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Rotary Club of Casper WY
Meeting Summary
02/09/2015
President Bill DeGraeve called the meeting to order at 12:32 welcoming all Rotarians and guests to Rotary. He also congratulated Tucker Laprade on his new baby boy.
Inspiration, Pledge, 4-Way Test:
Tucker Laprade
Greeters:
Stephanie Reid and Anne Ladd were our greeters and Stephanie introduced guests:
Stephanie first introduced visiting Rotarian Helen Bishop;
Cori Burton introduced Andrea Emerson;
Susan Griffith introduced former Interact Private Alex Derosier, and current interact students, Hannah Mockensturm, Chi-yian Dalton, Laura Denton, Taylor Wilcox, and Annicha Hoover;
Jim Porter introduced Ray Pacheco;
Chad Nelson introduced his brother Eric Nelson;
Bill Pierce introduced Rev. Randy Barnett;
Lauren Griffith introduced Lynette Boatright;
Martha Rakestraw introduced her guest Brown Ewing, Larry Meeboer (NCHS Administrator) she also introduced the parents of our student of the month Michael and Kim Jennings and Grandfather Harvey Soulek;
Bill DeGraeve introduced Bill Rantala;
Eric Easton introduced Angela Bell;
Song and merriment:
Pinky Ellis treated us to a good chuckle and then Gary Pehrson led us in singing “Let me call you Sweetheart” in honor of Valentine’s Day, with Brenda Peters on the piano.
Family of Rotary:
Charles Schoenwolf let us know that Stan Lowe is doing better and is anxious to get home and should be able to in a day or two.
Rotarians of the week:
Mandy George nominated Stephanie Reid and Dave Elmer for helping her with the foundation dinner preparation;
Announcements:
Mandy George announced that February 13 ( will be our Foundation Dinner and will be a great time. You can sign up electronically or there are signup sheets on your tables, Wednesday is the last day to sign up. If you need to make a payment contact Dick Jay. Prizes are needed by Thursday. Also there is a signup sheet on each table for volunteers to help with the games.
Program:
John Starnes introduced our speaker today, Lisa Eades, the President of Jason’s Friends Foundation, a non-profit organization dedicated to helping families of children who are suffering from cancer and brain or spinal tumors. Lisa had a slide show going during her presentation, showing pictures of families and children that have been helped through Jason’s Friends. She started out by telling us her family’s story. In January of 1995 their son Jason who was 8 years old at the time, was diagnosed with a brain stem tumor. It was a parent’s worst nightmare and it was happening to them. They spent the next 11 months with Jason going through surgery, chemotherapy, radiation and all sorts of physical therapies. They were in NYC as the treatments are not available here in Wyoming. They spent the first 6 weeks living at the NYU Hospital and were surrounded by children from around the world who were there for treatment from a world renowned pediatric Neurologist, Dr. Fred Epstein. After 6 weeks of inpatient care they then spent the next 2 months with Jason going through outpatient care going back and forth to NYU Hospital by ambulance from the Ronald McDonald house where they stayed at night following a day at the hospital. Jason was amazing how he handled all of the treatments; he endured many hours a day of treatments and physical therapy. The surgery left him unable to hold his head up and unable to walk but he was determined to walk again and he did. During the next few months they traveled back and forth between NYC and Wyoming, leaving their 4 year old daughter Brooke in Wyoming while they were focusing on Jason. Their entire lives were uprooted; they both left their businesses in order to focus on Jason’s treatments. In May, 5 months after his surgery and treatments started an MRI showed that the tumor was gone; they felt that they had beat the cancer. They spent a nice summer home in Casper but then in August they returned to NYC for an MRI and checkup. The new MRI showed that the tumor had returned and was bigger than it had originally been. They were told to take Jason home and keep him comfortable, on November 11, 1995 at the age of 9, Jason passed away here in Casper. Jason’s Friends was started because of Jason’s life, always showing concern for others and always facing the treatments head on with great courage he was a great example and something good needed to come from this tragedy. The Jason’s Friends Foundation was started shortly after his death, not by the family but by others who witnessed the pain and suffering that the family was going through. Jason’s Friends started out by giving emotional support, just being there, delivering meals and helping however they could because they had no money to help any other way. Shortly after starting they witnessed a Casper family lose everything they had because they had a child with cancer. Because of this tragedy the Foundation decided that never again in the State of Wyoming should a family lose everything because of a child with cancer, so they started fundraising. Jason’s Friends was established to help families in Wyoming who have children up to the age of 21 who are suffering from cancer, brain tumors or spinal tumors. They provide financial and moral support for these families. Unfortunately there are no treatment options for these children in the State. Since they have to seek medical help out of state this creates a huge financial burden on the families and one or both parents have to leave their jobs in order to be with the child. Jason’s Friends pays for house payments, rent payments, utility bills, vehicle repairs and many other items to help the families focus on their child. In 2014 4 children were lost and Jason’s Friends covered the funeral costs for 3 of them. They do not pay medical bills but they pay day to day expenses so that the family can take care of the medical bills. They have helped with anywhere from a few thousand dollars to many thousands of dollars. The bills are paid directly to the providers rather than the family so that everything is accounted for. They allow the families to focus on the sick child rather than stressing out about the finances. Lisa shared some great stories of families that they have had the privilege of helping, amazing yet sad stories of what these children are going through. They are currently helping 81 families of which 14 are from Casper. They started small, in 1996 with less than $3,000 of help being given and this year they have already surpassed the $3.2 million mark for total aid since 1996 and will hit $3.5 by the end of this year. In 2014 they added 17 new families to their list and so far this year have added 4 more in just the first 5 weeks of the year. They have one part time paid position, the office manager and just added a new very part time paid position for a development coordinator that works 10-20 hours a month. The rest of the workers are volunteers so that 95% of the money collected goes out to the families in need and into an Endowment fund. They hit a major goal in 2014 by being able to start a permanent endowment fund when Ruth Elbogen donated $100,000 and then the McMurry Foundation added $50,000 to that. From now on they will be adding as much as possible to the endowment. They are currently working on the 17x8 annual fundraiser, Bowl for Jason’s Friends, which will take place on Saturday March 76) and she encouraged us to put together some teams and come bowl. Last year the proceeds from this event totaled $317,000 and the goal for this year is $350,000. The help from the people of Wyoming is always very impressive as we are a very giving State. Unfortunately there are many families in Wyoming that we do not reach and so we need to raise more awareness of what they can do for the families. Jason’s Friends has received National recognition from Garth Brooks and the Garth Brooks Foundation. They not only help families but also raise awareness of childhood cancers. Lisa was very involved in the Wyoming Cancer Control act which Governor Freudenthal signed into law on March 15, 2007, it laid the foundation and provides funding to reduce cancer and improve health for all Wyoming residents, including children. Lisa also is proud to be a part of a partnership between Jason’s Friends and the Wyoming Comprehensive Cancer Consortium to provide Camp Courage. This August will be the 4 |
