I was born in Joplin, Missouri and after my dad graduated from college, we made the move South. First to Dallas, then we settled in Houston, Texas.  I was active in school, played at the neighborhood parks and in the sports programs, primarily fast pitch softball and tennis. I continued with those sports through high school and my college years at Sam Houston State University. And, as you might guess, majored in Physical Education and Recreation.

After my first summer job with the Austin Parks and Recreation Department in 1969 I knew Community Recreation was the field for me. I worked for the cities of Austin, Houston, Garland and Copperas Cove over a span of 39 years. It was exciting to develop and initiate programs that provided recreational opportunities for youth and adults of all ages. Several of the more unusual types of activities I was involved with included Golden Gloves and AAU Boxing, Austin Aqua Fest, Texas Senior Games, USTA/ Virginia Slims Tennis Circuit, Capitol City BMX Track, the Dana Cup (Denmark) and the Gothia Cup (Sweden) International Youth Soccer and the Bulgarian World Cup Team liaison for the City of Austin.

In 1998 we moved to Lake LBJ outside of Marble Falls. I commuted 120 miles daily to and from Copperas Cove for the next 6 years. By this time, I was the Director of Community Services which included Parks, Recreation, Athletics, Golf, Senior Programs and Libraries. During those years, I also served as the president of the Leisure and Aging Branch of the National Recreation and Parks Association and on the Board of Regents of the Rocky Mountain Revenue Management School.

I retired to the lake in 2004 and after a short while started looking for something interesting to keep me active and involved in the community. I applied and was selected as the Executive Director of the Boys and Girls Club of the Highland Lakes. It was through my board of directors that I learned about Rotary. Many of the directors were members of the Marble Falls Rotary and on occasion I presented programs at their luncheons. Through John Salem I met Tom Evans from the Burnet Rotary. He became my sponsor and invited me to join the Rotary Club of Burnet in 2007.

For the past 13 years I have been a member of three different clubs – RC of Burnet, Rotario Ajijic, Jalisco, Mexico and the E-Club of Central Texas. During my time with the Burnet Rotary I met DG Ruth Allison and DG Suresh Pahwa and had the opportunity to represent our Club at my first District Conference in Fredericksburg. That opened up a whole new world. I met people from all over the district and they were excited about the many Rotary projects underway and new ideas being explored. Over the next few years I served as co-chair, then chair of the District Interact program and as District photographer for three years. Attended RYLA for the first time and later became camp photographer for several years. Met and worked with Martha Myers, Patrick O’Farrell and Ashley Hermes Rodriguez at RYLA. What great fun.

Rotary in Mexico was quite different. We had multiple activities going on weekly from bingo to fund raising for life jackets for the fishermen and school uniforms for children, building restroom facilities, school playgrounds and clean water projects. After returning to Burnet I continued to assist Rotario Ajijic by collecting tools, books and supplies for the Hope House Orphanage near Chapala.

In 2015 I joined the E-Club and was so happy to be around Rotarians I already knew and had worked with on projects. (Martha, Suresh, Ashley, Patrick, Brigitte.) We have accomplished many things since forming this club.

• We gathered and delivered soccer uniforms, shoes, balls and equipment to support youth soccer programs in Mexico.
• We started an Interact Club with the Manor New Tech High School. We received special help with club t-shirts from DG Betty Ramirez-Lara/ Dist 5930.
• We joined with the Chapala Sunrise Rotary Club to install a water containment system for the village of Mezcala, Jal, Mexico.
• After hurricane Harvey I went to Galveston and purchased 25 trees to be planted in the Hill Country and around Austin.
• Headed up our Town Lake Bat Cruise networking social with three other local clubs in Austin.

I especially enjoy planning and working behind the scenes on events and activities to ensure a smooth seamless operation.

My personal passion is travel, which I consider education through exploration. I enjoy touring around the USA with my travel trailer exploring national and state parks. I try to include visits to local Rotary Clubs as I travel.   Tracing my family ancestry back to Great Britton, Northern Ireland, Norway and Iceland has been fascinating and I have been able to share those adventures with my twin granddaughters. I look forward to the day when Co-Vid is under control and we can, again, be more interactive with each other and continue the great work of Rotary.