June 30th Announcements

 Bike Ride Update.  Matt reported a net of $41,500 on the bike ride.  Costs were the same or lower but we had more riders than in past years.  Great job!

Day at the Races.  Let Joan Wright or Dave Freimuth know if you can attend the Day at the Races on August 15 at Emerald Downs.  She needs final numbers by 7/15.  

Next week our special guest is the new District Governor.  Let's give him a warm welcome.

Lunchbox for kids.  There is a need for volunteers to help give out free lunches to needy youth at noon Monday through Thursday until mid-August and several area locations.  This is a 45 minute commitment.  Contact Carol Adamson if you are interested.

Committee Sign Up Sheet.  See Wayne if you have not signed up to participate in a committee.

Community Foundation Donation. We voted to donate $1000 to the Community Foundation to assist fire victims.

Former members Jordan Carroll and Carrie Heiberg are now ENGAGED!  They are planning a September wedding in Minnesota.  They now live in Seattle.

Carol's last day as Sunrise Rotary Club President.  We all feel the same way...

Bitcoin 101

 Dave Carlson, a local bitcoin miner, joined us to explain the concept.  Jim is a technical consultant and software engineer drawn to this area by the low energy costs that could sustain his business which uses very large quantities of electricity to run computer servers.

Dave explained the bitcoin is a way to pay safely and securely over the internet.  The lower cost of Bitcoin could save merchants money they now spend on credit card transactions.

Currently $50 to $80 million dollars per ay are exchanged using Bitcoin.  14.2 billion bitcoins have been created.

Dave explained that mining is taking transactions, evaluating their legitimacy, securing them through a computer process, and adding them to the public ledger.

Dave sees a future for bitcoin because it is more accessible and fraud resistant.  He also sees it maintaining a lower cost than credit cards.

Carol Adamson presented Dave Carlson with a book in his name
to the local public library

Dave reports 100,000 merchants accept bitcoin and $368 million in venture capital has been invested.

There are concerns about the high electrical load on local PUDs, but Dave thinks there are opportunities for utilities to have data mining operations that could function during times of excess energy capacity.

Thanks to Dave for joining us to discuss this complex topic.

District Conference 2015 -- Kelowna

Grants & Girls.  PJ reported his favorite part of the District Conference was meeting the Youth Exchange students (the girls) from Japan, Italy, and Norway.  Many of us were fortunate enough to meet them on Friday night at TGIF.   They were delightful company and I can report that as far away as Italy, people know the rules of beer pong.

PJ also attended sessions on grant writing.  He is passionate about the needs of homeless teens and would like to consider grants to assist them in here in Wenatchee.



Food, fun and zip lines.  Wayne complimented the great hosts and and food at the event.  Jerry found the people he met were the best part, but the zip line was a close second.  He recommends a visit to the home on Lake Okanogan that hosted him for dinner.  Jim loved the fellowship and speakers.  He liked the zip line, as did Carol.  Perhaps a Rotary Club visit to the zip line near Chelan is in order! /http://www.tunnelziplines.com/

Next Year:  Yakima hosts the District Conference.  Let's plan to attend and show them our Washington State hospitality!

Beer & Brats Social

Last Friday Kathleen McNalty and her husband Steve Wright hosted about 30 people for a beer tasting (several brews from Badger Mountain Brewery), brats, salads, desserts, etc.  A few guests were on hand, including 3 youth exchange students. Everyone had a great time.  PJ Jones was given a gas card in appreciation for all his extra time and miles put on his truck before and during the Century Bike Ride.

Meeting Highlights

TGIF on Friday, June 26th (6:00) at the McNalty/Wright house, 2440 Mountain View Drive in East Wenatchee. There will be a beer tasting and brats.  Bring a salad or dessert. Please contact Kathleen McNalty or Bill McDowell if you have not signed up yet.

Alan Walker presented Carol with her Past-president plaque today.  Only one more meeting left in her term.

Wayne Massing will take over July 1. He outlined the committees and chairs for next year and had people sign up for a couple committees.  The opportunity to sign up will be available next week, then Wayne will start filling in names, so sign up for your passions.






A Day at the Races
Tom Wright invited club members and family or friends to join him and Joan for a day at the races on Saturday, August 15th at Emerald Downs.  Cost is $23.60 including lunch, racing tips, a program and Grandstand seating.  The races start at 2:00 pm. You will want to be there by 1:30 pm to get your seat. Kids are welcome. There is a form to complete so your lunch can be ordered. Turn your completed form and check into Dave Freimuth by July 14.  Make checks payable to Tom Wright.

Cherries are ready to pick at Tom Utigard's orchard.  Help yourself.

District Conference in Kelowna, BC

Six Wenatchee Sunrise members and their spouses attended the District Conference in Kelowna on June 18-21.  Events included the Thursday picnic; walking tour of downtown, zip line, bike rides, golf, and wine tour, and home hosting on Friday; speakers, awards, and displays on Saturday; and youth exchange kids and promotion of 2016 conference in Yakima on Sunday.  Our club was awarded the Presidential Citation, given by the RI President to clubs who have fulfilled a variety of accomplishments

in each avenue of service.

Classification Talk Stacy Speer

Erin Cass introduces Stacy Speer for her classification talk

Stacy grew up in the small town of Joshua, Texas on a 40 acre spread with her sister, who is 6 years older, and her parents.  There were very few girls her age and her sister was older so Stacy played with boys or by herself.   She was (is?) a self professed tomboy who played tackle football, even when she was a team of one.  Church and school were big parts of her life in Joshua.   Her church was like a family and she feels the same way about her new Rotary club family.

In 1992, when she was going into 7th grade, Stacy's family moved to Washington.  It was an eye opener for her to be in a larger school with people who had different cultural experiences.  She sat alone at lunch everyday for year!

Of course, she did make friends but she never loved this part of Washington.  (Stacy did not disclose the name of the town but it certainly sounded like it was on the western side of Washington State.)

In 2003 she moved to Wenatchee to attend WVC and study nursing.  She was enormously supported by WVC teachers and was an honor student.  She had married and with only 19 weeks left in her nursing program her daughter was born.   Stacy chose to leave the nursing program to spend more time with her daughter.

Stacy loves volunteering with the elderly and attributes this to her wonderful grandmother.  She volunteers at Colonial Vista where we can be sure she is a great favorite.   Stacy currently works for Express Employment Professionals in sales.

Stacy plans to spend 12 years in Wenatchee then head back to Texas to find a cowboy!

June 16, 2015 Announcements

StoveTeam International

Earl Tilly was a guest at our June 16th meeting.  He talked about StoveTeam International and the positive impact the small portable stoves can have on the health of women and on economic development in less developed countries.  The stoves, pictured on the left side of the photo, use 60% less fuel and produce 90% less airborne particulates.  Earl is working with several Rotary clubs to build a small factory in Nicaragua to build these clean-burning stoves.

Bike Ride Update
Matt reported that 690 riders signed up.  He expects we will net about $30,000 to support the scholarship program.

We have extra t-shirts for sale for $15.  Check with Matt or anyone from the Bike committee.

We had leftover gatorade which was sold to several Rotarians at the meeting including Tom Utigard, pictured at right.

We received a $90 donation from Lorraine Church, the widow of Sunrise Rotarian Bob Church, in honor of what would have been Bob's 90th birthday.  Thanks Lorraine!

Rotary Fellowships
Jim Adamson handed out a list of Rotary Fellowships.  These groups of Rotarians, Rotarians' spouses, and Rotaractors who share a common interest, wish to further their vocational development, or would like to make new friends.  See more details on page 51 of the June 2015 Rotarian Magazine.

Award Winners
Lisa Tidd was honored by Carol Adamson at our changeover dinner this week with the Mark Anderson Presidential Service Award.  PJ Jones was named Rotarian of the Month.  Congratulation PJ and Lisa.

Norm Sturm was happy to travel to our meeting on his Honda Windjammer.  Very cool!

Year-end Movie available

For those who missed the changeover dinner, the year in review movie can be seen at http://youtu.be/x7nUxzLbXlg. Check it out.

Golf Winners

The Wenatchee Sunrise team of Craig Robertson, Erik Holmberg, Norm Sturm, and Jim Adamson was the big winners in the All-Service Club Golf Tourney on Thursday.  Their low net and low gross score of 60 earned them a $300 prize, and a traveling banner to display at club meetings until next year's tourney.  Teams from other Rotary clubs, Lions Clubs, and the Exchange Club participated.

Presidential Changeover Dinner

About 60 folks showed up at the Wenatchee Golf & Country Club to "roast" President Carol, install Wayne Massing as next year's president, and to celebrate what our club has accomplished this year. The salmon and prime rib dinner buffet was great, and the fellowship even better.  Carol thanked the club and the Board, and reviewed what we have done this year with posters and slide show.  PJ Jones was honored as the June Rotarian of the Month for his above-and-beyond work on the bike ride.  Lisa Tidd was honored with the Mark Anderson Outstanding Service Award for her dedication in stepping into the treasurer's role this year.

Bike Ride a Success

Nearly 700 riders registered for the Century Ride June 6, and most of them braved the extreme heat to support our ride.  Many great comments again about the support, food, and organization of the ride.  Way to go bike ride committee!  The committee spent a lot of extra time and sweat this year around the chip seal project, but it all worked out, and riders had no problem with the road surface. PJ Jones spent many hours sweeping the bridge at Plain, and doing all the signage.  The big change the riders liked best - BACON.  Maybe we just need to put a picture of bacon on next year's fliers to attract a few hundred more riders?  Thanks to all our members who put in a hard weekend's work to make this another successful event.

May 26 Announcements

Our club voted to sponsor a new Rotaract Club at WVC.  We will help with the RI charter paperwork, and with the organizational meeting to get them started.  Cost to our club is about $350 for charter fee and banner. The proposed club already has a slate of officers, a constitution and bylaws, a faculty adviser.

Beer and Brats social at Kathleen McNalty's home has been moved to June 26.  Bring side dishes (salad or dessert).

Rotary District Conference, Kelowna, BC June 18-21
Paul Mulvihill spread the word about the annual district conference.  We have six Club members attending and room for many more!  The Sunrise Rotary Club will reimburse your conference fee.  Visit conference2015.rotary5060.com for more information.

Garden Help Needed!
The weeds and vegetables are growing so well that Wayne needs help with weeding.  Hours are flexible.  Just show up and weed or let Wayne know when you are available.

Horse Racing Anyone?
Joan Wright's husband, Tom, owns part of a horse that races at Emerald Downs near Tacoma.  Joan is organizing a group of Sunrise Rotary Club members to spend a day at the races on August 15th.  Cost will be about $25 for entry and food (not including your betting money!).  There will be a tour and instructions on wagering.  Let Joan know if you are interested.