Rotary Club President Oliver Morris/Courtesy photo
BY LINDA HULL
Vice President
Rotary Club of Los Alamos
Oliver Morris, President of the Rotary Club of Los Alamos, led a Club Assembly January 25, the second of two assemblies Club Presidents host during their Rotary year, July 1-June 30. Morris’s presentation featured highlights of his first six months as President including the successful summer fundraiser, Brews, Band, and BBQ, at Bathtub Row Brewing; the Club’s decorated truck with Morris on a ‘one wheel’ in the Fair and Rodeo Parade; the fall clean-up of the LAHS Memorial Garden; judging support for the recent Los Alamos District Science and Engineering Fair; and a tribute to new members. He also acknowledged Club members’ attendance at the South Central Rotary Youth Conference in Tulsa, and recognized the Los Alamos High School Interact Club for the students’ enthusiastic car wash and bake sale which raised enough money to purchase a ShelterBox, an emergency shelter with provisions for families in disaster areas.
The presentation would not have been complete without mentioning the Club’s two major projects: Meals of Hope 2021, the Club’s second year of packing thousands of servings of food for distribution to northern New Mexico families, and the Navajo Recovery Project, which, through, a Rotary District 5520 grant and funding from Brews, Band, and BBQ, provided food, water, and hygiene supplies to vulnerable families in the farthest reaches of the eastern Navajo Nation.
Touching upon Rotary youth programs, Morris introduced Laura Gonzales, a Club Board member and Rotary District 5520’s youth exchange placement officer. Gonzales explained that even though some programs have been postponed, the Rotary Youth Exchange, which will take place in the fall, has received applications from four LAHS students wishing to study abroad in Rotary-sanctioned countries.
Last but not least, Morris urged members to support the Saturday, February 12tCrab Fest as a way to continue to fund the Club’s humanitarian service. As last year, the Crab Fest will offer curbside only pick-up, 4:00-5:30, at Cottonwood on the Greens. Tickets are $60. Each dinner will include an eight-oz. serving of lump crab, six prawns, coleslaw, corn on the cob, dinner roll, two sauces, and chocolate cake. Grilled chicken is available by special request. To purchase tickets, bid on auction items, take a chance on a 50/50 raffle, or make a donation, please go to galabid.com/crabfest2022.
In closing, Morris thanked Rotarians and credited the community for supporting him during the first half of his year as President of the Rotary Club of Los Alamos.
The Rotary Club of Los Alamos is a 501(c)3 service organization.
For more information about Rotary’s fundraisers, its project and activities, and humanitarian service, please contact Linda Hull, Rotary Club vice-president, 505-662-7950.