Rotary Club of Casper WY
Meeting Summary
06/1/2015
President Bill DeGraeve called the meeting to order promptly at 12:30 and welcomed everyone to the meeting, announcing what a great Spring day it was for Casper.
Inspiration, Pledge, 4-Way Test:
Drew Perkins
Greeters: Lynette Boatright and Lauren Griffith were the greeters today and Lynette introduced guests:
Visiting Rotarians – Tim Fitzgerald -- Ontario, Canada;
Cori Costner-Burton introduced Sgt. Joe Nickerson (Casper Police Dept);
Liz Becher introduced Dan Cantine (12-24 Club Director) for Robin Mundell;
Steve Shive introduced Fred Feth (retired Casper College);
Chad Nelson (in absentia) introduced Steven Schnell (Science Zone);
Rick Reimann introduced Dr. Kolton Erickson;
Jim Beck introduced Liz Roth (KCWY- TV);
and, of course - our fabulous exchange student from Brazil, Giulia was in attendance.
Song and merriment:
Dennis Lower entertained us with 2 (yes, two!!!) great jokes and Gary Peherson led us in singing “Rotary” – a classic from the Rotary songbook.
Family of Rotary:
Charlie Shopp reported that Bob Barnard was in the hospital – no details are known at this time.
Rotarians of the Week:
Joe MacGuire nominated Les Crawford, Giulia, and his wife, Crystal, for cooking breakfast for over 300 participants at the Eagle flying event last weekend in Casper. Bert Toews nominated Joe MacGuire for being chief pilot and instructor for the event. Giulia was also congratulated for graduating from Natrona County High School –she even brought her diploma to the meeting!!
Students of the Month:
We are done for the year – will resume in October
Club Announcements:
- Dave True reminded the club about registration for District Conference in June/Fort Collins. Registration closes June 12th. Rooms will be released June 14th.
- Richard Schwahn announced that Duck Derby tickets are being printed and will be distributed to club members in the next two weeks. He challenged the members to think ahead about who they might approach for sales.
- Eric Easton announced that the Casper Marathon is this Sunday. Rotary hosts the aide station, and volunteers are needed beginning at 6:30; and will be done before noon. Let him know if you are interested in helping.
- President Bill announced that there are flyers on the tables for a variety of upcoming community events. He also reminded the club that Giulia’s Southwest bus tour with the other youth exchange students in our District starts this week. Tony Valdez volunteered to give her a ride to Fort Collins to join the group. The Club is responsible for contributing a basket for the silent auction at District Conference. Proceeds will benefit Shelter Box. Charles Schoenwolf is coordinating the basket this year. Please give him donated items. Bill also announced that the next New Member Orientation is planned for late June. Jim Fowler will organize it again (Kevin, Steve, Connie, Tucker, and Dennis raised their hands that they needed to attend).
Classification Talk:
Ray Pacheco introduced himself to the Club today, first thanking his sponsor – Jim Porter. Ray is a new City Councilman who appreciates the Casper community and Rotary. He is a native of Casper, and graduation from Carroll College (Helena, Montana) with a degree in Political Science. He has worked in youth, administration, and ministry programs, and is currently the director of Gear-Up at Casper College, where he helps financially qualify students. He is the father of two sons (11 and 13) and is engaged to a wonderful gal named Susy, who has two daughters. Ray is very involved at St. Anthony’s Church and lives each day by 7 tenants to serve others – humility, empathy, responsibility, honesty, generosity, listening, and faith.
Welcome to our Rotary Club, Ray!!
Program (Nicolaysen Art Museum):
John Starnes asked for a back-up Club member to send press releases about our weekly speakers to the media – Tucker LaPrade volunteered. Thank you!!!!
John then introduced John Griffith, who is a Board member at the NIC, to introduce the speakers (Eric Wimmer and our own, Lori Klatt, who both work for the NIC). Eric has spoken to our Club before and loved it. He is the museum curator, and he introduced Jen Dyer – development director, and Lori – events and volunteer coordinator. Eric stepped through the upcoming art shows that were highlighted in copies of the Mosaic Magazine on each table. He noted that there are more professional artists, per capita, in Wyoming than anywhere else in the country. Local favorites – Zac Pullen (Governor’s Art Award recipient), Dan Cepeda (local photographer with his photo stories of sheep around the world), and Shawn Rivett (local, large canvas photographer) will be featured in the gallery this year. They will also speak at NicFest. Chris Navarro (bronze sculptor) will do a show next spring. Eric announced the monthly 1st Thursday Art Walk that will start this week in the Old Yellowstone District and downtown Casper; it has been a vision for many years, and is finally a reality! Eric also complimented the good fortune that the NIC has to have pieces by the masters in their permanent collection – donated by a few local estates. Lori Klatt then took the microphone to talk about upcoming events: NicFest (June 26-28) will feature 70 artists, great headliners, a family area organized by Rob Doane, and an exhibition centered around a British theme; Wednesday Night Live (July 1 – August 26) will feature 9 great bands; the annual fundraiser art auction and show will be September 11th. John Griffith then announced that the NIC is celebrating its 25th anniversary this year. Casper has become the cultural hub of the region and the NIC plays a critical role. The NIC’s sustainability committee is chaired by George Bryce, and John encouraged continued financial support for the NIC. It was a very informative program with several Rotarians playing an active role.
President Bill reminded the members that there are lots of opportunities coming up for Rotarians to volunteer (Duck Derby, Rotary Park, and committee work). Next week’s program will be our own, Kevin Christopherson, who will speak about “Storm Surfing.” We will be at the Parkway Plaza.
He adjourned the meeting at 1:25 p.m.
“Light Up Rotary”
