Puppies, And A Cause That Will Paw at Your Heart!
(Gnaw, he didn’t say that!......Yes, he woofing did!)
Notes taken by Tank Hairston
Edited by Tom McClellan
Meeting called to order – President Bryan Christensen. Invocation - Tom McClellan. Pledge of Allegiance - Stephanie Walsh.
Visiting Rotarians:
Alice Collingswood – La Connor
Today’s Guests: Debbie Billingsley
Future Programs:
August 16 – Brynn Grimley – Lakewood’s new Communications Manager
August 23 - Dave Hall – Golf’s History in the Lakewood Area
August 30 – Roxanne Miles from Pierce County Parks
Sunshine Report – Wally Johnson is doing better with his knee rehab. Anne Winters is recovering from shoulder surgery and feeling better each day, better enough to join us at this week's meeting.
Announcements:
President Bryan – is taking info from all who want to volunteer to participate on the various committees. Please provide your desires to him via email and he will get the info to the appropriate director.
Heidi Wachter – thanked everyone for responding to her call volunteers for Theater Benefit committees. All interested in helping are welcome to attend their committee meetings.
Karen Fengler Nichols – gave a brief reminder to those who have not yet paid, to pay their annual dues.
President Bryan – mentioned that several members of our club their spouses were in attendance at the Celebration of Life Service for Kathie Maxwell on Saturday Aug 5th.
Memorable Fines and Moments
With Gen Ed: (Bob Lawrence assisting).
General Ed opened with immediate fines for Bob Lawrence & Alice Peeples for advertising the upcoming Asian Arts Festival. Bob asked everyone to remember the dates and talked about the venue. According to Bob, there will be fine and photographic art exhibited this year, including more than 80 pieces, a Bonsai tree display and 5 films for viewing. Alice followed up by naming each film and talking about each film. Both were fined $10 each for their advertisements
Karl Roth was recognized for his 55th birthday.
Jim & Barb Hairston celebrated their 38th year of marriage.
Joyce & Virgil Loveday celebrated their 33rd anniversary.
Paul Webb settled on a double fine from a prior meeting.
General Ed participated in a bi-annual family gathering in Las Vegas which consisted of 15 people hanging out for 8 nights.
Tom McClellan then brought up General Ed’s recent appearance in a Suburban Times article about Lakewood being a “Purple Heart Community”. Ed immediately denied knowledge of it, but was confronted with the full color evidence. As Ed left the lectern, he was heard saying, “They said that picture was not for print.” Tough luck, Ed. Ink is ink.
Today’s Program:
Alice Collingwood – Summit Assistance Dogs.
Alice comes from a diverse background and a wealth of experience in marketing. She is the current President of the Rotary Club of La Connor, WA.
Summit’s Mission: Summit Assistance Dogs is a nonprofit organization that creates life-changing partnerships by providing highly-skilled mobility service dogs for people living with disabilities.
Summit’s Vision: We believe all people and animals deserve to reach their highest potential, and that frequently this is best achieved in partnership with one another. We envision a day when every qualified applicant will be able to receive a life-changing service dog from us within six months.
Alice has been volunteering for 17 years in training service dogs. Dogs are provided as a gift and partner to people with disabilities that impact their mobility, giving them independence to lead a higher quality of life. Dogs are typically trained to open and close doors, turn lights on and off, retrieve dropped items, retrieve a phone in the event of an emergency, and alleviate anxiety. Dogs also break down barriers to socializing with others for people who have physical limitations; the dog can often bring others into conversation. On average, it takes 2 to 5 years to train a service dog.
Summit is in need of foster homes for puppies who are in the primary stages of training for 3 to 9 months. If you or someone you know is interested in helping, please contact the organization at info@summitdogs.org or www.summitdogs.org. Telephone: 360 293-5609.
Raffle Drawing:
Teresa Nye possessed the chosen ticket but did not pull an Ace...for a $5 win. Next week, the ticket holder will have an opportunity to pull 1 of 2 Aces from a deck of 9 cards! And the pot is up to ~$500. But you must be present to win.
And Finally...
Not all assistance dogs have formal training. And some dogs will offer assistance even when it is not asked for. Here is your editor's daughter Heather, who was trying to make a snow angel. Shayla and Daisy figured that she needed help, and offered their own assistance.
But this next picture reveals that some dog training aids may not work as advertised. Bad dog!!
