Lowell grew up in West Texas. Moving to Vinita in 1961, he lived West of Vinita and graduated from VHS. He furthered his education experience at Northeastern State University at Tahlequah where he received his B.A. and Masters Degrees. Lowell has been employed at the First National Bank of Vinita for over twenty years. He joined Rotary in 1988 and was sponsored by O.B. Johnston. Lowell is married to Linda and they have two daughters and two grandsons who live in the Dallas area. In his spare time, Lowell enjoys fishing anywhere in this country and all over the world.

When you combine two great Oklahoma events, what do you get? An even greater attraction for visitors to Northeast Oklahoma's Green Country! That's the thought behind the teaming up of Vinita's 31st Annual Calf Fry Festival and Cook-Off and the 74th Annual Will Rogers Memorial Rodeo, according to organizers.

"This is the premier calf fry event in Oklahoma,‚ said Chamber Director BJ Mooney and many teams compete each year for top honors and the distinction of being the winner of the World's Largest Calf Fry Festival and Cook-Off!"

The event includes inflatables, arts & crafts, co-ed softball tournament, cook-off competition, celebrity judges, live entertainment, cowboy games and more. This year, the cooking teams will not only compete for the tastiest fries in the state but the ladies, age 21 and over, will strive for the "Belle of the Ball" title in a showmanship competition.

--from www.vinita.com

For more information, visit www.bigcountryweekend.com

**The Calf Fry Cook-off will be held Saturday, August 28, 2010. Participating as a cooking team in the Calf Fry Festival is a great opportunity for Public Relations for our Rotary club‚ AND the team members have a fun time doing it! We're gonna‚ shoot for a repeat as Grand Champion Cook-Off Team this year!! See Rod Couch to sign up to help!!**

"GREAT BALLS OF FIRE"

VINITA ROTARY CLUB

2009 CALF FRY COOK-OFF CHAMPIONS

Spotlight on SERVICE...MEMBERSHIP

Each Rotarian: Reach One, Keep One

The Rotary membership slogan emphasizes the need for Rotarians to focus on both recruitment and retention in their membership growth efforts.

The RI Board of Directors adopted a new membership slogan, "Each Rotarian: Reach One, Keep One," at its June/2009 meeting. The slogan emphasizes the need for Rotarians to focus on both recruitment and retention in their membership growth efforts.

"Membership development is each Rotarian's responsibility," said Paul Netzel, a member of RI's Membership Development and Retention Committee and a past RI director.

"'Reach One' reminds us that because Rotary membership is by invitation, it's essential that each Rotarian reaches out and invites someone to join," added Netzel, a member of the Rotary Club of Los Angeles.

"'Keep One' reminds us that it's not sufficient to simply sponsor someone into Rotary; we must also see that new members become active and involved Rotarians. We know this is an essential element in membership retention."

The new slogan complements the Board's long-term membership strategy, which was also adopted at the June meeting.