Rotary Rig for April 3, 2017 (Apr 03, 2017)

Minutes from May 22, 2017

Posted by Lori Klatt on May 22, 2017

The Casper Rotary Club

This weeks meeting will be held

Monday June 5, 2017

at The Parkway Plaza

123 West E Street

Casper, WY 82601

Greeters: Steven Schnell & John Griffith

Inspiration: Dan White

Program: Tony Woodell- Wyoming Wildlife Foundation

Rotary Club of Casper WY

Meeting Summary

05/22/2017

President Jim Ruble 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:

Gary Pehrson

Greeters:

Nick Hill and Jack Swanson were the greeters today, and Nick introduced the members who brought guests:

Charles Schoenwolf introduced Sarah Szewczyk and Phillip Rael;

Lynn Lockhart introduced Errol Miller;

Steve Loftin introduced Denise Kleemyer;

Jim Beck introduced his daughter Sarah Beck;

John Griffith introduced Kristen Galles and Bill Thompson;

Kevin Murphy introduced Terry Bay and Larry Bean;

Joe MacGuire introduced his daughters Mary and Christen MacGuire;

Dan Odell introduced his sister Winne Scott and nephew Sam Scott;

Song:

Gary Pehrson had us all stand and led us in singing “America The Beautiful”;

New member induction:

Tara Short read the Induction Ceremony to induct new member Kyle Gamroth, who was sponsored by Steven Schnell. Congratulations Kyle.

Family of Rotary:

Deb Theriault told us that she and Gene would be travelling to visit their son who is getting married.

Rotarians of the Week:

President Ruble reminded everyone that there will be no meeting next week in honor of Memorial Day. He then asked all of the veterans to stand and be recognized.

Jason DeWitt was nominated as Rotarian of the Week for being the speaker for Roosevelt High School’s commencement ceremony.

Brad Diller and Donovan McComb were nominated for the KWHS boys track team win.

Donovan McComb was nominated for becoming a United States citizen.

Kodi Merschat was nominated for doing a great job creating the Friendship Board for the upcoming District Conference.

Jim Ruble was nominated for being elected President Elect of the National Boy Scouts of America.

Student of the Month:

Rose Heinz from Roosevelt High School/REACH Program was honored as Rotary Student of the Month. She presented her very special story and received a well-deserved standing ovation from the club.

Susan Griffith gave a “shout out” to the Natrona County School District for having the REACH Program available to students.

Scholarship Awards:

Stephanie Sneesby awarded Christen MacGuire and Samuel Scott, both from KWHS, certificates and checks for $750.00 for their winning essays submitted to the Casper Rotary Club’s Four Way Test Scholarship contest. Congratulations Christen and Samuel.

Announcements:

President Ruble reminded everyone that today was the last day to register for the District Conference that will be taking place in Casper June 1 – 3.

Peaches Lynch spoke about the Rotary Cares Golf Tournament coming up in July. She reminded that members that the money raised at the golf tournament goes towards building schools in Panama. She went on to say that they need players and sponsors for the event.

Peaches then announced that the club would be hosting a second exchange student from Argentina this year. The student is a 17-year-old male and she will have more information later that she will share with the club. She reminded everyone that we need 6 host families this year and urged everyone to consider hosting one of the two students. Talk to Peaches if you are interested.

Jim Porter reminded members about the Rotary Ride to be held July 1 & 2. He stated that, cars, as well as motorcycles are welcome at this ride. If you are interested, Jim suggested that you call the Saratoga Inn before June 1^st to reserve your room. The number is 307-326-5261 and ask for a room in the “Casper Rotary Ride” block.

Brian Deurloo spoke about the upcoming Duck Derby. He asked if anyone has any Duck Derby marketing items, such as signs or magnets for cars, to bring them to him as soon as possible.

His next subject was Crossroads Park. Phillip Giffin has taken the lead on the maintenance of Crossroads Park and on June 3 there will be a group of young people working on various projects at the park. Volunteers are needed that day to help with the projects. Please talk to Brian or Phillip if you are interested in helping.

Ronna Boril is in charge of the fundraising for the District Conference next weekend. She stated that she is putting together 4 baskets for the conference and that she needs donations of items for them. Talk to Ronna if you have items to donate.

Hal Hutchinson talked about the Highway Cleanup that is scheduled for Thursday, May 25 from 5:30 pm to approximately 8:00 pm. He said that he still needs volunteers for that event and to talk to him if you plan to be there. He went on to say that Nick Hill has offered to donate food from Q’doba for the workers and Guy DeWitt will be donating water.

Program (Stanton Burns - Transitioning onto Medicare):

Kevin Murphy introduced Stan Burns who is in Wealth Management with Stifel, Nicolaus and Company, Inc., out of St Louis, Missouri. Stan began by speaking about a Medicare Fact Sheets 2017 that he had placed on the tables, saying that the booklet has the most current information on Medicare. He said that Medicare has basically 4 sections, Parts A, B, C & D, with parts A & B being the most traditional. He spoke about whether you should sign up as soon as you turn 65 or not, saying that if you are working at a company that has more than 20 employees and covers health insurance, you would be better off not signing up for Medicare. He went on to say that if you are contributing to a Health Savings Account and you get on Medicare, you will be penalized greatly. Part D is prescription coverage for Medicare and it is administered by private insurance companies. There are literally hundreds of different plans out there for you to choose from so it is important to shop around to get the right coverage for you. He suggested that you go to https://www.medicare.gov to help you make that decision. Then there is Medigap or the Medicare Advantage Plan which will help to pay for claims that Medicare A & B do not cover. There is a website with resources that can help you with this decision http://www.wyomingseniors.com/ or call 1-800-856-4398.

President Jim Ruble concluded the meeting at 1:30; letting us know that there will be no meeting next week, but, we are back at the Parkway Plaza on June 5th and the program will be Tony Waddell from the Wyoming Wildlife Foundation.

“Rotary Serving Humanity”

The Casper Rotary Club

This weeks meeting will be held

Monday April 3, 2017

at The Parkway Plaza

123 West E Street

Casper, WY 82601

Greeters: Steve Higginson & Bob Auflick

Inspiration: Jim Greenfell

Program: Jaci Byrd - Habitat For Humanity in Casper WY

Rotary Club of Casper WY

Meeting Summary

3/27/17

President Elect Richard Schwahn called the meeting to order at 12:16, welcoming everyone to today’s meeting.

Inspiration, Pledge, 4-Way Test:

Phillip Giffin

Greeters:

Nicole Tholson and Steve Loftin were the greeters today, and Steve introduced the members who brought guests:

•Don Harris introduced his son Jim Harris;

•Scott Skavdahl introduced Fred Devore;

•Steve Loftin introduced Becky Byron;

•Kim Manchego introduced her son, Josh Manchego;

Steven Schnell introduced Kyle Gamroth;
Anthony Martinez introduced Terra Oakley and Carrie Gomez;
VH McDonald introduced Jim Wetzel;
Mary Lynne Shickich introduced Stacy Nelson;
Charles Schoenwolf introduced Phillip Rael;
Ryan Hauck introduced Paul Hanson & Candie Buckallew;
Bill Schilling introduced Forrest Chadwick and Rob Hendry;
Joe MacQuire introduced Eric Nelson, Tom Walters, Jerry Obermueller, Bill Landen, Peters Wold and his daughter, Christen MacGuire.

• Tobby, the club’s exchange student, was introduced;

Song of the Week:

Gary Pehrson led us in a rousing rendition of Take Me Out to the Ballgame.

Rotarians of the Week:

Bill Schilling nominated Richard Schwahn for taking good care of his dog.

Steve Loftin nominated Guy DeWitt, Tom Broumley, Rick Diamond, Dan Odell, Dennis Jack and Jim Porter for volunteering to pack food at Food Bank of the Rockies last week.

Jim Anderson announced that Gene and Deb Theriault are still in Australia on the Friendship Exchange.

Announcements:

Bill Schilling announced that the County Commissioners had met to discuss the restrooms that are planned to be built at Rotary Park. He stated that he and Steve Loftin have been working with CEPI for the planning and construction. The commissioners amended the allocated $100,000 to $125,000 of 1 Cent Money for the construction. Bill went on to say that, with the money that the club has allocated for the park, they will be able to complete Rotary Park this Summer.

Dave Elmer announced that he had placed a sheet with Duck Derby sponsorship levels on the tables. He welcomed all businesses and individuals who want to sponsor the Duck Derby this year to sign up.

Program (Major General K. Luke Reiner speaking about the State of the World and its effects on your Guard):

Joe MacGuire introduced Major General K. Luke Reiner. Major General Luke Reiner is the Adjutant General for Wyoming. As such, he directs the Wyoming Military Department, located in Cheyenne. He is responsible for formulating, developing and coordinating all policies, plans and programs affecting the more than 3,000 Army and Air National Guard members in Wyoming. He is also responsible for the Wyoming Veterans’ Affairs Commission and the Oregon Trail State Veterans’ Cemetery. The General began speaking about The World and Your Military saying that, in his opinion, the major threats that the United States faces now are 4+1. Russia, North Korea, China, Iran and Isis. He reviewed each of the threats one by one explaining why he felt they were a danger to our safety. General Reiner spoke about the Federal Budget and how military support has decreased and that the budget is barely sufficient to handle the security. He went on to say that there are 3000 Air and Army National Guardsmen in Wyoming and 50,000 nationwide and that they are always looking for new recruits. He concluded by saying that the United Sates has been at war for 16 years, which make this the longest war in history.

Program (Jason Begger speaking about the Integrated Test Center (coal))

A small state agency is working to keep coal viable as a major electric energy source by conducting research into ways of turning carbon dioxide into an asset. The greenhouse gas is blamed for being a major contributor to global warming. Obama-era regulations and actions took aim at carbon dioxide producing uses by Americans who rely on coal and oil and gas for powering homes, businesses and vehicles. Jason Begger told Casper Rotarians earlier this week that the Wyoming Integrated Test Center (ITC) is working on emission technology research. "ITC is developing a pilot scale research facility that will utilize gasses from the flue of the Dry Fork generating station," Begger said. In addition to carbon dioxide emissions, coal-fired power plants also put nitrous oxide, sulfur dioxide and particulates into the atmosphere. Funding for ITC comes from a variety of government and industry sources. These include $15.0 million appropriated by the Wyoming Legislature; Basin Electric’s contribution as host of ITC at the Dry Fork station; Tri State Generating and Transmission $5.0 million; the National Rural Electric Association has kicked in $1.0 million; and the XPRIZE Foundation, which is holding a contest to find the best natural gas and coal technology to capture carbon dioxide. The research competitors are in the second phase of the contest and Begger said he hopes the testing center will be fully constructed later this year. It will consist of several bays in which scientists will build their test modules using the flue gas piped from the power plant. Begger said that one-third of the nation uses electricity produced by coal-fired power plants. He used the example of a large pool of water that represents the U.S. energy supply. "Fuels like coal, natural gas and solar feed into the pool while demand from electricity users constantly drains the available electricity," Begger said. Electricity from coal plants can provide constant base load power that helps grid operators know how much electricity is available "minute by minute." The Wyoming Business Report’s Wyoming Energy Summit will feature discussions of all energy challenges and opportunities from all aspects of the state’s energy sector. These will include discussions of coal, oil and gas, and renewable sources such as wind an solar. The Summit will be held at Cheyenne’s Radisson Hotel May 18, 2017, from 10:00 am to 4:00 pm.