Our Finemistress Blind(sided) Us With Science, Then We Learned Where To Have Fun in Tacoma/Pierce County!
Notes taken AND edited by Dave Hall
The regular meeting of Rotary Club of Clover Park was called to order at precisely 12:30 p.m. by President Heidi.
Greeter awesomeness provided by Jeannie Hill.
Alice Peeples recited a beautiful Invocation she discovered from Rotary International.
We were led in the Pledge of Allegiance by Judge Susan Adams.
Guests: Katelyn Billingsley (Alan B); Ingrid Willis (Fred W); Jamie Vogt (Speaker)
Visiting Rotarians: Former CPR Prez Bryan Christiansen
President Heidi led us in the still-yet-to-be-memorized Rotary International Vision Statement, followed by officially recognizing special efforts produced by the following club members:
Tank Hairston has provided ongoing tech support for the published agenda, and stepped up on short notice to cover meeting leadership in President Heidi's actual or possible absences.
Marie Barth leads all club members in bringing potential new Rotarians to our meetings as her guests.
Susan Adams has shown up at an unprecedented number of meetings, setting a new Personal Best Record!
President Heidi related that she has attended two recent Rotary meetings (Lakewood and Tacoma South) where DG Craig Gillis made an official visit. DG Gillis will be visiting Clover Park Rotary on August 22nd; this will be a great opportunity to bring prospective members and friends to learn more about the Rotary Universe!
ANNOUNCEMENTS:
Future Programs:
August 8: Judy Davis (Teen Suicide Prevention).
August 15: Club Assembly; Committees will meet together in lieu of a regular program.
August 22: District Governor Visit.
Golf Tournament Update: Committee Chair Tank Hairston stated that we're "doing okay", but still need to reach an 85% club member participation committment. If you haven't yet signed up for a day-of-event or pre-event job, please give Tank a call or email him! One task needing help is preparing the "Goodie Bags" which are given to all golfers. They will be prepped beginning at 3:00 p.m. this Friday (Aug 3) at the American Lake Veteran's Golf Course (ALVGC) Clubhouse. It's not too late to recruit more players (we've got 23 teams signed up; would like to have 32) or sponsors. If you have a last-minute sponsor sign up, call Tank ASAP!
We've done well getting donations for tournament and raffle prizes...and with CPR completing in advance the full amount of our $25,000 ALVGC sponsorship committment from our Charity Account, this event is close to replacing the Rose Sale as a club fundraiser!!!!
Evening Fellowship Gathering, Part Deaux:
The first version went very well, with lots of folks showing up and having fun, that President Heidi is convening the next no-host soiree' on Thursday, August 23, 5:00 p.m., at Fircrest Golf and Country Club! (Thanks, Teresa Nye!)
CPR Theater Benefit: Tentative Date: September 27. This served to inspire John Munn to wax eloquently about the upcoming production of Neil Simon's "Brighton Beach Memoirs". This play has won a Tony, Pulitzer, and is the first of the Neil Simon autobiographical trilogy.
FUN AND FINES:
Any club member who believed that the absence of General Ed would result in leniency was soon disabused of this notion by Back-Up Finemistress Marie Barth.
First challenge: Correctly identify President Heidi's eye color. Everyone proved to be poor pupils of observation, which cost many $2.
Next victim: Randy Black dinged for bragging about his new granddaughter on Facebook, despite his protests that he'd already been fined by General Ed.
Finished with the "low-hanging fruit", Marie politely requested John Munn to provide additional details of Lakewood Playhouse awesomeness. John did so with some trepidation, which was validated when a fine was levied.
Freebie: Tom Faubion was invited to stand and recount the success of the 100th Annual Faubion Farm Family Festival; over 100 attendees, and Tom spent much of the day leading his mule around with happy kiddies on its back. In a surprise move, no fine was assessed!
Then, things got real: Marie queried each table with a separate, esoteric science question. A correct answer limited the table's fine to $2; wrong answer cost $10. The added obstacle? Our Finemistress suddenly developed a bad case of hearing loss, resulting in correct answers being ignored. Pleas for justice from the floor were similarly unheard, but our club's coffers were definitely enriched!
TODAY'S PROGRAM:
Jamie Vogt, VP of Marketing for Travel Tacoma & Pierce County, provided an upbeat and optimistic report on the health of our local tourism industry.
The statistics are very positive:
* $92 Million annual tourism dollars
* Six million visitors/year
* Although in many regions, the addition of more hotels results in a lower overall occupancy rate, the opposite is occurring in Pierce County. Three new establishments are set to open soon: a new Marriott, the long-awaited McMenamin's Tacoma Elks Historic Lodge, and a new Emerald Queen Casino/Hotel.
* Our area is receiving accolades from national travel groups, including being recognized for being "Hip", "Safe", "Best Downtown", and "Best Harbor" (Gig Harbor).
Jamie outlined how her organization brands and markets Pierce County, focusing on "What Makes Pierce County Special". Their slogan is "Northwest Unfiltered", which connects especially to the area around Mt Rainier and Puget Sound.
For businesses and organizations, Travel Tacoma + provides helpful services, including: Complimentary event planning; links to service providers such as caterers, florists, venues; convention hosting support (i.e., pre and post-convention visitor itineraries, registration "goody bags", tourist attraction materials.).
John Munn requested Jamie's organization expand their advertising and promotion of our local theater community. Jamie agreed that this would be beneficial. Tom McClellan inquired where Travel Tacoma + gets their primary funding; it's a combination of lodging taxes and local government support (Primarily from the City of Tacoma.).
DRAWING: The lucky ticket holder was Tom McClellan; sadly, his luck didn't extend to winning the $420 pot, but he did get $5!
