He's a walking miracle as his mother, Soyla says. The reason I tell you all this is that we need your help. If everyone would print one of these letters and fill it out and bring it to our meeting tomorrow, this would help Zack reach his goal. I'm attaching the letter template (see email) so all you have to do is write a short note to Santa. If you will do this, I'll bring a few extra bottles of wine to give away for the people who participate. I'll also have a few blank templates available so you can participate if you don't have a printer.

Thank you & see you all tomorrow!

Rob

50 letters were collected.

Tivy Fight Never Dies! Tivy lost by 10. This was a great venue for a game. Home seats all came with stadium seats. 38 to 48 was final score.

Bell Ringing @ Gibsons

Human Trafficking

Posted by David Martin on Nov 16, 2018

Carol Twiss provided the program last week on Human Trafficking. Carol has worked in law enforcement for 26 years, starting out as a corrections officer, transitioning into a jail administrator, and now manages the criminal investigations department for Kerr County Sherrif's department.

One important fact is that trafficking is not the same as smuggling, where a number of people might be transported in the back of a tractor trailer to some destination and then released. Trafficking generally falls into four different categories: Kidnapping, sexual abuse, unlawful restraint and forced labor without pay. High risk groups include runaways, teenagers, children in foster care, victims of sexual or physical abuse, drug addicts, immigrants and those on parole.

Trafficking has replaced drugs as the number one industry for organized criminal gang organizations. Trafficking happens in small communities like ours, so be aware and report any suspicious activities to local law enforcement. Carol Twiss can be reached at 830-739-6639.

Prayer and Pledge

Posted by David Martin on Nov 20, 2018

John Onstott provided the prayer and pledge.

Song of the day

Posted by David Martin on Nov 20, 2018

George led us in singing God Bless America.

Rotary News you can Use

Posted by Robin Miears on Nov 20, 2018

Happy Thanksgiving Club!

Tomorrow we have another awesome speaker. Martin Peterson is a forensic anthropologist who specializes in jury selection science. We also have our joint meeting with the Kiwanis, Morning Rotary Club, & Satellite Club.

We still need bell ringers for November 24th. If you're able to ring the bell, please logon to clubrunner at kerrvillerotary.org and sign up.

See you all tomorrow! If you're traveling for the holiday, safe travels!

Posted by David Martin on Nov 20, 2018

Dave Samuel reminded us to sign up for the bell ringing for the Salvation Army. We will be ringing at Gibsons for several Saturdays during the Holidays, and volunteers for one hour shifts are especially needed for this coming Saturday.

Andrew Murr

Posted by Jimmy Hutto on Nov 06, 2018

Kellie Early introduces our guest

Representative Andrew Murr was first elected in 2014 to represent District 53 in the Texas House of Representatives. The district includes Bandera, Crockett, Edwards, Kerr, Kimble, Llano, Mason, Medina, Menard, Real, Schleicher and Sutton Counties. An eighth generation Texan, he was raised on a ranch in Kimble County, and attended school in Junction.

Representative Murr attended Texas A&M University, receiving a bachelor degree, summa cum laude, in Agricultural Development with an emphasis in economics and policy. Following graduation, he worked toward his master's degree at A&M and earned his teaching certification, completing his student teaching in Mason. He subsequently graduated with highest honors from Texas Tech University School of Law. In 2008, Representative Murr was elected Kimble County Attorney. However, he was appointed to the position of County Judge, due to a vacancy, before he was sworn in.

During his tenure in the House, he has served on the Transportation Committee, Culture, Recreation and Tourism Committee, Rules and Resolutions Committee, Ways and Means Committee, Judiciary and Civil Jurisprudence Committee, State Federal Power and Responsibility Committee (Vice Chair), Local and Consent Calendars Committee, Select Committee on Mental Health, and the Select Committee on Opioids and Substance Abuse.

Born: Apr 23, 1977 (age 41) · Junction, TX
Office: Member of the Texas House of Representatives (Since 2015)
Nationality: American
Spouse: Amanda Murr
Education: Texas Tech University School of Law · Texas A&M University · Junction High School

https://andrewmurr.org/

Getting the Tables ready

Posted by Jimmy Hutto on Nov 06, 2018

FBI Agent addresses Rotary

Posted by David Martin on Oct 29, 2018

FBI special agent Agent Jeff Jensen discussed various ways scammers attempt to get money out of people. Jeff worked as a bank examiner before he joined the FBI, and this was good training for investigating white collar crime, especially business account take overs. If a business has been hacked and money has been stolen, there are delays built into the system that allow retrieval of the funds if reported within 72 hours.

Con artists tend to be more successful with those who are elderly and those whose judgement is questionable. They generally target home phones, and information about most of us is readily available on the internet. His advice- if you don't recognize the phone number on the caller ID, don't answer the phone. If you have fallen for a scam, or answered phone and engaged in conversations with someone who is trying to get money, you are probably on a list that is being sold to other scammers. The IRS and FBI won't contact you by email, so don't fall for those type of scams either. If you use social media, don't friend anyone you don't know- scams are prevalent there too.

Health Care, Medicare and Medicaid fraud are commonly investigated. The volume various types of cases of white collar fraud is significant, and local law enforcement will generally try to handle the investigation of cases with input from the FBI. Unfortunately, the prison sentences are light if conviction is achieved, so that is not much of a deterrent.

Prayer and Pledge

Posted by David Martin on Oct 29, 2018

Kristy Vandenberg started the meeting with the prayer and pledge.

Song of the Day

Posted by David Martin on Oct 29, 2018

George led us in the fourth verse of America the beautiful.

Fire Department recognition

Posted by David Martin on Oct 29, 2018

Tammy Prout recognized the Kerrville Fire Department and other first responders for rescuing a person from a vehicle that had washed off a low water crossing during the recent floods.

News you can Use

Posted by Robin Miears on Oct 30, 2018

Dear Club,

I hope you all enjoyed the beautiful weather this past weekend. What an awesome presentation last week from Jeffrey Jensen with the FBI! If you see Bryant Truitt, please say thanks to him for bringing that great program to us!!

This week, we have another great program scheduled. We are welcoming fellow Rotarian, Representative Andrew Murr, who will give us a Texas legislative update. Since the meeting will be held on Halloween, the fellowship committee has asked anyone who'd like to dress up to please do so!

Next week on November 7th, will be our Veterans Day Program. I will be starting that program early and there will be no time for announcements. Also on November 7th, we will hold our Veteran's Appreciation Breakfast at the Veterans Center on Meadowview Ln. We are looking for volunteers to come and sit with the veterans and eat with them from 8-9:30. We have volunteers to get set up and help serve, but we really need some club members to sit and talk with the veterans. Please email donna@joecookagency.com if you can help out.

See you Wednesday!

Rob

Wine is fine

Posted by Jimmy Hutto on Nov 06, 2018

Many names were called before all the wine was given away. Several were called but not wearing thier Rotary pin.

Pints for Polio

Posted by David Martin on Oct 29, 2018

The Rotary Club's Pints for Polio event was held recently at St. Peter's Church. Funds were raised to help with Rotary International's ongoing work towards the eradication of polio.

Kerrville Chalk Festival

Posted by Jimmy Hutto on Oct 16, 2018

Contact Us

Mailing Address:

Rotary Club of Kerrville
P. O. Box 295335
Kerrville, TX 78029
kerrvillerotary@gmail.com

Rotary Holiday Party 2018
Inn of the Hills

Dec 12, 2018
5:30 PM – 8:30 PM
RING THE BELL!! for Salvation Army 15 Dec!
Gibson's Department Store

Dec 15, 2018
9:00 AM – 5:00 PM