The United States Secret Service Visits The Rotary Club of Edmond

What do you know about the United States Secret Service? Did you know that the Secret Service was established at the end of the Civil War, for the purpose of suppressing the counterfeiting of U.S. currency? Were you aware that the agency, headquartered in Washington, D.C., has more than 150 offices throughout the United States and abroad?

According to the agency website, “the mission of the United States Secret Service is to safeguard the nation’s financial infrastructure and payment systems to preserve the integrity of the economy, and to protect national leaders, visiting heads of state and government, designated sites and National Special Security Events.” In addition to interdicting counterfeiting, the Secret Service conducts investigates cybercrimes and other financial misconduct. And, of course, the Secret Service also protects the President of the United States.

I’ve had the good fortune to know several Secret Service agents, and they all have at least one thing in common. All are great people, individuals who regularly put Service Above Self (and are trained and called upon to do so under the most extreme of circumstances). I do not know our speaker, but am looking forward to meeting him.

Adrian Andrews has been Special Agent In Charge of the agency’s Oklahoma City field office since April 2008. Before his current assignment, Agent Andrews served as Assistant Special Agent in Charge at the United States Secret Service Training Academy. His other assignments have included service as an investigative agent in the areas of counterfeiting, identity theft, protective intelligence and undercover programs. He has also served as a member of the elite United States Secret Service Counter Assault Team.

Agent Andrews received undergraduate and graduate degrees in Criminal Justice Administration from Central Missouri State University. He was team captain of the “Fighting Mules” football team and was a three-time District Academic All-American.

He was born in Oklahoma City, is married and is the proud father of one.

Please welcome Adrian Andrews to the Rotary Club of Edmond.

Andy

An adjunct professor of advertising at the University of Central Oklahoma and the University of Oklahoma, Bob has also been a guest lecturer at Oklahoma City University. He has testified as an expert witness on advertising in two federal court cases.

He was Club 29′s 2010 “Rotarian of the Year”, is president of a local nonprofit working with the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation to improve high school graduation rates, and is an immediate past president of the Oklahoma chapter of the “Alliance for Women in Media.” In 2009, AWM recognized Bob for his service by honoring him as national “Co-member of the Year.” Bob has also been active in the zoological world, serving as Chairman of the Oklahoma City Zoological Trust and President of the Oklahoma Zoological Society. He has served on the boards of the Omniplex Science Museum, the Oklahoma City Chapter of the American Red Cross, the Oklahoma City Arts Commission, and the Oklahoma City Advertising Club.

Hammack graduated from Northwest Classen High School and Oklahoma State University, and was a member of Leadership Oklahoma City Class XX and Leadership Oklahoma Class XIX. He is also a published playwright.

Bob and his wife Lauren have been married for 26 years.

Please welcome Bob Hammack to the Rotary Club of Edmond.

Andy

In celebration of the Christmas season, the Rotary Club of Edmond will not meet again until Wednesday, January 4, 2012. I hope your holiday is a joyous time.

It was not always so in American history. A century and a half ago, our nation was in the throes of a bloody Civil War. On Christmas Day, 1863, it seemed to many that the war might not end at all. Virtually every community, every family felt the direct effects of the war. Thousands upon thousand had already died, sometimes in a single day, and thousands more would follow. Six months earlier, at the Battle of Gettysburg, the two sides suffered casualties reaching up to 50,000.

Henry Wadsworth Longfellow was despondent. A couple years earlier, he had lost his wife in a tragic fire. And just recently, he had learned that his son, who insisted on joining the Union’s military effort, had been wounded.

Yet, as he heard the church bells of Cambridge, Massachusetts, that day, Longfellow became inspired to write a poem. Later set to music, the poem became known as “Christmas Bells”. I have reproduced it here in its entirety.

I heard the bells on Christmas Day
Their old, familiar carols play,
And wild and sweet
The words repeat
Of peace on earth, good-will to men!

And thought how, as the day had come,
The belfries of all Christendom
Had rolled along
The unbroken song
Of peace on earth, good-will to men!

Till, ringing, singing on its way,
The world revolved from night to day,
A voice, a chime,
A chant sublime
Of peace on earth, good-will to men!

Then from each black, accursed mouth
The cannon thundered in the South,
And with the sound
The carols drowned
Of peace on earth, good-will to men!

It was as if an earthquake rent
The hearth-stones of a continent,
And made forlorn
The households born
Of peace on earth, good-will to men!

And in despair I bowed my head;
“There is no peace on earth,” I said:
“For hate is strong,
And mocks the song
Of peace on earth, good-will to men!”

Then pealed the bells more loud and deep:
“God is not dead; nor doth he sleep!
The Wrong shall fail,
The Right prevail,
With peace on earth, good-will to men!”

I hope you have a merry Christmas!

Andy

This week, the Rotary Club of Edmond will celebrate Christmas with its annual Christmas Jam. And don’t forget. The meeting starts early, at 11:30. If you haven’t ever been, you will want to make sure you attend. This is always an enjoyable event.

Believe it or not, the Christmas Jam will be our last meeting of 2011. I hope to see everyone at our regular meeting place at Henderson Hills Baptist Church on Wednesday, December 14, at 11:30.

The Rotary Club Of Edmond Votes On A New Slate Of Officers And Directors.

According to our Constitution and By-Laws, it is time to elect new officers and directors, whose terms will start next July. The election will take place during our meeting on December 14, 2011. The nominating committee is recommending the following slate:

Past president – Mike Roark

President – Jay Smith

President-elect— Dan Chavez

Secretary – Jay Buxton

Treasurer – Rusty Hale

Club Service – Chris Burton

Community Service – Angie Grimmett

Vocational Service – James Kerr

International Service – Hal Stevens

Sergeant-at-Arms – Cris Price

One point of clarification: We are not voting on either the Past President or the President. We elected our current President, Mike Roark, two years ago, and he will automatically become the next Past President (Gail Carr currently holds that office). And we elected our current President-elect, Jay Smith, at this time last year. On July 1, Jay will automatically become our new President.

One other matter: Traditionally, the person we elect as Secretary is our unofficial President-elect-in-waiting. Nothing in our Constitution or By-Laws mandates this. But many of us believe this kind of succession plan has served us well.

The Rotary Club Of Edmond Rings Salvation Army Bells For Nearly $1,000!

The official returns are in! Rotary Club of Edmond bell ringers raised $946.90 for The Salvation Army. Here are the totals, by location:

Wal-Mart Danforth Grocery — $248.82

Wal-Mart Danforth Main — $205.69

Wal-Mart I-35 Service Road Grocery — $213.29

Wal-Mart I-35 Service Road Main — $279.10

I’ve had the privilege of serving on the Advisory Board for the Oklahoma City Command of the Salvation Army, and have seen firsthand that the officers and employees of the Salvation Army do so much for so many. Thank you for your work on this project. And a special thanks to Stan Kelley for organizing it.

Oh, if you missed the opportunity to put your contribution in one of the red kettles, come by the Belle Isle Wal-Mart main entrance this Friday, from 10:00 to noon. Next to a red kettle, you will see a familiar smile and hear the ringing of a Salvation Army bell!

Andy

Over the past several years, we’ve had some excellent speakers visit the Rotary Club of Edmond. We’ve had two Governors, a United States Senator, Members of Congress, and numerous federal, state and community leaders. We’ve had a world renowned opera diva, Olympic gold medalists, business and education leaders, and media personalities.

I’ve enjoyed them all and am grateful for the work several of our members have done to keep our programs at a high level. And among my favorite programs are the ones where our featured guest is one of our fellow members of the Rotary Club of Edmond. This week is one such occasion.

Our special guest this week is Greg Womack, President of Womack Investment Advisers, Inc. Greg, who has been in the financial services industry since 1986 and a Certified Financial Planner since 1994, is also Owner/Managing Partner of the Trinity Capital Asset Advisors family of hedge funds.

For the past eight years, Greg has served as the Edmond’s Library Commissioner with the Metropolitan Library System. He chairs the annual Edmond Mayor’s Prayer Breakfast, and served as the first Chairperson of the Edmond Alarm Review Board. Greg is an alumnus of Leadership Edmond, and graduated from the first class of the Edmond Citizen’s Police Academy.

Greg is a 1981 graduate of Edmond Memorial High School. In 1990, George Mikesell sponsored Greg to become a member of the Rotary Club of Edmond Central, one of the two clubs that merged a few years ago.

Greg and Jana have two children. He enjoys working, art, traveling and outdoor activities.

Please welcome one of our own, Greg Womack, to the Rotary Club of Edmond.

Andy

Please Sign Up For Upcoming Edmond Rotary Activities

1. Next week, instead of our meeting, Edmond Rotarians will ring bells for the Salvation Army. Please see Stan Kelly to participate.

2. In two weeks, on December 14, the Rotary Club of Edmond will have its annual “Christmas Jam”! Please RSVP to Allison for yourself and your guests.

Rotarian 2011 Career Shadowdraft

Wednesday, November 9, is the Rotary Club of Edmond’s annual Career Shadow Day. At the beginning of the day, several Edmond area high school students will visit Edmond Rotarians at their places of business to learn about possible career choices.

The students will spend the morning with their hosts, seeing first hand what Edmond Rotarians actually do in their chosen occupation. What does a banker actually do? How about a plastic surgeon, a police chief, or a graphic designer? Maybe a student will learn more about the life of a home builder, a hospital administrator, a photographer, an investment advisor, or a public utility executive.

Career Shadow Day is a wonderful opportunity for the next generation of Edmond leaders to see what the members of the Rotary Club of Edmond do on a day-to-day basis. Who knows? Among our career shadows may be an aspiring accountant, geologist, dentist, lobbyist or even a higher education executive.

At noon, the student shadows will join their Edmond Rotarian hosts at our regular meeting. Hopefully, they will learn a little bit about Rotary International and what the Rotary Club of Edmond means for our community. And we will get to know some of Edmond’s top students.

I’ve always looked forward to Career Shadow Day. It gives those of us who have been around for some time a glimpse of the great future we will have in Edmond.

Please welcome our Career Shadow Day guests to the Rotary Club of Edmond.
Andy

Steve Manek, Director of Engineering for the City of Edmond, is our special guest today at the Rotary Club of Edmond. Steve grew up in Moore, Oklahoma. In 1992, he received his B.S. in civil engineering in 1992 from the University of Oklahoma. He is a certified Professional Engineer and is a member of the National Society of Professional Engineers and the American Public Works Association.

Steve has been employed by the City of Edmond since 2001. He directs all aspects of the Engineering Department, including plan review for public and private development projects and construction inspection for public works projects such as road widening and waterline and sewer line construction.

Steve and his wife, Tina, have lived in Edmond for 15 years. They have two sons, ages 9 and 12, who Steve enjoys coaching.

Please welcome Edmond Director of Engineering Steve Manek to the Rotary Club of Edmond.

Andy

Mary Fallin has lived a life of firsts. She was the first woman to serve as Lieutenant Governor of Oklahoma. She was also the first Republican to serve as Lieutenant Governor. She was the second Oklahoma woman to serve in Congress (Can you name Oklahoma’s first Congresswoman? For extra credit, when did she serve and to which political party did she belong? The answer is below), and the first Oklahoma woman to win reelection to Congress.

And on November 2, 2010, Fallin became the first woman elected as Governor of Oklahoma. When she took the oath of office on January 10, 2011, she was inaugurated as the state’s 27th Governor.

During her years in the Oklahoma House of Representatives, Fallin passed more than a dozen bills, including Oklahoma’s first “anti-stalker law” and measures aimed at improving the business climate in Oklahoma. For her work to lower the health care costs of small businesses in Oklahoma, she was named “Legislator of the Year” by the American Legislative Exchange Council.

Governor Fallin has cited job growth and retention, education reform, government modernization and protecting Oklahoma from the intrusions of Washington, D.C., as top priorities. Additionally, she has launched the Complete College America initiative to dramatically increase the number of college graduates in Oklahoma to help the state retain and attract jobs.

The governor is a graduate of Oklahoma State University. She is married to Wade Christensen, an Oklahoma City attorney who is the state’s first “First Gentleman.” The couple has six children between them. They attend Crossings Community Church in northwest Oklahoma City.

Please welcome Governor Mary Fallin to the Rotary Club of Edmond.

Andy

Answer: Alice Robertson, a Republican, bested incumbent Democrat William Wirt Hastings in 1920 by 228 votes, and became the second woman ever elected to Congress. Among her campaign slogans was the notion “there are already more lawyers and bankers in Congress than are needed.” During her one term, Robertson became the first woman to preside over a session of Congress (click here for June 21, 1921, New York Times story). In 1922, Hastings ran again for his old seat, and ousted Robertson with 58% of the votes.

Today’s Rotary guest speaker is our own Andy Lester. A member of Edmond Rotary since 1997, Andy is a former club president and served as a member of the board of directors for eight years. He is a Paul Harris Fellow +4, has an enduring passion for international service and has served our club and Rotary International admirably.

Our members are accustomed to Andy’s bright orange ties, quips regarding the outcome of our weekly drawing, “close, but…” and his musings regarding outcomes of Duke University football. What you may not know are some of Andy’s amazing accomplishments.

Andy worked for Senator Bob Dole during law school and served on President Ronald Reagan’s Transition Team for the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. He chaired former Oklahoma Governor Brad Henry’s Law Enforcement/Corrections Transition Team and was a member of the Budget/Finance Transition Team, where he helped write Gov. Henry’s first State budget.

Andy is a former United States magistrate Judge for the Western District of Oklahoma. An adjunct professor at Oklahoma City University School of Law since 1988, Andy has taught state and local government law, employment law, criminal law and international law. He has written more than 100 articles on professional and public policy issues.

In 2007, Governor Brad Henry appointed Andy to the Board of Regents for the Oklahoma Agricultural and Mechanical Colleges, which oversees Oklahoma State University, Langston University, Oklahoma Panhandle State University, Connors State College and Northeastern Oklahoma A&M College. He was reappointed to a full eight-year term in 2010, and won unanimous confirmation in the Oklahoma Senate. In 2011, Lester was elected to serve as Vice-Chairman of the Board of Regents.

Andy graduated Duke University where he received a Bachelor of Arts degree in history Magna Cum laude. He earned masters and Jurist doctorate degrees from Georgetown University and attended Ludwig-Maximilians-Universitaet in Munich, Germany. It’s in Germany where he met his future wife, the lovely Barbara. Together, they have one daughter, Susan.

Andy is an amazing man and a wonderful Rotarian.

Roger Webb, a fellow member of the Rotary Club of Edmond, needs no introduction. Recently retired from his service as the 19th President of the University of Central Oklahoma, Roger guided the campus through some of its grandest changes. Just think about the Forensic Center, the Forensic Science Institute and Central Plaza, not to mention the Jazz Lab and ACM@UCO, two off-campus destinations.

Roger now serves as Vice Chairman of Citizens Bank of Edmond, and has been a member of that institution’s Board of Directors since 2001. But Roger’s service to Oklahoma began long ago. He began his career in law enforcement with the Oklahoma Department of Public Safety for 12 years, and served as Oklahoma’s Commissioner of Public Safety from 1974-1978. He was president of Northeastern State University in Tahlequah from 1978-1997. And in June 1997, Webb was named president of UCO.

He has served on boards of directors of numerous organizations, including the Memorial Institute for the Prevention of Terrorism, the American Association of State Colleges and Universities, the Edmond Chamber of Commerce, and Mercy Hospital. He previously served as President and Board Chair of the Oklahoma Academy and was a member of the Board of Directors of Leadership Oklahoma. In 1995, he was named to the Oklahoma Higher Education Hall of Fame. And in 2010, Roger was named Edmond’s Citizen of the Year.

Webb grew up in eastern Oklahoma, and graduated from Heavener High School. He received his Bachelor of Arts degree from Oklahoma State University and graduated from the University of Oklahoma College of Law.

Please welcome our fellow Edmond Rotarian, Roger Webb, as our special guest speaker.

Andy