"Welcome to Rotary"
What a sweet sound we hear each week from our greeters. This
week, Jeff Busjahn and Rocky Gafford (our famous donor of
pizzas every week) were on cue along with Basil Walker who sold tickets
for the Foundation drawing. David O'Dell led us in the National Anthem.
The Invocation by John Early was followed by a Moment of Silence for Dale
Elliott who passed away October 19th. After the Introduction of
Guests by Eddie Melin, Mike Good presided and after hearing Eddie's story, entertained us with a
joke of his own, much to the chagrin of Dick Marcear!
Mike informed us of the latest news: Upcoming
Fireside Chat for new member orientation is scheduled for Tuesday,
November 12 at 6:00 pm in the home of Mel Darnell, 2001 SW 60th
Avenue. Hamburgers will be served at no charge BUT please make your reservation
with Gina ASAP.
Remember to return your Raffle Ticket money
and stubs to Gina tomorrow, November
1. Checks are payable to "Rotary Club of Amarillo."
It's always a privilege for Rotarians to participate in the Boy's
Ranch Christmas Fund. If
you wish to participate make your checks payable to "Rotary Club of Amarillo." A
check will be presented to Boys Ranch at our meeting December 13.
After passing the jar for Kid's Cafe, Bill Summerhill introduced
our guest speaker, Patrick Swindell who presented a program
entitled: "Everything You Need to Know About Bankruptcy"
Patrick is best known as an attorney specializing in
bankruptcy law. He has practiced 32 years and has handled 28,000 bankruptcies.
Although Pat has offices state wide, he prefers to live in his favorite city,
Amarillo, along with his wife, Roni. They are active in St. Thomas Catholic
Church and were instrumental in founding Ascension Academy. Pat is also a local
celebrity due to his swing and jazz band, Pizzazz.
Pat gave an overview of the 4 Chapters of Texas
Bankruptcy Code: 7, 11, 12 & 13.
Chapter 7 "Liquidation or Fresh Start" allows
individuals to choose which exemptions they prefer which does not include the
primary residence or vehicle. Texas is a generous state and allows the
Homestead exemption, no wage garnishment except for child support, taxes and
student loans.
Chapter 11 is for Reorganization and is generally
utilized by corporations. They may continue to operate and must repay their
debts.
Chapter 12 "Family Farm Reorganization" is not used
frequently in our area.
Chapter 13 "Wage Earners Reorganization" allows the
individual to repay creditors based on a 3-5 year plan.
Pat does a lot of counseling concerning the ramifications of
filing bankruptcy and tells his clients, "I can protect you from your
debtors but not from yourself."
Basic Points:
Most people choose Chapter 13 and intend to
repay their debts although only 1 out of 5 make the full term.
There must be full disclosure of all property
and assets.
Pay stubs, tax returns and full budgets are
reviewed by a trustee and a reasonable budget is established. Only half of the
people who consider filing for bankruptcy actually do file after they learn
what is involved.
Bankruptcy appears on one's credit report for
8-10 years. However after that time securing loans and low interest rates is
difficult.
Beware of debt settlement advertisements, many of them are scams.
Amarillo filings have dropped over the last 10 years.
After the Foundation drawing, Pat was asked to sign a
book to be given to a local public school. The meeting ended with a resounding
laugh when the title of the book was announced, Something Smells Fishy.
"I hear that every day!" came from Pat who definitely got the last
laugh!
Remember Rotarians, we not only recite the Four Way Test, we live it every day.
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