At the luncheon meeting on January 9:
- Bill Ure is happy to return to Anchorage with a new hip. He praised the Mayo clinic in Scottsdale for their fine work. He also thanked Sally Archer for her assistance in setting up luncheon programs in his absence.
- Bill Faulkner mentioned his wife now has a shiny new hip joint.
- Shirley Nelson announced that the Baxter Elementary School Reading Project continues the next day, January 10, from 9:15a – 10:30a.
- Our member Justin Mills is involved in our club’s RYLA program this year. He held a drawing from Adam Sikorski’s hat and Marjorie Poggas was chosen to be a chaperone at the event.
- Adam Sikorski, our Beer Czar, gave an update about the Beer Fest which will be February 16. I thought I heard him say there may be a wait list for tickets, and we might be looking at a sellout. Way to go, Adam!
- Paul McGuire auctioned off the No Fine Button to Bill Ure for the balance of January for $70. We have decided to go back to a monthly drawing for the NFB. Keep in mind you can delegate to others if you buy it and are unable to attend any given lunch.
- Sheila Lomboy, our co-chair for membership, introduced her guest, Ligia Luton, a commercial banker.
- Before the meeting I spoke briefly with Reed Smith, who is head of the Anchorage Opera. There is an upcoming Opera event, and we may be able to get singers to entertain us once or twice.
- Dave Hoffman introduced his friend Matt McDaniel, who may be making his third visit to our club.
- Tom Turner was pleased to see his friend Alan is a guest. Alan was a “can man” who got Tom into the recycling business. Alan is presently a member of the Soldotna club and he gave us a banner. Tom praised Alan’s poker playing skills
- Anne Adasiak-Andrew (aka Triple A) thanked Rich, Katie, Kelly and others who have assisted her family as the host family for our exchange student Adam.
- I announced that the club members should keep Adam in their thoughts when we plan events. Adam was present and he was happy to say he now has a season pass to Alyeska and would be happy to go skiing there!
- Christian Deykes, co-chair of the Community Service Committee, announced the Mobile Food Pantry which is happening this coming Saturday.
- We sang happy birthday to fellow Rotarians and ate a cake from The Cake Lady.
- Our speaker Scott McMurren, travel expert, gave an informative talk. A few takeaways for me were: 1) When the airlines are at war with one another (such as Alaska vs. Delta), the consumer wins; 2) “Earn and burn” your airmiles because over time they become less valuable; 3) The “Global Entry Card” is a good deal; 4) Always bring a headlamp because the overhead light might be burned out.
- Bob Cox, chairman of the Foundation committee, and Dan Newman, our auctioneer for the upcoming January 19 Foundation auction, talked about the auction.
At other times during the week:
- On Thursday, Rich Dyson, Shirley Nelson and I went to Baxter Elementary and spent an hour in classrooms helping the students improve reading skills. The target number of people for this project is 6 per week, to meet the demand from the teachers. Please consider joining this group.
- On Saturday a number of members showed up for a cold version of the Mobile Food Pantry. Included were (I know I am forgetting some names) Gideon Garcia and his daughter, Reed Smith, Gretchen Klein (who may be moving back to Anchorage), Ventis Plume, yours truly, Rebecca Sentner, Christian Deykes, Duff Pfanner, Bob Cox, Dave Kester, Dave Hoffman and his grandson, and Shirley Nelson). We had an enormous volume of milk and bread, and although we moved a lot of it, there was a bunch to go back to the Food Bank.
- On Monday evening, the Foundation Committee met about final details for the Foundation auction this coming January 19. Present included Charlotte Tharp, Barbara Swenson, Lance Wilber, Woody Angst, Michelle Engelke, Bill Ure, Dave Kester, Karen Smith, Carolyn Jones, yours truly and Lynn Shaver. This will be a great event, and I was impressed with the fellowship and teamship that develops among the committee members as the event comes together.
- On Monday morning, the East High Interact Club met under the new guidance of Kim Liland, a teacher who leads many groups in the school. Karen Smith and I attended. There were about 12 students present. Karen gave a talk about what is Interact and spoke about the upcoming RYLA program. We are sponsoring 2 students for RYLA and Karen invited students present to consider applying. I saw at least one student who looked interested. Karen also presented Mrs. Liland with a check from our club for $1000, which will be deposited in the club’s account for use with necessary expenses.
- On Tuesday morning, Jeff Blake, Karen Smith and I attended the West High Interact Club. About 14 students and the teacher advisor John Ruhlin were present. Karen handed out a sign-up sheet for 8 students who might want to help at the Beer Fest. This meeting was spent with team building exercises including “Scategories” and “Speed Dating”.