Member Spotlight

In May 2022, Bonnie lost her balance on the sidewalk edge. She attended her own Rotary induction with a broken hip. The surgical repair was successful and in July, Bonnie happily trashed her compression socks. In August, Bonnie resumed Rotary service activities with the New Braunfels Food Bank food distribution at Tree of Life Church, and Wurstfest.












Lou Ann continued her education and received her bachelors degree in 1978 from UT Permian Basin in Odessa. Later, she went on to obtain her Master’s degree in Counseling from Texas State University. In 2000, she married her soul mate, Randy Wallis, and her family went from four children to seven. They now have 13 grandchildren.
Lou Ann has an entrepreneurial spirit, and over the years has had several cottage industry businesses so that she could stay home with her children, as well as being a 5th grade teacher at their school, New Braunfels Christian Academy. She has been a strong supporter of NBCA for 40 years, and currently serves on their Advisory Board.

In 2002 he joined Rotary and got involved in community projects until he was approached to do an international project. The project consisted of driving a minibus to Zocalo to transport handicapped people to medical appointments. It took six days to deliver the bus. When they arrived there, they realized the tremendous need for help in the community. The Rotary club there was three years old and was struggling to get things accomplished. They only had six members and the district was threatening to pull their charter. The California club started mentoring them and helping them with projects that benefitted the community. Within three years, they were the envy of the district having just completed a global grant for 1,400 wheelchairs. Since then, our clubs have been by their side as good partners should, providing humanitarian projects to the community.





Heidi Aleman was born in Aberdeen, Scotland. After living in Saudi Arabia and England, her family settled in Texas when she was nine-years-old. Heidi graduated from Humble High School and went on to receive a BBA in Marketing at Southwest Texas State University.
Growing up, Heidi learned the value of hard-work early. At age 11 she began working for her parents' homemade salsa company where she spent evenings, weekends and summers picking parsley, chopping onions, and offering samples at Sam's Club. And you thought the current samples were good!
Heidi was also no stranger to the Hill Country. She was blessed to spend many summers with her grandparents in Horseshoe Bay, camping at Canyon Lake, and losing her cooler while tubing the Guadalupe River. Gruene has close ties to her heart, during college she met her husband, Lonny, a native of New Braunfels, so the decision to make New Braunfels her permanent home came easy. “Ist das lieben shoen”.
Beginning her career, Heidi began working for New Braunfels General Store and Schlitterbahn, selling waterpark equipment worldwide. Having a father that was service driven and involved, Heidi joined the New Braunfels Jaycees and was a member of the Chamber Leadership Class of 2001. She was excited to learn more about the new community she joined and making many new friends in the process.
She attributes these two organizations to her growth and involvement in New Braunfels. She has been actively involved in the Greater New Braunfels Chamber of Commerce since 2001. Serving in various committees and positions, previously chairing the annual NB Business Trade Show and Winter Visitors Reception, and currently helping both the adult and youth Leadership Programs. Heidi is a Senior Life Member Blue Coat (Ambassador for the Chamber) and served on the Chamber’s Board of Directors. She has been fortunate to be on the NBISD Council of PTAs as hospitality chair, a board member for the New Braunfels Library Foundation, as well as a director and allocations chair for the United Way of Comal County. Her service has spanned from past president for the New Braunfels Jaycees, to current president for the New Braunfels Downtown Association, and many others in between. Heidi has her license as a TX REALTOR, she is an active member of the Four Rivers Association of REALTORS.
Heidi is passionate about giving back and supporting local non-profits. That passion led to being hired as the first paid Executive Director for the New Braunfels ISD Education Foundation where she served for 10 years. Taking the leap to her current role as the New Braunfels division Vice President of Development at Corridor Title which allows her to use her marketing, real estate, and love for our community, daily. She loves the culture, history and festivities that make New Braunfels HOME and is excited to continue giving back as a newly appointed Rotarian.
Heidi loves to travel and attend shows at the Majestic Theatre in San Antonio. Her proudest role is MOM to her two sons Zakary (20) and Dylan (18). She and Lonny recently celebrate their 23rd wedding anniversary. She is looking forward to being a part of Rotary, and you can count on her to bring her all to the table as a Rotarian. Published 07/19/22

Blythe unknowingly began her banking career as a part-time teller in 1998. Since then, she’s had many different roles and is currently the Vice President, Business Development Officer for Business Banking at Broadway Bank. As a little girl Blythe and her sister would play “bank” using her mom’s old checks. Now she gets to use real money to help businesses with their banking needs.
Blythe joined the Hardin County Rotary Club in 2018 and transferred her membership to the Rotary Club of New Braunfels in 2020. She currently serves as the clubs Scholarship Committee Chair and is on the Interact and Charitable Contributions committees.
She also serves as the Chair of the New Braunfels Women's Business Alliance and is a Board Member of the Crisis Center of Comal County. Blythe’s also a proud volunteer of the United Way of Comal County, Communities In Schools of South Central Texas, CASA of Central Texas, Inc., and Comal ISD. She’s a former director of the Lumberton TX Chamber of Commerce and a 2015 graduate of Leadership Southeast Texas - LSET.
Blythe enjoys serving her community, spending time with family and friends, traveling, shopping with the girls, and listening to live music. She’s an 80’s baby and just wants to Dance with Somebody. She loves pizza on a Friday night with a Whiskey and Coke. Published 07/12/22




Dani has been in banking for over 17 years. Currently she is the Senior Vice President for commercial lending at Moody Bank. In addition to being a member of Rotary, she is part of the Greater New Braunfels Chamber Board of Directors, Vice President for the SPARK Small Business Development Center, member of The Downtown Association Board of Directors, and a Past President of the United Way of Comal County. She is a 2014 Leadership New Braunfels graduate (The Best class EVER), and was also selected as a Rising Star of New Braunfels 40 under 40 in 2017.
Dani likes to spend her free time traveling to anywhere with a beach, hanging out by the pool, or with her two goats Kevin and Karin, and her chickens and ducks.








She was born in Reynosa, Coahuila, raised in Nuevo Laredo, Mexico, and Laredo, Texas, and graduated from Texas A&M International University with the class of 1988. She married her husband Chris Blackwell, a native of New Orleans, in 2002 and they have three fur-babies – Daisy, Sammy, and Jacks.
While working alongside longtime friend David Ender, she found her passion for community work. In her leadership at CASA she has grown the organization fourfold, bringing in new donors and increasing assets to include owned facilities in New Braunfels and San Marcos. Helping children and youth who have experienced abuse and neglect, CASA of Central Texas now serves over 600 children annually. In addition, Norma pursues her passions by volunteering on various community boards supporting a number of causes. She is currently a Tablescapes planning member for the Braunfels Foundation Trust, and she has previously served on the boards of the Sophienburg Museum, the Canyon Lake Animal Shelter Society, and she is also a New Braunfels Chamber Blue Coat.
Because of her tireless energy and amazing accomplishments, in 2017 she was recognized as the Herald-Zeitung Citizen of The Year and Unsung Hero.
The Rotary Club of New Braunfels has become another deeply meaningful part of her life in service to others. Membership in this club has led to friendships and connections with people she might not have ever met. She is a better wife, Executive Director, advocate, community member, and Ranch Water drinker because of Rotary. Published 03/23/22



Chris has been in hospice work for 25 years with the last and best being at Hope Hospice.
Steve and his wife, Keri, have been married for 26 years and started dating when Steve was a senior in high school and Keri was a sophomore. They have two sons, Brayden (23) and Christian (19), both of whom attended New Braunfels High School and then Tarleton State University.
In their free time, Steve and Keri enjoy rv’ing, fishing on the coast, and just being homebodies. Published 02/15/22

With a unique opportunity to invest funds and forge partnerships that can alleviate crisis, the McKenna Foundation has helped lead the way down difficult paths toward progress while the easy path would have been acceptable. The difficult paths have led to an increase in capacity for the social sector to serve those in New Braunfels and Comal County who are in need, totaling more than $10 million toward strategic, catalytic projects and almost $25 million invested in community nonprofits overall in the last 13 years.
Alice grew up in New Braunfels and is now raising her two children here with her husband, Jeff. Her parents and this community taught her that every day you give everything you can for the people and things you care about. This once small town now faces big city challenges, and all families deserve a chance at “the good life” in New Braunfels. As the CEO of the McKenna Foundation, Alice feels honored to be in a position to convene leaders, make plans, take risks, swing the bat and miss sometimes, educate and occasionally agitate for progress in the community she loves. All that said, she’ll take a whiskey neat. Published 02/08/22




















