Henry Pick Presents Past District Governor's Pin

At today’s meeting of the Rotary Club of Santa Fe, I was presented with my Past District Governor’s pin by PDG Henry Pick. It was wonderful having Henry make the presentation as Henry had conducted my installation a little over a year ago. He is the most senior of District 5520’s PDGs, having served in 1981-1982. Henry has been a mentor and strong supporter of my Rotary career. I will use him as a measure of my service as a Past District Governor.

This is the last blog I will be writing in this forum. I want to express my sincere gratitude to the District’s 2009-2010 Leadership Team for their support throughout our year of service. Without them we would not have been able to realize the accomplishments we did. And again, a special thank you to Pat Murray and her outstanding District Conference Committee for making the 2010 District Conference the best ever. I also want to thank the Clubs of District 5520 for making each and every club visit a memorable and enjoyable event. They provided me the opportunity to learning how Rotarians across the District are serving their communities. Those visits were truly the highlight of my year as District Governor.

And finally, I want to thank Lorraine for her continued support and love. I couldn’t have done it without her.

Thank you, District 5520 for giving me this incredible experience!

Dick Jones

District 5520 Governor

2009 - 2010

Rotary Club of Santa Fe is 100% Paul Harris Club

Last week, I had the honor of presenting the three newest members of the Rotary Club of Santa Fe with Paul Harris Fellow awards. The awarding of these Paul Harris Fellowships continues the Rotary Club of Santa Fe’s status as a “100% Paul Harris Fellow Club.” The Club first attained this honor last year in recognition of my year of service as District 5520’s Governor for 2009-2010.

I have requested that The Rotary Foundation certify the Club as a “100% Paul Harris Fellow Club,” provide them with the recognition banner, and include the Club on the Rotary Foundation’s list of “100% Paul Harris Fellow Clubs”.

During last week’s Paul Harris presentation, I also presented Tim Butler 2009-2010 Club President and Pat Murray with a District 5520 certificate recognizing this outstanding accomplishment.

Pictured above with me during the presentation are Pat Murray, Tim Butler, and the Rotary Club of Santa Fe’s newest Paul Harris Fellows Diana Ronquillo, Zella Cox, and Ralph Stengren.

District 5520 Awards Recognition

If you have not attended a District Conference, you are missing a big Rotary opportunity. District 5520’s 2010 Conference provided a chance to visit with old friends, make new friends, learn about the current status of Rotary’s efforts to eradicate polio, find out about the latest projects happening in District 5520, and experience the joy of our Rotary youth.

Mark your calendars for April 14-16, 2011, and plan on being in Ruidoso for the 2011 District Conference.

Two highlights of District Conference were the Saturday morning Youth Exchange Talent Show and the recognition of this year’s accomplishments with the presentation of awards to the Clubs and Rotarians who have provided exceptional service during the year.

The Youth Exchange Talent Show features both inbound and outbound students who displayed a variety of talents and lots of energy. This year we were treated to a sit-down comedian, break dancers, a string duet, and a solo on the didgeridoo.

The Rotary Clubs of Taos-Milagro, Las Cruces Mesilla Valley, and El Paso were recognized as the Club of the Year in the small, medium, and large club categories.

The Rotarian of the Year Award was presented to Tom Walker for his work with the District’s Matching and Simplified Grants.

The Rotary Club of Ft. Stockton earned the Bob Wootten Award for the Club that has the most fun.

Donna Pedace was presented the Shulte-DeLaHunt Leadership award for her work with the GSE program.

The success of this year’s District Conference would not have been possible without the leadership of Conference Committee Chair Pat Murray and all the members of the Committee. Thank you for the outstanding conference.

Thanks, also, to all those Rotarians and their families who participated in the conference. You are what makes District 5520 outstanding in the world of Rotary.

And Thanks, to PDG Johnny Lane for taking these photos.

Mark Glenn Selected District Governor Nominee

The District 5520 Annual Conference was held May 6-9 at the Buffalo Thunder Resort.

During the Conference the District 5520 Governor Nominee Selection Committee selected Mark Glenn as District Governor Nominee for the 2012-2013 Rotary Year.

An active Rotarian in District 5520 for many years, Mark has served as Assistant Governor, Lieutenant Governor, District Trainer, District Polio Plus Chair, and in numerous other positions on the District Foundation Committee. Mark’s diverse background in District 5520 will serve him well during his year of service as District Governor.

Mark and his wife Carol reside in Las Cruces. They have two daughters, both of whom are currently in college.

Mark’s home club, the Rotary Club of Las Cruces Mesilla Valley, was selected as District 5520’s Medium Club of the Year in 2010, and its member are 100% Paul Harris Fellows.

Please join me and the other committee members in offering Mark our congratulation on his selection.

Pictured above are District Governors Tim Parker, 2010-2011; Tom Lindsay, 2008-2009; Bobby Wallace, 2011-2012; Mark Glenn, 2012-2013 and Dick Jones, 2009-2010.

GSE Exchange is Underway!

The Group Study Exchange between District 5520 and District 3870 in the Philippines is underway. District 5520’s team arrived in the Philippines last Monday, April 5th. You can follow their visit on their blog at http://rotary5520gse2010.blogspot.com/.

The In-Bound team from District 3870 arrives in El Paso next Friday, April 16th. District Exchange Chair Donna Pedace and I, along with El Paso Rotarians and host families, will be at the airport to greet the Philippine team.

During their visit in District 5520, they will be visiting El Paso, Las Cruces, Moriarty, Gallup, Santa Fe, Taos, Chama, and Albuquerque. The team will also be attending our district conference at Buffalo Thunder May 6-9.

The Philippine team is composed of team leader Noel Nalzaro and team members Arnold Yee, Oscar Tan-Abing, Ritchie Asibal.

Noel is a VP of commercial banking with the largest bank in the Philippines. Arnold is a professor of Philosophy in Malaybalay City. Oscar is finishing a Masters Degree of Entrepreneurship at the Asian Institute of Management. Ritchie is a Choirmaster and Conductor.

I know the host cities and towns have worked hard to get ready for their visit and I’m sure the team will have a terrific time while visiting District 5520.