In The Beginning...

In 2000, a young Rotarian, Aaron Buerge (who later became the second Bachelor of the TV show of the same name), moved to Jenks, OK and began working in his family’s bank, Grand Lake Bank, in Tulsa.  He was anxious to join a Rotary Club and looking around, he found none in Jenks.  He approached the Rotary District Governor, Don Wasson, and asked if he could help start a Rotary club in Jenks or south Tulsa.  DG Wasson first asked the Rotary Club of Tulsa, the largest club in District 6110 (over 400 members), if they would sponsor a club in the South Tulsa/Jenks area.  They agreed and appointed Rotarian Jack Maxwell to head up a club extension committee.  DG Wasson suggested a name of the new club might be Tri-Cities Rotary and its membership could be made up of persons from Jenks, Bixby, and Glenpool.

The extension committee was made up of Jack Maxwell, chair, Aaron Buerge, Linda Billings, Ericka Sherod, Jim VerHoef, and Chuck Wilson.  They began to recruit member prospects, and their first meetings were held at White Hawk Golf Course.  It became clear early on that most of the interest came from Bixby, and on September 23, 2000, the Rotary Club of Bixby was chartered.  We chartered with 32 members.  The Reverend Jessica Moffatt was elected to serve as Charter President.  The Charter Banquet was a huge success, with 200 people in attendance.

Oops!

About 5 months after chartering, Jack Maxwell visited the club and noticed it had lost quite a few members.  Only 14 of 32 members were active.  Upon asking "Where is everybody?" it was revealed many of the members were treating it as a networking organization, not as a service club.  In an effort to help the Bixby club grow, Jack transferred his membership from the Tulsa Rotary Club to Bixby.

At the next Board meeting, discussions were held regarding membership growth.  It was determined that the best way to build a Rotary Club was to demonstrate a commitment of service to the community.  We determined what the community needed most was a large marquee sign that the Bixby Public Schools could use to communicate school activities to the public.  They would own and operate the sign.  The estimated cost of the sign was $40,000.  Instead of electing to take 40 years at $1,000 per year doing pancake fundraisers, Jack Maxwell suggested the Club put on a barbecue festival to raise funds.  This was quite an aggressive idea, since the Club was only six months old and fourteen members!

Jack met with Rotarian Tim Kelly, a co-founder of the Art of BBQ competition in Tulsa.  He found the Art of BBQ raised around $20-25,000 per year and Tim and his BBQ team, 3 Guys Smokin’, agreed to work with Bixby Rotary for the next year to bring a competition to Bixby.  This possibility was discussed at the next Bixby Rotary Board meeting and even though the vote was close, it was decided to start a year long planning to hold the first annual Bixby BBQ’n Blues Festival in May of 2002.  This was a scary time for this new club, but the more we worked, the more excited we became about Rotary and a great new community service project.  If successful, this project would bring a festival to Bixby and people would come here to spend their money and hear good music, rather than having to go to Tulsa to do the same.

How Did It Go?

The first 2002 Bixby BBQ’n Blues Festival attracted 43 BBQ teams and we had 7 or 8 bands.  The event profited $29,500.  The Bixby School sign was erected on South Memorial Drive.  More importantly, our membership grew from 14 to 29 members at Festival time!

The 2003 Bixby BBQ’n Blues Festival attracted 44 BBQ teams.  We had another 7 bands playing, and we added more kid’s entertainment including miniature horses and inflatable toys.  We increased our cash sponsorship money to $40,000 and the profit rose to $36,000.  This allowed the Bixby Club to begin planning on a future Rotary Centennial Project (Rotary would be 100 years old on February 23, 2005).  We decided to build an amphitheater in the Washington Irving Memorial Park with major proceeds from the 2003, 2004 and 2005 festivals.  This year, our membership grew from 29 members to 53 members, proving that people like to be around others that are serving and making a difference.

We hired Westbrook Architects and formed a Centennial Project Committee made up of all the past, present and future Presidents of the Rotary Club, Bixby City Manager Micky Webb, and Bill Pittman who represented the Friends of Irving Foundation.  Randy Westbrook presented a design that had a façade of Washington Irving’s home in Tarrytown, New York as the back of the stage.  This design was immediately selected as it would add more history of Irving in the park that bears his name.  We also decided to place a $35,000 bronze statue of Washington Irving sitting on his porch (the stage).

The 2004 Bixby BBQ’n Blues Festival was another great success with 44 BBQ teams and 9 Blues bands.  The entertainment was great and approximately 10,000 people attended.  We raised $51,400 in cash sponsorships and the profit was $55,000.  The Bixby Rotary Club had set aside $24,000 from the 2003 festival and added another $32,000 from the 2004 festival to our Foundation savings for our Rotary Club of Bixby Amphitheater project.  Our Board estimated we could also put up another $32,000 from the 2005 Festival to make total cash commitment of $88,000 toward the amphitheater.

Public/Private Partnership Formed

Bixby Rotary members went to the Bixby City Council and proposed a Public/Private partnership with the city.  The City agreed to match the Bixby Rotary Club, dollar for dollar, for the first $88,000 of expenses Rotary spent on the proposed Rotary Club of Bixby Amphitheater.  The Rotary Club was the Project Manager and it was our responsibility to select a contractor to build the facility.  We chose Tim Remy, President of Interstate Construction Company, as our General Manager and Contractor.  The ground-breaking ceremony was July 15, 2004 and the project was completed and dedicated on February 23, 2005, the Centennial Day of Rotary International.

The 2005 Bixby BBQ’n Blues Festival was very successful.  56 BBQ teams competed and 9 Blues Bands played on the new Rotary Club of Bixby Amphitheater stage.  This year, we raised $52,450 in cash sponsorships and the total profit was $50,000.  We were able to finish paying for the amphitheater and had enough left over to donate $30,000 to Bixby Community Outreach Center, an organization that provides services to over 1000 families annually.

Major Projects Funded by the Rotary Club of Bixby

1. Bixby Public Schools sign on Memorial - $36,000
2. Rotary Club of Bixby Amphitheater - $200,000+
3. Donation to Bixby Community Outreach Center - $30,000

Other Projects Sponsored by the Rotary Club of Bixby

1. Gave Dictionaries to every 3rd grader in Bixby, Mounds, & Liberty public schools
2. Shop with a Cop.  We select at-risk children and provide the money for them to purchase Christmas presents for their family members.  They shop with a Bixby police officer at Wal-Mart allowing them to begin a positive relationship with an officer.
3. Up With Trees planting at 111th and Memorial & another planned for 151st Street
4. Sponsor and coordinate the Bixby Christmas Parade
5. Send at least 2 Bixby students to Rotary Youth Leadership Camp
6. Provide three scholarships per year for worthy students
7. Support the immunization efforts of children in Bixby and surrounding area
8. Annually plan and put on the Bixby BBQ’n Blues Festival
9. Quarterly, go to District 6110 Medical Supplies Network (MSNI) warehouse and inventory medical equipment and supplies.  MSNI in the last 10 years has sent 105 forty-foot sea containers to 32 different developing countries.
10. Ring bells at Christmas for Salvation Army
11. Work with other Rotary clubs to support the Rotary Youth Exchange program

Bixby Rotary Club Leadership

We have been very fortunate to have excellent club Presidents to lead our growth from 32 members to over 75 at May 1, 2006.  Our leaders of past and future are: