Pie Puns, Gambling Fun,
and an In-Tents story from Tom Faubion
March 13, 2019 Meeting Notes
Recorded by Tom McClellan
Edited by Dave Hall
President Heidi Wachter was away on an unnamed mission at a “secure location”, and so she missed out on a pre-holiday meal of corned beef and cabbage in honor of St. Patrick’s Day. But there was no pie served in honor of Pi Day (3-14), which is a crime against Pythagoras, Isaac Newton, Euler, or somebody.
So President Pro Tem Ellie Carr rang the bell at 1230 to start our meeting. With no officially-licensed invocateur present, Carr’s server Brie Eubanks stepped forward to offer a blessing for our meeting. And Dave Hall led the pledge to the flag.
There were no visiting Rotarians this time, but guests of members included Charlie Maxwell’s friend Norma Jean Hansen, and Marie Barth’s préféré chauffeur du jour Bruce Barth.
Announcements
David Cotant did not have the Rotary Store set up this time, but reminded everyone that he still has aprons, Rotary pins, bumper stickers, and a couple of ladies’ polo shirts to offer up. Your faithful meeting recorder wonders: Who were those two ladies, and what happened to them after giving up their shirts?
Georgene Mellom had hip replacement surgery 2 weeks ago, and is recovering well. She is still not steady enough to get back to Rotary, but hopes to soon. Her daughter flew in from Hawaii to help take care of Georgene.
Upcoming Events
March 26 Literacy Night at Custer Elementary. Please arrive at 5PM, ready to schlep hot dogs, and then read to kids. Just don’t read them the ingredients list on the hot dogs.
March 28 Rotary Fellowship event, 4:30 PM at Tacoma Country & Golf Club.
May 31 CPRI is back, starting at 6 PM. More on that below.
August 3 Rotary Golf Tournament. Start thinking now about people you know who play golf, and would like to participate in this 4-player “scramble” event (i.e. you get to hit the “best ball”). More details coming soon.
Future Programs
March 20 Stuart Early, Tacoma & Pierce County Humane Society
March 27 Rep. Mari Leavitt, WA District 28 Representative
April 3 Eric Ballentine, "The Mission Continues", a veterans service organization
Rotary Fine Moment
No one had a Rotary Moment to share one, so Ed Trobaugh got the mic at 12:38 PM, ready for fun and fines, assisted by Lisa Blevins.
Dave Hall paid his $10 Wachter for crimes which everyone has already forgotten. Paul Webb paid his $50 for failing to show up at his own membership event. But Teresa Nye had to carry over her own Wachter, which your scribe believes was somehow lacrosse-related.
Judi Maier had a birthday last week, but played hooky. So she got a Happy Birthday song led by Lisa Blevins a week late.
David Cotant spent 2 weeks in Mexico, and reported that he had no problems getting back across the border, since the existing border barriers don’t extend to 30,000 feet.
General Ed was about to end the Fun and Fines segment, when Sheri Hodson interrupted to point out that she had just completed a 4-day trip to California, helping her daughter and son-in-law move there, and all without missing a Rotary meeting.
This Week’s Program – CPRI Practice
CPRI stands for Clover Park Rotary Invitational, and it is a fun night of socializing, with a bit of gambling fun thrown in. It had been done for several years of our club’s history, but was put on hiatus after 2011 in favor of other fundraisers. The point of bringing it back is to create a funding source for our club’s tradition of buying Christmas gifts for needy families at our adopted elementary school, instead of our recent tradition of “pass the hat” fundraising for that purpose.
Ed Trobaugh has served as past master of ceremonies, and so far no one has dared to propose a replacement. He explained the process.
There is a board with 100 spaces on it. Everyone who enters gets their name put into a tumbler for a drawing, and then the 100 squares are gone through sequentially. Some have prizes on them, some give nothing. If a player’s name is called for a prize-laden spot, he gets the prize and can keep it or perhaps auction it off. Among the prizes are 10 spots with $100, others with items of merchandise or service which members donate, and a final square prize of $1500.
Tickets are $125, including food for the event. There will be a no-host bar. Attendees can purchase additional entries for $100.
Tom Faubion opined that CPRI is, “One of the funnest events you will ever attend.” He told a story of a tent which was donated as a prize by Alan Billingsley, and which the late Gene Pankey won. Gene then auctioned it off, and Tom bought it for $50. He has used it more than 50 times since then, asserting that it is the best tent he as ever owned or been aware of. He will be using it again soon to spend 3 nights in the snow in Ellensburg. Let the record reflect that he did not invite any other Rotarians to join him.
Part of the explanation of the event was a mock run-through of how the drawings work. Charlie Maxwell was the final winner, and won a mock-$1500 (street value: bupkis).
BUT! Dave Hall had the winning ticket in the weekly raffle, and drew a non-Ace card which earned him a sawbuck (street value: $5, which is not what it used to be).
And finally…
In honor of Pi Day (3-14):
