Events

More Than a Store: Three Decades of Tumultuous Changes 1960-1990

Mr. Robert T. Sakowitz is President and CEO of Hazak Corporation, Houston, Texas, a Corporate Consulting company for Business Strategies, Marketing, and Development with multi-industry and multi-national companies for over thirty-five years.

Formerly he has served on the Boards of Directors of: The Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas, Texas (Houston Branch Chairman), Continental Air Lines; Morse Shoe Company; Galleria Bank (Founding Director) and Texas American BankShares; National Retail Merchants Association/ National Retail Federation; The American Council for the Arts; The Houston Symphony;  Societe Viticole Europeene; TungTex Apparel Manufacturing of HongKong ; DiCentral Corporation; FreshBrew Group (Founding Director); Digital Documents Advisors; the Greater Houston Convention and Visitors Bureau (Chairman), the Houston International Festival (Co-Founder).  He also served as Chairman of both the Houston and Harris County Sesquicentennial Committees, the Houston Municipal Arts Committee; Co-Chairman of the 1980 White House Conference on Small Business, Southwest Region, and Co-Chairman, Texas Conference on Small Business.                                                                                                                                                                     Mr. Sakowitz continues to serve on the Board of Advisors, Texas A&M Galveston, TX.; the Blue Bird Circle Foundation, the Bay Area Houston Economic Partnership Maritime Committee, and as Co-Chairman of the Board of Advisors of IM- Houston Interfaith Ministries.                                            He is a member of numerous civic, arts, business, and charitable organizations.

Prior to forming Hazak consulting company, Mr. Sakowitz was President and Chief Executive Officer of Sakowitz, Inc, helping to transform it into an internationally recognized fashion specialty retailer. He was a forerunner in initiating in-store marketing concepts of European ready-to-wear apparel boutiques in the United States, launching the first Andre Courreges boutique, following with Yves St. Laurent Rive Gauche, Givenchy, Valentino, and Ermenegildo Zegna, and numerous distribution relationships and joint ventures with other European and Asian designers first in America. The extraordinary “Ultimate Gifts” of the annual Sakowitz Christmas Catalogues, delivered throughout every state in America and frequently abroad, were covered by press and television media world-wide. He is frequently called upon for media interviews and speaking engagements regarding marketing, supply chain and retail distribution, business strategies and forecasts

He also innovated the first wine department within department stores, and Fine and Rare Wine Auctions with Christie’s of London, which continued to develop the wine market in the U.S. for over twenty years (1967-88).

Mr. Sakowitz has been the recipient of numerous local, national and international awards; among them are the Chevalier de L’Ordre National du Merit, the Republic of France; the Cavaliere del Ordine al Merito by the Republic of Italy, and the International Best Dressed Hall of Fame.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                         Mr. Sakowitz is a graduate of St. John’s School in Houston, and Harvard University, AB History and Government, Cum Laude; and has been blessed with four children and eight grand-children..                                                                                     

Join the Fresh Start Committee for the Annual Holiday Party at Career & Recovery Resources.  Enjoy a pizza party and fellowship and encouragement with the agency clients who are working dilingtenty to overcome barriers from criminal justice involvement, subnstance use, underemployment and/or  housing instability.  We will celebrate the clients hard fought accomplishments and present them with a gift to show our appreciation, encouragement and support.  

Supporting cancer research for over 50 years.

http://www.lombardiaward.org

BEAR ... BE A RESOURCE FOR CPS KIDS

BEAR will provide lunch for participants from the Corner Bakery.  Please register by 3:00 PM on Tuesday, December 9th so that we may have an accurate lunch count.  

Rotarians and friends will separate gifts by age to create gift bags according to CPS children's wish list.

BEARing Gifts provides holiday gifts to children involved with Child Protective Services who otherwise would have no holiday cheer at all. Over 14,000 children were served with our help last year!

Let's do it again this year! Bring your donation of new, unopened toys to the Warehouse on Thursday December 11th, 2025.

*Located at the end of the Brookwood Business Park next to Oaks Dads’ Club (baseball fields).

A View from the Texas Business Court

The Inaugural Year: Progress & Momentum

Judges: Sofia Adrogué and Grant Dorfman 

Hon. Sofia Adrogué

Governor Greg Abbott appointed Sofia Adrogué to be one of the inaugural judges of the Eleventh Business Court Division, effective September 1, 2024. The Eleventh Business Court Division is composed of the counties of Brazoria, Fort Bend, Galveston, Harris, Matagorda, Montgomery & Wharton. A native of Argentina, Sofia is a former Senior Trial Partner with Diamond McCarthy LLP, a 10-year+ Texas Super Lawyer, Best Lawyer, & Latino Leaders “U.S. 25 Most Influential Hispanic Lawyer” & “Most Powerful Woman in Law.” She envisioned & serves as the Editor of the TEXAS BUSINESS LITIGATION treatise (5th Edition) & has published and/or spoken on over 250 occasions. She is a graduate of Harvard Business School Owner/President Management Program, an alumna of HBS (U.S. Keynote Graduation Speaker for HBS OPM 37, ostensibly the first woman, & U.S. Class Representative), & a graduate of the University of Houston Law Center, magna cum laude, & Rice University, magna cum laude, Phi Beta Kappa, both on full academic scholarships.

Having handled matters arising in Texas, across the U.S. as well as in Buenos Aires, Mexico City, Puerto Rico, among other venues, she has obtained favorable judgments and settlements on behalf of both plaintiffs and defendants in U.S. state and federal courts and in alternative dispute resolution (ADR— mediation & arbitration) proceedings. Sofia has served on THE ADVOCATE Editorial Board, the Texas Supreme Court Advisory Committee, the CLE, Mentor & Professionalism Committees of the State Bar of Texas as well as the CLE, HOUSTON LAWYER & the Professionalism Committees of the Houston Bar Association, among others. She is a fellow of the American Bar Foundation, the Texas Bar Foundation & the Houston Bar Foundation. She has also served as a Member of the Houston First Board of Directors as well as the City of Houston Mayor’s Hispanic Advisory Board.

She has received over 40 awards, including the `2025 Greater Houston Woman’s Chamber of Commerce Pioneering Leadership in Justice Award; the 2024 L.I.F.E. Mother’s Day Award; the 2023 UHLC Hispanic Law Heritage Wall of Honor recognition; the 2022 Top 30 Women in Houston Award; 2021 World Affairs Council of Greater Houston Global Leader of Influence; 2020 Comcast Hispanic Heroes Award; a Greater Houston Women's Chamber “Hall of Fame” Inductee; a HOUSTON CHRONICLE Channel 11 “Texas Legend” & 10 “Extraordinary Latinos” (Inaugural List) ; National Diversity Council “Most Powerful and Influential Woman of Texas” & one of the “Top 50 Women Lawyers”; a UH Law Center Immigration Clinic Arrival Award & a Houston Jaycees “Outstanding Houstonian”; a Texas Jaycees “Outstanding Texan”; and a U.S. Jaycees “Outstanding Young American”; among others. Sofia has been recognized for her public service by the City of Houston with a proclamation of July 10, 2004 & December 18, 2018, as “Sofia Adrogué Day.” 

Hon. Grant Dorfman

Governor Abbott appointed Grant Dorfman to the new Eleventh Business Court Division in Houston on June 14, 2024, and he has been elected by his colleagues to serve as the Administrative Presiding Judge for the initial two-year term of the Court. Judge Dorfman previously served as Judge of the 129th and 334th District Courts of Harris County. In between his terms of judicial service, Judge Dorfman worked as Senior In-House Counsel in charge of litigation for Nabors Industries, the world’s largest land-based drilling contractor; an Of Counsel attorney with Sheehy, Ware & Pappas; a mediator and arbitrator, and state court visiting judge; and, most recently, as the Deputy First Assistant to the Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton.

A native Texan, Judge Dorfman graduated from Brown University with an A.B. in Honors History magna cum laude and was admitted to Phi Beta Kappa. He also obtained a Master of Studies (M.St.) in History and Political Philosophy from Oxford University and a J.D. from the Yale Law School. After law school, he served as a law clerk to the Honorable Jerry E. Smith of the United States Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals and, prior to taking the bench, practiced commercial litigation for ten years with two Houston law firms: Susman Godfrey and Ogden, Gibson, White & Broocks.

Judge Dorfman currently serves on the boards of the University of Houston Law Review, HSPVA Friends (supporting the High School for the Performing and Visual Arts), and the Texas Association of Retired, Senior and Former Judges. He has in the past served as a member of the faculty of the National Judicial College and as an adjunct faculty member of the University of Houston Law Center. A life fellow of the Houston Bar Foundation and a sustaining life fellow of the Texas Bar Foundation, Judge Dorfman is also a member of the Federalist Society and the American Law Institute, and served as an officer on the Houston Bar Association’s Communities in Schools and Professionalism Committees; an ASTAR (Advanced Science and Technology Adjudication Resource) Judge; judicial liaison to the HBA Securities Litigation & Arbitration Section; and served on the State Bar Pattern Jury Charge Committee and the Supreme Court Code of Judicial Conduct Advisory Committee.

With over 45 years of experience as a Professional Engineer, Commissioner Tom Ramsey has dedicated his career to improving the safety, infrastructure, and quality of life for communities across Texas. He has served as Harris County Precinct 3 Commissioner since 2020, overseeing maintenance of nearly 6,800 miles of roadway, 72 parks, and 10 Community and Nature Centers. His office also manages over $900M in infrastructure projects.

A native of Crockett, Texas, and a resident of Harris County for over 35 years, Ramsey earned a B.S. in Civil Engineering from Texas A&M University. His professional achievements have earned him numerous accolades, including being named Engineer of the Year by Houston-area engineering societies and receiving the Distinguished Graduate Award from the Zachry Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at Texas A&M in 2023. The American Society of Civil Engineers recognized him as the 2024 Public Official of the Year.

Before becoming County Commissioner, Ramsey served as Mayor of Spring Valley Village from 2012 to 2020. His strong faith inspires his commitment to public service. He serves as a deacon and Bible study teacher at Second Baptist Church in Houston. He and his wife, Marsha, have three children and seven grandchildren.

John Whitmire, the former Dean of the Texas Senate, was sworn into office as Houston's 63rd Mayor on January 2, 2024. He  has served his community his entire adult life.

As a young boy, John worked odd jobs and learned the value of hard work, even shining shoes at a Harrisburg Beer Hall. He also witnessed domestic abuse and moved frequently as a child.

When a fire burned down his family home, the community wrapped their arms around him, donating clothes and providing shelter. That lesson in compassion and empathy would guide him as a public servant.

In his teenage years, Whitmire settled into a more stable life in Houston with his mother, a nurse, and his stepfather, a social worker. Watching his parents help people as public servants steered John towards a career path of service.

After graduating from Waltrip High School, he soon began working for the Texas “Food Stamp” office, at the time a nutrition initiative for poor families. The case numbers became people and families when he was sent out to do house visits. These real-life interactions would become the base for how John would analyze and shape policies.

At the age of 22, a chance meeting with his UH professor, the legendary Richard Murray, presented the precocious Whitmire with the chance to run for a newly drawn Texas House District. The new single-member district showed his home, high school, church, and hospital where his mother worked.

“It looks like they drew that one for me,” Whitmire recalled. And in that moment, his journey as a public servant was solidified.

Throughout his career as a State Representative for 10 years and State Senator for 40, Whitmire has fought tirelessly for district representation across Houston. Notably, he played a key role in establishing the first Latino state senate district in Harris County and has been a staunch advocate for expanding access to early voting in person and Election Day polling locations in African American and Latino communities. His commitment to LGBTQ+ rights earned him the Harvey Milk Award in 1993 for his efforts against the decriminalization of the Sodomy Law. Whitmire has also been a vocal champion of women's rights, backed by a 100% voting record. He has worked tirelessly to preserve the DREAM Act, ensuring undocumented young individuals can access in-state tuition rates. Additionally, he supported workers' compensation for injured farm workers and unemployment compensation.

In a pivotal moment in his life, Whitmire and his family were robbed at gunpoint, an experience that ultimately led to his chairmanship of the Criminal Justice Committee and his fight for public safety.

As a long-serving chair of the Texas Department of Criminal Justice, Whitmire has demonstrated his ability to strike a balance between being tough on crime and being smart on crime by implementing intelligent reforms. He authored the Sandra Bland Act, addressing law enforcement training, jail resources, and support for individuals with mental illness, substance abuse, or intellectual differences. He also spearheaded grand jury reform, eliminating the "pick a pal" system and promoting diversity in panel selection. Additionally, he successfully led efforts to decriminalize school behavior and expunged thousands of class C misdemeanors from the records of young Texans.

When called on by the people of Houston to run for mayor, Whitmire eagerly accepted the challenge because he believes in answering the call wherever it leads. With a wealth of experience working alongside nine mayors and seven governors, he possesses invaluable knowledge in public safety, infrastructure, and effective problem-solving.

John Whitmire's extraordinary life experiences, unwavering dedication, and a proven track record in getting things done make him a true public servant committed to the well-being of Houstonians.

Joiun us for a FriendRaiser Event to benefit the Youth Programs of the Rotary Club of Houston at the home of Joe and Terry Agris.  Learn about how you can support Camp Enterprise, Interact,  Rotary Youth Exchange and BBRC Committee.  Enjoy complmentafary Hors D'oeuvrewas and cocktails. 

Come early and visait the Zoo on the property.  

More information coming Soon.