March 31 - Video Meeting Notes

Our club's second video meeting was a success with 16 club members and guests participating. We changed it up a bit to start at our usual meeting time of 7:00 am.

After our exchange of greetings, we said the Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag.

Adele, our Swiss Youth Exchange Student, gave us an update on her family and how they were coping with the CoVid-19 situation. All of them are well, and are taking precautions to stay that way! Several of her Youth Exchange friends have returned home to be with their families while others remain here. Adele said she had been keeping busy with online school work, and hiking around the Wenatchee Valley. Long hikes!

It was reported that Joel Banken's son Zackary had returned from India after the U.S. Government issued a Level 4 recall of all Americans abroad.

Carol Adamson said her granddaughter in Ecuador was in lock-down there and taking college classes online.

Milt Herman reported that Len Noss was doing okay after taking a fall and having a brief hospital stay. He had a home phone where he can be reached. Give him a call and cheer him up!

See our April birthdays and anniversaries in the right hand column (web view).  Wayne donated his age to the Community Foundation (our scholarship fund).

Video call moderator Jim Adamson said the Professional Version of ZOOM, our video call provider, was set up by Kathleen McNalty.  Call Kathleen or Jim if you need to host a Zoom call with our account.

Chris McDarment bragged that his son Brayden graduated from the UW and is already working at an insurance company in Seattle, remotely from home.

The club agreed collectively to have a video induction of our newest member Kelly Walker during our Zoom meeting on Tuesday, April 14th, at 7 am. Be there!

Kathleen McNalty reminded the club that invoices for club dues are coming out in the next few weeks. They will include the optional payment of $50 to The Rotary Foundation.

John Schapman said he had spoken with Alan Walker, Bike Ride Chairman, about the future of the Apple Century Bike Ride this year. Within the video meeting, there were many comments about past Rides that were delayed into the Fall. It was determined that more discussion was needed and the Board of Directors would take this up during the April meeting.

Craig Reese recently returned from Burundi, Africa, after his stay there was cut short by the CoVid-19 pandemic. He arrived in early March, intending to stay until March 21st. When he saw the large groups of European travels leaving Africa, he make arrangements to leave Burundi on a Wednesday on Ethiopian Airlines to return home. That Friday, Burundi closed its borders to foreigners going in or out. He's in his second week of self quarantine at home.

Jim Huffman said that Alaska Airlines was negotiating with the Port District to use space at Pangborn Airport to store some of their 737s from Sea-Tac airport. So don't be surprised to see 737s coming in to EAT (Wenatchee Pangborn).

Chris McDarment was asked about his father, John, and he said he was doing well. He should have been at the "meeting".

The Apple Blossom Royalty scheduled for next week will be postponed to summer so they can attend in person. Katie Blair, who is now fighting through having the CoVid-19 will be our program next week.  Kaitie was a Rotary exchange student from Wenatchee a few years ago, and now lives in New York.  Jim also said that Bethany Alhaidari, our speaker at the March 10th meeting, is a potential member. We will get her application sent to the board.

The ZOOM meeting ended at about 8 am.

March 24 Meeting Notes

Our club conducted its first Zoom meeting last Tuesday morning at 7:30.  Fourteen members tuned in, and we had a good time catching up, sharing stories, and even some brags/confessions.  One of the items discussed was how we could support our local businesses during this time.  Click the links below to see all the info regarding services provided by food and beverage businesses.  Some have suggested buying gift cards, which put cash in the hands of the businesses now.
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/u/0/d/1vU2rC_XiN6mPHmgcxPxCpfMnfVgg1iXLgtU8F7mX270/htmlview?fbclid=IwAR0n9W-VUVxlPlj83o6q4IXRqIEx7rSZ2nryybWcGGJVOJhclwJS9M0lpVE

https://www.wenatcheeworld.com/news/coronavirus/running-list-take-out-and-to-go-options-during-covid/article_03cb12dc-6a14-11ea-b36d-8fde1390e9fd.html


We decided to have our next Tuesday meeting at 7:00 am, and send an invite to join through Zoom at that time.  We might even have a short program.  Let's do what we can to stay connected during thee COVID-19 slow down.


On last Friday we tried a virtual Happy Hour Zoom social.  Only 5 attended, but we had a good time together sharing pictures of our wine, milkshakes and snacks.

Service project during time away from meetings

Food drive.  Ask your neighbors to join you in collecting food for the school kids during their time out of school.  Drop off at the Adamson's home (1196 Stoneridge, East Wenatchee), or call them and they will pick up the items at your place.

Meetings Cancelled

The following letter was sent to members by President Taro Masuda last week.

Dear Wenatchee Sunrise,
     I have conferred with our leadership board and we believe that out of an abundance of caution we should cancel the next three club meetings in March.  The board will reassess on 4/3/20 if we should meet for our regular meeting on 4/7/20 or continue the cancelation of our morning meetings.  Let’s take this opportunity to stay home and take care of our loved ones.  Call your neighbors, friends, and family on the phone to check in on one another.  We are called to practice “social distancing” to slow down the spread COVID-19.  I believe there are some good things we can glean from this viral pandemic.
Slow down…
Inventory what is truly important in your lives.  Faith, family, and friends are the threads that form our emotional fabric.  Rotary brings us together weekly to share a meal, a laugh, an idea, and sometimes tears.  Take the time to listen to others and reflect on how we can work together to get through this difficult time.
Service above self…
Through Rotary we able to help the less fortunate and be a catalyst for peace.  Through these works we can restore our own and others faith in humanity.
Breathe…!
Go for a walk and listen to the birds preparing for Spring.  Take in the beauty of our valley that we are so fortunate to live in.  Pick up a book and temporarily transport yourself away from the 24/7 news coverage. 
Remember…
We are resilient beings that have been able to overcome sickness and strife for thousands of years.  COVID-19 is not the first nor the last virus we will encounter.  Perhaps after Polio is eradicated, we can work towards lessening the impact of future novel coronaviruses.
Please reach out to me if you have any questions or concerns.

March 10 Meeting Notes

Announcements

Gil Sparks was here to advertise a special joint meeting of Rotary clubs in the Wenatchee Valley to hear VP and regional executive of the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco (Seattle branch).  This is an opportunity to hear what the Federal Reserve does and why it matters.
Wednesday, April 8, from 12:00 - 1:30 at the Pybus LocalTel Event Center.  $20 includes lunch.  Limited seating, so register now (see Kathleen or Taro).

March 23 is the opening season for Alethia Riding Center.  Volunteers are needed.  Contact Leslie Coleman if interested.

The annual All-Service Club Luncheon will be held on Friday, May 1, at the Convention Center from 11:30 - 1:00.  Our club usually has a table or two, so watch for a sign-up sheet to be circulated.  $25.  This year's speaker will be Bob Mortimer, who has been speaking about alcohol and drug abuse, overcoming challenges, and "being our best" since 1980.  Bob knows about this first hand.  He had both legs and an arm amputated following a car accident after a party where he had been drinking and taking drugs.  He was 21 at the time.  Red 5060.

Kelly Walker was approved for membership at the last Board meeting.  Her name has been posted, so you have one week to voice any concerns to Taro or the membership committee.

Update on Tom Utigard's wife, Shari - after suffering a slight stroke, she has no major physical affects, and is working on getting her strength back.

Update on Leonard Noss - after his recent fall, he in now in rehab at Regency (room #34), and will be there for at least a month.  He has his sense of humor, but is not able to get around much.

Program

Bethany Alhaidari is an amazing young woman with an equally amazing story.  I can't do justice to her story in this blog, so if you missed the meeting I hope you get the chance to meet her at some point and learn more.

Basically, Bethany, who grew up up Cashmere and now resides in Wenatchee, started traveling the world after graduating from CWU.  She visited over 50 countries before settling in Saudi Arabia.  Bethany was able to witness the "Arab Spring" in Tunisia, where people were demanding basic rights, and overthrew the ruler there.  She was arrested on several occasions while protesting for equal rights for women in Saudi Arabia.
Bethany started teaching professor in Saudi Arabia when she was 23, got her masters in the Politics of Islamic Law in Paris, and
started her PhD in Ireland.  Her area of study and research was on the perception of freedom and civil rights in Saudi Arabia.
Bethany fought through the personal struggle of going through a divorce from her Saudi husband and losing custody of her daughter. Through persistence, many influential contacts, and a bit of deception, she was able to get out of Saudi Arabia and into the US with her daughter.  Her journey has opened the floodgates of others wanting to follow, and getting the justice they deserve.
As a result, Bethany has started the Saudi American Justice Project, a non-profit in our state.  This project involves research, expert witnesses, human rights advocacy, support to victims of  human rights abuse, cultural sensitivity training, and media promotion.
Learn more at https://saudijustice.org/
President Taro Masuda presented Bethany with a library book that will be donated in her name to the NCW Regional Library, Children's Library.

Raffle

Club member Carol Adamson (left) watches guest Anwen Cook spin the wheel to win the raffle. She took home $15.

March 3 Meeting Notes

Reading this blog? Keep your eye out as you read through the blog for a special offer at our next meeting.  Only two people mentioned the last mystery word ("blue").

Pictured to the left is Bertha Goehner, who came today with a couple guests: son Nick, a Rotarian from Santa Monica, and Bethany, who has been living in Saudi Arabia for the past nine years.  Nick gave us a glimpse of his club of 200, and Bethany is going to be our program next week.

Announcements

Next bike ride meeting will be Tuesday, March 10, 5:30 at the NCW Community Action Center. We have received our club's first Facebook exposure report from Jennifer Korfiatis, our contracted Social Media Analyst. Watch for future Facebook posts that we can all share and have our friends re-post. Thanks to Alpine Air for donating at the $250 level.

The date of the Senior Dinner has been changed to Saturday, April 18 due to a conflict at the Senior Center. Mark this change on your calendar.

The date for Greg Lyons' service was incorrectly posted last week. The correct date is Saturday, March 7th. It will be at the First United Methodist Church at 2 pm. 

Check out the March birthdays in the right hand column.

Brags & Confessions

Joel Banken said his son Zachary had recently sent a monthly update on his time spent with his host family in India. He is taking classes for Hindi, piano and art. Here is the link to photos, videos, and letters: https://tinyurl.com/RyeZachary

Kevin Love said he and his wife Lynn had just returned from a 10 day ski trip to Canada. They logged 1,300 miles and 8 days of skiing!

Jim Hoffman welcomed Bertha Goehner back after a lengthy absence!

District 5060 Conference is being held in Kelowna, BC, on April 23-26, 2020. Register early for savings. Our club reimburses your registration fee. Click this District Conference registration link

Kathleen McNalty announced the Club Building Team Experience, May 16th, 10 am to 3 pm. Social gathering from 3 pm to 5 pm. If our club gets over 10 members to attend, the club will be refunded $200. See Kathleen to sign up.

Honolulu, Hawaii, is the site of the 2020 Rotary International Convention, June 6-10, 2020. Discounted registration rates are still available. Register at this link: Hawaii Convention register

Our Youth Exchange Student, Adele from Switzerland, was recently in California with her host family. She visited Disneyland, Universal, Hollywood, a funny wax museum, Santa Monica pier and Six Flags. She had fun celebrating her birthday! 

Pete Blanksma donated his raffle winnings last week to her birthday trip.

Robin DeRock returned from PETS (President-Elect Training Seminar) in Seattle, and was happy to be home! The number of visitors to the Hospitality Suite at the Double Tree Hotel exceeded last year's numbers! A good time was had by all.

Erin McCool returned after being gone for awhile.

Bertha Goehner admitted to being gone for a "few" meetings, and paid the club treasurer a "healthy" fine!

Alan Walker, Executive Director, Chelan Douglas Community Action Council, said they had received a $125,000 grant to be used for creating a mobile food unit.

Rebecca Lyons bragged that her daughter Mari had taken First Place in the Vault competition in gymnastics. She was very proud of her!

If you see this green 86 (green 86), tell Jim or Wayne at the next meeting to receive a free raffle ticket.

Program

Anwen Cook from the Literacy Council, part of the Chelan Douglas Community Action Council was our club's speaker. She was originally working for Americorp.

The Literacy Council provides free literacy classes for anyone wanting to improve their English skills in reading, writing and speaking. Students attending have many different backgrounds and literacy needs. Some speak their native language, but can't read, write or speak in English. The Literacy Council provides Life Skills English training. Tutors are trained in an 8 hour class regarding how to assess students' needs, make a lesson plan, and teach them English. The minimum time that a tutor has to teach each week is 1-1/2 hours. The tutors can develop specialized lesson plans, such as how to understand real estate terms in English if they are buying a home.

The literacy program is funded through government and community organization grants, church and local fruit industry funding. Volunteer tutors are always needed. Contact the Literacy Council if you are interested in tutoring. Chelan-Douglas CAC/Literacy Council. 509-682-6966.

Raffle Winner

Robin DeRock won $4 in the raffle and donated it back to the club!