Altus Rotary Weekly Recap 11/12 (Nov. 12, 2024)

Mark Your Calendars

11/19 Rotarian of The Day

Dale Latham with a program from Jared Schwennesen and Andreas Weber from ODOT - Topic: Information about the new NEVI plan, the $66M grant to install EV charging infrastructure across the state of Oklahoma.

Junior Rotarian for the month

Altus High School Senior, Emily Torres, daughter of Alexander and Jennifer Hutson

11/21-22 AHS All-School Production Beauty and The Beast

Tickets are $15 at the door. Performance will be in the Eula B. Peterson Auditorium at AHS

11/26 NO ROTARY

11/28 Happy Thanksgiving

The History of Cranberry Sauce

Announcements

Last week's ROTD was Kathy Darby who invited MiKayla Rueter and the cast of AHS All-School musical Production of Beauty and the Beast

Tommy Uptergrove has been accepted into membership.

Thank you to everyone who signed up for holiday volunteering. Dates are being secured and the chairperson for each event will reach out to see if you are still available. You are appreciated!

Ask me how to sponsor a new Rotary member!

Do you have an idea for a program? Do you see a service that you think Rotary can support? Are you craving something special for Tuesday's lunch? If you have thoughts, concerns, or ideas, just let me know. I am here to serve!

A Little History...The Story of Paul Harris

Meet Our New Member

Tommy Uptergrove

Tommy Uptergrove has lived his life serving others. He is a U.S. Army veteran, serving his country for ten years with two combat tours overseas. Tommy began his Army career in Air Defense Artillery. He graduated from the U.S. Army Interrogation School and began working in human intelligence as an Arabic interrogator. He is fluent in Arabic and speaks some Spanish. During his service, Tommy was a member of the prestigious 82nd Airborne Division at Fort Bragg.

Tommy is now with the Altus Police Department and has been serving the Altus community for 22 years. He graduated from CLEET Academy (Council on Law Enforcement Education & Training) and holds an advanced law enforcement certification. In 2003, he was transferred to the Detective Division, and by 2011, Tommy was promoted to Detective Captain. In October of this year, the Altus Police Department proudly announced Tommy’s promotion to deputy chief.

Tommy is married to Altus Police Lieutenant Carolyn Uptergrove. The couple has three sons. Tommy says he enjoys riding motorcycles with his family and cruising in his jeep.

Deputy Chief Tommy Uptergrove is an excellent addition to the Altus Rotary Club. This is a man who has spent his lifetime serving his county and his community and has lived the Rotary motto of Service Above Self.

Altus Police Deparment

Rebecca Chambliss

11/14

Time To Celebrate

Birthdays

and

Rotary Anniversaries

Celebrated all of our November Members

earlier in the month

Last Week's Program

What a great visit we had from the members of the Altus High School musical cast! Choir Director MiKayla Rueter brought 11 students who are main characters or supporting cast in this year's All-School Production of Beauty and the Beast.

Accompanied on the piano by Chris Dykens, AHS Fine Arts teacher, the group entertained us with some of the more popular songs from the musical.

The entire ensemble sang Be Our Guest, led by Cogsworth (the clock), played by AHS junior Michael Weeks. Belle, played by junior Elysa Miranda, performed the title song, Beauty and the Beast, for us. The cast closed with the song Human Again, performed by the entire ensemble.

Some of the other main characters we were introduced to were, freshman Chevy Darby, who plays Chip (the teacup); the sophomores Tamara Gresham, who plays Madame de la Grande Bouche (the feather duster), Mason Jones, starring as LeFou, and Jed Lee as Lumiere (the candelabra). We also met junior Eliana Johnson in the role of Babette (the feather duster) and seniors Jocelyn Dennis as Mrs. Potts (the teapot), and Graham Hartgraves starring as the Beast.

The students are hard at work and have been rehearsing for 4 months now. They work long hours and sometimes late into the evening. When asked if they rehearse on their own, Jocelyn Dennis said that she wakes up every morning with her songs running through her head. She said that she feels like they are always rehearsing and trying to make it the best performance they can.

Choir Director MiKayla Rueter tells us, "Beauty and the Beast has been a labor of love. We have to remember that these students work around all the other activities they are involved in and are still maintaining their grades. I am very proud of them and this show."

Please make plans to see the production. At the time of this publishing, tickets can be purchased at the door.

Beauty and the Beast

Last Week's Rotarian of the Day

Kathy Keller-Darby was born in South Dakota. She moved to Oklahoma 30 years ago and made it her home. One has to wonder how Kathy felt when she experienced her first Oklahoma summer.

Kathy graduated from Norman High School and received her bachelor's and master's degrees from the University of Oklahoma.

Kathy is the principal at Altus High School. She has 28 years of experience in the Altus public school system. The students say that "Mrs. Darby" is their biggest cheerleader, and it is apparent that she is proud of her Bulldog Family.

Kathy is married to Blake Darby, and the couple have 4 children, Katie Beth, Maggie, Isabella, and Jack Henry.

Kathy is a leader by example when it comes to service. She has been a valued member of the Altus Rotary for nearly 4 years. She has been very involved with club activities, and shortly after joining, she jumped in with both feet to help assure that the Annual Altus Affair is always a big success.

Altus High School

Please add mailservice@clubrunner.ca to your safe sender list or address book.
To view our privacy policy, click here.

ClubRunner
102-2060 Winston Park Drive, Oakville, ON, L6H 5R7

Altus Rotary Club Newsletter