August 25 Meeting Notes

 

Postponed!

                                                                                                                                                            On our club's former Youth Exchange Student Paula Mota was supposed to join our Zoom call today, but that was not to happen! Paula called Tom Utigard from Brazil to say that both of her parents had the CoVid-19 virus, were recovering and were due to be released from the hospital today! However, her 92 year old grandfather was not feeling well, and they were going to get him tested for the virus. We hope to have Paula on a future call. Our thoughts and prayers go out to Paula and her family!

Announcements

Next week's program will be Darci Christopherson, Executive Director of the Washington State Apple Blossom Festival.

The Rotary takeover of the Wenatchee Valley Farmers Market at Pybus Public Market was a success on

Saturday, Aug. 22nd.  Kathleen said we were there to greet people, offer masks, and be hospitable ambassadors at the Farmer's Market. Saturday volunteers were: Robin, Sam, Taro and Patti, John and Betsy, Chris, Rebecca, Milt, David, Kathleen and Ruth. A total of 26 hours were worked! Thanks for volunteering! 

Other dates this Summer and Fall also exist for volunteering: Sat. Sept. 19th and Sat. Oct. 17th. Shifts are 7:30-9:30, 9:30-11:30 and 11:30-1:30. Please contact Katherine McNalty if you wish to volunteer. 

Wenatchee Sunrise Rotarian Tom Utigard was presented with an Honorary Membership for his 33 years of selfless service. His part in the Apple Century Bike Ride every year helped make that ride famous

throughout the state and a great success in funding our club's Challenge Scholarship Program. His fellowship and social get togethers, especially the Club Barbeque in his orchard, are legendary! He and his wife Shari are always invited to attend club meeting, socials, volunteer projects and award ceremonies. Congratulations, Tom! (Tom was Wayne Massing's sponsor!)

Rebecca Lyons said the club social on Sunday, Aug. 23rd was a lot of fun! There were four couples who attended: Jim & Carol, Chris & Holly, John & Betsy, and Robin & Richard. A pink unicorn costume, worn by, none other than Robin, made a startling appearance at Rebecca's door! Masks were worn, the weather was nice, and the fellowship was unparalleled!

Carol reminded us of the Six in September dinner. It will be dinners for 6 at members' homes during Sept.  If you would like to either host or participate, please email Ruth @ rldagg@gmail.com.  The social committee will assign groups, and the host will call to arrange a time to meet. Hosts will provide the main dish and guests are to bring a side dish. This should be a great way to meet in a smaller setting.

There are currently 6 couples signed up to host, but none to be dinner guests. Please email Ruth @ rldagg@gmail.com if you wish to be a diner!

Committee Report

The Fundraising Committee report was given by PJ Jones. The Road Apple Roulette at the next Apple Blossom Parade is taking shape. Our club has received the proprietary software to operate the event, and several prizes have already been donated. Stay tuned for more info on this unique drawing!

 

Brags & Confessions

President Earl donated $5 for being able to get on a paddle board at his son-in-law's (Ethan) birthday party at the park!

Robin DeRock's Black Hawk Hockey Team lost in the playoffs. $5 left her pocket!

Kevin Love introduced us to his grandson Marshall. He gave up $5.

John Schapman experienced his one year old daughter losing her first baby tooth while camping near Port Townsend. He donated $5.

Wayne bragged about a road trip to the end of Entiat River Road! He and his wife Karen saw deer, wild turkeys, mountain sheep and mountain goats. He parted with $1.

Rotary Moment

Jim Huffman gave the Rotary Moment today. He shared how Rotary operates, and how our club fits into the world-wide Rotary purpose. He talked about our Challenge Scholar Program and how it is funded by the Apple Century Bike Ride.

Program

Jim Adamson showed a video of Past Rotary International President Chris Docterman speaking to a group of Rotarians at PETS (President-Elect Training Seminar). His suggestions were to make your Rotary Club relevant in the 21st Century, and to create a Rotary identity within your community.

Jim rounded out the program with some Rotary District 5060 projects that show Rotary's name in communities around our District.

After the program, Jim opened up questions from club members to ask of any of the other members.

    - Rebecca asked about the 2nd Harvest Program. Jim said we have suspended working with them during the period of CoVid-19, and that the costs have gone up.

    - PJ was asked about possibly repainting the bandshell downtown with a pretty Rotary blue paint. He said the "green paint was......unintelligible...." We all agreed!

    - Earl was asked by Jim what the most memorable event was in his Navy career. He said it was hanging over the side of the ship painting it while in the Atlantic Ocean!

    - John Schapman was asked by Sergeant at Arms Wayne Massing where was the green-yellow-purple wig that was going around the club with strict instructions to keep it going. John said he still had it. Wayne fined him $3 for "failure to keep a Rotary Club tradition going"!

    - Earl asked Jim Huffman what the significance of his frequent references to lithium. Jim said most all mobile phones and electronics depend upon lithium!

    - Robin asked Jim Huffman what prompted his liking of Chuck Norris. 'Fun, I guess', Jim retorted.

    - Jim Huffman asked Tom Utigard about his orchard. Tom said he has campers staying there for the next several weekends.

Someone asked our guest, Jackie Rector, about her background. She inquired about our Rotary Club during our Take Over the Farmer's Market this last Saturday. Kathleen McNalty was quick to get her the ZOOM meeting information so she could attend today's virtual meeting.

Jackie and her husband are realtors from Ballard. They decided to leave the Seattle area and move to Wenatchee. Both are working remotely and have to occasionally drive to Seattle for real estate business. Jackie has been involved in some leadership roles with the Seattle Junior League, and community food bank volunteering. She seemed to have some good ideas of community involvement in Wenatchee, and we would love to have her for our newest member. (She's also a Cougar!)

After a quote from Babe Ruth about baseball, President Earl closed the meeting at 8:00 a.m.

August 18 meeting notes

Announcements

Saturday Pybus Service Project - we have several members who will take on the three shifts to be ambassadors and greeters at the market.  If you want to join in, contact Kathleen or just show up between 7:30 and 1:00.

Sunday is the social at Rebecca's home.  Starts at 5:30.  Bring appetizer, drink of choice, and masks.  Mari is available to babysit.  Family and guests welcome.

Dinner for six social is coming next month.  We have 4-5 hosts, and just need people willing to come for dinner.  You may be asked to bring a salad, side, or dessert.  This will be a great way to get to know other members.  Contact Ruth, Rebecca, or Carol if you want to participate.

Committee Report - Public Image\

Wayne reported for the committee.  Our Facebook presence is growing, and the website has been updated.  Be sure to check them out, like, share, and enjoy.

Brags & Confessions

Wayne found his picture in the RI promotional website for the Taipai Convention.  

Chris was thankful that his son, Brian, was able to walk away from a car accident near Quincy.  Also has a birthday coming.

Robin bragged that her Blackhawks are in the hockey playoffs.  She also spent 4 days of cell-free camping at Cottonwood Campground near Entiat.  

Rebecca reconnected with friends from her grad school days.

Milt reported that Leonard is doing well at home, but will not be coming to meetings.  He would love calls, emails, cards, etc to stay connected.  His phone is 662-2076.

Earl said daughter, Emma, has now been assigned a dorm room at CWU.

Sgt. at Arms - Wayne gave a Rotary moment about Service Above Self demonstrated during his neighbor's house fire last week.  Firefighters went above and beyond, including the captain, who is a member of the East Wenatchee rotary Club.

Program

Patti Masuda introduced Heather Lennie, a Toronto Rotarian living in Vietnam.  Heather told us about her Rotary involvement (former RYLA member), and the non-profit she helped start called the Free Reading Program - "Literacy Lasts a Lifetime".  In 2018 she also started a non-profit to support the program. This young lady has been a lecturer, librarian, and teacher.  She has spoken to over 300 Rotary clubs about the Free Reading Program.

The program is an online reading program with lots of literacy resources for grades K-6.  The resources are great for parents who home school, and organizations looking for reading resources.  

Here are some of the highlights:

310,000 users from 180 countries

5000 joining the program monthly

an equivalent of 3.4 million books read

over 1 million affected learners

at home and/or online

engaging and interactive

3600 activities

key reading concepts

100+ Rotary clubs involved

program received District literacy award 3 years in a row, and the Zone Public Image award

custom Rotary branding for clubs supporting the project

basic education and literacy focus (one of the RI supported goals)

Help is needed to maintain the technology needed to support students globally.  A Rotary club can join the fun for a one time $250 set-up fee, and $5/child for a whole year.  Our International Project Committee may jump on this one.

Find out more at the following:

website    www.freereadingprogram.com

charity     www.edcomcenter.org

email       heather@freereadingprogram.com

Meeting Notes August 11

Surprise, Surprise!

                                                                                                                                                            On our club's Tuesday morning ZOOM call, the club members were pleasantly surprised by the appearance of our former Youth Exchange Student Paula Mota, all the way from Brazil! She now is married, has a 2 year old son, and is a professor at a local university! She has agreed to join our Zoom call on Tuesday, August 25, at 7 a.m., and be our program! Don't miss catching up on her life! We have another surprise for that morning as well!!

Announcements

August 22 is the Rotary Pybus takeover.  Kathleen had a sign up sheet with times of 7:30 - 9:30, 9:30 -11:30, and 11:30 - 1:30.  Contact her if you can take a shift.  We are just being there to greet people, offer masks, and be hospitable ambassadors at the Farmer's Market. Other dates this Summer and Fall also exist for volunteering: Sat. Sept. 19th and Sat. Oct. 17th. Same times.

President Earl Crowe announced that Erik Holmberg has requested to be removed from the President-Elect position for the time being. Personal matters necessitated this action. The Board of Directors approved moving Kathleen McNalty from Vice President to the President-Elect position. Kathleen also approved the move. The Board also decided to leave the VP position open until the December 2020 elections to offer the position to more candidates.

Earl also told the club about the District 5060 Online Store. The Ellensburg Morning Rotary Club has already modeled their on-line store after the District's. Our club's online store would allow money collected for Brags & Confessions, Happy Bucks, Fines and other purchases to be added to a member's quarterly bills. The Club Treasurer Craig Reese would manage that. More information is coming on this.

Committee Reports

The Social and Fellowship Committee, Ruth Dagg, Rebecca Lyons and Carol Adamson, have these events planned for our club and their families:

• August Appetizers will be held at the home of Rebecca Lyons. Spouses and families are invited.  Child care can be provided with a donation to Rebecca's daughter Mari and her friend.  Each member is asked to bring a bottle of wine, or favorite beverage, and an appetizer to share.  Rebecca has a lovely home with a large deck and lawn, so we can be outside and spaced.  Her address is:  7491 Pot O' Gold Lane, past Rocky Reach Dam.  More on directions later.   Date Sunday, August 23, 5:30 to 7:30 pm. Please RSVP to Rebecca, 509-230-9378, Ruth 860-377-9800 or Carol 509-630-2120.  Great time to meet family members and prospective members. Bring your masks.  

• Six in September. Will be dinners for 6 at members' homes.  If you would like to either host or participate, please email Ruth @ rldagg@gmail.com.  The social committee will assign groups and the host will call to arrange a time to meet. Hosts will provide the main dish and guests can bring a side dish. This should be a great way to meet in a smaller setting.  So far, Jim and Carol and Robin have signed up to host.

The Bike Ride Committee (Alan Walker, chair) said 2021 Apple Century Bike Ride is still being planned. Alan Walker will have more information about this classic event later.

The Fundraiser Committee (PJ Jones and Pete Blanksma, co-chairs) announced that the Road Apple Roulette at the 2021 Apple Blossom Parade is into the planning stage. Our club has secured exclusive rights to use the software provided by the Hailey, Idaho Rotary Club. We anticipate selling tickets to win a chance on the prize drawings. Our club's budget has been approved to fund this event. Stay tuned for more info on this unique drawing!

The Youth Exchange Committee announced that Youth Exchange has been cancelled for 2021. Stay in touch for when it starts up again!

The Public Image Committee (Chris McDarment and Wayne Massing, co-chairs) have been hard at work; updating the club's website, blog, Facebook page, Instagram page, and getting some newspaper stories readied. Robin DeRock would like everyone to "LIKE" her on Facebook to get wider coverage on our club's Facebook page! Check them out.

The Challenge Scholarship Committee (David Barshes, chair) is working with 9 scholars this year; 8 from West Side High and 1 from Eastmont High. Mentors are being collected and training is being planned. President Earl said he is arranging, though a program with the Washington State Patrol, to get free background checks for the mentors, rather than have the club pay for each one.

The Rotary Foundation Committee (Craig Reese, chair). President Earl asked Roni Samson and Bill McDowell to be members of this committee and both agreed.

Brags & Confessions

President Earl and his wife Joy have been married for 24 years. He's donating $24 for the brag!

Robin DeRock's Black Hawk Hockey Team qualified for the playoffs. Same thing for the Pittsburg team. She donated $10 for the info. Also, starting Aug. 26th, Robin will be home schooling her grandchildren 3 days a week, while their mother teaches other grades.

Kevin Love made a rare appearance to brag about his and Lynn's 42nd anniversary, and a newly painted house! He gave up $1.

Carol Adamson bragged about taking part of Jim's office at home and turning it into a big pantry! Husband Jim did some high altitude work putting on a new roof! $2 changed hands.

Rebecca confessed to missing yesterday's Board Meeting!

Craig Reese's son turns 30 years old tomorrow and is the last of his children to leave the nest. $30 for that brag!

John McDarment las been living in the same house for 43 years, and just got his door bell fixed. His son Chris did the high voltage work! $5 bragging rights!

Kelly and Alan Walker also had a door bell story. Their new condo's door bell is now fixed!

Program

President Earl Crowe presented his 2020-2021 Wenatchee Sunrise Rotary Club Goals:

1. Club Membership - Number of club members on 06/30/2021: 45

2. Service Participation - Number of different club members participating in service projects during the year: 30

3. Member Sponsors - Number of club members sponsoring a new member during the year: 5

4. Rotarian Action Group Participation - Number of club members participating in a RAG during the year: 1

5. Leadership Development Participation - Number of club members who participated in leadership development training or opportunities during the year: 5

6. District Conference Attendance - Number of club members who attend the district conference: 20

7. Rotary Fellowship Participation - Number of club members who participated in fellowship activities: 25

8. District Training Participation - Number of club members who attend the district spring training: 4

9. Annual Fund Contributions - Donation to the Rotary Annual Fund: $4,500.00

10. Polio Plus Contributions - Donation to the Polio Plus Campaign: $1,500.00

11. Bequest Society Members - Number of club members making a $10,000 pledge to become members of the Bequest Society during the year: 2

12. Benefactors - Number of club member making a pledge to become a foundation benefactor: 4

13. Service Projects - Number of service projects will your club complete this year: 10

14. Strategic Plan - Does your club have an up to date strategic plan: We Will

15. Online Presence - Does your club’s online presence accurately reflect your current activities: Yes

16. Social Activities - Number of social activities outside of club meetings will your club host this year: 8

17. Update Website and Social Media - Number of times per month will your club’s website and social media accounts be updated: 4

18. Media Stories About Club Projects - Number of media stories will be printed or broadcasted about club projects during the year: 2

19. Use of Official Rotary Promotional Materials – Will your club use RI’s promotional materials to promote your club and projects during the year: YES

President Earl Crowe also requested that anyone attending training, to please let him know the dates and hours attended.

Earl closed the meeting with the quote: "Do what is RIGHT! Not what is easy or popular!"

August 4 Meeting Notes

Announcements

Robin DeRock was honored as our July Rotarian of the Month by President Earl.  Robin jumped right in to help with the virtual run fundraiser, which brought in $765 after expenses. Robin received an envelope in the mail not to be opened until Tuesday's meeting.  The envelope contained a nice certificate and a Rotarian of the Month pin.

August 22 is the Rotary Pybus takeover.  Kathleen had a sign up sheet with times of 7:30 - 9:30, 9:30 -11:30, and 11:30 - 1:30.  Contact her if you can take a shift.  We are just being there to greet people, offer masks, and be hospitable ambassadors at the Farmer's Market.

The Goathead Warrior weed pulling was a success last Saturday.  12 members and 3 family members put in a combined 22.5 hours collecting 8 large bags of goatheads.  See pictures.

The Membership Committee (Jim Adamson & John McDarment) gave a report on this year's plans.  We need more members, and it is everyone's responsibility to find prospects.  Ask guest to visit a Tuesday morning zoom meeting (you can give them the link), service project or social. We also want to figure out how to engage our members who never attend our zoom meetings.

Brags and Confessions

Robin's Chicago Blackhawk hockey team lost on and won one.

Chris said his new team (Seattle Kracken) has not lost yet (have they played yet?).

Carol said there was $20 in mask donations left over that was deposited into the club account.

Jim H is 6-years cancer free.

Erik and his wife did the 10K virtual run, and and former YE student Joseph did the half marathon.  Erik also limited out opening day of Sockeye Salmon fishing.

Program

Nancy Grette, owner of Alatheia Riding Center gave the program.  Alatheia has been in operation for 10 years.  They have 12 horses, and 200 trained volunteer on their 3 acre facility.  They have purchases 12 acres on Easy Street, and have a capital fundraising campaign hoping to open at the new location in 3 years.  They have reopened their current site in June, and have COVID safety protocol in place.  Participants are now only coming every other week.

They recently started a program for veterans called Warrior and Horses.  Veterans can deal with issues like PTSD, stress and depression over an 8-week program.  The program is led by a licensed mental health professional and an equine specialist.  They have seem decreases in mental issues of 20-25%.

They have 8 Vets so far, 50 hours with the horses, and 300 hours with the mental health professional.

They need 3 volunteers for every rider, and with 3000 hours of riding time a year there is an opportunity for volunteers.  There is an hour a week commitment.  For more information, see their web site at www.alatheiaridingcenter.com.