Meeting Notes for May 19

Announcements

It's almost time for our Presidential Changeover Dinner.  This is being planned for June 23 (tentative).  It may be done virtually, but we are also thinking of having it at an outdoor location (Sunrise Circle, etc.).  Would you feel uncomfortable with sharing side dishes people bring (salads and desserts), or would you rather have it catered?  Please let Rebecca or Kathleen know your preference.
In addition to the changeover event, we will be honoring Adele for the great exchange student she
was this year.  She was a wonderful ambassador for Switzerland, our club, and our community, and made an outstanding effort to get involved with club members.  We will miss her.  She is scheduled to leave June 27, so the changeover event will be our goodbye party for her as well.  If you cannot attend the event, please send her a card or call her to express your appreciation for all she has done.

Most of the meeting was a discussion of different fundraisers.  Kathleen McNalty shared the fundraising philosophy and points to consider.  These included making a minimum of $500; engaging as many members as possible in fun meaningful activities; viewed as community, family, and service oriented; possible partnering with other clubs and/or non-profits; promotes membership, etc.

We talked about a few ideas that Kathleen collected, and took a poll.  Results are listed on the left.  The bike ride is a given, and we are exploring partnering with the Chelan club this year on their two rides in September.

Pete Blanksma talked about the success of the Horse Poop Gambling (renamed Apple Road Roulette) in Idaho.  He has already talked to Darci Waterman (Apple Blossom Director), and she thought it would be great.  We would electronically grid the parade route and sell squares.  A computer would chart where the poop falls, and those who had those squares would be put in a drawing for several prizes, which we would acquire.

The ribfest and great watermelon race also had good responses. The committee will continue to work on these suggestions, so stay tuned.

We welcomed guests Adele (youth exchange), and George Broome.

May 12 Meeting Notes

23 people attended the meeting today.  Tom Utigard was present for the first time, and Leonard Noss was here again.  It was good to see them both.

Announcements

District Governor Peter Schultz dropped in (zoom) to say hi.  He gave us an update on what Rotary International is doing.  All staff travel has been cancelled through December, International Convention in Hawaii is cancelled, International Assembly in January will probably be cancelled, youth exchange will be cancelled, shortened, or postponed for next year, and more.  Peter did say that the work of Rotary is going on, and our district has been a leader in meeting virtually.

Kelly Walker relayed a message from Alan of a possible collaboration between our club and the Chelan Rotary club.  They have two bike rides scheduled September 19, and have over 300 riders registered now. They may need help putting the events on.  This would be a great opportunity for fellowship, and a chance to bring some much needed income.  More to come.

Have ideas for guest speakers?  This may be a great time to get good speakers from far away, since we are virtual now.  If you have ideas, contact Jim Huffman, Kathleen McNalty.

Program

Blakely Browne, director of Upper Valley Mend gleaning, gave a program on the efforts to provide foo for needy families though that program.  Upper Valley Mend, based in Leavenworth, is made up of several entities such including Community Trust, clinics, Community Cupboard, and others.  They partner with several valley partners including Serve Wenatchee, Wenatchee River Institute, summer camps, Boy Scouts, Rotary Lions, etc.  The gleaning part was actually started by Rotary 1st Harvest in Seattle, which spread to Wenatchee and then Leavenworth.

The gleaning groups harvests excess and non-marketable crops in the valley. Some stats in 2019:
     27,000 pounds harvested
     $77,135 in value
     71 volunteers
     427 hours of volunteer help
These figures were about half of the previous year, so the goal is to double the 2019 numbers in 2020.

Food harvested goes to Community Action for storage and distribution to various food banks and shelters in the area.  Get more information at uvmend.org or email Blakely at gleaning@uvmend.org.

May 5 Video Meeting Notes

Our virtual meeting was opened by President Taro Masuda, and our speaker, Jodee Smith, was introduced. Jodee is a 4th grade teacher at Washington Elementary School in Wenatchee. (She had an upcoming video class with her students, so we shuffled our normal meeting order.)

Some of our club members were appropriately dressed for Cinco de Mayo, May 5th, celebration to day!

Guests

Non-Rotarian Guests: Elza Domene, former Brazilian Youth Exchange student to Wenatchee 2 years ago. Jodee Smith, Washington Grade School teacher.

Program

Jodee Smith, grade school teacher, has been teaching for 12 years, but this is only her 4th year at Washington Elementary School. She's originally from Portland, OR, is married, has 3 daughters, and lives in Cashmere. This is her first time using video teaching.

The Wenatchee School District's first priority was to connect with students during this time of the covid-19 quarantines. Jodee said that she and her students didn't use any electronic technology in their classes, and had to catch up on the usage, unlike the middle schools and high schools that use that technology already. The District provided all training on the use of the Screencastify and Flipgrid software, and
web cameras.

The students are given assignments, the teachers follow their progress via on-line tracking, and follow-up with any questions or problems the student are having. Students' work and engagement of the subjects are tracked online for the students and the teachers to follow.

The school district has allowed teachers to use popular applications, like SnapChat, to make their
lessons (and appearance) more fun!

Occasionally, teachers will give feedback on the online learning process. Some of the positive comments are: great way to learn technology, provides team collaboration and district-wide cohesion. Some of the negatives comments are: it's TOUGH, induces a lot of anxiety, and online is not like face-to-face teaching!

Jodee answered some questions from the club members:
     Q: What's in store for teaching next year?
     A: Next year the District is planning on split shifts with less students in each classroom to isolate them.

     Q: Is there advancement criteria?
     A: Yes. Students' grades were frozen as of March 16, 2020, and that is the lowest grade you can get. Students are expected to improve from that level.

The club thanked Jodee Smith for updating us on the progress of education in the Wenatchee Valley.

Happy Bucks/Brags and Confessions

Erik Holmberg bragged about going golfing today with 3 other "family" members.

Jim and Carol Adamson were called out for having their color picture in the paper for the ad hoc Apple Blossom Parade this weekend. An "above-the-fold", color photography that spanned half the page should cost them $50 in Happy Bucks!

Announcements

Earl Crowe announced that the Wenatchee City fireworks were still scheduled for the night of July 4th, but the Walla Walla Point Park would not be open to the public. If there were not attendees, there would not be any parking, and our club would not be selling parking spots.

Jim Adamson reminded us of the Club Spring Team-Building Experience, Saturday, May 16th.
Amended Model for 2020 (VIRTUAL MEETING):
Zoom "VIRTUAL" Meeting. All participants MUST Register by using 1 of the 2 links below. Part of the process is to meet as a club, so PLEASE choose the correct day for your club (USA or Canada)
Saturday 16 May: 25 Clubs from USA 
Agenda...

9:00-9:30 Log into common Zoom meeting
10:00-11:00 Breakout session 1: Discussing "Best Practices"
11:00-12:00 Breakout session 2
12:00-1:00 Breakout in clubs (goals, club action items, strategic planning)
1:00-2:00 Back to main room for debrief, suggestions, social!

Specific Targeted Breakouts for 2020:

Leadership - For Presidents-Elect, Presidents, VP & others considering this track
Secretary - Best practices for all Club Secretaries (and those that help with data base management!)
Treasurer - Best practices for treasurers
Membership - Retaining members as well as attracting new members
Public Image & Marketing - How do we get the word out & stay connected with each other and the community
TRF & International Service - Anything to do with the Rotary Foundation or International Service
Community Service - Ideas for ways to serve in our Communities in our New Reality
Fundraising - Novel fundraising ideas… ESPECIALLY in times of social isolation!
Youth Service - Also many new considerations because of COVID-19
Member Experience - Focus on Club Vibrancy (program options, different socials, etc)
Rotary 101 - Discussion about the basics - Q&A

Register for CSTE 16 May 2020 (All Rotarians in USA Clubs)

You are invited to register for the CSTE-USA Zoom meeting.

When: May 16, 2020 09:30 AM PDT

Register in advance for this meeting:

https://zoom.us/meeting/register/tJUuce2tqjMsH9Yw9kLKl3kZWzUOYVnH4pv1

After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting.

Earl Crowe discussed the Local Races, form of a fund raiser. More information to follow.

Elza Moment

Elza Domene, our Brazilian Youth Exchange Student from 2 years ago, joined our video call. She said she has not been working, and has been home since March. She has been studying at the university, and enjoys that. She has a boy friend since September 2018!

Taro Masuda ended the meeting with a quote from The Cookie Monster: "No matter if you have a bad day, or a good day....Eat a cookie!"