All about the Bike Ride and a bit more!

Today's meeting, led by chairs Alice Thompson and Kathleen McNalty, was all about the Bike Ride.

If you missed it and are NOT signed up to help out, please be sure to contact Alice, Kathy or Alan to get plugged into an area that needs help.  There are events Wednesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday that all need people.

Also, even if you are signed up for a particular event, please do not hesitate to look around for areas that might need additional help.

Another helpful thing is sharing the event on Facebook to your personal or business pages.

We have 447 riders as of today!  Let's get a few more signed up.

NCW Sports Awards:

One of our fellow Rotary Groups- Wenatchee North Rotary- has an event coming up.  The NCW Sports Awards is June 9th from 5:00- 8:00 p.m.  Tickets are $35.00 each and are available at by clicking www.ncwsportsawards.com.

Rotary Youth Leadership Awards (RYLA)

Our sponsored participant, Teresa Mata, attended the RYLA event in Penticton, BC last weekend. RYLA is a district leadership development event for young people between 18 and 30.

May 24th Australian Team Visit

Australian VTT Visit:

Today we enjoyed a great program by the South Australian Vocational Training Team.  The group came from District 9500 in South Australia. Click on the link to see their Facebook Page.
The group started in Yakima at the District Conference, then spent in a few days in Moses Lake before coming to Wenatchee.  Next, they head to the Chelan/Okanogan area.

Each of the team members presented a bit about their lives in Australia.

Jim Mitchell, the Rotarian Leader, raises sheep for wool in the Barossa Valley.  He has been a Rotarian for over 30 years!
Jess Crettenden grew up on a mixed farm including sheep and cropping.  She is a research scientist at the Minnipa Agricultural Centre, a government research facility.
Claire Webber has been involved in the seafood industry her whole life and is currently a research and liaison officer for the Austrian Southern Bluefin Tuna Industry Association.   Claire also spoke a bit about the Aboriginal people of Australia and some of the differences in culture.  For example, they are a completely verbal group of people with no written language so are therefore not classified as a civilization.
Ben Mitchell grew up in the Barossa Valley.  He has studied Viticulture and currently works at Henschke Wines in Eden Valley.  It was interesting to hear how Australian agriculture relies on much less irrigation than we are used to in the Wenatchee Valley.
Alice Fargher is the operations manager at Angorichina Station.  This place raises sheep but is also involved in agritourism.  Click here to see what is available for your next trip to Australia!  The farm also musters (Australian word for "herds") feral goats.  These goats provide the most widely consumed red meat in the world!

During their visit here, the group enjoyed activities like river rafting, a pot luck, a tour of the Leavenworth Fish Hatchery and an evening at the Columbia Brewery. Today they go to the airport, a winery, and the WSU Tree Fruit experimental orchard.

If you would like to follow their adventures, Like their Facebook Page.  It is filled with great pictures!

Announcements:

We still need volunteers for the Apple Century Bike Ride.  Jim Adamson will be sending out an email from PJ regarding volunteer needs for Wednesday (cleaning out the storage unit), Thursday (putting out route arrows) and Friday (putting out signs).  If you can help on these days, contact PJ or Alice.

As of this week, we have 278 riders!  Keep sharing the event on Facebook an encourage more!

There is a final bike ride meeting on Wednesday, May 25th, 5:30 p.m. at Sticks.  Come one, come all!


Look who was awarded a prestigious Boy Scout honor for service to the Scouting program.  Way to go Erik Holmberg.

Erin attended the Wenatchee High School Award Ceremony last night and Alex and Emily, our Challenge Scholars, both received several awards.  Alex really cleaned up, receiving almost every scholarship available.  Good Job!

Don't forget the Change Over Dinner on June 21st.  It is $15.00 a person and it will be billed to your account.  A great night of fun and celebration as we change over our President.  Also, there will be NO MEETING that morning!

Australian Team Visits the area

Here are some photos of the team as they traveled the Leavenworth, Cashmere, and Wenatchee areas.

Youth Exchange Students Visit Our Club

16 of the 31 district youth exchange students showed up at our meeting to share their stories.  They are doing the bus trip around the district before most head back to their home countries.  Delightful kids.  Thanks to PJ, Kathleen, Taro, Mike & Leslie, Patty, & Earl for taking students overnight.

May 17th Meeting

Announcements:

This morning we had 16 Rotary youth exchange students visit our club.  They came from all over the world including Taiwan, Turkey, Brazil, Chile, Bolivia, South Korea, Italy, Germany, France, and Austria.  Several of the students talked about their experiences with the host families.
This weekend, Maggie Nelson is taking the Youth Exchange Group from here to Kamloops and back to Yakima for the annual bus trip. Good Luck, Maggie!

Carol Adamson reported that Claudio was selected from his Youth Exchange Group as a speaker at the Rotary District Conference.  She said he did an amazing job and was quite proud of him.  No one was surprised he did such a great job!

Jim Huffman showed a TED Talks on the Global Citizen movement.  Very appropriate with the youth exchange students here.

Jim's Award

Jim Adamson was presented with the Harold Henderson Award for Distinguish Service.  His service to Rotary has included being a trainer, serving as district governor and many more things!

Sunrise Attendees to the District Conference included Maggie, Wayne, Matt, Jim and Carol.   Attending the conference is a great way to learn about Rotary.  Next year's conference will be held in Kelowna, BC.  For early registration, click here!

Alan Walker passed around sign-ups for helping out at the bike ride.  People are needed for Thursday, Friday and Saturday so be sure and get signed up!

On May 23rd, at 6:30, there is an award ceremony at WHS Commons. Two of our Challenge Scholars will be receiving their scholarships there.

As of today, the Apple Century Bike Ride has 227 riders. Take a minute to share the event on your own Facebook page, using this link.
Also, there is another Bike Ride meeting at Sticks on Wednesday, May 18th at 5:30 p.m.
Our Century Ride is mentioned on page 22 of the May Rotarian.  Check it out!

A reminder that the Change Over Dinner is June 21st at the Museum.  It is a FIESTA and we get to celebrate the presidency of Wayne and welcome incoming president Matt!  Click here to RSVP.

Our Rotarian of the Month is Norm Sturm!  Norm is always willing to help out and often does the job no one else wants.  He promoted our bike ride in Spokane, and rode the part of our Century ride route to get pictures of the route.  We are grateful for his service to our club. Congratulations, Norm.

Photos from the District Conference

 About 500 attended the District 5060 Conference in Yakima last weekend.  DG Greg Luring and wife Jan welcomed everyone.

Thursday night Brats & Beer party.

Optional activities around the Yakima Valley on Friday (golf, tennis, tours, wine tasting, biking, hiking, city tour, etc), followed by evening home hospitality.

                                                                                     

 Youth Exchange presentation, including a talk by our YE student Claudio Mateo.

Vocation Training Team from Australia was introduced.  The team will be in Weantchee May 20 - 25, and will attend our meeting on the 24th.

DG Greg passes the reigns to Vern Nielson of Kelowna, who will be DG beginning July 1.


Top individual district awards presented to Jim Adamson (Wenatchee Sunrise), and Richard DeRock (Wenatchee).

May 10th, 2016

Announcements:

• The Challenge Scholarship Potluck party is coming up on Sunday, May 22nd from 2:00-5:00 at Walla Walla Point Park.  It will be in shelter #2.  This is open to the Challenge Scholars, Parents, Guardians and Mentors and also any Rotarians and family.  Activities planned include lawn games and a potluck (bring your favorite main dish).  Challenge Scholars will share what they have learned so far and there will be a presentation on the Hidden Rules of Poverty in our community.  We will also have some time for a Group Think brainstorming on future activities and training.  Students can contact Joan Wright at jatwoodwright@gmail.com or 509-471-0171 to RSVP or for questions. 
• May 21st at Pybus Public Market there will be an All Service Fair.  We need about 3-4 people from 9:30 a.m.- 12:30 p.m. to be at the Sunrise Rotary Booth to answer questions.  It is also a great time to promote the Apple Century Bike Ride!  Contact Matt McColm to let him know if you can help out. This is a great opportunity to share with the community the amazing things about our club!
• There was a Board Meeting on May 9th and two things were decided:  1)  $200.00 was given to the Wenatchee High School Senior Party, and 2) $600.00 was given to Wenatchee High School 9th grade class for the Battle of the Books.
• The Rotary District Conference is this weekend in Yakima.  More information can be found here.
• The Vocational Training Team is having young professionals in agriculture visiting from Australia.  The group will be staying with various host families from May 20th- May 25th. They will be speaking at Sunrise Rotary on May 24th so be sure to let other Rotarians know who may want to attend.



Carol is serious about the upcoming Change Over Fiesta!



• The Change Over Dinner is on June 21st from 6:00 p.m.- 8:00 p.m.  The cost is $15.00 and that includes dinner.  It will be held at the Wenatchee Valley Museum & Cultural Center.  For more information and to RSVP, click here.   It is a FIESTA so bring your family and let's have a great time celebrating the tenure of Wayne and the upcoming Presidency of Matt!

Bike Ride Information:

• Saturday, May 28th, we will be talking about the Bike Ride.  We need 2-3 people to work two separate two-hour shifts. (Times to be determined but between 9:00 and 1:00 approximately). Contact Alice Thompson to help out with this.
• The next two bike ride meetings are May 18th and June 1st.  Both will be held at Sticks at 5:30 p.m.  Everyone is welcome!
• Around town, several businesses have brightly painted bikes that advertise the Bike Ride.  Some of the businesses include Wenatchee Natural Foods, Pybus Market and Cycle Central.  If you see one, take a picture and post it to the Apple Century Bike Ride page or post on your own page with a link to the Apple Century Bike Ride page.
• For the Bike Ride, we need 6-8 people or teams of people that have a truck, SUV or otherwise big enough vehicle to be a SAG (support and gear) Wagon.  Being a SAG Wagon includes carrying a first aid kit, a small repair kit provided by Arlberg, some water and the ability to load up a rider and bike if needed.  This is a very important job to the bike ride.  It is helpful to know a bit about bike repair or changing a tire but even if you don't, you can still be a great help!  Each SAG Wagon covers a certain part of the route and when the bikers are done, they pick up all the signs.  People who have done it before say it is the BEST job of the whole day. So find a big vehicle and a friend who knows about bikes and become a vital SAG Wagon team.  Contact Alice Thompson to help out!

Brags and Confessions:

• Wayne Massing just returned from a trip to Hawaii using Military Space Available Travel.  He and his friend flew out of Whidbey Island on a C-40 (737-700) and ended up in Hickam Air Force Base in Honolulu.  They spent about 36 hours there, enjoying a Mai Tai on the beach before they flew home on a C-17.
• Ron Griffith wrote a letter to the editor promoting our club.
• Jim Richardson had his Bachelor of Applied Science in Engineering Program approved so they will begin offering that soon.
• Jay Higgins just returned from Europe.  They visited Bavaria, Austria and Northern Italy and also managed to take a hike in a snowstorm.

Program:

Joan Wright presented the program today on the Hidden Rules of Poverty and the Middle Class.  This presentation is related to the Challenge Scholarship Mentor Program.  Three new kids will soon be selected to participate in the mentorship program.  Sunrise Rotary is always looking for new mentors and training is available to meet each individual's schedule.  Thirteen percentage of Wenatchee residents live below the poverty level.  This creates a host of issues that can limit the success of children.  Through the mentorship program we can provide emotional, motivational and academic support to help children in poverty gain the life skills necessary to become successful.

Joan is holding up "100 Way to Show Kids You Care" pamphlet

If you are interested in mentoring, contact Joan Wright or Jim Adamson for details.

Also, two of the Challenge Scholarship kids will be honored at the Senior Awards Banquet on May 23rd at Wenatchee High School in the Commons.  Feel free to come support these kids!

Program - Local TV?

Yes, we now have a local TV station in the valley.  Dan Kuntz, originator of NCW Life Channel TV, talked about the evolution of the TV station.  The old KWCC was purchased by Local Tel this spring in order to get the Sky-fi towers, and the defunct station came with it.  Dan and the new owners/investors started small, got sponsors, and gained momentum.  They are concentrating on local sports, live streaming WHS sports, Wenatchee Wild, and some community events (Apple Blossom parade, etc.).  They need to create everything else.  The station can be found on Charter channel 19 or Local Tel channel 12.  Check out www.ncwlife.com.

Announcements

Board meeting Monday, May 9, 7:00 am at Wild Huckleberry - anyone can attend.

Erin McCool (Vice-president) read the list of our club's accomplishments for the last quarter.  It is a big list of great things we have done.  We should be proud to be Rotarians.

Jennifer Netz and Molly Butler, English teacher at WHS, gave a pitch for the "Battle of the Books" program.  It was started last year, and our club gave i-pads to the four winners.  They are repeating the contest this year, as it has been a successful reading incentive program.  The final competition will be from 7:45 am-9:30 on May 23rd at WHS, and anyone is welcome to attend.

About 21 of our members and  few spouses enjoyed the All Service Club Luncheon on Wednesday.   The luncheon honored the service clubs, the Apple Citizen of the year, the Royalty, and our veterans. The keynote speaker, a decorated Navy Seal physician assistant, was a hit.  Thanks to all who attended.






Prom night, and Mateo enjoyed participating with his date.  He is now living with Patty and Heath Rush.  He has been horse back riding and camping already, and may get his hands dirty helping with the animals at the Rush's home.  Thanks to Taro and Patti Masuda for hosting Mateo the first eighth months of his stay, and to Patty and Heath for hosting his last three months.  If you haven;pt had the pleasure of doing something with Mateo yet, time is running out.  He is a wonderful young man who can share a lot about his life in Ecuador.









Mateo with his prom date (above), and with his host moms Patty Rush and Patti Masuda (left).