Meeting Notes Oct. 22, 2019

Announcements

Thursday, Oct. 24, is World Polio Awareness Day.  Carol Adamson reminded us of the area wide potluck at the Senior Activity Center on Maple St., 6:00 pm to 8:30 pm. $5/person, or $15/family.  This is a good time to socialize with fellow Rotarians from our club, and the other clubs in town.  A member of a local Rotary club will match up to $26,000 raised in our district.  The Gates Foundation will match that total 2 to 1, giving a potential gift of $156,000 to The Rotary Foundation's polio eradication program. That will translate to thousands of kids who can be immunized around the world.  Let's see if we can get at least 20 members plus family, to this event. Since it is a potluck dinner, A-H bring a main dish, I-Z bring a side dish or salad. Bring your own beverages. Wine/beer are okay. Bring cash or check for donations. No credit/debit cards.

Thursday, Oct. 24, is World Polio Awareness Day.  Our club will be in front of KPQ Radio on North Wenatchee Avenue to collect donations for the End Polio Now campaign. 7 am to Noon. Please plan to attend, even for a short time.

Bike Ride Committee Meeting report: Wayne Massing gave a brief run down on the Bike Ride meeting that happened last Tues. Oct. 15. The route will be the same as last year. Permits are being submitted and collected from the various jurisdictions governing our route. On November 12 at our club meeting, Alan Walker will present more information about the Bike Ride and its needs. Please plan to attend that meeting.

Service Project-Future - PJ Jones said that our club's Make A Difference Day project is a clean-up of the area around the Senior Center on Maple Street on Sat. Oct. 26th (This Saturday!). Meet at Smitty's for breakfast at 7 am, or meet at the Senior Center at 8 am. Bring gloves and garden tools (pruners and loppers). Put it on your calendar. If you haven't volunteered for awhile, make this easy one! Wayne will head up the work party in PJ's absence.

Rotary Learning Institute (RLI) in Yakima: Club President Taro Masuda announced that on Sat., Nov. 2nd and Sun., Nov. 3rd, the RLI-South will be held in Yakima. RLI is a grassroots learning and development program whose mission is to strengthen Rotary clubs. District 5060 pays for half of the tuition, and the club reimburses you for the other half. See Taro or Kathleen to sign up.

Cashmere Apple Gleaning: Taro announced that he and his son Reagan gleaned apples on Saturday at Ringsrud Orchard in the Cashmere. A West side organization collected the apples. The picking was a wet experience, but they had fun filling the bins!

Club President Taro Masuda read a thank you card that he had received from fellow club member Ruth Dagg on behalf of the Habitat for Humanity organization. They thanked club volunteers who cleared trees and shrubs from blocking a city sidewalk at the Habitat for Humanity project house in Wenatchee. Members were Taro Masuda, Wayne Massing, Dave Freimuth, PJ Jones, and Milt Herman.

Rebecca Lyons gave the club a heads up about a survey that they would be receiving from Survey Monkey regarding the club.  It's important that everyone respond.

Brags & Confessions

Kathy Hamilton enjoyed a birthday with husband John while touring through Croatia, Montenegro, Albania and Greece. John meet some friends there to celebrate an anniversary.

Jim Richardson enjoyed another birthday, and spent that day in Port Angeles, Washington, with other college presidents. Rain dampened the event.

PJ Jones paid a fine for his Ute's winning again!

Ruth Dagg completed ESL training in order to teach that subject. She traveled to Bliss, Idaho, where it never rains. Rain and hail damped the event!

Leslie and Mike Coleman traveled to Chicago for their grand daughter's christening, and then went to Mountain Home, Arkansas, to seek a retirement spot!

Jill Courtney had bad news that the son of former member Diana Oltman had been killed in a plane crash in Alaska. Diana can be reached at (509) 856-7755.

Sargent at Arms

Wayne Massing was fined for a picture of him and his wife on the 2020 Rotary International Hawaiian Convention registration page. (Wayne says it was an old picture from the 2014 Sidney Convention!)

Program

Milt Herman introduced Caroline Seibert from the Wenatchee office of Lilac Services for the Blind. Milt gave a brief background of his optical practice in Twisp, and the special equipment that is available for the blind.

Caroline described the affiliation between the Wenatchee and Spokane Lilac Services for the Blind organizations and the vast area of the state they service. She also talked about her history of blindness and hearing loss. The Wenatchee office is a "Low Vision" clinic for those who have gone beyond glasses or contacts, but still can't see. Special devices are available to magnify reading materials, and then read the text to the blind person.

The Lilac Services for the Blind in Wenatchee has a twice yearly fund raiser. In June, meals at Applebee's provide income to their organization. On September 26, 2019, at Pybus Public Market, a fund raiser auction, called "Blind Date with Lilac Services for the Blind" was held to raise donations.

The Lilac Services for the Blind in Wenatchee is open Monday and Tuesday each week from 10 am to 3 pm.

Club President Taro Masuda presented Caroline with a book that will be donated in her name to the North Central Washington Children's Library. The book is "Rhyming Dust Bunnies".

Pot Draw

Milt Herman was the big $4 winner.