Announcements

Kathleen reported the next Pybus Farmers Market Take-Over is Saturday. Oct. 17th. Contact Kathleen if you would like to volunteer. There are still 3 two-hour shifts to fill. Wear your Rotary shirts, hats, masks, etc. We are the hosts and greeters. Let's have some fun and show off our Rotary spirit.

On October 31, Halloween, 2-4 pm, there will be a "Candy Drive" at Pybus Market. Parent will bring their kids by to pick up candy and drive off. If you are interested, contact Kathleen. If you attend plan to wear a costume or at least a mask.

John Schapman said the Monday apple gleaning event had to be cancelled, but the one for tonight, Tuesday, Sept. 29th, is still going to happen from 5-7 pm. Contact John Schapman if you would like to pick some apples to be donated to the local food bank. He will give you directions to his Uncle's orchard.

***Alan said that the Chelan-Douglas Community Action Council has applied to be awarded a $25k grant from State Farm Insurance Company's Neighborhood Assist Program. Public votes will determine the winner, so vote for your favorite (Chelan-Douglas Community Action Council) starting Wed. Sept. 23rd through Fri. Oct. 2nd at this link: Neighborhood Assist Vote often! The Community Action Council will use the money for a mobile food pantry. You can vote up to 10 times a day!!

Quarterly Club Accomplishments

President Earl reminded the club how busy we have been during these difficult times. During the first 3 months of this Rotary year, we had these activities:

    - Three service projects involving 19 volunteers (including 5 family members and 2 guests) for a total of 73 service hours)

    - Two socials (socially-distanced dinners) with 12 attendees

    - Seven club members took advantage of  District 5060 online training sessions.

Brags and Confessions

Bill and his partner Silva bragged about the dinner at District Governor Richard DeRock and wife Robin's home on Saturday. Taro & Patti also attended. Snow crab was on the menu!

Erik's son Raleigh got married to Nicole on Friday. Chris and Holly helped out with the wedding planning.

Kevin sported the purple/green/yellow unicorn wig and promised to pass it along to someone else in the club. Check your doorstep!

Robin confessed to sleeping in and missing an important Public Image Committee meeting at Pybus last Friday, then bragged about all the snow crab she served for dinner on Saturday!

Kathleen had lunch with club member Dave Freimuth, who got the golf course to donate a round of golf for our Road Apple Roulette fund raiser next year!

Wayne confessed to having sent the announcement about the blog out to all the club. He didn't set the template up correctly and sent it to each club member addressed with their first name and his last name (Massing). He paid $39, one dollar for each incorrect name! (He did get his own correct!)

Pete had two of his daughters get engaged recently. He also bragged about going elk hunting!

Taro bragged about all the snow crab at Robin's dinner that he and Patti attended!

Program

Rani Sampson introduced Cari Horning, from GWATA (Greater Wenatchee Area Technical Alliance). Cari is from the Quincy/George area, married to a farmer there and has 2 daughters. Cari has worked from Nike and Reebok before becoming part of the local school district. She is now a project manager for the UpSkill program featured by GWATA (www.upskill.gwata.org). 

Upskill was created by Microsoft and LinkedIn to upgrade a person's skills, especially digital skills. It helps those who are unemployed, under-employed or over-employed. These online classes are presented in different languages (English, Spanish, French, Portuguese, Japanese and Italian). After course completion, the certificate is automatically entered into your resume, if you have a LinkedIn account.

GWATA has partnered with the WSU (Go Cougars!) Extension program and the North Central Libraries to provide webinars within Chelan, Douglas and Okanagan Counties.

Earl said the club will donate a book to the children's library dedicated in her name and GWATA.

Sept 22 Meeting Notes

Announcements

Kathleen reported on the Pybus Take Over on Saturday. There was less of a crowd, but there were enthusiastic Wenatchee Sunrise Rotarians. The volunteers were Sam, Kathleen, Milt, Rebecca, John M., Jim & Carol Adamson, Dan & Jackie Rector (potential members), Craig, and John S. & his son Michael. 

The next Pybus Farmers Market Take-Over is Saturday. Oct. 17th. Contact Kathleen if you would like to volunteer. There are still 3 two-hour shifts to fill. Wear your Rotary shirts, hats, masks, etc. We are the hosts and greeters. Let's have some fun and show off our Rotary spirit.

There is still a $1000 grant available for businesses for PPE. Contact Kathleen for more details.

On October 31, Halloween, there will be a Candy Drive By at Pybus Market. Parent will bring their kids by to pick up candy and drive off. If you are interested, contact Kathleen. If you attend plan to wear a costume or at least a mask.

John Schapman has contacted the Upper Valley Mend's Gleaning Coordinator and offered apples from his Uncle's orchard that haven't been picked. If you are interested in picking apples on Monday, Sept. 28th, 5-7 pm or on Tuesday, Sept. 29th, contact John Schapman. Address will be provided to those volunteering.

Committee Report - Local and International Projects

Milt and Taro reported on projects. Locally, Taro said the Goathead Warriors were seeking volunteers to help eradicate the goathead weeds in the valley. The Warriors will be going out on Saturday and Sunday in October, 3rd &4th and 10th & 11th. More info will be furnished next week.

Taro reported that Make-A-Difference Day, Oct. 24th will be spent in Rotary Park. More details later.

A free reading program was being offered by St. Paul's School. Contact John McDarment for more details.

Milt said the Moses Lake Medical Team will not be going to Nigeria this year, but plan to do so in 2021. 

Brags and Confessions

Earl rescued his daughter Emma from CWU after the classes changed from in-person to video classes the day after she got on campus. She was happy to be back home in Wenatchee ready for video classes.

Kevin Love was the lucky recipient of the circulating, purple/green/yellow unicorn wig this week. He had ideas of wearing it with his ski helmet! It looks great on you, Kevin!!

Kevin (and wife Lynn) complemented Rebecca on the great dinner there with Jackie and Dan Rector and Rani Sampson. One of the Dinners for 6 during September.

Jill retired from Confluence Health after 7 years. Congratulations, Jill!

Rebecca paid a fine for Kevin's wig!!

John S. and his family picked about 100-150 pounds of apples from a local orchard. 

Alan said that the Chelan-Douglas Community Action Council has applied to be awarded a $25k grant from State Farm Insurance Company's Neighborhood Assist Program. Public votes will determine the winner, so vote for your favorite (Chelan-Douglas Community Action Council) starting Wed. Sept. 23rd through Fri. Oct. 2nd at: Neighborhood Assist Vote often! The Community Action Council will use the money for a mobile food pantry. You can vote up to 10 times a day!!

Program

John Schapman introduced Deb Miller, Executive Director of Action Health Partners. The AHP vision and mission are to educate, support and empower individuals to improve quality of life and well being by building relationships that reduce barrier to healthy communities.

Risk level assessment helps in the building of bridges to optimal health. Medicaid patients average 7-9 chronic illnesses. Helping those patients receive the correct healthcare reduces the use of hospital emergency rooms and hospital beds.

The Action Health Partners also assist in an overall health assessment every 3 years. The next one will be in 2022.

Service club volunteers can receive training to assist AHP.

Earl thanked Deb Miller and told her that the club would be donating a children's book to the North Central Libraries in her name.

September 15 Meeting Notes

Announcements

Pybus Take Over this Saturday, 7:30 - 1:30 (3 shifts). Wear you Rotary shirts, hats, masks, etc.  We are the hosts and greeters.  Let's have some fun and show off our Rotary spirit.

John S reported on the Board meeting with District Governor Richard DeRock.  It was a time of sharing how and what clubs around the district are doing.  Hybrid meetings are starting to take place, and goals for membership and Foundation are being pursued.

Craig Reese, our Rotary Foundation committee chair let us know that they are looking at events or activities for Foundation Month (November). The committee has goals for planned giving and obtaining grants.  Bill McDowell and Rani Sampson are also on the committee.

Brags and Confessions

Kathleen thanked Bill McDowell for his help researching gambling rules fr our Road Apple Roulette'

Robin is going to Southern California to visit mom and family.

Craig's son and wife are expecting - grand kid #4.

Chris and Holly were just starting to enjoy the empty nest when both sons moved back in.  Brian is now headed back to CWU, and Brady is moving in with some friends, so things will be back to just the two of them soon.

Carol & Jim had a great time hosting Craig & Tracy and Earl & Kaitlyn as part of the dinner for six social. Three other host will also conduct dinners for six this month.

Jim H said the Port District distributed CARE Act checks to businesses, and presented one $10,000 check to an orchardist who lost his orchard and business in the fire.

Alan had to cancel plans for a vacation with his wife, but had a good time hunkering down here.  He also bragged about the Community Action Council stepping up to help with food distributions.

Earl said his daughter, Emma, is back at CWU, so they are changing her room into an office.  Kaitlyn & Ethan are moving into a rental, so their home is emptying out a bit.

Jim H gave the Rotary moment by reading the 1950's RI initiative outlining the international responsibilities of Rotarians. International is one of our 5 avenues of service.

Program

Craig introduced Dr. Ron Rice, founder of Wheelchairs for Nigeria.  Ron isa graduate of Whitworth and Princeton Theological Seminary.  He spent years as a pastor, and is now involved in the fundraising for his non-profit. He dis a Rotarian and a Paul Harris Fellow.

Wheelchairs for Nigeria is a non-profit that provides hand-peddled tricycles for crippled polio survivors.  Nigeria has just been declared polio-free, but there are thousands of survivors suffering from the affects.  From a small start, the organization now employees 65 Nigerian (total wages $4000/mo), and have built and donated 20,000 tricycles all across Nigeria.  Each bike is built from bike arts, and costs $150 to make.The organization is now adopting a school for the deaf, canes for the blind, making artificial limbs, and distribution food.  Wheelchairs for Nigeria partners with Rotary clubs for support, and has received a large TRF matching grant.  The annual income each year is around $260,000, all going to the Nigeria project.  You can get more info, and watch more videos at their website, wheelchairsfornigeria.org.

September 8th Meeting Notes

Announcements

President Earl presented Kathleen McNalty with the Wenatchee Sunrise Rotarian of the Month award. Kathleen has been the focal point on many of our service projects. Most notably, the Pybus Farmers Market Take-Over, and the Goathead Warrior project. Kathleen, our Club Treasurer last year, has stepped up to be our President Elect. Congratulations, Kathleen!

Speaking of Taking Over the Farmers Market, Kathleen has these words: Our Rotary Club is doing the  Farmers Market “takeover” at Pybus on Saturday, September 19. The market is a non-profit organization and depends on volunteers to run smoothly each Saturday.  To sign up, email Kathleen at kmcnalty1@outlook.com or text 503-866-5599 to let me know what time you can help!! Shifts outlined below. Any amount of time you can donate is appreciated. 

Volunteers should wear their Rotary t-shirts and bling.  I will also have Rotary aprons to wear. 

Here are some things we can do on market day—

1. Staff the entrances and exits (we will have chairs available, so you don’t have to stand the entire time
• Greet people as the arrive; thank them as they leave
• Offer a mask if they don’t have one (it’s an offer, not a demand)
• Answer questions like: Is there any corn left?  Where is xxx vendor’s stall.  What time does the market close? Is Pybus open inside? Can I bring my dog?
2. Help vendors set up or break down their stalls. Offer to watch their stalls if they need a bathroom break.
3. Help market shoppers carry purchases if we can do it in a socially distanced way.
4. Shop!!

What to bring: Comfortable shoes, sunscreen, mask, family members who want to help, smile.

Below is the start of our volunteer list.  Email me at kmcnalty1@outlook.com or text 503-866-5599 to let me know what time you can help!!

7:30-9:30 - Kathleen, Sam

9:30-11:30 - Carol and Jim, Rebecca

11:30-1:30 - open as of Tuesday, Sept. 8th.

Carol Adamson reminded us that the Dinner Socials will take place in September.  We have 4 hosts and 16 guests who will having some dinner and fun time together.  If you missed this one, we'll be repeating this event later in the year.

Rebecca and Alan were working to try and get the 2nd Harvest trucks here, but there are no trucks available during the current pandemic. Alan was working with his sources to see if we could do some gleaning like we have in the past. Pick fruit from the trees after the harvest is finished, then we turn it over to the food bank. More info is coming. If you're interested, contact Rebecca. Earl with mail any information he gets.

The Wenatchee Rotary Club announced that they were having an ice cream social for local Rotarians in the parking lot of West Side High School on Sept. 16th, 4:30 to 5:30 pm. Masks and social distancing will be observed.

The Program Committee (Jim Huffman, chair) announced that he needed club speakers' names 2-3 weeks prior to their program date.

David Barshes spoke about the need for more mentors for the Challenge Scholarship program due to our increasing our scholarship candidates from 2 to 9 juniors. Contact David if you would like to get trained to be a mentor, and undergo a background check.

Jim Huffman relayed a message from former club member Heidi Black. Her family and home are safe after the recent wild fire approached their property. They used a water truck to save their home and some friends' home as well. All acreage that was planted was lost to the fire, but no one was hurt.

Kathleen introduced our guest, Jackie Rector, a realtor from Century 21, Snohomish. Kathleen met Jackie at last month's Famers Market Take-Over, and introduced her to our Rotary Club. Welcome, Jackie.

Board meeting September 14.

Brags/Confessions

Kathleen gave up $5 to brag about her going with her son Tyler and the Wenatchee Velo Club on a bike ride up Sunny Slope. She was always the last one to come up the hills, but she had fun and enjoyed the views. The ride was 44 miles!

Ruth donated $1 to brag about a trip to Alaska where she attended a 14 hour seminar. She enjoyed the moose and Denali.

David enjoyed taking his family to the cowboy town of Winthrop, and spent time walking around. $1.

Milt spoke with a young man whom Milt mentored in the past. Alex is now 22 years old and is trying to get into medical school.

Wayne Massing asked anyone in the club with a 2-3 bedroom rental to contact him. One of our previous Challenge Scholar's family is in need of a rental home.

Program

Carol Adamson introduced Ron Berschauer, owner of Jerry's Auto, a local auto parts store. Carol has
known Ron and his wife Kathy for 30 years. Ron is originally from Ephrata, and is a WSU graduate (Go Cougars!). Ron opened the program about how a small business can survive during a crisis, like the CoVid pandemic. Jerry's Auto's survival was their upper management team and the individuals' values in the organization. They had many discussions to achieve common goals and embrace the many changes and regulations put before them. The auto parts store was initially declared an "essential business" because of the critical needs of the agricultural industry. They even had a parts unit inside the Chelan Public Utility District to support that utility's vehicles.

Their primary focus was to protect the employees' health and the customers' health. They chose innovative methods to keep 6 feet of distance between the customers and the clerk, by piling cases of merchandise in front of the sales counters. They started the employees wearing masks immediately. Later, they switched to a more comfortable fitting mask so the employees didn't have to touch their faces to adjust the mask. Some opted to use a neck bandana.

Because of the swift adoption of strict rules to prevent the spread of the virus, none of his 91 employees became ill from the CoVid virus! Ten employees were furloughed because they were over 60 years old and felt they might be vulnerable to becoming ill.

Jerry's survived by embracing technology! They started online sales of their auto parts, and the customers could check part availability at multiple Jerry's stores. Buying online and having the part available at the closest store was an important business decision. They also have 6 trucks for delivery to the customers' homes or business place. Order by noon and have it delivered the same day!

Ron stressed shopping locally to support local merchants. He gave several examples of local businesses closing because shoppers chose to order from a remote chain store.

Ron is the retired CEO now. He gave the name Jerry's to his store to honor his brother Jerry.

President Earl thanked Ron for being our speaker, and said that the club was donating a children's' book in his name to the North Central Library.

Earl closed the meeting with a quote from an unknown author: "Be someone's sunshine when their skies are gray!". Meeting adjourned at 8:05 a.m. 

September 1 Meeting Notes

Announcements

We are looking for a 2-3 bedroom apartment for a challenge scholar and her family.  Contact Wayne of you have any leads.

We are taking over hosting duties again for the the Sept. 19 Pybus Farmer's Market. Kathleen will make a sigh up sheet, but you can email her if you can do one of the shifts (7:30-1:30).

Dinner socials will take place in September.  We have 4 hosts and 16 guests who will having some dinner and fun tome together.  If you missed this one, we'll be repeating this event later in the year.

Board meeting September 14.

Brags/Confessions

Chris found a replacement for son Brian so he can now commute to and from CWU

John S wore the unicorn hat, and will pass it on (look out). His daughter turned one, and school started online for their son.  He was instrumental in helping the school raise $75,000.

Kevin survived 8 days with their grandson.

Robin's friend (a DG from another district) has recovered from COVID.

Kathleen is back from their trip to Orcas and Lopez Islands.

Rebecca was a zoom guest at h er aunt's Rotary club in California.

Rotary Moment 

Wayne gave the Rotary Moment by telling us about Rotary Fellowship Groups. These are made up of Rotarians from all over the world who meet virtually or in person to share their common interests in a variety of areas (skiing, bridge, biking, travel chess, fishing, etc).  There are lots of fellowship groups, and we encourage our members to check them out and join one or two.

Program

Carol introduced Darci Christopherson, Director of the Washington State Apple Blossom Festival.  Darci was Apple Blossom Queen in 1985, and has been the director of the festival for the last 27 years. She has a BA in mass communications, and went to work after college at KYSN Country radio, and then Nikkle Ads. Through these jobs she made many connections, which has been very helpful for one of the most important aspects of her festival job - relationships with sponsors and volunteers.Darci discussed a bit of AB history. The festival broke away from the Chamber in 1994, the year Darci started as festival director.  Cruising was banned in 1995.  The $300,000 budget then has grown to $600,000 today, with more activities, entertainment, etc.  The festival has been impacted greatly from COVID.  Cancellation of the 2020 festival, postponement of the big auction, loss of revenue from festival activities, Royalty with no where to go, etc.  They are working on plans and contingencies for 2021 pageant and festival, and the festival is financially in good shape for now.  

Next week's program is Ron Berschauer, owner of Jerry's Auto, who will talk about how small businesses can survive in this day and age.