Eliel Galicia from Quincy is set to receive recognition from the state for his outstanding contributions as a youth leader and anti-drug advocacy. Below you can click the link to read the full article.
We are absolutely thrilled to send a heart-felt thank you and huge shoutout to Lambwest, Quincy Foods, Thearmert Farm, Sean and Summer Sahli, as well as Quincy School District for their incredibly generous donations!
We couldn't have done it without the efforts and support of each and every individual involved.
A special thank you to all of the dedicated Rotarians and volunteers who worked hand in hand to make FCAD 2023 a success!
Your commitment and generosity have truly made a difference. Here's to the spirit of community and togetherness!
Attached is a letter from Governor Karl regarding The PolioPlus Society. You can find the donation form and letter under Download Files titled "End Polio Now"
Please encourage any new members in your Club in the last month to join us for this fun District chat.
Karl and Jim would like to welcome them to Rotary and our District and encourage them to ask questions and share their thoughts on Rotary in an informal chat.
We are inviting all New Members that have joined a Rotary Club in the last month. Everyone is welcome even if they have joined a previous chat.
To submit speaker suggestions, please email Nik Bergman at nbergman@qsd.wednet.edu or text or call 509-797-1145
Know a graduating graduating senior? Rotary and the community of Quincy provide scholarship opportunities for Quincy High School Seniors. Link available on the QHS website.
QHS Athletic Director, Brett Fancher gave the fall sports update on Thursday. Including updates from the ladies soccer team with a GPA over 3.00 was Assistant coach Kim Avalos. Russ Elliott gave the football update logging 3 wins for the year with one more game to go.
Hello! We are hoping to have a head count for the events happening on Sept 8. We hope you and your spouse/guest will join us:
5:30PM - Gather for refreshments at the new cemetery pavilion
6PM - Dedication of the new Pavilion (open to the public!)
6:30PM - Rotary members gather at the Heritage Barn for dinner and the installation of Pat Haley as our president. Catered meal provided. Dinner will likely be around 7PM.
Please respond to the Rotary Email with the number of people that will be attending!
All materials related to applying for a District Grant to be used for projects in the 2023-24 fiscal year are now available on the D5060 website. To view these documents, go to the D5060 website at https://rotary5060.org . At the top of the page, click on “Member Site”. Under the header “Grants”, scroll down to “District Grant Resources” and the files are to the right. You will need to log into ClubRunner to access the files.
The District Grants Committee recognizes that club members are volunteers, and recognizes that most clubs have limited grant writing experience. The committee tries to make the process as easy as possible, while adhering to the rules and regulations in place from The Rotary Foundation. With this in mind, we have incorporated a “Pre-Application” period from August 15 to October 31 to help your club prepare to complete a formal application when the grant portal opens on November 1, 2022.
If you are planning to participate in the District Grants Q&A Zoom Meeting on Wednesday August 17, I encourage you to review the document “Easy Path to a District Grant 2023-24” prior to the meeting. Doing so will help to make the meeting as effective as possible. Many common questions are listed in there with answers. The document has been attached to this email for your convenience.
If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to email me at campbell1466@gmail.com .
Respectfully,
David Campbell – District Grants Chair
The application is linked to this. It can also be found on Club Runner home page on the left under downloaded files.
Dayana Ruiz from Renew, Grant Behavioral Health and Wellness gave the club an o review of the services offered. 24/7 Crisis Line, 1800 852 2923 or dial 988
Natahla along with her mother Jessica visited our club. She will be spending her exchange year in Japan representing our club and Rotary District 5060. As well, she is the recipient of the district 5060 youth exchange scholarship.
Congratulations to all our student athletics that qualified for state. This week, in addition to our scheduled speaker, we welcome Heidi Manley, from QHS Drama Department. She will give us a 5 minute update on all that is happening with the department.
Host families and activities needed for our inbound youth exchange student, Gabe. If you are unable to host for the 3 month commitment, please help us find a family that can and make some of your own plans with our rotary exchange student.
Mandy Ottley reached out to the Quincy Rotary Club Thursday afternoon with a request to help incoming Ukraine refugees in the Soap Lake area. The need is immediate. I have included the flyers with the timeline and needed items.
Please feel free to share outside the club. You can find the flier and supplies list under Home Page Download Files to the left.
Thank you,
Pres. Mel
Ukrainian Refugee Share and Wear Ukrainians are arriving in Soap Lake, WA after fleeing the war zone. They have only what they could carry. We are collecting household items, as well as clothing, shoes, blankets, school supplies etc. to help them as they relocate. Please consider dropping off gently used or new items at the Chamber office, 115 F Street SW, between 9 :00 am and 3:00 PM, Monday through Friday from April 27 through May 6 at noon. For a list of needed items go to Justserve.org and look for Ukrainian Refugee Assistance in Quincy
It's been a while since YAI (Youth Action Interact) been able to get back to normal. We are officially coming back and starting out with a Movie Night on April 22, 2022 @ Mt View Cafeteria. We Would love to invite you to our event. Bring your friends and family and enjoy a free movie. Concession stand will be available with goodies for sale.
We are excited to welcome Nancy Warner and Chad Roseburg from Wenatchee IRIS.
The Museum has partnered with them in the past to record and document personal stories relative to the water (and lack thereof in the early years) in Quincy. They also held a Success Summit in Quincy a few years ago with community leadership.
Not yet registered? Good news: the deadline is extended until May 01 for the registration cost increase. But the team hopes you will register as soon as possible to get the best lodging rates. Register and get the latest information here: Welcome | Rotary District 5060 (clubrunner.ca)
****************
Already registered? Recent clarifications may dictate a need to update your information, as noted below. You may update it yourself, or contact the registrar, Frank Clifton, FTClifton@aol.com, phone 919-922-6261.
Assistant Governors. AGs and members of the Governor's Council can be reimbursed expenses for travel, hotel, and registration costs. Since the registration pages were updated late, the option to register in the AG "Group" may not have been available. Please make the correction or contact the registrar.
Also, District Governor Richard asks that you plan on attending the P/E Training Friday May 13, and hopefully attend the Business Meeting on Sunday May 15.
Thursday Welcome Dinner. This is an "add-on" event. If you are attending the dinner and were not charged at registration, it was due to a clerical setup error. The fee for the dinner is $40 per person.
RV lodging. If you plan to use your RV instead of a hotel, related information has been added to the Accommodations page. However, we have no arrangements with such facilities.
Special needs. A question has been added to the registration questionnaire to list any special requirements, such as wheelchair access at Home Hosting.
Cancellation refunds. If you must cancel your registration due to unavoidable circumstances, and hope to get a refund, you must notify the registrar no later than May 7.
Youth Exchange is Back-We will be hosting a student in our community beginning late August 2022 through June of 2023. We need 3 host families for our student plus Rotarians that are willing to spend time sharing our home state of Washington and our culture to our inbound. If you have interest or know a family that could be interested please reach out to YEO John.
Just a reminder of a few upcoming events and opportunities to serve:
May 12-14, Rotary District Conference in Wenatchee
Volunteer Opportunity in May at the Quincy Middle School Track Meets
With the HS team being at a separate facility now, we will struggle to get enough people to run a quality meet.
We are scheduled to have two (2) home meets this year, so whatever help we can get on either date would be appreciated.
MS home track meets are Thursday, May 5 and Tuesday, May 17.
If someone would like to help with a specific event or area, we will accommodate them.
May 21-cemetery clean-up, prior to memorial day
May-ground breaking on the Cemetery Pavilion project
The Quincy Rotary club will host a food drive at the next two club meetings, March 24 and March 31. The two needed items are Rice and dry cereal. Bags or boxed.
Please bring your donations to either of the next two noon meetings. Henry has volunteered to take the items over to the food bank.
The Museum is getting busier by the day, in preparation for our opening on April 22nd weekend. We hope you will plan to visit that weekend, especially on Sunday the 24th at 2 pm for our Annual Meeting and Volunteer Luncheon!
In the meantime, we have two things coming up quickly: our Manly Men / Wonder Women spring cleanup Saturday, April 2nd from 9-11 (bring gloves and a rake if you have one) AND
Community Sew Day on Monday, April 4. See the attached flyer for more information - we'd love to have you join us! Thanks to Florie Weber and Mandy Ottley for helping make this possible!
Take care - we hope to see you out this year at your museum!
Last week, we welcomed Pastor Daniel Castillo as our program speaker for "Serve Quincy".
Serve Quincy provides short term assistance for housing, food and other support for those in need in our community. If you want to be more involved or know someone who is in need immediate assistance, you can find contact info through social media or reach out to Pastor Daniel.
We had a surprise visit from our District Gov Elect, Karl Ruether. Karl presented our club with the 2022-23 Rotary year banner. We also shared with Karl, our various club projects and activities.
Thank you for supporting the fan bus to the boys basketball game Saturday. QHS sent two bus loads to students to attend the game.
Upcoming events:
March 2-Mobile food bank, thanks to all that have signed up to help with this event. If you wish to help, reach out to Teddy or Paul. Co chairs for this event.
March, 4-5 and 11-12, QHS Theatre presents Disney's High School Musical. Tickets can be purchased online, or at the HS office. https://wa-quincy.intouchreceipting.com/
March book club, hosted by Rob-discussion date TBD
March Chamber Rotary Auction postponed-new date Nov 12
May 12-14, Rotary District Conference in Wenatchee
May-ground breaking on the Cemetery Pavilion project
It's an exciting week for all our student athletes in Quincy. We celebrate the success of our swimmers and wrestlers at state and this weekend, our boy's basketball team will compete in first round the of the state tournament. Having just attended state in person for the first time in two years, I can't begin to describe the feeling of joy, excitement and enthusiasm that permeated the state events.
I am pleased to announce that the rotary board has approved the underwriting for a booster bus for students that wish to attend the basketball game in Mill Creek on Saturday. Thanks to your generous support we can continue to find ways for all our students to be a part of the community of high school and Quincy.
State Boys HS Basketball, Saturday, Feb 26, 12:00pm, Jackson HS, Mill Creek
March 2-Mobile food bank, thanks to all that have signed up to help with this event. If you wish to help, reach out to Teddy or Paul. Co chairs for this event.
February book club, hosted by Rob-discussion date TBD
March Chamber Rotary Auction postponed-new date Nov 12
May-ground breaking on the Cemetery Pavilion project
Interested in youth exchange? We are actively looking for 3 families to host our inbound student for the upcoming school year. Each family commits to about 3 months of hosting. It's a great opportunity to interact with a student that often times comes from a city much different than ours. Reach out to the committee of John R, Jess, Shannon, Henry or Mel if you have any interest.
Thank you Pete and the christmas light crew for taking down and storing the freeway lights.
out to the committee of John R, Jess, Shannon, Henry or Mel if you have any interest.
Each year, Rotary awards up to 130 fully funded fellowships for dedicated leaders from around the world to study at one of our peace centers.
Through academic training, practice, and global networking opportunities, the Rotary Peace Centers program develops the capacity of peace and development professionals to become effective catalysts for peace. The fellowships cover tuition and fees, room and board, round-trip transportation, and internship and field-study expenses.Since the program began in 2002, the Rotary Peace Centers have trained more than 1,500 fellows who now work in over 115 countries. Many serve as leaders in governments, NGOs, education and research institutions, peacekeeping and law enforcement agencies, and international organizations like the United Nations and the World Bank.The Rotary Peace Fellowship is designed for leaders with work experience in peace and development. Our fellows are committed to community and international service and the pursuit of peace. Each year, The Rotary Foundation awards up to 50 fellowships for master’s degrees and 80 for certificate studies at premier universities.
Thank you to all that delivered clothing needs to our elementary schools. The staff at the schools especially appreciated our efforts in addressing the basic needs of the kids.
Announcements:
Our Speaker this week is Rachel Lewis on Downtown Quincy Revitalization.
Due to multiple auctions this spring, the Quincy Chamber and Rotary Auction is postponed until November 12.
The cemetery project is happening. Carl presented the bid of $75,000 to purchase the building kit and local contractor, Mike Jackson, has offered to erect the building. Construction is expected to begin in May to early June.
Youth Exchange-We will need 3 host families for the 22-23 school year. 3 month per family beginning August. If you and your family wish to host or you know a family that would be interested please reach out to John Rylaarsdam. There is an application process that is not complicated but does take some time to check all the boxes for our club and host family to participate.
Our social event is next week!! We need your RSVP by THIS Thursday. The time of the event is at 5:30PM - address is 8368 RD S NW Quincy, WA - Please hit reply to this Email or reach out to Paul Slager 509-787-5692 to get in your RSVP. Thank you!
What a fantastic day!!! Thank you, fellow Rotarians, for making this an event to be proud of! Thank you all for your time, energy and enthusiasm. There were 17 volunteers, with 12 Rotarians. We served approximately 265 today, with the 2nd Harvest people planning on at least 250. Wow! What a rewarding day! Plus it was terrific working next to such awesome people….hard workers!
Melva has asked me to let her know if Pastor Daniel feels there would be another time we could do it again. Pastor Daniel was very pleased and grateful to hear this. With this winter looking like a long, cold, snowy winter he said he will stay in touch. He felt there were many who haven’t worked for several weeks so having this after Christmas was very worthwhile.
Thanks, again, for making this a fantastic day! Appreciate you all. Deb
We are at Jacks at the Market this week for our meeting. Nik Bergman, new Quincy School District Superintendent, will be giving a presentation on the upcoming school levy.
Thank you to all the Rotarians and volunteers that came out last week with 2nd Harvest mobile food bank. We gave out food to feed 260 families.
Reminders!
Rotary set up/take down committee-Set up and take down for our meetings, includes button box, flags, podium and speakers
Chaired by John R, includes Ila, Paul, Gigi, Dan, Larry, Pete, Ed, Mike K, Kelly, Mike S, Jorge, Harriet, Tony, Alfredo
Rotary Greeters/Host-welcome our guest and speakers and make sure they have a seat with a rotarian and lunch. Chaired by Henry, including Paul, John R., Ed and Shannon
Upcoming dates:
Rotary Book Club-Jan 13, Errant Cellars, 7pm, Hosted by Rob
Elementary Schools clothing needs, end of January-Gigi is the chair
Chamber Auction-March 19, Procurement committee, John A, Galen, Jack T, Gigi, Paul. Procurement Form (please see attached).
Good morning! Please send this out to our Rotary members. It would be very helpful if they would all post the flyers in their businesses and their neighboring businesses. Thanks for helping to get the word out! Deb
p.s. I had to ask what the Spanish words in the first flyer meant. That’s the name of the Church that Pastor Daniel is the Pastor of. It is the old lumber yard, next to Serve Quincy.
Thanks to the rotary folks that helped Quincy FFA collect the crop signs on Saturday. Also want to thank students Damon Sahli, Andrew Townsend, and Caden Cameron from FFA for helping!
Our Quincy Rotary Holiday Luncheon menu is broasted and baked chicken, Jojos, coleslaw, salad and biscuits. Plan to attend! We also will have Gavin Sahli to talk to us about being a FFA National Finalist!
MEETING WILL BE AT THE HERITAGE BARN THIS WEEK!!!!!
Rotarians volunteers are needed this coming weekend for a two hour Crop Sign work party ? We will meet at the McGregor shop at 10:00am this Saturday, along with Quincy FFA members. We only need to deal with highway 281 and North Frontage road. If you have any questions please contact Pete Romano.
The rotary elves have been busy around town and the valley. Thank you to those that participated in the Quincy Holiday Parade and the rest of the merry events over the first weekend of December. The board is working on a couple of ideas we can participate in for a brighter new year for our students and families in the community. See below for dates of upcoming activities.
Dec 23-no noon meeting
Dec 30-no noon meeting
Jan 5-2nd Harvest/Rotary mobile food bank-10 volunteers needed. Contact Deb if you can help.
Jan 13-Rotary Book Club-Open to all our members and significant others.Our January read is Churchill's Shadow. We will be meeting at Errant Cellars. Organizer Rob Bates.
Churchill's Shadow: The Life and Afterlife of Winston Churchill
6PM @ Errant cellards. Tonight is simply to seek consensus on the book choice and discuss process and direction for the group. Contact Rob Bates for any further information.
Thank you to every one of you that have given your time and energy to Quincy Rotary and especially to our community, in the last 12 months. I hope you all enjoy some time this week with family and friends.
I look forward to seeing you next week at our Thursday meeting (Dec 2). Our speaker will be Alex Ybarra, doing his membership classification talk. And the board has suggested a couple of projects we can consider for Quincy students and families.
If you haven't been to a noon meeting in a while, you are truly missing out. We have an amazing program of speakers on the calendar. Veterans Day, we hosted Daniel Chism, Operations Creation and up this week, The Quincy Food Bank. Thank you Program Committee!
Greeter/Host Committee-Henry (chair), John R, Mike S, Ed, Shannon. Welcome members and visitors to rotary. Help guide lunch orders and seating of guest spread out among the members.
Youth Exchange-We had a show of hands of several members willing to help find host families for the next inbound exchange opportunity. As a club, we had a long history of being involved in youth exchange.
Rotary at work day-Nov 22, 9am, Pull and stage freeway Christmas lights. Meet at Tom Hirai Farms, K Road NW, North of I-90, with a 2' ball on your vehicle to tow out holiday trailers. Pete, 509-787-5978
Nov 11, Veteran's Day, Deb and the program committee have organized the following guest speaker:
Daniel Chism is a Marine Veteran. He is the founder of “Operation Creation.” His dream was to create an entity that focuses on providing support and address the needs of our area’s Veterans and their families.
Rotary is erecting the flags at the cemetery at 8AM on Nov 11. Weather permitting.
Quincy Partnership for Youth
I am excited to announce that the date is set for the Annual Meeting Potluck. Below you will find the formal invitation. Please feel welcome to attend this event so you can see what QPY has been up to this past year. We would be happy to share some food, have some fun, and talk about all of the great work that has taken place. We intend to honor several of our dedicated coalition members, so members please feel free to bring a friend or family member.
If you have any questions, please feel free to reach out to me. It would help our planning efforts if everyone could RSVP by November 15th.
If you see a need for service in our community, please bring it to the club meeting or board members. Let's roll up our sleeves for the Quincy community!
Upcoming events for our club:
Veteran's Day, Nov 11. We are planning regular meeting. Carl has suggested Rotary help with placing flags out at the cemetery. We will discuss at this weeks meeting. Stay tuned.
Christmas lights placements, Nov 22, 9 am. Pete will need helpers with a 2' ball and stinger hitch to pull out the 30 trailered Christmas displays that dot the I-90 freeway every Christmas season.
Thanksgiving, Nov 25-no meeting
Dec 22-no meeting
Dec 30-no noon meeting, late afternoon event and Woodenville Whiskey
Thank you to program committee for filling out our schedule the next few weeks. Up this week is Christine Morgan from the Icicle Fund Organization and Leavenworth Rotary Club.
And thank you to those who helped on our most recent blood drive!
A shout out to the Quincy FFA and Gavin Sahli attending the National FFA Convention this week. We are proud of our local FFA and have hosted them many times for lunch. And we know some proud Rotary Parents too. Looking at you Summer and Sean.
Rotary at Work Projects: Cemetery clean up, led by Carl, October 30, 9am
Christmas display set up, led by Pete
Fellowship: Tour of Woodinville Whiskey and Christmas gathering, Dec 30, late afternoon
We would like to thank the board of Habitat for Humanity for sharing the mission and the building updates with our club. Habitat provides opportunities for folks to own their own home in our community but it also fills a need for recycling of clothes and household items with the retail store.
Up next, our speaker this week will be Trevor Hunt, the newly hired athletic trainer at QHS.
Rotary at Work Projects: Cemetery clean up, led by Carl
Christmas display set up, led by Pete
Fellowship: Tour of Woodinville Whiskey and Christmas gathering, Dec 30, late afternoon
No Meetings: Thanksgiving, Nov 25
Christmas Break, Dec 23
No noon meeting, Dec 30
And a thank you to La Hacienda for working with us for our noon meeting space. They appreciate our support and are now open for breakfast.
If you would like to do some volunteer hours this week....
Harriet is still looking for help on the 14th and 15th at the Historical Society to host the 3rd graders for Time Travelers. Please reach out to Harriet. Help is needed during the day.
Habitat for Humanity-move out date is approaching. Reach out to Summer or Luella the store. Items need to be moved to the temporary quarters at the WaFd building and possibly a garbage run to the dump.
I sat in on a presentation organized by John and Jess last week to our high school students interested in Youth Exchange. We have some interest locally. If you know anyone at all that might have interest, please have them connect with John, Jess, Nik or myself for more information about this life changing opportunity. Deadlines for the fall 2022 outbound exchange is the end of October.
Speaker ideas??? Please contact John B., Chuck, Deb, Larry or Carl, our program committee
World Polio Day is October 24. The Wenatchee Area Rotary Clubs are having a take out dinner fundraiser on October 23.
MAKE A DIFFERENCE DAY/WORLD POLIO DAY
SATURDAY, OCT. 23
Hungry and Tired after a Busy Day Volunteering? Let the Rotary clubs of Wenatchee, Wenatchee Sunrise, East Wenatchee and Wenatchee Confluence cook your dinner. We'll provide a lovely meal for two for pick up, courtesy of From Scratch by Us caterers for only $55.00. Plus, your dinner purchase continues to support Make a Difference Day, as a portion of the proceeds go to Rotary International’s efforts to eradicate Polio from the world.
Pick Up: Times: 4:30 – 7:30 p.m.
Location: Wenatchee Valley College Parking Lot off Ninth Street
Menu: Lasagna, Caesar Salad, Bread for Two (Family Style)
Historical Society-October 14 and 15. Set up, take down and help during the day as The Historical Society is hosting the 3rd grade classes from Quincy School District. Contact Harriet
Habitat for Humanity-moving out of building for the new construction. Contact Summer, Jack Toevs or Luella down at the store.
Lets flex some rotary muscle. Here are some of the opportunities you can pitch in to help with this fall.
Habitat for Humanity-always needs help to clean up and dispose from the non-usable items that are donated. They are moving out of their digs to rebuild on the same site this fall. Check in with Summer, Jack Toevs or at the store.
Cemetery clean up-Late October. Carl will do some pruning and need some hands for clean up.
Holiday lights along the freeway-Christmas is coming, Pete will be needing help with towing and set up.
Have some other ideas? Please don't hesitate to share at our weekly meeting or bring to the board.
Pres. Mel
Youth Exchange online meeting. Please see attached and distribute via clubrunner/social.
Thank you to all you helped make a successful FCAD weekend. I was reminded this weekend that our members are involved in more than just Rotary activities and it speaks to the commitment of the members that make up this club. It also reminds me of the unlimited of ways we, as a club and individuals, can find ways to be involved in the community we live in. Quincy, Opportunities Unlimited
Coming up:
Chamber/Rotary Auction-the chamber is exploring modifying the in-person auction in November.
Jack Toevs announced that Habitat for Humanity could use a truck and hands to pick up donated junk and haul off to the county waste site. Sounds like a good Rotarian's at Work project.
Guest Speakers-our program committee has scheduled a terrific list of speakers for club meetings. I think they have us booked 6 weeks out now. Make plans to come to weekly meetings.
QHS-football games are open to all to attend for free. However the athletic department is always looking for game sponsors for all sports, this helps buy trophy's, ribbons, etc for our student participants. They are always looking for bus drivers and sport referees.
Thanks again for your commitment to our community.
For the 20th anniversary of 9/11, we have been asked to display as many of the Veterans flag as possible in the parade. Please see the advertisement for information on the right of the home page titled Home Page Download Files. Please pass the word. We would like to display as many flags as possible. Our flags in the trailer are stored alphabetically. If you want to carry your veteran's flag, we can make that happen. Let's make this a great event for our community. Thanks
We had a excellent opportunity to host Alex Ybarra, 13th legislative district at our Sept 2 meeting.
Alex spent his time with us answering questions from the club. Up next for Sept 9, we host AD Brett Fancher, QSD.
We also heard a back to school report from Nik. The first home football game of the season was Sept 3. All home football games are currently open to the public and free to attend.
Fun fact-many of the scoreboards at the middle school and new highschool were funded in part, by Quincy Rotary.
Better Block is Sept 10-Rob reported all can help and sign up is online at the chamber website.
FCAD BBQ-Sept 11. Paul has tickets and Shannon has the shirts. Sign up sheets to help set up, serve and clean up are circulating by Paul. If you haven't signed up, please help. This is an all club effort and a long tradition in our community to serve lunch.
The 'How can I help' award goes out to new members Ashley and Alfredo for stepping up when asked and getting involved.
We had a excellent opportunity to host Alex Ybarra, 13th legislative district at our Sept 2 meeting.
Alex spent his time with us answering questions from the club. Up next for Sept 9, we host AD Brett Fancher, QSD.
We also heard a back to school report from Nik. The first home football game of the season was Sept 3. All home football games are currently open to the public and free to attend.
Fun fact-many of the scoreboards at the middle school and new highschool were funded in part, by Quincy Rotary.
Better Block is Sept 10-Rob reported all can help and sign up is online at the chamber website.
FCAD BBQ-Sept 11. Paul has tickets and Shannon has the shirts. Sign up sheets to help set up, serve and clean up are circulating by Paul. If you haven't signed up, please help. This is an all club effort and a long tradition in our community to serve lunch.
The 'How can I help' award goes out to new members Ashley and Alfredo for stepping up when asked and getting involved.
We welcomed a good crowd to our weekly Thursday meeting at La Hacienda. The restaurant is happy to host us and will be moving us to our own area in the back with two video screens. La Hacienda is happy for us to be part of their business and is open to suggestions to accommodate Quincy Rotary.
The board met on Aug 12. The main discussion centered around FCAD on Sept 11 and BetterBlock, Sept 10. Plans are being finalized with tickets, advertisement and volunteer hours. Paul and Rob will be looking for sign up commitments soon.
Christmas is coming. Secret Santa Pete will need helpers this fall to round up the light displays and place them along interstate 90. If you like to tow a trailer, boat or a port a potty, this is the project for you.
Rob, John R. and Paul are now our book club committee. Rotary International has suggested reads and I've asked this group to make reading suggestions for the club. If reading is your passion, reach out to Rob.
Shannon placed a shirt order with local business Quincy Hardware and Lumber. We hope to have the first order of logo shirts before FCAD. The best part is now we have a digital print of the rotary logo at QHL that can be used for hats, shirts, etc. We are planning to do another order later this fall if you missed out this first order.
As always, watch this space for upcoming announcements!
A special shout out today to the membership committee of Galen, Deb and Mike.
You can find the donation form for 2021 Back the Jacks in Club Runner under Home Page Downloaded Files and in the event Back the Jacks Benefit Auction.
We had a very interesting presentation from Jen Gardener regarding hospice care on Thursday, Aug 5. Thank you Jen for raising our awareness of this amazing program.
FCAD and Better Block-as a club we are hosting and serving our annual BBQ sandwich with locally raised apples, fries and sweet corn. This is an all club effort and we need everyone's participation to make it a success and community outreach project. All members will be responsible for 10 tickets/$10 each. FCAD is Sept 11. Paul will circulate the sign up sheet.
On Sept 10, the night before, Better Block will be having an event on B Street. We will need volunteers for this evening as well. Rob will be circulating the sign up for this.
More fun stuff...
Shannon is working on providing the club with an opportunity to order rotary polo style shirts. Stay tuned for more details.
Rob approached me about beginning a Rotary Book Club. I think it's a great idea and have mentioned it to others. If you have a passion for books talk to Rob!
Board Meeting this week, 11:15am, Thursday, Aug 12 at La Hacienda
There are several events coming up in the next couple of months for the Quincy Rotary Club.
Don't be a shy rotarian, you can join in any committee, anytime.
Sept 1-Back to School for our students. Rob and Adriana are Student Guest Committee members. By including our high school students in our meetings, we are building community with our future leaders. Youth Exchange is actively looking for outbound students. Youth Exchange Committee is John R, Mel, Jess and Nik B.
Sept 11-FCAD. Paul is working on the option for our club to serve our annual BBQ Lunch. FCAD Committee is Paul, Bruce, Dan, Gigi and all of us the day of FCAD.
Oct 2-Back the Jacks benefit auction
Nov 13-Chamber Rotary Benefit Auction. Committee, John A, Galen, Jack Toevs, Gigi, Paul
Fall Cemetery Cleanup??-tidy up our cemetery before winter. Cemetery committee, Carl and Gigi
And thank you to the Program Committee, John B, Chuck, Larry, Deb and all that give program ideas. Don't forget that we are now charging for weekly meals, whether you or not make the Thursday meetings.
Install will be Tuesday, July 27 at 6pm at Yeates Farm shop. Pre function at Paul and Jane Slager’s at 530. Gigi will be taking RSVPs at this week's meeting.
Thank you to all the Quincy Rotarians who participated in Better Block this past week, especially Galen and Rob. You all made B Street the place to be Friday night and Saturday. If you missed out, stay tuned, there will be more to come on B street….
Install will be Tuesday, July 27 at 6pm at Yeates Farm shop. Pre function at Paul and Jane Slager’s at 530. Gigi will be taking RSVPa at this weeks meeting.
Hello Everyone! We still need at least one person for the 5:30-7:30 block. Please reply here or reach out to Rob Bates if you're able to help out. Thanks!
Good afternoon,
We received a clarification from the Liquor Control Board, because this is an event hosted by a nonprofit we do not need MAST cards for volunteers checking identification at the Better Blocks wine and beer garden. This simplifies volunteering for you.
On the night of Friday July 16th we need 2 shifts of volunteers with 2-4 people per shift.
530-730pm
Volunteer
1
2
3
4
7:30-9:00pm
Volunteer
1
2
3
4
If you are interested in completing MAST training for future events this can be completed for a $20 fee at the following link:
Please note that we will be meeting for lunch beginning this week, July 8, at:
La Hacienda
201 E St SE, Quincy, WA 98848
The owners are opening the restaurant for our club only. The $10 menu will include choices that include traditional items or salad or a burger (menu attached). Order upon arrival at the meeting.
Meeting time begins at 12:10pm.
Thank you Carl Yeates for working out the location for our club.
Looking forward to seeing you at this weeks meeting.
Mel
President, Quincy Rotary Club
Below is the menu options:
Rotary Lunch Menu
All plates come with rice & beans. Your choice of flour or corn tortillas (Except the taco salad)
Attached are the Fliers for Quincy Better Block. You can find fliers in English and Spanish on the left side of the home page under the title "Home Page Download Files".
We had a great presentation from Luke Grigg on the positive impact youth exchange has had on exchange students, on families, on clubs, and on the entire world.
Fellow Rotarians- as the temperatures will be extreme this week, we will postpone Rotary Install until Thursday, July 29. The fellowship committee will circulate a new sign up in July. No Lunch meeting this week July 1. Thank you, Mel PE
We are so excited to welcome Better Block to Quincy. This is an amazing way to better our community. Volunteers are needed to help make this a huge success! Below are the websites for information and signing up to volunteer.
Throw-back photos from exchange 2013, Daisy (Denmark) and Tyler (Brazil) were outbound and Anita (Italy) was our inbound.
Youth Exchange has been supported by Quincy Rotary since the 70s. We look forward to being able to welcome students to the opportunity for exchange in fall of 2022. If you know any local High School Students that would be interested in Exchange, bring them to a Thursday meeting. We have several members that have hosted and been involved in youth exchange.
Haliey Weber QHS Theatre Director brought with her part of the cast from Anne of Green Gables! Rotary was fortunate to be able to see a preview of the play.
Left to Right: Dave Sulistio as Matthew Cuthbert, Keira White as Marilla Cuthbert, Emma Foley as Anne Shirley, and Allie Manly as Rachel Lynde.
Strengthening Families Program is back!! We are currently on week 5 of 7. We are looking for organizations or businesses that would like to donate a gift basket or items like board games that families can send quality time together. We currently have 8 participant families. We meet every Friday @ 6pm @ Quincy Middle School. If you would like to donate please contact Adriana Luna-Reyna @ (509) 431-0986.
Searching For Location
I am looking for an out door location that I can rent to host a wedding reception for 50 people. The budget for a location is $1,000. If you are interested to rent out a location or home for the day please send me pictures. If you have any questions or concerns please contact Adriana Luna-Reyna @ (509) 431-0986. We are trying to stay local.
Quincy Rotary, still looking for volunteers to fill out committees. Especially for programs, meeting setup and sergents. Or if you have interest in something not listed-please write in or contact me.
Thursday, April 8, was our first in person lunch meeting in over a year. I was so happy to see so many that I forgot to take pictures. Thank you to Harriet and Ed for setting us up in the Heritage Barn. And a special shout out to zoom call in's Ila and Mike. As we navigate in person meetings again, watch your email for lunch order instructions and meeting announcements.
Signing up for committees for the next year is a great way to re engage with rotary and the Quincy Community. I will continue to send around the sign up sheets for the next couple of weeks. We especially need help with meeting set up and take down and programs. If something doesn't appeal to you, please share with me or the board. If you are interested in serving on the board, please reach out to me too.
This is a unique time for our club to involve, be inclusive and re energize as Rotarians.
The board approved a $5 per month facilities fee for the members. This covers the janitorial services for the use of facilities at the Heritage Barn for weekly rotary meetings.
The board approved to designate monies raised at the Chamber Rotary Auction (only Rotary's share) for the cemetery building project.
Rotary will continue to meet at the Heritage Barn for through the end of June with a pre-order lunch option or bring your own lunch.
Matt Melburn will be working with Shannon Durfee as secretary as he transitions out of that role for the club.
As I mentioned on today's rotary zoom meeting, Quincy will be holding a vaccination clinic on Saturday, April 10th. And they need volunteers for morning or afternoon or all day to help move people through the lines.
Here is the person to contact if you can help out:
This week is the beginning of our in person meetings again!! We are also planning to have zoom available for those that cannot attend in person.
Location: Heritage Barn - 415 F St SW, Quincy, Wa
Date & Time: Thursdays 12pm beginning April 8th
Meal: Provided by Blue Bell Cafe. An email will be sent out on Fridays and must have a response by Tuesday in order for you to receive a meal at the meeting.
The all club meeting on April 1 was a club business meeting. The following was announced and discussed.
The club is in discussion with the City for taking over the maintenance of rotary park located next to CLA. A program for the club to discuss the future of the structure will be forthcoming.
The Chamber and Rotary is planning to host the annual auction in person. John Akins and Galen Golay are the rotarians on the Chamber board. Gigi and Jack Toevs have volunteered to do procurement.
Carl reported an update on the structure for the cemetery project. We will be working locally with Pioneer metal to build some of the base components for the structure. Funding and matching grants for this project are in part from our rotary district 5060.
Upcoming Rotary at work projects:
Crop Signs with Pete, Ed and local 4-H and FFA
Mass vaccination clinic in Quincy will need volunteers
Flag placement at the cemetery with Carl, Memorial Weekend
Finally, In person meetings are returning to Quincy Rotary, Watch for communications on Mondays to pre-order a lunch for $12 for the Thursday meeting or bring your own lunch. No extra lunches will be available the day of the meeting. Thank you Blue Bell Cafe for supplying our April lunch menu.
One theme I have noticed this past 12 months is Quincy Rotarians care and involvement in the community. While we haven't been able to meet in person in a long, long time, it's been amazing to me see Rotarians give their time and talents to our community. As we move to having in person meetings again in April, my challenge as President Elect, is to fill out committees that serve our club and community. A few of you I have spoken to but many I have not yet and I hope you look at our club as an opportunity to contribute to our community, share in fellowship and network through our speakers and social gatherings. If you are passionate about a project or a volunteer idea, this is your moment to speak up.
We have rotarians that help out weekly at the food bank, on crop signs, at vaccination sites. We have rotarians that have become new parents, empty nesters and retired from jobs in the past year. Our club may look different than it did a year ago but we still have the same theme of "Service above Self" as our map. The road we use to get there is entirely up to us.
Quincy Rotary Club is planning to return to in person meetings on April 8 at the Heritage Barn! Stayed tuned for details on what that will look like for in person and virtual attendance. There will be a lunch option as well.
Meeting ID: 867 4227 4473 Passcode: 677303 One tap mobile +12532158782,,86742274473#,,,,*677303# US (Tacoma) +16699009128,,86742274473#,,,,*677303# US (San Jose)
Dial by your location +1 253 215 8782 US (Tacoma) +1 669 900 9128 US (San Jose) +1 346 248 7799 US (Houston) +1 301 715 8592 US (Washington DC) +1 312 626 6799 US (Chicago) +1 646 558 8656 US (New York) Meeting ID: 867 4227 4473 Passcode: 677303 Find your local number: https://us02web.zoom.us/u/kcKX2MWuec
Meeting ID: 867 4227 4473 Passcode: 677303 One tap mobile +12532158782,,86742274473#,,,,*677303# US (Tacoma) +16699009128,,86742274473#,,,,*677303# US (San Jose)
Dial by your location +1 253 215 8782 US (Tacoma) +1 669 900 9128 US (San Jose) +1 346 248 7799 US (Houston) +1 301 715 8592 US (Washington DC) +1 312 626 6799 US (Chicago) +1 646 558 8656 US (New York) Meeting ID: 867 4227 4473 Passcode: 677303 Find your local number: https://us02web.zoom.us/u/kcKX2MWuec
Meeting ID: 867 4227 4473 Passcode: 677303 One tap mobile +12532158782,,86742274473#,,,,*677303# US (Tacoma) +16699009128,,86742274473#,,,,*677303# US (San Jose)
Dial by your location +1 253 215 8782 US (Tacoma) +1 669 900 9128 US (San Jose) +1 346 248 7799 US (Houston) +1 301 715 8592 US (Washington DC) +1 312 626 6799 US (Chicago) +1 646 558 8656 US (New York) Meeting ID: 867 4227 4473 Passcode: 677303 Find your local number: https://us02web.zoom.us/u/kcKX2MWuec
After our first meeting last week, we were able to figure out why some members might have had issues getting logged on to join us. We apologize for the inconvenience and want to reassure you that it has been fixed! Please follow the info below to get logged in for the club meeting, today @ Noon!
Quincy Rotary Club is inviting you to a scheduled Zoom meeting.
Topic: Rotary Club Weekly Zoom Meeting Time: Jan 28, 2021 12:00 PM Pacific Time (US and Canada)
Meeting ID: 867 4227 4473 Passcode: 677303 One tap mobile +12532158782,,86742274473#,,,,*677303# US (Tacoma) +16699009128,,86742274473#,,,,*677303# US (San Jose)
Dial by your location +1 253 215 8782 US (Tacoma) +1 669 900 9128 US (San Jose) +1 346 248 7799 US (Houston) +1 301 715 8592 US (Washington DC) +1 312 626 6799 US (Chicago) +1 646 558 8656 US (New York) Meeting ID: 867 4227 4473 Passcode: 677303 Find your local number: https://us02web.zoom.us/u/kcKX2MWuec
Dial by your location +1 253 215 8782 US (Tacoma) +1 346 248 7799 US (Houston) +1 669 900 9128 US (San Jose) +1 646 558 8656 US (New York) +1 301 715 8592 US (Washington D.C) +1 312 626 6799 US (Chicago) Meeting ID: 740 213 0764 Passcode: 726911 Find your local number: https://us02web.zoom.us/u/kO3ek1IbN
Several past exchange students, including our past outbound Luke Grigg, are developing with DG Richard DeRock and Susan McIntyre a district ROTEX club. ROTEX stands for Rotary Exchange and Luke has reached out to our club for a list of all the past and exchange students that have been in our district. Matt Melburn has kept an excellent record of all of our students and we were able to share that with Luke. Currently, there is a private facebook group called ROTEX 5060. If you have contact with any of our past exchange students, please let them know to reach out this facebook group to join or contact Luke Grigg at lukegrigg@gmail.com
Raise your hand if 2020 had been difficult and different. Just as I thought, its unanimous. But what about the good? As a club, we have not had the opportunity to meet for our weekly lunches, share in fellowship and hear programs from around our community. And I will admit, at first it was nice to have a little break from the weekly meetings. Rotary is a volunteer service club. We care, we are doers. That takes a lot of time and energy. It was nice to recharge. But then, as our days took a new shape, I noticed that Rotarians, while not meeting weekly, were still out there doing “good”.
And it looked different. We still had an exchange student program with a student here and one abroad. And we did not abandon either of them. We still found time to take them on hikes and outings. We had Rotarians sanitizing carts at the grocery store, running the truck with groceries for the food bank, keeping the rotary park water sculpture clean and running, organizing a golf tournament, updating the crop signs, setting up lights on the freeway, reimagining our community Christmas celebrations. We found ways to connect with each other as a club with smaller install for Jorge, blood drives, district grants for PPE, supporting local businesses and meeting online for board meetings.
As we anticipate a new year, I just want to say thank you to all the members of Quincy Rotary. Thank you to those that reached out to me to check in and thank you to those of you that reached out to other club members and our community. Like all the Rotary clubs worldwide, we made a caring impact here, in Quincy. And it has been a good Rotary year.
Did you know…… 5 to 6 times per year the Quincy Rotary Club is the leader in providing manual support for the Quincy Blood Drive. This project has been ongoing for more than 10 years. Rotarians volunteer with the set up and take down of tables and chairs for the American Red Cross for the local draw the day that happens once every two months. Currently, Henry Hernandez is the chair of this crew and typically he is looking for 4 to 6 volunteers for the day of the event. It only takes 30 minutes out of your day to help with the set up or take down. A break in your day to do something good for our community! Reach out to Henry if you ever want to help. 509-237-3446. We just had a blood drive in town October 27. The next one will probably be early January.
Molly Richardson, granddaughter of Quincy rotary charter member Larry Richardson, is in serious condition in HarborView Medical Center. For support for Molly and the family please follow the CaringBridge link below.
Stop by the Quincy Public Market on Saturday’s from 9-11 am and support local business while catching up with fellow Rotarians. Lots of room for social distancing, coffee and food to purchase from local vendors.
Every Saturday morning until we can officially meet as a club again.
Sadly this year the Quincy Rotary Club will not have a Christmas Party due to the current WA state health restrictions on meetings of 5 or more people. But I would like to say that the Quincy Public Market has a Christmas tree of sharing, so if you can stop by and grab an envelope to share a Christmas gift.
Since 1969, the Quincy Rotary Club has been involved in the world youth exchange program for Rotary. The program is staffed entirely by volunteers from rotary and provides teens with the opportunity to learn and study a culture abroad. Because it is staffed by volunteers, it is also one of the least cost programs for student exchange. After 50 years of a remarkable program, sadly, we have had to put the program on hold. Until the pandemic has run its course, we will not be hosting or sending a student abroad. The district and clubs involved are maintaining all the training and standards that need to be met to host a student, so that when it is time, we will be welcoming a student back to our community in Quincy.
I have included the listing of our inbounds and outbounds. If you have any thoughts about students that you know or if you are ever interested in hosting a student for 3 months, reach out to me. It has been the most rewarding activity I have been involved with in Quincy rotary.
5 to 6 times per year the Quincy Rotary Club is the leader in providing manual support for the Quincy Blood Drive. This project has been ongoing for more than 10 years. Rotarians volunteer with the set up and take down of tables and chairs for the American Red Cross for the local draw the day that happens once every two months. Currently, Henry Hernandez is the chair of this crew and typically he is looking for 4 to 6 volunteers for the day of the event. It only takes 30 minutes out of your day to help with the set up or take down. A break in your day to do something good for our community!
Reach out to Henry if you ever want to help. 509-237-3446.
We just had a blood drive in town October 27. The next one will probably be early January.
The board met on October 5 for a monthly board meeting. The highlights from the meeting include a review of the financials for the club. As the club has not met weekly since March and has not held any fundraising activities, the project shortfall for the club year will be approximately $14,000. The club year runs from July 1, 2020- June 30, 2021. The board strongly feels the need to continue annual contributions to our community. This includes, Scholarships, 4H, FFA Crop Signs, Fat Stock Boosters, Food Bank, Grid Kids, and the Rotary Foundation.
The club also applied and received $2000 in grants for PPE for QVMC, Quincy Community Health and The Cambridge.
After the review, the board concluded that the club can continue to support our annual contributions to our community with the savings we currently have in our account for the current rotary year.
Questions can be directed to President Jorge Rios.
The next board meeting is scheduled for Nov 5 at 5:30 at the Christian Reform Church.
The Rotary of Quincy and President Jorge Rios, is pleased to announce a grant award from Rotary District 5060 for $2000 to provide PPE to Sageview Clinic, Community Health and The Cambridge. The grant will be used to purchase personal protective equipment for each facility in response to Covid-19. The club previously made contributions to the construction of masks by local volunteer sewing groups and for the purchase of personal protective equipment for The Cambridge Retirement Center in March and April.
Quincy Rotary Club was established in Quincy in 1955 and has been active in providing community service locally as well as health and wellness service in international countries. Learn more about Rotary at rotary.org/en
There are still spots open for the golf scramble. They do not have to be Rotarians. Invite a friend or co-worker to the event.
Event: The 2nd annual Quincy Rotary Club Golf Scramble
Place: Highlander Golf Course
Date: Monday, October 12th.
Washington Trust Bank is donating the first 20 spots but numbers are not limited to 20! The entry fee is $50. This was a great event last year and we encourage you to invite as many as you can to join!
The Rotary Club wants to remember Tom Grebb who passed away on September 1st after an 11 year battle with Parkinson's Disease. Tom was a past Quincy rotary president, very active in our community, and a pioneer in business. Please remember his wife Camille and the rest of the family in this difficult time.
Thank you so much for being the best part of my weeks being President of our wonderful Club! Although my terms last quarter has not been as rewarding personally as far as us being able to get together every Thursday afternoon, the wonderful things that came out of the clubs involvement in the community during the COVID crisis has been remarkable and something we should all be proud of.
A few of the accomplishments I am proud to have happened during my term are the Quarterly Social events, the $10,000 grant for the Cemetery Foundation, and moving our meetings from the Senior Center to Jack’s Restaurant!
Paul and I plan to continue the Socials with the blessing of Jorge, so I hope you all look forward to attending when we are able. The next one would have been scheduled for July 30th, and more will be nailed down as we get more clarity on gatherings.
The Cemetery Grant is good through June 2021, and progress is being made on the project.
Although we only got to get in a few meetings at Jack’s, I and the Board have gotten supporting comments from the club and I am grateful for that! It was a big decision and one that wasn’t made in haste. Again, COVID interrupted our ability to gather and unfortunately Jack’s is still not able to accommodate groups larger than 5. Jorge has some great ideas to get together but I will leave that for him to announce!
In closing, thank you all for your support throughout my term! I have always felt so welcomed with all of you and the feeling of inclusion and friendship really makes my heart full! We have developed true friendships and being part of Rotary is more than just civic duty, it is strong relationships that will last a lifetime!
Thank you all again for being the amazing group of people that you are! I am proud to call Quincy and Rotary club my home!
On July 1st, Jorge Rios will take over the reigns as Rotary President for 2020-2021. Due to COVID19 and social distancing we have made a decision to postpone the installation banquet until a later date when we can all get together to celebrate.
Rotary Crop Signs have been installed along the highways and biways!
Special Thank You to Pete Romano, Ed Field, Mike Kniep, Quincy 4H Club and Mr. Steve Kennedy, Quincy FFA Club and Mr. Mike Wallace, and Summer Sahli and her group of volunteers.
It has come time for Lilly to return back to her home! I can’t believe how fast the year has gone. Please try to make it out to the Coutour’s to say Farewell, never good bye, to our Dear Lilly on Saturday 6/20 at 4:30 pm, Location: 12006 Rd Q NW, Quincy WA 98848! Lilly you have been a joy and I am so sorry your year ended with this Covid quarantine and social distancing! With social distancing being our reality now and until there is a vaccine, this is a reminder to stay safe! Please remember everyone that this is a Rotary Event and we need to ensure safety and maintain healthy actions. Wear a mask if able, keep 6’ apart, wash your hands often, and as hard as it is going to be, don’t hug if at all possible! As everyone has seen in the press, we still have cases increasing! Take the utmost care and consideration, if not for you do it for others! Thank you all, stay safe and healthy!
Next Saturday 16 May is the “CSTE” (Club Spring Team-Building Experience). The registration as of this afternoon is attached, and your club has 0 registered.
This is a new approach for our District to help build stronger clubs, and it has great potential to help you and your club get started on the right foot. This would hopefully be just one of several planning sessions. It is unfortunate that we cannot do this in person as originally planned and I know that your board was very receptive to the idea when we got together in person, but this Zoom session has the bonus of requiring no travel time and being FREE!
Ideally each club would have 10-15 participants, so why not see if you can’t get something going? Just send all interested to register at:
There are several opportunities where community members can be helpful. Deb Adams and team are gathering names willing to step into positions or be willing to be a backup. They have been taking care of these jobs for the past month. It looks like they will be doing this until such time as the “regular” volunteers can come back. Those previous volunteers are over 70 and will not be able to come back until such time as it is determined that it is safe. Please let Deb know if you or someone you know can help.
Quincy Food Bank – Tuesdays and Fridays from 8:30 am to Noon. Teri could use more volunteers for both days, both as regulars and fill-ins. Galen has been working both days. I’ve been filling in on Fridays. Sometimes Teri doesn’t know she will be short-handed until the night before or morning of so it could be short notice. Last Friday Teri felt they had in increase in people they served. I didn’t get a final count.
Serve Quincy – Wednesdays and Thursdays from 9:00 to Noon and 1:30 to 4:30. Pastor Daniel needs people to help with answering the phone, greeting people and help with the storage of food and furniture. His busy time is when he has appointments to interview potential recipients. There are times when you would have time to work on your iPad or computer because it is quiet. Currently things are relatively quiet because people are still working so that is good. Of the 4 time slots there is only one person who is a “regular” volunteer. Julie Putnam has Wednesday mornings and needs a replacement because she needs to be back to her lavender business. Debbie Ramsey is working Thursday mornings and I believe she is doing okay but could use a backup. We also need a backup for Thursday afternoons. I have been working those afternoons and Tom has been my backup but one day neither one of us could do it so Pastor Daniel closed that day.
Akins Fresh Market is offering free delivery Monday mornings and Thursday afternoons. They are discontinuing the Monday afternoon and Thursday morning deliveries. We need a backup person for Monday mornings and a new person to take over Thursday afternoons. I’m not sure how long this service is going to be offered. The people delivered to are very appreciative of the service. They are definitely our vulnerable citizens…in town and in the country.
If anyone can help out with any of these jobs or knows of someone you can send them to Deb Adams for coordination. You will need a face mask and gloves. If you need either, again, please let Deb Adams know, 509-750-1384 or dadams@windermere.com.
Thank you again for any help and support you can give!
*This message is only going to you in your club, feel free to forward if you think others will be interested.
Most of you know that many regular club meetings are still happening by Zoom (see the full list of different clubs having zoom meetings and welcoming guests at the District website - Club Meeting Links). This is a heads-up that the Rotary Club of Kelowna has confirmed Zone 28 Rotary International Director-Elect Valarie Wafer as their speaker next week, Tuesday 7 April at ~12:30pm.
The link for this and all of our club meetings Tuesdays at noon is:
Topic: Rotary Club of Kelowna with guest R.I.D. Jeffry Cadorette Time: Tuesday 14 April, 12:00 pm
First and foremost, The Rotary Board of Directors hope this email blast finds you and your loved ones healthy and sheltering in place as you can. This is a totally new time for our world and in particular for our area. We want to share a few ways to stay in the know and also a few ways you can help if so inclined. This information was put together by Lisa Karstetter. As you all know, the most important thing to do now is to stay home if you can, stay safe and bless you for your volunteering to help our community. 😊 Stay vigilant in ensuring you are doing what you need to do to stay healthy.
For the most up to date information on “cases” in our immediate area you can go to this link for Grant County Health. Chelan/Douglas Health District does not have a tracker thus far. This link is from John Hopkins University very interesting as well as this one that is just US and Canada driven. They are using AI to track the virus worldwide.
Gigi has been attending Quincy Covid-19 Crisis Team on behalf of Rotary, along with a number of others vested in our community. We have virtual meetings every few days with other leaders in the community including Ed Field, Deb Adams and Harriet Webber, who facilitated the now virtual gathering that originated as an idea from John Boyd as he felt that Rotary should be leading in many capacities during this time of crisis. There is representation from the Hospital, Chamber, Schools, Food Bank, Serve Quincy, Police, City, Grocers, County, Faith-Based Community and many others. We are staying as up-to-date on where the need is, where help is needed and how agencies are addressing it. If you have any questions or would like to help in anyway, please feel free to reach out to any of us and we can give you an update. If you know of anyone who is unable to reach out for help and is in need/assistance with anything please notify the Chamber and they will ensure their needs are addressed.
An immediate ask for Rotary is to assist in maintaining support for both main grocery stores by mobilizing volunteers to be part of the Clean Cart Brigade, sanitizing carts between each use. The volunteers have primarily been at Akins, but also try to help at the IGA as volunteers become available. Gena, from Faith Community has taken up the help mantle for this since yesterday. As Harriet informed us after getting off the phone with Gena who said, "I now realize how important this task is. Until you actually see what is going on there, you don't think this is a vital service, but now I know it is!"
Volunteers are scheduled to come and serve for two to three-hour shifts, spraying and wiping down carts between use, and doing a lot of educating of folks on smart /safe shopping. Gloves are supplied, and there are Akins aprons to wear, to give legitimacy to this. Since Akins is an essential service, and they have asked us to do this, our volunteers are also able to travel under the state order to be there. They are getting travel letters today.
With the high school staff and students quarantined, our volunteer pool has shrunk even more.
Rotary friends, if you have any ability to help out between noon and 6 pm to help sanitize carts, your assistance is greatly appreciated!
As you know, many folks are unemployed, small businesses are shut down, parents homeschooling and there is a rise in domestic violence and crisis intervention. There are a few great ways to help if you are so inclined and have the ability to contribute.
Here’s a list of a few of them:
There has been a COVID-19 fund set up at Columbia Basin Foundation (CBF) to address the needs of Grant County non-profits (which there are many… ie. food banks, homeless shelters, Serve Quincy, crisis centers, small business, senior centers, chambers, etc).
If you would like to donate (no pressure), here is some instructions. For first time users, let me walk you through a scenario.
Go to the Charity Website of my choice. (Columbia Basin Foundation.) I would use their tool and make my donation. (For Columbia Basin Foundation, in the “Additional Information” box you need to write: Covid-19” and you can go as far as designating Quincy if you would prefer it to go to or if you just write Covid-19 it will go to support all Grant County non-profits.)
Again, any of the Rotary Board Members are here to help if you need anything, just shoot any of us message or give us a call.
Rotary is a global network of 1.2 million neighbors, friends, leaders, and problem-solvers who see a world where people unite and take action to create lasting change – across the globe, in our communities, and in ourselves.
Solving real problems takes real commitment and vision. For more than 110 years, Rotary's people of action have used their passion, energy, and intelligence to take action on sustainable projects. From literacy and peace to water and health, we are always working to better our world, and we stay committed to the end.
We provide service to others, promote integrity, and advance world understanding, goodwill, and peace through our fellowship of business, professional, and community leaders.
We are people of action
We work differently
We see differently: Our multidisciplinary perspective helps us see challenges in unique ways.
We think differently: We apply leadership and expertise to social issues — and find unique solutions.
We act responsibly: Our passion and perseverance create lasting change.
We make a difference at home and around the world: Our members can be found in your community and across the globe.
As a global network that strives to build a world where people unite and take action to create lasting change, Rotary values diversity and celebrates the contributions of people of all backgrounds, regardless of their age, ethnicity, race, color, abilities, religion, socioeconomic status, culture, sex, sexual orientation, and gender identity.
Youth Action Interact is partnering up with Quincy Partnership for Youth and Integrated Services to bring Strengthening Families Program to our community. We have a total of 8 families officially signed up and registered and 4 ready to register bringing us to a total of 12 families.
What is Strengthening Families: For Parents and Youth 10-14? This program can help families to learn to manage emotions, set goals, avoid peer pressure, make better decisions and create better relationships. They will learn how to show love while setting limits, how to listen to their child and how to help family members show appreciation to each other. Sessions are highly interactive and dinner is provided! Adults and youth will meet in separate groups for the first hour and then together as families during the second hour to practice skills, play games, and do family projects.
First session is starting Tuesday Feb 18th at the Middle School. Youth Action Interact is looking for donation from the community and businesses that can help out. Youth Action Interact will like to do drawings every week for the Strengthening Families Program and a graduation basket for each family. If you would like to donate please contact Adriana Luna-Reyna at (509) 431-0986.
Thank You,
Adriana Luna-Reyna
The dates are ass followed: Session 6 - 03/17 - Session 7 - 03/19 -
I hope things are going well on your side of the world, things certainly are on mine! I just received the package that Briana put together with all of the little things from you all and I'm really touched! Thank you all so much! It's so nice to have a little reminder of home, and my little host sister was very excited to open it with me! Please pass my thanks on to everyone, and there'll be something coming for you all soon! Speaking of, I hope you got my letter I sent before Christmas?
I'll be changing host families soon so I've been busy and a little sad to leave this family because I've integrated really well. School is still going well, lots of fun projects and I finally understand math class!
Any who I hope you had wonderful holidays, and I'll hear from you soon!
ENGLEWOOD, Colo., Jan. 7, 2020 — Members of Toastmasters and Rotary will enhance their skills, broaden their networks and increase their positive impact in communities through a new collaboration.
The ongoing relationship between the two organizations will begin at the grassroots level with local club members learning and working together. Additionally, Toastmasters will create a set of eight structured communication and leadership development courses for Rotary with a phased rollout that will be available in English in 2020, and in more languages in 2021.
“The strategic alliance with Rotary is exciting and allows both organizations to leverage our unique and similar strengths,” says Deepak Menon, Toastmasters' 2019-20 International President. “We look forward to providing our current and prospective members with ongoing additional offerings that meet their evolving needs.”
With its first unofficial meeting held in Bloomington, Ill., in March 1905, Toastmasters is a global nonprofit organization with more than 16,800 clubs in 143 countries. Its members attend club meetings where they learn how to be more confident speakers, communicators and leaders. Toastmasters’ vision for the ongoing collaboration with Rotary is to change more lives for the better, and positively impact communities around the world.
“Collaborating with Toastmasters will provide our members with even more opportunities to develop and improve their leadership and communication skills,” said John Hewko, general secretary and CEO of Rotary International. “In turn, members of Toastmasters can connect with more people, take advantage of new speaking and learning opportunities, and make a difference in their communities through Rotary.”
Rotary provides its members opportunities to develop professionally, gain world understanding, and make lifelong friendships – all while volunteering to improve lives and bring lasting, positive change to communities.
Founded in 1905 in Chicago, Ill., Rotary is a global network of people committed to improving lives and bringing positive, lasting change. Each year, Rotary members contribute millions of dollars and volunteer hours to promote health, peace and prosperity in communities across the globe. Through volunteering, they make lifelong friendships that transcend political, cultural and generational boundaries and foster global understanding and respect.
For further information or interviews from Toastmasters International, please contact dolson@toastmasters.org or call +1720 619 5344.
For further information or interviews from Rotary International, please contact chanele.williams@rotary.org or call +1847 866 3466
About Toastmasters International: Toastmasters International is a worldwide nonprofit educational organization that empowers individuals to become more effective communicators and leaders. Headquartered in Englewood, Colo., the organization's membership exceeds 358,000 in more than 16,800 clubs in 143 countries. Since 1924, Toastmasters International has helped people from diverse backgrounds become more confident speakers, communicators and leaders. For information about local Toastmasters clubs, please visit www.toastmasters.org. Follow @Toastmasters on Twitter.
About Rotary: Rotary brings together a global network of volunteer leaders dedicated to tackling the world’s most pressing humanitarian challenges. Rotary connects 1.2 million members of more than 35,000 Rotary clubs in over 200 countries and geographical areas. Their work improves lives at both the local and international levels, from helping those in need in their own communities to working toward a polio-free world. See www.rotary.org.
Briana Melburn has asked our club to contribute items for a Christmas care package to send to our current outbound exchange student Cassia in Belgium.
Nonperishable items only, no liquids or flammables, something small from Quincy like a mug, pens, phone charger, soap, candle, etc.. Akins carries lots of little gift ideas as does the Quincy Market.
If you have something to contribute, please bring to the Dec 5 meeting and give to Briana. She will be shipping it out the end of the week.
Movie Nights are usually once a month at Mt. View Elementary School at 5:30 p.m. and, it is completely free to enter and, open to the entire community. The purpose of Movie Nights is to be able to hang out with friends and family and just enjoy some time together. Youth Action Interact does have a concession stand where they sells lots of goodies like: candy bars, soda, Gatorade, cookies, chips, and popcorn. We would love to see some Rotary Members come and support or volunteer with us. Come help us fundraiser for future projects/events to help out our community. We hope to see you there!
Youth Action Interact went to Yakima, WA for the WA State Prevention Summit on November 5th & 6th to learn more about the epidemic on opioids, substance abuse, marijuana, and vaping amoung youth. This training will help Youth Action Interact complete their 2020 Prevention Project to compete at the Spring Youth Forum in May.
Lilly went to Pullman to experience the WSU Cougar football game, tailgating and camping. On our way home we stopped by one of our farms. Damon hid in Sudan grass and scared the tar out of Lilly!
HOLD THE DATE! There will be 1-day training events for the USA in Yakima & Wenatchee on Saturday 16 May, and for Canada in Summerland & Kamloops on Saturday 23 May. These are intended to provide training and support for all board members and other interested club members, ideally ~10-15 members per club. Hold the date and stay tuned for more details!
Gigi had the pleasure of giving Jack Toevs his award for 50 years of service with Rotary. Jack has stayed very active in rotary. Serving on the board, always there to help with projects, his family also hosted an exchange student. Thank you Jack for you service!
The ESD awarded Quincy Rotary a special award for the clubs community involvement especially with youth programs including Interact and youth exchange.
This is the first year Quincy Rotary Club has sponsored two young adults to attend Rotary Youth Leadership Awards (RYLA). RYLA was held in Penticton, BC, Canada on May 23rd through May 26th. The two young adults that were sponsored were Gerardo Guzman and Adriana Luna-Reyna.
Gio’s going away party will be on June 9th at 4:00pm. It will be hosted by Matt Hoeger’s family. Location is 14245 Road 4 NW. Home-made brick oven pizza will be prepared by Matt.
Anyone is welcome to stop at John and Marie’s , 15204 Rd NW 4, for a glass of wine at 3:00pm.
Heidi Kühn arrived in Utsunomiya, Japan, in 1975, a few months after the end of the Vietnam War. She was a Rotary Youth Exchange student, and what she saw and experienced in Japan led her to reflect on the post-World War II reconciliation between that country and her native United States. “The idea of former enemies bridging borders for peace left an impression in my heart,” she says.
Heidi Kühn, of the Rotary Club of San Francisco, founded a nonprofit called Roots of Peace to remove land mines and revive farmland.
Photo by Ian Tuttle
More than 20 years later, Kühn had become a successful television journalist. She was asked by the Commonwealth Club of California, a well-known public affairs forum, to host an event featuring Jerry White, a land mine survivor who had escorted Princess Diana on her last humanitarian mission in 1997. It was a short time after the death of Diana, whose efforts to ban land mines had inspired Kühn. “That night, I made a prophetic toast,” she recalls. “‘May the world go from mines to vines.’”
Kühn decided to act on those words and founded a nonprofit called Roots of Peace that has worked to remove hundreds of thousands of land mines and other unexploded ordnance from farmland and replace them with productive fields, such as orchards and vineyards.
In Afghanistan, the organization has helped restore fields in the Shomali Plain north of Kabul, which had been a thriving agricultural region until the Taliban burned vineyards, cut down fruit trees, and laid land mines. Since 2003, Roots of Peace has connected growers with supermarket chains in India.
Roots of Peace is also partnering with the Rotary clubs of San Francisco and Bangkok Klongtoey, Thailand, which received a $197,000 global grant from The Rotary Foundation to remove land mines and plant black pepper vines and taro in Vietnam’s Quang Tri province, and help farmers market the high-value crop.
Kühn and her husband and Roots of Peace partner, Gary Kühn, visited Afghanistan in 2018 to see the fruits of their labor. They flew out of Afghanistan on a cargo plane carrying the harvest.
“To me, that was the greatest inspiration, the greatest moment in my life, to know that we can turn dreams into reality,” Kühn says. “Not just for ourselves, but for countless farmers and families around the world.”
On our March 14th Rotary meeting we had a special St. Patrick's Day presentation. David, Harriet, Kaye, and Galen sang a very special tribute song to Quincy Rotary's signature Irishman, Jack Tobin!
New York Rotary members used support from international partners to help them fight a major U.S. problem: opioid addiction.
After attending a wrenching funeral for a young man who died from an opioid overdose, Lana K. Rouff, a member of the Rotary Club of Binghamton, New York, USA, knew she had to do something.
“It was awful,” says Rouff. “I was so shaken by the shock and sadness at the funeral. The experience really stuck with me but also sparked me to do something.”
Rouff immediately talked with her fellow members, as well as other local clubs, about how they could alleviate the crisis in their communities in central and southern New York.
After months of doing research and consulting with health officials, substance abuse experts, educators, and media professionals, they had a plan: a Rotary Foundation global grant project, totaling more than $107,000.
The project’s initiatives would support those directly affected by the epidemic, educate communities about preventing and treating opioid addiction, and prevent drug abuse among local young people by training them in leadership skills and healthy decision making.
818380
+
people die every day from opioid-related drug overdoses in the U.S.
8181
mil
people have abused prescription opioids in 2016
8487,808080
+
people died from overdosing on opioids in 2017
89,808080
+
people died in Canada between 2016-18 from opioid-related deaths
But they still needed one more thing to meet The Rotary Foundation’s requirements and secure the funding — international partners.
Rouff again turned to Rotary's 1.2 million members in 35,000 clubs around the world. She found the support they needed.
A Rotary club in Mexico was the first to volunteer, and then a Rotary club in Canada. Also the Rotary clubs of Coimbatore Central and Madras Coramandel of India donated significant funds to keep the project going.
Harnessing international support
Finding people outside of the U.S. to help with a predominantly American problem wasn’t easy, says Rouff.
“It wasn’t out of indifference to a problem in the U.S.,” says Rouff. “There just isn’t a strong understanding outside the country of how bad the opioid crisis really is.”
It took six months of searching before Rouff’s club connected with the Rotary Club of Tijuana Oeste, Baja California, Mexico. Sofia Sotomayor Magana rallied her fellow members to be the project’s international sponsor because she believed it was important to show support for their northern neighbors.
Some in the Mexican club were hesitant, telling Sotomayor Magana that their resources and money should be allocated to local issues such as poverty and poor health care. But Sotomayor Magana persuaded them that it’s sometimes better to give than to receive.
“We have an opportunity to help clubs in the U.S. make an impact on this horrible epidemic,” she says. “We know that this crisis can happen anywhere and can devastate any community. We see how bad it’s gotten. I’m proud we were able to get this important project off the ground.”
The Rotary Club of Mississauga-Meadowvale, Ontario, Canada, also contributed funds and support to the project. Member Claudine LaRochelle says that the opioid crisis isn’t confined to the U.S.; provinces in Canada are also affected. Opioid-related overdoses killed 9,000 Canadians from 2016 to 2018. These overdoses are now the leading cause of death among Canadians ages 30-39.
“When thinking of international assistance, we often think of countries far away from us, but help is also well-used when the crisis hits close to home,” says LaRochelle.
Providing information and tools
Today’s opioid crisis is the deadliest drug epidemic in U.S. history. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that each day more than 130 people die from opioid-related drug overdoses, and millions more struggle with addiction. Since 2011, drug deaths in the U.S. have outpaced those caused by firearms, motor vehicle crashes, suicide, or homicide. In New York, it’s the leading cause of accidental deaths.
Children and teens are not exempt from the crisis — nearly a quarter of U.S. high school seniors have had some exposure to prescription opioids — but they are the best targets for education and prevention, Rouff says.
Over the past year and a half, the global grant funded a series of weekend seminars that brought together nearly 50 high school students from 11 schools. They gathered at the Heart of New York Teen Institute in Syracuse, New York, to gain the knowledge and confidence that will help them lead drug-free lives and the leadership skills to educate their peers about the dangers of drugs and alcohol.
Rotary clubs harness international connections to tackle U.S. opioid crisis
These banners will be a small part of the new Heritage Barn exhibit "Hope and Hard Work: The Story of our Food and Farms" which will premier on March 30. Mary Anne Webley took the shot of the Sahli's last fall!
December 13th noon meeting will be cancelled in lieu of Christmas Party tomorrow night at Heritage Barn. The east parking lot has better access to the Heritage Barn.
Thank you Rotarian Carl Yeates and Russ Harrington for leading the charge on Veterans Day, putting up over 200 flags at the Quincy Cemetery. Local Scouts and community members enjoyed the beautiful sunshine during the volunteer effort.
The results have been monumental. Thirty years ago, the paralyzing disease affected 350,000 children in one year. Because of massive vaccination campaigns around the world, cases have dropped more than 99.9 percent, to only 20 reported so far this year. Polio, which was endemic in 125 countries in 1988, now remains so in just three: Afghanistan, Nigeria, and Pakistan. More than 2.5 billion children have been vaccinated, and more than $14 billion has been invested in the fight to eradicate the disease worldwide.
Lea Hegg, senior program officer of the vaccine delivery team at the Gates Foundation, gave an update on polio around the world. Despite tremendous progress, challenges remain before we can claim victory, she said in a video interview with Mark Wright, news host at an NBC television station in Seattle, Washington, USA.
“The fact is in Pakistan and Afghanistan, where we are still seeing cases, we have tremendous challenges that we’re facing: conflict and insecurity,” Hegg said. “We have to come up with new ways to solve those problems.”
She praised the brave polio workers who go to insecure areas to vaccinate children and also noted the importance of vaccination sites at transit posts outside these areas.
Hegg added, “We still have the tools, we have the persistence, and we’re still really confident that we’ll get there.”
In a question-and-answer session with Witt, Dr. Ujala Nayyar, a WHO surveillance officer in Punjab, Pakistan, discussed the importance of tracking the ever-circulating virus. Nayyar said that health workers need to be a step ahead of the poliovirus to interrupt its transmission. She also noted that Pakistan has the world’s largest network for environmental surveillance of polio.
“It’s a tough job. We have a network of government, private doctors plus informal health care providers, plus community mobilizers,” Nayyar said. “We are very confident on one thing — that we are detecting every polio case.”
Speakers also included award-winning chef, author, and polio survivor Ina Pinkney, who talked about her experience with the disease. Jeffrey Kluger, senior editor at Time magazine, spoke about his recent experience traveling to Nigeria with Rotary to report on polio eradication.
Entertainment included a sneak peek from Rotary’s documentary “Drop to Zero” and a showing of its latest virtual reality film, “Two Drops of Patience.”
Banfield highlighted several End Polio Now activities that clubs organized to raise awareness of polio and funds for eradication efforts, including a rally in Delhi, India, where 2,000 members drove cars or bikes decorated with informational flags and stickers through the city. In Egypt, Rotary members hosted an End Polio Festival, which included a road race, a blood drive, and a concert that attracted thousands.
Rotary has contributed more than $1.8 billion to polio eradication since it started its PolioPlus program in 1985. The effort got a boost in August when Rotary announced it would provide an additional $96.5 million in grants to increase immunizations and surveillance. Most of the funds were allocated to the three countries where polio remains endemic; Afghanistan ($22.9 million), Nigeria ($16.1 million), and Pakistan ($21.7 million). The rest was spread across 12 countries in Africa that are vulnerable to polio.
Rotary has also committed to raising $50 million a year over a three-year period for eradication activities. The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation will match up to that amount 2-to-1, which could bring the total as high as $450 million.
Hi, I am the youngest son of Lorin and Gail Grigg, and previous exchange student from Quincy to Lima, Peru in 2011.
I am writing because our rotary club in Quincy has always been so supportive of the endeavors I have been able to be a part of since my exchange, and I had another exciting event that I thought you all might be interested in being a part of.
I am a documentary filmmaker based out of Los Angeles now, and this past February I travelled to Kenya with a non-profit called With My Own Two Hands. They are an organization here in Southern California that focuses on creating sustainable water and agriculture projects throughout Kenya.
This was actually my second year traveling to Kenya with the company in order to shoot a short documentary centered on the work they are doing alongside the communities there. This year, we focused on a small village called Migwani. The premise of the story is this...
// Orphaned by HIV/AIDS, these children of Migwani, Kenya were forsaken, refused homes, and turned away. A local group of elderly women, however, stood their ground, opened their hearts, and held out their hands. Watch as a community once segregated by such stigma learns to redefine what it means to be family. //
It was my hope to reach out to you all for a couple reasons...
1) As this directly relates to a lot of the humanitarian values that Rotary strives after, I thought it might be something you all would be interested in watching, and possibly sharing with others fellow Rotarians.
2) As Rotarians, I have seen the incredible amount of support you all have been able to provide to causes not only within our town, but nationally, and globally as well. I work with a lot of non-profits, but part of me reaching out is because I believe I have found a non-profit that really has hit the mark when it comes to community development and sustainable good. Honestly, I feel the need to help get this group in front of eyes that will be able to support them.
Last year we were able to get some support from a few Rotary clubs down in this area, and so I thought I might even write to my home Rotary club this year to continue raising the support and awareness.
We already had our Red Carpet Premiere of the film, where we were able to raise a total of over $125,000, 100% of which will be going directly towards these water and agriculture projects. That premiere took place in Orange County. So, it was my idea to have an online premiere where those who would like to contribute from outside this area could get involved. Our goal for our online premiere is $10,000, and if you all are interested in being a part of this project at all, we would appreciate it so much!
If nothing else, I would love if you would share this with our club. Most of my adult life has stemmed from the lessons I learned and the people I met on my Rotary exchange through our Quincy club... and I couldn't think of any group of people I would want to share this project and moment with more than you all.
I am including the link here to our full online premiere. The actual film doesn't start until about 14 minutes in, but those first 14 minutes should give you a bit more backstory on everything. The film is only 20 minutes long. If you would rather have a link to just the film, I can definitely send that along as well!
3) I will be coming home for Thanksgiving this year, and would even love to answer any questions, or even share my insight into my time in Kenya with the club, if you all would want!
Either way, thank you for you time in reading this letter. I am looking forward to hearing from you!
Quincy FFA is sending 6 members to Nationals at the end of October. The candidates visited the club and shared their expectations for the upcoming competition.
A shout out to Gio in the Quincy HS daily bulletin for her volleyball game last night.
"The lady Jacks volleyball teamtraveled to Cashmere last night and came home a three-to-one Victor over the Cashmere Bulldogs. The lady Jacks were led by Morgan Klein with nine kills, Mackenzie Klein 10 kills, Kelly Mills with 6 and Ashlyn Rosenberger with 5. Gio Ratti was awesome from the service line tallying four aces on 17 attempts."
We start launching cars from Leavenworth High School Parking lot at 1130AM so try to get there by noon—you do not need 4 wheel drive, and tennis shoes work for the ground excursions
We will record your odometer, the time, and give you 2 envelopes of clues (bring a pen or pencil), then we will launch you….only costs $10 per car (prizes) and a dish/donation for the potluck at the mystery destination
Properly done the mystery (treasure hunting) route should only take about 2 hours….beautiful country, interesting walking excursions
Grand Prize awarded to Club with most cars participating (excluding Leavenworth!); other prizes to be given at destination party
You can sign up your car online or by rsvp to the flyer or call 509 470 4610.
Prefer deadline for signup by 21 September noon so we can right size the party. (However we can take some extra cars on Saturday for late committers)
Bring your friends, family, kids, neighbors, etc…..do NOT have to have Rotarian in each car.
Any questions please call Mike Worden at 509 470 4610 or Ken Kohnhorst at 509 548 0150 or RSVP as directed on the flyer.
We promise you a fun afternoon and good fellowship!
Hey! I just wanted to give you all a personal update: I'm doing well, my family and I are getting along really well. They are speaking a lot of French, of course. It makes me exhausted trying to keep up, but I'm slowly getting there!! I will learn! The food here is superb, although they keep hinting towards wanting me to cook "American" dishes for them. Sadly, I can't think of any dishes that they don't have here, other than apple pie, banana bread, and cinnamon rolls. Uhm...I've already traveled a bunch, and will get many more opportunities. There are some coordinated trips to Paris, Spain, Italy, Greece, and Czech later on in the year. I'm really excited for those, hopefully I can go. There's also going to be smaller trips with the Rotex, but because of my location (I'm so far away) I probably won't make them all, as it's important to be at school. I'm actually really excited for school, I'm going to be participating in theatre, music, vocals, guitar, and as many sports as I can! (I haven't heard anything about boxing, so I may do rugby and gymnastics) The schooling itself is supposed to be pretty difficult, even for Belgian people. I'm really going to try my best though! Anyway, that's about all I have for now. Love you all, à bientôt!
Briana sent this second message (on the same day) after I responded to her first text.
I'm learning little more French each day, and Marie says that my progress is really good, and everyone agrees that my enthusiasm to learn is really good! If I can't say something, or I don't understand, they explain in English and I say almost every time "I will learn!!" Because I will!! :) I've got three new friends to get on my nerves. Two cats, Sonnet and Z (I call her Z because I can't pronounce her real name for the life of me) and one dog, Flash McQueen! It's French for Lighting McQueen. Right now, it looks like I'm going to possibly skip out on the Paris trip and go to Barcelona instead (those are the most pressing at the moment) I'll be going to Paris with my family though!! Turns out that Stephanie's sister is the principal of my school! (and we share the same birthday!!) My family has ordered me a phone number, and it should arrive in the next day or so. As for a care package..I don't really have anything specific that I miss, (except apples :(dangnabbit I miss our apples. But I don't think it's possible to send produce, haha). In all seriousness though, I'd love to get letters from friends and family, if that is at all possible. I mean, material things are nice, but being here makes me realize how important connection with others is in our lives. Much love from Belgium!!
Briana's address: Le pas de Loup 15 6791 Guerlange
I think the busiest day of the year in Quincy is FCAD. Having lived here for 25 years, I am still amazed at the amount of time and effort that goes into producing a day in our town that showcases all the agricultural products, local talent and businesses. To me, its a day of community and celebration.
Every year for many years, rotary has provided a place in the center of the action to sit down with a locally produced lunch to eat with friends and neighbors. This event for our club not only brings together the community but it brings our community of rotary together. You don't really know someone until you have served corn and apple slices on the food line.
Please sign up for a couple of hours of volunteer service. And bring a spouse or a friend and share with them our community of rotary.
Sign up sheets are going around at Thursday's meeting or email/text Paul Slager.
Thank you for a being a member of an awesome club.
Our Inbound Exchange Student, Gio Ratti (Italy), will arrive next Tuesday August 21st around 7:32pm at the Wenatchee Airport, Flight #2282 Alaskan Airlines. Rotarians are encouraged to be there to welcome her to our club.
At Thursday's (July 19) meeting it was announced that Evan Landin is in the hospital. Deb Adams visited him there late Thursday and he will be moved home on Friday, the 20th. His wife Linda asked for anyone that would like to visit him to please come soon and see him at home. Please keep him in your thoughts and prayers.
Youth Action Interact club went to George for the 4th of July celebrations. The youth hosted various games and activities for kids like an obstacle course, balloon darts, fishing, bean bag toss, spin the wheel and many more fun events. Not only was it an opportunity to give back to the community, the Georgettes also partnered with YAI and provided some supplies and made it into a carnival fundraiser to support future projects like leadership camps, outreach supplies, and other youth-initiated projects.
Last week I asked some of the volunteers at Habitat for Humanity what donations they needed for their store.
1. Men's clothing donations and furniture
2. Sorting tool donations
3. Hauling and dumping unsaleable items that get left at the store after hours.
Here is a quote from habitat volunteer Pat Husband,
"I talked to the Habitat manager today about what could be done about all the trash that accumulates each week. At the present time we have a 4 yard bin/dumpster (1 pickup per week) for trash and if we had a 8 yard it would be $84 a month more. The city picks up the dumpster on Tuesday but it is usually full by Monday afternoon. If we needed to increase that to 2 times a week it would be double that amount. During yard sale season we might need 2 pickups a week but in the fall, winter and early spring we usually only need 1 pickup.
Some of the volunteers are willing to donate some money but I thought maybe some Rotarian’s would be willing to come up with some $ too. What do you think? Some times it is easier to give money than volunteer time. I think the Habitat store serves a purpose here in Quincy where shopping is limited along with incomes.....folks just leave stuff on the sidewalk after we close on Saturday.
If you have an interest in helping Habitat, stop by the store Wednesday-Saturdays and speak to the manager Louella Maine.
The statistics are staggering. More than 28,000 people are uprooted from their homes each day as a result of war, oppression, and poverty. That’s nearly 20 people per minute.
By the end of 2016, an unprecedented 68.5 million people, from West Africa to South Asia, have been forcibly displaced, making it the world’s worst migrant crisis in history.
The Rotaract Club of Nakivale, Uganda, helps provide refugees with sugar, soap, and clothes.
The wave of migrants and refugees has overwhelmed the international community, putting a particular strain on neighboring countries and Europe. Turkey hosts the largest number of refugees with nearly 3 million. Pakistan is second. Germany is the only high-income country in the top ten host nations, with about 700,000 refugees and asylum-seekers.
The seven-year war in Syria has been the been the biggest driver of the refugee crisis, with millions fleeing the country since the conflict began in 2011.
A shockingly high percent of the world’s displaced are children. More than half the refugees are under age 18.
Rotary clubs are doing their part to help alleviate the global refugee crisis with projects that help bring water and health care to refugee camps, funds for families to move to safer countries, and more. Over the last several years, clubs and districts have used roughly $3 million of global grant funds toward refugee-related projects and scholarships.
On World Refugee Day, held every year on 20 June, people worldwide salute the strength, courage, and contributions of refugees who abandon their homes in a desperate search for safety.
Here’s a sample of how Rotary members have changed the lives of thousands of refugees:
• In Nova Scotia, Canada, the Rotary Club of Amherst brought two families from war-torn Syria to their country, where the refugees are starting a new life. The club galvanized other community groups to help the families assimilate with the town and culture. The Rotary Club of Merritt, British Columbia, also pooled resources to bring a family from Syria to Canada.
• The Rotaract Club of Nakivale, Uganda, is raising funds to help residents of a huge refugee settlement start their own businesses. The club, based inside the settlement, also provided refugees with sugar, soap, and clothes.
• Rotary member Pia Skarabis-Querfeld, a physician in Germany, built a network of volunteer doctors to help thousands of refugees that have streamed into Berlin, Germany. In 2015, during the peak of the refugee influx into Germany, her nonprofit, Medizin Hilft, had more than 100 volunteers at its clinic. Her club, the Rotary Club of Berlin-Teirgarten, sponsored a Rotary global grant of $160,000 to fund the project through March 2018. Also in Germany, the Rotary Club of Lemgo-Sternberg, provided resources to train 60 volunteers to teach German to about 600 refugees.
8685.86
mil
have been forced from their homes
8181
mil
refugees are under age 18
• Rotary Districts 2452 in Lebanon and 6560 in Indiana, USA, helped provide lifesaving heart surgeries for 32 Lebanese children and 10 Syrian refugee children. The district used a $185,000 global grant to fund the procedures.
• The Rotary Club of Kigali-Virunga, Rwanda, collaborated with members from the Rotary Club of Dortmund, Germany, to provide wells to a refugee camp in Gahara Sector, Rwanda.
• Rotary members in Seoul, Korea, and Taipei, Taiwan, are using an $89,000 global grant to provide ear, nose, and throat diagnostic equipment for the Raphael Clinic in Seoul to treat North Korean refugees.
Regarding the party for Lara on Saturday from 2:00 to five, Marie and I will be grilling hot dogs and burgers and the ice cream machine will be on. If you could bring a side dish to share, dessert or something else you think the group would enjoy and your own beverage, we would appreciate it.
Rotary’s commitment to eradicating polio worldwide won Best Nonprofit Act in the Hero Awards of the One Billion Acts of Peace campaign, an international global citizens’ movement to tackle the world’s most important issues.
A Rotary vaccination team immunizes children against polio at a railway station in Karachi, Pakistan.
Khaula Jamil
The campaign is an initiative of PeaceJam Foundation and is led by 14 Nobel Peace Prize laureates, including the Dalai Lama, Desmond Tutu, and Rigoberta Menchú Tum, with the ambitious goal of inspiring a billion acts of peace by 2020.
Each year, the campaign picks two finalists in each of six categories for their work to make a measurable impact in one of the 10 areas considered most important by the Nobel laureates. Winners are chosen by people from around the world.
Rotary and Mercy Corps were the two finalists in the Best Nonprofit Act category. Rotary and the five other winners will be recognized at a ceremony on June in Monaco. Betty Williams, who won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1977 for her advocacy for peace in Northern Ireland, will present the award.
Quincy High School Spectrum Choir did a beautiful job performing at out last Rotary meeting! You can watch part of their performance on Quincy Rotary Facebook page. Below are Litzie, Rosio, Leslie, Juliana, Vanessa, Monica, Mas Youngren, Paige, Evonna, and Corinna
The QVS SASquad were given a special presentation and tour this week of the new Quincy HS. Many thanks to Superintendent Boyd, Tom Harris and Fowler Constructon.
(Reuters) - Pakistan launched a nationwide polio vaccination drive this week to reach 38.7 million children and eradicate the paralyzing and potentially deadly virus in one of the last countries where it is endemic.
Nearly 260,000 volunteers and workers fanned out across Pakistan starting on Monday in an effort to vaccinate every child below the age of five in a week-long campaign, Pakistan's national coordinator on polio, Mohammad Safdar, said.
"We're really very close to eradicating the disease," Safdar told Reuters, appealing to the people to cooperate with the door-to-door effort that continues all week.
Pakistan is one of only three countries in the world, along with Afghanistan and Nigeria, that suffers from endemic polio, a childhood virus that can cause paralysis or death.
In 2018, Pakistan has had just one polio case, reported last month, Safdar said. The number of cases has steadily declined since 2014 when 306 were reported. Last year, there were only eight cases, he said.
ADVERTISEMENT
Efforts to eradicate the disease have been undermined by opposition from the Taliban and other Islamist militants, who say immunization is a foreign ploy to sterilize Muslim children or a cover for Western spies.
In January, gunmen killed a mother-and-daughter vaccination team working in the southwestern province of Baluchistan, where the year's only case so far was later reporter.
Three years earlier, 15 people were killed in a bombing by the Pakistani Taliban outside a polio vaccination center in Baluchistan.
Polio teams working on Monday were undeterred.
"Yes we feel threatened, but our work is like this," said Bilquis Omar, who has served on a mobile vaccination team for the past six years in the southern port metropolis of Karachi.
"We are working for the children," she said.
Aziz Memon, who heads the Rotary's PolioPlus program that funds many of the immunization teams, said this year the drive was also making a renewed effort to reach migrants who come back and forth from Afghanistan.
"Mission number one is to get to zero cases and eradicate polio," Memon said.
A country must have no cases for three consecutive years in order to be considered to have eradicated polio by the World Health Organisation.
ADVERTISEMENT
Pakistan has to contend with extra suspicion of immunization drives because of the 2011 U.S. special forces raid inside the country that killed al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden, architect of the Sept. 11 attacks on the United States in 2001.
A Pakistani doctor was accused of using a fake vaccination campaign to collect DNA samples that the CIA was believed to have been using to verify bin Laden's identity. The doctor remains jailed in Pakistan, convicted of waging war against state.
(This version of the story was refiled with campaign continuing throughout week and fixes spelling of Rotary program from Polio Plus to PolioPlus)
(Additional reporting by Kay Johnson in Islamabad; Writing by Asif Shahzad; Editing by Alison Williams)
The QVS Interact club did a Patriot Pickup at the intersection of Road S and 9Nw, west of the school. In 20 minutes we filled 10 bags of garbage. Yikes!
If anyone is doing their spring cleaning and looking to get rid of a 50 pound suitcase or would like to donate one, Lara could really use it for her trip home.
Rainwater recycling system at Canton Maya Jaguar. They are fully operational providing water to the kids in the village. Filters were also supplied. Thank you very much for the generosity of the Quincy Rotary Club. The villagers are very thankful. Larry Jubie
De La Fuente told the audience that 65 million people have been forcibly displaced worldwide, 77 percent of whom are children. "Imagine a world where children have no dreams," De La Fuente said. "That is a reality I choose not to accept."
"The need for compassionate people has never been greater than now," she adds. "What is our future if our next generation is unable to dream? I call on all of you to take action and make a difference."
Sunday, March 4th 2018 marked the end of Lady Jacks Wrestling for Lara Deknop. An evening banquet acknowledged individual and team accomplishments with a fun dinner and group photos. In Belgium, sports are second to education and wrestling was no small feat for Lara. Quincy Rotary is proud of her dedication.
Outbound, Briana Melburn, spoke at QVS Rotary Interact Tuesday, February 20th. The students were excited to hear about her recent trip to Revelstoke, BC and upcoming exchange in Belgium.
Briana Melburn, rotary outbound exchange student gave a presentation to QVS Interact about her preparation for becoming a exchange ambassador for quincy rotary.
Preschool children from Brown Bear Daycare plant a young tomato plant. The class visits the garden every Monday morning spring to fall.
Curiosity stoked, the five-year-olds and their teachers move to the shade of a large tree to listen to a master gardener explain the role these butterflies play in gardens. The preschool class visits the community garden in Harvard, Illinois, USA, every Monday from spring to fall to learn about garden-related topics and even help out.
“They get to taste the vegetables, some that they have never even seen. They get to experience what it is like to plant a garden from the planting to the picking to the eating,” says Sheila Henson, executive director of the day care center and a member of the Rotary Club of Harvard. “At the end of the summer, we have a parent night where the parents come and get to see the different things their children have been involved with.”
With the goals of alleviating hunger and educating the community, master gardeners from University of Illinois Extension planted the garden in 2001 on a half-acre parcel donated by the city and adjacent to the public library. Over the years, the master gardeners have enlisted the support of many businesses, organizations, and clubs, including the Rotary Club of Harvard, making the project a community-wide effort.
As many as 250 needy families benefit from the 10,000 pounds of vegetables that are grown and donated every year to the local food pantry. The fresh produce serves as a safety net for many families.
Roughly a quarter of the community’s 9,200 residents live below the federal poverty line, a result of the limited employment opportunities in small farm towns across Illinois. The already fragile economy was further affected by the closing of a Motorola plant here in 2003 after only seven years of operation.
“In this community, the only way we can get by is by helping each other,” says Dave Decker, site director for the Harvard Community Food Pantry. “Everybody needs a little help now and then.”
The Rotary Club of Harvard took on the project seven years ago, looking for a way to address hunger and help the community. With only seven members, the club has had an impact far beyond its size, amplifying its efforts by working with the master gardeners and other groups.
“Harvard is definitely a better place because of the members of this club, and that is what keeps us going,” says Mike Morris, the club’s president. “It’s the expertise of the master gardeners, individuals in the community, farmers who help, and the education provided through the day care that makes this an amazing team effort.”
The Rotary club has provided $400 to buy seeds and starter plants from a local nursery every year since 2011. It also purchased plastic drip irrigation tubing and fertilizer valves after a drought threatened the garden in 2012. This year, it provided a letter of support needed by the master gardeners to secure a $5,000 grant from the McHenry County Community Foundation for an organic compost mix that will add nutrients back to the soil and help keep weeds at bay.
Morris has made the garden his special focus and enlisted every member of the club to help with planting, weeding, and harvesting. Henson also recruited day care employees to volunteer.
The garden needs everyone for planting, says Dale Nelmes, one of the master gardeners who volunteer every week.
“Many of us master gardeners are up there in years and can’t get down on our hands and knees like we used to,” he says. “I was so impressed with Rotary and Sheila, who brought all these young volunteers in. It was incredible how much we accomplished.”
The Harvard Rotarians also used a Rotary grant to buy a new freezer, which allows the food pantry to store vegetables longer.
Last winter, Morris secured another Rotary grant for $2,000, which, when combined with $5,000 from club funds, funded seven weeks of food deliveries from the Northern Illinois Food Bank. A mobile unit from the food bank set up at Brown Bear Daycare once a month from October to April, each time distributing 9,000 pounds of meat, vegetables, boxed goods, breads, and fruits.
Morris says growing up on a farm in northwestern Illinois played a big part in his interest in fighting hunger.
“I know we can produce more than enough food to feed everybody in the country,” he says. “It’s just a matter of the logistics of getting it from the farm to their table.”
On a July morning, about 20 people – Rotarians, master gardeners, and community volunteers – are scattered among the 14 rows, each 125 feet long, pulling weeds and picking vegetables. The garden is behind schedule this year because of heavy rains, and today’s harvest is smaller than normal. At the food pantry, Nelmes weighs each crate: 9 pounds of broccoli, 6 pounds of kohlrabi, 8 pounds of peppers, and 22 pounds of zucchini. Later in the season, many more hands will be needed to harvest.
Reina Montes began volunteering at the garden after a back injury forced her to stop working temporarily and she had to go to the pantry to supplement her groceries. When she learned about the garden, she persuaded her daughter, Elizabeth Sanchez, to join her on Mondays to help plant, pick, and weed.
Montes moved to Harvard from Mexico City more than 20 years ago and fell in love with the smaller town. Her daughter now has two college-age daughters of her own, whom she hopes to teach the value of community service.
“Thanks to the garden, we can feed people who can’t afford to buy fresh food at the supermarket,” says Sanchez. “I believe it is everybody’s responsibility to help the community. If our children see that there is unity, love, and support, they are going to do the same thing. We are leaving them a legacy.”
Critters or QVS Interact? Quincy valley school collected supplies for the quincy animal shelter. Interact delivered the gifts to the shelter this week.
On Monday, January 22nd Quincy Valley School Rotary Interact Club teamed up with Lighthouse Ministries, Habitat for Humanity and a local donor to distribute 90 sleeping bags to people in need. A special thank you to Pam Toeves for delivering 35 of them to Wenatchee.
This coming week, January 11th, our noon lunch meeting will be devoted to understanding the Hospital Levy which will again be put on the ballot February 13. It failed by 2% on the last ballet! Evan Landin volunteered to organize the meeting and has invited Glenda Bishop, Hospital Administrator, to answer your questions. It is imperative that we, as leaders in the community be able to understand, help through our service and funds, and encourage others to vote this time around!! PLEASE ATTEND, BE INFORMED, AND HELP GET OUT THE VOTE!!
It is with great pleasure that I inform you that the nominating committee has selected our next District Governor Designate (DGD) at the annual Fall Training Assembly in Osoyoos on Saturday 28 October. Richard DeRock from Wenatchee, shown here with his wife (& Rotarian) Robin, is currently the President of Wenatchee North Rotary Club, was a long-term member and chair of our very successful Rotary Youth Exchange Committee, and is currently the CEO and General Manager of the Link Transit System in Wenatchee.
The position of DGD in our district is official when declared to the General Secretary of Rotary International which will immediately follow a 15-day challenge period (that ends 6 November 2017).
Congratulations Richard, and welcome to the District 5060 leadership team!
Bill R. Jenkin Rotary Club of Prosser District 5060 Governor 2017-2018 509-778-2482 RotaryJenkin@yahoo.com
Rotary brings together a global network of volunteers who dedicate their time and talent to tackle the world’s most pressing humanitarian challenges. Rotary connects 1.2 million members from more than 200 countries and geographical areas. Their work impacts lives at both the local and international levels, from helping families in need in their own communities to working toward a polio-free world.
Rotary also offers expanded service opportunities including:
Interact: a service organization organized and sponsored by Rotary clubs for young adults aged 12-18. There are more than 12,300 Interact clubs in 133 countries.
Rotaract: groups organized by Rotary clubs to promote leadership, professional development, and service among young adults aged 18-30. There are more than 8,000 Rotaract clubs in 167 countries.
Rotary Community Corps (RCCs): groups of non-Rotary members who work to improve their communities. There are more than 7,500 RCCs in 80 countries, all organized and sponsored by Rotary clubs.
Membership Snapshot
Who: Rotary brings together the kind of people who step forward to take on important issues for local communities worldwide. Rotary members hail from a range of professional backgrounds; doctors, artists, small business owners and executives all call themselves Rotarians. Rotary connects these unique perspectives, and helps leverage its members’ expertise to improve lives everywhere.
Where: From Haiti and Greenland to Nigeria and Singapore, Rotary unites a truly diverse set of leaders from across the world. Currently, the largest number of clubs comes from the United States, India, Japan and Brazil. The fastest growing Rotary regions include Southeast Asia and Africa.
What: Rotarians contribute their time, energy and passion to sustainable, long-term projects in local communities across the globe. Projects focus on important issues like peace and conflict resolution, disease prevention and treatment, water and sanitation, maternal and child health, basic education and literacy and economic and community development.
Polio Eradication Rotary is close to eliminating the second human disease in history after smallpox, with a 99.9 percent reduction in polio cases worldwide since 1985, when Rotary launched its PolioPlus program. In 1988, Rotary spearheaded the creation of the Global Polio Eradication Initiative with the World Health Organization, UNICEF and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Polio eradication remains Rotary’s top priority. To date, Rotary has contributed more than US$1.7 billion and countless volunteer hours to help immunize more than two billion children against polio in 122 countries. Rotary will raise $50 million per year over the next three years, with every dollar to be matched with two additional dollars from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.
EVANSTON, Ill. (September 21, 2017) — Rotary has entered a new partnership with the Institute for Economics and Peace (IEP) to enhance its peace and conflict resolution efforts with data-driven methodologies and tools; as it honors six ‘Champions of Peace.’
The partnership with IEP – a global think tank that pioneered a conceptual framework for ‘Positive Peace’ – enables both organizations to work together to create an online learning platform with webinars and interactive tools to teach Rotary members and Rotary Peace Fellows to apply new peacebuilding methods to their communities while addressing underlying causes of conflicts. In addition, the partnership allows for the development of local workshops hosted by Rotary clubs to educate communities about positive peace.
“Peace is much more than the mere absence of violence,” said Rotary President Ian H.S. Riseley. “The IEP has helped shift the world’s conversation about peace to a positive, achievable and tangible measure of human wellbeing and progress. Our partnership will foster community-based projects in peace and conflict resolution that are both practical and impactful.”
“We are excited to be partnering with Rotary on this important initiative to reach millions of people, helping them to become peacemakers,” said founder and Executive Chairman of IEP Steve Killelea. “As recent events clearly indicate, peace is a pre-requisite for humanity to thrive. The Rotary programs, built on Positive Peace, will be an invaluable contribution to global peace.”
Jean Best, a member of the Rotary Club of Kirkcudbright, Scotland, founded The Peace Project, a skills-based training that teaches teens in 10 countries to resolve conflict within themselves and to promote peace in their schools and communities.
Ann Frisch, a member of the Rotary Club of White Bear Lake, Minnesota, USA, introduced the Civilian-Based Peace Process to train civilians in southern Thailand to build safe zones where families, teachers and local officials do not have to confront military forces every day.
Safina Rahman, a member of the Rotary Club of Dhaka Mahanagar, Bangladesh, established Emancipation & Empowerment of Girls– a program that provides basic education, vocational training, disease prevention, conflict prevention, healthcare, safe drinking water and personal hygiene to 2,600 students in Bangladesh, emphasizing vocational opportunities for girls.
Alejandro Reyes Lozano, a member of the Rotary Club of Bogotá Capital, Colombia, served as a key negotiator, helping to end hostilities with The Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC, after the initials in Spanish) by training women to reintegrate former guerillas into society. Through Women Building for Peace, women from Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, Panama, Peru and Venezuela develop peace-building, conflict resolution and mediation alternatives in their communities.
Kiran Singh Sirah, a graduate of the Rotary Peace Center at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, uses storytelling as a path to build peace through his Telling Stories That Matter project to address issues related to gang violence, sectarian and ethnic conflict, poverty and human rights violations. He has led programs in the United States, the United Kingdom, Scotland and Ireland.
Taylor (Stevenson) Cass Talbott, a graduate of the Rotary Peace Center at the International Christian University in Japan, helped give voice to the marginalized by Pushing for Peace, Sanitation & Dignity for Pune’s Waste Pickers. Her project helped boost the social perception of waste pickers in Pune, India by training them in communication and self-advocacy skills.
These honorees will be recognized as Rotary’s People of Action: Champions of Peace on November 11 at Rotary Day at the United Nations in Geneva, Switzerland.
About Rotary
Rotary brings together a global network of volunteer leaders dedicated to tackling the world’s most pressing humanitarian challenges. Rotary connects 1.2 million members of more than 35,000 Rotary clubs in over 200 countries and geographical areas. Their work improves lives at both the local and international levels, from helping families in need in their own communities to working toward a polio-free world.
About the Institute for Economics and Peace
IEP is an international and independent think tank dedicated to shifting the world’s focus to peace as a positive, achievable and tangible measure of human well-being and progress. It has offices in Sydney, New York, The Hague and Mexico City.
2017-2018 Quincy Valley School Interact officers L-R They are excitedly planning a year of community service, visiting local businesses and city beautification.
QVS SASquad attended the weekly rotary meeting and had the chance to hear and meet guest speaker, Senator Judy Warnick. Pictured, Dawson Rubio and Olivia Rigby.
The Quincy Rotary Club would like to thank the following businesses and individuals who made our annual Rotary FCAD BBQ a success. Tobin Electric, Inc., Washington Apple producers, Lamb-Weston, Quincy Senior Center, Quincy Foods, Brenda and Kirk Poldervart, Ron and Candy Turner, Akins. Quincy Valley School Interact, Quincy HS Youth Action Interact.
Harriet Weber has organized several truck loads of beans, apples, etc. to the Houston Texas food bank. The board has approved $1000 to help pay for shipping and the club is invited to help. The Go Fund Me page is:
Quincy Food For Texas. There is also an account at Wheatland Bank if you prefer to keep it local.
From the beginning of Farmer Consumer Awareness Day, Quincy Rotary Club has embraced honoring the spirit of this day by providing a locally sourced meal to those attending the days' festivities. Our tents give family and friends a place to enjoy a meal and fellowship. This year FCAD is being held on September 9 and your help is needed for the clubs continued support of the Rotary Club BBQ.
After Thursdays sign up went around the club, we still need 9 servers, 2 runners and more help for take down and clean up. The servers are in two shifts, 11-1 and 1-3. Take down is from 3-4.
If you won't be at a weekly meeting please send a text or call John or myself and we can sign you up.
Thank you for your commitment to rotary and this community service project.
August 24th @ 6pm we will be providing pizza at Westside pizza for anyone interested in being an outbound exchange student. Both parents and kids are welcome to attend.
Rotary clubs raise $304 million in one year to strengthen communities and improve lives around the world
EVANSTON, IL (August 10, 2017) — As part of Rotary’s year-long centennial celebration of The Rotary Foundation – the global membership organization’s charitable arm, Rotary clubs raised $304 million to support positive, lasting change in communities around the world.
Since its inception in 1917 with its first donation of $26.50, The Rotary Foundation is today a leading humanitarian foundation that has spent nearly $4 billion to help countless people live better. Each year, The Rotary Foundation provides more than $200 million to end polio and support sustainable projects and scholarships that promote peace, fight disease, provide clean water, support education, save mothers and children, and grow local economies
Rotary’s top humanitarian goal is to eradicate the paralyzing disease, polio. Rotary launched its polio immunization program PolioPlus in 1985, and in 1988 became a spearheading partner in the Global Polio Eradication Initiative. Since the initiative launched, the incidence of polio has plummeted by more than 99.9 percent, from about 350,000 cases a year to 37 confirmed in 2016. Rotary has contributed more than US $1.7 billion and countless volunteer hours to immunize more than 2.5 billion children in 122 countries.
“When we say that our Rotary Foundation is saving and transforming lives, we are not exaggerating,” said Kalyan Banerjee, Trustee Chair, The Rotary Foundation – 2016-17. “With the continued strong support of our members, we will keep our promise of a polio-free world for all children, and enable the Foundation to carry out its mission of advancing world understanding, goodwill and peace. We look forward to another 100 years of Rotary members taking action to make communities better around the world.”
About Rotary
Rotary brings together a global network of volunteer leaders dedicated to tackling the world’s most pressing humanitarian challenges. Rotary connects 1.2 million members of more than 35,000 Rotary clubs in over 200 countries and geographical areas. Their work improves lives at both the local and international levels, from helping families in need in their own communities to working toward a polio-free world.
You should now be able to see, at the bottom of your weekly bulletin email, the committees you are on.
If you want to see all committees you can go to https://portal.clubrunner.ca/Quincy-WA and login at the top of the page where it says Member Login ~ Click on Organization at the top ~ Click on Committees in blue under Organization.
Our new inbound exchange student, Lara is expected to arrive August 22nd @ 6:20pm at Pangborn airport in East Wenatchee, if you want to make plans to do an activity please contact Summer Sahli, youth exchange activity chair.
My mother told me recently that you had inquired after me so I thought that I would send you an update on how my time at the University of Bath has been, please feel free to share it with the rest of Quincy Rotary Club.
Since I left you all in September I have had a whirlwind of a year at Bath. The classes which I have been able to take here have broadened the way I understand how and why international politics work. In my time here I have been able to take fascinating classes on subjects such as: foreign policy analysis where we looked at how and why states make decisions in the international system, international security where we looked at how wars have changed as well as new security issues, international organisation where I was able to develop a better understanding of how organisations like the United Nations function, and confliction resolution where we looked at how peace specialists work with countries and groups to help resolve their conflicts (this course was actually taught by someone who worked within the field of conflict resolution for over two decades! The lectures where he would talk about the work he had done were especially interesting!).
In addition to all of the interesting classes, I was able to take while at the University of Bath I have also learned a lot from my fellow course-mates. The other master's students in the international studies department, whom I was able to take classes with and become friends with, have come from all over the world to study at the University of Bath. Some of the most interesting conversations I had in the last year were those while we sat around the lunch table where each person brought their own unique perspective to understanding both the course material and current events.
While a lot of mine time here has been work, some fun has been had too. As I received a scholarship from the University Bath there was a scholarship night I was able to attend at the beginning of the year. The event was held at the Roman Baths in town, and it was a sight to see (I will include some photos at the end of this email)! I was also able to host a small gathering of two dozen of my course-mates for Thanksgiving, a nice treat getting to do something that reminded me of how while sharing American culture with my course-mates. Similar events were put on by my other course-mates, including a 'country' themed party where we all brought a food which we felt represented our home country.
Now that it is Summer I am working on my dissertation which I will turn in during September.
In addition to updating you on what I have been up to this past year, I would also like to share some exciting information with you. This month I received an offer to start my PhD at the University of Bath in January of 2018. While I am still figuring out the logistics of starting my PhD in the Winter I will be accepting this offer.
This has been the most exciting year of my life, and I would like to thank you for all the help you have given me in getting here.
Our local Quincy Soccer Team is on to Regionals in Indiana July 21-23. If you would like to sponsor them attached is the sponsor sheet and the link to their gofundme account. Way to go boys!
Actor and philanthropist Ashton Kutcher took the stage today at the Rotary International Convention in Atlanta, Georgia, USA, to address a major human rights issue: human trafficking and modern-day slavery.
Kutcher, who rose to fame in the early 2000s with a series of hit film and television roles, is co-founder of Thorn: Digital Defenders of Children, an organization that combats human trafficking and the conditions that enable it. Trafficking in humans takes many forms but includes forced labor and sex slavery. It is among the world’s largest illicit trades, with many of the transactions happening online.
“As a young man coming up in the public school system in the United States, I thought slavery was done, a thing of the past," Kutcher said. "When I realized this was happening – happening even right here in Atlanta, a hotbed for trafficking as a travel hub – I was floored, and set out to learn as much as I could about it.”
Thorn specifically works to address sexual exploitation and the proliferation of child pornography online. By exploring and supporting new digital strategies for identifying victims, deterring predators, and disrupting platforms, Thorn helps lead the global conversation on trafficking – a conversation that’s continuing at Rotary’s annual convention.
More than 40,000 people, including Rotary members, partners, and friends from 175 countries and territories, have gathered in Atlanta this week to exchange ideas on how they can work together to improve lives in their communities.
Kutcher joined other prominent voices for a panel discussion on trafficking and how communities can combat it. Gary Haugen spoke about his work as CEO of International Justice Mission, a nonprofit that aims to strengthen local law enforcement and support survivors of trafficking.
Also at the panel, U.S. Senator Bob Corker of Tennessee discussed the legislative framework that allows traffickers to thrive in plain sight, and survivor Rebecca Bender offered moving testimony about the abuse she endured in the United States.
Recognizing the role that vast global networks like Rotary play in sustainable social change, Kutcher encouraged attendees to join the fight.
“There’s an inbound pipeline to trafficking," Kutcher said, "and that is vulnerability and poverty,” two issues that Rotary addresses through humanitarian projects and partnerships. Kutcher cited the example of the foster care system in the U.S. “Kids going into this system don’t have someone in their lives that loves them, which makes them vulnerable to someone who reaches out and shows them that attention. That’s how traffickers get in.”
Haugen pointed out that Rotary is already connecting with vulnerable groups, building relationships, and improving lives.
“What’s clear is this issue is everywhere around the world,” Haugen said. “There are survivors like Rebecca back home in your neighborhood and your country. Educate, serve survivors, and encourage local law enforcement, and Rotary can change this in our lifetimes.”
The club celebrated the last meeting of the year hosting the incoming 6th graders. The students talked about the projects and speakers from the past 9 months and wrapped up the meeting with an ice cream social.
A big thank you to the Quincy Rotary Club for helping fund the water project in the village of Nuevo Santiago Esperanza Maya. We ended up putting six 2,500 liter water tanks at the school to recycle rain water. PDG Larry Jubie
The Rotary Foundation is the best steward for your money. Here’s why.
In 2016, The Rotary Foundation received the highest possible score from Charity Navigator – 100 of 100 points – for its strong financial health and commitment to accountability and transparency.
It was the ninth straight year the Foundation earned a four-star rating from the independent evaluator of charities across the U.S., a distinction only 1 percent of charities have attained.
The Association of Fundraising Professionals likewise named the Foundation the World’s Outstanding Foundation for 2016, an award previously given to other familiar names such as Kellogg and MacArthur.
These organizations agree: When you donate to The Rotary Foundation, you’re investing wisely. We followed your money from start to finish to discover how the Foundation ensures that your gift makes an impact for years to come.
Directing your donation
There’s a reason Rotarians donate to The Rotary Foundation: It’s a simple way to achieve your philanthropic goals – whether it’s supporting clean water, the eradication of polio, or a particular global grant.
Any gift can be donated to a specific fund – End Polio Now, an individual global grant, or one of Rotary’s areas of focus.
Illustrations by Gwen Kereval
“Even the smallest of gifts can be donated to a specific fund – a global grant, polio, or an area of focus within the World Fund,” says April Jensen, a member of the Rotary Club of Evanston, Illinois, USA, who works in fund development for the Foundation. You can also leave your gift unrestricted so that the Foundation has the flexibility to use the money where it is needed most.
Do you ever wish you could set up a scholarship or your own family’s foundation but don’t want the headache of administering it? Let The Rotary Foundation handle it. When you make a gift over $25,000, you will receive personalized reports detailing the projects you are supporting. You can make your gift in the way that suits your financial situation best – such as cash, stocks, or bequests.
Investing your money
In 2015-16, 91 percent of the money the Foundation spent went to programs and grants, with only 9 percent of expenses going toward administration. How does the Foundation make sure that the bulk of your donation supports the sustainable programs you want it to?
“To ensure that the funds for the project are there when needed,” says past Rotary International President Ron D. Burton, chair of the Foundation’s Investment Committee, “all contributions to the Foundation’s Annual Fund are invested for three years.”
After three years, the investment earnings on your gift go toward the operating expenses of the Foundation.
The Investment Committee includes three Foundation trustees and six Rotarians who are professionals in the field, who make sure that your money is invested responsibly during this period.
When the three years is up, the investment earnings on your gift go toward the operating expenses of the Foundation.
“I don’t know of any other organization like ours that has a system like this,” Jensen says. “It’s brilliant.”
Your principal is split 50/50, with half going to your District Designated Fund and half going into the World Fund, a pool that the Trustees of The Rotary Foundation use to match grants where they are most needed.
Awarding grants
When the Foundation awards a grant to fund a project, how does it ensure that your money will have lasting impact?
“Sustainability begins with the community assessment,” explains Philip J. Silvers, a past RI director and chair of the Foundation’s Cadre of Technical Advisers.
Six elements of sustainability must be addressed in the design of a global grant project:
Before Rotarians design projects, they talk to people in the community – fathers, mothers, children, elders, political leaders – to understand the broader context behind what the community needs.
“Then whatever project emerges, the community can see their fingerprints on it,” he says. “It’s not buy-in you want. We all know about buyer’s remorse. What we really want is community ownership right from the beginning.”
Six elements of sustainability must be addressed in the design of a global grant project: start with the community, encourage local ownership, provide training, buy local, find local funding, and measure your success.
These ensure that the project provides long-term solutions that the community itself can support after the grant ends.
Project sponsors don’t have to figure out all this on their own. The Rotary Foundation provides staff to help with your project design – grant officers are knowledgeable about regional and cultural issues, and area of focus managers have significant field experience in their specialties.
By connecting clubs with local and regional experts for guidance on developing sustainable, large-scale global grants early in the planning process, Rotary is committed to funding projects with lasting impact in communities.
Your district’s international service chair, a Rotarian appointed by your district governor, can help you connect with a network of local Rotarian experts – such as members of Rotarian Action Groups, Rotaractors, and peace fellows and other alumni – who have volunteered to help with projects and global grant planning.
Ensuring strong grant projects
The Rotary Foundation has a network of Rotarian volunteers available to provide expertise and advice, called the Cadre of Technical Advisers. With a database of 700 experts in Rotary’s six areas of focus as well as other specialties – mediators, diplomats, obstetricians, engineers, bankers, and agronomists, for example – there is sure to be someone who can help if an obstacle comes up.
Cadre members play an important role in ensuring that donors’ funds make a long-term impact. On behalf of The Rotary Foundation, cadre members do a technical review of the feasibility of larger grants before they are awarded and perform site visits to evaluate how the grants are being carried out. “Rotarians want to know if something is not working out or if they can do something better,” says Francis “Tusu” Tusubira, a member of the cadre from the Rotary Club of Kampala-North, Uganda. “The cadre is there to give as much support as possible.” Cadre members also perform random financial audits to help the Foundation ensure that grant funding is being used as approved.
“The cadre provides accountability and quality assurance in general, and protects our investors – the people who donate – and also the beneficiaries,” Silvers says. “In doing that, we also protect the Rotary brand. We make a commitment to our beneficiaries; we want to make sure this is high quality. Our name – and more than our name, our commitment – is at stake.”
Monitoring success and sustainability
Monitoring and evaluation of grants are built in through the project design. “From the community assessment, we learn what kind of lasting change we can create together,” Silvers says. “How can we measure that? How do we know that change will continue? How can we show our donors and our beneficiaries that we really made a difference?”
Anyone who knows Rotarians sees how we give of our time and resources. They know their money is in good hands.
Eric Kimani, regional Rotary Foundation coordinator
Rotary Family Health Days have been recognized as a Rotary Foundation noteworthy global grant project. They are held in several countries in Africa where both incidence of HIV/AIDS and the stigma surrounding being tested for the virus were great.
Built into the project was a follow-up step in which Rotaractors and Rotary Community Corps members called patients who had received health care through the project. Explains Silvers: “They’d ask, ‘What brought you to Rotary Family Health Days this year?’ It might have been that they needed a tooth pulled. ‘Anything else?’ From that sequence of questions, 71 percent of respondents said they got checked for HIV. That’s a huge cultural turnaround.”
Project sponsors write a final report when their grant closes. This includes initial measures of impact. Because Rotarians design sustainability into a project at the very beginning, its benefits are ongoing.
Just as the Foundation asks project sponsors to monitor the impact of their grants, the organization also performs a triennial evaluation of its grant model. Foundation Trustees are using the feedback from the most recent evaluation, conducted in 2015-16, to adjust the grant process in ways such as improving how clubs and districts find partners, evaluating requirements for the community needs assessment, and helping project sponsors scale up their efforts with support from the cadre and other partners.
For everything the Foundation does to ensure that gifts make a lasting impact, the greatest check and balance of all may be Rotarians themselves, says Eric Kimani, regional Rotary Foundation coordinator for Zone 20A and a member of the Rotary Club of Nairobi-Muthaiga North, Kenya. “When you have good Rotarians, it is your best measure of stewardship,” he says. “Anyone who knows Rotarians sees how we give of our time and resources. They know their money is in good hands.”
QVS Interact hosted alumni Juliana Mancini and Jackson Calloway at their weekly meeting. The older students were invited as a panel to talk about their experiences as freshman at Quincy High School. Our next meeting is May 16th and we will be working on our adopted bump out at Pita Pit.
Rotary International has been working with its partner ShelterBox to provide relief to flood victims in Peru.
Since February, flash flooding and mudslides have damaged and destroyed thousands of buildings, including homes, schools, and churches in several countries in western South America.
Rotary and Rotaract in Peru have reported widespread destruction there. A ShelterBox response team is working with local authorities and Rotary to assess the damage and determine how to help people in the northwest region of the country.
The floods in Peru have killed more than 100 people. According to the Los Angeles times, relief agencies estimate that 700,000 people have been left homeless. Heavy rains are expected to continue for the rest of the week.
Where flood waters have receded, they’ve left behind a thick layer of mud. This can lead to serious health problems and irritation of the eyes, skin, and respiratory tract, ShelterBox officials say.
Quincy High School presents Senior Presentation Night 2017 – Monday, May 1st, 2017 - 5:45 p.m. – 8:00 p.m.
You are cordially invited to participate in Senior Presentation Night 2017 at Quincy High School.
As you all know, it takes the “whole village” to make this night happen, so please check your schedule* and consider joining us on May 1.
If you know of any others willing to serve, please send them my way or let me know their names/contact information. There will not be any phone calls home, so please help me to spread the word!! Bring your significant other! Bring a friend! Just let me know so I can ensure you all are on our list!
In addition to the amazing presentations, there’ll be delicious pies, prepared by Quincy High School culinary students.
If you are available that evening and would like to serve as a judge, please send an email to April Murray, at the high school.
A big thank you to the Quincy Rotary Club for helping fund the water project in the village of Nuevo Santiago Esperanza Maya. We ended up putting six 2,500 liter water tanks at the school to recycle rain water. PDG Larry Jubie
The Quincy Rotary Club is matching donations toward the Polio Plus program up the $2,500 to go toward the Ed Cadman Tribute Fund through the end of the month. To donate, contact David Thomsen, club treasurer for details. Each dollar donated will go toward the cause of eradicating polio from the world.
That's right! District 5060 is hosting TWO Million Dollar Dinners this year to help celebrate the 100th Birthday of the Rotary Foundation.
Thinking about including TRF in your estate planning? It's the BEST value you can get for your philanthropic dollars... just ask Charity Navigator (Click HERE for Charity Navigator TRF).
Donate, bequeath, or commit to $10,000 USD or more this year and YOU are invited:
Friday 7 April - Wenatchee WA
Saturday 8 April - Kelowna BC
Guest speaker: Past R.I. President Kaylan Banerjee! Want more information??
For Clubs and/or individuals who want to honour the memory of DG Vern with a donation to the Rotary Foundation, the "Vern Nielsen Fund" of the Rotary Club of Kelowna Foundation will collect donations until they reach a minimum of $25,000 USD. At this time a Permanent Named Fund will be set up with the Rotary International Foundation in Vern’s name, and the proceeds of this fund will be used to fund grants and projects throughout Vern’s Rotary District 5060 in perpetuity.
This Donation through "Canada Helps" instantly issues a tax receipt.
Note that so far this fund is for Canadian dollar donations and Canadian tax receipts. We are working on a solution using one of our foundations in Washington, so stay tuned... we will let you know as soon as we have a solution.
If you are lucky enough to be in one of the 40 Clubs that District Governor Vern has been able to visit so far, then I remind you of how you felt about his inspirational message of hope for the future of Rotary. Come to Kelowna, stay at one of the top-5 waterfront resorts in all of Canada, and join in the
Friendship & Fellowship
we all plan to share with our Rotary colleagues!
Now meet Dean Rohrs, recently named as one of Rotary International's newest Vice Presidents! Currently with the Rotary Club of Langley Central, Dean is the 2016-18 Rotary International Director for our District and Zone. Dean, her husband Rhino, and their 3 children emigrated to Canada from South Africa 24 years ago. She had a varied career from her early days of being an Operating Room Nurse on Professor Christiaan Barnards’ first heart transplant team, to running a Nursery School in Malawi! Dean grew up in Zambia, and with Rhino has lived in Malawi, Namibia, and South Africa before Canada. Her stories from her professional and Rotary lives have captivated thousands in audiences all over the world!
See you at the Conference!
Peter Schultz, PhD - Rotary Club of Kelowna
District 5060 Governor 2019-2020 Chair, Rotary Leadership Institute District Conference Chair 2017 Peter.Rotary5060@gmail.com - 250.470.9228
Exchange student Ilayda Tülü gave a presentation this week about her homeland and customs to the QVS Interact club. The students enjoyed some Turkish treats following that Ilayda brought from Turkey.
The Quincy Valley School SASquad Interact club participated in both Angel Tree and Serve Quincy during the month of December. The Angel Tree project collects and delivers gifts and cards to children with a parent who is incarcerated. Some of the gifts we donated included boots, coats, gloves, and small toys. The ages of the children were newborn to high school age.
After we set up our tree in the school the tags were picked up by our families and slowly the gifts were brought back to the school. We had a work party where we made cards for the children receiving the gifts and even got a chance to wrap a gift. We learned that each child can make a difference!
Secret Santa Gift Exchange – Rotary Member participation only (as not to obligate the guest) $15.00 max gift amount but the gift could be for the couple. Santa will hand out the gifts
Sign-up sheet will be available on the 11/17 and 12/1 regular Rotary meeting – members can also email Chuck Allen at chuckallen89@hotmail.com.
For over 25 years the likes of Barney, Joseph and Mary, Mr Potato Head and Santa to name a few have drawn the attention of weary travelers, long haul truckers and families driving across the State of Washington on I-90. The Quincy Valley Country Christmas Holiday Light Display lines a 10-mile stretch of Interstate 90 running east from the town of George, WA. The light displays are put up a few days before Thanksgiving and are kept up until New Years Eve.
Over time, weather and aging equipment has taken a toll on the 22 displays and they are in need of some love. To keep this tradition going we are in need of some funds to update these wonderful displays.
Please consider a one-time donation to this worthy cause and help to allow us to carry on this tradition for another 20 years and bring smiles and holiday cheer to the next generation who travels through our area.
QVS interact SASquad had lunch this week with the residents of the Cambridge. Everyone had a opportunity to visit with the residents and learn more about the rich history of our community.
Rotary at work!
This week, the interact club hosted QHS senior, Natalie Thompson and Police Chief Bob Heimbach for a presentation on social media. The guest speakers gave the students real examples of good and bad use of social media.
Up next the club is initiating a "rice drive" for the food bank. The entire student body will be asked to bring a small bag of rice to donate.
The club is always looking for guest speakers for short presentations. If you have interest, please contact Mel or Summer, Interact advisors.
If you are making plans for a fun time, remember to consider inviting our exchange student Ilyada Tulu to come along. Please talk with either Henry Hernandez or Lynn Child to learn how you can have our wonderful guest accompany you and your family.
Vern Nielsen sits in a chair in Kelowna, British Columbia attached to a tube. A cocktail of chemicals winds its way through the tube and into Vern’s veins. This cocktail is just one of three such treatments that Vern must take every two weeks. The chemicals are searching out a particularly aggressive form of pancreatic cancer. The survival rate for this disease is about 20% within 12 months. Vern is in month five.
I didn’t hear about Vern in a medical journal. He wasn’t on the nightly news. His picture is not on my Facebook feed. Vern was standing in front of my Rotary club. As a district governor, Vern has spent the last two years preparing to motivate and guide the 60 clubs in Rotary District 5060, which covers parts of Washington State and British Columbia. Some might have thought he wasted those two years of preparing.
The news of his cancer should have changed Vern’s plans. In his talk, he joked of trading in his time with Rotary for his bucket list. With the possibility of six months left to live, most people would change their outlook on life. Vern would tell you he has. Rather than looking inward though, he is looking outward. A more egotistical thing might be to take his partner on the trips they never had time for. Spend cash like there’s no tomorrow and reach his end at frantic pace, trying to accomplish all that he had planned to do in the next 30 years in just 6 months. Vern is not that kind of man.
Vern told my Rotary club of his desire to help others. The Rotary International moto is, “Service Above Self.” You only get to be a district governor by embodying this idea. Vern has been involved in multiple successful companies. He has guided numerous non-profit organizations. Traveling the world to help in other countries and contribute to the betterment of mankind is just one of the many reasons Vern was asked to be a District Governor for Rotary. As Vern stood in front of my club, he asked all of us to do our part. The specific ask was very different than I’m used to.
As a Rotarian you are asked to do many things. Raise money for local playgrounds, gather donations for a local food drive, or fight Polio, a disease which ravaged every country in the world as recently as 50 years ago and until July of 2016 had gone almost an entire year without a new wild case of the disease. You see Rotarians care about their fellow humans and seek ways to improve their community. For some clubs this is done on a local scale by giving food to children before the start of the school day so that education instead of hunger can be their focus. For other clubs their community is the world so they start projects like Polio Plus or the United Nations. Little projects.
When Vern Nielsen stands in front of your Rotary club as the District Governor and announces that he has pancreatic cancer and will probably not see the end of his term and then says he has an ask, you expect this to be the mother of all asks. Vern asked us to talk. No back breaking projects, no huge fund raisers, no world unity events. Vern Nielsen asked that we talk with our friends about what we do as Rotarians.
You see Vern believes that Rotarians don’t talk enough about what we do. Rotary International partners with some of the largest organizations and non-profits in the world. Rotarians have received millions of dollars from organizations to do the work we do. Tyrants and governors in war torn countries have called cease fires to allow Rotarians to bring aid to their people. Despite all this Rotarians have been a dying breed for the last few decades. Each year there are fewer and fewer Rotarians in every community. Vern Nielsen believes that Rotarians don’t talk enough about what Rotarians do.
All Rotary clubs meet once a week. It can be breakfast, lunch, dinner or even after work drinks that bring them together. Guests are always invited but few come for more than one or two visits. There is a disconnect between the weekly gatherings and the work Rotarians do. It’s difficult to describe how your Rotary club has impacted your community. That’s why Rotarians usually put a seal on their projects. We don’t like to boast and brag about the work we’ve done. When we build a bus stop for those that need shelter, we don’t ask for a thank you. We know that it’s being used because we see the people getting a moments rest from the harsh wind. Rotarians know what the golden gear / wheel or whatever you want to call it means. Vern believes that it’s not enough for Rotarians to know. He wants our friends to know what that golden gear / wheel or whatever you want to call it means.
It's friends that often help us reach understanding. In the time leading up to Vern’s role as District Governor and before his diagnosis there were many trainings and events to go to. Between one of these a very good friend of his approached him. This friend walked up and said, “So Vern, I hear you’re going to be the grand poohbah of Rotary.” In his telling of the story Vern chuckles, “Well not quite. I’ll be the District Governor.” His friend of numerous years looked at Vern. This friend had watched Vern leave many evenings to volunteer, go to trainings, and fly out of the country all in the name of Rotary. This friend looked at Vern and said, “What is Rotary anyway?” Vern was speechless. His friend didn’t know about the most influential group in Vern’s life. The group that had demanded so much of Vern but provided him with innumerable opportunities to better his community and himself was a foreign word to this friend. This was where Vern began to understand.
“I knew in that moment that we Rotarians need to tell others about the good we do. We need to be our own public relations. We need to speak up about what we do. Not so that others will join us, but so that others will know.”
At the end of the District Governors speech I stood and applauded. I applauded for his insight into what we as Rotarians should do to help our communities. How it was our small contributions that could change the world economy or improve the lives of others. I applauded for a man who openly admitted that in in four days the drugs that would be coursing through his body would make him into a different man. A man weak and debilitated. A man unable to carry the burden his title brought with it. A tear came to my eye as well. Before me stood a Rotarian. A member of a small group of individuals who is striving to make his community better. For years I too have called myself a Rotarian. I wondered how many of my friends know what this word means to me.
Should I walk into the doctor’s office tomorrow and be informed that I too had stage 4 pancreatic cancer, would I behave like Vern Nielson? The motto of “Service Above Self” is a very nice thing to hang on our meeting wall. Would I be able to live up to that motto if I faced Vern’s choice? I don’t know.
I know that before me on that day stood a man who was happy. He has had a full life that is potentially being cut short by a terrible disease. What else would Vern have accomplished had he been given more time? That thought is not on Vern’s mind. Doctors cannot tell him how many days he has left. The treatments he receives in his chair are meant to make them as numerous as possible. The time he is given by this treatment will be spent doing the thing that means the most to him. Vern will tell others he is a Rotarian. He is the man who built toilets in countries you haven’t heard of so that little girls wouldn’t be embarrassed by their periods and could continue to stay in school. He is the man who helps put jam on toast so students can have a meal before school starts. Vern Nielsen is a Rotarian. His personal motto is the same as every Rotarians, “Service Above Self.”
When Vern’s done taking his medicine he will lie down for a while. To rest, to rejuvenate, and to recuperate before going to his next Rotary meeting. Like all of us, Vern will eventually lie down forever. This time may be sooner than any of us would like. Vern’s family will have seen the good he’s done. His friends will remember the times they shared.
I only got to meet Vern Nielsen once. In the forty minutes he spoke, Vern inspired me. He showed me that a motto can be more than words we put on a wall. I am a Rotarian, just like Vern. We are all lucky to have neighbors like him.
The Quincy Rotary Club will be working to remove the dying arborvitae trees from the west side of the Quincy Valley Cemetery on Friday and Saturday. On Friday, Carl Yeates will begin at 4 p.m. using an excavator to pull the trees out of the ground. If you have a large truck with a lift to haul the trees, please bring it.
On Saturday, we will resume the tree removal at 8 a.m. We need volunteers with rakes, shovels and wheel barrows to remove debris and smooth out the ground so new curbs, sidewalks and fencing can be installed.
Marvin Rivera, AVANZA manager Anibal Murcia, Honduras factory owner Joel and Elias, assistants
Factory Launch Successful
In mid-June four reps from Stove Team International, plus the owner of the stove factory in Honduras (and his assistant), came down to Esteli for five days of training our factory team. The end result was the first stove built in our new factory—and the acquisition of the tools and skills needed by our staff to build hundreds more.
The factory itself received high marks from all the visitors for its functional design and overall attractiveness. In the days just prior to this visit, several important features were added: a basic electrical system, a septic system with a functional bathroom, and a thick layer of volcanic material on the floor. When the visitors arrived on June 13, only some quality tools and stove materials were needed.
Anibal led the search for those important items in the local shops: a welding machine and a compressor were the big ones. Then came the steel sheeting, steel bar, pumice, sand, cement—all essential ingredients for building the Ecocina Stove.
Over the next few days, Anibal and Joel took Marvin and Elias through the building process, step by step, explaining and demonstrating every part of it--like how to fill the molds with concrete, remove the shell next day, and then submerge it in water for three days to cure properly. Plus how to cut the tile to form the L-shaped fire box and chimney so it fits the shell snugly. And how to scribe the edge of the round griddle (for making tortillas) and then how to cut it out of a steel sheet with the plasma cutter. Just as important: how to do all of these steps so that you end up with a quality product.
A Big Round of Applause to. . .
The AVANZA Stove Factory is the result of many people making large and small contributions. The Friends Board wishes to express our deep gratitude to every individual and organization involved in its creation:
1) the loyal Friends who have supported us with funds for purchasing the land and building the factory. 2) the many local and distant Rotary Clubs who believed enough in this project to provide most of the funds. 3) the Stove Team leaders—Nancy, Gerry, Katie, and Inara—who have provided the essential guidance. 4) the three pictured below—Lester Molina, the Project Manager; Elida Hernandez, the Sales Manager; and Marvin Rivera, the General Manager—all of whom continue to play key roles in the operation.
Elias Lester Elida Marvin
Since the week of training in mid-June, the factory staff has been going through a seasoning process: Marvin and his assistant in learning how to build stoves more efficiently and to a higher standard, Elida in learning how to effectively demonstrate the stove to groups of interested women, and how to manage the grant funds to Stove Team requirements.
At this point they are working on an order for their first 100 stoves! After that, there’s another 840 more stoves they need to build and sell in order to fulfill their contract with the Rotary Foundation, which is providing $86,000 in funding. The learning curve for the factory staff has been fairly steep since Day 1, but they’re climbing it a step at a time—and within a few more weeks they will be up to the task.
We are very happy to welcome our inbound exchange student Llayda Tulu from Turkey! And thank you to the Berndts for being her first host family. And to Brynn Nieuwenhuis for being a friendly face to her to meet coming off of the plane.
Our new exchange student from Turkey, Ilyada Tulu is flying into Pangborn airport in East Wenatchee on flight 2134 this Thursday, August 25, 2016 at 11:56 pm for those who want to come welcome her!
We need lots of volunteers for our FCAD Barbecue Booth. Please signup for a duty and shift at our regular meetings, you can also contact John Rylaarsdam or Melva Calloway to sign up.
Hey all you Rotary Facebookers, please follow this link https://www.facebook.com/FCADcarshow/ to the FCAD Car Show page and like it and share it with your Facebook friends.
This is a great way to get the word out about our car show and it's totally free! All it takes is less than a minute of your time.
A good time was had by all at our Sunday BBQ for our exchange students Marie Schlederer and Isabel Pelayo. We really had a good day and the Schlederer's were very grateful to Quincy Rotary for the fantastic experience Marie has had. The Pelayo family enjoyed meeting Quincy Rotary members and are very excited about Isabel's opportunities.
Incoming Quincy Rotary Club president Chuck Allen (left) presents outgoing president John Rylaarsdam with a commemorative plaque for his service during the Rotary Club Installation Banquet at SunFire Grill on Friday, June 17.
We had a wonderful time on May 20 hosting members of the Rotary South Australian Vocational Training Team and showing them the great things about Quincy with the help of our friends at Yahoo!, Lamb Weston, Quincy Columbia Basin Irrigation District and White Trail Produce. Safe travels Alice, Jessica, Clare, Ben and Jim.
Quincy's inbound exchange student Marie Schlederer did a wonderful job representing her home country of Austria during the introduction of exchange students at the Rotary District 5060 Conference in Yakima May 14th.
Quincy native Jenna Arnell, has been award $30,000 by district 5060, to study her Masters in International Security. This global grant is comprised of $15,000 from our district and a match of $15,000 from the global grant.
Congratulations to Jenna and the Quincy Rotary Club!
A reminder that Quincy Rotary will be hosting some folks from Australia next week. They will be our guests at the meeting on Thursday and then on Friday we have several tours planned for them during the day followed by a no host wine tasting at Errant cellars from 5-6 pm and then a BBQ reception at Carl and Micki Yeates. Great chance to meet interesting people and also visit with fellow Rotarians.
Quincy rotary participated in the Quincy Business Expo. The goal was to connect with all business owners and the community about the networking opportunities and community out reach that Rotary provides.
Investing in clean water could save 2.5 million lives a year. We can't afford not to protect the world's water supply. Take action with Rotary to create access to clean water.
Worldwide, more than 748 million people live without access to clean water and at least 3,000 children die each day from diarrheal diseases caused by unsafe water. Rotary is working to change that. For example, members used a Rotary grant to drill more than 20 clean-water wells and to repair another 30 in villages across Ghana. The project also included education about and treatment of Buruli ulcer, a debilitating infection that if untreated can lead to disability and death. Nearly 70,000 people will benefit from this initiative.
Institute equips regional leaders to advance Rotary’s story
Regional leaders from around the globe gathered at Rotary World Headquarters for a four-day training institute in early March.
Regional leaders from around the globe gathered at Rotary World Headquarters in Evanston in early March for training they will use to inspire members in their respective areas.
Several participants - most of whom will begin their term on 1 July - noted that the true measure of the institute's success will be how well the information they learned is transmitted to Rotary members.
"We have to realize that training doesn't stop at the district level," said Michael Boyer, a Rotary public image coordinator from Pismo Beach, California, USA. "We train people really well to be governors and club presidents but we have to realize that we also have to train our members in how to talk about Rotary."
Boyer said his goal is to ensure that members can discuss Rotary's brand in a clear and compelling way. "We have to make our club presidents understand they can't just stand in front of their club and say, 'Go invite members.' They actually have to train members in how to ask and what to say," he said.
A major goal of the four-day regional leaders training institute was to equip these leaders -- regional Rotary Foundation coordinators, Rotary coordinators, Rotary public image coordinators, and endowment/major gifts advisers -- to help club and district leaders strengthen club membership, focus and foster Rotary's humanitarian service, and enhance the organization's public image.
Many participants were impressed to learn about new tools available on Rotary.org, which they practiced using during multiple workshops.
"I have used Rotary.org for years but I have realized these past couple of days how much more advanced it has become," said Alasdair Seale, an endowment/major gifts adviser from Edinburgh, Scotland. "I didn't realize, for example, that there are alumni reports that include Group Student Exchange students, vocational training teams, Ambassadorial Scholars, and Rotaractors. They are all clearly a target for membership."
Patrick Coleman, a regional Rotary Foundation coordinator from Luanshya, Zambia, said members need to be encouraged to use Rotary.org.
"(What we are learning) is very exciting because we are bringing Rotary into the 21st century," Coleman said. "We have members who brag about being born before the age of computers. But that's a bit like saying, 'I was born before cellphones so I am not going to use one.' We're here, we need to use these tools."
Sherri Muniz, a Rotary coordinator from San Antonio, Texas, said the value of the institute for her was being able to share ideas.
"The program itself is designed to teach us teamwork," Muniz said. "But we are building connections with people who have success stories, with people who have similar challenges, and those connections will last us far beyond the end of the institute."
You are Invited!
2nd Annual
Patriot Pick-Up
Who: ALL Quincy Residents
Date: Friday, April 1, 2016
Time: 8:30 a.m.-11:30 a.m.
Event: All Quincy Residents are invited to attend a special Patriot Pick-Up event. Patriot Pick-Up is a QVS effort to keep the Greater Quincy Community litter-free.
Where: We will meet at Quincy Valley School, 1804 13th Ave. SW, and pick up garbage at various Quincy locations. All garbage will be brought back to the school and snacks will be provided.
Why should my family attend?: This is a fantastic opportunity to do something great for our community. Children will learn the importance of volunteering and will be proud of their efforts when the job is complete. If you are planning to attend or have questions please email Sara Tuttle at stuttle@quincyvalleyschool.org or call 509-797-5301.
Bailey Kehl and Gavin Sahli met Rep Dan Newhouse during his recent visit to the Quincy Rotary Club. The students attend junior high at Quincy Valley School and are founding members of the QVS Rotary Interact club.
We are pleased to welcome The Hon. Dan Newhouse, House of Representatives, District 13 to Quincy Rotary on February 18. Representative Newhouse, a hop farmer from Yakima and former Director of the Washington State Department of Agriculture is serving his first term in Congress. Please bring a guest and your questions and comments for this opportunity to have a conversation with the Congressman at our weekly club meeting. This would be a great day to bring a guest.
Scott Bierlink was presented The Paul Harris Fellowship Award on Feb 4th!
"The Paul Harris Fellow recognition acknowledges individuals who contribute, or who have contributions made in their name, of US$1,000 to The Rotary Foundation of Rotary International.
It was established in 1957 to show appreciation for and encourage substantial contributions to what was then the Foundation’s only program, Rotary Foundation Fellowships for Advanced Study, the precursor to Ambassadorial Scholarships.
The first Paul Harris Fellows include 1937-38 RI Director Allison G. Brush and longtime RI Treasurer Rufus F. Chapin, both for donations made in 1946. Mrs. Adan Vargas was the first woman to receive the recognition, for a gift made in 1953. Mrs. Harry L. Jones was the second, and one of only five people recognized for contributions made in 1957.
Early Paul Harris Fellows received a certificate of recognition. In 1969, the Foundation unveiled the first Paul Harris Fellow medallion at the RI Convention in Honolulu, Hawaii, USA. Japanese metal artist Fiju Tsuda created the piece under the direction of then-past Foundation Trustee Kyozo Yuasa. Today, Paul Harris Fellows receive a certificate and pin. They are also eligible to purchase a Paul Harris Fellow medallion.
Rotarians have a tradition of supporting the Foundation by honoring others. Ida LeTulle Taylor became a Paul Harris Fellow in 1978 when her husband, then-District Governor Vann Taylor, made a donation in her name in honor of their 34th wedding anniversary. The gift also made her the 25,000th Paul Harris Fellow.
At the International Assembly in 1979, then-RI President-elect James Bomar challenged each Rotary club to make one non-Rotarian a Paul Harris Fellow. The Rotary Club of Pikesville, Maryland, USA, responded by making a donation in the name of Mother Teresa in 1980. The entertainer Pearl Bailey also became a Paul Harris Fellow through a joint effort of the Rotary clubs in Cape Cod, Massachusetts.
Many other notable figures have been named as Paul Harris Fellows, including U.S. President Jimmy Carter, Russian President Boris Yeltsin, U.S. astronaut James Lovell, UN Secretary-General Javier Perez de Cuellar, and Jonas Salk.
The number of Paul Harris Fellows reached the one million mark in 2006."
Well, she still hasn’t blogged yet, so here’s the latest scoop
Her town band started up again on the 9th, and school began on the 11th. so she’s back in the swing of things
She was supposed to move to her new host family on the 17th, but her 2nd mom broke her hip in 3 places while skiing on the 10th! Yikes!
There was a meeting of the minds, and she was offered options. Her 1st family invited her to stay longer, so that’s what she chose.
She misses her Rotary club in Quincy. Rotary in Germany is still a ‘males only’ club, so she can only attend social events.
There was finally enough snow to build a snowman or 3 and go sledding this weekend. My snow girl is super-happy now.
She will have another week off of school for “carnival” in February. Fat Tuesday stuff. Costumes, masquerade. Fiona says she already has 20 activities she can attend, but only time to attend 10 of them – choices to make!
Rotary in Germany wants her to stay until the end of the school year – last year it was July 29th, but the rebound weekend is on July 22, so she’s planning on flying back around the 18th. She already knows she will miss Germany & her new friends and family so much she will need the rebound support.
Microsoft Quincy Data Center Operations has put together a food distribution in conjunction with 2nd Harvest Mobile food bank on Jan 27 at Iglesia Methodist Libra ( the old Chinook Lumber building). They've reached out for both financial and sweat equity. They need 20 volunteers so if we can get a few Rotarians there, it would be a good thing.
December 11-13th is the Rotary District event known as Silver Star Weekend in Vernon, BC, Canada for all the inbound exchange students in our District. It is devoted to winter sports, i.e. skiing, tubing, and otherwise having fun in the snow. If this weekend sounds of interest to you, and you would be willing to drive students there and back please contact Lynn Child, Henry Hernandez, Jess Slusher, John Rylaarsdam, or Melva Calloway for more details.
The Quincy Rotarians would like to recognize an incredibly dedicated individual. Mike Wallace has consistently gone above and beyond to unselfishly share his passion for Agriculture with the Quincy School District staff and students, Agriculture Educators and FFA Advisors nationwide, and the wonderful people throughout the communities of Quincy and George.
Mike graduated in 1990 from WSU with a Bachelor of Science in Biology. While at WSU, Mike met Kelly and still managed enough time to earn his American FFA Degree. Following his stint as a cougar, Mike journeyed across the border to become a vandal. While attending the University of Idaho, Kelly must have been really good for Mike because he graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Agricultural Education and also became a husband. They then headed to the Columbia Basin and following in his dad’s footsteps; Mike became an Agriculture Educator. After teaching for one year in Moses Lake, Mike and Kelly decided to make the Quincy/George community their home; a place to teach, worship, farm, enjoy life and raise a family. Today, that family includes four sons – Cade, Tanner, Paden and Brody.
Mike Wallace has taught high school agricultural education for over 22 years. He is heavily involved with developing curriculum and resources at the state level, and with his own widely-diversified program, he serves as a quality resource and mentor when fellow educators need help developing curriculum in the areas of natural resources, animal science and mechanics. Mike works closely with his loyal Ag Alumni and Quincy Community Advisory Board to ensure that the QHS Ag Program and FFA Chapter use the most up-to-date materials, curriculum, and equipment.
Mike is heavily involved in agricultural education professional organizations, serving in multiple leadership roles from 2003-2007, including president of the Washington Association of Agricultural Educators (WAAE). During his service as the national chairman of the Membership Service committee for National Association of Agricultural Educators (NAAE), Wallace created the National Agriculture Relief Fund. This fund makes money available to NAAE members who have suffered a personal hardship.
Mike was one of only six individuals nationwide who received the National Association of Agricultural Educators (NAAE) Outstanding Service Citation at the 2013 NAAE annual convention in Las Vegas. Complimenting his many years of service to his profession, Wallace has received many educator awards at the local, district, state, and national levels. Some include:
2001, 2006, 2008 & 2012 WAAE District 9 Teacher of the Year
2008 WAAE Outstanding Teacher of the Year
2008 NAAE Distinguished Professional Award
2012 NAAE Western Division Outstanding Secondary Agricultural Education Teacher
2006, 2011 & 2015 WAAE District IX Outstanding Teacher Mentor of the Year
2006 NAAE Outstanding Teacher Mentor of the Year
2010 University of Idaho’s Award for Service in Teacher Preparation
2004 NAAE Award for Outstanding Middle/Secondary School Agricultural Education Program in Washington State (QHS)
2013 NAAE Western Region Outstanding Secondary Ag Ed Program (QHS) - Honorable Mention
Mike has also been honored by our local community. He was awarded as the Honorary Farmer of the year for FCAD, the 2014 Teacher of the Year recognized by the Quincy Valley Chamber of Commerce, and the 2015 George Citizen of the Year.
Mike was also a four-year Member of the FFA Board of Directors, groomed at least a handful of FFA state officers, and for numerous years has been an event manager for FFA competitions. Mike prides himself in the knowledge that he gains through professional development efforts, while bringing that knowledge back to his own classroom to benefit kids.
Mike Wallace believes in leading by example. The FFA Motto “Learning to Do, Doing to Learn, Earning to Live, and Living to Serve” might was well be the “Mike Wallace Motto”. This is engrained in Mike and he freely gives of himself to demonstrate what that means. Mike’s 2008 Senior FFA Officers wrote it best. “You have always been there to work with us. The numerous livestock judging and meat trips showed us that you were willing to practice as long as we were. Although hamburger formulation and the rules of Parliamentary Procedure will not easily be forgotten, the life lessons that you have taught us along the way will stay with us forever. You have been a living example of dedication, hard work, honesty, and encouragement. Your unique analogies and motivating pep talks always gave us a positive outlook. You invested so much time in us – it has proven that you truly believe in us! Thank you!”
“It’s better to sweat in practice than bleed in battle” is a Mike-ism that he uses freely in the classroom, preparing for FFA competition and also on the wrestling matt. Mike Wallace’s purpose is to make a positive difference in the lives within the Quincy community by tapping into their personal pride and developing their potential for Premier Leadership, Personal Growth, and Career Success. Mike exemplifies all of these in and out of the classroom. Mike Wallace prides himself in the fact that the Quincy High School Agriculture Program provides students the knowledge that they need to be informed consumers, successful employees/employers, productive citizens and valued community leaders.
Mike Wallace personifies the Rotarian motto - “Service Above Self”.
Congratulations Mike Wallace – the 1st Honorary Rotarian of the Year
As most of you are aware November 5th is our District Governor's annual visit. Our DG this year is Greg Luring from Yakima.
Quincy Rotary has always been very respectful in regards to turning out for the annual DG visit and I hope that idea continues. This is also a great time to bring a guest.
I want to personally thank everyone who helped with the Chamber/Rotary auction. Those of you who attended know how much fun we had. I don't have any figures back but I think we did well. I want to thank the folks who showed up on Sunday morning to help clean up. That was grueling and the group that showed up deserve special thanks and consideration.
Hey all
Just a reminder this week the QVS Interact group, as part of make a difference day are having a food drive. Please remember to bring your food donations to Thursday's rotary meeting. I was reminded today that rice and pnut butter are always good choices.
Thank you
John
Below is an email from Fiona's mother on Fiona's safe travels to Germany.
Fiona is learning so much!!!
She had never been on an airplane before so she & her dad flew to Seattle at the end of July and spent 2 ½ hours in the airport learning the ropes since she wasn’t flying with a group. Good thing as they wouldn’t give us a gate pass since she had just turned 18. We watched her go through security – she was pulled out to do the dangerous chemical test on her hands and the full body scan, even though she was wearing her rotary jacket – but now she’s experienced it all! & she says the airport in Amsterdam is huge! She had a 2 hour layover, but was still sweating to get to the new gate on time for the flight to Zurich.
Spent the night watching movies on the plane & didn’t sleep – she was pretty nervous – so started falling asleep around 8:30 with the family.
Funny stories:
I tried to convince her to take a lightweight waterproof windbreaker. No mom. Okay, an umbrella. No mom. You grew up in the desert, the rain shadow of the Cascades, you don’t know about rain. Mom, I know about rain. It was raining when she got there and rained for 2 ½ days. She’s learning about rain J
She has a bedroom with a loft and a balcony. She said it was hot upstairs (probably the humidity she’s not used to) so she opened the window. The next morning she had experienced German mosquitoes. So many bites on her face – ouch!
Yep, she’s going to gain those 10-15 pounds. With Mark’s diabetes and Ellie’s missing enzyme so no sugars, we have a fairly limited menu at our house. Fiona is discovery the freedom of food! We keep hearing about the different menu items and have been told to ‘look this up!’ I hope she comes home with recipes and cooking experiences.
Town of 2,000, so she walked around & saw the whole town the first evening. It’s even smaller than ours!
Sweet treats
Her new dad has friends in the local music group so he’s going to see if she can join
Her 2nd host family’s mom does rowing on the river with a crew team. She’s taking Fiona. Her ballet legs should help her with that.
Another rotary member will be taking her sailing on the lake between Switzerland and Germany.
The local kids in town had a bonfire on the beach so she talked & made some new friends. One boy who plays the guitar called her a music god when he found out how many instruments she played.
She says she understands most of what her family says, but it is harder with other people. If anyone gets the Good Life magazine from Wenatchee, there is another article about Fiona this month! Wow, she’s really getting her 15 minutes of fame. Thanks so much for everything you & the group have done to make this experience possible for Fiona. It’s overwhelming, the support and caring, the planning, . . .I’ll be sure to pass on more tidbits as we hear them. She’s blogging fairly often – nice to hear about the trip!
There have been people in our community who have been working to provide us with a way to help those folks effected by the fire damage and one of them is Ben Schaapman
Ben contacted me today to say he is collecting non perishable food items to take up north to Okanogan county. He is hoping to have a couple pickup loads ready by Wednesday evening
For those of us looking for a way to get involved they will be excepting donations at both the Free Methodist Church and the Cenex fuel depot.
Ben has already hauled three loads of donated hay and has really devoted himself to this project so when you see him, please give him a big thanks
Marie Schlederer, our Inbound Exchange Student from Austria will arrive at Pangborn Memorial Airport in East Wenatchee, Wednesday, August 26th, at 5:04 PM. All Rotarians, host families, and interested persons are invited to welcome Marie to our country at that time. Assuming she is not too travel-weary, we will gather at a local restaurant/pizza place for a no-host welcome dinner (probably Abby’s Pizza on Grant Road East of Safeway). See you there!!
Hello from Los Angeles! I am writing you today because it was exactly four years ago that I took off on my rotary exchange to Lima, Peru. The time has literally flown by… from touring the country as a road manager for a international motivational speaker, to living in Jerusalem, Israel, to getting accepted into the UCLA film school and graduating this past June. I look back on everything that I have been able to accomplish and I am left speechless. I will always first and foremost give recognition to God for the incredible journey he has taken me on these past four years. It has been a path that I neither could have imagined, or planned for myself; however, as a I look back at what all has occurred in my life since high school, it is impossible to overlook the impact that my Rotary Exchange had on my life as well.
Volunteering, helping those in need, and being a leader within a community are all qualities that Rotary greatly impressed upon my life. Although I feel such qualities were already instilled in me at a very young age, it wasn’t until getting involved with Rotary that I saw the physical manifestation of those being carried out. Between my host club in Peru and our club there in Quincy, I was blessed to be surrounded by influential men & women who pushed me to pursue each of those traits in my own life.
So again, as I look back, I want to thank you once more. Thank you from the bottom of my heart for believing in an 18-year-old me, who knew very little about the world, and even less about Peru. I truly believe that because of the opportunity I was given to live in a 3rd world country after high school, a door which should have been impossible to open was blasted through upon my acceptance into the UCLA film school. Priding themselves on cultural awareness and students from incredibly diverse backgrounds, UCLA film, in the words of my admissions officer, “Chose a small town farm boy like me not because I was from a farm town, not because I had good grades, and not because I had experience in film (of which we already know I had none) - I was chosen to attend the film school because I was a kid in high school who pressed into culture, rather than staying within my own comfort zone. I saw the importance of having a viewpoint, but also understanding someone else’s viewpoint as well. Again, all qualities that were emphasized through Rotary (“No one is better or worse, just different”) I can also assure you that if it were to have been any other program, my parents would never have let me leave their sight for the year that I did.
As I look forward, I will continue to pursue these same values, continue to help others through my work, and continue opening doors for others, as you all have done for me. Upon graduating, my thesis at UCLA was picked up by California State Parks. My installation was an interactive art piece that curated over 300 short documentaries filmed by the youth of Los Angeles’ oldest housing project to create a platform facilitating the opportunity for the community to express their opinions, their voice, about the recent plans approved by the Los Angeles River Revitalization project to displace the community and destroy the complex. I spent every Thursday and Saturday from 3:30-8:00pm with these kids volunteering and conducting film workshops so that they would be able to learn how to capture the stories that were held within the project - some of the elderly had lived there for over 75 years. It’s excites me because this is exactly what I want to do with my life; and if it isn’t obviously, it is something that stemmed directly from my experience working with impoverished communities in Peru. The exhibition of my art piece within the park will take place at the grand opening, this December. You all are more than invited. ;-)
Furthermore, I have a part time job with UCLA women’s basketball as the creative director for their new media team. Basically, I conduct all of the marketing, social media, and videography coming out of the UCLA women’s basketball program. It is a crazy story of how it came to be, but nevertheless, one brought together by the hand of God. We recently were approached by ABC Family who saw some our work and now has greenlit an 8-episode reality TV series to be shot on the basketball team. It is quite exciting, and I cannot wait to see what comes of it. We are starting production this August, so I will definitely try to keep you posted. But in the mean time, if you are ever down in the area, make sure to give me a call and I will give you a private tour of Pauley Pavilion, and all of UCLA.
I am so very thankful and forever indebted to each of you powerful farmers, orchardists, businessmen, et al. for what you have done in my life. Quincy is the land of “Opportunities Unlimited,” and it gives me great pleasure to wear that badge with pride as I walk around this crazy city of Angels. I hope to be able to make it up there soon, or see some of you down here. If you are ever in LA, my door is always open.
Hi All,
Since most of you were not able to join us at District Conference, you probably have not seen the video our students produced for the conference. It is truely wonderful and I thought you might like to see it. Below is a link to the video. Unfortunately, you will need to copy the following address and paste it in your browser to see the video.
I think you will enjoy the show.
Left to Right: Bill Judge, Mark Call, Jack Tobin
Dear President Gigi Lowry,
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.JPG)
.JPG)
.JPG)
.JPG)
.JPG)
.JPG)
.JPG)
.JPG)
.JPG)
.JPG)
.JPG)
.JPG)
.JPG)
.JPG)
.JPG)
.JPG)
.JPG)
.JPG)
.JPG)
.JPG)
.JPG)
.JPG)
.JPG)
.JPG)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
Left to RightCody Main, Rosey Combs, Taran Brown, Gavin Sahli,
.jpeg)
.jpeg)
.JPG)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpeg)
.JPG)
.jpg)
.jpeg)
.jpeg)
.jpeg)
View Slideshow
.JPG)
.jpeg)
.JPG)
.JPG)
.JPG)
Saturday 9/9/17 and Sunday 9/10/17 balloons launch at sunrise, approximately between 6:00 and 6:30 am, from Lauzier Park in Quincy
.jpg)
.jpg)
.JPG)
That's right! District 5060 is hosting TWO Million Dollar Dinners this year to help celebrate the 100th Birthday of the Rotary Foundation.
If you are lucky enough to be in one of the 40 Clubs that District Governor Vern has been able to visit so far, then I remind you of how you felt about his inspirational message of hope for the future of Rotary. Come to Kelowna, stay at one of the top-5 waterfront resorts in all of Canada, and join in the
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpeg)
.JPG)
.JPG)
