the weekly newsletter of the San Antonio Northeast Rotary Club
We were honored to have Rotary District 5840 Kristy Vandenberg as our guest on Tuesday, August 24th.With August being Rotary Membership Month, DG encouraged all club members to invite a friend to join Rotary. After her presentation, club secretary Dan Clark presented DG Kristy a gift of appreciation from the San Antonio Northeast Rotary Club for her commitment to
Rotary International and Rotary District 5840.
The San Antonio Northeast Rotary Club was honored to have Ukrainian native Oksana Deiter as our guest speaker on Tuesday, April 5th. We had a full house in the room where we meet at Salsalito Cantina & Mexican Restaurant. Oksana showed us a very informative, compelling, passionate, and thought provoking PowerPoint presentation of what the war has done to her home country. Oksana traveled to Ukraine when the war start and visited her brother. She gave us a first-hand report on what she saw while in Ukraine. In her presentation, Oksana showed us photos of beautiful Ukrainian cities the way they looked before the war, and how the cities look like now. She showed us heart wrenching photos from the cities of Mariupol, Bucha, Irpin and Borodyanka. She told us how the very brave and strong Ukrainian people are defending their homeland.
Oksana said that she is working with a non-profit 501 (c)(3) organization called Ukrainian San Antonio whose mission is to preserve Ukrainian heritage and promote a greater understanding of Ukrainian history and culture. Ukrainian San Antonio is holding a weekly medical supply drive for those in Ukraine. For more information on the non-profit organization, please visit their web site at www.ukraniansanantonio.com The organization also has Facebook and Instagram pages.
After her presentation, club president Preston McKinney presented Oksana a Speaker’s Certificate of Appreciation along with the April edition of Rotary magazine, which contained several articles on the war going on in Ukraine. President Preston also presented Oksana a $1,000 check to be used to help the people of Ukraine. Keep Calm and Pray for Ukraine.
The San Antonio Northeast Rotary Club welcomed San Antonio District 10 City Councilman Clayton Perry as our guest speaker on Tuesday, April 19th. He spoke to us about several topics pertaining to the northeast part of San Antonio. In particular, Councilman Perry told us about the planned walking, hiking, and biking trail that will connect the historic Perrin Homestead with Lady Bird Johnson Park. Councilman Perry has been instrumental in making this trail come to fruition. After a very interesting and informative presentation, president-elect Debbie Degollado presented Councilman Perry with a Speaker’s Certificate of Appreciation. A donation in his name along with all of our guest speakers, will be made to the James Madison High School Interact Club’s Food Pantry.
Lilly Gonzalez, Executive Director of the San Antonio Book Festival (SABF) was our guest speaker on May 3rd. The San Antonio Book Festival takes place this Saturday, May 21st at the San Antonio Central Library and the Southwest School of Art. The SABF celebrates national and local authors and their contributions to the culture of literacy, ideas, and imagination. The free, daylong event is a gift to visitors and the citizens of San Antonio, bringing books to life through author presentations, innovative panel discussions, and book sales and signings. Also included in this fun day of literary entertainment are family activities such as children’s theater performances, a technology area, interactive play and art stations, and a selection of the city’s famous food trucks. SABF generates more than $1 million for the city’s economy.
After her presentation, Lilly received a certificate of appreciation from club president Preston McKinney. A donation in Lilly’s name, along with all of our guest speakers, will be made to the James Madison High School Interact Club’s Food Pantry.
