Member Showcase

AUSTIN'S SECRET GARDENS

The Rotary Club of Austin was featured for the first time in the November issue of the Rotarian... Rotary's magazine.  The article, "Austin's Secret Gardens" was written by Kevin Revolinski, a freelance writer for the  Rotarian and featured in the travel section of the magazine.  

Kevin traveled to Austin this summer to experience firsthand what Austin is all about.  Thanks to Gaines Bagby and his wife, Leslie, Ladd Pattillo, Mary Reynolds, and President Tim Von Dohlen, he got to see the many facets of this beautiful city.  See article here.

Rotarian Gaines Bagby made sure Kevin experienced the uniqueness of the terrain east and west of the city.  Kevin started his article by making the statement that "This is Austin".  He pointed out that people go downtown, and that's all they ever see, but this is Austin.   Kevin mention that on his first day in Austin, Gaines drove him north from downtown, then west in a tangle of twisting, rolling roads before making the point that, "Now you're in the hill country".  Gaines scenic drive allowed Kevin to catch glimpses of the Lake Austin, along with the many Oak, Pecan, and Cedar trees that cover the landscape.  Kevin said that he felt completely turned around, thinking they were miles and miles outside of the city only to be suddenly emerged back into the city grid.

Kevin said Austin is definitely a city that is experiencing tremendous growth.  Famous for its rambunctious live music scene, Austin has seen whole neighborhoods transformed in recent years.  Downtown, construction cranes clutter the skyline. 

According to Kevin, what's remarkable about Austin is its tranquility.  It has many of those quiet places that seem so far from the urban center but are only a few minutes off the main thoroughfares. Gaines also drove Kevin along South Congress and pointed out many of the popular restaurants and bars, eclectic shops and boutiques that now occupy an area that was once a haven for prostitutes and drug dealers.   Gaines said the Hills Café is known for one of the best chicken-fried steaks in Austin and the Broken Spoke is possibly the most authentic honky-tonk you'll ever find.

Gaines, a commercial real estate specialist, said, "Austin's all about green stuff" and strives to minimize the environmental impact of its development by aiming to obtain 20 percent of its energy from efficient and renewable sources by 2020.  Gaines himself gets about one-third of his electricity from a modest solar array on his roof.  Kevin learned that Austin is near the top of the environmental green list and truly lives up to the label where over 220 parks adorn the city.

Kevin said on day two, Rotarian Ladd Pattillo showed him a few of the green spots, starting with the local swimming hole at the 360-acre Zilker Park. Ladd also took him to Umlauf Sculpture Garden where over 130 sculptures are set amid ponds and waterfalls in a park bursting with greenery.

Kevin said that just like the state of Texas, the Rotary Club of Austin is huge with more than 300 members which gave him an opportunity to meet yet another Rotarian guide, Mary Reynolds.  Mary took Kevin to the Austin Museum of Art at the smaller Laguna Gloria location, overlooking Lake Austin.  Kevin said one of his dining experienced included the Shady Grove restaurant where President Tim Von Dohlen and his family join him and Gaines for dinner and live entertainment. 

On his last day, Kevin said Gaines took him the magnificent Texas Capitol, Esther's Follies, and finally the Oasis restaurant perched on a cliff high above the 65-mile long Lake Travis, so that he could experience a favorite place where people go to see the sunset. Kevin concluded that it was the perfect spot to appreciate the pulse of a happening city.