<\/p>\n
The 79th annual Poteet Strawberry Festival will take place Friday through Sunday. The Poteet Rotary Club, which says its started the festival, filed a federal lawsuit Thursday after it was suspended from participating in this week\u2019s festival by the Poteet Strawberry Festival Association.<\/p>\n
Sam Owens\/San Antonio Express-News<\/p>\n
The Poteet Strawberry Festival kicks off on Friday. The Poteet Strawberry Festival Association has excluded the Poteet Rotary Club from the event, in part for allegedly failing to pay a $30,000 bill for soft drinks.<\/p>\n
Josie Norris \/ San Antonio Express-News<\/p>\n
Fresh picked strawberries arrive to be judged at the Poteet Strawberry Festival in Poteet in 2023.\u00a0 The festival benefits scholarships, farmers and nonprofits.<\/p>\n
Josie Norris\/San Antonio Express-News<\/p>\n
The Poteet Strawberry Festival attracts about 125,000 visitors.<\/p>\n
Jerry Lara, Staff \/ Staff photographer<\/p>\n
Maria Villafuerte and daughter Caitlin Villafuerte of San Antonio pose with strawberry mascots at the 2023 Poteet Strawberry Festival. The festival provides scholarships to youth\u00a0and grants to\u00a0nonprofits.<\/p>\n
Josie Norris\/San Antonio Express-News<\/p>\n
Strawberry shortcake served at the 2023\u00a0Poteet Strawberry Festival.<\/p>\n
Josie Norris\/San Antonio Express-News<\/p>\n
A Poteet Strawberry Festival worker puts strawberries on a skewer to dip them in chocolate during the 2018 event.<\/p>\n
Edward A. Ornelas, Staff \/ San Antonio Express-News<\/p>\n
A clash between two nonprofits over the Poteet Strawberry Festival<\/a> has ripened into bitter legal battles.<\/p>\n The court fights started after the Poteet Strawberry Festival Association Inc.<\/a>, which promotes and stages the event,\u00a0suspended the Poteet Rotary Club Inc.<\/a> from participating in this weekend\u2019s festival, in part for allegedly failing to pay a $30,000 bill. The debt is about Pepsi, not berries.<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n The Rotary Club filed a federal lawsuit Thursday in federal court in San Antonio seeking a temporary restraining order to prevent its exclusion from the festival. The club alleges the association\u2019s action represents a breach of a contract between the parties.<\/p>\n Not more than 15 minutes later, according to a lawyer for the club, the association sued in an Atascosa County court for its own restraining order to prevent the club from interfering with the upcoming festival and collecting money and donations meant for the association.<\/p>\n Amid the back and forth, though, there\u2019s a more significant claim that could have serious long-term implications for the festival, which has been held\u00a0 for 78 consecutive\u00a0years.<\/p>\n San Antonio Express News Logo<\/p>\n Make us a Preferred Source on Google to see more of us when you search.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Add Preferred Source<\/p>\n <\/a><\/p>\n READ MORE: 5 things to know about the Poteet Strawberry Festival<\/a><\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n The Rotary Club\u00a0asserts it\u2019s the sole owner of the\u00a0Poteet Strawberry Festival name.<\/p>\n But the association officially trademarked the name more than 28 years ago. The group holds five trademarks, including one for organizing and conducting a civic festival<\/a>. It accuses the Rotary Club of misappropriating the name on flyers, postings and emails.<\/p>\n San Antonio lawyer Robert McRae<\/a>, who represents the Rotary Club,\u00a0dismissed the association\u2019s claims to the trademarks.<\/p>\n \u201cThose registrations are invalid because they never had the right to register them,\u201d he said. \u201cSo they committed fraud on the trademark office.\u201d<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n Melissa Casey<\/a>, a San Antonio attorney representing the association, responded to a request for comment with\u00a0a written statement Sunday.<\/p>\n The Rotary Club\u2019s lawsuit \u201cis a huge black eye on what has historically been a been a beloved and charitable event, benefiting over 40 non-profit civic, church and school organizations,\u201d the statement said, adding that the festival supports growers and injects millions of dollars into the\u00a0South Texas\u00a0economy.<\/p>\n All of that is now \u201cjeopardized\u201d by costly legal fees that are sure to rise before the litigation is resolved, the statement said.<\/p>\n \u201cEven more troubling is the possibility that the festival will be impacted by the TRO sought by the (club) and the undeserved negative publicity that the (club) is causing as (a) cloud over this otherwise cherished local fundraising event,\u201d it added.<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n A hearing had been set for this morning in Atasacosa County Court at Law<\/a> on the association\u2019s TRO application. But the hearing didn\u2019t go forward because the Rotary Club moved the association\u2019s lawsuit to federal court, where the club is aiming to have its TRO application heard Tuesday,\u00a0McRae said.<\/p>\n Long history<\/p>\n The Rotary Club takes credit for organizing the inaugural Poteet Strawberry Festival<\/a> in 1948 to honor World War II veterans and \u201cincentivize them to farm and engage in agriculture in the area,\u201d it lawsuit says.<\/p>\n That first festival attracted 5,000 visitors from around South Texas. It now annually hosts about 125,000 attendees. The 79th annual festival is set for Friday through Sunday.<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n The festival is held to promote Poteet\u2019s strawberry production. Other nonprofits assist in hosting the event, including the Poteet Volunteer Fire Department,<\/a>\u00a0Poteet Lions Club<\/a> and Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 6970<\/a>. The fundraiser awards scholarships to local youth and donates to various community organizations.<\/p>\n TRADEMARK DISPUTES: George \u2018Iceman\u2019 Gervin aims to freeze out Bears quarterback Caleb Williams from claiming nickname<\/a><\/p>\n The Rotary Club formed the\u00a0Poteet Strawberry Festival Association in 1980 to organize and run the festival, McRae said.<\/p>\n Both the Rotary Club and the Poteet Strawberry Festival Association are known as\u00a0501\u00a9(4) organizations<\/a>, or nonprofits that work to benefit their community.<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n The association brought in about $2.5 million in 2023 and spent roughly the same amount on its programs, including the festival, while paying out about $100,000 in grants, according to its most recent publicly available tax filing. It doled out 35 scholarships totaling $51,150, while awarding grants of $25,000 to the Poteet fire department and $6,000 to the Poteet Independent School District<\/a>.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n For 2023, the Rotary Club filed a brief IRS form used by nonprofits reporting less than $50,000 in annual revenue, rather than a more detailed filing.\u00a0<\/p>\n Yet in its\u00a0lawsuit, the club says it \u201ctypically receives $75,000 to $90,000 from its participation in the\u00a0Poteet Strawberry Festival.\u201d<\/p>\n Rift develops<\/p>\n The conflict between the Rotary Club and the Poteet Strawberry Festival Association surfaced earlier this year.<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n Chris\u00a0Lopez<\/a>, the association\u2019s president, in February fired off a five-page letter to his counterpart at the Rotary Club outlining a number of issues that could put an end to the group\u2019s involvement with the festival.<\/p>\n In his missive, Lopez threatened potential legal action against the Rotary Club to recover an alleged $30,000 Pepsi debt. The club sells soft drinks during the festival to generate revenue. The association paid PepisCo for the beverages and now wants the club to reimburse it.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cWe remain willing to pay the invoice for the Pepsi issue, the beverage issue, if they will provide documentation,\u201d McRae, the Rotary Club\u2019s lawyer, said.<\/p>\n Lopez also demanded the Rotary Club produce five years of tax filings and proof the nonprofit is in good standing with the IRS, the Texas Secretary of State\u2019s Office and the Texas Comptroller\u2019s Office.<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n A club lawyer, Lucinda Vickers<\/a> of Pleasanton, responded to Lopez three days later on Feb. 20. She vowed her client would sue the association if it blocked the Rotary Club from participating in this year\u2019s festival. She added that the association is not entitled to the club\u2019s tax records and documents related to its nonprofit status.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n