History columnist to address club

Janice Dunnahoo, weekly “Historic Anecdotes” columnist for the Roswell Daily Record, will speak to the Rotary Club on March 30.

Dunnahoo

Janice’s presentation, entitled “When Health Care Came to Roswell,” will cover the history of health care here; the beginnings of St. Mary’s Hospital; and tuberculosis bringing many settlers to this area, seeking the dry air and sunshine.

Janice regularly contributes to the West Texas Historical Association, the Texas-New Mexico Border Archives, the Wild West History Association Journal, and True West Magazine, most recently contributing an article about cattle drives and chuckwagons. The article comes out next month.

She also is a former archivist for the Historical Society for Southeastern New Mexico.

In 2020, she was a panelist for the Western History Association Conference; and in 2021, she participated in the New Mexico Humanities Council conference.

Club highway cleanup on April 1

The Roswell Rotary Club has scheduled cleaning up its mile along U.S. 285, starting at 8 a.m. on April 1.

Rotarian Gordon Patton, highway cleanup chair, said club volunteers will meet just before 8 a.m. for coffee and snacks at Mile Marker 116.3, about one mile north of the overpass on U.S. 285.

“It takes an ideal group of 12 people minimum about 1.5 hours to walk our mile on both sides of the highway,” Patton said. “Your participation is encouraged to help keep our Rotary Mile from being trashy!”

Gloves, trash bags, and safety vests will be provided.

Ridgway to speak March 23

Jim Ridgway, a New Mexico-registered handyman, will speak at the March 23 Roswell Rotary Club meeting.

“Though not an ordained clergyman, he does the GIG (God-inspired Gathering) on the county courthouse lawn from late spring to fall on Friday evenings,” said Beau Perez, March program chair. “At the beginning of the school year, he does school supplies giveaways.

“Jim also did the weekly, free bread giveaway for a number of years until COVID shut it down,” Beau said. “Jim and the crew from the GIG did the Thanksgiving Meal on the courthouse lawn in 2022.”

Club recognizes Student of Month

Kadie Cummings was honored on March 16 by Roswell Rotary President Bianca Cheney as the club’s Student of the Month from Goddard High School.

Club honors Paul Harris Fellows

Two married couples who belong to the Roswell Rotary Club were honored as continuing Paul Harris Fellows at the March 16 club meeting. Inducting the members into the Paul Harris Society was Mark Abramson (right), District 5520 Paul Harris Society chair, who was joined by District Governor John Drusedum. The Society members are (from left) Jim and Betty Young; Drusedum; and Bianca and J.P. Cheney.

Roswell Rotarian Warren Yehl is inducted as a Paul Harris Fellow by club President Bianca Cheney (left) and Past President Carolyn Mitchell at the club’s March 16 meeting.

Harris Society chair to speak

Abramson

Mark Abramson, District 5520 Paul Harris Society chair, will speak at the March 16 meeting.

Mark is a member of the Rotary Club of Albuquerque Del Sol, and served as president of the Rotary Club of Sylvania, Ohio, in 2012-13.

He will talk about the importance of annual giving and directing those gifts to The Rotary Foundation. These gifts change lives around the world and help fund projects in the District.

“Mark also will join members of the Roswell Rotary Club and celebrate those who have made the commitment and become Society members,” said club President Bianca Cheney.

The Paul Harris Society recognizes Rotary members and friends of The Rotary Foundation who elect to contribute $1,000 or more each year to the Annual Fund, PolioPlus Fund, or approved global grants.

Mark is the owner of Los Ranchos Gun Shop and an attorney.

Club to host District conference

The Roswell Rotary Club will welcome Rotarians from throughout New Mexico and West Texas for the 2023 District 5520 Conference in mid-April.

The three-day conference will begin on Thursday, April 20, with a 6 p.m. reception at the International UFO Museum and Research Center, 114 N. Main St., in downtown Roswell.

The UFO Museum — the largest drawing museum in New Mexico — annually hosts more than 245,000 visitors worldwide. The UFO Museum chronicles the reported crash of a flying saucer near the city in 1947.

During the past two years, the museum has added more than $1 million worth of displays, including one which puts the visitor inside the flying saucer as it heads toward a crash on a ranch west of Roswell.

Formal sessions will begin at 9 a.m. Friday in the Information Technology Center, 52 University Blvd., at Eastern New Mexico University-Roswell south of the city.

Coffee and pastries will be served before the business sessions and presentation of the Sonny Brown Award which will last until noon, when a catered lunch will be served.

After lunch, breakout sessions will begin at 1 p.m. and run until 2:30 p.m.

Rotarians and guests who do not attend the business sessions will be provided a list of suggestions for sightseeing in Roswell, said Carolyn Mitchell, conference co-chair.

On Friday evening, Roswell and Pecos Valley Rotary club members will host fellow Rotarians and guests at Home Hospitality events.

Workshops will resume on Saturday at 9 a.m., preceded by coffee and pastries.

From 1:30-2:30 p.m. Saturday, the Youth Exchange Student talent show will be presented at the ENMU-R Performing Arts Center.

“This is a must-see event that will feature Rotary exchange students performing their amazing talents,” said Bianca Cheney. Roswell Rotary Club president.

Later Saturday, the Roswell Rotary Club will host a 6 p.m. reception at the Anderson Museum of Contemporary Art, 409 E. College Blvd.

Dinner will follow in the museum. The theme for the dinner will be Men in Black.

The museum was founded by the late Donald B. Anderson and his wife Sally to host art created at the Artist-in-Residence Program the Andersons have sponsored in Roswell since 1967.

Today, more than 500 diverse works of art enliven its 12 galleries and 22,000 square feet of exhibition space.

Rotary International officers attending the Roswell conference will include:

• Past District Governor Rod Thompson of British Columbia, will represent Jennifer Jones, president of Rotary International.
• Geoff Cochran, annual giving officer for The Rotary Foundation. Cochran lives in Evanston, Ill.
• Rotary International Director Vicki Puliz and her husband Tim of Reno, Nev.

The District Conference will formally end Saturday night after the banquet.

The Rotary Hospitality Room will be in the Clarion Inn and Suites, 2000 N. Main St. The Las Cruces Rio Grande Rotary Club will be the Hospitality Room host from 8-10 p.m. Thursday and Friday, and from 9-11 p.m. on Saturday.

The Roswell Rotary Club, as home club for District 5520 Governor John Drusedum, is hosting the conference.

Special club event

Rotarians and guests not attending business meetings on Saturday can join the Roswell Rotary Club’s Sporting Clays Fun Shoot at Creek Side Clays, 131 N. Firehouse Road in Cottonwood, south of Roswell in Eddy County.

Registration begins at 8 a.m. on April 22, with the fun shoot running from 9-11:30 a.m. Lunch and awards will be held from 11:30 a.m.-1:30 p.m.

Pre-registration is mandatory. To register, contact Rotarian Paul Long at James Polk Stone Community Bank, P.O. Box 1778, Roswell, NM 88202. Long also can be reached by telephone at (575) 622-7621 or by email at paul.long@jpstonecb.com

The cost is $150 per participant. Payment and registration with Long are due on or before April 11. The first session is limited to 100 shooters.

Money raised in the fun shoot goes to youth and veteran programs sponsored by the Roswell Rotary Club.

Happy Birthday, Sakura

Rotary exchange student Sakurako “Sakura” Kamitani shows her excitement after blowing out her birthday cake candles. Rotarian Elizabeth Michael hosted a 17th birthday party for Sakura on Sunday.

Thom Reed to discuss UFO XPO

Thomas “Thom” E. Reed, internationally known UFO researcher, will speak to Roswell Rotary members Thursday about the UFO XPO, which runs Friday through Sunday at the Roswell Civic Center.

Reed

Reed made news when he was involved in a UFO incident which became the nation’s first UFO encounter to be officially inducted into the archives of the United States as “Historically Significant and True.”

The official induction consisted of two state citations by Massachusetts Gov. Charles D. Barker and Lt. Gov. Karyn E. Polito. The incident is the subject of a 2020 Unsolved Mysteries television documentary “Berkshires UFO.”

Reed has been the subject of several documentaries and has appeared in feature films. 

In addition to his work with UFO encounters, Reed is the founder of the international model and artist group, Miami Models (South Beach). Clients include Polo Black Label, Tommy Hilfiger, Nike, Ralph Lauren, Macy’s, Saks Fifth Avenue, MTV, and Luv’s.

For more information about UFO XPO, go to: https://ufoxpo.com/

March anniversaries, birthdays

Club Anniversaries

• Jon Hitchcock — 41 years on March 1

• Andy Miller — 40 years on March 1

• Andrea Moore — 5 years on March 1

• Kaye Whitefoot — 13 years on March 1

• Bianca Cheney — 5 years on March 23

Birthdays

• Dan Girand — March 5

• Jack Swickard — March 5

• Riley Armstrong — March 6

• Connie Harrell-Stone — March 9

• Shawn Powell — March 25

Marriage Anniversaries

• Colt Gipson — 41 years on March 13

• Detra Reese — 41 years on March 20

• Danny Fulkerson — 6 years on March 21