Rotary Club of Casper WY
Meeting Summary
02/13/2017
President Elect Richard Schwahn called the meeting to order promptly at 12:29, with the ring of the bell and welcomed everyone to today’s meeting.
Inspiration, Pledge, 4-Way Test:
Lynn Lockhart
Greeters:
Anthony Martinez and Heidi Foy were the greeters today, and Heidi introduced the members who brought guests:
- Cori Burton introduced Lisa Brown (Mercer Family Resource Center);
- Steve Loftin introduced Becky Byron (retired accountant);
- Don Harris introduced his son Jim Harris;
- Peaches Lynch’s guest Micah Larsen introduced herself;
- Kevin Christopherson introduced his daughter Ashley Christopherson;
- Mandy George introduced Ryan Hauck (Casper Events Center);
- Anthony Martinez introduced Tony Cercy (Cercy Family Holdings), and Carrie Gomez (CAEDA);
- Dan Odell introduced Eric Nelson, Charlotte Kinner, Amanda Jones, and Joe Forscher (Iris Clubhouse);
- Brad Bodoh introduced Chad Schnitzler (BSA);
- Eric Easton introduced our SOM Ana Merchant, her parents Kim and Leah Merchant, and her sister Rachel Merchant;
- Visiting Rotarian Roxy Skogen (five Trails);
Song:
Gary Pehrson had us all stand and lead us in singing “Let me call you sweetheart” in celebration of Valentine’s Day tomorrow.
Family of Rotary:
Tara Short thanked the doctors and nurses for taking care of her mild heart attack on Saturday, glad you are ok Tara.
Rotarians of the Week:
Mandy George asked all who participated in the Foundation dinner to rise and be recognized, thank you to all who made it a success.
Roxy Scoggins announced that the foundation made about 23 thousand on the dinner.
PE Richard Schwahn nominated Bill Schilling for the lecture series he set up this past week.
Bill Mortimer nominated Mandy George and Roxy Scoggin for all of their work on the foundation dinner.
PE Richard Schwahn nominated all of those who participated in the visioning session last Monday, Jim Ruble, Richard Schwahn, Dick Jay, Lori Klatt, Sheryl Foland, John Starnes, Chad Nelson, Ronna Boril, Dennis Jack, John Griffith, Darren Divine, Anne Ladd, Anthony Martinez, Victoria Ziton, Dave Simonson, Steve Shive, Dan Odell, Kodi Merschat, Jim Porter, Angela Emery, Barry Johnson, Lisa Scroggins, Dick Shamley, Gene Theriault, Nicole Tholson, Deb Theriault, Bill Schilling, Steve Domonkos, and Daron Gruner;
Student of the Month:
Our SOM this week is Ana Merchant from KWHS. Ana is a very impressive young lady with a great future ahead of her in whatever field she chooses.
Announcements:
Eric Easton announced that the Platte River Trails Trust is having their annual meeting on Wednesday February 15th and everyone is invited, there is a flyer on each table with details.
Deb Theriault announced that there are Rotarians from around the world looking for host homes for the August eclipse that is to take place in Casper. If you have room that you have not loaned or rented out please contact her or President Jim Ruble for more details.
Mike McIntosh presented PE Richard Schwahn with a Rotary Club Banner from the Rotary Club of Patos, Paraiba, Brazil. Mike stated that this is the club that he has attended many times when he goes to Brazil to visit family. He also told us that his Sister-in-law and her son are both past presidents of this club.
Program (Iris Clubhouse):
PE Richard Schwahn introduced our speakers today, Dan Odell, Joe Gallagher, and Joe Forscher from the Iris Clubhouse. Joe Forscher started us off with a quick quiz, having us write down three things that are the most important in our life and then he had us pass the paper to another person and had them cross off one of the things. He did this to show us that people who need the Iris Clubhouse have important things missing from their life that they need help to regain. They help people recover those things that they have lost through mental illness and reclaim their futures. Dan Odell told us that mental illness has always been a part of his family, he lost a cousin to mental illness when he took his own life. Seventeen years ago Dan was in a dark place but was able to get help, and these things have made him passionate about helping those with mental health issues. They feel that the clubhouse project will go a long way to helping those with mental illness in Central Wyoming. The name Iris Clubhouse was picked by potential clubhouse users at a NAMI picnic last summer, the Iris flower is a symbol of strength and recovery for the mental health community. The Clubhouse is an intentional community of recovery where members reclaim a positive future. This project is an extension of a program called clubhouse international which has a 69 year track record of success in over 300 communities and many of them have close relationships with the Rotary Clubs in their communities. Fountain House in NYC was the first clubhouse and has had great success leading people to recovery and bright futures. The clubhouse gives the people a reason for living and recovering from their illnesses. Potential members are referred to the clubhouse from their mental health professionals and are invited to be members for as long as they like. They have an organized day at the clubhouse, starting with their work order day, they have the choice of working in one of three units on any given day. Those units are the culinary unit, where they prepare a restaurant style meal from scratch and serve it to those who are there. Members and staff work together for all of the planning and shopping and executing of the meal plan and the cleanup. The Business unit is responsible for the clerical duties of the clubhouse such as statistics, accounting, budgeting, newsletters, reporting, and reaching out to members they have not seen for a while. The career development unit offers educational skills and employment support to help members return to the work force. They celebrate the holidays together on the holiday. Work is celebrated in the clubhouse to help all members grow. Some of the benefits of the clubhouse are money savings through fewer ER visits for the mentally ill members; it will decrease the amount of contact by law enforcement and free them up for other needs. Iris Clubhouse will make a difference in the lives of those people who are deeply affected by mental illness. Currently the board is looking at a proposed location to be able to open to members in September of 2017and will be out in the community doing fundraisers. If anyone has job openings the clubhouse would like to open communication to see if those jobs might fit with their job placement for the members. They also ask that the Rotarians be advocates for the clubhouse and get involved with service opportunities at the clubhouse. Dan invited us all to join the email list to receive updates on what is happening with the clubhouse. Dan then turned the time over to Joe Gallagher. Joe said he has been working in mental health since the 70’s and the clubhouse really helps the mentally ill feel like they belong to a community and helps them have a sense of normalcy so he is very excited to be a part of this project that will be a huge benefit to the community.
PE Richard Schwahn concluded the meeting at 1:25; letting us know that next week we are back at the Parkway Plaza. Our program will be Anna Wilcox from the Eclipse Festival.
“Rotary Serving Humanity”
