Rotary: making the impossible possible

The Wharton Rotary Club’s Western Music Gala, the club’s major fund-raising event, is Saturday, Sept. 25. Let’s do some history.

 

The Boys and Girls Club: If it were not for the Rotary Club of Wharton, I could not think of how the Wharton Boys & Girls Club could ever have been created otherwise. Four of the five persons who originated that project and saw it through were Rotarians. Today, the Boys and Girls Club is a mainstay of the Wharton community as a place for young people to feel safe, wanted and grow — thanks, in no small part, to Wharton Rotary Club’s generosity and support.

 

In my mind, the creation and love Rotary has given to the Boys and Girls Club is its proudest moment.

 

Concrete improvements this week
at the Rotary Fountain.

The Santa Fe Trail: Another proud moment is the Santa Fe Trail and the Rotary Centennial Foundation. That project was conceived by two Rotarians — Randy Michael was one of them — and could not have been carried out without the support of the Wharton Rotary Club. An entire team was built — a proud moment for all of Wharton. That includes the Lions Club of Wharton and the Pilot Club of Wharton, many individual supporters, the city of Wharton, and the Lower Colorado River Authority through the vision and support of Rosemary Rust, who served on the LCRA board at the time.

 

The three most motivational word words in the English language are: “It cannot be done.” (Four words?)

 

Often with these things there is no master plan, blueprint, piece of paper, or otherwise. It’s just with the support of institutions and lots of other folks who could envision impossible to become possible.

 

Which brings us to another point about Rotary. This regards, also: “It can’t be done.”

 

The creation of the Legends of Western Music Gala was outlandish. A couple of Rotarians, however, determined that outlandish things could be done. I recall Doc Blakely and Dwight King, and others that I am sure also should be named. It built from there. And here we are XXIX later.

 

There would have been no Boys and Girls Club. No Santa Fe Trail and Rotary Centennial Fountian without the Whar
ton Rotary Club. A team was built all through Wharton to  something bigger than all of us put together.

 

The future can be better with you and you and you, all of you.  Let’s not take. Let’s make.

 

“Players win games, but teams win championships.”

The fall chamber event schedule

Kiddie train, food trucks, cornhole games, parade, Santa Claus, face painting, snow, free T-shirts, and a possible ghost or two. We are lining up all this stuff and more for our fall and winter chamber event schedule.

Party Under the Bridge, Thursday, Oct. 24, sponsored by Paul and Cindy Webb. We are adding free train rides for kids plus the food trucks, a DJ, and free T-shirts. The cornhole game is still in the box, but not for long. The Party Under the Bridge will be from 5 to 8 pm at Dinosaur Park. Bring your own beer or wine if you want.

The Haunted Tour led by 6th Realm Paranormal, Friday and Saturday, Oct. 29 and 30. We soon will start signing up those wanting to go on the tour. Watch for notices because spots will fill fast. Because of the success last year, we are adding a second night and will plan to make this an annual event.

Wharton Chamber Christmas Holiday Parade, Nov. 23. The parade theme will be "Christmas in Toyland." More to come, sign up for floats and vendors soon.

Snow on the Square, Friday, Dec. 17. Last time, we added a "refresh" that stops the snow from getting too hard. We are going to do that again, but actually enlarge the whole area of snow. Event Underwriter is  Roberson Air Conditioning, with gold sponsorships from JM Eagle, Exelon Generation, and Mid-Coast Title Co. Inc.

We are optimistic that the Covid numbers will be such that we can carry on as planned. We want to wrap our arms around everyone that has been impacted by this long ordeal.

More to come. Thank you. Thank you to all of our sponsors and volunteers. "Players win games, teams win championships." 

Four new board members elected

The voting period is over. The results are final. Four new members have been elected to the board of directors of the Wharton Chamber of Commerce and Agriculture.

Elected are: Kari Lutringer, an attorney with Wader, Perches, Kerlick and Hundl; Miguel Santes, owner of the Cutting Edge Barbershop; Jacob Roberson, Roberson Air Conditioning; and Barbara Fortenberry, executive director of Just Do It Now.

 

Retiring from the board are Traci Knight, administrator of the OakBend Medical Center's Wharton Hospital Campus; and Laura Reyna, Wharton County 4-H and Youth Development Extension Agent with Texas A&M AgriLife. 

New directors will begin serving three-year terms on Oct. 1.

Santes was appointed to the board earlier this year to fulfill an unexpired term and was eligible for a full, three-year term.

Ballots were mailed to all members. The deadline was noon Thursday,  Sept. 9. A ballot board tallied the ballots and certified the results shortly after noon.

Carry-over chamber directors are Richard Lockley of Wharton Feed & Supply, Debra Evans of the First State Bank, Lacy Border of Flowers It Is,  Debbie Folks of Wied Realty, Sandra Kachmar of Mid-Coast Title Co., Kristi Kocian of Custom Creations, and Steve Wisnieski of My Storehouse Mini Storage.

Board chair is Chad Faucett of Edward Jones investments; vice chair is David Tripulas DDS; and treasurer is Bill Wallace, editor and publisher of the Wharton Journal-Spectator.

I am 64 years old. I love TikTok.

I love TikTok.

There it is, I came out and said it.

I love TikTok.

I said it again.

Why, you may ask? It is a fascinating way to drive business and brand. And here are 13 other reasons:

1. You learn about people who are different than you— how they think, feel, live, travel, eat, and do business.

2. You learn how other people perceive people just like you.

3. You larn that people are people everywhere.

4. You learn how wonderfully others can inspire, educate, and enlighten others.

5. There is a lot of stuff about drumming and music creation.

6.  Briana Valdez of the Sweet Spot in Wharton, Texas, is a genius.

7. You ger to hear directly from people who are genuine authorities in their fields, whether business, culture, education, philosophy. They get straight to it. Which leads to 7:

8. Some of you may love Ted talks; TikTok is filled with lots of short Ted-like talks.

9. You can quickly and efficiently dismiss people you think are too silly or dumb at that moment.

10. You learn that innovation and entrapreneurship is alive and well. By lots of young people, too.

11. As much as dinosaurs my age complain about "young people today,", there might be just as many "young people today" wondering about the shape of the planet we are leaving them with.

12. You learn that humor and satire is not frowned upon on TikTok.

And 13. The dancing is can be marvelously weird. Often it is No. 9. And why do so many people wear swim suits when they are not at the pool or the ocean?