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Rotary Club of Casper WY
Meeting Summary
04/6/2015
President Bill DeGraeve called the meeting to order promptly at 12:30 and welcomed everyone back from Spring Break and the Easter holiday.
Inspiration, Pledge, 4-Way Test:
Joe MacGuire, who did a fabulous inspiration related to the history and meaning of “Easter Monday.”
Greeters:
Dusty Johnson and Al Metz were the greeters today and Al introduced guests:
Visiting Rotarians – Dennis Jack, Borger TX and Helen Bishop, Jackson;
Victoria Ziton introduced her daughter, Alexandra;
Robin Mundell introduced Dan Cantine (12-24 Club Director), Alaina Stedille (local attorney), and Jennifer Forsberg; and, of course - our fabulous exchange student from Brazil, Giulia was in attendance.
Song and merriment:
Pinky Ellis entertained us with a great joke and then we welcomed Dennis Lower back from snow birding in the south and he introduced a lovely poem, entitled “Walk with Me While I Age” which he promptly forgot the words to….. Denise Prugh popped up to the mic with a joke of her own and then led us in singing “God Bless America.”
Family of Rotary:
Diane Treick was welcomed back to the Club after wintering in Arizona. Robin Mundell announced that PDG John Patton (2005-2006) has passed away in Sheridan. President Bill shared “thank you” cards from --- the sister of Frank Cordiner for our Club’s outreach during the funeral, the Platte River Trails Trust for the check from the Duck Derby proceeds, and from one of our Students of the Month. He also announced that Angela Emery will be stepping down as the coordinator of Family of Rotary at the end of June, and he asked for any club member who might want to step up into that position – Stephanie Reid volunteered. What a great new member!!
Rotarians of the Week:
Bill Schilling nominated Mike Ward and his grandson, Dillon, for installing benches and a picnic table at Rotary Park. Mike Ward then nominated Bill Schilling for touring them around the mountain for 2.5 hours on Saturday. Pam Walker nominated the Theriaults and Simonsons for travelling to Panama to check out details for our new international project.
Special Presentations of Flags/Pins:
Alexandra Ziton shared an overview of her time in Japan. She spent 2 years in Toba, Japan teaching English. She was involved with the Toba Rotary Club and she had presented them with our club flag when she arrived, and they gave her a flag to bring back to Casper. Our flag was only the 3rd flag they have received from a visiting Rotarian. Alexandra is now headed to Ohio for a new job. She presented the flag to President Bill as well as business cards from the club officers. “Business card culture” is very important in Japan.
Tony Valdez shared his experiences with a recent visit to the Sedona Rotary Club. That club exchanges pins instead of flags. The pins have the club flag on them. Tony presented the Sedona/Red Rocks pin to President Bill. He encouraged all of the club members to always visit Rotary club meetings when we travel.
Students of the Month:
None this week as they are just returning to school from Spring Break.
Club Announcements:
- President Bill reminded the club about registration for District Conference in June/Fort Collins.
- Jim Anderson announced that there will be a sign-up sheet next week for the Jackson Bike Ride on May 16th.
- Liz Becher announced that it is the time for annual giving to Rotary International. There are brochures on the tables for various giving programs. Our club needs to have a per member contribution of $50.00 to qualify for a district grant. President Bill then asked Liz to present Bill Schilling with his Paul Harris +7 pin.
- Tara Short announced that our club will be getting a female exchange student from Sweden in August. Also, the International Dinner will be May 9th. Sign-ups will be out soon.
- David Simonson updated the members on the recent trip to Panama that he and the Theriaults had just completed. They had worked with the Boquete Rotary Club on the arrangements. The trip was an exploratory focus. The Theriaults worked on a solar project and with the health clinic, while the Simonsons did a water filter project on the nearby coastal community of Bocas del Toro. They will do a formal program for the Club in the future and discuss some recommendations with the Board.
- President Bill called for a quick Board meeting after today’s meeting to discuss Rotary Park.
Program:
Today’s program was introduced by John Starnes. The program featured Joe Ellis, Superintendent of South Pass City State Historic Site in South Pass City, Wyoming. For the past 11 years, Joe has overseen the management, restoration, and reconstruction of the historic Carissa Mine, which was the focus of his presentation today.
The #1 visitors group to the Carissa Mine each year are locals; Casperites are second. South Pass City is not a ghost town; people still live there. The Carissa Mine was the first mining claim (gold) in Wyoming in 1868. The gold was deposited in the Denver Mint < 200,000 ounces were mined. The population of South Pass City was about 3,000 in 1868, and then dropped to 200 just two years later. People left the mine and went to work at the coal mines, and for the railroad.
In 1928 there was another gold rush at the mine. A Washington state corporation took over the mine and introduced new technology. After WWII the mine was still operational to a small degree. In 1954 it was officially shut down and the Wyoming State Legislature bought it. The mine was registered as a historic site in 2003. The goals of the historic site are: 1) Preservation, 2) Interpretation of the industrial history, and 3) Relating that industrial history to today. Work is underway to bring mining technology back to the site for visitors to experience (i.e. flushing gold pieces over a water wheel). The original mine shaft is currently flooded. Environmental clean-up has been occurring at the mine – funded by the Abandoned Mine Lands program of the DEQ. In 2008, the State legislature funded the reconstruction of the original mine structures. The site reopened to visitors in 2013. Joe told us all to come visit!!!!
President Bill announced that our meeting next week will be at the Petroleum Club and will feature our Rotaract club, with Debbie Mueller –President. The meeting adjourned at 1:35 p.m.
“Light Up Rotary”
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