Welcome Joseph

 Joseph Bernard, our youth exchange student from France, arrived at midnight on Wednesday, and was met by the Adamsons', and the Bankens' (his first host family).  After a looong day, he got a few hours sleep and headed to the San Juans with the Bankens'.  He'll be meeting with the school counselor on Tuesday to get his schedule and tour the high school.

August 21st meeting notes

Program

Our newest members, Ethan and Kaitlyn Vanweerhuizen, gave an entertaining classification talk today.  Kaitlyn was born in California, and also lived in OR, OH, and WA.  Her dream was to become a chef for the FBI, until she realized she had to actually know how to
cook.  She enjoys sports, and was a standout athlete in high school, participating in basketball, bowling (team went to State), and track, where she still hold the record for the discus (94 feet).  Kaitlyn graduated from WHS in 2015, and was married to Ethan in June of 2017.  She works at Jones & Jones/Betts Funeral Home as an admin assistant.

Ethan was born in Bellingham, and has lived his whole life (only 21 years) in Washington.  His dream was to be a linguist, until he realized he actually had to speak to people. After that he wanted to be a veterinarian.  He enjoys choir and drama, and participated in several musicals and plays in high school.  Ethan met Katilyn at Craft Warehouse where they both worked.  It didn't take long for the couple to get engaged, and then married.  Ethan is a customer service/sales rep for Haglund's Trophies.

Announcements

The TGIF at Wayne's has been cancelled due to the smoke.  Hope to reschedule.

August 28 - Our service project to help clean up Westside HS after their back to school bash.  We will start at 7:30.  Bring your family to help.

September 11 - no morning meeting.  Instead we are all invited to attend the all area meeting on Thursday, September 13 at noon at Pybus ($10/person for lunch).  A UW medical school doctor will speak on rural health and the shortage of doctors we are facing.

September 22 - Family picnic at Utigard's orchard.  More details to come.

October 26-27 - District Fall Assembly at Campbell's in Lake Chelan.  This is a training for all club officers, committee chairs, and all members who want to have fun, learn more about Rotary, meet with other Rotarians from our district (including the Canadians), and hear about what other clubs are doing to be vibrant, growing clubs.

May 2-5 - District Conference in Kamloops, BC.  Discount for early registration ends August 31.

Congrats to John Schapman for climbing to the top of Mt. Adams last week.

Meeting Notes August 14th

Announcements:

• Kathleen McNalty handed out backpacks at Westside HS.
  
• A big thank you to John and Betsy McDarment for hosting the All Area Club BBQ.   About 85 people attended despite it being one of the hottest days of the year.  Thank goodness for the pool!
• Jim Adamson announced that every time you bring a guest (children and spouses excluded), you will be entered into a quarterly drawing!
• Come to every meeting for 6 months and get a $10.00 gift card!  If you miss a meeting, be sure to attend a make-up meeting to maintain your perfect attendance!
• Wayne Massing reported that the Gorge fundraiser raised $1556.22 for the club for just one weekend.  If you want to help out at Dave Matthews or Def Leppard/Journey, let Wayne know.
• Save the Date of August 24th for a tentative pool party at the Massing residence!  Details coming soon.
• On September 13th at 12:00, Gil Sparks is hosting an all Rotary meeting regarding the challenges of health care in rural areas.   The event will be at the Pybus Event Center and is catered by Columbia Cafe.   There will be no Sunrise meeting that week, all Sunrisers are encouraged to attend this event.
• Matt Eastman announced that on Tuesday, August 28th, Westside School is having a back to school bash and our club is helping with clean-up from 8:00-9:00 p.m.  Sign up with Matt.
• Kathleen McNalty reminded everyone to look for Rotary invoices in their spam folder.

Brags and Confessions:

• PJ said his mom's memorial was great and then afterwards he headed to France to ski a glacier.
• Chris McDarment said that Brian successfully made it to Thailand.
• Carol Adamson attended her 50th Class Reunion.  Also, her grandson attended an amazing camp for children who have lost parents and he had a great time.
• Alan Walker celebrated his Daughter's 27th birthday
• Lisa Parks went fly fishing and successfully caught and released her own fish!

Program:

Erik Skansgaard came to discuss Trueblood Diversion, a program assisting those in the jail system with mental health issues.  Trueblood has a goal to intervene with those who are mentally ill to keep them out of jail or, when they are in jail, to help them get psychiatric treatment in a timely manner.

You can read more about the program in this article.

Meeting Notes- August 7th

Announcements:

• Jim H made a suggestion box for the club. Drop your ideas/comments/suggestions in there!
• The backpack give-away was a huge success!
• Wayne reported on the first weekend working at the Gorge and said it was lots of fun!
• The Bike Ride committee is ready to start up again soon!  Bike Ride 2019 is June 1st.

Dave Friemuth was the recipient of a two time Paul Harris award!

Brags and Confessions:

• Earl and Joy celebrated 22 year anniversary.
• John Schapman went camping at Lake Osoyoos and ended up getting a rabies vaccination.
• Kevin Love celebrated his 40th wedding anniversary.
• David Barshes is back from 3 weeks in Armenia.
• Jim Adamson survived 3 days with 4 grandkids.
• Rebecca Lyon is back from an Olympic National Park Trip.
• John McDarment's grandson is headed off to Thailand!

Program:

The program today was presented by Tom Tochterman, a Rotarian and the Founder of Rhino Mercy.   This is a Rotary Action Group, specifically focused on Endangered Species.  To donate or find out more, click here.

Here are some pictures from the Gorge Fundraiser.  There is still time to get involved.  Contact Wayne!

Thanks to Wayne Massing, Robin DeRock, Taro Masuda, Tana Nichols, Jim & Carol Adamson, John McDarment, Jane Davis, and Erik Holmberg, who all served the coldest beer in the Gorge.

Here are some photos from the backpack give-away!  Nice work everyone.

Thanks to Chris McDarment, Earl Crowe, Kathleen McNalty, Mike & Leslie Coleman, and Ethan & Kaitlyn Vanweerhuizen for handing out school supplies to over 1000 kids.