Rotary Club of Austin Westlake

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Rotary Club of Austin Westlake

We are members of the Austin-Westlake community that focus on Service Above Self. We live by the principles of Truth, Fairness, Friendship, and Goodwill.

Rotarians have not only been present for major events in history—we’ve been a part of them. From the beginning, three key traits have remained strong throughout Rotary:

We’re truly international. Only 16 years after being founded, Rotary had clubs on six continents. Today we’re working together from around the globe both digitally and in-person to solve some of our world’s most challenging proble

ms. We persevere in tough times. During WWII, Rotary clubs in Germany, Austria, Italy, Spain, and Japan were forced to disband. Despite the risks, many continued to meet informally and following the war’s end, Rotary members joined together to rebuild their clubs and their countries. Our commitment to service is ongoing. We began our fight against polio in 1979 with a project to immunize 6 million children in the Philippines. By 2012, only three countries remain polio-endemic—down from 125 in 1988. Source: Rotary International/History

06/22/2026

Join us at West Lake Hills City Hall this coming Friday (June 26) from 11:30 AM to 12:30 PM for the final meeting of our Rotary/fiscal year.

David Jessich, incoming President (July 1), will present our accomplishments this past year (July 1, 2025, through June 26, 2026).

Miriam Moorman, our Rotary District 5870 Paul Harris Society Coordinator, will award Jessich with the Paul Harris Society Certificate and medallion.

There will be no meetings in July.

For future meetings, news, and service opportunities, check our calendar on our website at austinwestlakerotary.org. Also, sign up for the weekly newsletter on our website.

06/19/2026

It was a great honor to award one of our Rotary scholarships to Shepherd Neville today. Shepherd will be attending UT in the Fall, and plans to become an Aerospace Engineer. In the meantime, he's busy this summer coaching soccer. Shepherd also brought his proud mother, who raised him on her own. They have lived in West Lake Hills for the past 14 years.

This is what I love about Rotary — service, recognition, and reward for students and educators.

During the meeting, we even learned of a new service opportunity in Belize with a potential new member, Dawn Sweatt. Dawn collects (gently) used soccer shoes and donates them to soccer players in Belize who usually play barefoot. We were able to connect Shepherd, Dawn, and other soccer contacts to help in this endeavor. This is what Rotary is all about: SERVICE ABOVE SELF

FUN DAY!

06/15/2026

Bhavana Kancherla, audiologist and one of our new members this year, will be speaking on Friday, June 19, at West Lake Hills City Hall. The meeting begins at 11:30 AM and ends at 12:30 PM.

Bhavana was born in Hartford, Connecticut, and raised in Bucks County, Pennsylvania, just north of Philadelphia. She earned her master’s degree in Audiology from the University of Pittsburgh and has built a career spanning more than 20 years as a clinical audiologist, along with several years in medical hearing device sales. She has called Austin home since 2009, and remains actively involved in a variety of school and community volunteer initiatives.

Shepherd Neville, one of our Westlake High School scholarship recipients, will receive part of his scholarship and introduce himself at the meeting. The other half will be presented to him in December.

Everyone is welcome to attend.

06/11/2026

No meeting on Friday, June 12. Next mtg: June 19

06/06/2026

Join us for a fun dinner at Chinatown in West Lake Hills on June 10 at 6:30 PM.

06/02/2026

Our meeting on Friday, June 5, will feature new members, Nancy Golson and Karla Basham. Nancy will also share service projects our Rotary District completed on a recent cruise to Cozumel.

Nancy is an organizational improvement consultant. She has served as a district curriculum specialist, principal, and teacher. Nancy received her Doctor of Philosophy degree in education.
Nancy has worked closely with her husband, Jim, on Rotary service activities and world travel for many years.

Karla is a local attorney and has been active in our community. We'll learn more about Karla when she gives her "new member introduction" at the meeting.

05/24/2026

Austin Clemens with Austin Community Capital Podcast and Loyal Home Concierge will speak on Friday, May 29, at West Lake Hills City Hall. Our meeting starts at 11:30 and concludes at 12:30 PM. Order lunch from Westlake Modern Market on Thursday (identify yourself as being from Rotary, and it will be delivered before our meeting) or bring your own lunch.

The Austin Community Capital podcast is a local show dedicated to celebrating the culture, hospitality, and resilient spirit of Austin, Texas. Hosted by Austin Clemens and proudly presented by Loyal Home Concierge, the show explores the city's "true wealth" through interviews with local founders, entrepreneurs, makers, and dreamers.

Our meeting starts at 11:30 and concludes at 12:30 PM. Order lunch from Westlake Modern Market on Thursday (identify yourself as being from Rotary, and it will be delivered) or bring your own lunch.

All are welcome to attend!

05/18/2026

No meeting Friday, May 22.

05/15/2026

We hosted our annual EISD Educators of the Year today at West Lake Hills City Hall. Teachers of the Year from each campus were recognized and awarded $1000. The EISD District Educator of the Year was Ginger Bolden, who was awarded $2000. Our club is honored to recognize these outstanding teachers.

Rotarians Doug Hinzie, Jeff Weeks, and Dana Rushing served on the Educator of the Year selection committee.

Bridge Point: Ginger Bolen, Kindergarten Teacher**District EISD Educator of the Year.
Barton Creek: Amanda Wilson, Fourth-Grade Teacher
Cedar Creek: Olivia Jacobi, Special Education Teacher
Eanes: Jackie Boice, Third-Grade Teacher
Forest Trail: Desire Davis, Kindergarten Teacher
Hill Country: Cathy Yenca, Math Teacher
West Ridge: Lily Wing, Life Skills Teacher
Westlake: Vanessa Bañuelos, Collab. SPED Teacher & Coach

05/14/2026

We are proud to announce that we have officially added 12 new active members and one honorary member this year, marking our highest growth in nearly a decade. Our club now consists of 34 members, including two honorary members.

Please join us in welcoming our two newest members:

Kirk Koennecke
Kirk began serving as the superintendent of Eanes Independent School District in January 2026. He brings a decade of experience to the role, most recently at the Indian Hill Exempted Village School District in Ohio. There, he successfully passed a historic bond levy and launched the IH Promise strategic plan, now a national model for educational planning. In 2023, he was named National Superintendent of the Year by the National Association of School Superintendents (NASS).

Jonathan Grammer
Jonathan’s career spans over twenty years in oil and gas development and law. His land acquisition and consulting company has advised on over $1 billion in projects across the oil, gas, solar, and wind sectors. He has served on the Board of Directors for the Texas Alliance of Energy Producers and the Federal Bar Association’s Energy and Natural Resources Division, among many other prestigious committees. A contributing author to various business publications, Jonathan has been named one of the Top 500 business leaders in North Texas by D Magazine for the past four years. He also serves on the Board of Directors for the Texas Business Hall of Fame and the College of Arts and Sciences at Texas Tech University.

We are honored to have such distinguished professionals join our ranks and look forward to their contributions to the club.

Left to right: Kirk Koennecke and Jonathan Grammer

Address

4010 Bee Caves Road
Austin, TX
78746

Opening Hours

11:30am - 12:30pm

Telephone

+15128061809

Website

http://AustinWestlakeRotary.org/

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