Rotary Ramblings TEMPLATE JAMES (Sep 17, 2020)

Ramblings

2 weeks of Ramblings

On September 15, Bret opened the meeting at KwaTaqNuk with Zoom available. There were 15 in attendance counting District Governor Sandy Carlson of the Kalispell Daybreak club and Sherian Eckenrod, who was attending as her last meeting this summer as a visiting Rotarian before returning to Fresno. 4 others attended by Zoom.

Gayle had double duty as the Inspirationer and Song Leader. He chose Old McDonald Had a Farm-which turned out to be one of our better efforts this year. Sadly, there was no Justice in our Rotary World today.

Bret announced that his member survey results are still coming in and will be discussed at the next board meeting, so if you haven't given your input, please do soon.

Before the meeting there was a presentation of a check for $ 12,050 at the School District for the Teacher and Staff Appreciation project for Chamber Bucks awards of $ 50 certificates. The Club is almost to 60% in collecting the amount (which is in-lieu of Signature Project raffle tickets). If you haven't already paid your requested $ 100 or which to donate more, please do so soon. Jim can send you a link to pay by credit, debit or e-check if requested at oates65@gmail.com.

After the meeting, another presentation was made at the new Boys and Girls Club with a check for $ 8,000 to help pay for the basketball backboards. These funds were paid out of a Montana Coronavirus Relief Fund grant.

Happy Bucket contributors were Joe, Wayne, Roxanne, Sherian, and Ron. Joe won the raffle and donated his share to the Martini Fund. The District Governor quickly added another $ 20 as she thought that was a great cause.

Sandy was the program today as she is making the rounds for the annual visit of the District Governor to all clubs, with Polson being her 10th visit and only 31 left to go! Sandy related how she became acquainted with Rotary while finding a group of Rotarians working on a project in Mexico and now has been a member for 18 years. She has been to Guatemala 6 times visiting the water projects sponsored by the Northwest MT Sustainable Global Coalition (Polson has been member-donating over $ 5,000).

She spoke of RI's current President Holger Knaack of Germany and presented pins symbolizing his theme of "Rotary Opens Opportunities" in ways that benefit not just the lives of those being helped, but also that benefit the Rotarians. He wants to increase the impact of Rotary, increase the participation of members, expand the reach of Rotary, and encourage adaptability of members and clubs.

Sandy mentioned the District Assembly last month was attended by 50 Rotarians and the upcoming District conference in April.

Bret presented her with a gift basket from the Polson Club.

September 8 Ramblings

Bret opened the meeting at KwaTaqNuk with 11 members present and 3 attending by Zoom.

Hu led us in God Bless America and Keith requested 30 seconds of silence in Contemplation rather than a prayer of Inspiration.

Happy Bucket contributors were Hu, Bret, and Larry P. Bret served as justice with MT questions regarding birds along the front range (golden eagle migration), jewels possessed by the Queen of England (sapphires) and the luge at Lolo.

Hu announced that Mission Valley Aquatics is adding tile work by the swim lanes recognizing the substantial donations of Rotary to that project.

There was a board meeting before the regular meeting. The Teachers and Staff project was discussed and Roxanne brought a guest from Baja, California who has started a woman's sewing program/school to provide life-path skills. They currently have 12 machines and want to expand internationally. It may be a possible future international project for the club to consider. David Lewing resigned from the Board due to time commitments.

The speaker today was Chuck Lewis, a well-known retired Marine in the area, who continues to try to help veterans. His latest project is Plan Bee, now in its 4 year. He auctions off a rifle each year to raise funds for 10 bee-keeper kits consisting of hives, books, and bees to help veterans who are suffering from PTSD. It is a support group that tries to give purpose, trust, and hope to the veterans who may be struggling .