Events

J. Brooke Arellano serves as Executive Director of Keep Brazos Beautiful (KBB), where she leads regional efforts to advance community engagement, volunteerism, and environmental impact across the Brazos Valley. She focuses on turning community pride into action-oriented partnerships that support litter prevention, beautification, and environmental education. Under her leadership, KBB has strengthened collaboration with municipalities, Texas A&M University, schools, businesses, and civic organizations, creating opportunities for meaningful engagement beyond traditional sponsorships. These partnerships mobilize thousands of volunteers annually and drive measurable improvements in public space stewardship, litter reduction, and environmental awareness. Brooke is recognized for a results-driven leadership style that blends operational effectiveness with strong community connection. She brings a multidisciplinary background in nonprofit leadership, education, arts management, and organizational operations, supported by degrees in music, business administration (MBA), and educational administration. Her commitment to the region extends beyond her professional role. She is an active member of the Brazos Valley Chorale and a participant in the Leadership Brazos Academy, reflecting her ongoing investment in regional collaboration and civic leadership.

🍺 PINTS FOR POLIO 🍺

Join the Rotary Club of Aggieland on October 10 for an evening of fun, fellowship, and fundraising!

Enjoy free beer, live music, games, raffle prizes, live-auction items, and more. Guests are encouraged to bring a finger food to share.

Every dollar raised will support Rotary International’s efforts to eradicate polio worldwide. Bring your friends, enjoy a great evening, and help us take another step toward a polio-free world!

Together, we can end polio for good!

Hunter Parks is a 2003 M.S. graduate of the Texas A&M Visualization program. He has more than 20 years of experience in the visual effects industry as a look development and lighting technical director. His area of expertise focuses on photo-realistic shading techniques. As senior visualization production specialist, Parks continues to learn about visualization production practices and techniques that are relevant to this space.

Marianne Henry, has toured extensively as a founding member of the Marian Anderson
String Quartet. A native of New Orleans, Louisiana, Ms. Henry holds a Bachelor and Master of
Music degrees in violin performance, from the Manhattan School of Music in New York City.
She received a second Master’s degree in Chamber Music Performance at Rice University in
Houston, Texas. Ms. Henry is a devoted teacher of violin and chamber music as well as performer. She has served
on the faculties of the Harlem School of the Arts in New York City, New York City College,
California State University, Los Angeles, Prairie View A&M University, Texas A&M University
and Blinn College. Her students have won spots to participate in the Texas All- State Orchestras,
summer programs at Interlochen Center for the Arts, Tanglewood Institute, Brevard Summer
Institute, Heitz PEG Institute, and the Honors Performance Series at Carnegie Hall programs.
She was also recognized by the American Protégé International Concerto Competition 2022 “For
the extraordinary dedication and achievement in the field of teaching music and presenting
students to perform at Carnegie Hall.” As first violinist and in recognition of the quartet's accomplishments, the Congress on Racial
Equality awarded the Marian Anderson String Quartet the 2006 Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
Award for Excellence in Arts and Culture; in 2008, the Quartet received Chamber Music
America’s coveted Guarneri String Quartet Award; and in 2010, the Quartet received a National
Endowment for the Arts American Masterpiece award.
The Quartet has presented residencies, concerts, and talks at the National Gallery of Art
in Washington, DC, Brown University as the Heimark inaugural artists-in-residence at
the Center for the Study for Slavery and Justice, TedxBlinnCollege in Bryan, Texas, the
Quad City Arts in Iowa, Gateways Music Festival in Rochester, New York and at the 92nd
Street Y in New York City. Ms. Henry has been a soloist on KUSC Radio’s “Sundays’ at Four”, a featured soloist with the
List-Glenn Festival Chamber Orchestra, the South-Central Chamber Orchestra, and the Afro
American Symphony. She has been involved in a myriad of other orchestral work, which
includes Phantom of the Opera, the Academy Award Orchestra, and The American Music
Awards Orchestra. She has served as the concert master of the Brazos Valley Symphony and has
played as a section violinist with the Colour of Music Festival’s All-Female Virtuosi Chamber
Orchestra, and Master’s Orchestra based in South Carolina. In 2023 she served as concertmaster
of the Gateways Festival Chamber Orchestra on tour in Rochester, NY and in New York City, NY.
Locally, she enjoys supporting the Brazos Civic Orchestra and playing around the BCS area at
various churches and with the Brazos Valley Chorale, Texas A&M University Singing Cadets,
Century Singers and Women’s Chorus. Ms. Henry also treasures spending time with her
husband, (author and singer) and her 19 year old son, (virtuoso organist and pianist).

Rotary Club of Aggieland to Donate 500 Thanksgiving Meal Baskets to support local families in need.

The Rotary Club of Aggieland is announcing that its annual Thanksgiving meal basket event for the 2026 Thanksgiving will be held Friday, November the 20^th  at A&M Church of Christ on Highway 6.   These baskets are put together and distributed as a part of the Club’s commitment to assisting members of the local community by ensuring everyone can break bread with their loved ones this season.

“We have been providing meals for the Brazos Valley since 1998.  Our first year was 12 baskets and now we have grown to 500!!  It is such a great experience for the families receiving the meals however, the families delivering the meals are so touched by overwhelming gratitude of the clients.”  Barbie Patterson, Thanksgiving Basket Chair

This event is about more than providing a meal to a family; it is about ensuring that all members of our community get the chance to gather with and cherish their loved ones and be reminded of all they have to be thankful for.

You can sign up to deliver or volunteer at the event by going to this link.  We need as many drivers as we can get. 

These Thanksgiving baskets will include ingredients for a full Thanksgiving meal, including a 12 lbs. turkey, stuffing, and various components for traditional Thanksgiving sides. Each of these baskets can feed a family of 8 to 10 people.

The Rotary Club of Aggieland would not be able to complete this project without the generous help and support of the local Bryan/College Station community. Obtaining, packing and delivering these meals is no easy task. The club would like to thank the generous sponsors and supporters listed below, as well as the volunteers who assisted with this program, for making it possible to provide this service to those in need.