Rotary Exchange student arrives

Sakurako “Sakura” Kamitani, the Roswell Rotary Club’s exchange student from Japan, arrived at midnight Saturday (July 30).

Greeting Sakura at the Roswell Air Center terminal was a group led by club president Bianca Cheney.

The greeters included Karl Hendricks and Brice Hager, longtime family friends who are learning to speak Japanese; Colton Felmar, Roswell Rotary Club’s outbound student to Sweden in 2019-20 from New Mexico Military Institute; and host parents Mark and Maria Bleth.  

Sakura is 16 years old with an older brother and younger sister. Her historic hometown has about 470,000 people. Her father is a Rotarian and also was an exchange student many years ago.

Welcoming Sakura to Roswell are (from left) Karl Hendricks, Brice Hager, Colton Felmar, Mark Bleth, Sakura, Maria Bleth, and Rotarians Richard Madison, JP Cheney, and Bianca Cheney.

Jerry Childress service Aug. 20

Childress

A memorial service will be conducted at 3 p.m. Aug. 20 for retired Brig. Gen. Gerald “Jerry” Childress, who died July 7 in his sleep at his Roswell home.

The service will be conducted at St. Andrew’s Episcopal Church, 505 N. Pennsylvania Ave. The service also will be live-streamed on the St. Andrew’s Episcopal Church and LaGrone Funeral Chapel websites for family members and friends who are unable to attend.

A private family interment will be conducted later at the Santa Fe National Cemetery.

Jerry, 91, was a longtime member of the Roswell Rotary Club.

He was a combat veteran of the Vietnam War who was appointed superintendent and president of New Mexico Military Institute after retiring from the Army.

Bruce Stubbs discusses astronomy

Bruce A. Stubbs speaks to the Roswell Rotary Club about amateur astronomy at its July 28 meeting. Bruce is past president of the Roswell Pecos Valley Rotary Club.

Plan to greet exchange student

Sakura, the incoming Roswell Rotary exchange student from Japan, will arrive at the Roswell Airport Saturday (July 30) at 9:30 p.m.

I know she will be tired from traveling — about 14 hours total — yet it would be great to have a lot of people there to greet her. Mark and Maria Bleth will be her first host family and she will get registered at Goddard High School on Aug. 2.

I hope you will make plans to be at the airport with signs, balloons, or just your smiling face!  

Bianca and JP Cheney 

Stubbs to speak on astronomy

Bruce A. Stubbs

Bruce A. Stubbs will speak on amateur astronomy at the July 28 Roswell Rotary Club meeting.

Bruce is a charter member and past Roswell Pecos Valley Rotary Club president.

He holds a B.S. degree in mechanical engineering and worked 45 years in the oil and gas industry before retiring in 2016. He worked on projects in the western United States, Colombia, Mexico, and Mozambique.

Bruce has served as scholarship chairman of the Society of Petroleum Engineers, is a member of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers, a past member of the Roswell Geological Society, a member of the Roswell Astronomy Club, and served as adjunct professor at New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology.

He is married to Judy Stubbs and has two sons who are both engineers, a granddaughter, and three grandsons.

Since retiring, Bruce plays golf, stares at the stars, enjoys his family and has fun.

Signature ball from Rotary night

Rotarian Marlin Wells holds a signature ball presented to the club after “Roswell Rotary at the Roswell Invaders Baseball Night” at Joe Bauman Stadium. With Wells, who threw the first pitch at the July 12 game, is club President Bianca Cheney.

 

Shawler gives recap of court rulings

Donald Shawler, career law clerk to U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals Judge Bobby Baldock, addresses the Roswell Rotary Club at its July 21 meeting. Shawler gave a recap of U.S. Supreme Court rulings.