Addison Rotary Bulletin for January 16, 2026 (Jan 13, 2026)

Program This Week:

Ann M. Patterson

“Living In Space”

Ann M Patterson was born in Wichita Falls, TX in September 1951. Her family moved to Austin, TX in 1952 to be near her brother who had been born blind and was attending the Texas State School for the Blind.

Ms. Patterson graduated from John H. Reagan High School in 1969 and worked for a year as a secretary before deciding to attend college. She graduated from the University of Texas @ Austin with a Bachelor of Science degree in Aerospace Engineering in May 1977, with specialty fields of study in Orbital Mechanics and High-Performance Flight Testing. During the summer of 1974 and from May 1975 till August 1976, she worked as a Research Engineering Analyst for Lockheed Electronics at NASA, Johnson Space Center in Houston. Upon graduation from UT Austin, she went to work for McDonnell Douglas Technical Services as a Crew Instructor to the astronauts and Mission Control flight controllers. She acquired her private pilot's license in 1978.

In December of 1980, Ms. Patterson went to work for NASA Johnson Space Center in Aircraft Operations (Ellington Field) as a Shuttle Training Aircraft (STA) Engineer. There were 3 STA's which were used as flying simulators to train astronaut commanders and pilots to land the Space Shuttle, training from 35,000 ft to the landing scenario. As an Aircraft Engineer, she was responsible for the maintenance of her assigned aircraft, participating in major inspections, ensuring it was flight ready.

Ms. Patterson applied for the 1978 astronaut selection but was too short (minimum height 5 ft). Wanting to experience Zero-G and G forces that the astronauts experience, she volunteered as a medical test subject for NASA and the USAF, flying multiple flights on NASA's Zero-G aircraft and participating in a Women's G-tolerance study conducted in the human rated centrifuge at the USAF Brooks School of Aerospace Medicine in San Antonio, TX.

In August 1987, Ms. Patterson transferred to the Space Shuttle Program Office, serving in various engineering capacities until becoming a Flight Integration Manager (FIM) in 1997. FIM's were assigned a Shuttle mission 2 years prior to launch, setting the flight requirements, assembling the flight team and working various issues until the mission launch. During the mission, the FIM's worked in Mission Control 24/7 through landing, then participated in the post mission analysis. She also served as the Payload Integration Manager for the DoD Space Test Group located at JSC. The Space Shuttle Program ended in 2011, at which time Ms. Patterson transferred to the Engineering Directorate, manufacturing area and eventually becoming an Executive Officer on the International Space Station and Payload Safety Panel under the Safety, Mission Assurance Division. She retired in February 2015, moving to Denton, TX to be near cousins. She is an accomplished seamstress and quilter, studies American History, animal lover and had been a member of an exhibition clogging team in Houston for about 30 years.

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Notes From David

Our Super Bowl Party Will Be Super!

Fritzie and Barry have offered to host our Super Bowl Party at their house! Sunday, February 8. Put it on your calendar. Thank you Fritzie and Barry!

Board Meeting

The Addison Rotary Club Board will meet this Thursday 7:30AM by zoom. It's open to all members. Let me know if you want to attend or if you have something the board should discuss.

Addison Rotary Foundation Grant Request

Do you know an organization that needs our support? The Addison Rotary Foundation Grant online request form can be found on this page (scroll to the bottom):

https://addisonrotary.org/page/the-rotary-foundation-1

District 5810 Club Leadership Exchange “CLE”

Every month, our district hosts a Club Leadership Exchange (CLE, formerly known as the District Roundtable). I went last weekend. Several clubs presented their fundraising and service projects, each one impressive on its own.

What truly struck me, though, was not any single project; it was the cumulative impact of all of them together. When you step back and look at the work being done across the district, it becomes clear that we are part of something truly significant, even beyond what we do in our club. There is no reasonable way to measure the full impact, but there is no doubt that it is enormous.

Moments like this remind me why I am proud to be a Rotarian. Collectively, we are changing lives in ways we will never fully see, but that does not make the impact any less real or any less meaningful.

Find Us Some New Members!

Rotary is at its best when more people are involved; more ideas, more energy, more hands to do the work. Our club is strong, but it can be even stronger, and the simplest way to get there is through people we already know and trust.

If you know someone who cares about the community, enjoys good fellowship, and wants to be part of something meaningful, invite them to visit. Rotary isn't something you fully understand from a description – it's something you experience.

Every great Rotarian started as someone's guest.

Make it a great day!

--David

David Heimer

President

Addison Rotary Club

Club of the Year

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OUR LAST MEETING

For those of you who came late to our last meeting, or didn't make it (to the offsite Carter BloodCare event), this is what we saw when we first arrived!! Addison Fire Department was there, serving and protecting. Fortunately, it was not the Donation Center they were serving and protecting. Rumor had it that there was a homeless person having a medical emergency nearby. Never a dull day for Rotary!

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ROTARY TRIVIA

How many paid issues of Rotary magazine are distributed each month? (print plus electronic combined)

Answer is at the bottom of the bulletin.

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Living in Space
14241 Dallas Parkway
Jan. 16, 2026 7:30 a.m. - 8:30 a.m. Central Standard Time (UTC-06:00)

A Visit from Addison's Mayor, Bruce Arfsen
14241 Dallas Parkway
Jan. 23, 2026 7:30 a.m. - 8:30 a.m.

Volunteer event at Metrocrest Pantry
Metrocrest Services Food Pantry
Jan. 26, 2026 1:00 p.m. – 3:30 p.m.

Lunch at Hugs Cafe
Hugs Training Academy
Feb. 26, 2026 11:45 a.m. – 1:15 p.m.

View entire list

Trivia answer: 355,339 is the average/mo for the last 12 months (Source = January 2026 Rotary magazine)

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