New Rotary Club member

Kyle Stepp accepts his certificate of membership in the Roswell Rotary Club on May 9 from President Marcos Nava.

Pioneer Bank wins Rotary award

From left, Juliana Halvorson of Pioneer Bank, Rotarians Dick Jones and Sonny Brown, Savannah Montoya of Pioneer Bank, and Roswell Rotarian Steve Henderson during award presentation.

Pioneer Bank has been awarded the prestigious Sonny Brown Large Business Award from Rotary District 5520.

The award, which recognizes businesses that exemplify the high ethical standards of Rotary in community service and involvement, was presented at the recent District Conference in Las Cruces.

“This nomination is a testament to the hard work and dedication of our entire team at Pioneer Bank,” said Christopher Palmer, President/CEO of Pioneer Bank. “We are grateful for the Roswell Rotary Club’s commitment to recognizing and celebrating the achievements of local businesses. We look forward to continuing to serve our community with the highest standards of professionalism and customer service.”

Pioneer Bank thanked Steve Henderson and the Roswell Rotary Club for nominating the bank, which is headquartered in Roswell.

“The award is a testament to Pioneer Bank’s dedicated employees, who work diligently to have a positive impact while adhering to high ethical principles,” said Juliana Halvorson, Vice President/Marketing Director of Pioneer Bank.

“Our communities are more than just places we do business — they are homes to our customers, employees, friends, and families,” she said. “We will continue striving to be an ethical source of support and growth for individuals and businesses across our region.”

Treating Diabetes program topic

Treating Types 1 and 2 Diabetes will be the subject of the May 16 Roswell Rotary Club program.

A representative of the Vdex Diabetes Treatment Center at 110 W. College Blvd., Suite D, will speak.

Vdex Diabetes Treatment Centers reports using state-of-the-art treatment options “to help diabetes and pre-diabetes patients achieve real freedom in their lives.”

“In some cases, people can reverse Type 2 Diabetes and control their Type 1 like never seen before through treatments at Vdex,” the company reports.

Dr. Wenner to speak to club

Dr. Donald Wenner will speak at the May 9 Roswell Rotary Club meeting.

Rotary on the Road

Nicholas “Nick” Shirilla, Lovelace Regional Hospital CEO, welcomes fellow Rotarians to lunch and a hospital tour on May 2.

Club to meet at Lovelace Hospital

The Roswell Rotary Club will meet at Lovelace Regional Hospital on May 2.

Nicholas “Nick” Shirilla, Lovelace CEO, said attendance will be limited to 40 club members, so it’s important to call beforehand to make reservations. Nick can be reached at (575) 625-3387.

NMOGA president to speak

Missi Currier, president and CEO of the New Mexico Oil and Gas Association, will speak at the April 18 Roswell Rotary Club meeting.

As a veteran government affairs, community development, and strategic communications professional, Missi’s understanding of the state’s political climate has allowed her to champion energy, tax, regulatory, and economic diversification issues throughout the state.

A native of Carlsbad, she earned a Doctor of Philosophy, Master of Science, and Bachelor of Science in agricultural communications from Texas Tech University.

Wealth counselors to speak

Two ultra-high net worth counselors for UBS Private Wealth Management will speak at the April 4 Roswell Rotary Club meeting.

John Farrell and Joel East counsel and manage ultra-high-net-worth families in Fort Worth, West Texas, and southeastern New Mexico, most with a large concentration of oil and gas assets.

Farrell joined UBS Private Wealth Management in 2021 after working for 10 years at J.P. Morgan, helping to expand Morgan’s presence in the Permian Basin.

East also joined UBS Private Wealth in 2021 after departing J.P. Morgan’s Private Bank as an executive director specializing in investments and portfolio management.

Police chief to address club

Roswell Police Chief Lance Bateman will speak to the club on March 28.

Bateman has been police chief since last summer after retiring from the State Police.

Rotarians collect 44 trash bags

Rotarian trash cleanup crew

A team of Roswell Rotary Club members picked up 44 bags of trash on Saturday, March 23.

Gordon Patton, the club’s trash pickup committee chairman, said this is a record number of bags the club has collected on U.S. Hwy. 285 between Mile Markers 116-117.

Besides Patton, the participants were Marc Reischman, Steve Henderson, Ryan Vance, J.P. Cheney, Dan Whitfield, Steve Smith, Juan Rodriguez, Frank Sturges, and club President Marcos Nava, who also provided burritos and doughnuts.

Welcome to the club!

Marcos Nava, Roswell Rotary Club president, officially welcomes (from left) Juan Rodriguez, Ryan Vance, and Robert Norris into the club with a Certificate of Membership on March 21.

Jim Gill services Friday

Funeral services for Rotarian Jim Gill are scheduled for 11 a.m. Friday (March 22) at Grace Community Church, 935 W. Mescalero Road.

Director to discuss UFO Museum

Karen Jaramillo, executive director of the International UFO Museum and Research Center, will speak at the March 21 Rotary Club meeting.

The UFO Museum annually draws more than 240,000 visitors to Roswell and Chaves County. This makes it the largest-drawing museum in New Mexico.

The Museum is also home to the world's second-largest library of UFO material, surpassed only by the Vatican Library.

Chris receives ‘magic’ banner

Chris Lauderman, Roswell Rotary Club president-elect, receives a “Magic of Rotary” banner from District Gov.-elect Yasser Murga at the PETS training session in Las Cruces.

The Rotary International theme for 2024-25 is “The Magic of Rotary,” so each club president-elect received a magician’s hat along with a banner.

PETS training was conducted March 8 and 9 in Las Cruces.

Murga is a member of the El Paso Rotary Club.

Scholarship applications posted

The Roswell Rotary Club is accepting scholarship applications from high school seniors and current college students from Chaves County.

Chris Lauderman, club president-elect and scholarship chair, said applications are due by April 1.

Completed applications should be sent by email to: roswell.rotary.scholarship@gmail.com

Mayor Jennings to speak

Mayor Tim Jennings will speak at the March 14 Roswell Rotary Club meeting.

Jennings served as a Chaves County commissioner before becoming a state senator for 34 years, including time as the Senate Pro Tem.

He was born and raised in Roswell and graduated from New Mexico Military Institute. He then earned a bachelor’s degree in business administration from Creighton University in Nebraska and took courses in agriculture at New Mexico State University.

As a rancher in southeastern New Mexico, he has raised sheep and cattle.

Club honors student of month

Katlyn Miller is honored as the Roswell Rotary Club’s student of the month during the March 7 club meeting. Marcos Nava, club president, presented her with a Rotary certificate.

City engineer on Rotary program

City Engineer Louis Najar will speak at the March 7 Roswell Rotary Club meeting.

Exchange students visit Roswell

Visiting Rotary Exchange students Emily Klein (left) and Bela Santos hug at the Feb. 22 Roswell Rotary Club meeting. Emily is from Germany, staying with families in Carlsbad. Bela, from Brazil, is being hosted by Artesia families.

RMAC director to speak

Caroline Brooks, executive director of the Roswell Museum and Art Center, will speak at the Feb. 29 Roswell Rotary Club meeting.

Brooks is expected to discuss the many changes occurring at the museum.

She has been executive director of the museum and art center for the past seven years.

Brooks holds a master’s degree in infrastructure planning and management from the University of Washington, a master’s in curatorial studies from Bard College, and a bachelor’s degree in studio art from Western Washington University. 

Baker to speak at Rotary

Dusty Baker, welding instructor at Eastern New Mexico University-Roswell, will speak at the Feb. 22 Roswell Rotary Club meeting.

The meeting will begin at noon at the Roswell Country Club.

Club to meet at Texas Roadhouse

The Roswell Rotary Club will meet next Thursday — Feb. 15 — at the Texas Roadhouse, 3611 N. Main St.

The meeting will begin at 11:30 a.m., said Marcos Nava, club president.

Presidential flashy socks

Club President Marcos Nava shows off flashy socks to honor his friend Larry Connolly, who died on Feb. 2.

Connolly assisted Marcos, as his righthand man, during the 2020 U.S. Census in Roswell.

Marcos recalled at the Feb. 8 Rotary Club meeting how Connolly, as a stylish dresser, was noted for wearing bright socks.

Marcos also announced he would buy lattes for all Rotary Club members who come to Starbucks on North Main Street at 9:30 a.m. on Feb. 10.

The socks Marcos wore — closeup at right — show the Beatles, the British rock group that took the world by storm during the 1960s.

Rotary Student of the Month

President Marcos Nava welcomes Roswell Rotary Club’s Student of the Month, Dylan Kermode, to the Feb. 8 club meeting.

Tobosa CEO to speak

Curt Harrison, chief executive officer of Tobosa Developmental Services, will speak at the Feb. 8 Roswell Rotary Club meeting.

Tobosa, now in its 40th year, is southeastern New Mexico’s premier service to adults and children living with developmental delays and disabilities.

Historical society on program

Amy McVay Tellez, executive director of the Historical Society of Southeastern New Mexico, will speak at the Feb. 1 Roswell Rotary Club meeting.

UFO experts at Rotary meeting

Dennis Balthaser, UFO expert and lecturer, meets with Cat Martinez (left) and Karen Jaramillo after he spoke to the Roswell Rotary Club on Jan. 25. Martinez is assistant executive director of the International UFO Museum & Research Center. Jaramillo is executive director.

Honoring student of month

Lexi Pinon, Roswell Rotary Club student of the month, receives a certificate from club president Marcos Nava on Jan. 25.

UFO expert to address club

Balthaser

UFO researcher and expert Dennis Balthaser will speak at the Jan. 25 Roswell Rotary Club meeting.

Balthaser worked 33 years in civil engineering with the Texas Highway Department until he moved to Roswell.

He has been researching UFOs for more than 30 years, primarily about the 1947 Roswell Incident. His work also includes extensive research about Underground Bases, Area 51, and the Pyramids of Giza in Egypt.

He operated Roswell UFO Tours until the Covid-19 pandemic forced him to retire.

Today he remains active with the International UFO Museum & Research Center, giving mini-lectures and interviews to visitors.

Wilson discusses health care

Rachel Wilson, an ear, nose, and throat specialist at Eastern New Mexico Medical Center, speaks to the Roswell Rotary Club on Jan. 11.

Extension agent to address Rotary

Agricultural extension agent Drew Garnett will speak at the Jan. 18 Roswell Rotary Club meeting.

Garnett was raised in Dexter, where he fell in love with entomology through FFA. He attended New Mexico State University, where he earned his B.S. and M.S. in Agricultural Biology with an emphasis on Entomology.

He moved to Florida, where he taught high school science but returned to his love of entomology by working for Walt Disney World Pest Management for five years.

Drew moved back to his beloved Chaves County in the winter of 2021 as the NMSU agricultural extension agent.

Cheney honored as Harris Fellow

Carolyn Mitchell acknowledges fellow Rotarian J.P. Cheney at the Jan. 4 Roswell Rotary Club meeting for again being honored as a Paul Harris Fellow.

Wreaths Across America

Rotarian Maurice Geldert is honored by club President Marcos Nava at the Jan. 4 Roswell Rotary Club meeting for leading the club’s Wreaths Across America project at the McBride Veterans Cemetery.

Nava holds two photographs published in the Roswell Daily Record, showing Rotary and guest volunteers at the Dec. 16, 2023, wreath-laying.

Geldert said the wreath-laying at local military veterans' graves will be an ongoing club project. He currently is raising money in the club and the community for wreaths which will be laid in December 2024.

Yehl to introduce staff member

Rotarian Warren Yehl, CEO of Eastern New Mexico Medical Center, will introduce an interesting member of the hospital staff to speak at the Jan. 11 Rotary Club program.