Gear for the Garhwal--and Happy Birthday Rotary!
Sergeant at Arms David Bardwick then introduced guests Dave Gerken (husband and guest of Annie Gerken) and Chrissy Orangio (guest of Susan Hay Patrick) who will be a Rotary Ambassadorial Scholar to South Africa. David then shared some random thoughts, including: "A good time to keep your mouth shut is when you're in deep water," and "There are no new sins, it's just the old ones get more publicity."
Lou Bahin reminded all that the Service Committee was to meet following the regular meeting. He also reminded us that the ski outing to Discovery with the Youth Homes kids will be this Saturday, February 27th. If you've not signed up but would like to go, please contact Lou. The group will leave from the Lowe's parking lot at 7:30am on Saturday and will be at Discovery around 9:30 or 10:00. The trip will include 11 kids from the Youth Homes and 6 staff, as well as several Rotarians.
Susan Patrick announced that the Club Administration Committee will meet next Wednesday following the regular meeting. An invitation to attend was extended to all, including incoming Secretary Annie Gerken and incoming Treasurer Trevor Lewis.
David Bardwick announced that Lynda Frost is ill and there would not be a Money Train meeting today. However, David had tickets available for the Money Train. Rotarians were able to purchase tickets, or take tickets to sell this next week. The money for the tickets, or the tickets themselves, need to be returned at next week's meeting.
Susan Patrick reminded all that the District will be sponsoring a District service project called "Grateful Montana" the weekend of July 29 through August 1st. In partnership with the Montana National Guard, District Rotarians will be spending time with children of deployed servicemen and women; hiking, bowling, etc. Susan has emailed details to the membership. Mark your calendars!
Those with contributions to the Sunrise Rotary cookie jar this week: Bobby Clay, who said Patricia hopes to be off her crutches today and move to a cane; Kara McCarthy, celebrating Community Medical Center winning the #1 donor award from United Way-more than $50,000 donated!; and Bill St. John, with thanks to the club for sending him to PETS.
COOKIES: Susan Patrick had cookies this week for: Bill St. John with thanks for the programs and good luck at PETS; Carl Prinzing, with thanks for the birthday cake and all he does for Rotary; Jed Dennison, with thanks for helping out with the program and classification talk on short notice.
Jed Dennison then gave his classification talk. Jed said his name is John Edward Dennison, with "Jed" coming from his initials. A Rotarian for less than a year, Jed said he came to a few meetings as a guest of Justin Metcalf (with whom he has shared office space). Jed said he joined because the Four Way Test fits his core beliefs and the way he runs his real estate business day-to-day. Jed said he enjoys real estate as each day is interesting and each day is a new challenge. On February 1st he opened his own brokerage, Zillastate. Jed described himself as a "recovering Texan" and his family is still in Texas. Jed came to Missoula in 1997. Jed is married to his "lovely and forgiving" wife Marti and they have two young sons, Wesley and Paulie. Jed said he's been called a "lumbering bear" and says though it might be slow, he'll "always get there." An avid cyclist and endurance racer, Jed is founder of the Montana Junior Cycling Foundation. He is planning a trip to Costa Rica for an endurance race. Something we might not now about Jed? He says he plays the tenor sax, "poorly." Can you say Who's Who Revue?
Susan Patrick then introduced our speaker Eric Legvold. A native of Atlanta, Eric grew up in New Orleans. He is a recent UM graduate in Recreation Management and is Executive Director of Nature Link Institute (www.nature-link.org). Eric first traveled to India in 2008 as a research assistant and fell in love with India's people and mountains. Eric led the Gear for the Garhwal donation drive last year.
Eric began by explaining that the Gear for the Garhwal drive is an initiative based on 100% donated mountain gear that is provided to mountain shepherds in the Garhwal region in India. He thanked the club for the participation of many in last year's drive. Nature Link Institute is a nonprofit that wants to educate and inform people about different ways to view the human-environment interface and it seeks to redefine the way humans interact with nature through research, education and advocacy.
Eric said that one of Nature Link's programs involves a UM class which takes students to the Nanda Devi Biosphere Reserve in India. Eric explained that the Reserve has two zones, including a core and a buffer. There are 19 communities in the buffer zone, and students in the program trek village to village (at 13,000 feet!) with a focus on education and adventure. On his trip to the region in 2008 he did research relating to the social effects of "herbal Viagra" which comes from a fungus inside caterpillars in the region.
Eric explained that the Bhotia culture of this region is rich, and the people work as herders, traders and farmers. They truly are subsistence based, living off the land and migrating with their herds. They are strong Hindu, and the women work very hard-up at 4:30am and working until 10:30pm. He said the people are very genuine, and make only $1.75 to $3.00 a day. Eric said there have been changes to the livelihood of those in this region over the past several decades. In 1962 the border with China was closed. The golden era of mountaineering was from 1974 to 1982 and ended with the closure of Nanda Devi in 1982 due to land degradation. In 2001 the Indian Mountaineering Foundation went into the core zone as a "research expedition." This led to the Nanda Devi Campaign, which is a villager declaration of ecotourism without exploitation.
In 2006 Mountain Shepherds was formed. This organization is 100% owned/operated by local villagers from the ages of 18-30. A partner organization to Nature Link, Mountain Shepherds focuses on "Community-Owned Eco-Tourism in the High Himalayas." Eric said the guides/porters are certified and extremely capable, though they can't afford jackets, tents, socks, sleeping bags, etc. To fill this need, Gear for the Garhwal was born. Eric explained that all the gear that is collected is hand delivered by UM students to the Mountain Shepherds. He encouraged us to go through our closets and if you find gear you no longer use, know that the Mountain Shepherds can and will! Last year's drive had four drop locations, and $20,000 worth of used gear was donated. Eric said he is driven to help in this way as he believes he's helping to invest in the future. He said he wants these people to be able to stay in their local villages and keep their culture intact.
Eric was asked how long the trip was in 2008. He said it was 28 days and the distance isn't measured in miles but in the "up/down." He said one mile could be "4,000 feet and 50 blisters." He said elevation is an issue, and students are climatized before they trek. Eric said the class at UM is 6 credits and is accredited through Forestry, Geography and International Development Studies.
Asked if he'd ever met Greg Mortensen, Eric said he has not yet had the opportunity to meet him, though he read his book on his first trip to India.
In response to a question, Eric explained that the shepherds make their income as guides for mountaineers and European travelers, though the season is very short. Eric said that the black market pays big money for the caterpillars, though they want the people to focus on the long term and not the short term. (Interestingly, this "herbal Viagra" is now farmed and can be found at the Good Food Store.)
In closing, Eric thanked all those who helped with last year's drive, and in particular, Mary Windecker. Mary helped to provide an expedition medical kit that was very needed and well-received.
Following this interesting program, Susan Patrick thanked Eric and told him that a dictionary will be donated by the club to an area third-grader in his name.
We then closed the meeting with a recitation of the Four Way Test.