The 2019 Lone Star PETS speakers are presented in the order of their presentations.
Retired Pastor, Boston Avenue United Methodist Church, Tulsa, Oklahoma
The Rev. Dr. Mouzon Biggs, Jr. has been Senior Minister at Boston Avenue United Methodist Church in Tulsa, Oklahoma, since September 1980. A graduate of Centenary College in Louisiana, he earned the Master of Theology degree from Perkins School of Theology in 1965. Biggs subsequently was awarded two honorary degrees: a Doctor of Divinity from Texas Wesleyan University; and a Doctor of Humane Letters from Oklahoma City University. The Dr. Mouzon Biggs, Jr. Endowed Scholarship Fund was established at SMU in 1975 by Mr. and Mrs. Morris Cloninger of Beaumont, Texas. In 2008, the Mouzon Biggs, Jr. Chair of United Methodist Studies was established at Phillips Theological Seminary in Tulsa.
In Biggs’ 33 years at Boston Avenue UMC, the church has received more than 8,500 new members, with endowments growing from $200,000 to more than $26 million. The 11 a.m. worship service, broadcast live on Tulsa’s Channel 8, is the most highly-watched program in its time slot.
Biggs has addressed churches, colleges, conventions, and Chambers of Commerce across a 30-state area and has traveled in 41 countries. He is author of “Moments to Hold Close,” and co-author of the best-selling book “When you Graduate” with Dr. Charles Allen of Houston.
In addition to his responsibilities at the Boston Avenue Church, Biggs’ interfaith and interracial work have resulted in numerous awards and honors, including the Tulsa Interfaith Award; National Conference of Community and Justice Award; Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., “Keeping the Dream Alive Award”; the Tulsa Jewish Community’s “Righteous Gentile” Award; and Tulsa Rotary’s “Spirit of Will Rogers Award.” He is past president of the Oklahoma Center for Community and Justice and past president of Tulsa’s Downtown Rotary Club.
His service to Perkins School of Theology and SMU includes mentoring 20 Perkins students in one-year internships and representing Perkins School of Theology and the Oklahoma Annual Conference on SMU’s “Time to Lead” Capital Campaign Executive Steering Committee for five years. Additionally, Biggs has been elected by the Oklahoma Annual Conference to serve The United Methodist Church as a delegate to General Conference and Jurisdictional Conference every four years for 28 years.
He and his wife, Gayle, have two sons, Trey and Jason, and six young grandchildren.
Raquel D’Garay-JuncalSecretary, Rotary eClub of Silicon Valley
Based in San Diego, California & Costa Rica
Medical Doctor and Project Manager at Red Cross
Member since 2016
Mark Maloney2019-20 Rotary International President
Maloney is a principal in the law firm of Blackburn, Maloney, and Schuppert LLC, with a focus on taxation, estate planning, and agricultural law. He represents large farming operations in the Southeastern and Midwestern United States, and has chaired the American Bar Association’s Committee on Agriculture in the section of taxation. He is a member of the American Bar Association, Alabama State Bar Association, and the Alabama Law Institute.
He has been active in Decatur’s religious community, chairing his church’s finance council and a local Catholic school board. He has also served as president of the Community Foundation of Greater Decatur, chair of Morgan County Meals on Wheels, and director of the United Way of Morgan County and the Decatur-Morgan County Chamber of Commerce.
A Rotarian since 1980, Maloney has served as an RI director; Foundation trustee and vice chair; and aide to 2003-04 RI President Jonathan Majiyagbe. He also has participated in the Council on Legislation as chair, vice chair, parliamentarian, and trainer. He was an adviser to the 2004 Osaka Convention Committee and chaired the 2014 Sydney Convention Committee.
Prior to serving as a district governor, Maloney led a Group Study Exchange to Nigeria.
He also served as Future Vision Committee vice chair; Foundation training institute moderator; Foundation permanent fund national adviser; member of the Peace Centers Committee; and adviser to the Foundation’s Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene in Schools Target Challenge Committee.
Maloney’s wife, Gay, is an attorney in the same law firm, and a member and past president of the Rotary Club of Decatur Daybreak, Alabama, USA. Both Mark and Gay are Paul Harris Fellows, Major Donors, and Bequest Society members.
Tom ThorfinnsonChief Strategy Officer, Rotary International
President of Rotary International, 2001-2002, Rotary Club of Niles, Fremont, CA
Richard D. King is a past world president of Rotary International, and the senior partner in the California law firm King, King & King. He earned undergraduate and law degrees from the University of California at Berkeley where he is a member of the California Club and the Order of the Golden Bear. He taught law at Brigham Young University. He is a distinguished military graduate of the University of California and served as captain in the U.S. Military Intelligence. He received an Honorary Doctorate in Law from Hanyang University, Seoul, Korea.
A trial lawyer, Mr. King belongs to several legal associations including the American Association of Trial Lawyers. He is admitted to practice in both Utah and California and before the Supreme Court of the U.S. He served on the board of directors of the Eden Hospital Foundation, the Woodminster Performing Arts, and Oakland Ballet. He is a trustee of the City of Hope, and received the City of Hope “Spirit of Life” Award. He has been knighted by the Republic of Italy and is a holder of the Great Official Order of Merit. He is a recipient of the State of Rio de Janeiro’s highest award, the “Medalha Tiradentes.” He belongs to the Commonwealth Club and Actor’s Equity. He is an elder and officer of the Mormon Church and an active fund-raiser for the Boy Scouts of America. He holds the Chevalier Degree, the Legion of Honor and is a member of the Hall of Fame of the Order of DeMolay. He is a recipient of the Distinguished Citizen Award from the United Portuguese of California and is a recipient of the Distinguished Public Service Award from the Brigham Young University Management Society. He has been honored by some 50 associations, by the President of the U.S., and by many countries across the globe for his community and charitable service. He served as the Executive Director of The Wheelchair Foundation.
A Rotarian since 1968, he is a member of the Rotary Club of Niles-Fremont, California USA. He has served as a trustee of The Rotary Foundation, director and as chairman of the executive committee of Rotary International’s board of directors. He has also served Rotary as a club president, district governor, an international assembly instructor and an official representative of the president of R.I. He has chaired and served on many Rotary International committees, task forces and special assignments. Mr. King has received the Rotary Citation for Meritorious Service and the Distinguished Service Award for his support of humanitarian and educational programs of the Rotary Foundation. He is a recipient of the PolioPlus Pioneer Award.
One of Rotary’s most popular speakers, Mr. King has addressed Rotary International Conventions, Assemblies, Institutes, Seminars, Conferences and Rotary Clubs in every state in the USA and some 100 countries. As President, he led Rotary International to its greatest one-year growth record in its 100-year history, with 75,000 New Members Net, a global membership of 1,243,431 and 1,158 New Rotary Clubs in 2001-2002, more than one new club every 8 hours. In the same year, Rotarians contributed the highest amount of money ever raised for the Annual Fund of the Rotary Foundation.
Mr. King is married to Cherie Kay King. They have two grown sons and reside in the Mission San Jose area of the San Francisco, California Bay Area.
