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Immediate Past President
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Public Relations
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Welcome!
Midland West

Service Above Self

We meet In Person
Tuesdays at 11:45 a.m.
Rotary Community Room
June & Frank Cowden Jr. Dining Hall
Midland College, 3600 N. Garfield
Midland, TX 79705
United States of America
Home Page Stories
 
The Rotary-sponsored Interact Club of YWLA will hold its annual Spring Carnival on April 6th. The students have been actively working to develop a fun atmosphere for all community members to attend. Visitors can expect games, food, and prizes! The event will take place at the YWLA campus located at 1800 East Wall Street. The carnival will fund the Interact Club's international service project benefiting Save the Children.
 
Rotarians spent Spring Break on tour. Due to Midland College being closed for Spring Break, the club decided it was time to take our meeting on the road and learn a little more about our city. Rotarian John Dzubinski lead a tour of the Midland County Historical Museum. The tour covered everything from the prehistoric "Midland Man" to the World War II era. Did you know that Midland was once known for our grass? Sheep and cattle ranchers saw Midland as the perfect opportunity to raise their herds. If you missed the tour, you can check out the museum on your own. It's located at the corner of Main Street and Texas Avenue. The volunteer-run museum is open Thursdays through Saturdays from 11 am to 4 pm.
 
 
Instead of our regular meeting on March 5th, Rotarians attended a workshop on "Caring for Youth Mental Health in the Permian Basin." It was a gathering of mental health professionals, religious leaders, and Rotarians for a great collaborative session. Our Rotarians walked away with tools we can put into action to improve access to mental health. Rotary International President R. Gordon R. McInally has challenged Rotarians to create hope in the world by championing mental health and wellness initiatives. For the past several years, the Rotary Club of Midland West has provided mental health grants to the Basin Dream Center to assist youth and young adults transitioning from foster care and homelessness. The workshop Rotarians attended today provides another resource to address and improve mental health in our community. If you are interested in taking further action, consider joining the Rotary Action Group on Mental Health Initiatives. You can learn more at www.ragonmentalhealth.org.
 
Over 675 Rotarians from Texas and Oklahoma joined together for the Rotary Presidents-Elect Training Seminar in Dallas this past weekend. Midland West Rotary Club was represented by President-Elect Andrew Mellen, Vice President Steven Villela, District Governor Nominee Designate Jackie Mellen, and Past District Governor Dianne Anderson. The Presidents-Elect Training Seminar, better known to Rotarians as "PETS," empowers emerging leaders to increase our impact, expand our reach, enhance participant engagement, and increase our ability to adapt. PETS is one of many educational opportunities Rotary offers to gain leadership skills that benefit our clubs, our businesses, and our communities.
 
The Rotary-sponsored Interact Club of YWLA will be holding a book sale on Saturday, March 2. Stop by YWLA, located at 1800 E. Wall St., anytime between 9:00 am and noon to pick out your next great read. Proceeds will benefit The Field's Edge, a tiny-home community for chronically homeless people in Midland.
 
The Midland West Rotary Club is hosting it’s first-ever community awards dinner on May 7, 2024. We are currently seeking nominations from the community for people that should be recognized for their efforts in Rotary’s seven Areas of Focus. Awards will be given for the following categories: promoting peace, support of education, community health and welfare, water resource and management, economic development, maternal and child health, and stewardship of resources. Click here to nominate someone today! Nominations close March 1, 2024.
 
Roshari Bibbs and Hyram Fuller were inducted into the Midland West Rotary Club on January 30, 2024. Roshari is a bookkeeper for Midland High School where she also serves as the sponsor for the Black Student Union. Hyram is in sales for Hilliard Office Solutions. Welcome to Rotary, Roshari and Hyram!
 
Rotary will be hitting the road this week to tour the Midland College Aircraft Maintenance Technology training center on December 12, 2023. The AMT building is located at Midland International Air and Space Port, Hangar E, 2405 Windecker Street, Midland, Texas 79706. Plan to park in front of the building on the west side.
 
Rotarians and Interact students from YWLA gathered at Midland Park Mall to help ring the bell for the annual Salvation Army red kettle campaign. Middle school students from the YWLA Interact Club helped kick off the event with caroling. The red kettle campaign started in 1891 in San Francisco by Salvation Army Captain Joseph McFee. The funds were to be used to provide a free Christmas dinner for 1,000 destitute and poverty-stricken people of the Bay town. The campaign was successful and was eventually replicated across the United States. The red kettle campaign can now be found all over the globe in Europe, Asia, and South America. In the United States, the Salvation Army feeds more than 4.5 million people between Thanksgiving and Christmas.
 
Our sponsored Interact Club of YWLA Midland was awarded the prestigious “Youth in Philanthropy” award at National Philanthropy Day hosted by the Association of Fundraising Professionals. The club currently has over 200 members! It is the first time an Interact club has been recognized by the organization. Aside from the ten service projects already completed this school year, the Interact Club has raised $200 for the Midland Senior Center, $470 for the Rotary District 5000 Maui Fire Relief fund, $470 for the Multi-District PETS Days for Girls project, and $1,200 for the Rays of Hope Children’s Grief Centre of Midland. They joined other community leader honorees at a luncheon. Anjali and Lexy represented the club along with Principal Doughty, Interact Advisor Amanda Byars, Rotary liaison Jackie Mellen, Berta Fogerson with Young Women's Preparatory Network, Dr. Stephanie Howard with Midland ISD, as well as several MISD Board members and staff.
 
Two years ago, Mrs. Pivaral of the Greenwood Intermediate School reached out to us seeking some resources for her dyslexia students. She heard about our illustrated dictionary program and thought the dictionaries would be the perfect tool to help her students succeed. For the second year in a row, the Rotary Club of Midland West donated a case of illustrated dictionaries to Greenwood Intermediate School. Each student in the dyslexia program gets their very own dictionary to keep! 
 
 
The Rotary sponsored Interact Club of YWLA Midland hosted it’s second annual Veteran’s Day tribute breakfast on November 9, 2023. Members of each service branch were recognized, including our Rotarians Jay Norris (Air Force) and Ed Anderson (Coast Guard). They YWLA Varsity Orchestra played the Star Spangled Banner and several other musical arrangements. MSgt Beth M. Wakefield, USAF, (Ret.) was the featured guest speaker. Wakefield encouraged the YWLA students to pursue careers in the military. The Veterans were also served a pancake breakfast by the Interact students. Midland West Rotary Club provided the food and Cpl. Ray’s Coffee donated coffee for the event.
 
The Midland West Rotary Club took our October 24th meeting on the road in order to learn more about The Field's Edge. The Field's Edge is a tiny home village with the mission of ending chronic homelessness. Their ultimate goal is to have 10 "pods" of homes for a total of 90 homes. Each pod acts as a small community of neighbors. There is a commercial bath, kitchen and laundry facility contained in the Bathhouse. In addition, The Field's Edge offers a behavioral and physical healthcare clinic space, a market, and a multipurpose great room. You can learn more about The Field's Edge at www.thefieldsedge.org.
 
President Tom Jones, his wife Meta, and Vice President Steven Villela helped the Legacy High School Interact Club pass out candy during the LHS Dolls annual Trunk or Treat event. It was a Charlie Brown themed Halloween for our booth. The Interact students enjoyed engaging with members of the community for a fun-filled evening.
 
Amy Burkes was inducted into the Midland West Rotary Club on October 17, 2023. Amy is a native Midlander and currently sits on the Midland City Council representing District 4. She holds a Bachelor's degree in Human Resources and Minor in Business from Texas A&M University. Welcome to Rotary, Amy!
 
Members of the Rotary Club of Midland West team up with our sponsored Interact Clubs to clean up Fasken Park. Students from both Legacy High School and the Young Women's Leadership Academy of Midland were taught how to identify weeds and properly pull them. By the end of the event we had filled over ten trash bags with weeds and other debris.
 
The Midland West Rotary Club is proud to announce that our Interactor and Legacy High School student Amulya Ganta was named a Commended Student by the National Merit Scholarship Program.  To be recognized as a National Merit Scholar, students must first take the PSAT/NMSQT their junior year of high school. The top 50,000 high scorers are recognized by the National Merit Scholarship Program. The top 16,000 students are qualified as Semifinalists for the program and the remaining 34,000 are named Commended Students. Amulya has been a club officer for the Interact Club of Legacy High School for the past two years. She currently serves as the club’s Vice President. In addition to her academic achievements and involvement in Interact, Amulya participates in many other activities including Legacy’s Speech & Debate team of which she is team Captain and the Model Organization of American States (MOAS) where she was elected President of the 42nd MOAS General Assembly for High Schools. Amulya has a bright future ahead of her.
 
The third annual Shoot for the Future clay shoot was a huge success! 64 shooters from local businesses and organizations attended to show their support for our Midland College scholarship program. With your generosity, we are able to continue providing assistance to students in 19 different degree programs. Our scholarships help lighten the load of a college education that creates lasting change in the future of our recipients. We appreciate the efforts of our many volunteers that worked tirelessly before, during, and after the shoot. We are especially grateful for our sponsors: Community National Bank, Lone Star Abstract, KPEJ, KMID, All American Chevrolet of Midland, The Bosworth Company, Midland College, CentriPump, First Christian Church of Midland, Maverick Engineering, Warran CAT, Calian IT & Cyber Solutions, Haskin Aviation, Net Ascendant, the Oilfield Photographer, Right at Home Midland, and Roy Nelson State Farm. Together, we can Create Hope in the World.
 
Nick Shores was inducted into the Midland West Rotary Club on September 26, 2023. Nick is a Relationship Banking Officer at Frost Bank. He received both a Bachelors and Masters degree from Texas A&M University. Welcome to Rotary, Nick!
 
Dr. Stephanie Caples was inducted into the Midland West Rotary Club on September 19, 2023. Dr. Caples is a psychologist who is assisting in the development of mental health specialist programs at Midland College, UTPB, and Odessa College. She is also the Clinical Programing Consultant for the new Permian Basin Behavioral Health Center. Welcome to Rotary, Dr. Caples!
 
Ken Olson was inducted into the Midland West Rotary Club on September 5, 2023. Ken serves as the Director of the Midland County Horseshoe. He's originally from Minnesota and has been in Midland for two years. Welcome to Rotary, Ken!
 
 
Mark Nicholas and Michael Canon were recognized at our August 29th meeting for their contributions to the Rotary Foundation. Mark received his first Paul Harris Fellow (PHF) pin for his support of the Foundation. Like his father “Nick” Nicholas, Mark believes in the humanitarian and educational programs carried out by the Rotary Foundation on a global scale. Michael Canon, Jr. received his PHF+2 pin for his contributions to the Foundation. Michael has been a regular contributor to the Foundation since joining Rotary. Michael’s father, Mike, is also a Paul Harris Fellow and member of the Midland West Rotary Club. For both men, giving to the Foundation has become a family affair.
 
Summer Mummers is a Midland tradition 75 years in the making. Each summer, the Midland Community Theatre puts on a melodramatic production with the end goal of funding their many programs. For the attendees, it’s an opportunity to let loose and throw bags of popcorn at friends and strangers alike. This summer’s production “Rascality on the Rig” features Rotarian Gary Fulton as villain Lester Leasehold. 18 Rotarians and guests gathered together to take part in the revelry.
 
The Rotary Club of Midland West presented a check in the amount of $3,000 to Christmas In Action. The organization was started in 1972 by Rotarian Bobby Trimble to repair homes of low-income elderly and disabled homeowners. Since its inception, Christmas in Action has repaired over 11,000 Midland homes with the help of volunteers. Christmas In Action has become an annual service project Midland West Rotary Club led by Jim Morris. Each April, Rotarians join forces with other volunteer groups to rehabilitate the home needing more significant repairs. The houses we take on are weeklong projects that often involve replacing shingles, siding, and windows. We are proud to support and continue the mission started as a simple way to help our neighbors.
 
Harold Howard was recognized as a Paul Harris Fellow for his support of the Rotary Foundation and was presented with a Paul Harris Fellow +4 pin by President Tom Jones. The “plus 4” designation signifies that Howard has received this recognition five times. Named after Rotary’s founder, Paul Harris, the Paul Harris Fellow recognition is bestowed upon individuals for having done something significant for others through either monetary or humanitarian actions. Howard currently serves as Midland West Rotary Club’s Co-Director of Service Projects. He is a firm believer in the work done by the Rotary Foundation and makes regular monetary contributions to support the Foundation’s mission. If you would like to learn more about how you can contribute to the Rotary Foundation, please contact our Foundation Director Ed Anderson.
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