October 2018
S	M	T	W	T	F	S
30	01	02	03	04	05	06
07	08	09	10	11	12	13
14	15	16	17	18	19	20
21	22	23	24	25	26	27
28	29	30	31	01	02	03

Tabitha Karpow

Oct 24, 2018

Young Professionals Group

Club Assembly Followed by a Board Meeting

Oct 31, 2018

Stuart Leidner

Nov 07, 2018

Mat Su Trails Foundation

Salli, our Youth Exchange Student

Nov 14, 2018

Living in South Korea and her experience as an Exchange Student

Robert Hall

Nov 21, 2018

Rotary Foundation Planned Giving

Club Assembly Followed by a Board Meeting

Nov 28, 2018

Matt Pogirski

Dec 05, 2018

Cyber Currency

Mayor Bert Cottle

Dec 12, 2018

What's happening in Wasilla

Susitna Rotary Holiday Party

Dec 19, 2018

No Meeting

Dec 26, 2018

Happy New Year

Tom Wilder

Jan 09, 2019

Home Land Security...and a little about Active Shooter Training

Patrick Durand

Jan 16, 2019

Engine #557 Restoration

Club Assembly Followed by a Board Meeting

Jan 30, 2019

Club Assembly Followed by a Board Meeting

Feb 27, 2019

Club Assembly Followed by a Board Meeting

Mar 27, 2019

View entire list...

Weekly Club Meeting - Extreme Fun Center
Extreme Fun Center

Oct 24, 2018
6:00 PM – 7:00 PM
The Italian Job
Evangelo's Restaurant

Oct 27, 2018 6:00 PM
Weekly Club Meeting - Extreme Fun Center
Extreme Fun Center

Oct 31, 2018
6:00 PM – 7:00 PM
Weekly Club Meeting - Extreme Fun Center
Extreme Fun Center

Nov 07, 2018
6:00 PM – 7:00 PM
Let's Go to the Movies 2018
Valley Cinema

Nov 10, 2018
Weekly Club Meeting - Extreme Fun Center
Extreme Fun Center

Nov 14, 2018
6:00 PM – 7:00 PM
Weekly Club Meeting - Extreme Fun Center
Extreme Fun Center

Nov 21, 2018
6:00 PM – 7:00 PM
Weekly Club Meeting - Extreme Fun Center
Extreme Fun Center

Nov 28, 2018
6:00 PM – 7:00 PM
Weekly Club Meeting - Extreme Fun Center
Extreme Fun Center

Dec 05, 2018
6:00 PM – 7:00 PM
Weekly Club Meeting - Extreme Fun Center
Extreme Fun Center

Dec 12, 2018
6:00 PM – 7:00 PM

Links

Josh The Baby Otter

Susitna Rotary on FACEBOOK

Kiva small cap loans

Donors Choose

Rotary International

RI President Home

Rotary Global Rewards

Joining Rotary

Rotary History

Rotary Foundation

For New Members

Monthly Program Chair

Monthly Program Chair Coordinator

Membership and New Club Development Month - August

Basic Education and Literacy Month - September

Economic and Community Development Month - October

The Rotary Foundation - November

Disease Prevention and Treatment Month - December

Maternal and Child Health Month - April

Youth Service Month - May

Bulletin Editor

Bulletin Editor (mentor)

Erickson, Kim

Bulletin Editor

Kochendorfer, Cathy

Bulletin Editor

Standley, Liz

Talk October 17th: Heather Handyside - GCI

Heather Handyside

As the senior director of corporate communications and lead spokesperson at GCI, Heather Handyside is responsible for protecting and promoting the telecom company’s reputation in Alaska and in its growing nationwide markets. She is responsible for answering the tough questions as well as finding new and innovative ways to tell GCI’s Alaska-born-and-raised story. Before joining the GCI team, Heather served as press secretary for US Senator Mark Begich, deputy municipal manager for the Municipality of Anchorage, and as Anchorage’s director of homeland security and emergency management. During the presentation, Heather will share the story of GCI—Alaska’s largest telecommunications and technology provider—and how the company grew from a 3-person start-up to a 2,200 employee company serving more than 240 communities statewide.

ROTARY UNCORKED: What a Night!

2018 Rotary Uncorked

Wow! What a night! For those who were there, it was a fun night full of great food and drinks and wonderful friends who were there to donate through silent/live auctions to Our House and Rotary. More pictures to follow!

The Italian Job

Please "Save the Date" & RSVP for our second annual fundraiser for the Rotary E-Club & Susitna Rotary Club. Last year you enjoyed "The French Connection"! This year we carry the theme of "The Italian Job" with a Mediterranean flair! Once again, each ticket qualifies for a raffle prize with the Grand Prize one week trip to the vineyards of Tuscany (air fare not included).

We are providing all attendees from last year a two week opportunity for advance ticket purchase before we go public with sales! Don't delay your reservation as we are strictly limited to 60 couples.

If you have any questions or wish to reserve, please contact Cheryl Metiva @ 907-315-9920 or clmetiva@gmail.com

2018-2019 Member Education and Information (ME) Program

Susitna Rotary Club's Member Education and Information Program

(“ME” Talks)

A fun and informative program to acquaint new members with Rotary and each other. Rotarians from other local clubs are encouraged to join us! Click to download flyer.

ME is a program to provide fellowship and Rotary information for new and experienced Rotary members. Rotarians from all area clubs are invited to attend.

ME meetings are short, 30-minute informal gatherings held September through April on the first Thursday of the month. Club firesides and other social events are also scheduled throughout the year to increase the fellowship among members while learning more about Rotary.

ME Meetings:

Mat-Su Family Restaurant For more information contact:

401 W Parks Highway Kim Erickson cell 907-223-8385

Wasilla, AK 99654 kim.erickson@greatlandlaser.com

1^st Thursday of the month (Sep – Apr) Liz Standley cell 360-739-1124

7:00am – 7:30am liznrich@bellsouth.net

Complimentary coffee and juice

No host breakfast available off the menu

Membership Education and Social Event Schedule:

Month	Topic	Type of Meeting
Late Fall/Winter 2018 (Saturday)	New Member Orientation - Red Ribbon tasks followed by club fireside	Fireside – location TBD
September 6, 2018	Rotary Basics	ME
October 4, 2018	The Rotary Foundation: Worldwide Projects	ME
November 1, 2018	The Rotary Foundation: Giving	ME
December 6, 2018	Rotary Awareness and Public Relations	ME
December TBD (Saturday)	Club Holiday Party	Fireside – location TBD
January 3, 2019	Community Service Projects	ME
February 7, 2019	Water Safety Projects	ME
March 7, 2019	Youth “Next Gen” Service Projects	ME
April 4, 2019	Rotary Conferences	ME
June TBD, 2019 (Saturday)	Lil Su River Clean-up followed by a club BBQ	BBQ – Lil Su River

Rylee Rudd

Posted by Cathy Kochendorfer

Please congratulate Rylee Rudd for her receiving the Paul Harris Fellow certificate and pin!

The Paul Harris Fellow program recognizes individuals who contribute, or who have contributions made in their name, of $1,000 to The Rotary Foundation of Rotary International.

The honor was established in 1957 to show appreciation for contributions that support our Annual Fund, PolioPlus, or an approved Foundation grant.

Thank you Rylee for your dedication and support!

Rotary Foundation Receives Highest Rating from Charity Navigator

For the 10th consecutive year, The Rotary Foundation has received the highest rating — four stars — from Charity Navigator, an independent evaluator of charities in the U.S.

In the most recent ratings, the Foundation earned the maximum of 100 points for demonstrating both strong financial health and commitment to accountability and transparency.

In a letter to the Foundation, Charity Navigator notes that "only 1 percent of the charities we evaluate have received at least 10 consecutive 4-star evaluations, indicating that The Rotary Foundation outperforms other charities in America. This exceptional designation from Charity Navigator sets The Rotary Foundation apart from its peers and demonstrates to the public its trustworthiness."

The rating reflects Charity Navigator's assessment of how the Foundation uses donations, sustains its programs and services, and practices good governance and openness.

Rotary make-up with the District 5010 E Club

Rotary make-ups are fun and a great way to meet other Rotarians from around the world.

Rotarians can attend meetings at any club. If you would like to attend an online meeting, consider making up with the Rotary EClub of District 5010. Click the following link to visit their website and do a make-up (under "meetings" tab): http://www.rotaryeclub5010.org/Stories/welcome-to-our-new-website.

The Rotary eClub of District 5010, Alaska-Yukon, was co-sponsored by the Susitna Rotary Club and Anchorage International Rotary Club.

A bit of history about e-clubs... the first web based Rotary club was Rotary E-Club One, chartered January 4, 2002.

We Are All One Rotary

Wasilla Sunrise Club meets at 7:00am on Tuesdays in the Jack White/Meridian Points Bldg located at 865 N Seward Meridian Pkwy, Wasilla 99687

Wasilla Rotary Club meets at 12:00pm on Wednesdays at the The Grill in the Grand View Inn & Suites, 2900 Parks Hwy, Wasilla 99654

Palmer Rotary Club meets at 12:00pm on Thursdays at Turkey Red, 550 S. Alaska St., Suite 100, Palmer AK 99645

Eagle River Rotary Club has two meetings on Thursdays of each week:

Morning: 7:00am at Bear Mountain Grill, 12300 Old Glenn, Eagle River, AK 99577

Noon: 12:00pm at Piccolino's, 12801 Old Glenn, Eagle River, AK 99577

Click here for a map and list of all the club meeting times in District 5010.

Float 4 Life

Float 4 Life now being offered in the Mat-Su Valley at Palmer Pool, AK Club & Swim AK. Certified Instructors and Mama Otter (Claire Horton) will be teaching the infant swim recovery skill 6 mos-4 yrs. at the AK Club. Please be sure your child is trained in case they accidentally fall in the water. They will know to roll to their back & float like Josh the Baby Otter!

Thank you Mama Otter!

Please Welcome Sally our New Susitna Rotary Exchange Student

Sally seems to be fitting well here in Alaska! She will be staying with Lanissa and Rob Grogan, then Cheryl and Marty Metiva and last, but certainly not least, Dan and Lisa Phillips. Thank you host families so much for your support and sponsorship for this wonderful cause!

Results of 2018 Volunteer Sign-ups!

Posted by Cathy Kochendorfer on Aug 02, 2018

Here are the results of our sign-up sheet for 2018-2019 Volunteers! Great job everyone.

Susitna Rotary receives 2018 Rotary Water Safety Advocacy Awards

The Joshua Collingsworth Memorial Foundation is pleased to announce the 2017-2018 Rotary Water Safety Advocacy Award Winners. Clubs were invited to submit nominations that included a description of their Josh the Otter Water Safety and Awareness program along with successes and outcomes. One Rotarian shared the following with her club’s nomination: “I’m happy to be part of a program that teaches kids about an important and life-saving topic in such an engaging and exciting way. This is one of the most rewarding things we get to do as Rotarians”.

The following eleven clubs were selected this year to receive the award:

Rotary Club of Emerald City in South Carolina
Rotary Club of Engelwood in Florida
Rotary Club of Kerrville in Texas
Rotary Club of Laurens in South Carolina
Rotary Club of Northwest Des Moines in Iowa
Rotary Club of Sarasota in Florida
Rotary Club of Susitna in Wasilla, Alaska
Rotary Club of Lake Wylie in South Carolina
Rotary Club of Longboat Key in Florida
Lincoln East Rotary Club in Nebraska
Vero Beach Oceanside Rotary Club in Florida

Paul DeMello Donates Life Jacket Loaner Board

Paul Demello, who spoke at Rotary last week, decided to help our local community by donating a Life Jacket Loaner Board for Lake Prator. Paul's foundation Just Against Children Drowning plays an important role for us as well as other families with pools in Florida by donating and building fences around them to prevent drownings. Thank you Paul!

Float 4 Life Results

Posted by Claire Horton

A BIG THANKS GOES OUT to everyone who took part in the Float 4 Life!

Instructor training with Jodi Sheets, ISA instructor. Jodi very graciously offered her training for free in exchange for a trip to Alaska for she & her husband, Paul.

We were able to work with three pools in the Valley to provide over 15 hours of pool training and four full days of Jodi's time. Facility certifications will be issued to:

Alaska Club- Thanks to Jessica Hamilton,club manager & Jared Schmidt, pool director
Palmer Pool- Thanks to Tim Pickard, Director
Swim Alaska- Thanks to Tinamarie, Owner

THANKS to the following 14 volunteers who worked with Jodi in the pool to learn the lifesaving swim recovery skill for infants:

Alaska Club- Danielle*, Brett*, Denisha*, Sam, Jared, Kim Erickson (Susitna Rotary), Jessica/observed
Palmer Pool- Aurora*, Ruthie*, Sandy*, Felicity* (daughter of Susitna Rotary member Jack Timm), Tim/observed
Swim Alaska- Tinamarie, Emmy

*Instructors who received individual certifications as an Infant Swim of America (ISA) Instructor

THANKS also to our pool side support that gave direction and moral support to parent volunteers as we worked with 4 to 5 different children every 15mins:

Linda Conover/Susitna Rotary-lead volunteer on deck + created & sent out the signupgenius for participants
Linda Brewer/Denali Refuse Staff performing "other duties as assigned" by Mama Otter
Catherine Inman/Susitna Rotary
Liz & Rich Stanley/Susitna Rotary
Eddie Ezelle/Susitna Rotary
Katie Philips/daughter of Rotary members, Dan & Lisa Philips

THANKS to Rylee Rudd for taking care of our Alaskan gift for Jodi to take back to Lincoln, NE.

THANKS to our parents who graciously volunteered their precious 1 to 3yr old children for instructors to be trained. We had 140 slots (15 minutes each) filled up with 1 to 3 year old's.

THANKS to the entire community for making this event possible & coming together in a joint effort to teach Water Safety to our kids.

We hope to continue this joint effort to save lives...one child at a time!

MY BIGGEST THANKS goes out to Jodi Sheets, my mentor. "You Rock!!" None of this would have been possible without you. Thank you from the bottom of my heart for the difference you will make in our community.

I think it was a huge success and we are looking forward to being able to offer Float 4 Life! classes here in the Valley. Our Susitna Rotary Club is anxious to help in any way we can to prevent drownings in our community. Please let us know as soon as you have a plan for classes so we can keep the momentum going. Josh the Otter can help to market the classes for you.

We still have over 30 parents with 1-3yr olds on a waiting list. This would be a great opportunity to offer a couple more sessions so new instructor can practice this lifesaving skill while it is still fresh. I will be contacting each pool to see if we can work out a time for these parents.

With heartfelt thanks to all,

Claire Horton, Mama Otter

907-362-2727

Susitna Rotary

NOTE: Check out this web site justagainstchildrendrowning.org Paul Demello, the founder will be the speaker for our Susitna Rotary meeting! Please join us 6-7pm, Wed July 11^th at Extreme Fun Center Sky Lounge for his inspirational talk!

2017-2018 Water Safety Volunteer Hours

Susitna Rotary Club made a big impact on our community during the past Rotary year with a particular emphasis on water safety. Here's peek at the statistics for the Josh the Otter school programs. Another 44 hours were spent maintaining the Kids Don't Float kiosks. Pool sessions were also held teaching young children basic water safety. Finally, countless hours were spent planning, organizing, and tracking all these activities. For instance, Cathy Kochendorfer alone spent 40 hours over six weeks on the scheduling.

A $6,500 district grant was received from Rotary District 5010 to help pay for these programs. Past President Chuck Foster is compiling information for the final grant report due June 30th. Please email Chuck at cfoster176@gmail.com with any information you have documenting expenses, volunteer hours, and kids served.

Thank you to the many volunteers that helped make children in our community safer around the water.

Josh the Otter- Water Safety Presentations to all Kindergarten classes in the Mat-Su Borough

School	Students	Volunteer/Rotarian	Volunteer/non-Rotarian	Hours
Larson	75	3	1	4
Snowshoe	58	3	1	4
Machetanz	76	3		3
Cottonwood	75	3	1	4
willow	25	2	1	3
Trapper creek	35	2	1	3
Talkeetna	35	2	1	3
Meadowlakes	57	3		3
Big Lake	68	4	1	5
Swanson #1	80	5		5
Swanson #2	80	5		5
Shaw	100	2	2	4
Academy	26	2	1	3
Fronteras	40	3	2	5
Fingerlake	57	3		3
Sutton	19	3		3
Iditarod	80	4		4
Midnight Sun	66	4		4
Wasilla Lake	30	3		3
Butte	75	3		3
Goosebay	100	4		4
Tanaina	62	4		4
American Charter	30	3		3
Lady of Valley	22	3		3
Alaska Club 1	45	6		15
Alaska Club 2	45	5		12.5
Alaska Club 3	45	8		20
Palmer	50	9		27
TOTAL	1556	104	12	162.5	Hours

2018 Little Su Classic - Fun in the Sun!

What does it take to have a perfect Little Su Classic? Sunshine, canoes, kayaks, life jackets, sun screen, BBQ and lots of smiles!

Everything came together last Saturday for a fun day picking up trash and enjoying the beauty of the Little Su River. Jack Timm, with help from Kathy Kochendorfer, coordinated the outing. Jack made the swift-flowing river safer by taking out "sweeper logs" the week before and giving direction the day of the event. Kathy Kochendorfer arranged transportation for floaters PLUS donated and prepared 80 lbs of chick for the BBQ.

Kelly Tothe from the Alaska Office of Boating and Safety came out to see us off and provide any needed life jackets. The Swift Water Safety Rescue Team accompanied us again and was immediately put to work when one of the vessels swamped early in the float. Fortunately, no one was injured and all gear was eventually recovered.

Phil Horton/Denali Refuse provided a flatbed truck to transport all the kayaks and canoes to the starting point then later hauled away the trash that was collected.

Eddie Ezelle/Mat-Su Food Bank donated all the paper products and, with the help from the fine BBQ skills of John Mitchell, cooked all the food.

Cathy K., Claudia Buzard, and Dan Phillips provided transportation from the Houston bridge park to the starting point at 3 Bees Gravel Pit.

Cheryl and Marty Metiva made the sweep through the 3 Bees Gravel Pit to pick up the extra vehicles and signs.

Liz Standley, Lanissa Grogan, Lynn Mitchell, Trudi Mitchell, and Dan Phillips made up the rest of the shore crew. Dan recorded the event on video. Watch out for that drone, Lanissa!

Lisa Phillips, once again, captured the essence of the day in photos. Click to see the full photo album.

Everyone brought a side dish to accompany the delicious BBQ chicken and, thanks to Kim Erickson (at the bequest of Evelyna), there was peach cobbler and homemade ice cream for dessert.

Floaters:

Jack and Kathy Timm, Phil and Claire Horton, Rob Grogan and Rich Standley, Lisa Phillips and Kim Erickson, Kelly Kochendorfer, Evelyna Kuhr, Daun Weis (Wasilla Rotary Club President-elect) and Mark, Clyde Boyer and Clyde Boyer, Jr., and several new friends that learned about the event via Facebook: Victoria and Jessica; Derek, Amanda, Theresa, and Ricky; Mark and Michelle (hope I got those all names correct).

Thanks to the generosity of Robert Hall, the two youngest (but clearly experienced) paddlers won a $250 gift certificate to Gorilla Fireworks for picking up the most trash. Congratulations to Victoria and Jessica!

2018 Kiva Update

Thanks to Kathy Timm, Susitna Rotary made a loan to Suwariyah in Tangerang, Indonesia last week to build a clean water sources facility at her home to improve access to water sources for the family.

Suwariyah's story

Good day lenders! Meet one of KBMI’s clients, Suwariyah. She is 50 years old and married with four sons. Suwariyah is a housewife and she looks after her four children. Her husband has had a grocery shop in the Tangerang District for seven years. Her husband is the only breadwinner in the family. Still, their income is barely enough to provide for their basic needs. They would like to improve their living conditions and create a happy and healthy life for their children.

Suwariyah has asked for a loan of 600,000 Indonesian rupiahs (IDR) from KBMI. This loan will be used to build a clean water sources facility at her home to improve access to water sources for the family. Today her family has no access to a water source in their home and must rely on the river for bathing. Her family income is insufficient to build water sources but Suwariyah will be able to repay the loan received.

She and her family want to live a healthy life with clean water. Suwariyah is very grateful for the opportunity and wants to thank all lenders.

This loan is special because:

It helps prevent the spread of disease by providing access to clean drinking water and sanitation.

Josh in Mexico!

Posted by Cathy Kochendorfer

Kids Don't Float - Kiosks are Stocked!

Thank you to Jack and Cathy Timm, Marty and Cheryl Metiva, Kelly and Cathy Kochendorfer, Dan and Lisa Phillips, Stan Mitchell, and Claudia Buzard for spending Memorial Day completing the work below on the Kids Don't Float project:

#1 at Little Su, behind Miller's Market mile 57.5 Parks Highway

Install the new branding Josh sign and stock life jackets

#2 at North Prator Lake near the corner of Ballyshannon Dr and Morris Rd

Install life jacket rack and new signage and stock life jackets

#3 at Bearpaw Lake near the corner of W King Arthur Dr and White Rabbit in Houston

Install new signage and stock life jackets

#4 at South Prator lake near Castle Dr and Duke Dr in Houston

Install new signage and stock life jackets

#5 at south Lalen Lake near W Skyview Dr and Carousel Way

Install signage and life jacket rack and stock life jackets

#6 at East Lalen Lake near Alice Ann Ln and N Larry Trail

Assess the area for new life jacket kiosk

#7 at Seymour Lake near Sylvia-Denise Ave and Meadow Lakes Dr

Install new signage and stock life jackets

Eva Venama Awarded $1,000 Scholarship

Susitna Rotary Club awarded Eva Venama, a former RYLA attendee and frequent volunteer for Rotary activities, a $1,000 college scholarship at last week's meeting. Congratulations, Eva!

Susitna Rotary Club earns 2018 Presidential Citation

Susitna Rotary Club was awarded the 2018 Rotary Citation for achieving goals that strengthen Rotary and the club. Goals included increasing club membership, developing sustainable service projects, giving to The Rotary Foundation (TRF), and building awareness of Rotary in our community.

Congratulations to 2017-2018 club president, Cheryl Metiva, and all club members for "Making a Difference"!

Nonprofits make Alaska work

Posted by Kim Erickson

The Foraker Group recently published it's 2018 economic report, "Alaska's Nonprofit Sector: Generating Economic Impact" highlighting the central role nonprofits play in the state's economy. A few more interesting statistics from the report:

Alaska's Nonprofit Sector - Generating Economic Impact

Posted by Kim Erickson

Nonprofits are part of the solution for a healthy Alaskan economy
Nonprofits are a major economic drive
Nonprofits leverage public funds for maximum return

Welcome to Susitna Rotary! October is Economic and Community Development Month.

Service above Self

We meet Wednesdays at 6:00 PM
Sky Lounge

Extreme Fun Center
3501 Old Matanuska Rd
Wasilla, AK 99654
United States

Email:

President

President-Elect

Secretary

Treasurer

Past President

Foundation Chair

Foundation Mentor

Public Relations Chair

Cathy Kochendorfer

Youth Exchange Officer

Evelyna Caldwell

Youth Exchange Officer

Lynn Mitchell

Membership Chair

Cheryl Metiva

Service Projects Chair

Kelly Kochendorfer

Sgt. at Arms

Dan Phillips

Club Bulletin

Liz Standley

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