Events

As he prepares for his seventh season leading the Oklahoma City Philharmonic, Maestro Alexander Mickelthwate is enjoying being a part of the OKC community.

“It’s amazing, and also quite humbling,” Mickelthwate said. “My morning routine usually consists of studying at a local coffee shop. Quite often customers will approach me and say they saw me on television or on the side of a bus. To me, that signifies what we are doing at the OKCPHIL is resonating with the community, and making everyone feel welcome.”

The OKCPHIL has been a source of joy and inspiration for 36 years, enriching Oklahoma and its communities through orchestral music. When Mickelthwate came on board, he brought with him an eagerness to build on the successes of the past and pave the way for the future.

“Oklahoma City should be known as a breeding ground for fun and creativity,” he said. “That’s my thing. In our first season, we were always surprised how the audiences were really open to the contemporary. It’s crazy how embracing the audience is for adventurous, fun new things.”

Born and raised in Frankfurt, Germany, Mickelthwate grew up in a home filled with classical music. He received his degree from the Peabody Institute of Music, and has worked with orchestras in Atlanta, Winnipeg and Los Angeles.

He is Music Director Emeritus of the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra in Canada, and in 2022, accepted the position of Music Director for the prestigious Bear Valley Music Festival in Bear Valley, California. In early 2023, Mickelthwate traveled to Hanoi where he was Guest Conductor at the Vietnam National Symphony Orchestra.

Since he’s been in Oklahoma, Mickelthwate has received numerous awards and honors, including being named three time “The Face of Music” by 405 Magazine. Newspaper OKC Friday named him one of the “Top 50 Most Powerful,” and the Ladies Music Club of Oklahoma City lauded him “Musician of the Year.”

Accolades aside, one of Mickelthwate’s goals is to tell Oklahoma stories through music.

“When I first came to Oklahoma City, I read Sam Anderson’s book, ‘Boom Town,’ and from there I began studying Oklahoma’s colorful history,” he said. “We have so many great stories, and seeing them come to life through music is awe-inspiring. This season, we’ve programmed “World Premiere!” American Indian Symphony by Native American composer Jerod Tate. I want to continue bringing more of these stories to our audiences.”

When he’s not studying music or planning future OKCPHIL concerts, Mickelthwate is Artist in Residence at the University of Central Oklahoma where he enjoys working with the next generation of musicians, and conducting UCO’s symphony orchestra. After the music is over Mickelthwate loves spending time with his two sons, trying to beat them at ping pong, creating adventurous new recipes or improvising together on piano and guitar.

“My personal philosophy is that music has a way of reaching us in a way nothing else does,” Mickelthwate said. “It goes deep inside, creating and facilitating beauty in a harsh world. We want the Oklahoma City Philharmonic to be meaningful, to be fun and a place where we are all one. I have often said we feel the love, Oklahoma City. And we are giving it right back.”

Our own Adam Reese will be speaking about a possible International Service Project for our club. Here's some info on the opportunity from the website at https://refugeofhopebucerias.com.

"Refuge of Hope Bucerias A.C. was officially formed in 2020 after its founders had spent many years working together in the community at a local Children’s Shelter. As we delivered food throughout Bucerias in response to Covid-19, our hearts were stirred by the people we met and the needs we saw. What if we could serve the families in the poorest neighborhoods by providing care for their children, skill training for their teens, love and support for the many single moms and grandmas we met? What if we could offer a refuge of hope for people living in hard places?"

"Our top priority is to provide love, nutrition, education, medical care and spiritual growth to the at-risk children of Banderas Bay, especially those who are living with single moms."

"Recently we have created Women of Hope and we are making plans to build a center – possibly right next door on the lot we recently purchased – where moms can gather to create community and learn new skills."

Luke will speak to our club about the exciting new REAL CHANGE COALITION. Bringing together multiple agencies to help assist in employment. TEEM, Side by Side, ReMerge, Urban League, Julius Jones Institute, Chain Reaction Ministries, Work Ready Oklahoma, Diversion Hub, OIC (Opportunities Industrialization Center of OK County), Goodwill, Restore OKC, Oklahoma City Community College and the Central Oklahoma Workforce Innovation Board.

This coalition was started to address barriers many in the population face toward employment. 

Tonight's speaker is Chase Parsons, Executive Director and Co-Founder at OKC Dream Center.

The Oklahoma City Dream Center exists to reach, rescue, and restore people isolated by poverty in OKC by meeting basic needs, preventative programs for at-risk kids and youth, relationships and referrals through our Community Resource Center, and our Dream Living Transitional Program for men.

Their vision is to build a community of resilient people who have been transformed by God’s love. The people whose lives are impacted by their programs go on to share that love with others, serving in the community and making transformation possible for others.

Rotarian of the Day: Jeff Gabelsberg

Let's welcome Dianne Gremillion with The Pink Sugar Foundation. http://www.thepinksugar.com

Dianne is the Founder of the Pink Sugar Foundation, a nonprofit organization seeking to rescue and redeem those caught in human trafficking. She has led 3 trips to Brazil for such efforts in the past 3 years. Dianne has also participated in volunteering at mission clinics in several third world countries including Africa, Belarus and Romania and continues to give a portion of the proceeds of ITS to support orphans in third world countries. She is an outdoor enthusiast and connoisseur of waterfalls as well as the Best Aunt Ever according to her 8 year old niece!

The Pink Sugar Foundation seeks to love, restore, and rescue those who have been wounded by prostitution, abuse, abandonment, and poverty in Recife, Brazil. They serve along with their local mission partners through contribution and participation. They invite us to join them on our journey to share Light & bring Hope.  

Rotarian of the Day: Terry Billen

Please welcome Bailey McMahan, OKC Area Director of Big Brothers Big Sisters of Oklahoma.

Rotarian of the Day: Brian Triger

The club is gathering to put together the Chili and entering the pot to support the OICA Chili Cookoff today, we cook and prepare the master piece and gather!!! Official tcookoff entries will be held at the Capital on Tuesday March 11, 2025 from 11am -3pm all are welcome to attend both events! Please text Adam for directions if you can make it 214-682-5829.

Tonight we will be meeting at 2525 NW Expressway, First Floor, Conference Room

Let's welcome Mark Bravo, Director of Business Development at OK Runner. He will share with us about his profession as a Running coach and the importance of mindset and the power of a positive attitude.  Mark has a 40+ year career as a TV and radio commentator for running and other sports events.

He is the color commentator for the Oklahoma City Memorial Marathon since its inception.  

Mark’s career as a coach started with running and wellness, and now he mentors “athletes” nationwide. Mark’s clients range from recreational runners training for their first 5k to elite athletes preparing for the world’s top marathons and Olympic trials.

A veteran of over 30 marathons and 400 road races, Mark has a personal best of 2:44 in the marathon, 34:30 in the 10K, and ran a 17:00 5K the night he turned 40. After two hip surgeries – the last a total hip replacement May 2007 – Mark returned to running  and 11 months later ran a 43 minute 10K.

Mark doesn’t measure accomplishments by the clock; he believes that athletic excellence is a personal quest that varies for each individual. 

The journey we take on isn’t always of our choosing; nonetheless, it can be one of amazing growth and unrelenting possibilities.

Come one come all to support the OAIC in the Chili Cookoff at the Capital from 11am to 3pm. We will have a booth and all are welcome to attend!  Volunteers Needed for OICA Chili Cookoff Booth
📍 State Capitol☎️ Contact JoAnna at (918) 260-2838 if you can help.

Each year the Midwest City Rotary Club gathers at the Midwest City Community Center to host one of the largest and most fun banquets in town.  Guests are treated to shrimp, crawfish, sausage, corn, potatoes and all the other fixin’s.  Attendees also enjoy live music with a live and silent auction.  This is a wonderful event that allows our club to work and fellowship with each other and the members of the community that support our
club.Where We Meet Wickline United Methodist Church-417 Mid America Blvd, Midwest City , OK 73130🎟️ Tickets: Approximately $75 This is a fun event supporting a neighboring Rotary Club. Contact Alan Norton at (405) 205-1246 to join our table.

Let's welcome Mallory Sapp from OBI. OBI has a goal to partner with Rotary Groups around the state in the month of July for a Rotarian Blood Donor Month! Their goal being to help the blood supply during the difficult summer season. She will be speaking about the OKC Metro Rotary competition details and the benefits of blood donation and who OBI is within the community.

Mallory Sapp was born and raised in Wellington, KS. She went on to earn a degree in Health and Exercise Science from the University of Oklahoma.

Mallory serves on the account consultant team in Oklahoma City, working with community partners from Moore to Wayne to set up successful blood drives and ensure the patients in Oklahoma hospitals have the blood they need.

She loves meeting donors and patients and being able to share the stories about how blood donation is truly a life-saving gift.

Registration is NOW OPEN! 

District 5750 has a paid space reserved for all the current President Elect’s at the upcoming Mid-America President Elect Training March 21-23, 2024, in Fort Smith, AR. Midamericapets.org

Our speaker tonight is Emmanuel Rivera is a professional mixed martial artist, local Sports Animal MMA commentator, and a former street kid himself. He attributes his life’s turnaround to martial arts and the mentors who helped him along the way. The Come Up Foundation is a new 501(c)3 that partners with churches, non-profits and schools. They send mentors into neighborhoods where kids live, and the streets where they play to instill discipline and responsibility. By learning self-defense and building confidence, kids learn to avoid violence and utilize techniques to stop bullying in their schools and neighborhoods. Come Up teaches a healthier lifestyle and promotes leadership and discipline. Emmanuel has a great personal story. The work his group is doing with at risk kids is phenomenal. He is changing lives in our community. You can find out more about his group at https://comeupfoundation.com/. They were also featured here on News 9’s Something Good. https://www.news9.com/story/6499767b4f273c072f13bb26/oklahoma-city-metro-school-teaches-martial-arts-to-homeless-youth 

Rotarian of the Day: Morgan Flom

Please welcome Chris Benard, CEO from Hunger Free Oklahoma! 

Hunger Free Oklahoma is a statewide nonprofit established to leverage the power of collaboration to solve hunger in Oklahoma by improving systems, policies, and practices, facilitating public/private partnerships, and providing backbone support to existing organizations addressing hunger.   

Hunger Free Oklahoma’s primary focus is to collaboratively work with community-based organizations, government agencies, and other stakeholders who directly serve individuals. We provide support through technical assistance, convening, research, and policy guidance to nonprofit, government, and other stakeholders statewide.  

Bios on each speaker:

Chris Bernard

Chris, a proud native of Oklahoma, became part of Hunger Free Oklahoma in December of 2017. With a robust background in policy, advocacy, legislative strategy, and program implementation, Chris brings invaluable expertise to the organization. Chris’s track record includes building scalable solutions to complex societal problems including the areas of public safety, public health, and food insecurity in Oklahoma. “Scale it or fail it” is Chris’ mantra. This has resulted in the expansion of the Double Up Oklahoma (DUO) program, for example, a statewide nutrition incentive program that encourages fruit and vegetable purchases among Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) participants, the creation of a statewide SNAP Outreach plan in Oklahoma and multiple large scale emergency response efforts.

In 2023, Chris was honored with the Rodney Bivens Innovation Award by the Oklahoma Center for Nonprofits, recognizing his groundbreaking contributions to the field. Additionally, he was named among The Journal Record’s Most Admired CEOs in 2023 and the Most Admired Nonprofit CEO in 2021. Chris was a member of Leadership Oklahoma Class 35 and is a Lifetime member of the organization.

Chris earned his BA from the University of Texas at Austin and furthered his education by obtaining a JD from Northwestern University School of Law.

We are excited to invite you to a special tour of Citizen House, a premier addition to downtown OKC that offers a private city club, a boutique hotel, and executive workspaces. This is a great opportunity to explore this unique venue and connect with fellow members in a dynamic setting.

Event Details:

Location: Citizen House-600 N. Robinson Avenue, Oklahoma City. Located inside the UMB Bank Building across from the Memorial.

Time: Tour begins promptly at 6:00 PM (please arrive by 5:45 PM in the lower lobby to meet our hosts)

Following the tour, we'll gather for cocktails and light bites at JK by Chef King, a perfect way to wrap up the evening with great conversation and fellowship.

Our speaker tonight is James Dillon, Center Manager for Grifols Plasma.

Rotarian of the Day: Dr. Renee Roy

Please welcome Denise Hyche with Central Oklahoma Workforce Innovation Board!

She will be sharing information on Workforce Innovation Opportunity Act (WIOA) adult and youth programs.  They are a federally funded education/training grant program.  They have funding to assist with tuition/fees, books, tools, uniforms, equipment, and testing fees. Students must attend an Oklahoma school that is approved to receive our funding.  Examples may be career techs, private short-term programs, or community colleges. They also have employment opportunities available through their work experience and on the job training programs. They subsidize wages under these programs.

Denise Hyche started her career with Workforce in October 2016 as the Customer Service Representative/Trainer (CSR/T).  She currently serves as the Youth Coordinator/Outreach Specialist. She monitors youth enrollments, soft skills classes, and incentives. She also leads outreach efforts for the project to increase awareness of the program and engage with the community. She uses her passion for helping others to support the team’s professional success and provide the best customer service to the clients served.

Denise’s previous experience was with the Guthrie Job Corps Center for 14 years, where she served as Business Technology Instructor, Outreach and Admissions Counselor, and later Outreach and Admissions Supervisor. She has over 20 years of experience with workforce development, outreach, and youth engagement. Denise also volunteers with a few social service organizations and serves as Vice Chair and Job Fair Coordinator. Denise is a proud graduate of the University of Oklahoma. (Boomer Sooner!)

Our speaker will be Evelyn Schaefer with Keep Oklahoma Beautiful.

Our Rotarian of the Day is Patrick Gaines.

Evelyn Schaefer has been serving as a nonprofit manager for more than 20 years. Her career focus has been in the fields of communications, marketing and fundraising and she has served organizations for which she has a passion, namely children’s healthcare and higher education.

She has a Bachelor of Business Administration from the University of Central Oklahoma and an MBA from Oklahoma City University. She serves on the board of HALO Project and is a volunteer for Downtown Edmond Arts Festival. She was named the 2018 Outstanding Fundraising Professional by the Association of Fundraising Professionals, Oklahoma Chapter. Having grown up in Okarche, she now lives in Edmond and is an avid outdoor enthusiast and eclipse follower. 

She will be speaking about a new initiative, Keep Route 66 Beautiful. Goal is to ensure that all 400+ miles of Route 66 through Oklahoma is clean and green for the historic highway’s 100 anniversary in 2026.

Our speaker will be Monique Walker, Manager of Partner Engagement and Special Projects from the Oklahoma City Innovation District.

Our Rotarian of the Day is London Olawumi.

Monique Walker is the Innovation District’s Manager of Partner Engagement and Special Projects. Monique was born and raised in Oklahoma City and graduated from Oklahoma State University with a Bachelor’s Degree in International Studies and Political Science and a minor in Economics. Prior to joining the Innovation District, Monique served on the Economic Development Team at the Greater OKC Chamber. While at the Chamber, Monique offered business intelligence and economic analysis that supported the growth of existing businesses and the recruitment of new companies to the region. Monique is passionate about driving economic growth and fostering community development and is dedicated to building a thriving and prosperous Oklahoma City. Day to day, Monique maintains the relationships with OKCID’s various partners and oversees OKCID’s STEM Education and Workforce programs. Monique has a heart for small and minority owned businesses and serves on the Oklahoma City Minority Founders (OMFA) Advisory Council and has mentored several small business owners through her partnerships with Progress OKC and Gener8tor. Monique is excited to do work in a part of town that she really cares about with a team that will be making a lasting impact in the community. \

She will be sharing with us an inside look at how the District is driving economic growth and community impact through innovative programming. She’ll highlight key initiatives led by the team—including signature events, workforce development efforts, and STEM education programs—designed to connect students, entrepreneurs, and industry leaders across Oklahoma City.

Our speaker will be Retired USAF Colonel JC Clapsaddle.

He will be sharing his Rotary sponsored delivery of 4x4 Vehicles filled with medical supplies from England to Ukraine.

JC Clapsaddle is a retired Air Force Colonel. Among his assignments was a tour in Iraq as a liaison between Air Force and Army combat medical activities, and the Iraqi National Health Ministry. 

He served on Capitol Hill at the U.S. Senate as a National Defense Fellow and liaison with a legislative portfolio of Veterans Affairs, human rights, racial diversity, combating religious intolerance, prevention of sexual harassment & assault, and ending veteran suicide.  

In 2010, the Secretary of Defense appointed him Deputy Director of the Pentagon’s special Legal and Legislative Team that crafted the President’s successful repeal of “Don’t Ask Don’t Tell.” 

Later, he commanded hospitals at Ramstein Air Base (Germany) and Al Udeid (Qatar) to care for ill & wounded from combat operations in Afghanistan and Iraq. 

JC is a graduate of the Masters Leadership Program San Antonio, a Rotarian, and serves on four nonprofit Boards. He is the  U.S. Coordinator of the “Seeds of Hope” International Peace Leadership Academy (Northern Ireland), and since 2022 is part of an international humanitarian relief operation supplying equipment, medical supplies, and vehicle convoys throughout Ukraine during the Russian-Ukraine War. 

He is married to Colonel (retired) Andra Clapsaddle. They have one son, two grandkids, and three dogs; and occasionally more dogs, as they help raise and train Guide Dogs of Texas K9s to support visually impaired Texans.

If you have a company and would like to have a booth at the Trade show at Wheeler District please reach out to Craig Cox.

located at:

⏰ 12:00 PM – 3:00 PM
If you would like to represent your business, contact Craig Cox at (405) 361-3094 for details.

✈️ If interested, contact Karyn at 405-409-7989 as soon as possible so we can explore Airbnb options.Connect In CalgaryEmbark on an exhilarating journey of connection and inspiration at the 2025 Rotary International Convention in Calgary! Engage in riveting discussions, learn from distinguished speakers, and explore enlightening breakout sessions against the backdrop of Calgary's picturesque beauty nestled amid the Canadian Rockies.Fueled by friendship and a spirit of collaboration, exchange best practices, ignite innovative projects, and form lifelong connections with fellow changemakers from around the world.Take part in this transformative, one-of-a-kind event and experience the Magic All Around at the 2025 Rotary International Convention in Calgary, Canada 21-25 June 2025.