Kelly Austin installed as Rotary president in Alice

Kelly Austin was installed as president of the Alice Rotary Club, putting her in charge of the club’s one-year leadership cycle in a role that reaches beyond ceremony and into budgets, committee appointments and service projects. The handoff gives the club a new face while leaving Austin responsible for keeping its local work moving in Alice and across Jim Wells County.

Rotary International says club presidents lead and motivate their clubs, preside over club and board meetings, create budgets, manage finances and help ensure continuity in service projects. The organization also describes Rotary clubs as built around service, friendship, diversity, integrity and leadership. That makes the presidency a working post, not just an honorary one, because the club’s annual goals and partnerships depend on what the incoming leader sets in motion early.

Alice Rotary has used that annual turnover to keep a steady local presence. In 2022, Rotarians and guests gathered at Taqueria Jalisco for the installation of the 2022-23 officers, when David Silva passed the gavel to Pete Crisp. The club also held a regular meeting with City of Alice personnel Arlene Medrano and Jose Pereida as guest speakers, a sign that its program reaches into city operations as well as club business.

The club’s community record includes a $5,000 contribution to the Boys and Girls Club of Alice in April 2023 and the welcoming of Troy Riggs as a new Rotarian in January 2023. Those details show the kind of measurable activity that now sits on Austin’s desk: keeping members engaged, keeping civic partners involved and keeping money moving toward local causes.

Austin’s installation places her at the center of that work as the club moves into another year of meetings, fundraising and volunteer efforts in Alice. Her term will be measured by whether the club can keep those projects, partners and donations producing visible service for residents of Jim Wells County.