We had quite a few guests at this meeting. Sandy Ellis and Anthony Hipolito came with Rhonda. Billy Williams came for his third visit prior to his induction next week as a new member of our club. Holly Dame, on summer break, came with colors, pens, and paper in order to draw horses during the meeting. Jesse brought another guest Marilyn Bostick who is a probable future member.
REPORTS:
Rhonda baked a fabulous what I would call German Chocolate Cake with a Twist to celebrate Veronique's birthday, the only birthday member for the month.
The Dinner social is tonight at Jorge's at 6:00 p.m. Kelli made the rounds to get RSVP's from everyone who was at the meeting.
Kristi did a quick synopsis of Good Citizens Camp. She commented on how great the speakers were including member Willie and one of Jesse's bank employees. She thanked members of the club who came out to help during the week, especially her mom and Luanne. Kristi brought a poster that was made during the camp which had funny quotes from the kids that, when taken out of context, are hilarious. I hope there will be more time for her to speak about the camp at a future meeting.
Lon announced that Billy Williams, who was a Kiwanis member where he used to live, was approved as a new member at the last board meeting and will be inducted into our club next week.
Lon also reminded us about the topic for next week's meeting which is Sponsored Youth. We will learn what all is involved to be sponsors.
PROGRAM:
Kelli introduced Judge Tanner Neidhardt who is a Judge for the 483rd District Court of Texas in Hays County. He gave an intriguing program about his travel to Peru to help judges there switch to the American system for procedures for jurors and holding a trial. He noted that many people were moving into the cities from rural areas and erecting homes from anything they could find available. They had never done a trail nor did they know about a jury system. One clerk traveled 24 hours from the Amazon (a distance approximately from San Marcos to Dallas) to learn the procedures. He was amazed to speak with judges and learn he could be a decision maker in a trial.
One of the biggest impacts on those learning about jurors' responsibilities is each juror needs to analyze the evidence and be able to justify their decision of guilty or innocent. An example of how it had been is a juror would say someone must be guilty simply because the prosecutor brought a case against them. They need to learn to analyze the credibility of witnesses. In other words, they needed to learn deliberation and looking at all sides.
Judge Neidhardt said we cannot quantify how much we are helping others and how we rely on others. He compared it to the Good Citizen Camp with helping the kids and the kids, in turn, impacting those who were in the leadership positions.
He noted that the court system in America is under attack. Judges need to build confidence within a community. He suggested holding judges accountable if you are involved in a trial where things are not going the proper way.
Judge Neidhardt also went over those trying to get out of jury duty but said it really is best not to. Court cases get backed up if there are not enough jurors from which to pick. This is unfair to all involved. The age limit is 75 now for getting a jury summons but you can still volunteer.
This was a very enlightening program by a dynamic judge who is very involved in improving the court system both here and now in other countries. So glad he spoke to our club.
UPCOMING PROGRAM:
June 27th: Sponsored Youth plus Induction of Billy Williams
EVENTS:
June 20th: Dinner Social at Jorge's starts at 6:00 p.m.
Highlights of June 19th Board Meeting:
Payment for the Business Expo Chamber of Commerce event will be coming from the funds for Kiwanis Footprint.
Billy Williams was approved for membership in our club.
Willie has agreed to replace Doug and Jeanne as Chairperson for Sponsored Youth.
Jesse has created new member documents and guidelines and stated the need for a new committee "Mentorship" that he will Chair. The committee is Willie, Rick, Kelli and Kristin. Moe and Lon will serve as historians.
There is a problem with some members not tipping appropriately for lunches at our Grin's meetings which is causing issues. An automatic gratuity could possibly be added to our checks or the price of the meal might be increased.
Rick is checking on the cost of a storage building/shed to place at Ted Breihan's or at the camp.
Regular Reminders:
Don't forget to click "like" and "share" on Facebook and other social media to promote the Kiwanis Club. We need to keep getting the club's name out there to promote our community involvement and to add new members to help in our endeavors.
Be sure to check the Calendar posted on the San Marcos Kiwanis Club website to stay up-to-date on what is happening.
Humor and Musings:
These are from a small book Live and Learn and Pass It On written and compiled by H. Jackson Brown, Jr.
"I've learned that if you look for the worst in life and in people, you'll find it. But if you look for the best, you'll find that instead."
"I've learned that you can't hide a piece of broccoli in a glass of milk." (Age 7 quote)
"I've learned that if you pursue happiness, it will elude you. But if you focus on your family, the needs of others, your work, meeting new people, and doing the very best you can, happiness will find you."
Bring a guest to the next meeting!
