Statuary garden update on agenda

Rotarian Steve Smith will give a brief update on the “Lest We Forget Historical Statuary Garden” at the May 21 Rotary Club meeting.

Also on the meeting agenda will be honoring the Four-Way Test winners from New Mexico Military Institute.

Time set to sort bottle caps

I have scheduled a time for members to help sort and weigh bottle caps that are made into the benches we’ve purchased for the parks.

Saturday, May 16, 2026,  from 9 a.m. to noon

Hawk's Automotive, address is on S. Lincoln — ENTER FROM WALNUT, just east of the tracks, through the gate.

This project has been uploaded to the EPICDAYOFSERVICE website.

THANK YOU. I hope people can make it, even if for an hour, on such short notice.

Bianca Cheney

District Youth Exchange Team

Assistant Governor, East 

(575) 637-8811

Police chief to speak at Rotary

Police Chief Alberto Aldana will be the guest speaker at the May 14 Roswell Rotary Club meeting.

Aldana became Roswell police chief on March 1, succeeding Lance Bateman.

Kelly Pigott to speak at Rotary

Dr. Kelly Pigott, minister of First Presbyterian Church in Roswell, will speak at the May 7 Rotary Club meeting.

During the past 30 years, Pigott has served as pastor of various churches.

He formerly served as the Cook-Derrick Professor of Church History at Hardin-Simmons University, where, in addition to church history, he taught courses in Bible, ministry, and spiritual formation for undergraduate and seminary students.

He has published numerous popular and scholarly articles and has contributed to and written several books, including “From Eden to Heaven: Spiritual Formation for the Adventurous” (Smyth and Helwys).

He has two children in graduate school, Nathaniel and Eliana. His wife, Susan, is the rector at St. Andrew’s Episcopal Church in Roswell.

Wealth managers to address club

John Farrell and Joel East with UBS Private Wealth Management in Fort Worth will speak at the April 30 Rotary Club meeting.

Farrell joined UBS in 2021 as a senior vice president, responsible for managing the financial affairs of high-net-worth families in Fort Worth, West Texas, and southeast New Mexico, most with a large concentration in oil and gas assets.

Before joining UBS, he spent 10 years at J.P.Morgan.

East joined UBS in 2021, after departing J.P.Morgan’s private bank as an executive director specializing in investments and portfolio management.

He spent nearly 15 years with J.P.Morgan, where he most recently worked in the Fort Worth Private Bank advising high-net-worth clients.

Club receives award

Rotary Club President Nicole Wieser receives a Rotary District 5520 award for Membership Growth from Bianca Cheney, assistant/area district governor. The award, in the large club category, was announced at the recent District Conference in Santa Fe.

Rotarians gather fugitive trash

The Roswell Rotary Club had a great morning on April 18, removing fugitive trash from our two-mile stretch along both sides of U.S. 285.

We collected 26 bags of trash, one tire tread, one tire, and an area rug (very heavy!).

The coffee, doughnuts, and colaches were all consumed!

Rotarians Marc Reischman, Bianca Cheney, JP Cheney, Kezia Pieratt, Jeremy Pieratt, Frank Sturges, Charles Currier, Dan Whitfield, Steve Smith, Nicole Wieser, and I participated in the cleanup. A big THANKS TO ALL!

— Gordon Patton

Roswell Rotary Club trash crew

Financial advisors to speak

Two Albuquerque financial advisors will speak to the Roswell Rotary Club on April 23.

The meeting will be at the Backdraft Barbeque@Third Street Station, 301 N. Railroad Ave.

Speaking at the meeting will be Thomas Parr and Benjamin Alaimo-Monson of Morgan Stanley in Albuquerque.

Parr is the managing director of the Horizon Wealth Management Group at the Morgan Stanley office.

He focuses on advising business owners and their families about the intersection of their personal and professional wealth, including the transfer of ownership to the next generation and the pre-, during, and post-sale stages of an exit.

Alaimo-Monson focuses on working with individuals and families to serve their wealth management needs.

Parr earned a B.S. in economics from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania. Alaimo-Monson earned a B.A. in financial management from the Anderson School of Management at the University of New Mexico.

Cheney to discuss conference

Rotarian Bianca Cheney will discuss the recent District 5520 Annual Conference during the April 16 Roswell Rotary Club meeting.

The conference was held earlier this month in Santa Fe.

Young to address canine question

Rotarian Betty Young will speak to the Roswell Rotary Club on April 9 about: “How do you know if the service dog is for real?” Betty is shown speaking at an earlier club meeting.

Highway cleanup on April 18

The Roswell Rotary Club will conduct its highway cleanup project on Saturday, April 18.

Members will meet at Mile Marker 116.3, about 1 mile north of the overpass over U.S. 285, at 8 a.m.

Coffee and doughnuts — as well as gloves, trash bags, and safety vests — will be provided, said Gordon Patton, Rotary Highway Cleanup chair. 

“It takes an ideal group of 12 people about an hour and a half to clean our mile on both sides of the highway,” Patton said. “Your participation is encouraged to keep our mile from being trashy.”

National birthday chair to speak

City Councilor Juliana Schaffer Halvorson will speak to the Roswell Rotary Club on April 2 about how the community will be celebrating the nation’s 250th birthday.

Juliana is chair of the Roswell 250 Committee, overseeing this year’s national birthday celebration in the community.

NMOGA president to speak

Currier

Missi Currier, president and CEO of the New Mexico Oil and Gas Association, will speak at the March 26 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.

Hospital officers to discuss post

Two Lovelace Hospital officers will discuss Explorer Post 124, a Scouting America post that focuses on medical careers, at the March 19 Rotary Club meeting.

Rotarian Christy Escandon, chief nursing officer at Lovelace Hospital, and Marlys Folly, clinical educator, will share the post’s 2025 successes and discuss its future.

Escandon and Folly serve as the post’s adult leaders.

Attending PELS training

Steve Smith joins fellow Roswell Rotary Club members Bianca and J.P. Cheney for a thumbs up at Steve’s President-Elect Learning Seminar training in Albuquerque. Bianca attended as an assistant district governor, and J.P. as assistant district audio-visual person.

Superintendent to discuss schools

Brian Luck, Roswell Independent School District superintendent, will speak at the March 12 Rotary Club meeting.

His topics include an update on Roswell schools.

McBurnette to speak to club

Rotarian Voris McBurnette will speak to the Roswell Rotary Club on March 5.

McBurnette, New Mexico Military Institute president and superintendent, will give an update on the 135th anniversary of NMMI and discuss what’s occurring on campus.

Mainstreet CEO to speak

Barbara Gomez, CEO of Mainstreet Roswell, will report Feb. 26 to the Rotary Club on Mainstreet’s 2025 accomplishments and its 2026 plans.

Homeless Coalition to report

Ron Fuller of the Roswell Homeless Coalition will report to Rotary on Feb. 19 on the group’s activities during the recent cold spell.

Engineer to report on U.S. 380

Francisco Sanchez, state Highway Department District 2 engineer, will report on the status of U.S. 380 from Roswell to the Texas state line during the Feb. 12 Rotary meeting.

Collins to give foundation update

Craig Collins, director of the ENMU- Roswell Foundation, will give an update on the foundation when he speaks to the Roswell Rotary Club on Feb. 5.

Dr. Cohen to speak Jan. 29

Dr. Eric Cohen, an interventional cardiologist, will speak at the Jan. 29 Roswell Rotary Club meeting on upgrades to the Eastern New Mexico Medical Center Cardiac Program.

 

Dr. Ridout to speak at Rotary

Ridout

Dr. Daniel Ridout, a gastroenterologist at Eastern New Mexico Medical Center, will speak at the Jan. 22 Roswell Rotary Club meeting.

During his presentation, he will discuss new endoscopy technology and give updates on GI services at the hospital.

Surgeon to address Rotary

Dr. Akbar Ali

Dr. Akbar Ali, general surgeon at Eastern New Mexico Medical Center, will speak at the Jan. 15 Roswell Rotary Club meeting.

“As we continue our Medical Services Month, we have Dr. Ali, general surgeon and trauma medical director, to speak on advances in surgery, including robotic surgery options,” said Rotarian Warren Yehl, January program chair.

Dr. Cromer to speak at Rotary

Cromer

Dr. Barry Cromer will speak to the Roswell Rotary Club on Jan. 8 about new equipment at Eastern New Mexico Medical Center.

Cromer, an orthopedic surgeon who joined ENMMC in June, will also discuss sports medicine and procedure panels.