Collin County Rotary

01/09/2026

The Rotary Club of Collin County convened at the Fairfield Inn for their First Thursday meeting at 6 PM .on Jan 8 to pack blanket donations for the Collin County Children’s Advocacy Center.

Gladys Lewis, Community Service Committee Chair, coordinated the blanket drive which received 500 blankets for school-age children in Collin County. No child will be cold this winter with a colorful blanket to keep each one warm! The club members met to pack blankets and enjoy fellowship with food and wine.

AJ Fidelman is the 2025-26 Club president. On July 1, Vince Whitehead will be installed as the next President. Monique Whitehead is acting Secretary filling in for Danyail Sandsrs. Vince and Monique will attend the Preident-Elect’s Training (PETS) this spring.

The next meeting will be a Happy Hour at Landon’s Winery in downtown McKinney on Thursday, Jan 15 at 6 PM hosted by Debra Pope, a former member. If you are a prospective member who wants to know more about Rotary, please join us on Jan 15!

12/12/2025

The Third Thursday Happy Hour on December 18 will be in the Boathouse Pub at Touchmark on Emerald Lake, 350 S Hardin Blvd, McKinney. TX 75072 from 5:30 until 7 PM. Collin County Club members, their spouses, visiting Rotarians, and prospective members are invited to attend. RSVP to Sandi Froese at ([email protected]) by December 17.

12/05/2025

Collin County Rotary Club members met at the Fairfield Inn in McKinney on Thursday, Dec 4 at 6 PM for a potluck Holiday dinner. The featured speaker was Gladys Lewis, Founder and Executive Director of Girls Forever, Inc., a non-profit 501 (c) 3 organization that is dedicated to empowering young girls and advocating for children in need.

Ms. Lewis is a native of Jacksonville, Florida. She serves as a Managing Partner of Gladys Lewis Consulting Solutions, LLC, and she holds a Bachelor’s degree in accounting and business administration and a Master’s degree in Christian Counseling. She also serves as a Licensed Minister of The Bridge Church of Frisco.

In other business, the club has set a goal of collectimg 300 blankets for the Collin County Children’s Advocacy Center. Gladys Lewis, Chair, reported that the club is close to meeting the goal with only 48 blankets left to be donated by December 31.

Past President Terie Brown introduced and inducted the newest member, Faith Nyatdanza. Her bio will be shared at a future meeting. Rotary Foundation Chair Helen Gibson-Nicholas and President AJ Fidelman presented Sandi Froese her 5th Paul Harris Pin. Sandi was inducted into Rotary in 1988 and was the first female Club President in RI District 5810 in 1991.

The club voted to donate $500 to the Rotary Foundation “End Polio Now” campaign which will be matched with a $500 donation from Lyle and Sandi Froese for a total of $1,000.

The next meeting will be a Third Thursday Happy Hour on December 18 with details forthcoming.

AJ Fidelman is the current President.

12/04/2025

Collin County Rotary Club members will hold their annual Christmas Dinner on Thursday, December 4, at 6 PM at the Fairfield Inn, 1600 N Hardin Blvd in McKinney. If you are a Rotarian, bring a dish to share. If you are a prospective member, please attend as our guest. AJ Fidelman is the President.

Gladys Lewis asks members to bring blankets the club is collecting for the Collin County Childten’s Advocscy Center. We are collecting 300 blankets by Decenber 31, and the club has almost reached their goal! If you would like to help, send a Private Message with your name and contact information and Gladys will share with you how to contribute.

11/18/2025

Federal panel gives victory to plaintiffs opposed to congressional map.

11/04/2025

The Collin County Rotary Club meeting originally scheduled for Thursday, Nov 6 at the Fairfield Inn has been cancelled. The next meetimg on November 20 will be the annual Thanksgiving Friends Dinner at 6 PM.

UPDATE: The rescheduled meeting on November 20 at 6 PM will be a dinner meeting at THAI BOX Restaurant, 190 E Stacy Rd, Ste 1410, Allen, TX 74002. Go to (https://POS.CHOWBUS.COM) to see the menu of Stir Fry, Noodle Dishes, Vietnamese Pho, Egg Rolls and more! Bring cash or a credit card.

Visiting Rotarians and prospective members are always welcome. AJ Fidelman is the President and Monique Whitehead is the Club Secretary.

09/27/2025

Jason Hernandez will be the guest speaker at Collin County Rotary Club on Thursday, Oct 2, 6 PM at the Fairfield Inn, 1600 N Hardin Blvd at 6 PM. Come and hear his remarkable story of redemption and justice.

09/26/2025

Jason Hernandez will be tbe guest speaker at the next meeting of Collin County Rotary Club on Thursday, Oct 2 at the Fairfield Inn, 1600 N Hardin Blvd in McKinney at 6 PM.

Jason is the Founder and Executive Director of the At Last Foundation, also known as La Tiendita: a nonprofit grocery store whose mission is to provide healthy, affordable food options in an underserved community, while providing job training, leadership and life skills for Latino Students so they may gain the skills and knowledge to become successful entrepreneurs and pursue careers where Latinos are underrepresented.

Jason is also a criminal justice reform advocate with a focus on clemency for nonviolent drug offenders
serving life without parole sentences. Jason has written/talked about the criminal justice system for The
Guardian, NY Times, MSNBC and other major media outlets. He has been able to assist a dozen
individuals serving life (in the state and feds) obtain their freedom.

Additionally, Jason published a Guidebook in 2020 that teaches prisoners how to create robust clemency petitions called Get Clemency Now: A Guidebook to Everything A Prisoner Needs To Know About Clemency. See (www.getclemencynow.org).

Jason’s passion for ending mass incarceration and helping Latino youth stems from the fact he was
sentenced to life without parole plus 320 years for a nonviolent drug crime when he was 21 and his older
brother JJ being murdered in prison. Fortunately, in 2013, Jason was able to convince the President of
the United States, Barack Obama, to grant him clemency and reduce his sentence to 20 years (aka “The Obama Eight”).

Jason was released in 2015 after spending nearly 18 years in prison. He is in the process of completing his memoir which will be publish by One World.

Visiting Rotarians, prospective members, and community members who are interested in Jason’s presentation are invited. Please e-mail Monique Whitehead, Assistant Secretary ([email protected]), or send a PM if you plan to attend. AJ Fidelman is the current President.

A Guidebook to Everything A Person in Prison Needs to Know About Clemency and How Families Can Help. Jason Hernandez is an Obama Clemency Recipient, Clemency Consultant, Soros Justice Fellow, Author, and Advocate for Latino Youth.

09/23/2025

Rotarians, here is a great project for your club members and friends to provide blankets for needy children and Amazon makes it easy to shop! The deadline is Dec 31 for a donation of a new blanket. For more information, send us a private message.

09/04/2025

Listening to Natasha Bywater, Volunteer Outboarding Manager, CASA of Collin County at Collin County Rotary Club on Thursday, Sept 4 at the Fairfield Inn, McKinney. Donations accepted for their important work to help children in the welfare system who need advocacy. For more information, call 972-665-6315.

Thank you, Natasha!

09/04/2025

Natasha Bywater, Volunteer Onboarding Manager of CASA of Collin County, is tonight’s guest speaker at Collin County Rotary Club.

The Collin County Rotary Club meeting is this Thursday, Sept 4, 6 PM at the Fairfield Inn, 6100 N Hardin Blvd, McKinney, TX.

Ms Bywater has dedicated her entire career to supporting CASA volunteers and advocating for children in the child welfare system. She has been a valued member of CASA of Collin County since December 2017, where she designs and leads the intensive preservice training required for all new volunteers.
Her CASA journey began in 1996 as a volunteer Advocate with CASA of Tarrant County in Fort Worth, TX. A year later, she joined the Fort Worth staff, supervising cases and deepening her commitment to the mission. Over the years, she has served in a variety of roles including Casework Supervisor and Program Director, but her true passion lies in training and empowering volunteers.
She is certified in Trust-Based Relational Intervention® (TBRI®) through the Karyn Purvis Institute of Child Development at TCU, and has over 15 years of experience leading CASA’s intensive 35-hour Master Class in child welfare. With decades of hands-on expertise and a lifelong dedication to children from hard places, Natasha brings both heart and depth to everything she does.

President AJ Fidelman will preside at short business meeting before introducing tonight’s speaker. If you are a Rotarian who needs a makeup or a prospective member, you are welcome to attend! Or, if interested in volunteering for CASA, please join us. Light refreshments will be available.

08/04/2025

District Governor Mary Bedosky will make her official visit to Collin County Rotary Club this Thursday, August 7, 6:00 PM at the Fairfield Inn, 6100 N Hardin Blvd in McKinney. President AJ Fideman will preside and introduce DG Mary who has an impressive resume’!

Mary Ryan Bedosky is just starting the Rotary year as 2025-26 District Governor for District 5810. She is a member and Past President of the Richardson East Rotary Club. Mary has been a resident of Richardson, TX since 1996 – having moved to Texas in 1993 from Rochester, NY. Originally from Madison, Wisconsin, she is a graduate of University of Wisconsin -Eau Claire with a degree in Music Education.

She joined Rotary in 1994 when one of her bank customers invited her to a meeting. Little did she know that she would be replacing that customer as a new member of the Richardson Sunrise Club! She served as Community Service Director and later as Treasurer for that club. She joined the Richardson East Rotary Club in 2003 and served on its board in such roles as Community Service Director, Foundation Chair and Membership Chair. As Club President in 2020, she had a challenging but successful year during COVID while only holding one weekly meeting in person – her very last meeting! The club’s annual Gala still raised over $30,000 even though it was held remotely.

Mary has served the District as an Assistant Governor for three years, then as the Team Lead for the Assistant Governors. In preparing for her role as District Governor since 2023, she has traveled to Honduras and Mexico with the District to participate in service projects as part of two District Conference cruises. She is a three-time Paul Harris Fellow and is working towards becoming a Rotary Benefactor.

She and her late husband, Matthew, owned a cigar shop and lounge in Richardson for over 16 years. Mary has over 35 years of experience in sales and banking and served as the Banking Center President of the Richardson Branch of Prosperity Bank for many years. She retired in 2024 and now focuses her time as a community volunteer.

In her “outside of Rotary” involvement, Mary serves on the board of the Methodist Richardson Medical Center Foundation, she is a member of the Tax Increment Finance Board for the City of Richardson, a member of the Women in Leadership and Leaders After Hours committees of the Richardson Chamber of Commerce, and an Ex Officio member of the Leadership Richardson Advisory Board. Mary is a licensed Texas Realtor and a graduate of Realtor and Civic Leadership programs in North Texas. In 2022, she was named Citizen of the Year by the Richardson Chamber of Commerce.

Collin County Rotarians welcome DG Mary Bedosky.