The Zoom bugs got worked out, and the finemaster bugged out.
Notes from the Sep. 1 meeting of
The Rotary Club of Clover Park
recorded by Tom McClellan
President pro tem Becky Newton kicked things off with a firm ringing of the club bell, and a welcome to all who were attending in person and via Zoom. Becky had herself served as greeter for the meeting. In a small club, everyone has to pitch in.
Jeannie Hill led us off with some inspiring quotations:
1. Go the extra mile - it's much less crowded. - - Dr. Wayne Dyer
2. I never learned anything from listening to myself talk. [ed. note: This is a variation of a George Clooney quote, “You never really learn much from hearing yourself speak.” And that was itself a derivative of a line by the character Jeff Bailey (played by Robert Mitchum) who said, “I never found out much listening to myself,” in the movie, “Out of the Past”]
3. Life is like riding a bicycle. To keep your balance, you must keep moving. - - Albert Einstein
Meeting guests included Alec Willis (grandson of Fred Willis), Ralph Lockhart, and our guest speaker Donna Handoe from the Santa’s Castle program on JBLM.
Announcements:
On September 10 there will be a 20th anniversary 9-11 commemoration at City Hall, starting at 1230, and featuring our own Hallie McCurdy.
Golf Tournament Update: 71 golfers committed, 17 sponsors, over $12,000 raised so far. Still room for more golfers, so please keep beating the bushes.
President’s Minute:
Becky shared with us some interesting projects being undertaken by other clubs around the world.
Future Programs:
Sep 8 Alec Willis, R.N., Trends In Long Term Care Facilities
Sep 15 Tom Faubion, Western States Trails Association
Sep 22 Emily Butler, Western Pond Turtle Restoration
Fun And Fines
Ed Trobaugh was absent, and failed to appoint a deputy finemaster in his stead. So it was left to our president pro tem to figure out what to do, and Becky just opened it up to confessions.
Heidi Wachter kicked things off by noting that her daughter won 1st place at a competition in Sherwood, Oregon.
Gretchen Allen followed suit, noting that her son is studying to be a chiropractor and just got an 85% grade on a math test (an area where he has struggled).
Ralph Lockhart noted his own winning of the raffle last week, and asked whether a $5 fine is enough? This drew a hearty laugh from the crowd. So Ralph responded by offering to donate $100 toward “re-seeding” the prize pot.
Jim Hairston is married to a retired teacher, and offered up $5 in honor of the first day of school, noting that “Someone’s happy” about the kids being back.
This Week’s Program
Donna Handoe serves as president of the Santa’s Castle program on Joint Base Lewis-McChord (JBLM). It was started there in 1994, and has now spread to 3 other installations (Fort Carson, Colorado; Fort Hood, Texas; Fort Benning, GA). The goal is to provide Christmas presents for families of soldiers and airmen who may have some financial difficulty. When they first started, the mission was to “re-purpose” used toys, but they evolved to distributing only new toys.
The primary target is families of junior enlisted members. They get referred by their unit commander or first sergeant, or a unit chaplain, and get to come to the “store” to select the presents for their kids. Referrals are done in October, and the soldier gets paired with a volunteer “elf” to pick out the toys. The store has toys sorted by age and gender. During Covid, the elves helped do a curbside pickup.
The organization is all-volunteers, with 140 elves. Most volunteers are military or retiree spouses, but they accept civilian volunteers. They will be holding an open house on Sep. 23, 4-7 PM to learn about volunteering. Toy distribution is done Nov. 29 to Dec. 10.
They amassed 3552 volunteer hours in 2020, and expended a budget of $214,000 that year assisting 1245 families. Each family gets 3 toys per child, a book, and a board game for the family.
They get funding from a variety of sources, and also get direct donation of toys. This can be done via a wishlist program through Amazon, Target, and Wal-Mart. They have a “shopper elf” who scours for deals, and never pays full retail prices.
You can get more information by visiting www.jblmsantascastle.org, or by writing president@jblmsantascastle.org. Their phone number is (253) 966-2355. They accept donations via PayPal on the site. They are also on Facebook.
Raffle:
With $184 in the pot (thanks to Ralph Lockhart’s donation), Paul Webb had the winning ticket, but not the magic touch.
And Finally…
Don’t feel bad, Paul, at least you got $5. The raffle could have gone like this:
