Stories

Matthew Murphy (r), District 5750 Rotary Foundation Chair, presented President George Strecker with Sustaining Member and 100% Participation banners for supporting the Rotary  Foundation with at least $100 per members. The sustaining membership, or Every Rotarian Every Year banner was presented based on Edmond Summit having donated and having committed to donating this every year.

The Rotary Foundation was recently recognized with a 4 out of 4 star rating by Charity Navigator. This is the 12th year in a row for RI to achieve this award. Your Rotary donations really do get to those who need them.

Edmond businessman and former State Representative Wayne Pettigrew was our speaker at the Nov. 12th meeting. He recently completed a thru hike of the Carnic Peace Trail "The Karnisher Hohenweg" high altitude hike between Austria and Italy, spanning 175KIM from Arnoldstein to Sillan Austria.  The Route spans the border ridgeline between Austria and Italy and was the Front Line for WW1 and features trenches, gun entrenchments, and relics from the war to end all wars.  

The hike normally takes between 8-11 days and Wayne aimed to complete it in 7 days due to a commitment of a meeting at the end of the 7th day.  

A Thru-hike is an end to end backpacking trip on a long distance trail, and is usually on a challenging route.  Most thru-hikers are solo, therefore route and day planning are of utmost importance. Due to physical challenges including fatigue, blisters, injuries, and altitude sickness, the hiker must prepare by getting into the best mental and physical shape possible.  Practicing a sense of weight with the weight and pack that you will be carrying is a must.  Of course, lightweight gear is a must.  The hike, whether to a specific location or to meet another party is ultimately the hikers own. The happiness of knowing that the goal has been accomplished in the time allotted is the prize.  

During the hike, Wayne said he met no other Americans and very few others who spoke very much English so he had to rely on his German and it did improve during his journey!  

His next trip planned is Killimanjaro at 19,341 ft and he plans to begin that hike in July of 2020. That hike will begin in a desert and finish in Artic conditions.  What a challenge!

The 2019 Skeet Shoot Results:
1^st Place team members were Jack Wimberley (Club Shooter), Eric Roberts, Dennis McPhail, Robert Hogan, and Kallan Hallman:

2^nd Place Team Members were Jim Seignious (Club Shooter), Johnny Hensley (Club Shooter), Mark Thomas (Club Shooter), and Tom Jourdan

3^rd Place Team Members were: Chuck Black (Club Shooter), Gary Jones, Russell Riecken, Marty Hill, and Mark Chartney

Top Individual Shooters in the Pro Division were: 1^st George Guerrero, 2^nd Jack Wimberley, 3^rd Mark Thomas and Chuck Black Tie (Mark won  the trophy by a coin toss)

Top Individual in Amateur Division were: 1^st Robert Hogan, 2^nd Dennis McPhail*, 3^rd Kallen Hallman* (Dennis and Kallen tied and a coin toss decided the placing)

Note from the President:  WE NEED TO ROUND UP UNSOLD RAFFLE TICKETS!  PLEASE BRING ANY TICKETS TO THE OCT 29TH MEETING THAT YOU DON'T THINK YOU CAN SELL SO WE CAN GET AN IDEA OF HOW MANY ARE LEFT.  If you are not able to attend, let me know how many you have remaining.  (text me at 405-640-5724)  We may need to get some blanks to have on hand at the skeet shoot if we run short!     Also text me if you need me to meet you and pick up your stubs and money in case you will not be able to come to the meeting or the Skeet shoot..   Thanks for all you do! George Strecker

Prizes so far: A minimum of a $500.00 Gift Card; A B&WHitch, 5" Drop 2" +2-5/16" rotating Ball, stowaway Trailer hitch to fit a 2" receiver; an RTIC 28 Day Cooler with 2 -18oz RTIC stainless insulated bottles;  A masterbuilt smoker and cover; a year's supply of return air filters up to 24 from Filtertec (a local company) any style (including up to 4 aluminum frame permanent style with 24 replacement media).; a Fire Disc WOK cooking system; Smith Optics Sunglasses (2-pair); Scentsy Fragrance warmers; Semi-Guided Feral Hog Hunt to SW Oklahoma between Mid Jan and Mid Mar. 2020,  Drive down one day and hunt then spend one night at the location and next day hunting.  The accomodations are"lodge quality" with heat, air, flat screen tv and kitchen. Waiver signature required as well as scheduling with owner, (but very flexible); Also, a "Ladies Wine tasting and Ladies Night out" for a party of up to 12 at Maison Bleue Boutique; (NEW) a +$600 value  "Wellness Package and multiple Chiropractic consultations" to Hanson's Chiropractic Clinic.  4 each $50.00 Gift Certificates from Wilshire Gun Club.  A Condition 1 18" Insulated Carry Case.  

Approximately $2500 (@ list price) so far in prizes are being offered.   Something for everyone!  

District Governor Lance Singleton(L) shown with club president George Strecker (R)was in town last week, on the way to hitting close to a dozen clubs during the week.  You would never know it by his impassioned  presentation expressing his belief that Rotary clubs need to find ways to rejuvenate themselves, and one way is  by gaining more members by involving family in our Rotary life. His question to the club was "Why not invite family to join? Or, just attend an upcoming meeting? Let’s make Rotary welcoming to family members. 

My take on this is for many in our club, your son or daughter, your Son-in-law or Daughter-in-law, your brother or sister, "needs" to be a Rotarian!  Invite them to socials and find ways to make your events family (user)-friendly.  The next member of our club maybe should be your next of kin!
  
Lance also touched on inclusion as being a part of growing a club. Looking at the demographics of a club that is trying to grow in a college community, it may be necessary to have satellite meetings on more than one day a week or at multiple locations to attract the diversity needed to remain relevant.  Rotary International has remained at 1.2 Million world wide for over a decade with big gains in growth in nations outside the USA but losing population inside the US.  Lance says the leaders of the Rotary zones in the US are aware and are working to reverse this and ideas such as being more flexible in meeting places, putting emphasis on service rather than attendance, and community involvement are huge parts of keeping Rotary at the forefront of being the organization of choice to join if a young professional wants to make a positive mark on the world.

The meeting September 10th was pretty full! First, we had a vistor from The Rotary Club of Dawlish Water, Devon England, Edmund (Ed) McLaughlin pictured with George at left, was visiting relatives in Edmond and did a make-up with Edmond Summit. A banner trade was made and we learned a bit about the Dawlish club.

We had two members from the Mustang Rotary Club (shown in picture to the right), Mark Wolf (l), and Dean Smith(r) next to George came over to sell raffle tickets to their Harley  Davidson Motorcycle. Tickets are $25 ea or 5 for $100 and are available at https://www.mustangrotaryok.com/ for credit card purchases or go to FundRazr for Paypal and Search for Harley Davidson. You will have a decent chance of winning this beast as less than 1000 tickets were printed and less than half have been sold so far..

Youth Exchange Students Marie (Mavie) Damonte of Genova, Italy, and Luigi Trevisan, of Curitiba, Brazil pose with long term  youth exchange chair, now emeritis, Jerry Burger at the September 3rd meeting.  Both students gave a brief run down of their home districts and their experiences so far with their Rotary Exchange.  Both are attending Edmond Memorial High School where Mavie has made the swim team, and Luigi has made it on the Soccer Team.  Both are blending into their classes successfully and are making new friends and gaining in the appropriate usage of  y'all and other necessary terms to make it in"Okie Land". 

Welcome Aboard these two fantastic young ambassadors!  We are so proud to be a part of their Rotary Exchange Experience!

Chris Anderson, with the Grant Group was on hand Tuesday, August, 20th to fill the attending members and guests in on whats going on next to the tracks on 1st Street Edmond.  Taking over at the old lumber yard is a great family oriented dining and social gathering destination named Edmond Railyard. The Grant Group using plans drawn up by The Small Group Architects has created a unique haven for foodies to gather and quench all manners of cravings.  From "Hott Wings" (think Eddies), Gogi Go Korean BBQ, Oak City Open fire Pizza, 1884 tavern and snacks, and Cities Ice Cream, there is something for nearly every one.  All of the restaurants are working hard to open within the next 60 days with Hott Wings being ready for business this weekend, and Gogi Go not far behind.  Cities Ice Cream will quickly follow then 1884 and Oak City Pizza.  An enormous covered patio area opening into 1884 will seat over 200 for many types of events. More seating than tnat is available inside plus sit-down seating inside the restaurant areas give many options as the concept is to allow food from any vendor to be carried to any place in the building area.  

The site next to the railroad is going to be the. next. place. to. be., especially once the BNSF finishes the renovations needed to make the passage through Edmond a "No Whistle" zone.  Lots happening in Downtown Edmond and we were thrilled to hear from the source how the project is coming along.

Up until a few weeks ago, Kelly Burley was program director at KOSU, an NPR affiliate radio station.  Upon his retirement after 26 years of that profession, he finds himself heading up a new non-profit, Save Lives-Unite Oklahoma, started and primarily funded by the Kirkpatrick Foundation.  Its goal is to combine efforts of No-Kill animal shelters across the Metro in an attempt to increase the adoption rate of shelter/rescue pets to 90% by 2025.  The new program, Save Lives, Unite Oklahoma, (SLUO) will collaborate efforts of dozens of animal shelters and using the resources of the Kirkpatrick Foundation and the efforts of Kelley's newly developing team to explore methods of increasing awareness of neuter-spay programs, vaccination before sale or adoption of any pet, more regulation of puppy-mills, and any method needed to unit rescue animals with permanent families, including more social networking, advertising, etc.  Note, The Goal of 90% or below is effectively the entire population of healthy "adoptable" animals.

Note: Unfortunately due to gross abuse, neglect and accidents there will continue to be a portion of the animal population that cannot be saved, the shelters in many cases can only make the animal as comfortable as possible.  This is the last thing No-Kill humane shelters want to be, but is unavoidable.

Edmond Summit Rotary featured D'Anna Pulliam with the Women's Auxiliary of Salvation Army at the August 6th meeting. D'Anna explained the program that provided over 1400 bicycles to OKC children last year and is on track for that many or more this year.  She explained how the bikes are purchased direct from Huffy and shipped gratis by Fedex then assembled by volunteers then checked by professionals prior to presenting to the kids.  Safety helmets are donated by a local professional bicycle association.  Pictured from left to right, Treasurer Koorosh Zahrai, President George Strecker, D'Anna Pullium, Program Chair Julie Hovis.  

The club consented to collecting a donation over a couple weeks and was able to present a check to D'Anna for Buck$ 4 Bike$ for $165.00 which is enough for over 4 of the smaller bicycles or 3 of the medium bicycles.   The Red Bucket President Strecker is holding is placed at many businesses around the city and is a mainstay in the fundraising process, along with regular donations from businesses and organizations. For more information contact the Salvation Army and ask about the bicycle program or ask for the "bicycle lady". also  http://salvationarmyokcac.org/tag/bucks-4-bikes/

   At the August 6th meeting,  Edmond Summit Rotary presented its annual “Service Above Self” Edmond Teacher of the Year Award to Santa Fe High School Teacher Melody Wright. Presenting the award Plaque and a $1,000.00 check was Rotarian Koorosh Zahrai who chairs and administers the award contest for the club. Also in attendance to applaud Melody in this achievement were her husband, J. Wright, daughter Cooper and Son Cale Wright, Jason Hays, Principal of Santa Fe High School, Syd Hammond, a student of Melody Wright, and Shannon Peregrin, friend and guest. Award Winner Melody Wright and Santa Fe H.S. Principal Jason Hays are pictured at right. 

      Melody Wright is a 22 year veteran teacher of English, Literature, and Language Arts and continuously strives to bring the English language and literature to life in her classroom. At the same time she is immersed in activities and after school functions where she constantly interacts with students and is attentive to those details that can affect the classroom.

Rotarian of the Day Dr. Michael Olay, spoke about what is becoming a pretty critical topic these days. The common childhood disease, measles is on the rise in several parts of the country and around the world.  Measles is easily one of the most preventable childhood diseases due to the availability of effective vaccines since the 1960's.  However, an obscure article that appeared in medical journals that linked measles vaccine to autism, but have since been discredited and removed, is running rampant in social media and causing many clusters of society to refuse the vaccine.  This is a dangerous practice as measles can prove dangerous to some of the weaker populace.

Worldwide, Measle outbreaks killed over 110,000 people in 2017.  Before the introduction of measles vaccine in 1963 and widespread vaccination, major epidemics occurred approximately every 2–3 years and measles caused an estimated 2.6 million deaths each year. In the US, where the population is thankfully covered by better nutrition and education about sanitation, there have only been 1 or two verifiable measles fatalities in the past couple of years. 

(The measles vaccine has been in use for over 50 years. It is safe, effective and inexpensive. It costs approximately one US dollar to immunize a child against measles. The measles vaccine is often incorporated with rubella and/or mumps vaccines. It is equally safe and effective in the single or combined form. Adding rubella to measles vaccine increases the cost only slightly, and allows for shared delivery and administration costs.

In 2017, about 85% of the world's children received 1 dose of measles vaccine by their first birthday through routine health services – up from 72% in 2000. Two doses of the vaccine are recommended to ensure immunity and prevent outbreaks, as about 15% of vaccinated children fail to develop immunity from the first dose. © 2019 WHO)

Jill Castilla, (left), President and CEO of Citizens Bank of Edmond was the speaker at the July 23rd meeting and presented an entertaining and informative overview of the history and the vision of Citizens Bank. Nearly 120 years of history and success at the same location in downtown Edmond say a lot about the stability of an institution. However there have been rough times also.  Having to sell remote facilities that had just opened to regain capital when the economy dropped was an example.  Citizens learned from this and became innovative in their approach to remote banking. Their latest fully automated system, undergoing patent review is near downtown Oklahoma City and can handle cash deposits and withdrawals of coins and paper currency up to $10,000 per transaction.  It is one of a kind and a direct result of Jill's diligence in investigation every avenue and lead until finding the team and technologies needed to accomplish the desired outcome.  She simply would not give up until she had all the information she needed and then putting the package together and working through the maze of regulations and contractors until the final product was acceptable. 

No wonder she has been named one of the top banking executives of North America, and most recently Community Banker of the Year, among other honors. 

Citizens Bank is also a sponsor of "Heard on Hurd", a monthly celebration of music, food, and arts held on the third Saturday of each month from March to October and each event benefits a local charity.  What began with a turnout of a few hundred on the first weekend event has grown to now an average of over 10,000 who attend these 4 hour family friendly events.

For more information on Citizens Bank and Heard on Hurd to to https://www.citizensedmond.com/heardonhurd.htm 

SAD GOODBYE'S:

District 5750 Rotary Youth Exchange Coordinator Jerry Burger was on hand at the July 9th meeting and assisted in passing on the Edmond Summit Rotary Exchange Banners to our exiting students, Dorotea Gavellino (left) and Elisa Bourgon (right).  Dorotea (Dotty) came to us from Cagliari Sardinia, Italy and Elisa from Madrid, Spain.  Both were honor roll students and had many memorable times in their nearly year-long stay in the U.S. Elisa has already returned home as of the 11th and Dotty will return to Sardinia;on the 26th of July. They certainly carried on the proud tradition of the Rotary Youth Exchange Scholarship program.  Bon Voyage Dotty and Elisa and best wishes for your bright futures!  

Edmond Summit is expecting two more inbound exchange students for the coming school year and Kayla and Jeff Blount have graciously agreed to be their first host family.  

June 25th, 2019.  Shown at left, Incoming President for 2019-2020, George Strecker presents immediate past president, Koorosh Zahrai, a handsome wall plaque with a permanently fixed gavel as a tribute to two consecutive years as president of Edmond Summit Rotary.

Previously, Koorosh handed out several recognition awards, including Distinguished Service Awards to Gary Jones for Fundraising, Julie Hovis for RYLA, School Book ordering and delivery, and program scheduling, and Eriech Tapia for facilitating the club move from Mercy to the new Downtown Citizen's Bank location.  Also perfect attendance recognitions were handed out to Michael Olay (20 yr), George Strecker(14 yr), Gary Jones (5 yr), and Koorosh Zahrai (4 yr).  

Celia Relland, pictured at right with RYLA Coordinator Julie Hovis (far Right) is our third RYLA (Rotary Youth Leadership Award) recipient this year with a scholarship to attend the RYLA camp to be held later this month near Guthrie. RYLA is a week of concentrated activities involving problem solving, peer and team relationship building, effective leadership training and above all a fun filled learning experience that carries over for a lifetime for many who participate. Congratulations Celia! 

Pictured with Club President Koorosh Zahrai are Katie Scott (L) and Sarah Stone, (R). These were  two of the three RYLA recipients who were chosen by Edmond Summit to attend the RYLA (Rotary Youth Leadership Awards) Camp to be held in July near Guthrie this year. Both girls attend Edmond Sante Fe High School and were chosen based on recommendations from school counsellors and their written answers on the application form. Congratulations Katie and Sarah!

Our speaker at the JUNE 11TH meeting was Andrea Stone, pictured at left with Rotarian of the day, Roland Herwig. Andrea is a spokesman for Moms Demand Action, a group devoting itself to making it more difficult for criminals and persons under restraining orders etc., to obtain firearms.  They also advocate for the SMART Home gun safety program originated by the NRA and now furthered by the BeSmartforKids.org program.  Another cause they lobby for is to have common sense limits on when, where, and how loaded guns are carried and used in public.  They actively support policies that respect Second Amendment Rights AND protect people.

Moms Demand Action information can be found at www.momsdemandaction.org and on facebook and twitter.

At the May 21st social held at Venue 102, Club President Koorosh Zahrai made the official announcement that Edmond Summit plans to begin meeting at Citizens Bank, 1 E. First St. Edmond, on June 11th.  The board feels that this will position Edmond Summit closer to a part of the business and social population that may not otherwise be able to attend. It also provides more activity to the thriving downtown scene.  For more details feel free to contact the bulletin editor. 

Club President, Koorosh Zahrai was presented the District Governor's Gold Citation at the 5750--5770 District Retreat held May 3-4 at the Artesian Hotel in Sulphur, Oklahoma. The award recognized the efforts Edmond Summit put forth in 2018-2019 in areas of Rotary service.  

We especially want to recognize the members in the club that are responsible for our Youth Exchange Students and our RYLA participation.  These two categories alone and the ancillary coordination required to make them a success made up nearly 40% of the points that pushed our club to the Gold level.  Thank you Kayla and Jeff Blount, Jeff and Andrea Amos, Julie Hovis, Bob Donaldson, and others, and our special thanks to Jerry Burger who has helped us so much in the Youth Exchange Program.  The Club officers including our President, treasurer, secretary, as well as our Foundation Chair also contributed significantly to reaching this goal.  The fact that Edmond Summit is a 100% sustaining member club in contributions to the Rotary Foundation every year also counted toward this goal, so everyone in the club had a part in this award!  GREAT JOB EDMOND SUMMIT ROTARIANS!

During the April 23rd meeting, Club President Koorosh Zahrai presented Bob Donaldson, pictured far right a plaque for Service Above Self for taking on the effort and responsibility for planning all the club socials over several years, as well as working with inbound Rotary Youth exchange students and staying involved in membership recruitment. 

 Bobby Masterson, left,is the Fleet/ Solid Waste Superintendent for the City of Edmond. He also oversees all of Edmond's Fleet purchasing and maintenance, and oversees the facilities for Solid Waste disposal. We had him as our speaker this past Tuesday the 23rd of April.
 

Many other services can be found on the EdmondOk.com website. 

Edmond Summit Rotarians, Suzy Thrash (far left in the picture and Julie Hovis next to her) recently delivered a shipment of books to the reading library of Edmond Sunset Elementary School.  The books were donated to honor guest speakers at Edmond Summit Meetings. In the club, every guest speaker has a book donated to a local elementary school with their name inscribed on the inside cover. This particular donation was around 35 books with a retail value of over $600.00. As the picture shows, the students in the library at the time were excited to receive new books. The gift of books insures the children have fresh literature to explore when they visit their school's resource library.

The Election is over and everything is smooth sailing in Edmond for now except for a couple of small problems.  "Edmond schools are too good and our crime rates are too low", and this is causing some big problems that we don't want to go away.  But we have to work to take care of our infrastructure to take care of the good people who continue to insist that Edmond is THE BEST PLACE to live!  This means better traffic control, even more schools, and more access to trails and activities.  All the newly elected officials, Mayor Dan O'Neal (left) Ward 2 Councilman, Josh Moore (top right) and Ward 1 Councilman, David Chapman, agree on this.  How we go about it may take some discussion and sleepless nights, but rest assured, these three individuals appear open minded and willing to work together to keep Edmond progressing and growing responsibly and responsively to meet the needs and many of the wants of future citizens, and even leaders of this wonderful city.  We are in good hands, even if we have to question the Mayor's choice of headgear for the meeting (you had to be there)! 

Greg Smith was the Rotarian of the day for May 2nd and he invited Master Gardener Shirley Ellis as his speaker.  Shirley has been an avid gardener since her youth, growing up with a truck gardening grandfather and always having her heart focused on the nature of growing beautiful plants.  

Her topics focused on the importance of utilizing the Oklahoma extension service as much as possible. Getting your yard soil tested is the first step in a successful lawn.  Oklahoma lawns are notorious for being low in acidity and nitrogen, especially if watered by sprinkler systems and city water.   Soil analysis can verify and can eliminate wasting unnecessary nutrients on the  yards that may result in dangerous runoff.  

"Oklahoma Proven" Look For It!! These plants are the ones that will survive our extremes of hot and dry to soaking and cold conditions and produce the most prolific blooms and harvest. Also, plant for the benefit of our migratory guests, Monarch Butterflies (milkweed), etc.  Beware of insecticides that may do harm to bees and other pollinators.  Above all, plant for your taste but have a plan.  START NOW. TAX DAY, APRIL 15th is her magic date for all things blooming to be planted so soil prep and analysis should already be done by then.  

Shirley handed out several OSU extension bulletins that are also available on their website http://osufacts.okstate.edu

That leads to Edmond Summit Rotary Fundraiser TLC Garden Center Gift Cards, available from Gary Jones.  TLC Garden Center has Oklahoma Proven plants available and all your gardening needs ready for you.  $20 cards are good year round and never expire. 

At the March 26th meeting Mark Brim (Right), Mercy Building Director overseeing the construction of the new facility to the south of the Mercy I-35 Health Center updated the club on the progress of its construction. Mark indicated the first patient would be admitted Oct 7th of this year.  He went over the various departments, including OB/GYN, Trauma, Imaging, outpatient, etc.  Nearly the entire lower floor is built into a hill and can be utilized as a disaster shelter if needed.  

A Drone Video showing the current state of the construction can be views at :  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hjR69SvHvY8&feature=youtu.be

Club President Koorosh Zahrai recently presented Rotarian Dr. John Polkinghorne, D.D.S., with a Service Above Self Award for doing extensive pro-bono dental work for one of our inbound Rotary Exchange Students. "Dr. John" is one of Edmond Summit Rotary's Charter Members, and while his busy practice keeps him from many of the club's normal activities, his work behind the scenes is invaluable to the Club's operation. 

If you're needing dental work done, give his office a call to see if he can work you in. While there, be prepared to find out about glass blowing, skeet shooting, dog raising, you name it, Dr. John has probably tried it or researched it!

Edmond Fire Department EMS Chief Brian Davis(right) and Chief Training Officer Joe Elam Jr. were our special guest speakers at the March 5th meeting. Chief Davis was hired specifically to improve the readiness of the Edmond Fire department to work with medical emergencies and to augment EMSA Services. Due to his efforts, currently all Fire Department personnel are medically trained and will often arrive before an ambulance. Because the ambulance is not stationed at the Edmond fire stations, it usually takes longer for the ambulance to arrive on a medical scene. The firefighters will arrive and begin treatment immediately, often resulting in a better outcome for the patient. In a more complicated medical emergency, the Fire Department personnel will be needed to assist the two paramedics on the ambulance. The Fire Department is committed to providing the highest level of care possible, and this means getting the emergency responders on scene as quickly as possible. Edmond now ranks right up with the best in the nation in outcomes in cardiac arrest calls, time to arrive, and all other measurable factors.  This is a great tribute to the training regimen the Edmond Fire Department personnel complete to maintain their efficiency.

Rotarian of the Day, George Glover, (right) presented a program at the Feb 26th meeting that focused on the American Energy Swim Club. This club was established as the Oklahoma City Swim Club in 1959, and since  then has been the Kerr McGee Swim Club, The Chespeake Energy Swim Club, then under Aubry McClendon's foundation, became the American Energy Swim Club.  After Mr. McClendon's passing their board voted to retain the name American Energy Swim Club in his honor.  This has happened over 60 years. 

• Today, over 205 swimmers from over 170 families in the OKC Metro participate in the AESC. 
• The AESC hosts the longest swim meets in the OKC Metro.
• In 2018 the AESC sent the largest OK  swim team to the S. Central Y. Sectionals Championship and placed 4th against 45 teams from OK, KS, AR and MO
• In 2018 they also sent the LARGEST OKS TEAM to the 2018 FUTURES CHAMPIONSHIP in Rochester, MN.
• Two AESC Athletes were recognized as Central OK Athletic Conference Swimmers of the Year
• Four AESC swimmers named to USA Swimmers 2018-18 Scholastic All Americans list ( Maintained at least 3.5 GPA and swam a time equal to a 2017 Winter Junior Olympic Championship Qualifying time!!! Wowsah!!!
• At least 6 recent scholarship commitments to NCAA Universities.  
• Provide Community Service to Angel Bins, OKLA Food Bank, and Blankets for Children's Hospital, among others
• Named as one of the top 200 Swim Clubs by USA Swimming for the 2nd year in a row!

Cary Osborne (Herwig), was our guest speaker Feb 19th.  She is otherwise known in the industry as Cary G. Osborne the author of nine published novels in science fiction, fantasy, and mystery. These include the Iroshi series, the Deathweave series, and the new Sydney St. John mystery series. More than 20 short stories have been published in all of those genres, as well as horror. She is or has been a member of Science Fiction Writers of America, Science Fiction & Fantasy Writers, and Oklahoma Writers Federation, Inc., 

Cary let us in on some trade secrets and some common sense ways of procuring information for research.  Some wise words like "write about things that you are interested in" topped the list, of course, but others hit the mark.  She insists on accuracy in her writing whether it is fiction or not.  "Just because it's make believe doesn't mean you can put something in the story that's just not right, or someone is going to call you on it"!  Details are important especially in mysteries. Weather especially in Oklahoma actually becomes like another character, she says.

Keeping several balls in the air and all the plates spinning is how I envision Cary working. She says she often is working on 5 to 6 projects at a time! However, She does say  that's too many and she has backed away from that much confusion now.  She does take the opportunity to attend writers conferences to "rub elbows" with like minded individuals and "recharge". These also are a good source of contacts for proofreaders and she does get some ideas and there are always opportunities for characters to present themselves. 

Cary is a frequent visitor to downtown Edmond where she can be found observing and absorbing the energy of the people to insert into her works.  Some of Cary's musings can be found on her blog at http://iroshioftheglaive.blogspot.com/

The Edmond Summit Officers for 2019-20 were approved at the Feb. 19th Board Meeting.

The 2019-20 Executives will be:
President-Elect:  George Strecker,
Treasurer: Koorosh Zahrai, 
Secretary; Eriech Tapia (pending PHD notification from OU),
RYLA Chair: Julie Hovis
Social Chair: Bob Donaldson
Sgt at Arms; Roland Herwig
George Strecker will continue to do the bulletin unless/until another volunteers for it.

Edmond Newspapers have been notified and Edmond School Admin has been contacted. We hope to start getting some results soon. However, any contacts you have at school boards, etc. need to be contacted to let them know about our new online contest to find at least three of the most deserving teachers in Edmond to recognize for SERVICE ABOVE SELF for 2019. 

The annual Edmond Summit Rotary "Service Above Self" Teacher Award contest is now open for entries.  Last year we awarded $1,500.00 in cash awards to the top three winners: Wes and Mary Singleton of Memorial HS, Lt. Col. Kenneth Young of North HS, and Elizabeth Pekrul of Clegern Elementary

Students or Parents wishing to nominate a favorite Edmond School teacher simply go to the Edmond Summit Rotary website www.edmondsummit.org and click on the menu item "2019 Edmond Service Above Self Teacher Award Entry Form".  It is recommended that the summary for why the teacher is being recommended be done on a separate program, ie Word, notepad, etc and then pasted onto the blank of the entry form so that spelling and grammatical errors can be corrected prior to submission.

We are looking forward to seeing lots of "teacher love" coming through these entries.

Rotarian of the Day, Jeff Amos gave a presentation Jan. 8th about the Rotary Youth Exchange Program from a very personal perspective, a parent, and coincidentally as a host parent. Jeff and Andrea's daughter, Elizabeth is currently an outbound Rotary Youth Exchange Student in Madrid, Spain. They are also just beginning to host an inbound Rotary Exchange Student. 

Jeff explained some of the ins and outs of the processes involved, including visas, school transcripts, translation problems, etc. they had to work through, even with huge cooperation on both ends from the Rotarians involved in the process.  Now that Elizabeth is in her third month "in-situ" she is thriving and considering even more opportunities to study abroad. The opportunities the Rotary program has opened up for her and countless other young people is phenomenal!  Immersion in another culture is just about the only way to really get to know how another nation really works. The chance to see historical features and touch and walk the paths of people one has only read about opens the mind to see that there really was a process that lead up to how the world is now.  This information and these experiences will give these kids a boost and prepare them to become leaders with wisdom beyond their peers (and years).

Tonya Ratcliff at left, Executive Director of Peppers Ranch accepts a check for $1560.00 from Edmond Summit Rotary president, Koorosh Zahrai at the Dec. 11th meeting.  The money was a part of the proceeds from the club's annual Sportsman's Raffle and Skeet shoot.

Peppers Ranch was chosen as one of the recipients of Summit Rotary's 2018 fundraiser, in part, because of their successes in developing a widely recognized model for accepting and housing foster children. Once the children are brought into the foster care of Peppers Ranch, they are raised in a stabile family unit and strong community environment and taught to successfully integrate into a normal productive adult life upon graduating out of the facility. 

Margaret Creighton, Director of Development for Oklahoma City's Positive Tomorrows, receives a check for $1,100.00 from Edmond Summit Rotary President Koorosh Zahrai at the November 27th meeting. The donation was a portion of proceeds from the annual Sportsman's Raffle and Skeet Shoot sponsored by the club.

Positive Tomorrows is Oklahoma's only elementary school specifically for homeless children, they give kids stability and a quality education while their parents get the support they need to create a better life. Operating for over 25 years, they have had countless success stories, but the need continues. Through donations like those of Edmond Summit Rotary they will continue to work to break the cycle of homelessness and poverty.

Chelsey Simpson (R) was our speaker at the Nov. 13th meeting. Chelsey is manager and partner of Urban Agrarian Markets located in South OKC and now in downtown Edmond.

Rotarian Greg Smith (l) received his PH + 1 pin from president Koorosh Zahrai at the Nov. 13th meeting.

We were honored to have Tonya Ratcliff, Executive Director of Peppers Ranch Foster Care Community speak to us at the Oct. 23rd meeting. Tonya has been an advocate of foster care for many years and when given the opportunity to head the Peppers Ranch Facilities, took on the challenge of a lifetime. She is a full time mother, foster mother, adoptive mother, and the chief fundraiser and spokesperson for Peppers Ranch. Tonya explained the mission of Peppers Ranch is to "break the cycle" of child abuse and neglect through loving homes, counseling, and growth-oriented activities. By creating a network of caring foster parents and adult mentors on whom children can depend, Peppers Ranch foster care community is committed to providing a safe and secure environment where physical and emotional wounds can heal. She went on to tell us that with the acquisition of their newest 460 acre facility on HWY 74 they now have the capability of providing care for foster kids who would otherwise age out of regular DHS facilities. Peppers Ranch now is home to 130 foster kids including 32 sibling groups that are being kept together due to their capabilities of caring for these cases. 21 kids were adopted in the past year, and all this with only 5 full time employees. All the rest is with volunteers and foster parents.  

Their Vision is  "to provide safe loving homes to as many of Oklahoma's abused and neglected children as we are able. By providing the necessary resources and services to foster parents, we sustain a commitment to the children in their care. And, our safe and nurturing community will inspire and equip each child to break the cycle, reach their full potential, and become productive citizens of society".

The Peppers Ranch Black and White Gala is this Saturday evening and she graciously reserved a table for 8 Rotarians. If anyone in the club wishes to attend, let me (the editor) know and I will RSVP Tonya with the details. Tickets are $150.00ea  or $275.00 for a couple.  Details are on their website at :  http://peppersranch.com/   Just scroll down the page and you will find the Black and White Gala information. 

All available Edmond Summit Rotarians please plan to attend the skeet shoot this Saturday Morning if possible.  We will need people to prepare food, sell tickets, prepare entries for the Skeet Shoot, and assist in greeting and other important duties.  We will start at 8:00 in the morning at the OKC Gun Club Shotgun Range, North Hiwassee Road, Arcadia, OK.  On Hiwassee Rd, about 1/4 mile north of Sorghum Mill Road on the left (West Side).

Reagan Hamlin (L) Executive Director of Free to Live Animal Sanctuary was our speaker at the October 9th meeting. Established in 1984, Free to Live Animal Sanctuary is the largest nonprofit, no-kill animal sanctuary in Oklahoma. Whether they are strays, abused, mistreated, neglected or extreme medical cases – all of the dogs and cats there will live out their lives with love, companionship and a sense of family from their dedicated staff and volunteers.

Free To Live began as a dream of Bill and his late wife Pat Larson. In 1982, the Edmond couple purchased 20 acres of land north of Edmond and began construction. The Larsons and a handful of dedicated volunteers did much of the work. On August 7, 1984, Free To Live opened its doors and the Larsons’ dream became a reality.

FTL currently averages about 70 adoptions per year (contrary to some rumors that the facility does not adopt!!). Due to the nature of many of the pets, a no questions policy is in effect for any FTL adopted pet that is returned to the facility. 

Since the facility is non profit, donations of time and money for food and vet services are always welcome. Reagan highlighted many opportunities of volunteering that are always available and great for single family or for group activities. More information is available on their website http://freetoliveok.org/

Cindi Carter, Director of the Small Business Administration office at the UCO location in Edmond was our speaker at the Oct. 2nd meeting. The SBA has been assisting small businesses start, grow and succeed for over 65 years. They remain committed to helping entrepreneurs access capital, government contracts, counseling, and disaster assistance.

The SBA partners with over 300 SCORE chapters, 100 Women's Business Centers, 980 Small Business Development Centers, and 20 Veterans Centers to provide coverage for every phase of the business cycle. Through counseling and training, for free or at low cost, these organizations put expertise for obtaining loans and grants and developing business plans in the hands of small business owners. SBA Loans are beneficial to the owner because they are typically at very competitive rates, spread over longer terms and have lower up front equity requirements than conventional loans.  The failure rate of the SBA loan is extremely low and are highly desirable in the aftermarket.

More information on working with the SBA to launch your small business can be obtained at www.SBA.gov

Edmond Summit Rotarian Dr. John Polkinghorne received his Paul Harris Fellow + 1 pin at his dental  office last week.  In case you're wondering as I was, No John did not raid the Chihuly exhibit at the OKC Art Museum. Those are his own creations. Among his many talents, he is also an amateur glassblower!

The Paul Harris Fellow award is given in recognition of a Rotarian or by a Rotarian upon the donation of $1000.00 to the Rotary Foundation began by Paul Harris and named in his honor. Every subsequent $1000.00 is awarded another + to the designation, along with another stone to the emblem.

Thank  you John for your contributions to Rotary.

Well known Edmondite, and a fellow Rotarian, Randall Shadid, was our guest speaker at the September 4th meeting and his topic was the  Visual Arts Commission that overseas the public art that graces the streets and parks of Edmond.

In October 8, 2001, Ordinance No. 2653 was passed to provide for means to fund the acquisition of works of art by the City, which would become the City's collection, and to provide a means of selection of works of art for the collection and to provide for the display of the collection and to provide for the maintenance and repair of the works of art in the collection.  Randall said that an initial $100,000 fund was set up by the city council mostly funded by private individuals and matching money.  The collection of "Art in Public Places" has grown to over 200 pieces at the time of his talk. The latest was at the OnCue station just up the street at the 15th and I-35 Service Rd. intersection. I looked at it on the way home and it is a very impressive abstract piece. A list of the art pieces can be found at  http://edmondok.com/DocumentCenter/View/2749   An interactive map of most of the pieces is available online at http://gis.edmondok.com/artinpublicplaces/   If you go the the Edmond Convention Center site http://visitedmondok.com/public-art.php you will find a list of many of the best of the pieces and a brief description of the art work and artist.

Randall  has been a big part of moving the structure of Edmond for over 40 years. He lists the Art in Public Places as probably the biggest impact due to the impact it will have long after his memory and any of ours has turned to vapor. We think so too!

At the August 21st meeting, Tom Jourdan finally shook the dust of the far left coast from his travelling clothes and club president Koorosh Zahrai, (r) was able to present him his  Paul Harris Fellow Plus One pin. 

Club president Koorosh Zahrai presented a $1000.00 check to Edmond Mobile Meals Executive Director, Cristi Twenter to support the 2018 "EdFest for Mobile Meals" event.  Last year this event raised enough funds to provide about 8,500 meals to needy individuals in our community. Over 5,000 people attended the event and this year looks like an even bigger turnout may happen.

Edmond Summit has made Mobile Meals one of our focus charities that we provide both financial and volunteer support through the year. Being an EdFest supporter with our donation is one way we are able to assist Edmond Mobile Meals in their goal of keeping more of Edmond's elderly and handicapped in their own homes for as long as possible by providing a daily meal and a contact by a volunteer Monday through Friday each week.

EdFest 2018 will be held October 12 at the Edmond Festival Marketplace beginning at 6:00 PM. There will be Music from Souled Out, Beer and Wine Garden, local Food Trucks, contests, and much more.  We will have more volunteer opportunities available also, so stay tuned!     

Soon-to-be outbound Exchange Student, Elizabeth Nichols, daughter of Jeff and Andrea Amos, spoke about her adventures at the Outbound Exchange Camp at Siloam Springs Arkansas, and ongoing issues with the Spanish consulate in obtaining her student visa at the Aug. 14th meeting.  Elizabeth is scheduled to leave for Madrid, Spain this Sept. 6th, and her visa will be ready Sept 12th! All despite working diligently with the State Department and the Spain Consulate, and the Madrid Sponsoring Rotary Host club! Ah,well, Elizabeth seemed to be taking it all in stride.  After surviving the week at the Rotary Exchange Camp she feels ready to take on nearly any challenge! 

Jeff, Andrea, and Elizabeth have been in Skype contact with the host parents in Madrid and are excited about the year that lies ahead for her. She will attend a local private school with the assistance of the host family, and experience first hand the immersion of the Spanish culture through the education system, living with a host family as one of their own, and travelling with Rotary sponsored groups on tours of Europe that equate to a once in a lifetime experience that right now is so close, yet has many loose ends to tie up.  Fingers Crossed for all the pegs to drop into the right slots and the visa and all required documents magically show up when and where needed!  

At left, Elizabeth speaks from the podium at the meeting. At right Proud dad, Jeff Amos, Elizabeth Nichols, (r)Youth Exchange Coordinator Jerry Burger. 

Everyone say a big "CIAO!" to our newest Rotary youth exchange student, Dorotea (Doddy) Gavellino from the city of Cagliari, on the Island of Sardinia, Italy. Doddy is pictured at left between District 5750 Youth Exchange Coordinator, Jerry Burger, and Rotary host "mom", Kayla Blount.  If Sardinia sounds familiar, it is the home island of our former exchange student Gaia Calia, also of Sardinia, but another city on the island.

Doddy will attend Edmond Memorial as a Junior for the entire school year and experience first hand, life as an American high school student. CIAO Doddy! We hope to do our best to make you feel welcome at our club and in Edmond schools. Please enjoy your year in the USA!

Larry and Tamara Rhoads at left were the guest  program speakers of Rotarian of the day, George Strecker (r) at the July 17th meeting. Larry and Tamara are the owners of the Inspirations Eatery and Two Hearts Inn Bed and Breakfast of Edmond, and the TEOLI Olive Oil and Balsamic Vinegar and Tea Room in Edmond and Norman.

The Rhoads brought several of their most popular items and prepared popcorn drizzled with butter flavored extra virgin olive oil and a yogurt and granola topped with an infused balsamic vinegar which were a great hit. Tamara also had the club sample the current seasonal varietal cold pressed extra virgin olive oil from California which  opened our taste buds to an olive oil so fresh and tasty that the entire room was truly impressed.  The Rhoads went on to explain that they only purchased from a specific COOP they were members and that they personally had been to the vineyards and groves of the growers from where their products were sourced.  We were provided some sheets with pairings of their vinegars and oils with various dishes and meals which were all well received.  Folks, this was one of those meetings you wished you would have made.  However, you can sample these premium  olive oils and balsamic vinegars at Inspirations Eatery 2118 West Edmond Road in Edmond or if you are in Norman, their TEOLI  location at Brookhaven Village, 3720 W Robinson Street, Suite 129.

Edmond Summit Rotarians receiving their Paul Harris Fellow "Plus" pins were from left to right, Bruce Kelly and George Strecker, both received PHF plus 1 pins, and Bob Donaldson received his PHF plus 2 pin. The Paul Harris Fellow is awarded to Rotarians who have donated or have donated in their name, $1,000 to the Paul Harris Foundation. For each additional $1,000.00 donated, an additional + gemstone is added to the emblem.  The Paul Harris Foundation is Rotary International's primary source of funding for projects to improve the lives of world populations through projects that include disease prevention and eradication, education, clean water, sanitation, hospitals and hospital equipment, etc.

Club President Koorosh Zahrai, right, presents Kenneth Young the Edmond Summit Rotary "Service Above Self" award as a runner-up in the first annual Edmond Summit Teacher of the year award contest. Along with the certificate shown, LtCol Young was presented a check for $250.00 and a 4-Way Test coin.  LtCol Kenneth Young USAF (RET) was the JROTC instructor at Edmond North High school for the past 19 years and has had many of his cadets go on to service academies and into distinguished military service after graduating from his program.  His retirement this last year was met with much emotion and the comments on his behalf during the contest were compelling enough to push him above several of his peers.  Congratulations to all of our winners, Wes and Mary Singleton  (Memorial), Elizabeth Pekrul (Clegern), and Kenneth Young (North).

Dr. David Chapman (far left) and UCO Post-Grad and Rotarian Eriech Tapia (r) discussed their findings gathered from a recent research visit to Great Britain as a part of the University of Central Oklahoma's Finance and Real Estate studies curriculum.  This is an annual trip that is a part of the curriculum of Dr. Chapman's course.  Students prioritize a select area and target individuals on the street and in businesses to gain perspectives of the general populace on what is going on in this particular area. Students gain ground roots knowledge of local issues and sometimes find issues that otherwise would not find the light of day reading the regular news of the day. Students also gain an international perspective that puts them outside their "comfort zone" and lets them gain a new horizon beyond the next county line.

The research centered on the effects of "Gentrification of London suburbs as a result of POPS or Private Ownership of Public Spaces or Privitization of Public Spaces, which is taking place as cities are finding themselves unable to manage parks and green areas and are in-turn, selling these spaces to "public minded" individuals to manage and sustain.  What was found is varied depending on the status of the people being interviewed. Private owners seem to appreciate the movement as it enhances their property values and more transient individuals find themselves being excluded from these areas in many cases.  Being privately held, these "public areas" are now more likely to be unfriendly to picnickers, protesters, and casual users and more likely to require permitting or passes to utilize the space. 

Another effect that took place as some government held apartments were placed on the market and made available first to the residents of the spaces was their purchase, then the subsequent resale as the market surged with demand and a more upper class of resident moved into the community. The resultant change in the purchasing power of the residents changed the retail venue available to residents moving much of the nearby merchants pricing out of the reach of those in the lower middle class remaining in the community. Also, the price of living in the communities sometimes became such that sacrifices had to be made to keep the budget intact.  The costs of living skyrocketed !

Unintended consequences of POPS have been to make access of many public spaces non accessible to those wishing to utilize them the most!  Local families with children but limited income to travel elsewhere for instance. And, of course, the rising price of property raises the value of property around it and thus raises the property taxes and it soon becomes a case of having property but not being able to keep it due to how much it costs in fees, etc.  The definition of property poor!

Dr. Chapman will return this coming Tuesday to discuss this phenomenon as it relates more locally and other topics.   

Elizabeth Pekrul, Center, was awarded a certificate for Service Above Self for being selected as a runner up for Edmond Teacher of the Year by Edmond Summit Rotary. Club president Koorosh Zahrai,  left, awarded the certificate and a check for $250.00 at the June 5th meeting held at the new Hilton Garden Inn, Edmond, OK.  Elizabeth Pekrul is a 1st grade teacher at Clegern Elementary School. She was accompanied by her principal Teri Cowden-Draper who is also Principal at Clyde Howard Elementary.  Congratulations Elizabeth and all the other teachers who were nominated in the online contest.

Earlier this year the Edmond Summit Rotary Club held their first annual online Edmond-wide election for Edmond Teacher of the Year. A prize of $1000.00 would go to the winner.  The criterion was to nominate an Edmond school teacher who most exemplified the Rotary motto “Service above Self”. The filing date for the nominations ended midnight CST April 15^th.  During the contest, the winner of Summit Rotary “Charity Fantasy Football Pool” dedicated the pool to add to the teacher award. This allowed the club to award two additional $250.00 “Runner-up” awards.

During the contest, many deserving nominations were received. The Edmond Summit Rotary Club wishes to thank all Edmond Teachers for their sacrifices of time, talent, and efforts on behalf of our students and their futures

Dr. Tom Jourdan, Rotarian of the Day and Professor of Chemistry and Forensics at UCO was our speaker this past Tuesday, May 22nd. His presentation centered on the refining of Uranium into its various isotopes via different means and what the degree of refining Uranium ore or "Spent Uranium Fuel Rods"creates. The refining of natural high yield Uranium or Pitchblend yields varying percentages of U-235 which is the fissionable isotope of Uranium and when concentrated to 6%or so of the total mass of a fuel rod constitutes the bulk of the fuel used in nuclear reactors used to generate electric power.  Concentrations approaching 20% are "weapons grade" and are what the non proliferation folks are on the lookout for. 

Tom also went on to explain that its not over when the fuel rods are removed from a nuclear reactor. These have minute amounts of Plutonium 239, which when concentrated become the basis for the Plutonium bomb.  Very nasty!  When foreign bigwigs not known to be particularly friendly to western culture are pictured next to banks of centrifuges running in close proximity to nuclear reactors, this becomes a concern to people charged with regulating certain phases of these countries nuclear industries. Wonder why?

Tom, as usual left us with some bewildered looks on our faces but just enough knowledge to begin a discussion certain to lead to questions for the next time he is up. In the mean time, safe journeys to the left coast and where ever your passport and  vast knowledge base takes you on your summer break!  

1. I know what emergencies or disasters are most likely to occur in my community.
2. I have a family disaster plan and have practiced it.
3. I have an emergency preparedness kit.
4. At least one member of my household is trained in first aid and CPR/AED.
5. I have taken action to help my community prepare.

Edmond Summit Rotary President, Koorosh Zahrai,(left) welcoms Bryce Englebert as a member to the club and into Rotary at the May 8th meeting.

Bryce is an Auditor with Arledge and Associates P.C.. He is a resident of Edmond, married to Emily Engelbert and they have a one year old child, Ladyn.

Bryce has a history of service having volunteered for Special Olympics in basketball and track, and with Developmental Services of NW Kansas.

Welcome to Rotary Bryce!
 

Cathy Williams-White from the Edmond Convention and Visitors Bureau was our speaker Tuesday May 8th. Of course, her primary topic centered on the spanking new Hilton Garden Inn and Convention Center at Covell and I-35.   The center offers 20,000+ square feet of flexible meeting space, state-of-the-art break-out space and the capacity to host large groups. This is a cooperative project supported by the City of Edmond, the Edmond Economic Development Authority, the Edmond Convention & Visitors Bureau and the I-35 & Covell development partners.  With a big smile she stated that it also was the headquarters for the Edmond Convention and Visitors Bureau.  Finally a location not hidden in a "Forgotten Corner" of some hard to find office in downtown Edmond.  Yeah!!!

Able to serve banquets of over 700 with flexible staging and lighting (the Convention Center can actually seat over 1000 in stadium type seating) it is an outstanding facility.  She was quick to point out that Edmond has many other facilities for special events including UCO, OCU, The MAC, The Lazy E Arena, The Downtown Community Center, The Fine Arts Institute, and several other hotels and restaurants with full AV equipped meeting rooms with and without food service.

Edmond is a great place to visit and now it is a great place to stay and meet.

At the April 24th meeting, OHP Trooper Michael H. Shanholtzer  was presented the Edmond Summit Rotary “Peace Officer of the Quarter" award. Presenting the award was retired OHP Troop Commander and Rotarian Joe Elam. Trooper Shanholtzer was nominated for the award for his performance in the professional and efficient manner that he responded to a major injury accident on I-35. His quick and decisive actions resulted in safely securing the scene of the accident and attending to the critical injuries of one of the victims of the accident. His treatment of the victim kept the victim from dying of blood loss from a nearly severed limb and enabling the survival of the victim until transport by medivac helicopter arrived. On hand were numerous support officers who work with trooper Shanholtzer and who verified his worthiness of the award.

Our Rotarian of the day April 17th was Dave Evans, who introduced Mary Robertson, (R), and Deb O'Day (C) who partner with Paws For Life to help the Edmond Animal Shelter at 2424 Old Timbers Dr, in Edmond keep adoption fees down as low as $25.00 by sponsoring fundraisers like the Mutts and More 5K run and 1K dog walk that was held Saturday at Mitch Park. Upwards of 200 participants attended and the weather cooperated.  The funds raised will pay for spay-neutering, bone setting, infections, shots, heartworm detection and correction if needed, as well as parvo treatment and so on. Some of these procedures would cost upwards of $600.00 or more but are all paid for and done when the pet is ready for adoption.

I encourage you to check out and donate to the tax exempt fund, Paws for Life’s “SPECIAL NEEDS MEDICAL FUND. at : http://pawsforlifeinc.com/donations/  

Time is up!  The entries are in and its time to begin sorting through the myriad of entries to find the one teacher who most represents the ideal of "service above self".  Nearly 200 entries need to be checked and categorized to narrow down the choices.  Needing volunteers!

Rotarian of the Day, Kayla Blount, far left, introduced Nichole Schoonover, Director of the Oklahoma City organization "Health, Wealth and Lipstick".  HW&L provides resources for women who find themselves suddenly single due to divorce, death, etc.  The primary focus of the organization as Nichole stated is "To get women able to stand on their own two feet".  Assistance with banking, insurance, credit, automobile, bills, and other mundane items that the husband may have handled are now the responsibility of the remaining spouse. She may have zero knowledge of how any of the bills are paid, where assets are, or, in the case of divorce, if any assets are hidden or worse. The organization is a group of "Life Coaches" to sometimes struggling women, or those who may just need a bit of advice in some area.

Nichole also stated that the organization was not out to promote divorce, but to give the wife some backing in order to hopefully strengthen and begin recovering and healing the relationship if possible. She stated that "In most cases it is hard to be mad at someone you don't care about."  The organization has its roots in California and has gained traction across the nation. The Oklahoma branch is independent and not tied to using the California rules and regulations.

The HW&L organization is looking for professionals (Female and Male) in automotive, finance, tax industries to volunteer to speak and become mentors to women who come to the meetings for assistance.  Meetings are held the first Saturday of each month, but the location was not revealed.  To learn more go to : https://www.meetup.com/Health-Wealth-Lipstick/

The website information states that HW&L is "Empowering women to make informed, confident decisions at a time when emotions are high. Their events are designed for those seeking to develop new skills they will need as a result of being separated, divorced (or in the process), or widowed. Participants will learn how to better manage their new lives and how to thrive in the new, and sometimes unexpected or unwanted role of "single person." Health, Wealth & Lipstick: Health - from self esteem to physical health, women have to take care of themselves; Wealth - money issues, legal issues, mortgages, buying a car, really all kinds of money issues; Lipstick - beauty both inside and out, women want to look good."

Multiple pages of forms, referral letters, Doctors physicals, references from teachers and administrators, and lots and lots of signatures have been the normal for the household of Jeff and Andrea Amos. The process of preparing to send their daughter Elizabeth to be a Rotary  Youth Exchange Student for her Sophomore high school year is well underway. Rotarian of the Day, Jeff Amos explained the adventure that began when Elizabeth first voiced her wish to have the opportunity to become a Rotary Exchange Student to a foreign  country of her choice for her sophomore year and leapt at the opportunity the Rotary Youth Exchange offered.

 Elizabeth Nichols, pictured with her dad Jeff, also gave some of her thoughts of the journey so far, including the "lottery system" she used to narrow her choices of destinations once she was given the nod by the Rotary Exchange Selection Board. It appears the effervescent Elizabeth will be headed to Spain for the coming school year. It should be noted that now at the same time, a student from  Spain is now preparing to come to America to study, thus the Exchange part of the Rotary program.

This is the basis of the Rotary Youth Exchange student program which exposes some of the brightest students from far flung nations to other cultures, which in turn encourages communication and ultimately brings about more understanding between cultures and eventually may lead to world peace.  We wish you well Elizabeth, as you join the host of other students going into the greatest adventure most young people could only imagine.   

Over a dozen Summit Rotarians plus wives and guests were on hand for the March 16th club social held at the Edmond Fine Arts Institute. Food was provided by Uptown Grocers with Coffee from Ellis Island Coffee and Wine Lounge. The Edmond FAI provided a quiet, casual atmosphere for the gathering and a tour of the facility and the works being presented were included in the pricing. Very nice event and thanks go to Bob Donaldson for all the arrangements.

We were delighted to host Shannon Price, Executive Director of the Edmond Fine Arts Institute as our speaker at the March 13th meeting. Shannon is a native Edmondite and has been a part of the community her entire life. The Fine Arts Institute is an extension of her appreciation for her community.  She was recently awarded the 2017 Edmond Chamber Woman of the Year award.  Under her leadership, the FAI has initiated a wide assortment of art and cultural related program at the institute. These include programs for Alzheimer's patients, mentally and emotionally challenged students and adults, and senior adult classes.  Ongoing childrens programs including plays and arts and craft classes are continuing and expanding continuously.  

A big challenge for Shannon has been arts classes in the Edmond school system, not that the schools are unwilling to have them but the increasing demand of time and activities on the students.  Because art and music along with physical activity have been proven to improve the academic success of students, the arts have been encouraged by the Edmond school system and are growing in the schools. The FAI building is available to host private events and was the site of the March 16th Summit Rotary Social. 

Pictured Left is Shannon making a point during her presentation and at Right, Shannon Price with Rotarian of the Day Bob Donaldson.

Neal Wooldridge, far left,  Vice President for Planned Giving for Oklahoma Baptist Homes for Children was our guest speaker Tuesday. Neal was presented a check for $1000.00 by club president Koorosh Zahrai, from proceeds of the 2017 Edmond Summit Rotary Sporting Raffle and Skeet Shoot. The funds will be directed to the clothing fund of the Edmond Boys Town Ranch to help provide new clothes for the young men as needed and as they enter school for the 2018-19 school term. Clothing purchased will be modelled by the boys at the annual awards banquet this summer prior to the next school term.

 Boys Ranch Town (BRT) is a 145-acre working ranch located in a rural setting within the city limits of Edmond. The campus contains modern cottages, each with a capacity for eight residents and a married couple serving as houseparents. The family arrangement in the cottage models how a Christian household should operate. Each cottage contains a spacious living room, kitchen, and dining room for family style dinners. It also has a laundry room, four bedrooms, each with a private bath and an apartment for the houseparents and their family. In most cases two residents share a room and a bathroom.

Neal provided information on leaving a legacy to provide for care for young men and girls to try to assist in keeping them from getting lost in the DHS foster care system. OBHC currently cares for a little over 400 children through young adult age kids in family group home like Boys Ranch and crisis pregnancy centers for young girls kicked from their homes due to unwanted pregnancies. However, there are over 10,000 kids in the DHS system being cared for by foster parents and institutions who do not have the opportunities the OBHC can provide. For more information and articles on how to help go to: https://www.obhc.org/planned-giving

In the past 3 years, Edmond Summit Rotary has donated over $12,000 to benefit local area charities through proceeds from the annual raffle and skeet shoot and their other fundraising events. This is in addition to providing funds to Rotary International for Polio vaccinations globally and assisting in projects including building schools and providing clean drinking water and sanitation and medical facilities in impoverished countries. 

Greg Smith was Rotarian of the Day last Tuesday and he introduced as his speaker, Master Gardener Jackie Pogue, pictured at right. Jackie spoke to the club about winter conditions in Oklahoma and how best to prepare the yards and gardens for the coming spring and summer weather.  She said now is the time to use pre-emergent for crabgrass and henbit. Mulching around trees and bushes, but not right to the bark of the tree but to leave room for the bark to breath and not allow fungus and disease to get started. Mulch is ok all the way to the dripline but not piled up on the trunk. 

Oklahoma lawns, especially central Oklahoma yards need compost, and usually nitrogen.  Due to highly alkaline conditions, fertilizer blends probably are not needed, rather straight Urea nitrogen is favored above the 10-20-10, etc.  Again and again, she emphasized the importance of compost in our lawns as most already have enough alkaline salts from sulfates and potash.  Bermuda does not need weed and feed. It only feeds the weeds and Bermuda grass is not ready to take on the fertilizer until the weather is much warmer. Save your money. Spray broadleaf weeds with weed-b-gone if necessary. 

Soil samples sent to the County Extension service are the best bet for credible information on what the yard needs.  By the way, for winter damaged trees, a certified BONDED arborist is best for clearing branches from large trees around the house. A pruned tree is a damaged tree, never completely healed but to the extent most diseases are  kept out. However large heavy pruning opens lots of avenues for disease. Be careful.  A timely topic and several questions were answered during the presentation. 

Edmond Summit Rotarian and avid Red Raider fan, Dr. Michael Olay presented a timely topic last Tuesday on Adult Vaccinations.

Of particular interest is a new version of shingles vaccine that has nearly 50% improvement above the current Zoster vaccine that many of our group has taken. Also, the HPV vaccine that had been prescribed primarily to the female population is not being recommended for the teen male population also to  help prevent the spread of genital herpes, etc..

The topic was of great importance and relevant to our membership. I highly recommend readers access the CDC website listed in the paragraph below where you will find charts to print out to remind you of when you need to be expecting to get the next important vaccine to help keep you aging along with the rest of the population, as opposed to the alternative, eh!

Michael discussed the schedule recommended by the CDC using their adult vaccination chart, and interjected some findings that have not made it to the CDC (Center for Disease Control) chart as of the meeting regarding the latest vaccines that have been approved by the FDA and findings from the latest influenza outbreak. The vaccination chart can be viewed and downloaded in pocket size and poster size at:  https://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/schedules/hcp/imz/adult.html

Great presentation Michael! Thanks! 

So, the question on everyone's mind these days is, "Since Hydrogen and Helium are lighter than air and have been escaping the atmosphere since, well forever, why is it still around?" Oh, you thought it might have been "Just how many times do I have to delete my trash before those emails are 'really, really' gone?" or along those lines! Nope. Nada!

So, how come, you ask?  The answer is there is enough radioactivity going on around the earth that H and He atoms are constantly being generated n enough quantities that we are not going to run out of gas for party balloons any time soon.  This and several other neat facts relating to radioactive decay and the byproducts created were touched upon by our own Dr. Tom Jourdan at last Tuesday's meeting.

Helpful hints on just how long to keep something in the fridge until carbon dating was no longer useful. Well over 50,000 years!  Getting rid of radon gas. Simple exhaust fan will work because build-up is so slow. etc.

(FYI: excerpted from his UCO Faculty Intro  Page) Tom "now holds two positions at UCO, those positions being Assistant Director, Forensic Science Institute (FSI) and Professor of Chemistry.  Over the course of his career in the FBI, in addition to being a field agent and later an FBI Laboratory forensic examiner in the areas of chemistry and toxicology, he participated in a number of bombing investigations, to include Pan Am 103, the World Trade Center, Atlanta’s Olympic Park, UNABOM, Oklahoma City, and the Dar es Salaam and Nairobi U.S. Embassies, organizing the Bureau’s response to the latter two events as the Unit Chief of the Explosives Unit." 

The Chairman of the Oklahoma Corporation Commission, Dana Murphy, was our guest speaker at the Jan. 23rd meeting. Murphy, who was elected by her fellow commissioners as their chairman in 2017 provided much information on topics ranging from Wind Energy, Earthquakes, Phone bills, and Gas pricing at the pump.  She also discussed the appropriation process and the role the commission plays in tracking and disclosing the efficiency of the various branches of regulatory agencies under their administration.

The OCC is the largest of the various state government agencies with over 350 employees and total budget of over $300Million.

The Commission regulates and enforces the laws and supervised the actives associated with:

• The exploration and production of oil and gas
• The storage and dispensing of petroleum based fuels
• The establishment of rates and services of public utilities
• The operation of intrastate transportation

Early emphasis for the commission was on regulation of railroad routes and rates. Through changes by the Legislature, and the change in services considered essential to the public welfare, the commission presently regulates public utilities, oil and gas industry (exploration, drilling, production and waste disposal), motor carrier transport, and petroleum products industry (transportation, storage, quality and dispensing). The commission also monitors a number of federal programs for compliance in Oklahoma. The commission also oversees the conservation of natural resources, avoiding waste production, abate pollution of the environment, and balancing the rights and needs of the people of Oklahoma with those of the regulated entities.

Dana had finished her discussion of the Commission and in her closing remarks did mention that she has tossed her hat in the running for Lt. Governor in the coming election. She gave a very short request for us to consider her qualifications when we go to choose at the next election.

From l to r, Matthew Ford, Turner Bogues, and Evan Oldham, our 2017 RYLA winners, all showed up at the January 23rd meeting and offered their sincere thanks and a short synopsis of what they came away with  from the 2017 RYLA camp. Turner Bogus, whose father was also in attendance expressed his interest in returning as a Pathfinder next year. RYLA (Rotary Youth Leadership Award) accepts applications from High School Sophomores and chooses applicants based on their merits to attend the leadership camp held at Guthrie.  Edmond Summit board has approved sending 3 more applicants to RYLA Camp again in 2018. 

Gary Jones (L) was the Rotarian of the day January 9th and asked fellow Rotarian Roland Herwig to be the program speaker and regale the club with memories of his youth. Born in Germany in 1943 during the height of WW II, Roland was told by his parents and relatives of being shuttled back and forth between the relative safety of a seaside cottage and his home near a highly targeted industrial complex.  "It seemed I was born with a target painted on my back" he said, jokingly now. He remembers the wars end and the British dropping candy and gum on little parachutes as they flew over and the kindness of the relief workers posted there after the war.  Roland's parents were circus and vaudeville performers and through contacts gained in this industry gained sponsors who eventually allowed the Herwigs to emigrate to the US.  At the age of 10, Roland and his family boarded a commercial steam liner and headed to America. Many fond memories of that crossing are etched in Roland's memories as, being ten years old and basically having the run of the ship, he left no door unopened or stair unclambered.  He remembers the ship docking and being able to see the Statue of Liberty and the road trip from NYC to Utah. Playing Cowboy and "packing" his 6-shooter cap pistol.

Roland vividly remembered watching the sky light up from their home in SW Utah when one of the White Sands Atomic Bombs was tested. The early life of a young boy from war-torn Germany who eventually became the spokesperson for the FAA in Oklahoma made for an entertaining half-hour program. Several questions were fielded regarding his early education, bullying, and related to the entertainment side of his family that had to be abandoned for the times being what they were. Roland promised a "rest of the story" segment to come at a later date and we certainly look forward to it.  

Summit Rotary President Koorosh Zahrai (L) visits with State Chamber of Commerce Executive Vice President of Government & Political Affairs, Mike Jackson (R), and Nicole Boyles(C), State Chamber of Commerce Vice President of Strategic Partners after the December 19th meeting. Mike and Nicole presented the State Chamber of Commerce assessment of the 2017-18 budget and appropriations for the state. They also discussed the roles the Chamber plays in relaying interests of state business into the appropriations made by the legislature for coming years. The chamber also scrutinizes  how money is spent and tries to hold accountable the various agencies charged with those funds.  Through their efforts a greater degree of efficiency using our tax dollars is graphically realized.

Patience, Perseverance, Proofread, Proposals, Publish it yourself if you have to.  Author and speaker Cary G Osborne, AKA Cary G Herwig spoke at the December 12th meeting and had some interesting perspectives on the current state of literature and publishing. Independent publishers rule for the amateur writer as oft times they are the only means of getting ones hard work published.  If the public catches on and accepts then it may be off to the races or a bad review can be a train wreck in progress. 

Osborne, who has a number of books in print and in digital format has been through the minefields of getting her works into the hands of readers. From horror short stories in anthologies to a series of Sci-Fi novels now on Amazon and a new detective series rooted in Oklahoma weather she is an eclectic writer.   From her first book which took years to write, to a much more accelerated pace Cary says that the key is to just keep at it.  Write some every day whether you feel like it or not.  If you don't feel like writing on a story in progress at least write something, You never know what is going to develop.  Stray thoughts, concepts, characters, scenes, all and any  may or may not be used in a story or plot some where.  Find your place to write that is right for you. Some like peace and quiet. She likes a busy, constantly changing, yet familiar environment like a coffee shop or sandwich place where she can observe and type without much interruption but not total isolation either. 

Cary cited "Writing Fiction"  by Barnaby Conrad as a great source of ideas for the beginning writer. She also recommended one read,  always be reading all genre and writers for ideas. Don't read to plagiarize, but for methodology and inspiration of style and usage of terms and expression.

Broadway, nah! Nowadays it's "If you can make it on Amazon you can make it anywhere" in the publishing world,.  A click and a promise of adventure or inspiration.  A smooth slide of a  tome or novel from a library shelf or bookstore rack, the flip of a few pages to see if a summary or scene or phrase catches the imagination and the reader is off to another world or into the mind of the hero or heroine or a small child as another's world unfolds. Such is the goal of every writer; to be the one who unlocks the imagination of another reader.

It was a great topic and great presentation Cary G Osborne. We'll welcome you back any time.

Above, speaker, Cary Osborne is pictured between Rotarian of the day Roland Herwig (left) and club president Koorosh Zahrai (r).  Shown on the table are some anthologies where her works appear. Also shown are  her latest novels, Oklahoma Wind and Black Ice, etc.

We want to thank some Rotarians for setting up two terrific events last week!

1st, Thank you Rotarian of the Day, George Glover for setting up the tour of Old North Tower on the UCO Campus. The tour went off great and everyone who was able to attend was treated to some really neat history. Thank also Bob Donaldson for getting up early and bringing the bagels and coffee to fuel those who attended.

2nd. Thank you Bob Donaldson for setting up the Christmas Party at Café Evoke and bringing the excellent Billy Sims BBQ Brisket. And kudos to  all the attending club members who brought such excellent side dishes. No one left hungry and pretty much every topic was covered in a plethora of conversations. We even had some guests attend from other clubs, Chris Kohler, our assistant District Governor and Anzi Gregory were welcome guests as was Ryan Tisserand from Standards I. T.  The coffee and tea were top notch as were the well drinks. 

Our speaker at the November 21st meeting was Major Thomas McWilliams, Area Commander of the Salvation Army for Oklahoma and Arkansas. Shown at left emphasizing a point, Major McWilliams explained the roles the Salvation Army has played and continues to play when war or natural disasters strike. "Thank God for the Salvation Army" is not a term used lightly by those who have walked up to an open canteen and received a hot bowl of soup, coffee and donuts, a blanket or more, after struggling to claim property destroyed after a hurricane or tornado, etc. When nothing else is available, the Salvation Army is usually somewhere close by doing what it can to ease the hurt somewhat and very often just enough for a victim to become a survivor.
 

From its start in 1865 when founder William Booth began The Salvation Army as a means to help the suffering souls throughout London who were not willing to attend – or even welcomed into – a traditional church, the Salvation Army has continued to spread the gospel of Jesus Christ far and wide to the poor, the vulnerable, and the destitute. Though General Booth died in 1912, he laid a firm foundation for the lifesaving work that The Salvation Army continues to perform today in over 100 countries. From serving donuts and coffee in the trenches in WW1 to delivering letters from POWs. And now providing shelter for disaster victims, day centers for homeless vets and treatment centers for recovering addicts the Salvation Army is striving to be a bright spot in a dark world.

Rotarian of the Day Joe Elam at left presented Edmond PD's Jason Carroll the Outstanding Peace Officer of the Quarter award for the 4th quarter 2017. 

Jason has been named the Officer of the year of the Edmond Police Department and Edmond Summit's Award was simply an affirmation of that distinction. Newly appointed Chief of police, J. D. Younger was on hand to provide some insight on the selection of Officer Carroll for the award and remained for a while to answer questions.

Thanks go out to the Edmond PD and to all the first responders in our area who take responsibility each day to keep our city safe.

Rotarian of the day, Jeff Amos, left, introduced the special program at last Tuesday's meeting. He brought a team of store managers and baristas from Starbucks in to introduce the Starbucks 2017 Christmas Blend coffee.  Paired with a spicy pumpkin bread the smooth, medium roast was a big hit. The crew from Starbucks explained that Starbucks began with a Sumatran Arabica bean aged for 3 years and combined it with some other complementing beans from Central America then roasted to just past medium to bring out the maple and herbal notes plus hints of cocoa and other spices. (All without adding any flavoring to the beans).  The Holiday Blend is available only  for a limited time and then gone forever! Each year it is different. 

Starbucks Crew rom left to right are: Josh, Andrea, Becky, Tessa, and Amy.

Starbucks is recognized by the Ethisphere Institure for the 11th consecutive year as one of  "Worlds Most Ethical Companies". Starbucks strives to maintain the small farmer loyalty to their brand by always paying a fair price for the product, providing expertise in the proper raising and care of the plants and the gathered crop, and providing quality replacement plants when needed. 
 (The excellent Pumpkin bread served with the samples of coffee)

The information provided at the meeting led me to the Starbucks website and then to their newsroom site where many details of the growth and care of the crop and the landowner were provided. It shed a light on a side of the company that is overlooked and really should be more publicized than some of the craziness highlighted in social media. I recommend you judge yourself by taking a look at "their side of the story"!

At the November 7th meeting, Koorosh Zahrai was presented the iPad Pro tablet that he won as the 2nd prize winner of the 2017 Edmond Summit Shotgun Raffle. Koorosh commented later that he was torn whether to use it himself or as an awesome gift. Congrats Koorosh!

Also at the November 7th meeting, Tom Jourdan was presented his trophy and check for earning  third place in the individual skeet shooting competition at the 2017 Skeet shoot. Tom was also the GRAND PRIZE winner of the Browning A-5 shotgun in the 2017 Raffle. Congrats Tom!  

THERE are only 5 more days to finish selling tickets for our annual raffle to benefit designated charities! Here are a few facts about the charities picked for this year:

First the YWCA EMERGENCY SHELTER:

• The OKC YWCA Emergency Shelter is the ONLY DOMESTIC VIOLENCE, SEXUAL ASSAULT, AND STALKING SHELTER IN OKLAHOMA APPROVED BY THE ATTORNEY GENERAL. (For both female and male victims)
• The YWCA provides Education/Support groups and Trauma counseling for both adults and children.
• The YWCA assures a SANE (sexual assault nurse examiner program) examiner to provide compassionate and legally binding collection and documentation of evidence to the victim in sexual assault cases. (At no charge to the victim)
• The YWCA provides assistance in obtaining VPOs and restraining orders, as well as risk and danger assessment.
• Oklahoma ranked #15th in the nation in one-on-one murders of women by men.  A sad commentary on our state! The YWCA works to break the cycle of violence by providing thousands of young people and adults with prevention education and resources on domestic violence, sexual assault, and stalking.

• Is a 145 acre working ranch just east of Edmond, OK. The campus there is made up of modern cottages, each with a capacity for eight residents and a married couple serving as houseparents. The family arrangement in the cottage models how a Christian household should operate.
• Provided at no cost to parents of the boys accepted into the ranch.
• Residents attend Edmond schools and are encouraged to participate in school activities, sports, FFA, 4H, Band, etc.
• Residents may live in the housing until 18, graduate from high school, or, if they have the need, the resident may continue to live on campus while attending college or beginning work until able to afford to live off campus.
• The ranch is continually in need of supplies for the residents and for the maintenance of the facility.  Edmond Summit has been a supporter of the Edmond Boys Ranch Town for many years and feel the support is well and faithfully utilized by the facility for the benefit of the young men in residence there.

Sorry, no photos were taken of the event, but the Zu Sports Bar and Grill was a really nice place for our October Social. The TV's stationed around the room allowed the Thunder Fans among us to catch the game and still enjoy the great menu items and adult beverages. The Zu is managed by the same folks who own Othellos and Around the Corner and manages to host a unique hometown grill with old fashioned good burgers and some gourmet items to satisfy most everyone's appetites. The Prime Rib Steak was one favorite as well as Fish and Chips along with the aforementioned burgers.  Highly recommended.! 

Rotarian of the Day, Bob Donaldson introduced Karla Doctor with the Oklahoma City YWCA as our program speaker for the Tuesday Oct 24th program.

The OKC YWCA will benefit from profits from this years Raffle and Skeet Shoot. The YWCA "is not a gym", says Karla, one of the misconceptions that has been hard to remove.  What it is however, is the Only domestic violence, Sexual assault, and stalking shelter approved by the Attorney General in Oklahoma County. Victims can enter and meet with an advocate who offers safety planning, support and linkage to community resources to help healing and a life free from violence. Oklahoma ranks terribly high in the rate of rape and domestic murder and assault in the nation. Not something to be thrilled about, folks!

Besides being a shelter, the YWCA also provides:

• Education/Support groups and Trauma counseling
• Domestic Violence Victim Assistance Program (DVVAP) helping with filing VPOs, risk and danger assessment, and support during court proceedings, etc.

• Children's Counseling (TB-CBT) certified by the Commission on the Accreditation of Rehabilitation Professionals.
• Sexual Assault Support Services including 24/7 Sexual Assault Forensic Exam emotional support and advocacy.
• Provide a Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner for the Forensic exam specifically  trained to attend to the emotional as well as the medical needs of the victim. SANEs are specifically trained to properly collect, preserve, and document evidence of sexual assault without re-traumatizing the victim.

Club President, Koorosh Zahrai, left, introduced Enrique Ruiz with Altered Concepts Media as the guest speaker at the October 10th meeting. Enrique is the Special events coordinator for the Fine Arts Institute of Edmond, and is also employed by Edmond Life and Leisure weekly news.  Altered Concepts Media strives to provide unique logos and media for local and statewide events. He explained the techniques that he tries to employ to provide the clearest most photogenic graphics possible. ACM relies exclusively on Vector driven graphics for nearly Pixel free graphics regardless of magnification.  For examples of ACM's portfolio look at http://AlteredConceptsMedia.com  also find his work and details on Facebook at Altered Concepts Media @acm405   

Pictured at right, Summit Rotarians Julie Hovis and George Strecker hold signs for the 50/50 raffle for "milk money" that raised several hundred dollars toward the expense of purchasing milk for the daily meals provided by Edmond Mobile Meals. Shown on the banner behind them is a list of sponsors of the event, including Edmond Summit Rotary.

Not Pictured is Summit Rotarian Gary Jones who came on shift later and manned a ticket booth for folks purchasing adult beverages and kids bracelets that let kids go on assorted bounce toys, face painting booths and other games.

Last year the EdFest event raised enough money to cover the cost of over 7,000 meals to aid homebound citizen in staying and living comfortably in their own homes. EdFest is a street festival featuring local food trucks, a local beer tasting, wine tasting, a live band (Souled Out was great this year), a KidsZone, silent auction and more!.

Next year, plan to bring the family and attend this event and help feed the homebound in our community.

Rotarian of the Day, Suzy Thrash (l) introduced Amy Bowman, spokesperson for the UCO Foundation as the program speaker at the October 3rd meeting. The UCO Foundation provides loans, scholarships, and grants to students attending various colleges within the University of Central Oklahoma. 

Over 450 students were given assistance of some type by the foundation during the 2016-17 school year and they are on track for at least that much this year. All funding of the UCO Foundation is through private donations.

All attendees of the Summit Rotary Social on Sept 21st agreed that this was a special evening. The rhythm trio from UCO provided nearly non-stop, conversation friendly, easy listening tunes throughout the evening and the pizzas, salad and sandwiches from Hideaway Pizza next door, were top-notch. 

The Jazz Lab provided the cash bar which provided great service  at reasonable pricing on adult beverages and even took care of most of the clean-up after the party. The only regret is that more members could not attend due to other commitments.  When, (not if) we have another social in this venue we highly recommend every member mark their calendar for that evening. Plan to invite a guest if you want (we may ask you to chip in a little extra for the food for them. We can always hop next door and order more!) But by all means plan to take advantage of the next opportunity to spend quality time "fellowsipping, er... fellowshipping" with the rest of the gang.

The site for the CHRISTMAS SOCIAL has been chosen and it is CAFE EVOKE'.  More details to come. Suggestions for the menu are invited, so plan to attend the next board meeting Thursday, October 12th to add your input for this event.  

Koorosh has a supply of Tee Shirts, Polos, etc. embossed with the Edmond Summit Rotary Club emblem available.  Let him know if you are interested and he can let you know what is available and what it will cost if it isn't.  

Greg Smith was the Rotarian of the Day at the September 12th meeting and introduced Ryan Ochsner, Director of Community Image, for the city of Edmond and the University of Central Oklahoma. Ryan may be familiar to some of us as the former Urban Forestry Coordinator for Edmond. 

Ryan's presentation centered on the enforcement branch  that  ensures the preservation of Native and important non-native vegetation that contribute to the existing "canopy" of greenery that makes Edmond an attractive environmentally friendly community.  New construction, primarily industrial and commercial is under the jurisdiction of his department and must conform to the city ordinances now in place. Some phases of the domestic housing that is widespread does not directly fall under these rules.  Fortunately these developments must pass rigorous oversight of the urban planning commission which so far has rigorously upheld the requirements for greenbelt and old growth preservation. The Code Enforcement Division strives to keep City of Edmond one of the cleanest communities in the metro area and helps to coordinate local volunteers to work on projects to assist those in need of help to maintain their property.

It rained money for Edmond Mobile Meals on a rainy Friday when Edmond Summit Rotary Club President, Koorosh Zahrai (r) presented Mobile Meals Director Cristi Twenter a $1,000.00 donation to become a sponsor of EdFest 2017. Rotarian George Strecker, (L), was on hand preparing to deliver meals on Route 4 with fellow Rotarian Greg Smith, not pictured. 

Every year the EdFest fundraiser provides enough funds to cover the cost of over 7000 meals to shut-ins and elderly in Edmond. In many cases this service is what enables people to remain in their own homes that otherwise would need to move to assisted living or with relatives.

The 5th annal EdFest festival will be held at the Edmond Festival Marketplace which is located at 26 W. 1^st street in Edmond on October 6th starting at 6pm.  Cristi Twenter says that this year, EdFest will have a KidsZone, local food trucks, a local beer/wine tasting, Live Music from Souled Out, a silent auction, and much more! 

For more information go to  http://edmondmobilemeals.org/events/edfest/

Showing off their new officer pins for the 2017 term are l-r, George Glover 2017 Secretary and President-Elect, Koorosh Zahrai 2017 President, and Matt McKenna, 2017 Sergeant at Arms. Thank you fellows for your service!

Deborah Wallace (L), owner of Just for Seniors, was introduced as our guest speaker by Larry Markham at the August 15th meeting. Just for Seniors is a service that provides personnel to handle chores for homebound adults when it is not handy for family members to attend to. Deborah gave some helpful advice for keeping senior relatives thriving longer. Among these tidbits were;

• Openly address mental well being issues by offering or requesting emotional support. Provide or request advice and guidance.
• Attend to physical needs, including physical activities, intellectual activities , hearing and vision, incontinence, and using adaptive technologies.
• Addressing Environmental needs, transportation and home maintenance
• Promote a sense of purpose, Keep them involved in church, hobbies, dinner out, social activities, misc.
• Extra TLC for lost spouse
• Help for the caregiver.  

President Koorosh Zahrai (R) inducted our newest Rotarian and Edmond Summit member, Scott Stewart at the July 25th meeting. Scott is an Executive Account Representative for Cox Communications working with Business Customers. Welcome aboard Scott, and welcome to the World of Rotary.

Rotarian of the Day Julie Hovis pictured at right brought Edmond Parks and Recreation Director, Craig Dishman to her right as her guest speaker for the July 25th meeting. Craig Dishman. Craig is the Director of the Edmond Parks and Recreation Department.  He spoke primarily about what he sees on the horizon for Edmond's recreation and sports communities. For instance, in the plans are more walking and biking trails in town and around Lake Arcadia, more multi-sport practice fields and tournament ready sports facilities for tennis, softball and baseball. He said the city is looking for space for an additional dog park, and a nature ecology park. Pelican Bay expansions are planned or an additional water park. More of every sporting facility are needed to accommodate the rising population and the popularity of non-school tournament sporting events and the financial benefits these can bring to a community. Ah, all it takes is money and land, time and equipment, easy enough!

Right now,Edmond's parks are premier places for families to play and neighborhoods to interact. You can take a walk on a trail, enjoy a live concert under the trees at Hafer Park, or watch a live musical performance under the stars at the Mitch Park amphitheater. You can also escape the summer heat and watch a family-friendly movie from your float in Pelican Bay Aquatic Center.

With a variety of programs, events, and classes there is something for every member of your family. Step outside, stay active, and enjoy the benefits of Edmond's parks and recreation.  Take a look at the website http://edmondok.com/337/Parks-Recreation to see links to things to do in Edmond

Rotarian of the Day Gary Jones introduced Nancy Norz, Director of the Oklahoma State Fair Visual Arts Department as our guest speaker for the July 18th meeting. Nancy spoke about the VASE program (Visual Arts Scholarship Event) and the fundraisers involved in its development. The Visual Arts Scholarship Event grew out of the OK Student Art Exhibits that have been a part of the programming for over 40 years.

After judging takes place on the at selected for the display, the judges select their choices for inclusion in the VASE art auction. A portion of the proceeds from this sale goes to the artist and the remainder goes to a scholarship fund that is made available to graduating Oklahoma seniors. The club was handed forms and given the opportunity to sign up to participate in the VASE event for 2017.  If anyone is interested in this program, go to http://www.okstatefair.com/content/visual-arts-scholarship-event and check it out.

Shown in the left photo, Gary Jones with artist Samuel Morgan and speaker Nancy Norz. In the Right photo is Samuel's Art instructor Arni Anderson, Samuel in the center and Samuel's mother, Meg Morgan who were also on hand to answer questions about the VASE event. Arni instructs Art at Holy Trinity Lutheran school where Samuel attends.

Our 2016-17 Rotary Youth Exchange Students Manon Venien and Gaia Calia shown above with Jeff and Kayla Blount stopped by for their final visit on the way to the airport and departure back to their home towns last Tuesday, July 18th.  It has been a great year with these two fantastic young ladies and also Renka Takahashi, our third student who departed earlier.  Hosted by Kayla and Jeff and other families, Manon and Gaia successfully completed their senior year and graduated from Edmond Memorial High School. Go Bulldogs!  We look forward to hearing from these girls as they pursue their goals with a year of American and OKIE culture to hopefully bolster their hopes and dreams.  We wish you all the best! 

Edmond Summit was pleased to meet our latest outgoing Rotary Youth Exchange Student, Ashlyn Page at left with her father, Brandon, who were guests at the July 11th meeting. Introduced by Exchange Student Coordinator Jerry Burger, Ashlyn will leave for France in about 10 days and immerse herself in the culture and educational system of France for almost a year. During her time as an exchange student Ashlyn can expect many challenges with differences in language, food, and life in general. As a Rotary Exchange Student she will come away with a unique understanding of the many aspects of daily life of the culture she will become a part of.

We wish you well Ashlyn! Bon voyage!   

(As a side note, Edmond Summit also sponsored Ashlyn's sister Kaelyn Page as an outbound Exchange Student for 2015-16. Kaelyn is now preparing to attend her freshman year at OSU, Stillwater.)

Three Cheers!!!  The Edmond Summit Rotary Club earned the Gold Level District Governor Citation for doing many things right for the 2016-17 Rotary Year.  A HUGE shout out to our youth exchange student hosts Kyla and Jeff Blount and Bob and Leah Donaldson, etc. and our awesome RYLA coordinator, Julie Hovis, who combined,  accounted for nearly 35% of the points needed for the award. The rest of the points were obtained by doing many good things such as being a 100% sustaining membership club supporting the Rotary Foundation, having a good portion of our membership go above the minimum and being Paul Harris Society members. Lets keep doing good and having fun doing it!

If you have missed a few meetings here are a few of the highlights you didn't see.

Three RYLA Honorees and a Trailblazer sent to Rotary  RYLA Camp 2017.
                          

 

       

We've had some great speakers!

Brought in a new member, Jeff Amos:

Collected happy dollars and gave out some travelling money to some deserving Exchange Students:

Honored a Deserving Peace Officer:

And had a really great time doing all of these things.  Edmond Summit Rotary #100actsofgood !!!

2016-17 Rotary Exchange Students Gaia Calia and Manon Venien presented their summaries of their year in the USA and Oklahoma at the May 23rd meeting. Manon's exit letter to the club is included in this article. Gaia's will follow in a coming bulletin.

At right, club president, Jesse Wenninger exchanges Edmond Summit club banners with Gaia left and Manon center.

Julie Hovis introduced Matthew Ford as the 3rd RYLA honoree for the 2017 camp from Edmond Summit Rotary. Matthew is advancing into his Junior year at Edmond Santa Fe High School and is very active in student affairs, sports and an academic leader in his class. Congratulations Matthew.

 
Nathan Welch, the Rotarian of the Day May 16th, introduced Jennifer Kloeppel of the Edmond Boys Ranch as our guest speaker.  Jennifer is the Equine Director and a house parent at the Boys Ranch.

The Edmond Boys Ranch is a level 3 facility for boys who are living without the support of parents.  Jennifer likes to refer to the ranch as "a tool that God uses to mold boys into men".  Because no government funding is accepted the ranch is able to include a religious foundation in their daily routines. Because of reliance on donations and private grants, etc. the ranch has several fundraisers through the year, including a rodeo (Sept. 30) cattle sales, craft sales, and Christmas Nativity Play.

They provide counselling, vocational programs, including welding and animal husbandry, transitional living, and support for FFA and other public school projects. Current needs are a dog trainer, money, (always money) towels, sheets, quilts. The needs change from day to day so the ranch can be contacted to see what  the urgent "requirement du jour" is. Contact them at http://www.obhc.org/boys-ranch-town/contact  or, For questions or comments please contact Brent Thackerson, campus administrator, or John Meeks, assistant administrator, at 405.341.3606.

Edmond Sante Fe student Evan Oldham is the first of three 2017 RYLA (Rotary Youth Leadership Award) honorees to attend a meeting after being selected to attend the Guthrie RYLA camp this summer.  Evan, a graduating sophomore at Edmond Santa Fe High School is recognized for his leadership activities and achievements. Congratulations Evan. 

Edmond City Planner, Jan Fees, was introduced by Rotarian of the Day Koorosh Zahrai at the May 9th meeting. Jan, who has lived in Edmond over 35 years and has spent over 30 years actively engaged in working for the city to improve the "CityScape" of Edmond, discussed the ongoing development of walking and biking trails in Edmond. 
At left, Nathan Welch assists Jan who is discussing the widely scattered trails that now comprise the bike trails in Edmond. Plans are in the works to eventually link these trails with markers to direct users to allow bikers to travel across the entire width of the city. Also in the works are plans for over 17 miles of trails around Lake Arcadia at the cost of $17 million.  Some opposition exists to the plan to link bike paths through gated communities which the city is working around. 
For more information go to www.edmondok.com

Jan had other topics she could have talked about but had to cut it short due to time constraints. She promised to return and give us more information at a later date.
At Right Koorosh Zahrai introduced Jan Fees at the May 9th meeting.

Dr. Laura Garrett at left with Summit President Jesse Wenninger was our guest speaker Tuesday April 25th. Her topic was Blue Zones; Those areas of the world where the population has proven to have longer than average life expectancy.

Dr. Garrett pointed out the main connective points that seem to make up the reason for the longer life expectancy in the following bullets:

1. Move Naturally, ie. grow a garden, walk, walk a pet daily, if you drive, park further away from the store.
2. Have a Purpose. Know why you wake up in the morning!
3. Down shift; Take time each day for yourself, Pray, meditate, take a nap, do happy hour, etc.
4. Follow the 80% rule when eating. Stop when you are 80% full.

Nathan Welch, Rotarian and Captain, USAF was our speaker Tuesday April, 18th. Nathan has just returned from deployment in a ground based role in the fight against ISIS and Al Qaeda and had several hours of stories to tell that he tried to condense into a 20 minute talk. Rubbing shoulders with multiple nations of multiple ethnicities and religions and sects of religions, Nathan experienced first hand the idiosyncrasies of fighting a war where depending on where the bomb or missile drops a comrade one day may be a combatant the next.  We're glad you're back Nathan and look forward to hearing more about the issues we face "over there". 

Congratulations to Manon Venien, our Rotary Exchange Student whose seamstress skills came to the fore on the cute dress shown in the picture at left.  The dress won the top honors at the state contest and qualifies to go to Nashville to be judged against garments from across the nation.

Edmond Summit is collecting "Happy Dollars" at the morning meetings to help offset Manon's expenses to Nashville. If you would like to donate, we can accept cash or credit cards or we can take a text or email donation and invoice you for that amount. 

Let's open wallets and purses and give Manon a big helping hand as she represents Edmond and Rotary in Nashville next month.

Rotarian Greg Smith (left) introduced Kim Schlittler with Best Friends of Pets at the April 11th meeting. Best Friends of Pets is an animal rescue service that works with various municipal animal rescue departments to provide placements to dogs that might otherwise have to be terminated. They also provide assistance for spaying and neutering pets to low income families. Best friends is also the center for a compassionate foster network that acclimates rescued pets to ready them to become "good citizens".

Kim stated in the program;"The most effective way to reduce the number of homeless pets and the number of pets euthanized at animal shelters is through spaying and neutering.  During our years of helping find homes for pets at the Oklahoma City Animal Shelter, it seemed like for every pet adopted, ten more came in the door.  This is why our primary focus is spaying and neutering through our Spay/Neuter Assistance Program.

The Upendo Children's Choir from Jujo, Kenya, Africa were our special guests at the April 4th meeting. Robert and Eunice Menja of Edmond are Co-founders of the Upendo Children's home which houses 33 parentless children and provides for schooling for over 80 children in the Jujo area. The choir is in Oklahoma on a Make a Wish Come True Tour to raise funds to purchase property in Jujo that will allow the home to be more self-sustaining with land for gardening and small animals. The plan is also to build more dormitory space to allow more children to be accommodated. Many of the kids have been orphaned due to the Aids epidemic and other diseases that ravage this area of Africa. Some have been rescued from abusive homes and other reasons. The Gala that was held Saturday Evening was a great event and the choir still has time in the USA that they will spend performing at various clubs and events around the state.  For more information on how to support their efforts go to www.upendokids.org

Rotarian of the Day Kathy Reeser hit a home run with our guest speaker last week. 

Long time Republican political leader, Oklahoma Statesman and Native American spokesman Neal McCaleb was our guest speaker at the May 28th meeting. Neal spoke about the recent landmark case of Southeastern Oklahoma water rights sovereignty. He gave the history of the migration of the tribes and the rights duly  granted by Federal deed and fee simple title to the Five Civilized Tribes prior to statehood.  By this case decided in Oklahoma in 2016, the rights of the tribes to approve or deny water rights was finally recognized as binding.  As Mr. McCaleb put it, "the tribes gained much respect and not much else" by this ruling...at the time.  However with the law and courts behind them, the Five Tribes now have the ability to self determine the use of the surface minerals on land still owned by the tribes.  Governments and municipalities must now negotiate with them for usage rights instead of going through government agencies that did not do a good job of protecting the rights of Native Americans in the past. While appearing to be a minor victory, it signaled a major turning point in legal proceedings for the foreseeable future.

Neal graciously stayed for some time after the meeting to answer questions and discuss other topics and reminisce about over 40 years of public service. We were honored to have him as a speaker and look forward to having him again should he have another topic he wishes to discuss. 

48 years and counting! The March 21st meeting marked Joe Elam's 48th year as a Rotarian and all with perfect attendance!  Joe still contributes as a board member Emeritus and is active on multiple committees within the club. As a Past District Governor, he is also called on to participate in various District 5750 functions. Keep up the good works Joe!

Edmond City Manager, Larry Stevens pictured at left gave a quick but pretty thorough briefing on the "State of the City" at the March 21st meeting. He made it clear that despite being nearly 2% below budget income the city is still making all planned improvements to infrastructure with more to come.

Larry fielded several questions including about traffic and street improvements, school improvements, downtown changes and others. While more needs to be done, the flow of traffic is being monitored and actively controlled on 2nd street and on Danforth for the most part. Turning lanes at Bryant and Covell, and Covell and Sante Fe are in the works. Covell at I-35 is ahead of schedule.  All of these are good news. 

The Election coming April 4th will determine the development at 15th street and Bryant as well as the new Mayor.  He encouraged the club to vote.

As always more information was given than this writer was able to absorb but needless to say the city manager was impressive with his wit and knowledge of the goings on in our community. It was a great program and thanks goes out  to Rotarian of the Day Michael Olay for setting it up. 

During the February 28th meeting, Rotarian George Glover presented Saul Armendariz with Reverse Impact Oklahoma (RIO) a check for $500 from proceeds of the Edmond Summit Rotary Fantasy Football League pool for 2016. RIO works in the inner city schools to bring kids out of gangs and keep them in school through mentoring and counselling. We can also thank the board for matching the pool to double the amount given to make the $500.00 possible. #100actsofgood !

"Aloha! I’m Pam Kanaly, President and co-founder of Arise Ministries. But actually, I think Arise found me wanting to bless single moms years ago. Ministry was never on my mind as a kid. All I wanted to be was a hula dancer. So Mother enrolled me in the tiny tots’ class. Guess God knew I'd have two grandbabies born in Hawaii. I love the great outdoors. You might even find me spending time with my husband grizzly bear watching or camping. In fact, it was on a turkey hunt that God gave me the name Arise Ministries in 2002". A quote from the blog page of Arise Ministries website.

Pam was our speaker on Feb 28th and the passion and message that she brought to the meeting was terrific.

Pam explained that Arise provides resources directed toward single moms primarily because of the fact that 87 percent of the child rearing in divorced households is left to the single mother.

If you know single moms or just want some great reading information grounded on biblical principles, I  would recommend you go to the Equip tab of the Arise website- the online education center designed specifically for single mothers. Here you'll find articles, podcasts and videos on topics relevant to moms raising children alone. Search by category, media type or author and discover helpful tools for navigating real life. New content is added each week so we invite you to check back often.

The Arise Ministries website gives a lot more information about this important resource than I have space for here. I recommend you look into: www.ariseministries.net  for information on how to assist their ministry.

In the picture at the right, Rotarian of the day, Larry Markham introduced Pam Kanaly, President of Arise Ministries as our speaker.

"I didn't know how sick I was until I got my new kidney and wasn't sick any more." Nita French, Community Outreach Coordinator for LifeShare Transplant Donor Services of Oklahoma told her story at the Feb. 21st meeting.  She was diagnosed with juvenile type II diabetes before her teenage years. Nita was undergoing dialysis treatments as a single parent and becoming more and more disabled from organ failure fatigue and had already had two "false alarm" calls for transplant when a viable kidney became available. A young soldier, Patrick, had been a victim of a rollover vehicle accident and as a registered donor his organs and tissue gave the opportunity of new life to numerous recipients.  Since receiving Patrick's kidney, Nita has travelled around the state and the country promoting LifeShare and sharing the story of the gift of life that Patrick left behind because of a check on his license.

Through efforts of LifeShare and their advocates, Oklahoma is #2 in the nation in donors per million population. The need is still greater than the supply of donors. There are over 125,000 individuals in need of lifesaving organ transplants. with 80% in need of a kidney and 13% of a liver. 

For more information and stories of transplant successes go to www.lifeshareok.org 

Nita French is pictured with Rotarian Julie Hovis, and with her family. Nita and her husband have been able to bear three healthy children since receiving her kidney.  It was a great testimony to the miracle of organ transplant.  

The Edmond Summit Rotary Club enjoyed a great lunch at the Range Café inside the Wilshire Gun Club at the Saturday, Feb 18th social. Several members stayed to take advantage of range time provided by John Polkinghorne and the club. Edmond Summit strives to plan social events that will appeal to the majority of the membership.  The Range Café is highly rated on Yelp and we found the food to be excellent. We had a great time socializing and catching up with some members we hadn't seen in a while, including John Polkinghorne and Mel Stewart. Several spouses attended including Pete Reeser, Leah Donaldson, Cary Herwig and Paula Strecker. George Glover brought his son George. It was a great time and we hope more can attend the next one coming up soon.

 

The $1000.00 check for the Cavett Kids Foundation was delivered to Tomas Manske, Executive Director of Cavett Kids this week. Tomas was thrilled to receive the funds and explained that 100% of the check would go to sending chronically ill kids to camp this year.  Mostly children going through treatment for cancer or chronic heart disease are the beneficiaries of the camps, but kidney and liver transplant list patients and other handicapped kids are accommodated.  The mission of the Cavett Kids Foundation is providing positive experiences for courageous kids diagnosed with a life-threatening illness to promote the development of character, coping and connections.

It takes an average of $700 to send a kid to camp which is totally covered by the Cavett Kids Foundation.   Our gift will send 1-1/2 kids to camp.

For more information you can go to www.cavettkids.org

The Speaker at the January 31st meeting was Edmond School Superintendent Bret Towne.  Dr. Towne was on hand to explain all that was included in the upcoming $110 million bond issue to be voted on Feb. 14th.  Supt. Towne explained the bond issue will not increase taxes and would provide funds to increase classrooms, improve tornado safety and increase tornado safe rooms at some schools needing them.  It will also improve sports stadiums, provide for new school buses and improve and help redefine technology needs in nearly all  the schools in Edmond. 

With Edmond adding nearly 500 students per year it adds up to almost a new school every 1-1/2 years.  We don't know if this growth can be sustained but Edmond has never been a city to wait until it was in a crisis to start to act.  The foresight of the school administration has kept the city abreast or ahead of the curve on education and kept Edmond at the top of the academic achievement charts in the state and surrounding areas.  The city has NEVER denied a bond issue and with what is  riding on this one Supt. Towne is hoping to keep the  trend on track.

The election is February 14th.  Go Vote while you are buying that valentine!

Rotarian of the Day Roland Herwig at far left introduced Mory Richardson with Volkswagen of Edmond as the program speaker at the January 23rd meeting. Mory's topic was "Choices and Changes in the Auto Industry".

The time between "generations" of vehicles is shrinking more rapidly all the time.  Improvements in economy, safety, ergonomics and more drive automakers to make drastic changes each year.

Competition for buyers is changing the way sales take place. More online buying options make the purchaser more in command than ever before. Often the financing is more involved than the actual selection of the car.  The day of the "hard sell" may thankfully be drawing to a close, at least in the regular retail market.  (Still buyer beware in the used market). Sales Force turnover is a problem and is solved by more visuals and more information available to the buyer. 

Sales are "Millennial" driven. Female buyers are more respected and more powerful.  Much more interaction takes place due to available research material, consumer magazines, social media, etc. 

Mory also touched on the diesel problems that Volkswagen and other vendors have been fighting to overcome. The "rush to market" is the main blame for the issue with the real problem being the need for at least 3 - 4 more years of research and work to overcome the emissions problems (legitimately) before the current models were put on the market. Now lots with 2 - 3 year old "new" inventory are finally getting upgrades that will enable the dealers to move these off the lot. Don't expect "new" new inventory to show up as the liability and perception is just too negative right now, although there is a void in the 5 passenger 45-50 mpg automobile that the diesel cars were filling.   Thanks Mory for a great discussion.

Jason Wint to the left of club president Jesse Wenninger is welcomed into Edmond Summit as the newest Rotarian.  Jason is an Architect with Rees Associates in Edmond. We are pleased to  welcome Jason and make him a part of our family.

Joel Herdzina at far left introduced Kevin Henry, OU athletics Director of Community Relations as the speaker for the program at the January 17th meeting.

The "Turn Down 4 Watt" team managed by George Glover was the winner of the Edmond Summit Rotary Fantasy Football League Championship.  George's team was neck and
neck with Team "From A to Zeke" managed by Jesse Wennnger but squeaked out a 1630 to 1618 total season point win. 

The Big Payoff !!! The charity beneficiary of the nearly $250.00 pot chosen by George Glover was Reverse Impact, OKC.   Reverse Impact OKC works out of schools where many young people are involved in gang activity to lead them out of that lifestyle into becoming fully devoted followers of Jesus Christ.  Saul Armendariz with Reverse Impact OKC was on hand to accept the donation. 

Rotarian Matt McKenna, left,  Family Services Counselor with Baggerley Funeral Home led a discussion about cremation for the program on Dec. 13th.  Rapidly approaching half of the funeral type of choice in the US, cremation is the choice of only 39.8 % of Oklahomans. However due to several reasons, it is becoming more the choice of more families.

Financial, Environmental, Mobility, and Spiritual issues are some of the reasons people choose cremation over traditional funeral services.  People just move more than they used to and having a fixed burial plot just is not feasible or practical for many.  Cremation services typically run 30 - 40% less than traditional services. Changes in beliefs and doctrinal changes have led to an increase in the choice of cremation vs vault.  The choice needs to be made clear to the family prior to the event is the main thing, says Matt.

Another change to the funeral itself is a move from a grief session to more of a celebrating of the life of the deceased. Personalized talks and informal posting to social sites are also more common.

Matt also emphasized the importance of having all of ones documentation kept current and safe and with a trusted person or institute for access to the heirs. 

 

Edmond Summit inducted Matt McKenna as a Rotarian at the Dec. 6th meeting. Matt is a Family Services Counselor at Baggerley Funeral Home in Edmond. He has had a long career in ministry and missions. Welcome to Edmond Summit Matt. We know you will make a great Rotarian!
 

Rotary Exchange Students Manon Venion (L), and Gaia Calia (C), gave a presentation of their first 100 plus days in the US. Manon, a student from Lycée La Colinière, in Nantes, France, told of her school and showed pictures of the school campus. She is now participating in classes and is active in swimming at Edmond Memorial High School. Gaia is from Nuoro, a small city on the island of Sardinia, Italy. She showed pictures of her home and views of Sardinia. She is also attending Edmond Memorial High School.

Since coming to live here, Gaia and Manon have been hosted by Kayla(R) and Jeff Blount, who have immersed the girls fully into Oklahoma culture including OU and Thunder ball games, state parks, family gatherings, cookouts, and numerous Rotary functions. Christmas decorating is the latest adventure at the Blunts that they are experiencing. Both Gaia and Manon have thoroughly enjoyed their stay and are looking forward to the next portion of their stay and more holidays,  Rotary trips and functions.

This is just a teaser article. Pictures of the Skeet Shoot will need to be compiled and edited then will be included in next weeks bulletin.

Winners of the Raffle are:
1st Prize, Beretta A400 Shotgun,  Tom Jourdan

2nd Prize, iPad Air2, John Polkinghorne

3rd Prize, Weber Grill, Mark Snider

Congratulations to these winners and thanks to everyone else who contributed for your support of this year's fundraiser.

 

It was a little breezy but that did not keep the kids from coming to the 2016 Downtown Edmond Fall Festival. Edmond Summit Rotarians Koorosh Zahrai and George Strecker manned the club's booth for what turned into almost 3 1/2 hours of bean bags and candy laughs. The looks on kids faces when we told them to "grab a BIG handful of candy" was priceless! (Dr. John, we're looking out for you!) Many downtown businesses were represented and there were several people expressing interest in Rotary and asking questions. Hopefully, next year we'll have some more folks on hand to help do some promoting while others help hand out candy and man the bean bag toss.  

The two teenage boys in the middle of the page, are Braden Nicholson and Matthew Ford from Santa Fe High School who volunteered their time to assist us in running the bean bag toss.  Thank you Braden and Matthew!

ALL Ticket Stubs and money must be turned in before the drawing this SATURDAY!!!!!

This is our clubs main Fundraiser every year.  Huge publicity is possible and Rotary friendship and fellowship is showcased.  While we only printed 600, lots of Tickets for the 2016 Shotgun raffle are still available.  The Drawing will be held at the Skeet Shoot November 5th.  This year the fundraiser will benefit The Cavett Kids Foundation;The OKC Gun Club Youth Shooting Safety and Development Division; and the Rotary Foundation.

Three great prizes will be awarded: 1st prize is a SUPER SWEEEEEEEET Beretta A400 Action UNICO 12 gauge shotgun. 2nd prize is an excellent Apple iPad Air 2 WiFi with 64G memory, and 3rd prize is a top notch  Weber E-210 LP Gas grill.  Wilshire Gun just added a really nice "DATE NIGHT PACKAGE" for another prize!!!  There are some other prizes that have been donated and will also be given away at the shoot. 

Prizes are still being solicited and those may also be part of the raffle after the main drawing or used as door prizes at the Skeet Shoot.

Tickets sell for $20 each or 3 for $50.  Only 600 tickets are available to be sold.  We are only asking each member to sell at least 10 tickets and from previous years we know that many of our members will sell many more than that. Post and Share on Facebook, Tweet it Link it or how ever you connect to get the word out!

Skeet Shoot Sign-up.

To go along with the Raffle, the sign-up sheets for the Nov. 5th Skeet Shoot will be available at the meetings and an email will be sent to all bulletin subscribers with a pdf of the sign-up sheet to print out as needed.

Go SELL and PROMOTE this great event to fund these great causes. We also invite friends of Rotary and past / inactive members who want to help with this fundraiser to call or email the editor for a packet of tickets to sell.

 "Right to Farm" and "Right to Harm" are both phrases used to describe State Question (SQ) 777, which will appear on the Oklahoma ballot on November 8, 2016 along with candidates for president. This bill affects everyone who lives in Oklahoma who breathes air, drinks water or eats food, so it's important to know what it's really about. Brian Jones, from the Kirkpatrick Foundation as Director of Education, after six years as a trial lawyer and journalist brought this topic to the club for the Oct 25th program.  He explained in fairly simple terms that the bill would be a change to the Oklahoma State Constitution that would essentially isolate agriculture and related industries from most legislation to regulate it, unless an overriding state interest takes precedence. There are still arguments for and against. People who opposed it at first are now for it and vice-versa. Almost as many state farm organizations are against it as for it, so its a toss-up.  It will be up to the voter to decide next Tuesday, the 8th of November, if the state constitution needs to be changed to protect agriculture of if laws that are already in effect are sufficient.

At left, Rotarian of the Day Mel Stewart, brought Brian Jones (r) as the guest speaker to the Oct. 25th meeting.

Edmond Summit Rotarian Kathy Reeser (left), Rotarian of the Day,  welcomed District 5750 Governor Megan Law (r)  to our October 11th meeting. Megan is the second youngest District Governor EVER, and we're not sure if she will be the first to give birth during her term as Governor or not, but certainly she is among a select few. BUT, These are not the things that make Megan Law the special District Governor that she is. Among other accomplishments, she started the Mid-Town Rotary Club, which is known for  providing tremendous support to the arts in the Oklahoma public schools. Their club has obtained a great number of District Grants and other Rotary support for causes that have made Mid-Town a driving force in District 5750.

Megan expounded on Rotary's role in Polio eradication, Education, Clean water, Mobile Meals, Food Drives, micro-loans, remote hospital and medical facilities and many more that keep us in the top 5 charitable organizations every year.  ROTARY ROCKS! It is due to leaders like Megan that help keep the wheels rolling and the fires burning!  Congratulations Megan! We are Proud you are our District Governor.

Kaelyn Page, our Rotary Exchange Student to France for School Year 2015-16 was our presenter for the September 27th meeting.  Kaelyn spent nearly a full year in Vedene France near Avignon. We were entertained by her emails during her time in France, but her report told a poignant story of language difficulties, days of hard classes due to the language barrier and teaching differences, and overall culture shock.  The friendship of fellow Rotary Exchange students was a salvation and breaks for Rotary sponsored tours were also a refreshing break from the stress.  Kaelyn stressed to Maron and Gaia, the two inbound exchange students in attendance at the meeting the importance of making friends. Something that she was able to do through the drama club at the school she attended. 

After nearly six months Kaelyn said she was finally able to freely converse in the local language and from that time on the experience was much more satisfying. Many tears were shed when it was time to finally end her exchange and lasting friendships still endure.  Great talk Kaelyn and we are proud of you for being a good representative for Edmond Summit Rotary.  Bienvenue à la maison Kaelyn!

Holding the US and French flags, at right, Kayla Blount, Host mom to inbound students  Manon left of center and Gaia, to the left of Julie Hovis at far right.  Inbound exchange Kaelyn Page Center gave sage advice to the two inbound students while presenting her talk.   

Gary Jones was the Rotarian of the Day Tuesday, Sept. 6th and he had as his program speaker,  Michael Blackmore CEO of Armor Advantage out of Purcell, OK.

Michael is pictured holding a "Trauma Plate" armor piece that is packaged in the vest that Gary is holding.  The plates are "Brush Metal Titanium" capable of stopping multiple rounds of AK47, AR15, and .308 rifle from under 15 yards.  The plate that Michael is holding withstood over 50 rounds of 308 military ammo fired at 15 yards. At the meeting we saw there was barely any denting, let alone any sign of penetration. As configured the way Gary is holding the vest, it can be also used as a shield outside of or inside of a car door or on the officer or first responders themselves.

Michael explained that his mission is to provide every first responder with a vest at no charge to the individual, as funding becomes available, and he has pledged $2 million of his own funds and is raising funding to accomplish this. Departments wishing to go ahead and purchase the vests can, of course buy them and get them very rapidly.

"Armor Advantage is on a mission to protect police and first responders. If your agency needs help acquiring the protection you need, Please let them know and they will add you to their website and help to the best of their ability! You can also send them a short video explaining what you do and asking the public for help. They will publish your video to help to raise the funds necessary to provide your department with free body armor!"

The image provided on the Armor Advantage website at right shows the result of .50 caliber tests into one quarter inch thick material:  Four rounds of .50 caliber Beowolf, at 300 yards, produced indentation... but zero penetration!
Two rounds of .50 caliber, 750 grain, BMG, FMJ were then fired at 800 yards, and stuck into the plate...
but did NOT penetrate. Definitely would want a car door to absorb the shock, but an officer could survive!
More information is available online at www.armoradvantage.com and Michael Blackmore can be reached
at Michael@armoradvantage.com or by cell at 405-508-1829. 
Online donations are encouraged and can be designated for specific departments.

 

 At the August 30th meeting,  Edmond Summit Rotary Club awarded three officers from the Oklahoma City Police Department, Springlake Division,  the Officer of the Quarter Award for their outstanding performance in capturing a violent carjacking suspect who shot his victim twice in the head during the crime. The officers were Sergeants Jay Lowery (left), Greg Kennedy, and Wes Morrison (right).  Officer Kennedy was unable to attend the meeting due to official commitments.
It was on June 27, 2016, that Sgt. Jay Lowery found the suspect, who was identified as Patrick Kibler, in a car near NW 30th and May Ave. When Sgt. Lowery initiated a traffic stop the suspect fled the scene starting a pursuit. The suspect exited his vehicle and fled on foot. Sgt. Greg Kennedy, who was responding to assist Sgt. Lowery, joined in the foot chase and caught the suspect as he attempted to scale a fence. The suspect became combative and fought the officers. During the struggle the officers could see he was armed as a handgun protruded from the suspect’s pocket.  Sgt. Wes Morrison arrived and assisted the two officers in securing and handcuffing the suspect. The suspect later told the officers he considered pulling the gun and shooting them. The officers later learned the suspect was also involved in and had active warrants for a homicide.     
We are thankful no officers were injured and grateful for their service in taking an armed violent suspect off the streets.

The Club was honored to have OKC Chief of Police William Citty and several senior officers from the OKC PD present to recognize these officers.
 

 Dr. Laura Garrett, Director of Resident Life at Epworth Retirement Community, and a fellow Rotarian, spoke at our meeting Tuesday August 23rd.  She discussed the aging of America and the changes in healthcare and assisted living. Living and aging "in-place" is a major consideration for many people looking ahead to their retirement years.  Having had relatives that have been forced to make hard decisions due to health and monetary reasons makes it very important that we take advantage of the time left to put aside for the years that we will be on a fixed income.  At the current level of inflation Dr. Garrett gave an example of a person that a few years ago would have felt comfortable retiring with $1 million. Now that person is saying more like $2 million to be sure! 

Dr. Garrett also spoke of societal changes that would affect the aging community, including communication, technology, and even religion.  A terrific presentation and one that we would recommend to any club or organization wanting to learn more about what to expect for our future.

This rough looking crew is decked out in typical C.A.S.S. gear, and they are awaiting the arrival of hundreds of Boy and Girl Scouts eager to participate in one of the fastest growing shooting sports around.  Edmond Summit Rotary's donation of $3,000.00 to the Last Frontier Council of Boy Scouts made it possible for the council to purchase the needed equipment to become only the second council in the US to participate in this program. Please read the thank you at right for the impact our donation is making. 

  

We had a great turnout at the Edmond Fire Training Facility last Tuesday.  Thanks to all the staff, including Joe Elam Jr. and Chief Dan Neeley at the fire station and to Chris Elam for setting up the meeting. 

All three of the Rotary Exchange Students that Edmond Summit is sponsoring were in attendance at the vocational tour of the Edmond Fire Department's Training facility at the August 16th meeting.  From left to right, Gaia Calia (Italy), Manon Venien (France), and Rinka Takahashi (Japan).  Gaia and Manon are being hosted by Jeff and Kayla Blount and Rinka is temporarily being hosted by Mr. and Mrs. Jerry Burger and will soon be moving to her permanent host family.

Welcome y'all to the USA. You are amazing and we look forward to learning more about your countries and sharing our city, state, and country with you.

Edmond Summit recently contributed $1000.00 to Edmond Mobile Meals and is a sponsor of their 2016 EdFest celebration.  The letter at left was received very shortly afterward but got shuffled around with the change in club officers.  Here it is to show how our contributions positively affect our community.

Thanks for your generosity Edmond Summit!

 

This summer, Edmond Summit Rotary sent 3 young people to RYLA camp in Guthrie. Last Tuesday, August 2nd, Lisa Zhang, one of these campers was on hand to thank the club for the great experience she had at the camp. The training in leadership and cooperation as well as implementing the 4-way test will serve to benefit her for years to come.  She indicated that she is very interested in returning as a counselor at next year's camp.  Well done Lisa!