Blessing In A Backpack

Rotary Club of Kerrville raises cash,    

      food for "Blessings in a Backpack"

     helping Hunt and Ingram students  

        

 

    Members of the Rotary Club of Kerrville have donated more than seventy bags of non-perishable groceries and $170 in cash to help ensure that students in Hunt and Ingram schools have needed food during the Christmas-New Year break.

    The donations will help support the "Blessings in a Backpack" program, which provides food for underprivileged students and their families in the two Kerr County school districts.

    During the school year, students who qualify for free breakfasts and lunches in school cafeterias fill their backpacks from campus pantries each Friday with donated food for the weekend.  The Rotary Club of Kerrville donations were aimed at helping students and their families during the longer holiday.

    Members brought their donations to Superintendents Crystal Dockery from Hunt and Bobby Templeton from Ingram at the club's annual Christmas party, held at the Buckhorn RV Resort.

    The celebration, organized by Dockery and Kristy Vandenberg and featuring music by Dr. Dan Bacon and his Band Aids ensemble, followed election of 2016-17 officers at the club's final luncheon meeting of the year.

    Those nominated by Immediate Past President Kim Clarkson on behalf of the nominating committee and elected unanimously are President-Elect Jeff Talarico, Vice President Kristy Vandenberg, Secretary Robin Miears, Treasurer Lt. Col. David Rittenhouse and Directors Charlie McIlvain, Jimmy Hutto, David Jones, Wendy Mendele, Traci Tenery and Tomas Valdez.

    Talarico is President of Talarico and Associates Financial Consultants, Vandenberg is Executive Director of the Gift of Life organ donors program, Miears is manager of the local offices of Nationwide Insurance and Rittenouse is a retired Army officer and business consultant

    McIlvain is head of the local Convention and Visitors Bureau, Hutto is an oilfield equipment specialist, Jones is a realtor, Mendele is Executive Director of Families in Literacy, Tenery manages the Liberty Tax Service and Valdez owns and operates the 1011 Bistro restaurant.

   They will be joined on the board of directors by current President Stephanie Miller, owner of Perfect Surroundings in Old Ingram.

    Prior to the election, the club honored the 40 members of its Interact student affiliate at Peterson Middle School.  Outstanding Interact Member awards went to Araceli Perez and Abigail Olivares.

    Shanna Vecchio, sponsor of Interact at Peterson, outlined the group's service projects for this school year, including helping with the parade and other Veterans Day events in Kerrville and the Fall Festival at St. Peter's Episcopal Church, wrapping gifts at Belk's Department Store and joining members of the Rotary Club of Kerrville in bell-ringing at Gibson's Discount Center for the Salvation Army.

     More than a dozen members of the parent Rotary Club were involved again this year in collecting and distributing food and toys as part of the Police Department's Blue Santa program.

    By the end of the Christmas season, well over half of the 190 members of the parent club and its satellite club, plus the student affiliates at Tivy and Peterson, will have volunteered in at least one "Service Above Self" activity.

    The Rotary Club of Kerrville meets for programs and lunch at 11:45 a.m. most Wednesdays at the Inn of the Hills Resort and Conference Center.  Further information on the club and its activities is available on the Internet at kerrvillerotary.org and at the club offices at 512-787-7064.

 

                                                                                                  

 

Joseph Benham for the Rotary Club of Kerrville