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.

I should have stopped at Starbucks!

I’m not a morning person, so one of the more challenging tasks I’ve faced as District Governor is getting going for the 7:00 am meetings. As I drove into Rio Rancho for my visit to their breakfast club I passed several Starbuck’s and kept thinking that I should stop for my usual Americano - 3 shots of espresso with a little water. But I didn’t. As soon as I drove up to the Chamisa Hills Country Club at 6:30am, I realized that I had made a mistake by not stopping. Before I got out of the car PDG Rick Akins popped out of the club house to greet me! He had already set-up the room for the meeting and immediately started telling me everything about the club and the plans that are being made for the 2010 Zone meeting in Albuquerque. This was just the start of an exhilarating and energy filled meeting.

The Rio Rancho Sunrise is one of the newer clubs in the District, but they have already become an stimulating club. President Mac rang the club to order and introduced the Rotarian of the Day, Karen Delle Site . The Rotarian of the Day offers the invocation, leads the pledge and introduces the speaker. The club was excited that their first Rotary Youth Exchange Student would be arriving in a few days. Membership chair Michael Smith inducted a new member that morning and announced 3 more would be inducted the following week. I had a great visit to the Rio Rancho Rotary Club. My visit was made even more special by a large group from the District Leadership Team that offered their support by attended the meeting…PDG Rick and Roz Akins, DGN Bobby Wallace, LG Bill Lowen and AG Bill Rothweiler.

Note to self…Next visit to Rio Rancho Sunrise STOP at Starbucks first!

Richard Slaton Jones 1921 - 2009

I want to Thank everyone in District 5520 for your thoughts, prayers and support offered to me and my family during the passing of my Dad, Richard Slaton Jones. Sometimes it takes the passing of a loved one to realize how much more love there is our life and Rotary.

Dad had been living in an assisted care facility for the past two years, which improved his health and quality of life. I had been able to visit him frequently. Although he didn’t remember a lot of things, each time I visited he would ask me about getting his driver’s license renewed and “How’s that Rotary job of yours’ going?”

The weekend before he entered the hospital he was able to attend a family reunion in Lubbock, something he always enjoyed. I was able to be with him during his last days in the hospital, for which I am very grateful!

Dad was a Veteran of WWII, a quite and gentle man, and a man who taught me how much service to ones fellow man enriches our own lives.

GSE Team Leader Selected

Lisa Witt, Rotary Club of Albuquerque, was selected to lead District 5520’s GSE Team to District 3870 in the Philippines next spring.

Lisa moved to New Mexico in 1995 and started her business, Avista Video Histories, in 1996. Avista Video began by creating family history videos, but has expanded to include documentaries and commercial video productions. Lisa is on the list of New Mexico Women Owned Business and Avista has won 17 National Telly Awards for its video work.

Prior to moving to New Mexico, Lisa earned a BA in International Relations from the University of Michigan, an MS in Foreign Service from the Georgetown School of Foreign Service. She worked for the Office of Management and Budget, and was appointed by President Clinton as Chief Economist, Policy Planning Staff, for the U.S. State Department.

Chavi Peter from the Rotary Club of Taos was selected as alternate Team Leader and will play a vital role in developing the District 5520 outbound team.

Now it is a critical that all Club and District leaders concentrate their efforts on identifying potential candidates to participate in the GSE program. Candidates must be 25-40 years old, with three years in their profession and not a directly related to a Rotarian. Additional information is available at http://rotary5520.org/GSE/index.html or by e-mailing GSE Chair Donna Pedace at pedaceabq@aol.com.