Bob Joyce admits that, unlike his Major League Baseball player dad, he ‘stunk’ as a player.
At this week's meeting it was announced the members of the Rotary Club of Humble have voted to change the club's name to the Rotary Club of Lake Houston Area. The change won't take effect until approved by Rotary. The club also said farewell to Noel Cardenas, COO at Memorial Hermann Northeast, who is leaving the area to become CEO of Memorial Hermann's Pearland and Southeast campuses. The club also announced its first non-profit grant of its fiscal year to Including Kids Autism Center. This week's speaker was Kingwood lawyer Robert ‘Bob’ Allan Joyce, who spun a fascinating Major League Baseball tale about his father, Robert Emmett Joyce.
The Rotary Club of Humble has voted to change the club’s name to the Rotary Club of the Lake Houston Area. The name change will take effect once Rotary International approval is granted.
The Rotary board in July approved the process for a potential name change. Members held an open discussion on the name change on Aug. 26 and an email ballot was sent to all active club members. The name change motion required approval by at least two-thirds of voting members.
In his weekly COVID-19 report, Noel Cardenas bid his fellow Rotarians farewell as he moves to a new position, chief executive officer at Memorial Hermann’s Pearland and Southeast campuses.
“This is my fifth anniversary at Northeast,” Cardenas said, noting that this was the longest period he has spent at any one location. Prior to becoming COO at Northeast, he served 30 years in the military, retiring as a colonel and combat veteran, and serving as a military service hospital CEO and senior administrator.
Making 19 moves in 30 years, Cardenas said his wife, Cristi, was very adept at handling the selling of the home and the moving.
“There’s not been a better place to be,” he said, “and I am so happy that I’ll be able to stay with Memorial Hermann. Thank you for allowing me to serve you.”
Rotary President Mike Kevlin, on behalf of the Rotarians, told Cardenas that he would be missed along with his weekly COVID-19 reports and guidance.
In his weekly report, Cardenas said hospitalizations due to COVID-19 continue to trend down.
“There are 30 cases at Memorial Hermann Northeast Hospital,” said Cardenas. “The trend is down across our hospital system. We would like the number of cases to be below 200.”
Cardenas, however, says Memorial Hermann is planning for a fall surge, “ … not predicting it but planning for it …” as the flu season arrives. Pharmacies have the flu vaccine, he told Rotarians, “ … and I encourage you to get your vaccination now.”
Including Kids received the club’s first grant of the year. Rotarian Dr. Nikki Bennett said the autism center used the grant to purchase cleaning equipment that is allowing them to clean classrooms and equipment for a quicker turnaround time.
Bennett and Kevlin reported they will soon begin reviewing grant applications for Lake Houston-area not-for-profits. In 2019, the club distributed checks totaling $50,000 to 10 local organizations.
Bob Joyce, the dad, gained fame as a pitcher for the San Francisco Seals.
The club’s weekly speaker, Kingwood lawyer Robert ‘Bob’ Allan Joyce, spun a fascinating Major League Baseball tale about his father, Robert Emmett Joyce, a professional baseball player.
Bob’s tale really begins in Norway where he found himself in the early 1980s lawyering for Mobil and desperate for anything in the English language.
“They had one television station and all the programs were in Norwegian except for a BBC program in English about water closets,” Joyce recalled. “I did a lot of reading then.”
One day he picked up a Sports Illustrated magazine article about the odd major league baseball habit in which fielders would leave their gloves on the field when their team went up to bat. That gave the opposition team ample opportunity to do creative things to the opposing team’s gloves.
As he read about the pranks, Bob came across a remarkably familiar name, Robert Emmet Joyce, his dad. “Who would have thought, 40 years later, I’d just pick up a national magazine and see my dad’s name in the story?” he said.
Bob Joyce, the dad, was a right-handed pitcher who played 44 games in the major leagues for the Philadelphia Athletics and the New York Giants but gained his fame as a stalwart pitcher for the San Francisco Seals of the Pacific Coast League during World War II.
Like his dad, Kingwood’s Bob Joyce grew up in Stockton, Calif., eventually going to school at the University of San Francisco where, in his words, “ … I was the tallest and skinniest catcher in college.”
Bob Joyce, the dad, gained fame as a pitcher for the San Francisco Seals.
Bob Joyce, the dad, may have been inducted into the Pacific Coast League Hall of Fame in 2016, but Bob Joyce, the son, admits that, as a ball player, “ … I stunk …” so he wisely attended UCLA law school and chose law as his profession.
The Rotary Club of Humble will continue to meet virtually during September on Wednesdays at noon.
Story by Tom Broad and reprinted courtesy of The Tribune Newspapers
https://ourtribune.com/community-2/business/24303-rotary-makes-decision-on-name-change.html