Meeting Notes August 3, 2021

President Kathleen took control of the meeting at 7 am in the Pybus Board Room and she didn't stop there. PK led the Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag and she was so in the flow she went right on with the invocation!

Announcements

Kathleen confessed that last night was the first night since she became president that she was able to sleep through the night before a meeting. Congratulations, you're on the other side now!

Kathleen also announced the July Rotarian of the month, our own blogger, Chris! He has given advice, even when it wasn't asked for; participated in our July service projects, even when asked not to, and even made every July meeting in spite of the restraining order! Congratulations to his tenacity! Here he is showing off this summer's fashion!

Green cups are on the table. Don't forget to bring your change for the donation cups!

A big thank you went out to the Adamsons for being greeters today. Well, not exactly for greeting since they were conspicuously absent, but for getting great replacement greeters when they knew they wouldn't be here today. John and Dave did a great job!

Jackie reminded us that our final Farmer's Market Takeover is August 21st. East Wenatchee Rotary will get in on the act for the final two months this year. We'll also do a pet food drive for the Humane Society again as well. We'll plan to heavily promote our bike ride then too. This event helps our club be better known in our community so our cheerful attitude goes a long way toward explaining who we are!

Speaking of the Bike Ride, meeting tonight at the Hilton Garden Inn at 5pm. The peloton continues to grow, now almost 50. We're continuing to work on adding sponsors. Be ready for 9/25 because it's ready for you! I don't really even know what that means, but we're going to need everyone's help so put it on your calendar now!

Johnathan Thomas who helps us here at Pybus is looking for help with the Pacific Crest Church Summer Art Camp for kids age 4-17. Each table will have a different art experience, clay, water paint, etc. They need runners! I don't know what that has to do with art, but we're quick learners. This Thursday and Friday (8/5 & 8/6), 10-noon at Pybus. For questions or to volunteer, contact Johnathan at 670-8502.

Not this Saturday, but next, 8/14 will be the Clothes for the Classroom event at Town Toyota Center 6:30am to noon where we'll help give away backpacks and school clothes sponsored by CVCH and Serve Wenatchee Valley.

Dan gave a Rotary Foundation moment regarding the Annual Fund. Did you know that your $50 annual donation is matched by the club and that half of the donation goes to benefit projects right here in our District and the other half elsewhere? It's also one of the highest rated non-profits because of how it is structured. It is able to put every dollar donated to work on projects rather than being used to pay overhead.

Brags and Confessions

Robin bragged that she has a new Rotary shirt if people wanted to check it out and put an order together. Shirts are $24 and pretty styling. There is a discount if we put together a large enough order. She also had a water leak at her house last night and needs to meet with the adjuster today.

PJ had a home invader while he and Cookie were home who said he was looking for his 10-year-old son. Once PJ and Cookie got him out of their house and on his way, he noticed that the guy had driven around his house and it looked like he was casing his place. When PJ came into town, he stoped to talk to a couple of sheriff deputies who told him about the meeting last night that drew almost 2600 people to hear about the new Washington State laws that change how law enforcement are allowed to interact with the public. Under the new laws, they wouldn't be able to detain the home invader if they didn't catch him in the act, even if PJ identified him!

Joel showed off a flyer that Patrick had made on Youth Exchange. Get ready to gear up and support finding the right individual to represent our club abroad. Selection begins next month! They'll be outbound next summer and we'll support an inbound then too!

Ruth talked about her glamping experience that didn't turn out so well because they lost power! She put the camping back in glamping!

Robin came back up front to say that she forgot to mention the September 18 pridefest at Memorial Park from noon-6pm.

John S. bragged that he has been named executive director effective the start of next year. Way to go John!

Rebecca had a two week vacation in California and exchanged Rotary club flags with her Aunt from Fullerton!

Alan and Joel came early to help set up but Kevin got here earlier. You have to get up pretty early to beat Kevin. Especially when he has the somber task of lowering flags at Rotary park. This time due to the tragic line of duty death of Detective Jeremy Brown in Clark County.

Alan bragged that his grandson is 10-months old today! How time flies, it seems like just a year ago he was still in the womb. But you know how crazy COVID has been!

Kevin finished with the Rotary moment on why to join Rotary, with a list of 20 reasons and highlighted:

• #1 - Friendship = Fellowship
• #5 - Serve as a citizen in the community
• #9 - World Projects
• #20 - Opportunity to serve: Worldwide, our Area wide, and our local community.

Program

Trek store manager Mike Plank was in the Marine Corps from 2003-2008 and then went to college for natural resources. In 2010, he started working on Wildland fire crews and eventually worked his way up to engine captain. His last year of professionally fighting fires was in 2019. During COVID he took the opportunity to ride all over the West with his two sons ages 12 and 14. He also rode up to Mission Ridge this past week!

That was when he changed careers and started working at Trek where he quickly worked his way up to store manager. He says what attracted him was partly Trek's mission statement: they build only products they love, provide incredible hospitality to their customers, and change the world by getting more people on bikes.

He spoke passionately about partnering with other organizations such as the Evergreen Mountain Bike Alliance, Goathead Warriors, and Rotary to make a difference in our community and the world. They help through donations of money and time. One day a week one of their employees is designated to go work on trail maintenance and is paid by the company for their time. For National Night Out, they've donated bikes to the cause.

They want cycling to be prominent in our community and are excited to help promote these opportunities like our Apple Century bike ride. They are excited to be a sponsor and to have a tent to provide support for riders before they take off and then to have an opportunity to ride as well.

There were many questions and not surprisingly the first one was about the popular e-bikes. Sales of e-bikes have tripled in the past three years. They sold their hundredth e-bike last year at Christmas. This year? They sold their 100th e-bike two weeks ago.

There are three different classes of e-bikes so if you decide to get one, do some research and talk to the folks at Trek first. For example, if you want to ride it on the loop trail, you can't get a class 3 as they are banned from the trail because they can go up to 28 miles an hour. Different municipalities have different regulations. A traditional bike weight can vary, but on average is 25-30 pounds whereas an e-bike can weigh up to 50 pounds!

• Class I - 20 mph and less pedal assist
• Class II - Have a throttle
• Class III - up to 28 mph

People have asked to upgrade their e-bikes to go faster, but for now Trek is passing on those opportunities and offering other help instead. Modifications can cause the computer to malfunction or other issues and can run afoul of municipal regulations.

They currently have a waitlist for e-bikes as their is a shortage of materials, but no shortage of demand. Demand is up 40%, but supply is down 40%. And it's not just e-bikes, that holds true for all bikes. And the latest Trek bike? Not available until 2023!

There is lots of new technology and improvements. If you're interested, come down to Trek and they will be happy out talking about all of the latest changes in material and design. Want to know more about hydroforming? They'll geek out about it with you as long as you have time to listen.

One question was about partnering with the Evergreen Mountains Bike Alliance and Mission Ridge to open up access at the top of Mission Ridge. Mike said that unfortunately the geology is not great for this activity up there, too much soft dirt, shale, and loose rocks. They are working with Snoqualmie Pass to open that up more as a bike park. PJ mentioned that Jackson Hole recently spent $2.3 million to build trails, but it has to be profitable to make that kind of investment.

Mike said that studies show a 60% return on investment for what riders spend when they travel to an area to ride. He praised the local velo club with their Tuesday and Saturday rides. Trek isn't looking to create new, they only want to support others.

Interrupted by COVID, they have plans to offer bike repair and other evening classes this winter. In the meantime, bring in your bike and their sales and service folks will go over your bike issues with you.

Bill also offered to let people learn to fix bikes by riding in his SAG wagon during the Apple Century Ride in September as there are always a number of riders that break down!

We thanked Mike for coming to speak with us today and presented him with a children's book that will be donated to the local library in his honor.

Closing

Kathleen reminded everyone that next week's program is the honorable Richard DeRock and First Lady Robin. Glad to hear Robin finally made Richard honorable!

Kelly's ticket was drawn and so was her fate when she held up a yellow marble. Sorry you missed out on a $137 jackpot! That's ok, we'll add more money next week to entice someone to draw the winner out of hiding!

And a big thank you to Kelly who agreed to stay late and help clean up after us!

PK closed with this quote from Emo Phillips, "When I was a kid, I used to pray every night for a bicycle. Then I realized that the Lord doesn't work that way so I stole one and asked Him to forgive me!"