The Casper Rotary Club
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This week's meeting will be held:
Monday May 21st, 2018
at the Ramkota Hotel and Conference Center
800 N. Poplar St.
Casper, WY 82601
Greeters:
Vickery Hall
Peaches Lynch
Inspiration:
Charles Schoenwolf
Program:
Dr. David Wheeler - Stroke Awareness
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Rotary Club of Casper WY
Meeting Summary
05/14/2018
President Richard Schwahn called the meeting to order promptly at 12:30, with the ring of the bell and welcomed everyone to today’s meeting.
Inspiration, Pledge, 4-Way Test:
Nicole Tholson
Greeters:
Nicole Tholson and Errol Miller were our greeters today and Nicole introduced the members who brought guests:
- Nick Hill introduced his wife, Iza Hill, Casper Police Department
- Bill Pierce introduced Carter Napier, Casper City Manager;
- John Griffith introduced Corey Buelt, Engineer at Diamond Oil;
- Joe Bennick introduced Alaina Stedillie (Attorney);
- Steve Higginson introduced Michele Wistisen (Casper Planetarium);
- Martha Rakestraw introduced Student of the Month parents, Jaci Schmidt and Art Boatright, and Larry Meebor from NC;
- Frida our exchange student was here as well;
Song:
Gary Pehrson had us all stand and sing “Home on the Range”
Membership:
President Schwahn did a Rotary TidBit about the beginning and evolution of the Rotary wheel over the years. Discussion ensued about why the wheel was chosen as the first symbol and why the various changes were instituted.
President Schwahn presented Sara Szewczyk with her blue badge.
Family of Rotary:
- Bill DeGraeve announced that his son has graduated from the University of Wyoming with a Bachelors Degree in Environmental System Science
- Steven Schnell announced that Kyle Gamroth and his wife Whitney are new parents to Elinor Scott Gamroth.
- Dusty Johnson announced that he is a new grandpa (x 5) thanks to his daughter who just gave birth to a baby boy.
- Richard Schwahn announced that he will be a grandpa in the next couple of weeks.
Rotarians of the Week:
- Dave True nominated Mike Sullivan for giving an inspiring commencement address at UW.
- Bill Schilling nominated a group of Rotarians who worked at Rotary Park last Friday night (in the rain) and Saturday: Guy DeWitt, Brian Deurloo, Steve Loftin, Doug McLaughlin, Tom Broumley, Jim Porter, Bret Johnson and his son Nick, Dick Jay, Dennis Jack, Jim Grenfell, and Bill Schilling.
- Jim Anderson nominated Al Metz for receiving a Presidential Lifetime Achievement Award from RSVP. This is a national honor recognized by a certificate signed by the President of the United States. Jim Anderson was the speaker at the RSVP recognition ceremony.
Special Presentation: None
Student of the Month:
Martha Rakestraw introduced Students of the Month, Abigail Schoup from KW and Streeter Boatright from NC.
Abi Schoup is a senior involved in many clubs and organizations, including Key Club, National Honor Society, and American Sign Language Club/ASL Honor Society. She has learned to be a good leader and how to manage her time as a result of all her activities. She has earned 30.5 credits which represent amazing teachers and friends and the Be Nice culture fostered at KW. She travelled to Italy with the choir and to Washington DC twice with the Science Bowl. She will attend University of Nebraska, Lincoln (President Schwahn’s alma mater) and plans to major in biomedical engineering with minors in History and Political Science. She has received many scholarships and is a finalist to receive the Nissan Scholarship. She recognized Brad Diller for his 39 years of compassionate and caring service to the students at KW.
Streeter Boatright is in the top 10% of his senior class at NC. He is a member of Mustang Mentors and won the Mr. Mustang Award. He was also voted Nordic Skier of the Year and is the winner of the American Dream essay contest for the state. His time at Park, Dean Morgan and NC has been made meaningful by being able to ride his bike to all his schools, a tradition shared with his brother and a group of friends. Streeter is Gonzaga bound.
Announcements:
Jim Porter announced that the motorcycle (and any other means of transportation) ride will be happening the weekend of July 21-22. The group will ride to Red Lodge via the Chief Joseph Highway and Beartooth Pass on the 21st, then will overnight in Powell, and home the 22nd. Contact Jim to RSVP so he can make hotel reservations for you.
Eric Easton announced that Saturday May 19th from 9-12 will be the cleanup of Rotary Park in conjunction with the annual Platte River Trail cleanup. Volunteers will meet at the Pumphouse to pick up cleaning implements and supplies. He announced that the Casper Marathon will be held on Sunday, June 3. The race will end at Crossroads Park, so station volunteers won’t be needed there. Although Eric is not in charge of the event, he will be happy to put volunteers in touch with the proper people.
Hal Hutchinson announced that Highway Clean-up will be held May 24 after work. Guy DeWitt will supply water. After the clean-up, Richard Schwahn will host an open house where Nick Hill will provide Qdoba boxed dinners, and the club will share refreshments left over from District Conference.
Bill Schilling announced that Saturday May 19 will be another work day at Rotary Park. Meet at 8 am. Tassma Powers will provide refreshments.
Peaches Lynch is still looking for a major sponsor for the Golf Tournament plus swag for gift bags. Sponsorships are coming in, but we still need teams from the Club and community to sign up. She also announced that our 2018-2019 exchange student will be Fran, a 15-year-old boy from Argentina. Please consider hosting.
Program (Kelly Cooper, Habitat for Humanity):
President Richard Schwahn introduced our speaker, Kelly Cooper, Program Manager of Casper’s Habitat for Humanity. She began by asking that someone please teach her husband, Jason Cooper, the words to “Cowboy Joe” since he is a UW alum. Kelly provided an update on Harris Crossing, named in honor of deceased Rotarian Don Harris who founded the Casper Habitat for Humanity program. Harris Crossing is located on a cul-de-sac at the corner of Amherst and Shumway and consists of 13 lots. Kelly said that it usually takes less than 9-12 months to complete a house. How quickly the subdivision is built out will depend on how long it takes to receive and act on qualified applications. Ten percent of people in Casper are in need of affordable housing. Criteria for successful applicants are: Need (i.e., applicant is living in a poor neighborhood or substandard housing); Ability to pay (income based on national standards, and debt to income ratio); and Willingness to partner with Habitat. The next application cycle begins July 2. Habitat held a women’s work day, and more than 100 women showed up to work.
The successful applicant for Lot 1 is Sarah Weinhandl who told us that she is a single mom with two young children. Her son was just diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes which has created additional stress in their lives. She is Assistant Manager at Porter’s on CY and loves her job. Groundbreaking for her house was in November 2017, and was completed in about four months. She thanked the volunteers, donors, and the community for giving her this opportunity to own a new home in a safe neighborhood.
President Richard Schwahn concluded the meeting at 1:20, letting us know that next week we will be back at the Ramkota.
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