Judy Simpkins, chair of the sponsorship committee for the annual Le Tour de Vin, used fellow Rotarians to help announce the record-setting amount raised through sponsorships.  The $73,950 pledged by sponsors tops the $67,000 goal set for this year, and topped last year's sponsorship income by $7,000.

 

Le Tour de Vin is an annual wine-tasting event sponsored by three Norman Rotary clubs, Sooner, Cross Timbers and Norman Rotary. The events of Le Tour de Vin will be held June 4-6 with proceeds going to benefit the Center for Children and Families. 

Darrell Weaver, head ot the Oklahoma Bureau of Narcotics, addressed Sooner Rotary, highlighting the work of the bureau dealing with human trafficking.  Weaver leads a team of officers who seek to identify the kingpins working in the trade, rescuing the females (and occasionally a male) who have been lured into the sex trade and prosecuting the perpetrators.  The reward, Weaver said, is hearing from someone who has turned her life around after being rescued.  His agency faces the same budget woes of all state-funded agencies, and says if they have another budget cut he will be forced to reduce his work force doing this important work in riding Oklahoma of drug and sex trade predators.