Raising smiles and funds

Rotarian Peg Crim of Alamogordo (left) joins Roswell Rotarians Bianca Cheney and Carolyn Mitchell at the Ruidoso Rotary Bingo fund-raiser.

Rotary Mile cleanup a success

Eight Roswell Rotary Club members showed up on April 1 for the highway cleanup on U.S. 285 north of Roswell. Members who participated in the cleanup were Willis Sharmer, Jim Young, Betty Young, Marc Reischman, J.P. Cheney, Bianca Cheney, Steve Henderson, and Gordon Patton, cleanup committee chair.

April anniversaries, birthdays

Club Anniversaries

    • Dan Girand — 1 year on April 1

    • Ramon Perez — 1 year on April 1

    • Braxton Fulkerson — 3 years on April 4

    • Chris Lauderman — 5 years on April 6

    • Roxanne Yates — 29 years on April 15

Birthdays

    • Chris Lauderman — April 3

    • Andrea Moore — April 4

    • Jesse Eckel — April 8

    • Colt Gipson — April 9

    • Detra Reese — April 10

    • Chris Stokes — April 13

    • Wayne Glass — April 15

    • Dirk Jones — April 17

    • Roxanne Yates — April 28

Marriage Anniversaries

    • Paul Long — 9 years on April 6

    • Jim Gill — 40 years on April 10

    • Roxanne Yates — 56 years on April 16

    • Jerry Grizzle — 48 years on April 20

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.