Home Page | Rotary Club of Anchorage East

Do Good, Have Fun, Make Friends

We meet Wednesdays at 12:00 PM
Hilton Hotel

500 W. 3rd Ave.
Anchorage, AK 99501
United States of America

District Site

Bulletins

Venue Map

Daryl Royce, AARP

Aug 21, 2019

ID Theft Prevention

Davie Willard

Aug 28, 2019

Together! ACTNow - Malawi Aids Education & Testing

Amanda Moser

Sep 04, 2019

Anchorage Downtown Partnership

Steve Rafuse

Sep 11, 2019

Town Square Master Plan

Club Assembly

Sep 18, 2019

Ed Ulman

Sep 25, 2019

AK Public Media - Molly of Denali/Ready to Learn

Jason Hodges

Oct 23, 2019

Anchorage Concert Association

View entire list...

President's Corner (August 14)

Posted by Charlotte Tharp

August 7th Program

Our speaker for August 7th was Phil Cross accompanied by his wife Sarah. Phil talked about the Nabad Somali Kitchen which he and Sarah helped start with two goals in mind. One, to provide financial and management support to assist an individual in the refugee community with an entrepreneurial endeavor. And two, to bring new and diverse Middle Eastern flavors to the Anchorage food scene. Their Chef learned traditional cooking skills growing up in Somalia and further honed her skills in the Middle East prior to relocating to Anchorage. Once they had the opportunity to try her food, they knew they wanted to bring this to a larger audience. The Nabad Somali Kitchen is a “virtual” restaurant, offering lunch orders and small group catering online or via Facebook. Phil and Sarah are “paying it forward” in a big way. Phil said that if their efforts can make a positive impact on the life of one person, and by extension that person’s family, he and Sarah will consider it to be a success.

August 14^th Program

Our speaker for August 14^th will be Kelly Larson with the Alaska State Fair. Kelly will tell us about the concerts and new events planned for this year’s Fair which is only a few weeks away.

Inbound Youth Exchange Student

Gabi attended the District 5010 Youth Exchange orientation this past weekend. Anchorage East Rotarians Katie Johnson and Kelly McCormick also attended as chaperones. See pictures below provided by Katie Johnson. Gabi will attend her first meeting on Wednesday, August 14^th

Gabi (inbound), Katie Johnson, Ti (rebound)

2019/2020 Inbound class and 18/19 Rebound class

Upcoming AER Events

Foundation Committee

The Foundation Committee will meet Monday August 12th at the Cattle Company (bar). Tudor Road and C Street. Meeting starts at 5:30pm.

Please RSVP to Bob Cox or contact him with questions.

Highway Cleanup

This Wednesday, August 14, at 5:30 p.m., we have another opportunity to provide community service. Meet at the Village Inn between Northern Lights and Benson to pick up bags and "pickers" and help us clean up Northern Lights Boulevard between the Seward Highway and Lake Otis Parkway. We need a good turn out of AER members and their family members to do a great job with the cleanup. Please join us for an hour and see what our combined efforts can accomplish.

Bruce Phelps, Clean-up Chair

Rich Dyson, Community Service Committee Chair

Farm To Table Pop Up Lunch

Posted by Rich Dyson

Farm-To-Table Pop Up Lunch at Grow North Farm - August 2

Anchorage East Rotary has sponsored this through Community Service in the past. We

have been invited to this luncheon to learn more about the program.

RAIS is thrilled along with Anchorage Community Land Trust to invite you to Grow North Farm, a new incubator space for local food and emerging entrepreneurs. Come visit the farm and join us for our first ever Pop-Up Restaurant in a true farm-to-table experience. All the food is locally grown with organic methods, by refugee farmers, and supports their self-sufficiency! Refugee farmers will be selling produce and cottage foods at the event. Take a tour of the farm, enjoy your lunch, and meet Mt. View’s newest business owners.

Friday, August 2, 2019
Location: Grow North Farm; 3601 Mountain View Dr.
Time & Date: 11:30 AM – 1:30 PM on Friday, August 2

Lunch is by pre-order only. Diners are welcome to enjoy their lunch on-site picnic-style or take their lunches home. This will be open to the public and we welcome you to come out for a visit!

Visit the link below to reserve your spot now!

https://www.cssalaska.org/get-involved/upcoming-events/rais-pop-up-lunch/

Community Service Committee Meeting Recap

Posted by Rich Dyson

Community Service Committee Co-Chairs Mark Schmeling and Rich Dyson held a meeting of the of the committee on July 16^th.Present were:President Charlotte Tharp, Christian Deykes, Heather Flynn, Gateway Rotary President Ron Fassett, Gateway Rotary Community Service Chair Owen Carey

Community Service Projects from the previous Rotary year were discussed and it was agreed that AER would continue the Mobile Food Pantry, DOT Highway Clean-up, reading at Baxter Elementary, Nordic Ski Association Solstice Tree Tour, Walk for Hope hydration station, Garden Boxes, English Camp, and Community Grants.

Discussion also included participating in the Food Bank of Alaska’s Thanksgiving Blessing in November and the GIFT program in December, however, there was a general sentiment that perhaps these two projects could be supplanted by food basket donations to individual families through the Gateway Rotary tradition at Mountain View and Muldoon Elementary in November and a Senior Giving Tree program in December.

It was proposed that Gateway Rotarians and Anchorage East Rotarians could partner in each other’s reading programs at Baxter and Muldoon Elementary Schools.

Gateway Rotary is also looking into participation with the Refugee Assistance and Immigration Services (RAIS) program in Mountain View by supporting gardening for low income residents.This could be a hands-on project for both Rotary clubs but also some donations are needed to purchase fruit trees.

The next highway clean-up will be scheduled for the end of July according to a message received by Bruce Phelps, however, we have received a request from Jet Blue employees to partner on this project on August 14^th.This could be an added clean-up session or in lieu of the July session.

Community Grant applications will be accepted for the Community Service Committee review and selection three times during the Rotary year.The first deadline for submission will be September 30^th and members will be asked to spread the word to organizations seeking grants.

The meeting adjourned with an agreement that the next meeting should be in September.

Rotary Exchange Update

Posted by Katie Johnson

Anchorage East Rotary Welcomes Gabi Muniz!!

Our bright and shiny new exchange student is here. Gabi arrived August 2nd and spent last week in Orientation. Gabi is open for adventures. Her areas of interest include horses, flying, snowboarding (ok, I know this one is a ways out), and movies. Beyond that I repeat my statement that teenagers love to eat, not all activities have to be fancy. Gabi is a funny, intelligent, and enthusiastic young woman. She lives in the West school zone.

Gabi in the scavenger hunt demonstrating "Be thankful."

Nina (Germany), Samantha (Peru), Gabi (Brazil), Kt, Max (Poland) enjoying lunch at Alyeska.

Other Rotary Youth Exchange (RYE) News

Last weekend (August 3^rd and 4^th) Heather Flynn, Rich Dyson and Katie Johnson hosted youth exchange students from Juneau while they were in route to Orientation. They had a blast showing off the Anchorage area. Thank you for hosting our jet-lagged friends!

Changing of the Guard Photos!

We had a wonderful Changing of the Guard Ceremony on June 26th! Thanks to Mary Rohlfing for these photos of smiling Rotarians!

AER Visioning Session

The photographs below were provided by Michelle Tabler illustrating some of the work that went on during the recent AER visioning session.

How to Create a "My Rotary Account"

Posted by Gideon Garcia on Aug 09, 2015

Easy instructions on how to set up your own account on the Rotary International website.

Early Bird Registration for 2020 RI Convention

Posted by Craig and Ruth Ann

The last day to get the special Early Bird registration ($55 off the regular online rate for each person) is this coming Wednesday, June 5th. This needs to be publicized so that every Club member who plans to attend next year's RI Convention in Honolulu gets in gear and signs up ASAP. Also, be sure to join the Flying Rotarian (IFFR) fellowship, which is free at the moment, to get in on the really good group rate deal at the Convention hotel. More details to follow. https://www.riconvention.org/en/honolulu

East High Interact Ready for 2019/2020

Posted by Karen Smith

The East High Interact Club is already gearing up for the 2019/ 2020 school year. Teacher advisor Kim Liland and students were presented with next year's banner by President Paul this week. The students represent the future for Rotary International. When we have their meeting dates for next year, we'll reach out for support from our supportive AER members.

Baxter Elementary Awards AER

Posted by Paul Paslay

On May 8, Craig Bledsoe and Paul Paslay attended a school assembly at Baxter Elementary at which our club received this award for participating in the garden box project and in the reading project at this school.

West High Interact Changing of the Guard

Posted by Karen Smith

It was Election Day at Interact West High on Tuesday this week. A fond farewell to the outgoing board of Seniors and a celebration for our 2019/2020 members! Their understanding of Rotary and its mission was impressive. Volunteers are always welcome, so mark your calendars for the fall!

Water Filter Project

Posted by Sandra Wicks

More adventures with water filters in Mexico and Kennewick, WA.

Last November, while I was in Puerto Vallarta, my friends at the Puerto Vallarta Sur Rotary Club put me in touch with the Tepic Paraiso Rotary Club in Tepic, Nayarit. I made a trip to Tepic to meet the members of the Tepic Paraiso Rotary Club and learned they were starting a water filter program for indigenous communities in the mountains and would like more filters to distribute.

In January, Bruce and I took 30 water filters to Mexico with us and delivered them to the Tepic Paraiso Rotary Club. This Wednesday I will be presenting to our club about the very interesting day we had with this water filter delivery. In addition to our filters, we also helped deliver water filters purchased with funds from a Kennewick, WA, Rotary Club.

On our recent trip in Washington and British Columbia, we attended a session of the Columbia Center Rotary Club in Kennewick, WA, and showed them the PowerPoint of the day we spent with Tepic Paraiso Rotary Club delivering ours and their water filters. We also attended the Kennewick club’s International Service Committee meeting and explained about the water filters in more detail than was possible during the Rotary meeting.

The pictures below are just a few illustrations of our recent Rotary experiences with water filters. The first two pictures are from our water filter distribution in Nayarit. The ladies in white are members of the Tepic Paraiso Rotary Club waiting to help assemble the water filters. The other two are from my presentation to the Kennewick, WA, Columbia Center Rotary Club. Hopefully you will be able to attend our regular Rotary meeting on Wednesday to see the PowerPoint and hear the stories. More adventures with water filters in international service.

East High Interact Club

Posted by Rich Dyson

President Paul listens as Karen Smith presents a video and information about Rotary and Interact to the East High Interact Club on April 8th.

The East High Interact Club is growing in numbers! On April 8th, the students heard a presentation on Rotary’s involvement in Hurricane Katrina recovery.

Garden Box Project This Weekend

Posted by Paul Paslay

Our club has joined with other Rotary clubs to obtain a district grant to build garden boxes at elementary schools in the Anchorage area. This Saturday, April 6, from about 10a to noon or so, we shall construct the remaining boxes so they are ready to place when the snow is gone.

We are meeting at the home of Amy Mackey-Hornak, president of Anchorage South Rotary and the leader of this joint club project. Her address is 16400 Saint James Circle, Anchorage. Please bring

clothes for the weather, work gloves, safety glasses, ear protection and battery-operated screw guns with a T20 tip. Feel free to bring bagels or donuts to share or even pizza. It'll be fun!

West High Interact Backpack Project

Posted by Jeff Blake and Chris Wolpert

President Paul Paslay and Past-President Jeff Blake attended the West High Interact Club meeting on Tuesday this week where they worked with Interactors to prepare backpacks for homeless students. The backpacks will be distributed by West High School. All told, 16 backpacks were put together.

Baxter Elementary Thank-You

As a thank-you to the many Anchorage East Rotarians who have volunteered at Baxter Elementary School in support of their ongoing reading project, the students gave to us this very thoughtful and unique thank-you note. Thank you to President Paul for providing the note.

Rondy Rotary Beer Fest Summary

Posted by Adam Sikorski

Hello fellow Rotarians of Anchorage East! Beer Czar here with a recap of the 2019 Rondy Rotary Beer Festival!

On Saturday, 2/16/19 Anchorage East officially launched the 2019 Fur Rendezvous Winter Festival with a celebration of Alaska’s culture and history. Approximately 50 volunteers from Anchorage East, South, Hillside, and other organizations showed up to put on the Rondy Rotary Beer Festival to raise funds for organizations in Alaska that fight human trafficking.

With 22 breweries participating, 6 restaurants donating pizza, and 4 additional restaurants donating unique food pairings specific to this event, the 2019 Rondy Rotary Beer Festival was a fully supported event for the community. Ticket sales were flat this year, but we were able to raise more funds than last year due to the support and generosity of our corporate sponsors.

Thank you to everyone who supported the event financially, as a volunteer, as a core team member who spent the past year working to make this event happen, and who have offered your moral support and encouragement. As a result of everyone coming together, we are able to support the efforts of organizations that quite literally save the lives of victims who are trapped in slavery.

As the creator and leader of this event, it means the world to me to see so much support from our club, other clubs, and the community as a whole. From the bottom of my heart, and on behalf of those not yet fortunate enough to be able to express gratitude, THANK YOU!

Interact Club Activities

Posted by Karen Smith & Paul Paslay

Our newly inducted East High Interact board has taken on a project within its first week. They are crocheting wool blankets for the Pioneer Home in downtown Anchorage. The board has members joining at lunch and after school to finish the blankets and hoping to deliver them in the coming month. You will see a familiar face, our Exchange Student Adam, as the Communications Director. The group is led by teacher advisor, Kim Liland and it's obvious they have a lot of fun!

The West High Interact Club has decided to support homeless students at West and other places. We thought of the idea of asking Harry Kieling, our past District Governor, to donate some backpacks from the Rotary Cares For Kids program he started while he was DG. During our Feb. 19 meeting, he brought 16 backpacks to the club meeting. Each backpack had some items in them like a blanket and some toiletries. The club members are talking to Target to get gift cards and talking with the school Parent Teacher Student Association for help to supply each backpack with a water bottle and a West High t-shirt.

East High Students Attending RYLA

Posted by Karen Smith

Juneau bound!

Levi and Pang, both Interact East High School students, are AER's scholarship recipients for RYLA, being held in Juneau, March 7, 2019 through March 10, 2019. They completed their applications, answered questions and were interviewed by Justin Mills and Karen Smith to receive the top honors. Way to go Levi and Pang and we can't wait to hear about your leadership adventures with chaperone Marjorie Poggas.

Short-Term Exchange Program (STEP)

Posted by Karen Smith

The Short-term Exchange Program (STEP) through District 5010 application process closes February 28th!

Rotary Short Term Exchange presents opportunities for students to advance their knowledge and world understanding by allowing them to live abroad for a brief time over the summer. Students live with one host family in the destination country for one month in the summer, under the sponsorship of their local Rotary Club. This is a true exchange program because the host brother/sister from abroad will also spend a month with the participating student in his/her home in Alaska during the same summer.

Do you have someone in mind? Click here for more information and application process.

Take Me Out To The Ball Game!

Posted by Carolyn Jones

It’s a little early to think about baseball but it’s never too early to think about improving Rotary’s public image in our communities. District 5010 and the Rotary Clubs of Anchorage East, Hillside, International and Russian Jack have combined to enhance Rotary’s image with the local baseball fans. [Rotarians Greg Solomon, Mike Bridges and Carolyn Jones also tossed a little money into the pot and Greg donated his graphic design skills to make this work.] This Rotary partnership cut a great deal with the Anchorage Glacier Pilots summer league college baseball team.

When Mulcahy Stadium opens in May and throughout the summer of 2019, every baseball fan who comes to the park for a high school game, an American Legion game or an Alaska Baseball League game, or any other event, will see an 8’ x 16’ outfield billboard promoting Rotary in the Anchorage community. The contract with the Glacier Pilots also gets us a full-page color ad on the outside back cover of the Pilots baseball program, the Rotary wheel and logo on the reverse side of admission tickets; 54 radio PSAs and promo spots at all the Pilots home games. We will tell the Rotary story from End Polio Now to highlighting local projects of the participating clubs.

And that’s not all! The district and participating clubs will share 300 general admission tickets, 10 season’s passes to all regular Alaska Baseball League games and 4 season box seat tickets. Each participating club may use its share of these tickets as the club chooses: sell/auction them off as a fundraiser, give them away to local students or whatever. And, finally, the district and participating clubs will have the opportunity to host a Rotary Night at the ball park, share in the Split The Pot proceeds, and offer discount ticket/food packages to its members.

This is an amazing partnership with the Anchorage Glacier Pilots. Rotary will be supporting a local nonprofit that showcases future MLB talent; helps develop local baseball talent and provides healthy summer entertainment to the baseball fan and Anchorage community. Not only will Rotary’s public image be enhanced by this partnership, but there are so many ways that the participating clubs can promote fellowship amongst their members and the other participating clubs.

It is a win-win for everyone!

Play ball!

West High Interact News

Posted by Karen Smith

District Governor Diane Fejes visited our Interact Club at West High School on January 29th along with committee members to discuss the club's next service project. Their focus is homeless youth and invited guests from the community to discuss their non-profits and needs from the community. These kids are future leaders. Governor Fejes was so impressed once again and will be visiting in the near future to provide support.

East High Interact News

Posted by Karen Smith

The students of the East High Interact Club had a special visitor Monday, January 29, 2019 - District Governor, Diane Fejes. Diane encouraged them to continue their good deeds and be the inspiration globally. The club was also presented with their Presidential Award of Excellence honoring their service in the year 2018. They reached the bronze level, exceeding over 300 hours of community service. The club meets Mondays at lunch, 10:40am for 45 minutes. Rotarians are always welcome. As they build their club, support is critical.

Keeping Clubrunner Data Current

Posted by Chris Wolpert

The Communications Committee is encouraging everyone to review your information on Clubrunner and update anything that has changed. If you've changed jobs, retired, moved, changed phone numbers or email addresses, or perhaps you'd like a new photo uploaded, chances are you've got a few things to update. Please take a few minutes and make the necessary changes. If you're not quite sure how to do this, feel free to send clear information to Chris Wolpert and he will be glad to update your Clubrunner information.