Sandra Brown Scheller is a retired educator who spent 34 years teaching at Rider High School and about 15 years as an adjutant instructor at Wayland Baptist University and Vernon College. She has a B. A. from Oklahoma State University and a M. A. from MSU. She was a member of a Rotary Group Study Exchange to Zambia in 1992. She is the chairman of the board of directors of Sober Living Inc.
Brandi Melo is the assistant director of Sober Living Inc. She is in recovery herself, and leads the organization by example. Her job includes everything from setting resident disputes in the middle of the night, arranging for donations, and speaking up for lost souls in court, and to health and mental health care professionals. She does everything all at once, gracefully, prayerfully, and with humor and love. She is a certified peer support specialist and will begin her degree in social work in the spring.
The Rotary Club of Southwest Wichita Falls, in conjunction with the Wichita Falls Rotary Club North, is excited to announce the 2024 Rotary Four-Way Speech Contest, and we’re inviting all high school students to participate!
Our local clubs will award a generous cash prize scholarship of $750 for 1st place; $500 for 2nd place; and $250 for 3rd place winners. The top three contestants will also advance to compete at the regional level, with opportunity to win additional scholarship prizes.
Please help us identify students who could benefit by participating in this competition. There’s no entry fee. All that’s required is a commitment to put forth an effort to compose and deliver a 5-minute speech surrounding the topic of Rotary’s “Four-Way Test”, which asks the following:
Of the things we think, say or do:
Is it the Truth?
Is it Fair to All Concerned?
Will it build Good Will and Better Friendships?
Will it be Beneficial to All Concerned?
Rotary is a worldwide civic and philanthropic organization that supports local and international programs that promote peace, fight diseases, provide health education, support literacy, and assist local economies. The goals of the contest are to acquaint the community with the principles of the Rotary Four-Way Test and to provide participants the opportunity to gain experience and confidence from speaking publicly. The prizes are awarded to recognize, encourage, and reward the outstanding accomplishments of youth in our community.
Students will be mentored and coached by local Rotarians who will provide guidance on the development of the speech and its delivery. We will be holding an orientation meeting to provide contestants and parents with the goals and expectations of the contest. Orientation will take place on Thursday February 29th at 6:00PM at the Edgemere Church of Christ located at 4728 Neta Lane in Wichita Falls.
Weekly mentoring sessions (with members of the local Rotary clubs serving as mentors) will be offered at the same location (Edgemere Church of Christ) on Thursday nights from 6:00-7:00PM beginning March 7ththrough March 28th. The contest will be held on April 4th at 6:30PM.
Thetop three winners of the local competition must commit to compete in the regional contest which is scheduled for April 20th in Weatherford, TX, and the district final (if they advance past the regional competition) scheduled for April 27th in Denton, TX.
Joe and Diana Shaffer have been married for almost 18 years. They moved to Wichita Falls in 2017.
Joe grew up in Wichita Falls attending Hirschi High School and Midwestern State University. He moved to the Austin area in 1989 not long after college.
Diana grew up in Wellington TX, moved to Amarillo to attend college, and moved to Austin in 1996.
They crossed paths while working in the residential mortgage industry in 2004 and got married in 2006.
Both of them worked in the mortgage industry up until September of 2022, with Joe starting in 1990 and Diana starting in 1997.
In July of 2022, while working remotely in Wichita Falls for a Mortgage Banker out of Chicago, they began the process and planning of Next Level Golf, a high-end high-definition full swing Simulator Golf Center here in Wichita Falls.
The business opened in July of 2023 and is located in the same shopping center as KBond Jewelers, across from Sikes Senter Mall.
