January 25 Meeting Notes

Announcements

Pete VanWell of the Wenatchee Rotary Club was here to promote their auction this Saturday, 5:30-9:30.  This will be a huge event with lots of games, and over 750 auction items.  Our club has purchased a table, so let Kathleen know if you'd like to join (no cost to you, just bid on some items).  

Earl has raffle tickets for all of us to sell.  This is a new fundraiser, and will only be successful if everyone is helping to sell tickets.  You can also purchase a bunch for yourself.  Earl has done about all the work on this, but we need to be the ones selling the tickets.

Public Relations committee meets Friday, 5:30 at Hilton Garden Inn.  Everyone welcome.

Braggs & Confessions

Alan & Kelly are back from a great trip to Hawaii

Jim A played a short sound bite of his grandson commentating at a Linfield College men's basketball game.  He got a bit excited about a half court shot at the buzzer to send the game into a 2nd overtime.

Earl, Kathleen, Jim A, and Carol all paid for birthdays.

Robin's mom is now in assisted care, giving her more time and energy to do Rotary things.

Guess who uses this mug at the meeting? 

You, too, can select a custom mug each Tuesday, along with a great breakfast offering.

Program

Mario Perez, Operations Director for Foray/Mela Coffee Company, gave an informative talk on the history of coffee, and the Foray/Mela business mission. 

Coffee actually got its start in Ethiopia, then spread to the Netherlands and South America, all from the parent plant.  Brazil is now the number 1 producer of coffee, followed by Viet Nam and Columbia. Mario talked about the two varieties - Arabica and Robusta, and single origin vs blended.  He also talked about all the steps in making coffee, from the farmers, to storage and processing, to roasting, to brewing.

Mario discussed how Foray roasts and brews it coffee, and how they blend this with new technology.  They have an app that times the brewing of your coffee with when you will drive up to the window, blending quality with convivence.  To Mario, coffee is more than a good drink.  It creates memories when people get together around a cup of java. Kathleen presented Mario with the traditional children's book that we will donate the library in his name.

After Notes

Milt (on zoom) had his raffle ticket drawn, but the wrong marble was pulled out.  $80+ next week.

Next week's program is Rani Sampson will talk about scams we should all be cautious about.

Greeters for February are Wayne and Sam.  Please find a sub if you will not be at the meetings.

Feb. 1 set-up - Jim A       Clean-up - Dave F