GSE Team to Philippines Chosen

Last Saturday District 5520’s GSE Team to the Philippines was chosen. The team members, pictured above, are Kristin Drexler, Las Cruces; Anita Bringas, Taos; Chavi Peterson, Rotary Club of Taos, Alternate Team Leader, Kim Robinson, Alamagordo; Andrew Herrera, Espanola; Team Leader Lisa Witt, Rotary Club of Albuquerque and Leigh Ann Caswell, Albuquerque.


The Team will be leaving April 12th for their month long tour of District 3870, but in the meantime they will spend many hours together learning the culture of the Philippines and preparing their presentation about themselves and District 5520 for the Clubs’ they visit.

Thanks to Donna Pedace and the selection committee for their efforts selecting our wonderful team.

We have received word on the composition of the inbound team from the Philippines and will soon be receiving their complete bios. The Team representing District 3870 will be composed of a public health doctor, human resource officer, an entrepreneur and a Catholic priest. The team will be lead by a corporate attorney.


I’m looking forward to learning more about the team, meeting them on their arrival and presenting them to the District Conference.

Belen Discusses New Ideas for Membership

The Rotary Club of Belen is struggling with membership as are many clubs in District 5520. Club President Pete Armstrong has several ideas for building the club’s membership. Addressing the membership issue and discussing Pete’s ideas were the topics of discussion during the board meeting. They understand that membership is the responsibility of the club and are working to reverse the trend. I’ve pledge to make district resources available to them in their effort to grow the club. We also discussed the possibility of the club partnering with UNM Valencia for a community food project. I think the ideas that come out of the Belen club and their work to reverse declining membership trends will be a great example for the District.