Our speaker at the last Rotary meeting was Special Agent in charge of the San Antonio office of the Secret Service, Brian Gibson.
Brian was previously in the McAllen office, and has been in the Secret Service for twenty five years.
The Secret Service was created in 1865 shortly after President Lincoln was killed at Ford's Theater in Washington DC. The agency's initial role was to investigate and combat counterfeit currency.
Its role was expanded in the 1880's to include "detecting persons perpetrating frauds against the government." This resulted in investigations into the Ku Klux Klan, nonconforming distillers, smugglers, mail robbers, land frauds and a number of other infractions against federal laws.
Today's Uniformed Division has its roots from the creation of the White House Police Force in 1922. After the JFK assination, the Warren Commission's Report compelled the agengy to undergo severe reforms. Today, in addition to protecting the President and Vice President, the agency protects presidential candidates and visiting foriegn dignitaries.
Its duties also include coordinating security for National Special Security events in the US, investigating fraud and cyber crimes, and educating local agencies and schools about the psychological profile of those who commit mass shootings.
George Eychner led us in singing "Secret Agent Man", in honor of our guest speaker.
April 2026
Hill Country Veterans Center
Apr. 24, 2026
8:00 a.m. – 9:30 a.m.
8:00 a.m. – 9:30 a.m.
Starkey Elementary School
Apr. 27, 2026
10:00 a.m. – 2:00 p.m.
10:00 a.m. – 2:00 p.m.
Tally Elementary School
Apr. 28, 2026
9:00 a.m. – 11:00 a.m.
9:00 a.m. – 11:00 a.m.
Hunt Elementary School
Apr. 30, 2026
8:30 a.m. – 9:45 a.m.
8:30 a.m. – 9:45 a.m.
Charlie McIlvain and his wife Rhonda donated a plaque bearing the names of our club's presidents during the first one hundred years.
Joining Charlie in this photo are current president Trey Atkission, and his dad Cecil Atkission, who was president in 2002-2003. In recent years, we have had several family presidents, with Kim Clarkson in 2014-15 and her mom Diane Green in 2008-2009. The late Doug Whinnery was president in 2001-2002, and his wife Sue was president in 2010-2011.
This plaque will be displayed in the soon to be open Heart of the Hills Heritage Center, along with additional Rotary history.
Lindsay Gulledge exchanged her red badge for the permanent one!
