Stories
We are proud of our high school students!Through their hard work and dedication, these young individuals were able to provide 10,152 meals that will be sent across the globe. The Yoakum Interact students fundraised all school year to be able to host the a Rise Against Hunger packaging event. This morning they partnered with the Yoakum High School Student Council and the Yoakum Rotary Club to complete their project and package the meals.
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2024 Bear/Toy Drive - Feb 1-29th |
Centennial Celebration Luncheon |
Rise Against Hunger EventThe Rotary Club of Yoakum and the Yoakum Interact Club had a successful Rise Against Hunger packaging event- more than 10,000 meals were packaged!! Thank you to all the community members who came out to help!
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Bear Collection benefiting Driscoll Children's HospitalPlease join us in collecting plush animals and items for Driscoll Children's Hospital now through March 9, 2023 Items can be dropped off at Embroidery Express, Hochheim Prairie Insurance, Pam Ward Realty, Chandler Drilling, Crossroads Bank, Yoakum General Store, and Yoakum National Bank. The following items are listed by Driscoll's as greatest needs: • Gift Cards (iTunes, Target , Amazon, Visa, Wal-Mart, etc.) • New release DVDs (Rated G, PG, or PG-13) • Crayons/Markers/Coloring Books • Latex-free fun Band-Aids • Lego building sets (small & medium sizes for all ages) • Stuffed toys (small and medium sizes) • Small prizes (cars, flashlights, playing cards, etc) • Play-doh |
Yoakum Rotary Receives 2022 Service AwardThank you Yoakum Area Chamber of Commerce for recognizing the Rotary Club of Yoakum with the 2022 Service Award!
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Volunteers Wanted - Rise Against Hunger EventVolunteers Wanted for Rise Against Hunger EventFebruary 18, 2023 9AM-11AMHoly Cross Lutheran Church - Parish Hall, 605 S. Hwy 77AClick to Register |
Completion of District Service ProjectEarlier this year, Trevor Seekamp and Leo Stringer formed up and poured a slab to add a second Rotary bench to the railroad park as part of a Rotary District 5870 service project.
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Save the Date - Oct, 7 2023Save the Date - Yoakum Rotary Club’s 11th Annual Bill Lopez Memorial Sporting Clay Shoot, October 7, 2023
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10th Annual Clay Sport Shoot RecapWinners - 4 man Discount Tire Team including Shiloh Gaebler and Duane Muncrief from VIctoria Skeet& Trap Club. Hank Shaper and Danny Webb from San Antonio area. We had 40 plus 4 man teams with 2 flights of morning and evening shooters. Lots of prizes and raffles and great food as always. Another great event for the books!
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Annual Sporting Clay Shoot |
2022 Bear/Toy Collection for Driscoll Children's HospitalThank you to all the community members, businesses, and club members that contributed to the 2022 Bear/Toy collection. Thanks to you we were able to deliver over 180 items to the patients at Driscoll Children’s Hospital!
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Rise Against Hunger - Rotary Day of ServiceOn Saturday, 5 February 2022, the Rotary Clubs of Yoakum, Hallettsville, Shiner, and Flatonia co-sponsored a global service project, Rise Against Hunger, at the Flatonia Civic Center. We packaged more than 10,000 meals to feed the hungry. Our Rotary theme for this year, “Serves to Change Lives”, is very fitting for this impactful service event.
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Rise Against Hunger Service Project on Feb. 5Rise Against Hunger's mission is to end hunger by providing food & life-changing aid. Lasting impact is made by nourishing lives, empowering communities & emergency relief. Join us - Saturday February 5th as we put together emergency family meals for struggling communities across the globe. Register here to volunteer. |
Rotary Clay Shoot 2021Thank you to all that came out for our Annual Sporting Clay Shoot this past weekend!
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Clay Shoot Postponed Due To Inclement WeatherThe 9th Annual Yoakum Rotary Club Sporting Clay Shoot has been postponed this weekend and RESCHEDULED FOR: Saturday, November 20, 2021
If your team is unable to shoot please call Russell Goebel at 361-550-7947. Otherwise, we hope to see you at Carter Farms on Nov. 20th. We apologize for the inconvenience, however, we always need the rain and due to so many variables of tent setup, food, and of course the machines and clays, the weather has to cooperate for us to have a successful and fun day. |
Welcome New Member - Vicki White! |
Registraion Now for Annual Sporting Clay ShootMust RSVP by September 17, 2021 |
Feeding The HungryYoakum Rotary was one of the 18 Rotary Clubs that gathered in Bastrop to package and box meals for worldwide distribution for the hungry. The eventwas held in conjunction with Rise Against Hunger, an international nonprofit hunger relief organization that helps coordinate the packaging and distribution of food to people in need worldwide. Rise Against Hunger was founded in 1998 and has helped distribute hundreds of millions of meals and other critical aid to people in 78 countries. 60 volunteers packed and boxed 10,000 meals in under 2 hours! It was a great day for service!
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Congratualtions Russell GoebelRussell Goebel was honored with the Rotary District 5870 Roll of Fame Award for his dedication to being a Rotarian and for his outstanding service to others.
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Lorren Cason, Yoakum Community HospitalOn Thursday, January 7, Yoakum Rotarians welcomed guest speaker Lorren Cason (pictured on right) of Yoakum Community Hospital. Cason was invited by Yoakum Rotarian Karen Barber (pictured on left) to update the club on how the coronavirus is effecting the hospital and our area in general. Cason answered questions the CDC guidelines, current treatments available at the Yoakum hospital and surrounding hospitals, and about the two vaccines currently available.
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Bear/ Toy Collection benefiting Driscoll Children's HospitalPlease join us in collecting plush animals and items for Driscoll Children's Hospital. Items can be dropped off at Embroidery Express, Hochheim Prairie Insurance, and Chandler Drilling, Inc. The following items are listed by Driscoll's as greatest needs: • Gift Cards (iTunes, Target , Amazon, Visa, Wal-Mart, etc.) • New release DVDs (Rated G, PG, or PG-13) • Crayons/Markers/Coloring Books • Latex-free fun Band-Aids • Lego building sets (small & medium sizes for all ages) • Stuffed toys (small and medium sizes) • Small prizes (cars, flashlights, playing cards, etc) • Play-doh |
Oct 24 - World Polio DayA polio-free world is possible, but we can achieve it only by taking action together. Join with Rotary this #WorldPolioDay to EndPolioNow: endpol.io/wpd |
Annual Sporting Clay Shoot |
District Governor Visit |
Welcome New MemberWelcome to our newest member, Pam Prause of Complete Hometown Physical Therap!
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Bringing Joy to Children in TreatmentEach year, Rotary Club of Yoakum partners with Driscoll Children's Hospital of Corpus Christi to bring joy to the children in treatment! 116 bears were delivered to Driscoll Children's Hospital on Monday, February 10th. Thank you to everyone in the community who gave bears for the children there!
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Rocksteady DonationRocksteady Boxing participant Richard Bowden and instructor Crystal Blakeney accept new workout equipment from Rotary Club of Yoakum President Chuck Dart. Rocksteady is a nationally certified therapy program for people with Parkinson’s disease. As many as fourteen local participants attend three workouts per week at the First Baptist Church gym in Yoakum. For details call Crystal at (361) 407-509.
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7th Annual Clay Shoot Winners |
Sept. 26 - Speaker, Bo RobinsonPictured from left are Chuck Dart, Club President, with speaker for the September 26 meeting, Bo Robinson, YHS Head Coach and Athletic Director and Sherry Hutchinson, Program Chair for Leon Heidaker.
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Annual Sporting Clay ShootSaturday, October 5, 2019 |
DG Visit & Club SocialRotary Club of Yoakum welcomed District Governor Jim Henry and Governor Elect, Rick Stacy with a meeting and social wrapping up a week of visits to area clubs on our district. Members and guests enjoyed hearing from Gov. Henry about the "Why" of membership in Rotary. Great evening!
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Congratulations Larry LeahyLarry Leahy, honored for Paul Harris #4. Thank you for your #ServiceAboveSelf!
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New Club President - Chuck DartIncoming President, Chuck Dart, with 2018-2019 Yoakum Rotary Club President, Bill Lopez at the annual Officer Installation Dinner for members and Guests. Bill has served at the District level and club level for many years and is well known to Rotarians in District 5870 Central Texas.
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Bears Sighted Leaving Yoakum!
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Yoakum Receives Top HonorsThe club extended a warm welcome to Rotary District 5870 Governor Jerry Chapman and Governor Elect, Jim Henry. Gov. Chapman traveled from Austin to present three banners to the Yoakum Rotary Club honoring their support of the Polio Plus Campaign and the 100% member contribution to the Rotary Foundation. Chapman congratulated all Yoakum Rotarians for their enthusiastic support of Rotary International's areas of service and for their outstanding commitment to local community projects and services. Pictured with Rotary District Governor Jerry Chapman (center) is 2017-2018 Yoakum Rotary President, John Olivares (left), and 2018-2019 Yoakum Rotary Club President, Bill Lopez (right). |
Dec 20 - Lt. Lee CampbellYoakum Rotarians welcomed attendees at their December 20th meeting. Tim Mccoy opened the day's program with a recap of retiring Lieutenant Lee Campbell's service to the Yoakum community over the past 34 years in various areas of the Yoakum Police Department. A plaque from the Rotary Club honoring his dedication and service was presented to Lt. Campbell. Pictured from left are Rotarian Tim McCoy, honoree, Lt. Lee Campbell, and Yoakum Rotary Club President, Bill Lopez. |
Making A Difference At St. Joseph SchoolThe Rotary Club of Yoakum obtained a grant from Rotary International District 5870 to provide additional security measures for St. Joseph school students and faculty. Each year the club has an opportunity to apply for grant money to benefit some facet of our Yoakum community. Rotary Club President, Bill Lopez, presented a check to Principal Sean Mooney on November 9th. In a statement to Rotarians, Principal Mooney wrote, "Ensuring the safety of our students and faculty is among our highest priorities at St. Joseph School. Thanks to the generous donation from Yoakum Rotary, we were able to install cameras and door alerts in addition to adjusting our magnetically locking interior doors to make them more effective. This added layer of security is greatly appreciated by all at SJS and we are grateful to Rotary for their support." |
Bake Sale Polio FundraiserYoakum Rotary Club held a bake sale with lots of goodies for it's polio fundraiser on World Polio Day! Bill Lopez, Club President is pictured with Carroll Sharp, Asst. Gov., 5870. Bottom photo from left are the folks that made it happen: Colleen Heidaker, Bill Lopez, Dorothy Mgebroff, and Louise Witte. Thanks to all who baked and bought!
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Service Project - Distribute "I Like Me" BooksKeeping up a much-loved tradition, Yoakum Rotary Club began their distribution of "I Like Me" books to Yoakum, Sweet Home and St Joseph Kindergarten students. The books are personalized with the students name, their teacher's name, friends name, pets name and more.
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Rotary Clay Shoot 2018What a great event, thanks to everyone that came out to shoot, volunteered time, sponsored the event. A beautiful day, little rain at midday didn't slow us down! A day of fun with family and frends!! See the photos
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Club Celebrates 95th Birthday!On Thursday evening, September 27,Mayor Annie Rodriguez presented a Proclamation from the City of Yoakum to Yoakum Rotary Club president, Bill Lopez, recognizing the club's 95th birthday. Past District Governor, Bill Bradfield accompanied by his wife Jane, was on hand to share some local, national and international memories of his years in the Rotary organization and Assistant Governor Carroll Sharp (not pictured) gave a brief history of the club. Honorees at the dinner meeting attended by club members and their guests were wives of former Yoakum Rotary Club Presidents: Janet Adamek, Margie Kvinta, Sue Munch, and Louise Witte.
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Annual Fundraiser Sporting Clay Shooting |
DG Jerry Chapman Visits ClubDist. Gov. Jerry Chapman and Yoakum Rotary Club Pres., Bill Lopez, visiting some of the Club’s signature projects.
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Club Social With DG Jerry ChapmanAnother great social for our Yoakum Rotary family at Dorothy M’s to welcome District 5870 Governor, Jerry W Chapman, to our club! Fun friends, wonderful food, good wine and after-dinner conversation on the tropical terrace. Can’t get much better than being a Rotarian surrounded by fellow Rotarians.#YoakumRotary #YoakumRotaryClub. Thanks to President Bill Lopez for making it happen!
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Happy New Rotary Year!Our very own Bill Lopez was inducted as President of the Rotary Club of Yoakum (having served the District in a range of offices) by new Asst. Dist. Gov., Carroll Sharp, that he inducted as a new Rotarian 15 years ago. What a great evening, and what great plans Bill has for the coming club year.
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April 19th - Amanda FrankeRotarian Amanda Franke served as Program Chair at the club’s April 19th luncheon meeting. Ms. Franke is the Administrator at Yoakum Nursing and Rehabilitation and was joined by Kevin Lange, Physical Therapist, in a presentation that outlined renovations and improvements currently underway at the facility. The project is expected to be completed in the late fall of 2018. Pictured: Kevin Lange, Physical Therapist at Yoakum Nursing and Rehabilitation and Rotarian Amanda Franke, Administrator. |
Yoakum Home Run DerbyThe Rotary Club of Yoakum facilitated the Yoakum Home Run Derby on Saturday, April 21. The derby is part of a national effort by Major League Baseball. There were two age groups participating, 12 and Under and 14 and Under.
Pictured from left are Rotarians and participants who braved the threat of rain to be a part of the sports contest held at the Little League baseball fields. Back row: John Olivares, Yoakum Rotary Club President, Bill Lopez, Rotary District 5870 Lieutenant Governor, and Yoakum Rotarian, Pastor Alsen Wenzel. Front row: Rotary District 5870 Asst. District Governor, Sherry Hutchinson, Trey Olivares, 14 and Under Winner, Kamren Meyer, 14 and Under Participant, and Jack Meyer, 12 and Under Winner. |
The Year Of The TreeRI President Ian H.S. Riseley issued a challenge last year. He wanted Rotarians to plant 1.2 million trees – one for every Rotarian in the world – between 1 July 2017, when he took office, and Earth Day, 22 April 2018. Clubs around the world have embraced that challenge. In The Rotarian, Riseley talks about what planting a tree means for a community. Q: Why tree-planting? A: Environmental issues have not featured highly on the radar of Rotary International in a corporate sense since 1990-91, when President Paulo Costa’s Preserve Planet Earth program inspired thousands of clubs to carry out environmental projects. I was keen to give Rotarians an incentive – and the opportunity – to show their concern for the environment. It’s important to me and it’s important to many other people. Q: Why do you think this idea has inspired such enthusiasm? A: There’s something about planting a tree that speaks to people in a very primal way. It shows a long-term commitment to the community. Rotary does many wonderful community projects: We build playgrounds and clean up rubbish and many other things. But somehow, planting a tree captures the imagination. I’ve seen many examples of communities getting involved. The government of Romania heard about the initiative and said, ‘We want to plant trees too, but we don’t have the personnel to plant them.’ The government offered to donate trees that Rotarians would plant all over the country. So Rotarians are planting a million trees there. |
Oct 12th - Tom Kelley, Yoakum ISD SuperintendentLeon Heidaker served as program Chair for the luncheon meeting on Thursday, October 12. He asked Yoakum ISD Superintendent of Schools, Tom Kelley, to speak to the membership about work being done on our local school campuses. Photographs of the renovations, improvements and additions provided a quick peek of the exciting project which is nearing completion. Also attending the luncheon meeting were five YHS Seniors; Kimberly Correa, Madison Harrison, Hunter Kvinta, Sadi Meza, and Lisa Seidenberger. |
Annual Clay ShootOur Annual Sporting Clay Shoot was a success! Fun was had by all.
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It's Time For Our Annual Sporting Clay Shoot! |
Lending A Hand at RYLASpecial thanks to Sherry Hutchinson,Larry Leahy and Bill Lopez for finishing up lunch for District 5870 RYLA Campers. Thanks Chef Heidi and RYLA Counselors for your help.
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RYLA CAMPOur RYLA campers we super excited to start their adventure at RYLA in the Rough 2017. Special thanks to Larry Leahy for dropping off the campers.
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Yoakum Annual Memorial Day Ceremony |
YOU ARE A CHAMPION |
DAP Grant ProjectLarry Leahy, Gery Maneth, Russell Goebel and Al Veselka, braving the cold to work on our Club's DAP Grant Project. in removing the old Yoakum Airport fence, we gathered over 6 balls of barbed wire that will be part of our Club's Sporting Clay Shoot Silent Auction in October 2017. Also participating were Chris Sefton, Pastor Wenzel. Bill Lopez and Kyle Kaiser and employees from the City of Yoakum.
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A Century Of Doing Good |
Volunteers Needed!!!Voluteers are needed for the following projects:
December 3: Need volunteers to help with goody bag distribution at Saturday's Christmas Tree Lighting
December 14: Need Volunteers to help with Christmas Gift distribution at the YNRC
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100 Yrs Centennial Project |
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August 11 - 2016 RYLA CampersPictured above from left: Kala Stock, Yoakum Rotary Club President, Larry Leahy, and Bryan Hurtado.
Yoakum Rotarian and past RYLA Director, Carroll Sharp, introduced the Rotary Youth Leadership Award (RYLA) recipients and 2016 campers from Yoakum High School. Kayla Stock and Bryan Hurtado presented the day's program outlining highlights of the week-long camp and the impact it had on them. RYLA in the Rough is a coed, residential leadership camp for high school students. Each year clubs from Central Texas District 5870 send approximately 100 campers to experience a fun-filled week learning about leadership, tolerance, team building and personal growth while keeping a rigorous schedule of problem solving, physical exercise and fellowship.
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Holiday FunYoakum Rotarians celebrated a great club year on Thursday evening at the Catholic Family Center. Dinner and fellowship were highlighted by the induction of the newest club member, Mary Jo Leahy, wife of President Larry Leahy. Members and guests were honored to have Past District Governor, Rich Kaye, from Austin to present additional Paul Harris awards to Lt. Governor and Yoakum Rotarian, Bill Lopez and to past club presidents Shirley Sommer, Alan Sommer; Karen Barber and Past President, Charles Havlik. To the delight of all, the evening included an ugly sweater contest. Taking the prize was Past President, Russell Gobel.
Members were reminded that the last noon meeting of the year will be December 17. Pictured in their Christmas sweaters from left are: Russell Gobel, Sara Nami Gobel, Karen Barber, Alan Sommer, Ashley Hermes, Shirley Sommer, Larry Leahy, Rich Kaye, Al Veselka and John Olivares |
Yoakum Rotary NewsThe Rotary Club of Yoakum would like to thank our community for making the Third Annual Yoakum Rotary Club Sporting Clay Shoot a huge success. This clay shoot has become a great, fun-filled, family event and it has enabled our club to provide scholarships for YHS seniors, Christmas gifts for local nursing home residents, "I Like Me" books for Yoakum Kindergarten students and other local projects. Thank you for your continued support!
We are very grateful to Rotarian, Russell Goebel, for bringing this project to our club three years ago. Russell has worked throughout the year to ensure the success of this event. He has enlisted not only Yoakum Rotarians, but an army of his family and friends to volunteer. Also, a huge thanks to Rotarian Gery Maneth and his wife Jody. For three years, they have opened the gates of their beautiful Maneth Farms and graciously hosted the Sporting Clay Shoot.
We were fortunate to have Major Sponsors ($1,000): HEB-Yoakum, David and Diane Harrison, Pioneer Natural Resources, Circle L Ranch-Larry and Mary Jo Leahy, Allied Title Company-Hallettsville & Mr. Arthur Herman, Antiques Art and Beer-Shiner-Beverly Sanders, and Hochhiem Prarie Insurance.
Our 12-Guage Sponsors ($500): Werner's Restaurant and Catering, CPC Specialty-Cecil Vanek, Tim & Kelly Respondek.
Station Sponsors ($250): Handy Stop Nursery-Alan and Shirley Sommer, Yoakum Animal Clinic-Dr. Kyle Kaiser, Yoakum Nursing & Rehab., Yoakum Community Hospital, Cornerstone Properties-Bill & Carroll Sharp, Braden Construction-Dustin Braden, GVEC, Rawley McCoy & Assoc, Victoria,TX, Prosperity Bank, Jim Goeman & Moravia Store
Other Very Special Sponsors: Mica Rentals-Flatonia, Tx, DeWitt Poth & Son, Double J Saddlery, Harley's House of Guns
To all our sponsors and participating teams, we can't thank you enough for making our Third Annual Sporting Clay Shoot a great event!
This year we had a total of 31 four-person teams, 124 total shooters participated!
The winner, from Cuero, Texas was the team of Leske Oil Company sponsored by Martin Leske of Cuero.
Top Youth Team was the DeWitt County Shooting Sports Team.
Top Womens' Team was Back Country Wildlife Taxidermy.
Top Seniors Team was MRC Global
Thank you again to every person, company or volunteer that helped us with this Rotary project--you are helping your community! Please come back next year.
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2015-16 Yoakum Rotary Board |
2015-16 InstallationLt. Gov., Bill Lopez, installs Yoakum Rotary Club 15-16 President, Larry Leahy, as Mary Jo Leahy "pins" her husband.
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