Meeting Notes, April 6, 2016

Posted by Tom McClellan 
on Apr 08, 2016
 
Visiting Rotarians almost equaled native ones!
Meeting notes recorded and edited (and photographed) by Tom McClellan
 
If it is 12:30 PM on a Wednesday, it must be time for President Joyce to ring the bell, which she did precisely on time.  It also must be time for Teresa Nye to walk in, which she did to a chorus of welcome greetings from the assemblage.
 
Visiting Rotarians who graced us with their presence included:
Suzanna Johnston, So. Hill
Larry Clark, Lakewood
Jon Swanson, Sumner
Nelvina Heck, Tacoma South
Debbie Ranniger, Tacoma 8
 
Announcements:
There has been a time change for the April 16 Tyee Park Elementary School work party.  Please come from 9:00 AM to 1:00 PM.  Bring gloves, rakes, shovels, a water bottle, sunscreen, and a cheery attitude. 
 
Georgene Mellom had a Rose Sale reminder: Please bring in your orders next week, even if you don’t have the money yet to go with all of your orders.  Also, yellow and pink are still available in big numbers, so please continue selling those.  Look for a further announcement if those quantities start to get tight. 
 
Clover Park Technical College will have a Scholarship Banquet, Tuesday April 19, at 11:30.  Let Joyce Loveday know if you’d like to go.  $100 is the suggested donation. 
 
The first Rotaract Club kickoff meeting will be April 21, 2:00-3:15 PM, at Carr’s.  Rotaract is for all community members aged 18-30, and college students of any age.  Spread the word to anyone you know who might be interested. 
 
Bob Lawrence announced that there will be an Asian Film Festival again this year, co-located with the Arts Fest.  Both will be held at the Elks Club, and entrance is free.  Bob forgot the date, but then said late June. 
 
Fun And Fines, without General Ed!!!
 
Our normally faithful finemaster was absent, and no appointed substitute could be identified among those present (which will assuredly be a topic for a future discussion).  So President Joyce opened up the floor to anyone who wanted to offer a voluntary confession.
 
David Cotant opened things up, not with a confession, but with a proposal that upon his return to duties as finemaster, Ed Trobaugh ought to match whatever might be raised in this modified format.  Several unnamed members opined that this was a splendid idea. [ed. note: your meeting recorder failed to note the final tally, so in order to carry out this proposal, our long-time Treasurer Judi Maier may have to offer up that figure, which could be considered ratting on a Rotarian if it happens.]
 
Marie Barth continued the festivities with a rat (i.e. telling on a fellow Rotarian, not an actual rodent).  She noted that not only did Bill Harrison play hooky and skip last week’s meeting, he went on to spend that whole day in his pajamas, according to husband Bruce Barth who was spying on Bill.  And then… Bill continued the crimes against Rotary by arriving late for this meeting, thereby making his assistant Karen George also late, and on a day when she was supposed to be the meeting’s note-taker.  Bill replied by saying he does not care what Marie thinks.  So there!  RHIP, and you can't out-curmudgeon General Bill.   
 
Teresa Nye paid for being late.
 
Our visiting Rotarian, Suzanne Johnston, got into the swing of things by offering up $5 for having taken a trip to Madrid, Spain. 
 
Bob Lawrence pointed out that there was an all-female table.  John Munn interjected to point out that this time, he was not the source of this observation.  It was further observed that the all-female table was the one closest to the entrance, and so every single man in the room had walked past it, eschewing the ladies’ company, including Tom Faubion who finished up his raffle ticket selling duties and walked past the ladies’ table to go sit all by himself at a table in the back.  At this point, President Joyce invited all concerned to do what each thought was right about this situation.  No record exists of what each Rotarian did. 
 
Alice Peeples took the opportunity to thank everyone for the prayers over her twin great-granddaughters.  They were born at only 2 pounds, but are now a year old, each with a big mop of red hair. 
 
Dee Ebsen got home from a vacation in March to Antarctica.  She did not say whether husband Clive Ebsen came home with her, or is still down there.  Payment (and explanation) will be forthcoming. 
 
Karen Fengler Nichols celebrated the fact that her 7 year old grandson is spending his spring break with her and Joe.
 
Fred Willis and Ingrid took an 88th birthday trip to Phoenix, followed by a golf outing in Palm Springs. Fred said that he had not played golf for years, but still managed to make par on one hole.  Outcomes on the other holes were not discussed. 
 
John Munn celebrated that his son Max (a recent visitor to our club) was named Student Of The Month at Idlewild Elementary School. 
 
Next week, watch for a return to more typical fine rates as our Finemaster hopefully returns, and hopefully with a worthy story.  And won't you regret not having confessed something at a cheaper rate this week?!!
 
Today’s Program
Nelvina Heck is the Business Development Manager for the Korean Women’s Association (KWA), and is a new Rotarian in the Tacoma South Rotary Club. 
 
 
KWA was started in 1972 as a social group among Korean women in Tacoma who were married to American veterans.  It gradually expanded its scope to be of service to the larger Korean immigrant community, and now to many types of people across 11 western Washington locations.  Among the important points
 
  • Provides services in 29 languages
  • Conducts classes in 15 languages
  • Food assistance
  • Long term senior care services
  • Citizenship classes
  • In-home care services
  • Social workers
  • Cancer support
  • 40-bed women’s domestic violence shelter
  • Meal sites for seniors in Tacoma, Federal Way
  • Hospice care
 
KWA’s services are offered more economically than other providers because it operates as a non-profit.  They have only a 4% administrative expenditure, which is exemplary among non-profits.  It gets funding from customers (for home care), and from the state (for such care, and for specific grants).  They are seeking new employees to work as care-givers, and are willing to pay for CNA training and licensing.  See www.kwacares.org/jobs.  
 
Nelvina mentioned that the KVA is going to be participating in the American Cancer Society’s “Relay For Life” walkathon.  Members are welcome to come join them, and walk for as little or as much as you wish.  Contact NHeck@kwacares.org to participate. 
 
Raffle:
 
 
Your note-taker had the winning ticket, and had to perform double duty by both drawing a card and also taking a selfie with Tom Faubion while doing so.  Unfortunately, he did not perform triple duty by drawing an Ace.  So the pot, which is currently at $780, will continue to grow. 
 
And Finally:
A man called 9-1-1 and said breathlessly, "My wife is in labor and is about to deliver!"
The 9-1-1 operator answered calmly, "I understand sir, and help is on the way.  Is this her first baby."
"No," he answered, "This is her husband!"