A District Governor and his wife (who is a former District Governor) walk into a bar. That’s all, no punchline.
Notes from the October 19 meeting of
The Rotary Club of Clover Park
recorded by Tom McClellan
Becky Newton started off another weekly meeting with a robust and on-time whacking of the Rotary bell. She thanked greeters Tom Faubion and Georgene Mellom, and also our setup crew David Cotant and Mike Killen. Jeannie Hill got us all into a contemplative mood with a couple of inspirational quotes:
1. Always be a first rate version of yourself, instead of a second rate version of somebody else. - - - Judy Garland
2. There is no greater thing you can do with your life and your work than follow your passions - in a way that serves you and the world. - - - Richard Branson
In honor of a visit to this meeting by our District Governor, the club sang the two national anthems of Rotary District 5020, “Oh Canada”, and “The Star Spangled Banner”. Mike Killen helped everyone by finding good recordings of each anthem, along with the words being projected on the screen.
In addition to having District Governor T. Dale Roberts as our meeting guest, Dale also brought along his wife Maureen “Mo” Fritz-Roberts, who served as District Governor in 2019-2020. We also welcomed our Assistant District Governor Tony Cameroda, and Judi Maier’s husband Tom Wie.
Sunshine Report
Becky Newton recently spoke to Fred Willis, who appreciates all of the moral support as his wife Ingrid is going through health issues.
Future Programs
Oct. 26 Judge Lisa Mansfield, Lakewood Municipal Court
Nov. 2 Dawn Whitman, St. Leo's Food Connection
Nov. 9 Robert Hildreth, Dominican Republic Reading Project
Foundation Minute
Georgene Mellom offered a “commercial” for her upcoming fundraiser social hour on Oct. 25, 4:30 PM at the Tacoma Country and Golf Club, in honor of World Polio Day. The first drink is on Georgene, and you can stay for supper on your own bill if you like, but please bring a donation to fight polio. RSVP to Georgene is essential.
We also took advantage of DG Roberts being at the meeting and had him present Sheri Hodson with her Paul Harris +2 pin, for cumulative donations to the Rotary Foundation.
Announcements
The other Rotary Club in Lakewood is holding a Murder Mystery Event, Nov. 5 at 6PM in the Weyerhaueser chapel, at 43rd and Stevens in North Tacoma. Tickets can be purchased at https://lakewoodrotarycharitable.square.site/product/murder-mystery/20?cs=true&cst=custom for $100, which includes appetizers, beer, and wine. Questions can be addressed to Kendra Riconosciuto kriconosciuto@outlook.com.
The nominating committee met on Oct. 19 to recommend new officers and directors to be installed next June. Members of that committee will now be contacting the members who were nominated, in advance of a club vote to be held at the Nov. 16 meeting.
Becky read a thank you letter from Riley O’Neal, who received scholarship assistance at Clover Park Technical College thanks to our club’s endowment. Riley is pursuing a certification as a medical assistant.
President’s Minute
Did you know that there are 16 separate holidays noted for October 19? October 19 is the 292nd day in the Gregorian calendar. On this day Saddam Hussein went on trial for crimes against humanity in Iraq; the Dow Jones Industrial Index fell by 22 percent on what became known as Black Monday in 1987, and John Jay was sworn in as the first Chief Justice of the United States. Famous October 19 birthdays include boxer Evander Holyfield, and actors Julie Andrews and John Lithgow. October 19 is National Mammography Day and National New Friends Day.
[ed. note: October 19 was also the date in 1781 when General Cornwallis surrendered the British army troops to the colonists at Yorktown, New York.]
Did you also know that October 19 is World Humanitarian Action Day? The day is reserved to show special appreciation and respect to the martyrs of the humanitarian causes. The observation calls for a mass global display of public support for humanitarian action. When the governing bodies fail, the non-profits and humanitarian organizations like Rotary step up. But serving humanity sometimes means being on the frontlines which sometimes has severe consequences that can often turn fatal. World Humanitarian Action Day honors the ones who died while saving others. People from around the world are encouraged to join humanitarian organizations such as UNICEF, Red Cross, and others, and become active messengers of humanity.
Fun And Fines
Guest finexecutrix Katelyn Billingsley presided, and led the club in several “have you ever” questions, the exact scorekeeping of which was a bit of a mystery.
Tom McClellan celebrated his birthday this week (also October 19), and his wedding anniversary next week (#37), plus a 2-week trip to Southern California. Thanks to the miracles of Zoom, Tom did not miss a Rotary meeting.
Hallie McCurdy and David also celebrated a wedding anniversary with a slightly smaller number than Tom’s (22 years).
Tom Wie ratted on his own wife, Judi Maier, being proud of her for having recently completed Community Emergency Response Training (CERT) with West Pierce Fire and Rescue.
This Week’s Program
Dale Roberts is probably best known as the husband of Past District Governor Maureen (Mo) Fritz-Roberts (that is not her in the picture).
Many people are surprised to learn that Dale was actually a Rotarian before Mo joined Rotary. Dale was invited to join the Rotary Club of Fairview, Alberta in January 1977. He later joined the Rotary Club of Comox in 1992 and is a charter member of the Rotary Club of Comox Valley.
Dale and Mo have been partners in business and service for almost as long as they have been married.
Mo is currently the manager of their office, which specializes in estate planning and real estate transfers. They previously worked together in insurance, income tax, and newspapers. When Dale was president of the Comox Rotary Club, Mo was president of another service club at the same time, and the two clubs partnered on a park project.
It is partnerships that make Rotary effective in Dale’s opinion. Rotarians partner with their communities to make them better places to lie. Rotarians partner with other Rotarians to deliver essential services throughout the world. Rotarians have partnered with NGOs to eradicate disease, create peace and provide clean water.
Terry (Dale) Roberts acquired the nickname “Batman” during his year as chief of staff to District Governor Mo. Dale is sometimes also known as TD. That’s a lot of names. Dale doesn’t really care what you call him. He does care about Rotary and especially the Rotary Foundation.
Dale and Mo are major donors to the Rotary Foundation, members of the Paul Harris Society, members of the Polio Plus Society and they have decided to provide for the Rotary Foundation in their will to the same extent as one of their children. Dale and Mo live in the Comox Valley in close proximity to all five of their grandchildren.
Dale noted that Rotary is the greatest humanitarian organization in the world, and serves as an example for others. We have contributed $2.5 billion and millions of man-hours so far toward eradicating polio. This effort has united every government in the world to get behind the effort. We also support clean water, health efforts, and child literacy. And we do it in our spare time!
Dale believes that we are on the cusp of a large number of new people wanting to become Rotarians. Every time the world comes out of a big war or depression, membership grows. Many people do not know what Rotary is, or how to be a member. District 5020 will be spending some money on a social media campaign to promote Rotary. Look for details soon about resources for helping us with web site development.
The District has created a new web site to get people interested, and thus far 1200 people have clicked on the link to learn more. He stressed the importance of having good information on our web site for when people are searching for us. They key behind the success of the clubs who are growing is to have a great web site, and to have every member committed to growth.
The next District Conference will be at the Victoria (BC) Conference Center, May 19-20.
Dale mentioned his 2 largest mistakes as a Rotarian. #2 was that he did not take responsibility for his own Rotary experience. You don’t belong to Rotary. Rotary belongs to you. The more that Dale put into it, the more he got out of it.
His #1 mistake was that it never occurred to him to invite his wife to become a Rotarian. Someone else invited her to a different club. So look around you at everyone you know, perhaps even within your own household. There are great Rotarians out there, just waiting to be invited.
Raffle
With $192 in the pot, and all four aces still in the deck, Katelyn Billingsley had the winning ticket, but no luck.
And Finally…
This picture of a British TV news anchor has your scribe wondering: Just how hot was her coffee?
