Collin County Rotary

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.

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.

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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.

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.

Get Clemency Now | Jason Hernandez's Book 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.

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.