A successful Golf Tournament fundraiser, and we learned about a new facility for military families on JBLM.
Notes from the August 10 meeting of
The Rotary Club of Clover Park
recorded by Tom McClellan
Our greeters were Georgene Mellom (in person) and Sue Potter (in the metaverse). And as usual, Mike Killen and David Cotant made sure that the meeting was set up and prepared for us.
The meeting started with Jeannie Hill sharing 3 inspirational thoughts to get us in the mood:
1. What you get by achieving your goals is not as important as what you become by achieving your goals. - - - Henry David Thoreau
2. If you want to live a happy life, tie it to a goal, not people or objects. - - - Albert Einstein
3. I destroy my enemies when I make them my friends. - - - Abraham Lincoln
We had one guest at our meeting, our guest speaker Brittany Gautschi.
Sunshine Report
Jeannie Hill shared the sad news that Dr. James Billingsley passed away last week at age 91. The father of Alan Billingsley, and grandfather of Ellie Carr, James had suffered a stroke from which he did not recover. It was a blessing to his family that he was able to go home and to pass away surrounded by family members, who all got a chance to say goodbye.
Future Programs
Aug. 17 Gretchen Caserotti, Pierce County Library System
Aug. 24 Kyle Crawford, Children’s Feeding Program at St Leo’s
Aug. 31 Sue Potter, Food Waste - An Environmental Problem
Announcements
The Golf Tournament was a big success. We hosted 119 golfers, which is more than any past year. We also had more volunteers out helping. And the weather cooperated. Gross receipts were around $27k, which beat the $25k estimate. Expenses were around $10k. A full accounting is coming soon. Thanks to all Rotarians, players, and volunteers who participated.
Club Administration Director Sheri Hodson spoke about getting our club’s committees better organized, and pass around preference sheets for which committees that members would like to serve on.
Look for further communication on this. We have many functions of our club, and our members have many talents, so this is an effort to match up those skills and functions to make things run better.
Foundation Minute
WHAT IS ROTARY DIRECT?
Support Rotary’s Foundation year-round by making an automatic recurring gift with Rotary Direct. You choose how much and how often to give. It’s a simple and secure way to make a big impact!
Online credit card contributions can be made monthly, quarterly, or annually, with a US$10 transaction minimum. Donors can also enroll using the Rotary Direct enrollment form, The Rotary Foundation Contribution Form, by calling the Support Center at +1-866-9ROTARY, or by going online at my.rotary.org/rotary-direct.
Donors can change or cancel their recurring giving online at any time through My Rotary. After you sign in, go to Account Settings by following the link in the upper right. Then choose the Donor Self Service tab.
Rotary Direct is safe, secure and easy… Sign up today!
And Georgene Mellom says that anyone who signs up to do automatic Foundation donation withdrawal, in any allowable amount, will receive a gift of $5 of club raffle tickets at the August 17 meeting. If you have any questions about signing up, contact Georgene at gmellom@iCloud.com.
Membership Minute
Membership Director Gretchen Allen noted that the board has approved Tricia Borgardt, the new President of the Board of the Lakewood Playhouse. Her name was read to the club members, and if anyone knows of a good reason why she would not make a good member of our club, please contact Gretchen or any of the club’s board members. Raising such issues is not a “blackball” disapproval, but rather an opportunity for the board to reexamine the suitability of any candidate for membership in Rotary.
Gretchen also asked members to keep your eyes open for a videographer in our area who might be able to help do a project on promoting membership in our club.
Fun And Fines
Hallie McCurdy celebrated taking a boat trip with her husband to the San Juan Islands. She also conceded that the West Pierce Fire and Rescue Department stepped outside its normal skill set over the weekend, fighting a brush fire near the old Southgate Elementary School campus. See https://www.q13fox.com/news/fast-moving-brush-fire-nearly-wipes-out-lakewood-homes. For both events she contributed $50.
Sheri Hodson celebrated going to a Seattle Mariners game with her husband over the weekend, in perfect weather. And the Ms beat the Angels. $10.
Ed Trobaugh then took a moment to promote the upcoming 9/11 Memorial Golf Tournament, a fundraiser for the American Lake Veterans Golf Course (ALVGC). It will be held Sep. 10, with check-in at 7:00 AM. There is no online sign up, but you can get details and an entry form by emailing Jim Hairston at jhairston787@msn.com. Cost is $125 per golfer, including greens fees, card, and lunch. Proceeds will go toward the ongoing operations of the ALVGC, and its mission to provide therapy for veterans, who are disabled and otherwise.
This Week’s Program
Brittany Gautschi came to speak about a new facility on Joint Base Lewis McChord (JBLM), called the Tacoma Children’s Museum on JBLM, of which she is the Program Manager. She grew up in a military family, and served in the Air Force for 8 years. She is now married to an airman stationed on JBLM. She earned a bachelors degree in Art and Early Childhood Development and a Master’s in Early Childhood Education and Emergent Curriculum, all while she was on active duty.
The Children’s Museum at JBLM is a space where families can come together and not only meet and connect with new people, but also connect with each other as a family.
Military family life is stressful, and so JBLM leaders wanted to have a place for families to come together through play. The Children’s Museum on JBLM is operated at no cost to the government by a Pierce County non-profit group called Greentrike, which also operates the Children’s Museum of Tacoma, Power of Play programs, and Back To School festivals.
JBLM is rather unique among installations in that it has an Exceptional Family Members Program (EFMP), which allows soldiers or airmen with dependents who have special needs in terms of health, cognitive, developmental, or psychological, to get preferential assignment to JBLM where those family members can receive care. The Children’s Museum hosts special play groups to connect special needs kids at quieter times.
The Museum also runs a kindergarten prep program, has rooms available for birthday parties or group meetings, and has an indoor climbing structure and a water play area. There is even a section where kids (and parents) can build and launch toy rockets. And there is a special program for Gold Star Spouses (those who have lost a service member while on active duty), to offer support and continued connection to the military community for support.
This facility grew out of a 2010 “play to learn” program, and it opened officially in 2021 in the old post roller skating rink. It is close to the PX and a skateboard park, convenient to the center of main post. They will be starting teens’ programs in the fall of 2022. They get funding from users, and also got a big grant from Boeing, plus support from other donors. If you would like to donate, visit www.greentrike.org.
Raffle
With $533 in the pot, and 17 cards in the deck, Sheri Hodson had the winning ticket but could not draw an ace. But she does know how to pose for a picture!
And Finally…
You can pay money to go watch a movie at a theater. You can pay money to go watch a football or baseball game at a sports arena. You can pay money to go watch cars drive around an oval at a race car track, or horses at a horse race. You can pay money to go watch boxers fight with boxing gloves, or “wrestlers” who “fight” at such contests. All of these events purportedly have entertainment value, to watch something fun happening.
I personally would not be willing to pay to go watch either of these events:
