Kurt Ingold sang "Baby Won't You Please Come Home" at last week’s meeting. The blues song was written by Charles Warfield and Clarence Williams in 1919.
Why our students struggle and how we can positively impact their future
Our speaker this week, Kevin Ritchlin, will address issues that students face in our schools and how we might help these young people become successful. Kevin is the principal of Willard Alternative High School in Missoula. He has dedicated over 25 years of his career working in both public and private high schools in the United States and abroad. Prior to his current role, Kevin worked as an academic program coordinator and classroom teacher at international schools in the Netherlands, Argentina, and China, as well as public high schools in Colorado and Montana, including Big Sky High School and Hellgate High School in Missoula.
Happy Bucks beneficiary speaks about the mission of Missoula’s Jadyn Fred Foundation
Last week’s speakers, Lynn Fred, executive director of the Jadyn Fred Foundation, and Courtney Imhoff, owner of Event Allure, shared the history and mission of the Jadyn Fred Foundation, the beneficiary of this year’s Happy Bucks. The nonprofit organization was founded on May 25, 2001, shortly after the death of Jadyn Fred, who was diagnosed with a rare cancer at the age of 3 and died following three years of treatment in Seattle.
Lynn, Jadyn’s grandfather, said that it has been an honor to work for the Jadyn Fred Foundation. A four-minute video they aired shared Jadyn’s story. The little girl suffered from Pancreatoblastoma, a very rare cancer. The family’s decision to launch the Foundation in memory of their daughter and granddaughter was driven by the desire to help other families who faced the same experience they did with Jadyn. Montana families whose children require treatment out of state must endure extra expenses to pay for family travel and lodging where their children seek care. Those expenses are often unattainable for many families. The Jadyn Fred Foundation helps support the families with funds to cover some of those expenses.
”We have never turned away a qualified family that applied for help,” said Courtney.
Donations that the Foundation has granted over the years have assisted hundreds of families all around Montana, a greater number from Missoula and other larger towns in the state. Yet families from all walks of life, from cities to rural Montana, have applied for support. The nonprofit helps families with children from newborns to 18 years of age. Initially, the Foundation focused on children who had cancer diagnoses, but today funds are also granted for children with other serious illnesses.
“We work with families until the end,” explained Lynn, who said they follow a child’s progress, either success or death, knowing that families need the support. The families can apply for a grant once a year.
During her three years of treatment, Lynn explained, Jadyn underwent nine operations. “She would get better and then a few months later would have issues and we would go back out to get help. Her positive attitude inspired the family to create the foundation.”
Lynn explained that when his granddaughter was receiving treatment in Seattle, the cancer unit housed four children to a room. Today there are only two kids to a room. There are no children’s hospitals in Montana that can perform serious pediatric operations, he said. The foundation was started to help these Montana kids who have to go out of state. The cost of airfare, food, motel and gasoline can be very high. Medicaid does not cover the cost of hotels or other travel expenses.
Lynn explained that the Foundation offers three tiers of funding for families, who may reapply every year on their anniversary. Since its inception, the Foundation has helped 1,157 families from all over Montana. Lynn said he traveled all around the state to raise funds in support of these families. The foundation has received generous donations from many donors. This past year, the pandemic has affected the Ronald McDonald home, a housing option for many families with ill children. Since the Ronald McDonald House was closed for months, the Foundation has had to help even more families. Usually, the Ronald McDonald House has a waiting list for families to stay there. In June, there was a flood of family requests. The Foundation helped 80 families last year and every family receives help if they meet the requirements. As of April, the Foundation has donated over $1 million in grants to families.
Lynn said that the Foundation operates very efficiently with low administrative costs. He is the single paid employee.
“A lot of families truly appreciate what we do,” Lynn said. The Foundation also helps with funeral costs should children pass away.
Last March, the Foundation hosted a Paul’s Pancake fundraiser and soon thereafter, everything closed down due to the pandemic.
“We needed to come up with new ideas,” said Lynn. The Heros Nature 5K and 10K Walk/Run was established to do a virtual run. On May 30, there were 156 runners who helped twelve Montana families, bringing in over $5,000 with the fundraiser. “People ran in honor of kids to raise money.”
In July, the Foundation will host a Thursday-Friday fundraiser with both live and silent auctions, and a golf tournament the day after. This year, their auction included online bidding instead. In past years, 550 people attended, he said.
The Foundation has received a great deal of community support for its mission. September is cancer month, Lynn said, and Hundai gave money for every car they sold during the month, raising $250. In December, the Foundation holds a Christmas for Kids fundraiser. This year they gave gift cards to families and were able to send them out to 22 families.
For a grant application, families may visit the Foundation’s website at www.jadynfred.org. Donations may also be made through the Foundation’s website or with your weekly Happy Bucks donations.
Our club welcomed back UM law professor Elaine Gagliardi as a member at the February 3 weekly meeting. Elaine made Rotary history as the first new member to be inducted via Zoom.
Formerly a member of the Rotary Club of Missoula, Elaine resigned for a few years due to her teaching schedule. She said she is pleased to be rejoining the club.
Elaine teaches classes in business organizations, business transactions, estate planning: wills and trusts, taxation of estates and gifts, and tax exempt organizations at UM’s Andrew Blewitt School of Law. She also serves as a clinic faculty supervisor for the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation, University of Montana General Counsel, Associated Students of Montana State University (ASMSU) and United States Department of Agriculture Office of General Counsel.
Elaine has served in a range of administrative capacities, including Associate Dean of Academic Affairs from 2007 through 2010, Interim Clinic Director from 2010 through 2011, and Associate Dean of Students from 2015 through 2017. She currently co-directs the law school’s Montana Tax Institute held each October and served as its director from 2012 through 2019.
Elaine is the 2017 recipient of the George M. Dennison Presidential Faculty award. Elected by her peers practicing in the respective fields of law, she is Academic Fellow of both the American College of Trust and Estate Counsel and the American College of Tax Counsel. She currently serves as Montana State Chair of the American College of Trust and Estate Counsel. Elaine is also past chair of the Business, Estates, Trust, Tax and Real Estate Section of the State Bar of Montana.
She authored three treatises in the area of estate and gift taxation, including: Clark and Gagliardi, How to Save Time and Taxes Handling Estates (Lexis Nexis); Burke, Friel, Gagliardi - Modern Estate Planning, 2nd Ed.; Freeman and Rapkin, Planning for Large Estates (current update co-author, Lexis Nexis). She also co-authors with Professor James Delaney the Question and Answers Series book on Estate and Gift Taxation 3rd Ed. (Carolina Academic Press 2020). Elaine presents regularly at national tax conferences and has spoken at the Portland Tax Forum, the Seattle Estate Planning Seminar, the ABA Mid-Year Section of Taxation Meeting, and the Tulane Tax Institute among others.
Prior to teaching, Elaine practiced law in the areas of estate, business and tax planning with the law firms of Perkins Coie in Seattle, Washington, and Day, Berry & Howard (now Day Pitney) in Hartford, Connecticut. She also was Of Counsel to George Law Offices, Missoula, Montana, where she obtained an AV rating from Martindale Hubbell. She clerked for The Honorable William J. Jameson, Senior Judge, United States District Court for Montana, and for the Honorable James R. Browning, then Chief Judge, Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals.
Elaine earned her LL.M. in Taxation from New York University School of Law, receiving the Harry J. Ruddick award for distinction in the graduate tax program and serving on the New York Tax Law Review as a graduate editor. She holds her J.D. with high honors from the University of Montana School of Law, where she also served on the editorial board of the Montana Law Review. She received a B.A. in Economics from Yale University.
What one thing is necessary for all life on Earth -- including all of Rotary's work?
Join Rotarians and Rotary clubs from Edmonton and Alberta, Canada, to Arizona and New Mexico, USA, for a special online presentation March 2 on Rotary International's new Area of Focus.
Ian Riseley, Rotary International President in 2017-18 and chair of The Rotary Foundation Environmental Issues Task Force, will share the stories and reasoning that inspired The Rotary Foundation Trustees and Rotary International Board of Directors to unanimously approve Rotary's new Area of Focus.
When?
Ian, Rotary, and the Environment!
Tuesday, March 2, 2021
12:15 pm to 1:00 pm MST; 7:15 pm to 8:00 pm UTC
12:15 pm: Greeting & Intro: Fun info about Ian, RI’s new Area of Focus, RICON and the joint Environmental Sustainability Rotary Action Group & Rotary Action Group for Peace Conference, and more!
Contact Laurie.Zuckerman@ESRAG.org for more information.
President's Message
Victoria Emmons
Looking ahead to the future
On weeks like this when huge snowflakes seem to fall endlessly and the temperatures drop to levels we’d prefer not to mention, it is hard to think about planning for the future. Better to stay curled up next to a warm fire at home, read a good book and only open the back door when the dog needs to go out. Even my dog is reluctant as soon as I open the door and the wind blows circles of snow and cold air in her face.
I can still plan for the future, even in winter. I can imagine when the tulip bulbs will emerge again in spring along with those early purple flowers that always shoot up before the others. I can look forward to walks in the park without a hooded parka and woolen scarf. I can look forward to Rotary District Conference in May in Kalispell. I can plan for all those things.
We as a club must plan, too. We must consider what we want our club to be like in five or ten years, or even 25 years. Imagine what Missoula leaders planned for when they founded the Rotary Club of Missoula in 1917. Do you think they had any idea we would be holding live and online meetings simultaneously? There was no Internet back then. Rotary looked a lot different in 1917. And it looks a lot different today. Because someone planned.
Our club will be planning over the next few months. We need to update our Strategic Plan every so many years. We need to revisit it and see if it still fits with current realities. We need to assess our member satisfaction, service projects, fundraising activities and public image. And then we need to decide our club’s future path, even plan for unexpected obstacles along the way … like a pandemic.
Please help us as we plan. When a Rotary survey arrives in your mailbox, take a few minutes to complete it and return it to us. We want your opinion, your ideas and your support. Your feedback will help us plan the future.
Spring is just around the corner. Those bulbs will start flowering before you know it.
Q.What is Rotary International’s new area of focus?
♦
A. Answer to last week's question ... When does Rotary International celebrate its anniversary?The anniversary of the founding ofRotary International is February 23, 1905.
_____________________________________
2021 DISTRICT CONFERENCE
Save the date for the annual District 5390 Conference to be held in Kalispell May 14-16. Both live and online versions will be offered to accommodate everyone.
_____________________________________
WINE WEDNESDAY
Last week, thanks to Fellowship Chair Diane Dawson, Rotarians gathered for a wine tasting event hosted at Missoula Country Club. Andrew George, Diane Dawson, Jim Hutcheson, Victoria Emmons and Khalid Bouzina enjoyed great conversation along with a delightful menu of Chef Charles’s culinary masterpieces paired with Shed Horn varietals, from Cabernet Sauvignon to Zinfandel to Sauvignon Blanc.
____________________________________________
MASK, PLEASE.
Facial masks are still required by the City of Missoula. Pick up your Rotary People of Action mask at our next meeting at the Florence.
____________________________________________
HELLO.
Facial masks. No handshakes. No buffet lunches. Still a welcoming atmosphere as we meet at the Florence, or via Zoom if you can’t attend in person. Meal Cards are on sale at check-in for $180 for 12 meals. $20 per lunch for individual lunches, both members and guests. Invite a guest! Remember we meet the last Wednesday of each month at Missoula Country Club for fellowship, no program. Just a good time with fellow Rotarians.
ServiceAboveSelf.
____________________________________________
February is Peace & Conflict Prevention/Resolution Month.
Make peace with a friend, family member or work colleague today.
Visit our club's new FaceBook page "Rotary Club of Missoula" to read all the latest news and updates. And be sure to like us so Rotary news reaches your friends, too. That's how we can spread the word about Rotary.
(If you have any comments or questions, please contact the editor)
Please add mailservice@clubrunner.com to your safe sender list or address book.
To unsubscribe from future e-mails, click here.
To forward this email to your friends, click here.
To view our privacy policy, click here.
ClubRunner
905.829.5299
102-2060 Winston Park Drive, Oakville, ON, L6H 5R7
Our speaker this week, Kevin Ritchlin, will address issues that students face in our schools and how we might help these young people become successful. Kevin is the principal of Willard Alternative High School in Missoula. He has dedicated over 25 years of his career working in both public and private high schools in the United States and abroad. Prior to his current role, Kevin worked as an academic program coordinator and classroom teacher at international schools in the Netherlands, Argentina, and China, as well as public high schools in Colorado and Montana, including Big Sky High School and Hellgate High School in Missoula.
_______________________________
.png)