Rotary Club of East Montgomery County (RCEMC) members focused on disaster planning and response this quarter. Lake Conroe Division Manager Bret Raley spoke at their March 21st luncheon, providing insight into the San Jacinto River Authority’s (SJRA) role during a disaster. Raley talked about how the Conroe dam is an earth-fill embankment, 11,300 feet long, including the levees. The crest elevation of the dam is 212.0 feet above mean sea level and has a height of 82 feet above the old riverbed. A controlled emergency spillway is located near the center of the embankment. Control for the spillway consists of five tainter gates, 40 feet in width by 30 feet in height, with a top elevation of 202.5 feet. The gates are computerized and can be controlled from the control room or via an app.

Jason Millsaps from the Montgomery County Office of Emergency Management (OEM) was the February 21st Rotary speaker. Millsaps talked about OEM's role in Montgomery County, including using the old Keefer Crossing Middle School as a training facility. OEM personnel also assisted with the recent train derailment and subsequent clean-up at Fostoria and Midline Road. The Montgomery County OEM helps in disaster relief across the state and nation. One example was sending sleeping cots for emergency personnel and investigators to Uvalde after the school shooting. 

RCEMC President Suann Hereford, with assistance from Past District Governor Rose Austin, distributed Paul Harris Fellow pins. This month, four Rotarians were honored with Paul Harris Fellow pins: Deitra Johnson, Melecio Franco, Tim Baker, and Jim Stubbs. The pins are for appreciation of “tangible and significant assistance given for the furtherance of better understanding and friendly relations among peoples of the world.”

Governor Harrell shared Rotary International's President-elect Jennifer Jones's presidential theme, Imagine Rotary. Governor Harrell shared Jennifer Jones' quote, "Imagine a world that deserves our best, where we get up each day knowing that we can make a difference." Governor Harrell also explained the Imagine Rotary logo design elements: 

• For instance, the circle in Aboriginal culture signifies our connections. The dots around it represent people; there are seven because of Rotary's focus areas.

• The circle and the dots become a navigation star – our guiding light. The solid line underneath is what is referred to as a digging stick, and it is used when doing hard work. And since Rotary members are people of action – it represents a tool for getting things done.

• The colors - Purple stands for polio eradication, green for the environment, the newest addition to our areas of focus, and white for peace, our core mission.

Governor Harrell reminded members of becoming a Polio Plus Society Member. These members commit to contributing $100 or more each and every year to Polio Plus until the world has been declared free of the Wild Polio Virus. This is our commitment to fulfill the promise Rotary made in 1985 to immunize all the children of the world.

At the luncheon, Governor Harrell also inducted two new members: Bay Hill and Sheree Walker, both from Splendora ISD, and helped present Jose Diosdado with a Paul Harris Fellow award. Club President Hereford also presented Governor Harrell with a book, The Lemonade Club, by Patricia Palacco, to be donated in her honor to the library at New Caney Elementary School.