Terry Booker’s father-in-law was a Rotarian for more than four decades, and Alton Holt lived the Rotary motto: “Service Above Self.”
“Community leaders like him in over 4,000 clubs across America quietly found ways to help mothers and children, support education, promote peace, grow local economies, fight disease and provide clean water,” Booker praised. “I wanted to join the men and women in this area who also valued those issues, and I want to encourage others to join, too.”
In late-June, Booker accepted the Kilgore Rotary Club’s gavel from outgoing president John Lockman. His first month in the post quickly made way for one of the Kilgore Rotary Club’s busiest seasons – last week, the group held their annual August shoe drive in conjunction with Kilgore ISD’s One-Stop Registration.
“I’m overwhelmed at times with all the things we’ve got going and with the start of school. I’m pedaling as fast as I can,” Booker quipped. “It is neat to be part of a group that is so involved in making a difference in positive ways.”
Another positive impact immediately springs to his mind, another reason he joined the local civic group: Kilgore’s Rotarians sponsor local high school juniors each year in the Rotary Youth Leadership Award, and the club provides more than $10,000 in college scholarships to area seniors.
“That motivated me,” Booker added, “and the 80-plus years of service to Kilgore was a tradition I could celebrate.
The club was chartered in 1934. After its eight decades serving the community, one of Booker’s goals for 2017-2018 is to continue to build the club’s presence in the community.
“Rotary gets people’s attention,” Booker acknowledged. “At the same time, there are new people that are millennials who don’t have a clue what Rotary is,” and he’s eager to bring them to the group’s luncheon table at noon Wednesdays in Meadowbrook Golf & Event Center.
“Whatever they want to do. If they just want to come one day, that’s great. We’ll feed them lunch for free and let them know who we are.”
In addition to weekly speakers at the club – “Some of them are helping-agencies, educational-agencies, some are governmental-agencies.” – new members will gain a deeper understanding of their community through Rotary’s service-focus.
For example, supporting the community’s patriotic commitment, the club’s members and other volunteers put out more than 1,400 American flags throughout Kilgore on key holidays.
“Last year, the Kilgore Flag Project raised almost $45,000, and with another $10,000 to $15,000 of local contributions, the club determined to ‘Make A Difference’ in our community, our nation and the world. That is the Rotary International theme for 2017-’18.”
The club’s shoe drive – alongside the Kilgore Lions Club’s vision tests and the concurrent school supplies drive spearheaded by Presbyterian Children’s Homes & Services – fulfills a tangible need in the community, Booker added.
“We will give out approximately 500 pairs of new shoes and socks for families facing an expensive start of school ... There’s a lot of excitement for the kids, and they shouldn’t have to be anxious about the necessities,” he said. “They should be able to focus on learning to read and write and do their math.”
Beyond local impact, Kilgore Rotarians are dedicated supporters of Rotary International initiatives.
“One of the most impressive Rotary activities over the last 30 years has been a concentrated effort to eradicate Polio from all over the world,” Booker noted. “Rotary joined the World Health Organization, and later the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation in providing immunization for polio in every country of the world.
“In the 1980’s, the world averaged about 1,000 new cases of polio each day. More than 350,000 cases each year. Rotarians around the world have contributed more than $1.6 billion in those 30 years. In recent years, the Gates Foundation has matched every Rotary dollar with two more, and governments around the world have added more than $7 billion more with encouragement from Rotary.”
So far this year, Booker added, Rotary has tracked only eight cases of polio in only two countries – Afghanistan and Pakistan. Earlier this summer, the international club pledged to raise $50 million annually for the next three years, working to eliminate the disease entirely.
According to Booker, the Kilgore Club will participate in an East Texas Raffle in October to honor World Polio Day and raise a local contribution of $5,000.
In 2016-2017 the Rotary Club, under past president John Lockman, gave away almost $60,000, and the organization’s latest leader aims to keep that support flowing.
“It’s good for the community to know all these agencies that are out there partnering with us,” Booker said. “We can’t do it all, but we can help people do what they do.”
Among other endeavors, there’s a new way the local club aims to help this year: in addition to sponsoring Boy Scout Troop 252, the Kilgore Rotary Club owns the scout facilities at Kilgore City Park – they’re in need of some improvements, Booker said.
Meanwhile, “Kilgore Rotary will continue its tradition of providing a new dictionary for every second grader in Kilgore and Sabine elementary schools. One that they can take home after signing their name in the front,” he noted. “The club will share in support of SAFFE Day, Kilgore’s Helping Hands, Habitat for Humanity and four local blood drives.
“In a new initiative, the club has been challenged to plant one new tree in our community for each of the 33 local members and to continue last year’s new initiative to join the Henderson Rotary Club and other clubs with support for another water well in Haiti or Honduras.”
Whether the local club members are contributing to a Rotary International program such as the ongoing fight to eradicate polio worldwide or a local initiative like Kilgore Rotarians flag project, they're making a difference, he said.
“It all goes back in the community.”
