A pantry rehab, a hotel horror story, and keeping military history alive for future generations.
Notes from the Aug. 11 meeting of
The Rotary Club of Clover Park
recorded by Tom McClellan
Guest Ralph Lockhart led us in the Salute To The Flag. Bob Lawrence led us in the 4-Way Test, which is Rotary’s affirmation of the importance of ethical dealings with others. When reminded, President Teresa Nye recognized Jeannie Hill with her inspirational thoughts for the week, including this one: “Be a fountain, not a drain.”
There were other great inspirational thoughts, but your faulty scribe could not write fast enough to capture all of them.
For this meeting, we welcomed guest Alec Willis, grandson of Fred Willis. Alec has also been successfully recruited to be our guest speaker on Sep. 8, to talk about his work as a registered nurse at a high-acuity assisted living facility.
Announcements
The Golf Tournament is now only 5-1/2 weeks away. Entries are coming in slow; sponsorships are coming in well. Please encourage friends and family members to support the tournament as contestants.
A Clover Park Rotary Invitational (CPRI) fundraiser event is under consideration on Feb. 11. Stay tuned for more details.
Future Programs
Aug. 18 Deputy Chief John Unfred New Police Reform Legislation
Aug. 25 TK Knight Wakesurf Warriors Veterans Support
Sep. 1 Donna Handoe Santa's Castle Program for Military YouthPresident’s Minute
Teresa is undergoing labor pains related to a major kitchen pantry rehab. There were power tools involved. Teresa demonstrated current possession of all 10 of her digits. There was no checking of her intact toes.
Other Announcements and Stories
Bob Lawrence noted that the Lakewood Playhouse is doing 3 youth performances this weekend, including selections from Monty Python. $10 per performance. On Sep. 24, there will commence a Main Stage performance of Broadway Bound, the 3rd segment in Neil Simon’s trilogy.
David Cotant shared a hotel-related horror story, not involving Jack Nicholson crashing through any doors with an axe. A friend of David’s had a meeting in Spokane, and stayed at the Spokane Athletic Club. Feeling something amiss in the bed, the friend investigated and found a hand-written note saying, “They obviously did not change the sheets.” It was hidden in the bed. A similar note was found within the towels. David’s friend ended up having the room paid for on a complimentary basis. There was no report about the decibel level of the shouting with the housekeeping staff.
Randy Black noted that he and wife Tina have sold their Puyallup house, and had been waiting for their Spanaway rental to become available. Along the way, Frank The Cat (aged 18) decided it would be a good time to go out on walkabout and did not return by moving day. Randy and Tina notified the buyer, in case of a future reappearance. Frank eventually showed up again at the old house, resulting in a joyful reunion. Randy did not mention whether he has briefed Frank about the impending retirement and relocation to the future 110°F Arizona locale.
Fun And Fines
Finemaster Ed Trobaugh reminded everyone about August birthdays and anniversaries, part of our new program to keep such identifiable information in our database unavailable to the evildoers.
David Cotant noted, in his role as sergeant at arms and all-around helpful dude that Marie Barth was summoned away right at the moment the meeting started, and thus had to render power of attorney to David for her raffle tickets (hey Marie, you did not win).
Sheri Hodson enjoyed a trip back home to Wisconsin and Michigan with her mother, attending a family wedding and seeing some cousins. Fine rounded up to $40 for the extra fun and frivolity.
Becky Newton was happy to announce that the City of Lakewood has moved forward with developing a 30-acre site on Pacific Highway, a project that has been worked on since 2006. A purchaser has been found for 9 of the acres, intending to build a few hundred residential units plus mixed retail. And another 2 million square feet of warehouse space is done in Woodbrook, including a 470,000 square foot Amazon warehouse. That will bring 300-400 jobs to Lakewood.
This Week’s Program
Guest speaker Erik Flint gave a presentation on the Lewis Army Museum, which tells the story of the installation from Camp Lewis in 1917 to the present day. It also covers the story of the Army in the Pacific Northwet since the days of Lewis and Clark. Erik had just flown in 5 hours earlier from a deployment with I Corps HQ to Guam and Tinian Islands.
The museum building is a former hotel, built in WWI. It was recently renovated including redoing all main floor exhibits. The preceding weekend saw a grand opening celebration, combined with “living history” reenactors and exhibitions. It is open Wednesday through Sunday, 1000-1700.
The mission of all Army museums has evolved, and they now fall under the Training and Doctrine Command. Museums now will take on an official training role for active duty soldiers. The Lewis Army Museum recently conducted training on how soldiers’ equipment has evolved.
Raffle:
Randy Black had the winning ticket, but no luck at drawing an ace.
And Finally…
On Friday, August 13, Alan Billingsley and Tom McClellan represented our Rotary Club along with Tom’s wife Shelley at a special event at the South Puget Sound Wildlife Area, where baby western pond turtles were released. The Wildlife Area staff wanted to include some Rotarians in the event because of the work that we all have done on the area, and they also wanted some help getting some grass cut on Thursday ahead of the event. So Tom and Alan each earned two meeting makeups for helping out.
There is a program run as a partnership between the WA State Department of Fish and Wildlife and the Woodland Park Zoo, wherein the zoo incubates the turtle eggs and grows the hatchlings under optimal conditions for a year before they are released. The Zoo-grown babies at one year of age are the size of wild babies 3 years old. This is important because invasive bullfrogs will eat the baby turtles if they are small enough.
30 years ago, the turtle population was down to around 150 total western pond turtles. Now they are up over 800. The pond at the Wildlife Area is ideal because it is a natural pond, but rather remote and away from people and dogs. It is fenced off from the public.
Local political dignitaries were invited to speak, and to participate in the release, including Congresswoman Marilyn Strickland and Pierce County Councilwoman Jani Hitchens, plus some local representatives in the state legislature. See more info about it at https://www.king5.com/video/news/local/dozens-of-western-pond-turtles-released-as-part-of-project-to-revitalize-the-endangered-species/281-792e1b50-2aaf-417e-aa9a-216d80603882. And because Tom McClellan is always looking for great guest speakers, he recruited the on-site biologist for the turtle program, Emily Butler, to be our guest speaker at the Sep. 22 club meeting. So you will get to hear more about it then.
Here are some pictures of the event:
