Rotary Club of Austin https://www.rotary-austin.org/ An Austin, TX chapter of Rotary International Thu, 16 Jul 2020 17:43:47 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://www.rotary-austin.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/cropped-Rotary-Favicon-32x32.png Rotary Club of Austin https://www.rotary-austin.org/ 32 32 BILL BRICE – Downtown Austin Alliance Homelessness in Austin/Travis County https://www.rotary-austin.org/bill-brice-downtown-austin-alliance-homelessness-in-austin-travis-county/ Thu, 16 Jul 2020 17:43:47 +0000 https://www.rotary-austin.org/?p=2339 More About Our Speaker: BILL BRICE Downtown Austin Alliance Homelessness in Austin/Travis County Bill Brice is the Vice President of Investor Relations at the Downtown Austin Alliance. He works to enhance relationships with all member property owners and key stakeholders, to strategically expand the Public Improvement District, and to develop and implement strategies to broadly […]

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More About Our Speaker:

BILL BRICEBILL BRICE

Downtown Austin Alliance Homelessness in Austin/Travis County

Bill Brice is the Vice President of Investor Relations at the Downtown Austin Alliance. He works to enhance relationships with all member property owners and key stakeholders, to strategically expand the Public Improvement District, and to develop and implement strategies to broadly address the needs of people experiencing homelessness.

Before joining the Downtown Austin Alliance team in 2003, Bill served as a YMCA executive director and as director of special events and communications for the Vail Valley Tourism and Convention Bureau.

He’ll provide general information about homelessness in Austin/Travis County, including a few key data-points, and he’ll zero in on a few current and very important initiatives including the Rathgeber Challenge and ATX Helps.

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JOE WILLIAMS – Keller Williams Realty https://www.rotary-austin.org/joe-williams-keller-williams-realty/ Tue, 03 Mar 2020 21:56:40 +0000 https://www.rotary-austin.org/?p=2522 Reported by Attila Horvath Bill Davies called meeting to order. Jack Wolfe led the U.S. pledge, and Nick Hesselsweet gave the invocation. President Elect Nominee Harold Benkoski greeted members and visitors as they arrived, and Dayo Awosika-Olumo introduced our many guests and visiting Rotarians. Congratulations to Bill Moran for his Paul Harris Fellowship Award (PHF) […]

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Reported by Attila Horvath

Bill Davies called meeting to order. Jack Wolfe led the U.S. pledge, and Nick Hesselsweet gave the
invocation. President Elect Nominee Harold Benkoski greeted members and visitors as they
arrived, and Dayo Awosika-Olumo introduced our many guests and visiting Rotarians.

Congratulations to Bill Moran for his Paul Harris Fellowship Award (PHF) +3!

Announcements included:

  • Jack Wolfe reminded us about the Membership Soiree coming up on Thursday, March 12th from
    5:30 – 7:30 PM at the Headliner’s Club.
  • Scott Rider told us about the wine and craft beer party he’s hosting on Friday, March 20th—
    sounds like a fun time!
  • Cindy Brummer gave our Global Awareness Update and announced new opportunities for
    global grant projects with a brand new partnership with USAid. This will allow us to partner with
    groups for 2 or 3 grants, rather than just one, and she asked for volunteers who would like to get
    involved, especially members with grant writing experience.
  • Mary Reynolds reminded us that next Tuesday is the final day to bring toys for the students’
    Toy Drive at Pecan Springs as well as volunteers are need at Pecan Springs on March 9, 10, & 11 to
    help assist Pre-K and K students dress up in costumes and get their pictures taken.
  • President Bill announced that on March 17th we will hold off-site Cluster Meetings in lieu of our
    lunch at Ben Hur and the sign-up sheets were located by the table on the way out. He also told us
    that our annual ARCF Recognition Dinner was coming up on March 25th.

The Thank Goodness Basket was led by Vlad Bahrencu, and he started things off by thanking Judge
Lee Yeakel, President Bill, and Jennifer for coordinating his U.S. Citizenship swearing-in ceremony
during our last meeting. President Elect Richard Payton was thankful for the PETS (President Elect
Training Seminar) weekend he just attended where he met some amazing people. Scott Rider was
grateful for his oldest daughter being safe after notification of the tornadoes in Nashville, TN. Ann
Graham reminded us all to be thankful for all the blessings we have. Tom Kenney was grateful for
pushing the wrong button while paying at the grocery store earlier and receiving $20 cash back that he
was donating to the Thank Goodness Basket. Finally, Adrian Moore was thankful for CARY (Council of
At-Risk Youth), a non-profit that works toward keeping kids out of jail.

After a few minutes of Fellowship, Tarby Bryant introduced Joe Williams, co-founder of Keller
Williams Realty, who gave a presentation similar to the one he just presented to the Camp Enterprise
students in January titled “If I Knew Then What I Know Now.”

Highlights of his presentation included:

  • Background doesn’t matter, it is up to you to be successful. Also, 85% of success comes from your
    personality and your ability to communicate.
  • Relationships matter and so does Personality. Relationship building can be taught but Personality
    you’re born with. Joe briefly mentioned the DISC factors and personality types.
  • Everything changes except human nature. Also, who thought that we’d be buying bottled water
    40 years ago?
  • Pareto 80/20 Principle—In any company or organization 20% of the people do 80% of the work.
  • Simplicity matters, and keeping your ideas simple can help lift you “above the crowd”.
  • One of the most powerful (and unused) medias is… a written letter.

Joe gave two examples of companies with unique but highly successful marketing strategies – Chick-fil-A
and Southwest Airlines. Both project clarity of purpose in a simple way. He concluded his presentation
by saying there are so many variables in entrepreneurship, it’s often difficult to recognize what’s true or
not; and he reminded us that there are two sides to every story. He said that that failing can be good, if
you use the lessons you learn by it. It’s what you do with failure that’s important.

President Bill thanked this week’s newsletter sponsors: Rick Ravel (Karavel Shoes) and Charles
Doty (Blue Cedar Pass). The Four Way Test was led by Jennifer Goodman, and our meeting was
adjourned.

More About Our Speaker:

JOE WILLIAMS

Co-Founder—Keller Williams Realty

Joe Williams is the Co-Founder of Austin, Texas based Keller Williams Realty, the world’s largest real estate franchise by agent count with over 1,000+ offices and 180,000+ associates across North & South America, Europe, Africa and Asia.

Last year, Fast Company named Keller Williams the #1 Most Innovative Real Estate Company. In 2015 Training Magazine named Keller Williams the #1 training organization across all industries in the world.

2019 was a banner year for the franchise operation placing it as #1 in units closed and total sales volume across the United States. Incredibly, all of this was accomplished with an advertising budget of zero, no corporate debt and the operation still remains a private company. The KW Model has been studied extensively by business schools across the country and after two distinct publications by the Stanford School of Business KW regularly gets referred to as the “Southwest Airlines” of the real estate industry.

Joe remains actively engaged with the company and has been instrumental in helping the KW Commercial Division get started in 2008 and is now the fastest growing commercial operation in the country. He acquired his BBA in Real Estate [76] from the University of Texas at Austin where he still resides with his wife Janine, their two children and three grandsons.

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HOWARD BERG – World’s Fastest Reader https://www.rotary-austin.org/howard-berg-worlds-fastest-reader/ Tue, 25 Feb 2020 20:37:27 +0000 https://www.rotary-austin.org/?p=2512 Reported by Jacqueline Sinex This week’s Rotary Club of Austin meeting featured many special moments, and a visit from guest speaker Howard Berg. President Bill Davies called the meeting to order. Vlad Bahrencu led the pledge to the American Flag, a sneak peek to a special occasion in his life he’d soon be sharing with […]

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Reported by Jacqueline Sinex

This week’s Rotary Club of Austin meeting featured many special moments, and a visit from guest speaker Howard Berg.

President Bill Davies called the meeting to order. Vlad Bahrencu led the pledge to the American Flag, a sneak peek to a special occasion in his life he’d soon be sharing with all of us. Ann Graham gave our invocation. Members, guests and visitors were greeted by President Elect Nominee Harold Benkoski and were introduced by Ken King.

The day was heartfelt with multiple Paul Harris Fellow award recipients: Meade Bauer (PHF +6), Michele Heyman (PHF +5) and Scott Rider (PHF +2). Michele also presented her daughter, Rebecca, with her first Paul Harris Fellowship Award. Congratulations to each of you!

Judge Lee Yeakel approached the front of the audience along with Vlad Bahrencu, to conduct an official ceremony swearing in Vlad as a U.S. Citizen. Vlad’s family and friends attended, and all members and guests applauded our new American citizen!

Judge Sylvia Holmes announced our upcoming Membership Soiree to be held on Thursday, March 12th at the Headliner’s Club. RSVP with Tillery Castillo.

Scott Rider invited members to attend a wine and craft beer party hosted at his ranch on Friday, March 20th, complete with games and “trash can punch”.

During announcements, Mary Reynolds shared information about the ongoing toy drive (accepting new toy donations) and the storybook-character themed event at Pecan Springs Elementary School to promote the kick-off of their upcoming summer reading program. Members are encouraged to volunteer to help kids from Pre-K through 1st grade enjoy the costumes, picture taking, and frame decorating.

After Fellowship, Tarby Bryant introduced our guest speaker Howard Berg, also known as the “world’s fastest reader”. Howard presented a program on how to increase productivity, and he cited that “Best learning comes from the best.” He is a Rotarian and current Secretary of a Rotary E-club outside of Dallas.

Howard said, “It all started in Brooklyn.” He is from New York, and as a child he felt that the “one consistently safe place” was the library. He attended college at SUNY Binghamton, while also working several jobs. He sought out ways to increase his productivity, and this resulted in completing his course requirements rapidly; for example, reading 48 books in only 3 days toward his science degree. He was able to complete both his degree in Biology and a 4-year Psychology program in only 1 year.

He shared several case studies of young students who have participated in his program to read and study faster. Most of them were younger than 20 years old and graduated college, law school, or post-graduate school so quickly that by the time they were in their early 20’s they were already securing successful careers.

Howard shared 3 main points of his learning program: Information overload, “waking up” your emotional state, and memory.

Point 1: The problem of information overload. We are constantly bombarded with an excess of information, and our brains struggle to process it. As tips to start teaching yourself to read faster, he shared these steps:

First, read the page of a book at your normal pace. Then, re-read that page with your hand/finger moving along each row and focus on following your hand/finger to read. Over time you will find yourself reading about 20% faster, collecting the information you need instead of concentrating on every word.

Point 2: The most important skill of all may be to recognize your emotional state.

Howard invited the crowd to participate in an exercise. Everyone stood and touched each of their shoulders with the opposite hand, then each knee, and then put a hand in the air, made a fist and said “I feel great!”

Howard explained that people, organizations, and companies need to be aware of both how they are creating emotional states (such as “I feel great!”) and of how they are extinguishing emotional interference (such as “I can’t do that.”).

Point 3: Memory. Most of us use visual and aural queues to remember things more productively than just reading the information. This relates to how one can better study subjects like math. While some students may not understand math concepts immediately or think they are “not good at math” it’s possible to explain it to them in a different way to allow their brain to pair visual and aural queues.

In another audience exercise, Howard presented a series of numbers, 1 through 10, with a picture of an object and a phrase that related that object to the number (for example “1 for pole”, “2 for shoes”, and “3 for tricycle”). This learning method was to make it easier for people to memorize an association of numbers.

We heard another successful case study about a man named Brad V. who was able to complete his undergraduate degree in college in only 6 months, while also learning Chinese in 3 weeks, so he could achieve his goal to be a traveling missionary.

Mr. Berg finished his presentation by sharing his desire to help kids and schools with potentially free/no cost programs that teach his learning method.

As the meeting concluded, President Davies shared that our next program would feature Joe Williams, Co-Founder of Keller Williams Realty. Wayne Courreges III led the Four Way Test, and the meeting was adjourned.

More About Our Speaker:

HOWARD BERG

How to Increase Your Productivity by 100% With the World’s Fastest Reader

Howard Stephen Berg is recognized as the world’s fastest reader thanks to the cutting edge accelerated learning techniques he developed that turn information overload into information assets.

Respected internationally for his contribution to the learning process, he is listed in the 1990 Guinness Book of World Records for reading more than 25,000 words a minute and writing more than 100 words a minute. Howard uses his talents to train you on how to stay on top of the information your success depends upon.

Howard is a graduate of S.U.N.Y., Binghamton where he majored in Biology and then completed a four-year Psychology program in one year. His graduate studies at several New York City colleges focused on the Psychology of reading.

Howard is the spokesperson for the SONY E-Reader along with Justin Timberlake, Peyton Manning, and Amy Sedaris. He is also a featured guest on Fox News, and Fox Business News with Neil Cavuto. He launched the 4G network for Optus, the second largest phone company in Australia.

Howard has appeared on over 1,100 radio and television programs including Neil Cavuto, Jon Stewart, and Live With Regis. His brain-based learning strategies have been hailed as a major breakthrough in publications like Forbe’s FYI, Selling, Men’s Health, Red Book, and Bottom Line Magazine, and have been featured in dozens of newspaper interviews throughout North America.

Howard has created more than 14 other accelerated learning programs including speed math and memory. Berg’s Time-Warner book, “Super Reading Secrets,” is in its 28th reprint, and Barrons books requested him to write a text for students. Howard’s Nightingale-Conant program, “Mega Speed Reading,” grossed over $65,000,000, and established him as a leader in brain-based learning. He is mentioned in a number of books as a leading expert on brain based learning and has been honored by over 9 books that track outstanding professional performance including, “Who’s Who Among Emerging Leaders, and 2,000 Notable American Men”.

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ERICA BLUE – Austin Sunshine Camps https://www.rotary-austin.org/erica-blue-austin-sunshine-camps/ Tue, 18 Feb 2020 15:08:58 +0000 https://www.rotary-austin.org/?p=2502 Reported by Phil Thoden President Bill Davies called the Rotary Club of Austin (RCA) lunch meeting to order. Jim Gdula led the pledges, and Mark Kapner gave our invocation of the day. President Elect Nominee Harold Benkoski greeted each member and guest as they arrived, and Gary Gerstenhaber introduced our many guests and visitors. President […]

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Reported by Phil Thoden

President Bill Davies called the Rotary Club of Austin (RCA) lunch meeting to order. Jim Gdula led the pledges, and Mark Kapner gave our invocation of the day. President Elect Nominee Harold Benkoski greeted each member and guest as they arrived, and Gary Gerstenhaber introduced our many guests and visitors.

President Bill thanked and recognized everyone who helped package the 25,232 meals this past weekend at our Rise Against Hunger service event. Well done all!

Caroline Valentine then came up to let us know that the Global Perspectives Dinner needs to be rescheduled and more information will be coming soon. Jon Yates asked for volunteers to help with the Books for Me program at Pecan Springs Elementary that provides young students with their very own book to take home and read. Mary Reynolds asked for donations of gently used toys and games for Pecan Springs’ EarlyAct FirstKnight service club’s effort to collect and share them with children in need. Next, David Kurtenbach shared information about the upcoming Census 2020 that will be used to determine political representation and funding for various government infrastructure and social programs. President Bill then came back up to remind us that our Club’s Annual Membership Soiree is coming up on March 12 at the Headliner’s Club.

Josue Limon led the Thank Goodness Basket and Don Ray George came up to let us know that the Global Youth Exchange (GYE) program with the Perth (Australia) Rotary Club is at risk of going away unless a new leader steps forward to chair the program since David Doran is stepping down from that role. Gaines Bagby reminded us all to vote and said that Jon Yates is available to address any questions related to the Boy Scouts bankruptcy protection process announced today in the news. Last, Pauline Gubbels recognized four of our newest members who participated in today’s New Member Orientation program.

Past President Gaines Bagby returned to the podium to introduce today’s speaker, Erica Blue. Erica is the CEO of Austin Sunshine Camps, a summertime program for young children, sponsored by the Young Men’s Business League (YMBL), which allows them to enjoy a free, week-long camping experience that they would not ordinarily be able to afford. The only requirements are that the campers be 8-15 years old, live in Travis, Williamson, Hays, Caldwell or Bastrop Counties, and qualify for a free or reduced lunch program. Erica enjoyed the benefit of a free camp experience when she was young, and she has now dedicated her career to causes like this.

Austin Sunshine Camps was started by YMBL of Austin back in 1928. Today, over 1,000 local children have the unique opportunity to spend 5 days and 4 nights at one of two Sunshine Camp locations in either the new Zilker Park facility here in Austin or a more traditional campsite out in Marble Falls. Some activities include swimming, canoeing, sports, ropes courses, arts and crafts, and exploring the outdoors. The next goal is to get 1,300 children each year participating in this program.

President Bill thanked newsletter sponsors Reggie Nisbett with Greater Texas Water Company, and Alison Michels with Evolve 360 Realty. Finally, Peter Cazamias came forward to lead us in the Four Way Test. Next week’s program will be Howard Berg who will share with us How to Increase Your Productivity by 100%.

More About Our Speaker:

ERICA BLUE

CEO, Austin Sunshine Camps (YMBL)

Originally from Alief, an area on the southwest side of Houston, Texas, Erica was the first person in her family to go to college. For the past decade, she has dedicated her career to causes she was positively impacted by as a kid.

Erica was most recently with the national nonprofit, Marathon Kids, as their Chief Operations Officer, and helped scale the organization from programming in three to all 50 states.

She graduated from Sam Houston State with a BA in Communication Studies and from Texas Christian University with a MS in Communication Studies in Human Relations. She is excited to help take Austin Sunshine Camps to the next level.

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ELDON RUDE – 360 Real Estate Analytics https://www.rotary-austin.org/eldon-rude-360-real-estate-analytics/ Tue, 11 Feb 2020 20:49:27 +0000 https://www.rotary-austin.org/?p=2488 Reported by Attila Horvath President Bill Davies called the meeting to order, Joseph Hang led the pledge to the United States flag and Michele Heyman gave our invocation of the day. President Elect Nominee Harold Benkoski greeted each member and guest as they arrived, and Carl Noble introduced our guests and visitors. President Bill traded […]

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Reported by Attila Horvath

President Bill Davies called the meeting to order, Joseph Hang led the pledge to the United States flag and Michele Heyman gave our invocation of the day. President Elect Nominee Harold Benkoski greeted each member and guest as they arrived, and Carl Noble introduced our guests and visitors.

President Bill traded Andres Bustamante (sponsored by Vlad Bahrencu) a Blue Badge for his Red one! Then he presented Dr. Pat Beckham with a Paul Harris Fellowship Award (PHF +3). Congratulations Andres and Dr. Beckham!

We heard the following announcements:

  • Tom Anderson provided the Global Awareness Update and announced that Marta Herrera had been selected by the District as this year’s Global Grant Scholarship recipient, which makes this our Club’s fourth year to sponsor a winning candidate.
  • Mary Reynolds reminded us to let Jennifer know if we were going to bring guests to our weekly lunches. She then told us about several service opportunities, including still needing volunteers at this Thursday’s Science Fair at Pecan Springs.
  • Caroline Valentine announced an upcoming Global Perspectives Dinner on February 28th. Please RSVP with her.
  • Past President Ronney Reynolds reminded us of the importance to give to both The Rotary Foundation (Rotary International) and our Austin Rotary Club Foundation; and then he told us that Bill Baker hasn’t been well, so he hasn’t been able to attend our lunches like he used to. Please reach out to Bill to let him know we miss him!
  • Charles Doty reminded us about tomorrow’s Downtown Breakfast Cluster Meeting then asked for volunteers to host the March and May wine parties.

After some Fellowship Michael Portman introduced our speaker, Eldon Rude, from 360 Analytics (Real Estate and Demographics).

Eldon has spent more than 35 years tracking trends involving real estate economies, housing developments and home building; and he shared many statistics from the past 10 years comparing Austin development and national trends. These statistics included: Austin’s unemployment was 7.8% in 2010 and is now at 2.8%; the local population has increased from 500,000 in 2010 to 2.2 million in 2019; Downtown growth is skyrocketing (26 projects are currently underway totaling 7.0 million sq. ft. of available space with another 32 projects planned with an additional 9.5 million sq. ft.); and there has been a gradual shift of business activity and home sales from Downtown to East Austin.

Our Speaker for 2/18 is Erica Blue–CEO of Austin Sunshine Camps (YMBL); and we recognized Andy Swanson (Centric Commercial) and Corey Wilson (Kidd Roofing) for their support of our newsletter. The Four Way Test was led by Dayo Awosika-Olumo and the meeting was adjourned by President Bill.

More About Our Speaker:

ELDON RUDE

360 Real Estate Analytics (Real Estate & Demographics)

A mainstay of Central Texas’ real estate community, Eldon Rude is principal of 360° Real Estate Analytics.

His more than 30 years of experience in the market have made him one of the region’s most respected real estate advisors to professionals in housing, development, banking, commercial real estate and the government sector.

Eldon has lived in Austin since 1979 and is active in numerous organizations including the Home Builders Association of Greater Austin where he serves on the Board of Directors and is part of the Finance and Membership Committees. He is also involved with the Real Estate Council of Austin and the Urban Land Institute where he is currently chair of the Membership Committee, serves as a member of the Advisory Board and previously served two terms as Programs Chair.

Before founding 360° Real Estate Analytics, Eldon was Director for Metrostudy’s Central Texas region for nearly 17 years. Prior to that, he was a partner in the Aegis Group where he practiced commercial real estate appraisal for 12 years, obtaining his MAI designation in 1990.

A frequent media resource and highly regarded keynote speaker, Eldon has earned a reputation for keen analysis and candid insight. He is a finance graduate of the University of Texas at Austin.

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BILLY RIGGS – Motivational Speaker & Illusionist https://www.rotary-austin.org/billy-riggs-motivational-speaker-illusionist/ Tue, 04 Feb 2020 15:11:12 +0000 https://www.rotary-austin.org/?p=2479 Reported by Bob LeBlanc President Bill Davies called the meeting to order and welcomed everyone to our new meeting facility at Ben Hur Shrine Temple. Mary Reynolds led the pledge to the United States flag and Past President Sherry Workman gave our invocation of the day. President Elect Nominee Harold Benkoski greeted each member and […]

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Reported by Bob LeBlanc

President Bill Davies called the meeting to order and welcomed everyone to our new meeting facility at Ben Hur Shrine Temple. Mary Reynolds led the pledge to the United States flag and Past President Sherry Workman gave our invocation of the day.

President Elect Nominee Harold Benkoski greeted each member and guest as they arrived and Carl Noble introduced our guests and visitors.

President Bill introduced our newest member, Jennifer Goodman (sponsored by Heather Toolin), and we all stood to welcome Jennifer!

Paul Harris Fellowship Awards were given to Past President Ron Mullen (PHF+3) and Peter Pfeiffer (PHF+2). CONGRATULATIONS to Ron and Peter!

Past President Harold Ingersoll announced the upcoming Rise Against Hunger event on February 15th. It will be held at Casa Chapala from 7:30a.m. – 1:00p.m. with two (2) shifts available. If you want to participate, please contact Harold to see what shifts work best for you. As always, family, friends and prospective Rotarians are welcome to participate!

Mary Reynolds told us about several volunteer opportunities, then President Bill reminded us of the wine party being hosted by Michael Portman this Friday (February 7).

Josue Limon led the Thank Goodness Basket and we all sang “Happy Birthday” along with Past President Gaines Bagby to Mary Reynolds. Then we congratulated Sylvia Holmes for paying off her law school student loans!

After a few minutes of Fellowship, Tarby Bryant introduced our speaker, Billy Riggs, MRE, MDiv, CSP of Profit Max Coaching (Billy@billyriggs.com). Billy was voted one of America’s Top Five Most Entertaining Speakers in a 2014 nationwide poll of conference attendees. For over four (4) decades, he has spoken to more than a million people on five continents and just recently spoke at the prestigious Million Dollar Round Table. His said his presentations change lives, improve attitudes, turbocharge sales and inspire exceptional service!

Four-Way Test CoinBilly spoke about “How to Achieve the Impossible—Extraordinary Success with Extraordinary Leadership” that specifically focused on: Integrity (what you see is what you get); Attitude (Keep yourself in the right frame of mind); Mission (have a higher purpose in mind that is noble); and Confidence (be absolutely sure of what you do). His presentation was informative, highly motivating and entertaining with quite a bit of audience involvement!

Billy closed his presentation with a raffle for a copy of each of his five books, which was won by Healy Marroy. Congratulations, Healy!

Our Speaker/Programs for 2/11 (Eldon Rude – 360 Analytics (Real Estate and Demographics) and 2/18 (Erica Blue – CEO Austin Sunshine Camps (YMBL) were announced; then we recognized Scott Rider (Rider Construction Group) and Bill Koen (Joe Koen & Son Jewelers) for their support of our newsletter.

The Four Way Test was led by Manny Cavazos and the meeting was adjourned right at 1:00p.m. by President Bill.

More About Our Speaker:

BILLY RIGGS

How to Achieve the Impossible— Extraordinary Success with Extraordinary Leadership

Billy Riggs has been called “a psychologist masquerading as a comedian and magician.” He was voted one of America’s Top Five Most Entertaining Speakers in a 2014 nationwide poll of conference attendees.

As a highly skilled orator Billy moves audiences to action with his message of hope and inspiration. Add in his talent as a master magician, illusionist, and spellbinding entertainer, and he delivers a presentation that audiences will remember long after the event ends.

Billy’s presentations change lives, improve attitudes, turbocharge sales, and inspire exceptional service. Through television, radio, books, videos, and live keynote speeches Billy continues to spread his message and currently more than a million people on five continents have benefited from his work. Billy starred in his own television special, “The Magic of Attitude.”


Awarded the prestigious CSP designation in 2002, Billy’s skill as a professional speaker has been perfected over nearly 4 decades. Audiences find themselves so stirred by his sincerity and power on the platform that he caught the eye of the promoters of the prestigious Million Dollar Round Table, and he was invited to present as a featured keynoter for their conference this year.

When Billy Riggs appears, things on stage disappear, time flies, and no one leaves the room! Using Las Vegas-quality magic and illusions to drive home his points, Billy’s presentations have transformed hundreds of otherwise ordinary conferences into events that are truly special. His quick wit and quicker hands spread laughter and raise morale as listeners learn to reshape their destinies by eliminating their “Grand Illusions” and embracing even grander realities.

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(RET) U.S. ARMY COL. SCOTT MACLEOD https://www.rotary-austin.org/ret-u-s-army-col-scott-macleod/ Tue, 21 Jan 2020 18:40:21 +0000 https://www.rotary-austin.org/?p=2454 Reported by Jim Gdula President Bill Davies called today’s Rotary Club of Austin meeting to order. Andres Bustamante led the pledge and Past President Barry Curlee gave our invocation. Our greeter was Healy Marroy, and Myron Burse introduced our guests and visitors. Peter Cazamias was introduced and welcomed as the newest member to our Club. […]

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Reported by Jim Gdula

President Bill Davies called today’s Rotary Club of Austin meeting to order. Andres Bustamante led the pledge and Past President Barry Curlee gave our invocation. Our greeter was Healy Marroy, and Myron Burse introduced our guests and visitors.

Peter Cazamias was introduced and welcomed as the newest member to our Club. Peter was sponsored by Barry Curlee.

President Bill presented the following Paul Harris Fellowship Awards:

  • Harold Benkoski (PHF+5)
  • Darrick Eugene (PHF+1)
  • Ken King (initial PHF)

Darrick then dedicated his PHF award in memory of Past President Julia Benkoski.

Past President Harold Ingersoll was called to the podium to give an announcement about our upcoming Rise Against Hunger service event. This year’s Rise Against Hunger project will take place at Casa Chapala, located at the intersection of Hwy 183 and Burnet Road. We need volunteers to staff 2 shifts with approximately 50 people per shift, and the shifts will run from 7:00 am until 10:30 am and then from 10:00 am until 12:30 pm. Bring prospective new members, children or other family members to help staff this important club project! The goal this year is to pack 30,000 meals.

President Davies next called on Michael Portman to tell us about the Wine Tasting/ Party that he’ll be hosting on February 7th, beginning at 6:00 pm. He’s still working on a unique theme for this event so stay tuned, but put it on your calendars now!

President Bill returned to the podium for the following announcement: EarlyAct FirstKnight (EAFK) Knighting Ceremonies will be held at Pecan Springs Elementary School beginning at 8:15 am on Friday, January 24, and at Dawson Elementary that same day at 1:30 pm. All members are welcome and encouraged to attend one of these ceremonies.

He then thanked all members for their help in finding a suitable, new meeting location. Starting on Tuesday, February 4, the Rotary Club of Austin will meet at the Ben Hur Shrine Temple, 7811 Rockwood Lane (off of Anderson Lane and Mopac).

Josue Limon offered the Thank Goodness Basket. Ellen Hunt was thankful for crossing off another goal on her bucket list after she visited a butterfly habitat in Mexico. David Menchaca expressed appreciation to Discount Electronics for their continued support of Rotary Camp Enterprise. Discount Electronics is once again loaning 20 laptop computers to be used by the campers next weekend.

David encouraged members to consider Discount Electronics for their computer needs to show our appreciation of their support. Ronney Reynolds reminisced about his and our Club’s history at St. David’s and encouraged us to make the move to the Ben Hur Shrine Temple a successful one. Sherry Workman shared a story about Rotarians involved in the massacre in Rwanda about 10 years ago and how they were able make a fresh start, hoping that we can do the same following our move. Ann Graham asked that we keep her and her family in our prayers as her husband continues to deal with health issues, the latest being a cancer diagnosis. He always encourages Ann to look for the silver lining. Caroline Valentine announced that as a result of her involvement with our Club and Helping Hand Home for Children, she has applied to be a foster parent and/or adopt one of the children at the home.

Following a few minutes of Fellowship time, Tarby Bryant introduced our guest speaker, (Ret) U.S. Army Colonel Scott Mac Leod, who is currently the CEO of Augmented Training Systems, a local startup that uses Virtual Reality to help train First Responders.

Colonel MacLeod presented some of his thoughts and opinions about the recent events taking place between the U.S. and Iran. He discussed how our leaders most likely framed the situation to consider the various interests and strategies going forward. He presented several positive and negative immediate outcomes of military action as follows: On the positive side for the U.S., Iran loses a key leader and they are forced to lie to their own citizens regarding their missile counter attack, falsely saying that 80 Americans were killed. On the negative side, Iran withdrew from the Nuclear Agreement, Iranian nationalism has surged, the Iraqi Parliament passed a resolution calling for the U.S. to withdraw all forces and there is a high likelihood of future terrorist attacks.

Colonel Mac Leod defined the Instruments of National Power as Diplomacy, Information, Military and Economic with the acronym being DIME. In dealing with the situation, the U.S. must try to identify the Iranian interests and build a consensus.

The leadership takeaways he presented are: (1) Do you have a Framing and Decision Making Taxonomy, (2) Can you step back from the fog and friction inherent during a crisis and apply critical thinking, and (3) Can you build consensus across organizational boundaries in support of common interests? He stated that these principles can be applied to our lives and professional careers, too.

A major element of U.S. strategy is assumed to be deterrence, particularly in regard to nuclear weapons, and an essential element in successful deterrence is a degree of uncertainty on the part of a would-be aggressor as to whether the target power, although attacked and badly damaged, will nonetheless retaliate – even at the risk of suffering further damage. This strategy is necessary to prevent nuclear proliferation in the area.

Next week’s program will be a presentation by the winning team from Camp Enterprise. President Davies acknowledged two of our newsletter sponsors, Mark Johnson (IBC Bank) and Michael Abelson (The Abelson Group); Andres Bustamante led us in reciting the Four Way Test to close the meeting.

More About Our Speaker:

(RET) U.S. ARMY COL. SCOTT MAC LEOD

The Iran Crisis, Leadership and the Influence of Power

Scott recently transitioned from the Army after a 31-year career culminating as a Brigade Commander. An accomplished senior leader, he acted as both a Chief of Staff and Chief of Operations for a 25,000 member command where he led a staff of more than 100. He is an experienced entrepreneur with more than six years of experience working alongside members of the Austin business ecosystem.

Prior to his retirement he acted as the Texas liaison to Army Futures Command where he was responsible for engaging centers of influence in the Federal, State, Business and Academic communities within Austin. His last operational assignment was as Commander of one of the nation’s 10 Homeland Response Forces. His dual responsibilities included commanding a Joint team of Army and Air National Guard Units available for mobilization in time of war or civil emergency.

During Hurricane Harvey he acted as the Joint Task Force Commander for the more than 6,000 National Guard, Active Duty Army and Marine Corps ground forces operating along the Texas Gulf Coast. He is a graduate of the U.S. Army War College and the War College’s Advanced Strategic Arts Program.

He is currently the CEO of Augmented Training Systems, a local startup that uses Augmented and Virtual Reality to provide training to Fire, Law Enforcement and EMS personnel. He is also the Headmaster of Summit Christian Academy in Cedar Park where he has launched Austin’s first and only fully immersive PreK-12th grade Innovation Education Program.

Scott volunteers his time by serving on multiple non- profit boards. He and wife and children have lived in Austin since 1999.

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GARY S. FARMER – Opportunity Austin https://www.rotary-austin.org/gary-s-farmer-opportunity-austin/ Tue, 07 Jan 2020 17:23:24 +0000 https://www.rotary-austin.org/?p=2437 Reported by Phil Thoden President Bill Davies called our first meeting of 2020 for the Rotary Club of Austin (RCA) to order. Girish Altekar led the pledge, and Tom Anderson gave our invocation of the day. Attila Horvath greeted each member and guest as they arrived, and Carl Noble introduced the many guests and visitors. […]

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Reported by Phil Thoden

President Bill Davies called our first meeting of 2020 for the Rotary Club of Austin (RCA) to order. Girish Altekar led the pledge, and Tom Anderson gave our invocation of the day. Attila Horvath greeted each member and guest as they arrived, and Carl Noble introduced the many guests and visitors.

President Bill then presented Barbara Beck (sponsored by Pauline Gubbels) with her Blue Badge. Congratulations Barbara!

Cindy Brummer came up to provide a Global Awareness Update and reminded us about several programs RCA supports around the world including: corneal transplants in Bangladesh, a music school in Guatemala, a hospital expansion in Kenya, and Mercy Ships that provide free medical care in Africa.

President Bill returned to the podium with a few announcements:

  • The monthly Downtown Austin Breakfast Cluster will take place at Magnolia Café on Lake Austin Boulevard at 7am on Wednesday, January 8
  • Our weekly lunch will take place back at St. David’s next week (January 14th)

Vlad Bahrencu then led the Thank Goodness Basket and Mary Bird Bowman was first up to let us know about the birth of her and Bob Bowman’s first grandchild in December. Pauline Gubbels is celebrating her birthday. Tom Howard shared that his daughter just received her Master’s Degree in education. Leslie and Gaines Bagby’s daughter got married on December 21. Jim Bryce expressed appreciation for RCA members who helped him while he was recently ill. Last, Sara Pantin shared news about her granddaughter’s GPA during her first year in college.

After a solid 15 minutes of enjoyable fellowship time, Michael Portman introduced this week’s speaker, Gary Farmer, President of Heritage Title Company of Austin and Chairman of Opportunity Austin, a regional economic development initiative aimed at fostering job-creating investment across the Austin region.

Gary noted that for many years there was never an economic development plan for Austin. After suffering through two downturns in the 1980s and early 2000s, the Greater Austin Chamber decided to implement more sustainable economic planning here, and thus Opportunity Austin was first born in 2004.

Since that time, Austin’s economy has become much more diversified and therefore better able to weather any economic downturns. Still, there are many problems to address here locally, including water infrastructure and transportation challenges, as well as affordability.

Next week’s program will be a Recognition/Award program for the Austin Police Department. Pauline Gubbels closed out our meeting by leading the Four Way Test.

More About Our Speaker:

GARY S. FARMER

Chairman, Opportunity Austin

Gary S. Farmer is President of Heritage Title Company of Austin, Inc., a commercially oriented title insurance agency operating throughout the major markets of Texas. He has been in the title insurance business since 1985. During Gary’s tenure, Heritage has been recognized for its excellence in the commercial title insurance arena as it has grown to be among the largest independently owned title agencies in Texas.

Gary is involved in a variety of civic and charitable endeavors. Currently, he serves as Chairman of the Greater Austin Economic Development Corporation, Opportunity Austin 4.0 Campaign and Co-Chair of the Waller Creek Conservancy Capital Campaign. Additionally, Gary serves as a Board Member of the following organizations: The University of Texas Chancellor’s Council, The University of Texas Development Board, the President’s Council of The Real Estate Council of Austin, the National Multi Housing Council and The Waller Creek Conservancy.

Gary founded the Greater Austin Economic Development Corporation in 2003 and has served as its Chairman for eleven (11) years. He is the Past Chair of Opportunity Austin (1.0, 2.0 and 3.0), Past Chair of Advantage Austin III, Co-Founder and Past Chair of The Real Estate Council of Austin, Past Chair of Capital Area Transportation Coalition, Past Chair of Take on Traffic Initiative, Past Chair of Caritas Community Advisory Board (two terms), and has served as a Board Member on numerous other civic and charitable boards.

Gary has chaired seven (7) Capital Campaigns which have raised approximately $100,000,000 for community endeavors. Additionally, he has served on three (3) Mayoral Task Forces dealing with the economy, the environment and healthcare.

Gary and his wife, Susan, are graduates of The University of Texas, the proud parents of three daughters and members of Tarrytown United Methodist Church.

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BOBBY JENKINS – ABC Home & Commercial Services https://www.rotary-austin.org/bobby-jenkins-abc-home-commercial-services/ Tue, 17 Dec 2019 16:38:30 +0000 https://www.rotary-austin.org/?p=2408 Reported by Andy Swanson President Bill called the meeting to order. Today is (was) Election Day for RCA President (2021-2022) and two open Board of Directors seats at our Club! Past President Harold Ingersoll led the pledge and Past President Barry Curlee gave our invocation of the day. Executive Director Jennifer Olsen greeted each member […]

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Reported by Andy Swanson

President Bill called the meeting to order. Today is (was) Election Day for RCA President (2021-2022) and two open Board of Directors seats at our Club! Past President Harold Ingersoll led the pledge and Past President Barry Curlee gave our invocation of the day. Executive Director Jennifer Olsen greeted each member and guest as they arrived and Carl Noble introduced our guests and visitors.

Wayne Courreges III was warmly welcomed as our newest member to our Club (sponsored by Past President Gaines Bagby). Please introduce yourself to Wayne when you have a chance!

Four-Way Test CoinThen President Bill presented two Paul Harris Fellowship Awards to: Tom Kenney (PHF +3) and Roy Springer (PHF +2). Congratulations, gentlemen!

Betty Cunningham and Past President Barry Curlee made the final Helping Hand Home for Children Christmas Party Announcement dressed as two Christmas mice (in honor of our speaker). Hope you’re able to attend!

Amy Jackson provided our final Annual Ask Update of the year and noted that approximately 50% of our members have pledged, and we’re still trying to bring this number up to 75%. This is the last push for Annual Ask so please contribute if you’re able! As a reminder, Annual Ask is how we fund all of the great programs that our Club provides each year.

We enjoyed a solid 10 minutes of Fellowship followed by the election results. Harold Benkoski was elected as President for a term that will start on July 1, 2021 (following Richard Payton). In addition, Diane Ventresca and Carl Noble were elected to the Board of Directors. Diane and Carl will each serve two-year terms starting on July 1, 2020. Congrats to Harold, Diane and Carl! We appreciate your service to our Club.

During his Announcements, President Bill recognized our longtime members Sam Wilson, Luther Parker and Terry Townsend who have been members of our Club for 50 years or more! Wow!

Don’t forget that we’ll have a “test lunch meeting” at Ben Hur Shrine Temple on January 7, 2020, so don’t come to St. David’s on that Tuesday! Please attend and give us your feedback regarding this location.

Tarby Bryant provided the introduction for our speaker, Bobby Jenkins. Bobby is the CEO of ABC Home and Commercial Services. He is a proud graduate of Texas A&M and is a former member of our Club (joined in 1983).

ABC is a family business that was started by his father in 1965. He literally grew up in the business, helping his mom and dad in the office. Bobby has two brothers, each of them owning separate ABC businesses with their own territories in Texas. They have no common ownership and each has their own separate finances. Bobby said that family businesses are a challenge – great when they are working well and heartbreaking when they don’t. He and his brothers have carved up three separate territories in the state and don’t dare cross each other’s lines or they have to deal with the wrath of their mother!

ABC is currently trying to figure out how to navigate the transition to the next generation; and Bobby’s passion is in building a multi-generational business. He reported that ABC has grown to provide a large breadth of services, and they’ve always wanted to grow the business 12-15% per year.

They initially started as a pest control business and now aim to be a one-stop shop for their customers’ home and commercial needs, providing services including lawn, plumbing, electric, irrigation, etc. The biggest challenges facing the business are traffic congestion and labor.

Bobby said there was no place he would rather be than in Austin to raise a family and start a business. Community involvement is crucial, and all business leaders should have a large role in the community. Philanthropy has always been important to ABC. All things being equal, most people will want to do business with those that give back to the community so be sure to tell your philanthropic story. Bobby closed by saying it was always good to be engaged with the community, and he stressed the importance of giving back financially and through service projects.

Don’t forget—We won’t be meeting for the next two weeks. See you on January 7th at Ben Hur Shrine Temple! Adedayo Awosika-Olumo led us in saying the Four Way Test. Thanks to Alison Michels (Evolve 360 Realty) for sponsoring the newsletter!

More About Our Speaker:

BOBBY JENKINS

ABC Home & Commercial Services

Bobby Jenkins is owner of ABC Home & Commercial Services with offices in Austin, San Antonio, College Station, Bell County and Corpus Christi. ABC employs over 850 people and offers a wide variety of services including pest and termite control, lawn care and mowing, landscaping and irrigation, tree trimming, air conditioning and heating, plumbing and electrical, pool cleaning and repair, handyman services, window cleaning and power washing, and appliance repair. Bobby is a graduate of Texas A&M University with a degree in business management.

Bobby is a past chair of the Austin Chamber of Commerce and past chair of the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board and current Chair of the Central Texas Regional Mobility Authority. He is a past president of both the Texas and National Pest Management Associations and a past chair of the Better Business Bureau. He is a past chair and current board member of Citizens Against Lawsuit Abuse and the Alzheimer’s Texas Association.

Bobby currently serves on the board of The Association of Former Students at Texas A&M University. He is a past chair for Caritas of Austin and has served as a tri-chair for the bond oversight committee with AISD. He’s the past chair and current board member of the American Heart Association and has served as the co-chair for the Heat Walk. Bobby is a past co-chair for the United Way Annual Campaign and current United Way board member. He is the co-founder and board member of Recognize Good and past chair and current board member of Austin Gives.

He currently serves as a trustee for the College For All Texans Foundation and the Better Business Bureau Education Foundation and is a board member of E3 Alliance, the Moss Pieratt Foundation and the Sudden Unexplained Death in Childhood Foundation. He also serves on the executive committee of the Texas Business leadership Council, is on the advisory board for Texas Capital Bank, and is the chairman of the Professional Pest Management Alliance.

Bobby has been married to his wife Jan for 36 years and they have three children; Jessica Pieratt 33, Chelsea 30, and Bo 27. He has four wonderful grandchildren, Moss, Madeline, Frances and Robby.

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TED KEYSER & CHRIS JANAWICZ – Helping Hand Home for Children https://www.rotary-austin.org/ted-keyser-chris-janawicz-helping-hand-home-for-children/ Tue, 10 Dec 2019 21:00:30 +0000 https://www.rotary-austin.org/?p=2420 Reported by Brad Wiewel President Bill called the meeting to order. Darrick Eugene led the pledges and Nick Hesselsweet gave our invocation of the day. Mark Kapner greeted each member and guest as they arrived, and Tom Anderson introduced our guests and visitors. President Bill introduced Adedayo “Dayo” Awosika-Olumo (sponsored by Mary Reynolds) as our […]

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Reported by Brad Wiewel

President Bill called the meeting to order. Darrick Eugene led the pledges and Nick Hesselsweet gave our invocation of the day. Mark Kapner greeted each member and guest as they arrived, and Tom Anderson introduced our guests and visitors.

President Bill introduced Adedayo “Dayo” Awosika-Olumo (sponsored by Mary Reynolds) as our newest Red Badge Club member. Welcome, Dayo!

We congratulated the following members for their Paul Harris Fellowship Awards: Todd Coleman (PHF +3), Bill Davies (PHF +1) and Aubrey Hibbard for her first!

President Bill reminded everyone about the Helping Hand Home Christmas Party, which is next Tuesday, December 17th at 5:30 p.m. and about Club Elections which will be held during lunch next Tuesday.

Josue Limon led our Thank Goodness Basket, and we heard good news from: Roger Williamson, Mike Capps, Mary Bird Bowman and Sherry Workman.

After Fellowship time, Todd Coleman introduced our speakers, Ted Keyser and Chris Janawicz who spoke about Helping Hand Home. Todd shared with us that this is the 90th year that we have sponsored a Christmas party at the Home!

Ted is the Home’s Executive Director and Chris is their Director of Residential Services. As Ted reminded us, the Rotary Club of Austin purchased the land for the Home in either 1922 or 1923. It is only one of four nationally accredited facilities of its kind. The Home has 130 employees and two basic programs: Residential and Foster services. They also have an on-site charter school and are expanding their campus to include a permanent school for the children.

Ted mentioned that he recently attended a Christmas party at Gaines and Leslie Bagby’s house for foster parents and children who have received their placements through the Home. He shared the sobering statistic that there are currently 30,000 children in the Texas foster system and 6,000 of them are ready for immediate adoption.

Chris shared several personal stories including ones about Hope and Myron, both of whom had faced tremendous abuse, but who were both positively impacted by their time at Helping Hand Home.

We thanked newsletter sponsors Andy Swanson (Centric Commercial) and Corey Wilson (Kidd Roofing). Then Jessica Diaz led the Four Way Test.

Next Week’s Speaker and Topic: Bobby Jenkins, ABC Services. President Bill adjourned the meeting.

More About Our Speaker:

TED KEYSER (Executive Director) and CHRIS JANAWICZ (Director of Residential Services)

Helping Hand Home for Children

Ted Keyser (Executive Director)—Ted is the Executive Director of HHH. Prior to working at HHH, Keyser held executive positions in the hospitality industry. An adoptee himself, Ted has brought enthusiasm and energy to the mission of the Home. Since Ted’s arrival more than 10 years ago the Home has seen much needed renovations to facilities, an expansion of its medical services model, a doubling of the number of enrichment activities and adoptions, and the achievement of national accreditation. Since 2012 Ted has served on the board of directors of the Texas Alliance of Child and Family Services, a statewide organization which strengthens services to children and families through quality care and advocacy.

Chris Janawicz, LCCA (Director of Residential Services)—Chris Janawicz is HHH’s Director of Residential Services. Chris, a licensed Child Care Administrator, has a Bachelor’s Degree in Philosophy and has worked at the Home for 27 years. During his tenure he has held positions of increasing responsibility including direct care, supervision, crisis management, and employee training. In recent years Chris has played a leadership role at the Home and in the community creating training modules on trauma informed care. Most recently he led his team in the achievement of national accreditation for the Home’s residential treatment and behavior management services.

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