President Earl opened the meeting at 7:00 am. Craig led the club in the Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag, and Chris gave the invocation.
Announcements
Rotarian of the month for May was Erik for:
- donating a much needed laptop to the club
- for getting the laptop set up with all the necessary software for Zoom, etc.
- matching donations $:$ to Stage Kids and then upping his donation
- for agreeing to host a pre-function for the June club outing to Wizard of Oz
Way to set the "stage" for the rest of us!
Earl gave an update on Jim - they got all of the cancer out, but he's having some other struggles. His spirits are up and he really appreciated our card. Keep him in your thoughts and prayers!
The all-service club luncheon will be June 9th; doors open at 11:30am and lunch is at noon. John Norlin is the keynote speaker. A Wenatchee high school graduate, he is co-founder of Character Strong - an organization that provides training and curriculum for schools internationally. See Earl for tickets.
Stage Kids Wizard of Oz outing on June 18th. Meet at Holmbergs for a potluck at 5 pm, BYOB. Show starts at 7 pm at the Community Hall at Grace City church.
Kathleen and Jackie reminded us of our upcoming Farmers' Market takeover on June 19th. This is a great opportunity to get out in the community and help them set up, help market goers get their items to their vehicles, and spend time with each other! This month, we are doing a pet parade (no charge) and we will be handing out frisbees with the Rotary logo. Firehouse Pet Shop will be partnering some and will provide some swag. Email Kathleen or Jackie for available times, or sign up on Tuesday!
Wayne did a surprise pin check. Wear yours with pride and let others know how to get involved with us!
Brags/Confessions
Kevin has been gone for a month and bragged about his travels to see his daughter in Boise (and grand baby), Salt Lake City, Bryce Canyon, Moab, and many other parks. Sounded like a great trip!
Robin confessed her mom has arrived and everyone has survived, so far... She brought her chihuahua with her so if anyone is looking for their forever dog...she might just have a lead on one for you. Also, her first hockey grand baby is expected any time!
Ruth donated a dollar for each of her children who have served in the military in honor of Memorial Day weekend.
He also confessed that he and Holly adopted a German shepherd from the humane society this past week. What was he thinking! So far so good, though! They named him Rip after the ranch foreman in the series "Yellowstone", who was also an orphan.
One warning though, if Rip rips, RIP Rip!
Program
Kathleen reminisced about her youth and going to Washington Senator games with her dad. She also had a son who played high school baseball for Cashmere. She was in Oakland this past weekend and even made time to go to an A's game. She has also been a host for Applesox players, which made her the perfect person to introduce Jose Oglesby (owner) and Riley Chestnut (play-by-play announcer) for the Applesox.
Jose started with a Grateful Dead quote - "What a long, strange trip it's been". He grew up in Columbia and Panama, listening to baseball on the radio, but went to college in Boston where he became a Red Sox fan. Then, in 1990, he began working at Microsoft as a software engineer, and finally left in 2016 after 26 year career there.
He knows it's been a while so let's play ball! He's really looking forward to it. He's grateful for the fans, players, host families and all of the other things that make the team and season work. They have a new scoreboard and you can order from your seat (but you still have to go pick it up, for at least one more season). There's new merchandise, of course, and COVID protocols.
There will be vaccinated and unvaccinated sections as required by the state. The unvaccinated section will be at 25% capacity to provide for the necessary spacing. Masks will be on the honor system like elsewhere, so please mask up if you haven't been vaccinated. It's an outdoor event so that helps. All but two players are vaccinated, but they have plans to be vaccinated shortly after arrival.
Riley is from Central Texas and mentioned that it's the first time in a while for the players to have an opportunity to get out there and show their talent and get noticed by scouts. The players come from Junior College programs and high school kids committed to D1 schools such as Gonzaga, Oregon, LSU, and others. They're still looking for billets for 10-14 players. If you've ever thought about hosting a player or two, you won't regret it! Call the team at 665-6900 for more information. Season tickets are provided as compensation.
The players are arriving now (about 14 of 42 are already here) and opening night is tonight! The season runs into the beginning of August, mid-August in years we make the championship. A couple of players to watch are Garrett Cutting (Las Vegas, NV) and Jacob Hughes (Eagle, Idaho), but there are lots of great players on the team.
Jose became interested in ownership when he saw the Seahawks punter become a minor league owner. The Rainiers were available, but had a high entry point, so he started asking around and found out about the availability of the Applesox in a town he already was regularly visiting. He began discussing with Jim Corcoran (former owner) and over 9 months the deal came together. Jim and long time assistant general manager/co-owner Ken Osborne stayed on to help the transition. Jose has a passion for baseball and this team and is happy to have a great relationship with Wenatchee Valley College and hopes we'll meet him at the ballpark for some games this year!
Raffle
reached in for the silver marble to grab the gold, but alas, it was not to be. Better luck next week!
Closing
"If plan A doesn't work, the alphabet has 25 more letters - 204 if you're in Japan." - Claire Cook
Sounds like a good plan for the marble draw! Have a great week everyone!
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