A Growing, Changing China
Meeting Minutes for September 10, 2008
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There were several visitors and guests at this morning's meeting including two members from the Missoula noon club who came to talk about the Silver Park Bench Project poker tournament fundraiser, and a blood drive this week. Our own Jim Clark also returned from his six week vacation and presented the club with several banners from various clubs he visited while on vacation, including La Mesa, CA, Surprise, AZ, two clubs in Wyoming, and La Junta, CO. And while Jim said the La Mesa, CA noon club is a very fun club (they even sing!), Jim said there is no club better than Missoula Sunrise. Sergeant at Arms David Bardwick reminded us all that he and Frank D'Angelo made a pact that they will never sing at Rotary. Welcome back, Jim!
Sergeant at Arms David Bardwick let us in on some facts about the graduating class of 2012 including the fact that this class has known about karaoke machines since birth, caller ID has always been available to them, in their lifetime gas stations have not fixed flat tires but they do have cappuccinos, and that e-filing tax returns has always been an option for them.
Announcements:
President Chris Warden made an announcement about the Silver Park Bench project. The goal is to raise $10,000 for the project, and the board at this morning's meeting approved a partnership with the Missoula noon club, which has promised at least $1,500 towards the project, and is putting on a poker tournament to help fund the project (more about this later). Brandon Naasz said that Rotary day for the Silver Park Bench project will be Friday, September 26 and we will be helping with running to get food from local businesses and serving food to the workers for both breakfast and lunch. There may also be a need for help with dinner service for the workers on that Friday. In order to work on the actual project (not serving food), we have been told that you must register at the website, but registration closed September 8th, though please contact Brandon for more information if you would like to be a builder and did not register.
Marty Judnich, a Rotarian from the noon club, told us about their poker tournament fundraiser that will be used to help the Silver Park Bench project. The tournament will be held October 24th at the Press Box from 6:00-midnight. First place will win $1,000 and 1st-9th place will all receive prizes (if you have or know anyone who will give a donation for the prizes, contact Marty). There is a $100 buy-in for the tournament with a $50 re-buy and included with this is free food and two free drinks. This fundraiser is hoping to raise $5,000-$7,000.
Walt Muralt, a Rotarian from the noon club, made an announcement regarding the blood drive that is taking place at Muralt's Travel Plaza. He mentioned that only 5% of adults donate blood, but by the time we are 65, 90% of us or one of our immediate family members will need blood. This is the state's largest blood drive, and will be taking place through Friday at the Travel Plaza. Walt also mentioned that a woman from Choteau came to one of the blood drives to thank everyone for donating because she had leukemia and it took 300 donors to help treat her disease, so every person that donates really helps!
Arnie Didier announced there was a programs committee meeting immediately following our regular meeting and they were to discuss the Thanksgiving breakfast and holiday program. He thanked everyone for sending the committee names of potential speakers and mentioned that the speakers for the next several weeks' meetings are now posted on the website.
The Foundation and Membership Committees also had meetings following our regular meeting.
Marshall Delano thanked Walt Muralt for his support and mentioned there are new exhibits at the Missoula Art Museum including A View of Persia and the American Prairie Project, so go check them out.
Greg Johnson thanked everyone for their help with the Who's Who Revue, said they've had one rehearsal, and Bob Brown's performance will in and of itself make the show worth seeing! He mentioned that Missoula really feeds on word of mouth more than on traditional advertising like the paper (although there was a very nice circular in the Missoulian about the show), so get out there and tell everyone about the show so we can have as many people there as possible. Also, see the other emails President Chris has sent out regarding the show for more information on ticket package deals.
Thank you cards for the Hiawatha trip with the Youth Homes kids were passed around for everyone to see.
Marshall Delano gave the Rotary minute and spoke about shelter boxes, which his brother-in-law is involved with. Marshall's brother-in-law recently traveled to Nepal to hand out shelter boxes to families affected by the severe flooding in the region. The shelter boxes give a family shelter and basic necessities for 4+ weeks. He mentioned his brother-in-law met many Rotarians in Nepal who helped make his travels possible, from Rotarians helping him meet government officials to helping to make it possible for him to not have to pay the import tax on the shelter boxes. Nepal has been devastated by flooding, with 50,000 people displaced from their homes, and it will take months for people to get back to their homes. The shelter boxes really help these people that are in great need of tools to survive.
President Chris Warden said that an international project for our club has not been decided on for this year, but it will focus on childhood mortality, which RI President D.K. Lee has made his project for the year. The club is looking for people who are interested in helping first-hand, such as making trips oversees to help with the projects. If you are interested in traveling for an international project, contact Kim, Hugh, or President Chris.
Arnie Didier gave the classification talk for the week, and he does sales and marketing at the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation. Arnie loves Rotary for the people and the Four-Way Test. Arnie has been in Missoula for two years and before that he lived in Colorado, Wisconsin, and Illinois. Arnie is married to Debbie, who he said is a gem, and they have two daughters and one cat. His most memorable time helping someone out was when he helped a man on the side of the road jump his car, which the man was very surprised about. But Arnie said that's just what you do - help people out when they need it. He said that passion is his strongest character trait and a perfect day would include time with his family, no teenage fighting, hiking with his wife, chasing bull elk, and a good meal (he loves to cook game) with a good glass of cabernet (or maybe a few!). One thing few people know about him is when he was a senior in high school he was the #1 baseball prospect in Illinois before he got hit with a line drive that shattered his ankle, which ended his baseball career. He also mentioned that in 2005 he did the Colorado triple bypass bike ride and the Pike's Peak marathon, proving that "short fat guys can make it up a hill, too!"
Our presentation was by fellow Sunrise Rotarian Jim Betty about his 5-month trip to China to teach English. Jim was born in Peru, the son of an airline pilot, and has been a realtor for the last 8 years. He and his wife Julie spent 5 months in Changsha, China, called "The Cradle of Revolution," teaching business English and helping dedicate a Christian church that his church in Missoula, the Missoula Alliance Church, built in China.
Jim said he and his family previously traveled to China in 1987. For this trip, he and his wife left Missoula on December 30 and when they first arrived in China they went to meet a Chinese couple that purchased land in MT. He met the clients on the 63rd floor of the tallest building on Hong Kong. He mentioned there is a constant haze over the city where they were staying.
While in China, Jim and Julie visited the Wedding Church, where Chinese people get married in the western tradition, visited the church that his Missoula church helped to build, and also met with many Christians, some of whom he had met when he and his family traveled to China in 1987. He mentioned that Christianity is really growing in China, and there are many government-approved churches and also many house churches that meet in people's home without permission from the Chinese government.
Jim and Julie taught Business English at Central South University of Forestry and Technology to students who were mostly working professionals or were in their junior or senior year of college. Jim mentioned there is a lot of development going on in China, and they saw many tower cranes throughout the town that were busy building new commercial buildings.
He talked about the street scenes in China where merchants perform for money, retirees play games, one man made cotton candy with a contraption attached to a bicycle, street vending takes place, and pet and meat shops are everywhere (pets are now popular in China, and not just for eating!). There was a lot of English spoken on the streets, which was good for Jim and his wife because they did not speak a lot of Chinese. Jim also mentioned that whenever money is given to pay for an item, the person accepting the money always checks the authenticity of the bill. Can you imagine checking every dollar you received here in the United States?
Jim and Julie were treated to several banquets, which are a way of life in China. Students treated them to banquets as a thanks for teaching them. They also went with many of the students to their family businesses to see first-hand the development that is taking place in China.
They also got to travel around China during spring festival, but this year during spring festival there was the worst ice and snow that the region had seen in over 50 years! Jim and Julie went hiking, visited several areas of China, and on one of the train trips were recognized by someone they had met back in 1987 when they were there with their family.
Jim closed by telling us that the Chinese are enamored with Americans and the lives we lead, and the English and US in particular really give hope to the Chinese people. Thanks for sharing your wonderful adventure with the club, Jim!
We closed the meeting by reciting the Four-Way Test.