Announcements
President-elect Martha announced that the next Rotary Fellowship will take place on August 22 at the baseball game. Email Andrew George if you plan to attend. Cost is $20 per person and includes ticket and dinner. 

 

Betty Wilkins announced that $19 was available in the 50/50 drawing (nearly enough to buy a ticket to the basketball game). The winner was Holli Ranten.

 

President-elect Martha indicated that a new member has been proposed. Ryan Boyd has applied for membership. Martha said this meeting was the first reading for Ryan. Club rules require two readings for a new member. Any questions, contact Dan Buchta, Membership Chair.

 

Program: A Collaboration to Benefit the Community
Program Chair Royce Engstrom introduced co-speakers Cindy Weese and Casey Dunning on a project collaboration between the Missoula YWCA and Missoula Interfaith Council (MIC). The project’s goal is to further the needs of homeless families in the community by combining two programs into one, thereby avoiding duplication of effort. 

 

According to Cindy, the YWCA operates a domestic violence shelter, emergency housing motel rooms, transitional housing apartments, and rapid re-housing rent assistance programs. 

 

Casey explained that MIC offers a variety of programs, as well, including: Building Bridges-Building Leaders; Partners for reintegration in the congregation; the Family Promise Shelter; housing advocate network; and Missoula Works, a staffing agency for people with barriers to employment.

 

“I am a 5th generation Montanan,” said Casey. “My 5th generation family at one point lost our ranch. When we did, it was devastating for our family; but we had a fabric, a community around us and so someone helped my dad get a job.”

 

Casey explained, “Today our institutions, families and organizations are disconnected. We have deep divisiveness in our community. We are divided by age, politics, race, gender, religion. It is crippling our communities. The people impacted the most are our most vulnerable families.” 

 

Cindy demonstrated statistics revealing Missoula as having the most homeless families in the state — 31 — during the last statewide count.  She said that 75% of those families are headed by single mothers. Current capacity can handle up to 50 families. 

 

“We have waiting lists. There are currently eight families waiting 3-4 weeks to find housing. Without a central facility, local churches have provided help in the interim.” She said with easy access to locating facilities online, there have also been some security issues. 

 

She said the primary reasons for homelessness include: lack of income, disabling condition, domestic violence, and/or lack of same-day access. Single women are at greater risk for homelessness. There are many barriers to permanent housing, she explained, including poor/limited rental history, lack of income, and affordable housing.

 

Both Cindy and Casey agreed that homelessness is very traumatic for all involved, especially children. Domestic violence and homelessness leave lifelong effects. Both nonprofit organizations find that generational poverty creates a financial burden on society, families, police, fire, and medical services.

 

The shared vision for YWCA and MIC, which has been in the planning stage for three years, includes:

—A partnership: in both depth & breadth, to share resources & expand capacity
—Same-day access
—Rapidly rehousing (reduce or terminate a wait list)

 

“We are in a time of social and political divisiveness that is impacting families in need,” said Casey.

 

Currently, the Family Promise program invites homeless families to stay overnight in congregation building with volunteers who stay overnight with those in need. 

 

“There have been some very deep and rich experiences for people who are making those connections [with volunteers and homeless families],” said Casey, who indicated they have never experienced any safety issues. 

 

Cindy reiterated, “Our goal is to have one single facility to house families.”

 

During the Q and A time, one member asked if motel costs could be renegotiated to be more competitive. Cindy said that summer is tourist season and hotels can get full rates. Hotels are already providing very low rates. 

 

“We just leased two studio apartments,” she said, “as it is about same price. All options are on the table for funding. There is always a need for shelters, emergency housing, short-term housing. We are trying to compile diverse resources to make this happen.”

 

President-Elect Martha thanked the speakers and the meeting was adjourned.

 

Richard C. Moore, P.E. (Rick) is a professional engineer with his own consulting firm. He is an expert in nuclear waste transportation safety and also specializes in environmental impact analysis and community planning. He was one of the principal authors of the Western Governors’ Association WIPP Transportation Safety Program Implementation Guide which has become the standard for transporting nuclear waste safely in the United States. 

Rick joined Rotary in 2009. He served as President of the Rotary Club of Helena in 2012 - 2013. He is currently a member of the Rotary Club of Helena Sunrise. He has been District 5390 Area 5 Assistant Governor and the editor of Big Sky Rotary News, the District’s newsletter. He is a member of the Paul Harris Society. Some of his past awards include 2004 Eminent Engineer of Wyoming, University of Wyoming Chapter of Tau Beta Pi; Fellow, National Society of Professional Engineers; and Wyoming Planning Association 1995 Wyoming Planning Commissioner of the Year. 

Rick’s wife Sylvia is a Registered Dietitian and a Fellow of the American Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics. After a thirty-year career in medical education in Wyoming, Sylvia has worked since 2008 in various higher education leadership roles in Montana. She has served as the Deputy Commissioner for Academics, Research and Student Affairs for the Montana Commission for Higher Education and a one-year interim position as Provost at the University of Montana Western. 

Rick and Sylvia were the Friendship Exchange Coordinators for District 5390 for a Friendship Exchange with Tasmania Rotary District 9830. They coordinated both the outbound and inbound Friendship Exchange Teams. 

Rick and Sylvia have one daughter Jessie, who is a Professor at Elon University in North Carolina.

 

Announcements
    Fellowship Chair Andrew George announced that he has arranged for members to attend baseball games on four different Wednesdays, beginning with August 22. Cost of $20 per person will include meal and game ticket.  

 

    The Youth Exchange Committee will meet at 5:30 pm August 1 at the offices of Scott Johnson, 1701 South Avenue West In the conference room. Required youth training will be conducted.

 

    President George announced that the Missoula Rotary Club will host the young professionals group at the Chamber of Commerce on October 18, 5-7 pm. He said members are encouraged to attend the event as it will offer an opportunity to educate young professionals about the benefits of Rotary membership. 

 

    The Club’s Rotary Youth Exchange inbound student will arrive at Missoula International Airport on August 7 at 9:54 pm. Antonio from Italy will be spending a year in the greater Missoula area. Members are invited to join the welcoming party at the airport.

 

    Mike Schauf announced that the popular five-minute talks from members are “still alive.” He says that President George asked that the talks be presented twice a month instead of three times per month as was the case last year. Members who have yet to introduce themselves in this manner should contact Mike about getting on the calendar.

 

    Mike also announced that a meeting is planned for September 22 at Missoula Country Club regarding the new submarine USS Missoula. Members are encouraged to attend and to invite friends and neighbors. The meeting is open to the public.

 

Happy Bucks
Visiting Rotarian Margaret Parson from the Missoula Sunrise Club was the first to offer Happy Bucks. She invited Missoula Rotary to participate in a new event being organized as a fundraiser for February 2019 — a Chocolate-Coffee Convention. “You eat chocolate and drink coffee as you wander from table to table,” Margaret explained when asked about the event. She has attended similar events held in other cities and found them to be a great success. The Rotary Club of Missoula Board members are considering her invitation to co-sponsor the event.

 

Members gladly spent some money to share a lot of happy news, including Dan Buchta, who introduced a visitor and prospective member who is a Paul Harris Fellow.

 

Victoria Emmons reminded members to wear their Rotary pins as a way to market Rotary membership.  “I have met many other Rotary members by wearing my pin,” she said, while noting that not many members in the club were wearing their pins. “People who are not Rotarians always ask me what my pin is and it offers a gateway to tell them more about Rotary and invite them to a meeting.” 

Bonjour
The Missoula Rotary Club’s outbound youth exchange student Paisley Ivanovitch was a guest at our club August 1. Paisley, 17, introduced herself with a very poised “Bonjour” to her audience. The Big Sky High School senior will depart later this month for France where she will spend a year with two different families, initially on the coast in Saint-Malo for six months and a second French town yet to be determined. The Missoula resident said she was excited to be living at the beach. With only one year of formal French language study under her belt, Paisley looks forward to learning about a new culture, language and people. Although she will spend her senior year in France, Paisley plans to return to Big Sky High School for yet another year to complete her senior studies. She is interested in pursuing culinary programs at Missoula College and her experiences living in France will surely help her develop a love of “la cuisine française.” France remains at the top of the list for cultivating some of the world’s best chefs. Bon voyage, Paisley! 

 

Live Younger, Longer
Program Chair Royce Engstrom introduced our guest speaker Roger Bejcek, a certified health coach, who shared his advice for how to “Live Younger, Longer.”

 

Roger began by asking everyone to “Take a deep breath and relax.” Once relaxed, the audience listed intently to the speaker’s own personal experiences and his recommendations for changes in life. He added, “A doctor friend of mine once told me, ‘I want to die young as late as possible.’ Who wants to live old?”

 

“I have 16 whys to live young,” Roger explained, with six of those reasons the various members of his family, including his children and grandkids, four of whom reside in Missoula and the reason for his visit to Montana. “We have a disease care system in this country, not a health care system.”

 

During a ski trip in Colorado years ago, Roger fell ill and it was later confirmed he had experienced a heart attack. He said it changed his life. He had two stents implanted and the nurse told him the only reason he had survived was because he exercised. The brush with death transformed him. 

 

He said he learned more about the value of fruits and vegetables to a healthy life. He had always considered himself healthy before the heart attack occurred. Wellness was all about living LEAN, he confirmed. His enthusiasm for wellness lead him to become a LEAN-certified wellness coach so that he could help others develop a healthy lifestyle. LEAN is an acronym for lifestyle, exercise, attitude, nutrition. 

 

Roger pointed out not only the value in healthy food choices, but some of the stark facts about heart disease which kills more women than men. He noted that waist size — where the waist is really calculated, guys — remains an indicator of health. Watch the waist, he advises.

 

The wellness coach presented two startling trends in the world: environmental toxins are increasing and food quality is decreasing. The abundance and ready availability of processed foods today means that more and more people are choosing those convenient options over healthier ones like fresh fruits and vegetables. 

 

Roger asked, “Are you managing stress? Exercising? Eating right?” He suggested that his audience “do something adventurous.” Climb a mountain. Raft a stream. Run a marathon. Exercise doing whatever is most comfortable for you. But choose to exercise.
 
Roger also reminded listeners that our attitude changes everything. Attitude is a decision. “You turn into what you tune into,” he said, leaving the audience with his closing advice. “Take care. Take charge. Practice simple changes in nutrition, attitude, exercise, lifestyle. Live younger, longer.”

 

President George thanked the speaker and announced that a book will be given to a local middle school in the speaker’s name. He thanked Youth Exchange student Paisley for attending with best wishes for a successful year in France. George said he would not be able to attend next week’s meeting and that President-Elect Martha Ripley will lead the meeting on August 8. With that, the meeting was adjourned.