Rotary Club begins new year

Rotary Club of Woodville’s new president Lee Mann gives an address to the club on goals for the upcoming Rotary year. MOLLIE LASALLE | TCB

By Mollie LaSalle

WOODVILLE – Lee Mann, who is beginning his year as the new president of the Rotary Club of Woodville, brought the program at last Wednesday’s meeting at the Pickett House. He shared his vision and what he hopes to accomplish this year.

He talked about all the service projects and fundraisers the club is actively involved in. He also stressed the commitment of each club member to Rotary’s core belief of “Service above Self”. With everyone working together, he looked forward to having a successful 2023-24 Rotary year.

The next event scheduled is the annual Rotary Gumbo Dinner, which is slated for Friday, Oct. 27 at the Woodville Fire Station.

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Rotarians will be hitting the pavement selling tickets in September. He mentioned Rotary’s annual Breakfast with Santa event, which is scheduled for December 2, and added that the new District Governor, Amy Killgore was planning on taking part in it. Mann wants to also bring back the golf tournament that the club had for years, which had fallen by the wayside. He’s been in contact with the folks at Sam Rayburn Country Club and has formed a committee to look into starting this up again, possibly next May.

The subject of the Salvation Army bell ringers was broached, and the last time Rotary participated in this, the club raised over $50K for the Salvation Army, with all the proceeds staying in Tyler County. It was explained that Walmart pays their employees comp time to ring the bell outside the store now.

Mann said “as the new president, I want to ask two things of our members: 1. Stay focused on what it is to be a true Rotarian, and 2. Support Rotary International’s president Gordon McInally’s hope filled agenda, which is “Creating Hope in the World”. He also said, “I look forward to the new Rotary year, and it is certainly an honor and I appreciate very much the opportunity to serve again as your president. I have a better understanding of Rotary now than I did almost 30 years ago. If you’re going to move something forward, often times, you have to start out with the basics, you have to have that foundation, whatever it is, to move that organization forward.”

Woodville Rotary has been serving Tyler County since 1939, and over the years, has been front and center for many major events and fundraisers over the years. All members share the same motto of “Service above Self”.