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.