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LET THERE BE LIGHTSISSUE DECEMBER 6, 2025
VOL. 6 NO. 16
BOARD DECISIONS
NEWS-NOTES-NONSENSE
On Thursday we were joined by veteran presenter Melissa Erker, Phillips 66 Manager of Public Relations. She began her presentation by talking about the favorable relationship the refinery has with Roxana. After an October 1st sale Phillips 66 now owns all of the refinery. There's a planned repair schedule for this winter so there will be a lot of contract employees in the area during that time. Construction is underway for a training facility behind the museum.
Prez Mark asked everyone to keep the Hale and Croxford families in their prayer.
We were joined by RHS students Autumn Hart and Gavin Springer. They were recent participants in the district RYLA program and are also our November Service Above Self award recipients.
Birthday wishes go out to DaveA and ChrisH on the 10th.
Thanks for your years of service-GeorgeM-27 and JoeS-26.
Early-birders included LorIP, MarkSp and BillP.
The Salvation Army bell ringing sign-up list is making the rounds. 6PM-7 and 7PM-8 slots are still open. We ring at the WR Wal Mart market entrance on December 13th from 10AM-8PM.
The slide-right-in crowd included ScottL, DianeS and PattiA.
BillP is still looking for some help for the Christmas Wonderland event this Thursday, Dec. 11. We gather at the Grandpa Gang's trailer in Rock Spring Park @ 5:30, gates open @ 6. We are on duty until 9. Bill can't guarantee great weather, but he is hopeful.
Prior to GeorgeM's arrival @12:19 other post-nooners included PattiA, DianeS, JoeS and GlennB.
We had 19 members dining on pineapple chicken, steamed broccoli, big bakers, Hail Caesar salad and banana pudding.
Prez Mark announced that our final Turkey Fund total donation to Operation Blessing was $1,000. Once again, thanks to all who made a donation.
NOTE-If you plan to attend, and have not indicated your intention to do so, let Prez Mark know NOW, he needs a heads count. Our Christmas party is scheduled for December 18th @ Rustic Roots. Food service is from Food A Fare. Music by the Great River Choral Society.
SAA RickH recruited MarkSp as the finemaster. The birthday song was sung in honor of DaveA and ChrisH. We answered 2 out of 5 trivia Q's correctly. We now know what graniteware looks like. Eat too much for Thanksgiving? pay a $.
The $74 jackpot went unclaimed by Prez Mark and LoriP. PaulH won the scratch-off.
Opening duties were covered by DaveA, MarkSp and MarkV.
SAS STUDENTS GAVIN AND AUTUMN
STUDENTS AND FAMILY
THE THURSDAY GANG
ALL THINGS TRIVIAL
Canine weight-pulling competitions have launched small-dog categories. How much weight did Min, a rat terrier in the under-20 lb. class, pull on a rail-mounted cart?
A-35 lbs.
B-350 lbs.
C-3,500 lbs.
D-35,000 lbs.
(Find the answer near the end of the newsletter)
Today is National Microwave Oven Day
Which country is nicknamed "the Emerald Isle"?
Madagascar
Fiji
Saint Lucia
Ireland
When you gaze over Ireland's lush green pastures and cliffs, it's not difficult to see why its nickname is "the Emerald Isle."
FROM OUR ARCHIVES
Sourced from the Eastender News, Make-Up and Banner newsletters
December 2019
The EA club heard a presentation from Melissa Erker.
Happy Fines were paid by TommieM, GeorgeT and GeorgeM.
LoriP recruited several members to help distribute 15 Christmas flowers to members of the community.
BillP thanked everyone who assisted with the Christmas Wonderland event.
EA-WR Junior Rotarians Summer Fulkerson and Kathleen Tierney visited the WR club.
LindseyH handled both the gavel duties as well as the SAA collection. (No pay bump was involved.)
RodneyD was looking dapper while BillP shared some Christmas season thoughts.
ScottL handled the invocation.
Christmas family donations were still being accepted.
DaveA thanked those that assisted with the dictionary distribution-LindseyH, RobinK, CherylM and JohnP.
WendellR was off to Columbia for a month.
RobinK announced that she would soon open her own Edward Jones office in WR. She mentioned how her participation in a Rotary Group Study Exchange in Sweden put her in touch with an Ed Jones employee.
Both clubs did/would ring the Salvation Army bells. PaulG organized the WR group while MarkV was in charge of the EA members.
PHOTOS OF THE WEEK
DATELINE:ROTARY
4-STAR ROTARY FOUNDATION
For the 17th consecutive year, The Rotary Foundation has received the highest rating - four stars - from Charity Navigator, the largest and most utilized independent charity evaluator in the United States.
The Foundation earned the recognition for adhering to sector best practices and executing its mission in a financially efficient way, demonstrating both strong financial health and commitment to accountability and transparency.
"We are delighted to provide the Rotary Foundation with third-party accreditation that validates their operational excellence," said Michael Thatcher, president and CEO of Charity Navigator. "The Four-Star Rating is the highest possible rating an organization can achieve. We are eager to see the good work that the Rotary Foundation can accomplish in the years ahead."
Charity Navigator analyzes overall nonprofit health and performance based on four key areas: Leadership & Adaptability to help donors understand if a charity has clarity of purpose, Accountability & Finance to explain if they are transparent and fiscally capable,
Culture & Community to show how they engage with their constituents,
Impact & Results to explain what they have accomplished.
Rotary supporters, donors, and partners contributed over US$569 million in 2024-25, exceeding the goal of US$500 million. These funds fuel global and district grants, disaster response grants, and top priorities like polio eradication.
In 2024-25:
- 478,629 donors supported The Rotary Foundation.
- 32,972 clubs contributed, including 1,893 Rotaract clubs.
- 1,036 Rotaract clubs earned the Rotaract Giving Certificate - a new record!
- Rotary Direct saw a 3.3% increase, raising US$12.7 million.
- The Paul Harris Society grew 5% to 35,191 members.
- Raise for Rotary raised US$682,000 from 600-plus pages across 50-plus countries.
AND I QUOTE
“Painting from nature is not copying the object, it is realizing sensations."-Paul Cézanne
"Art is anything you can get away with."-Andy Warhol
"The greatest wealth is health."-Virgil
"The more you are focused on time — past and future — the more you miss the Now, the most precious thing there is."-Eckhart Tolle
SMILE
Once again it's time to check in with the law enforcement folks in Flathead County Montana and see what sort of calls they have been receiving-
1:50 p.m. People outside the nail salon were cooking “what looks like legs of lamb” using cardboard as fuel and a snow shovel as a pan.
4:00 a.m. A man who was having a “sad day” was upset because his ex-girlfriend would not talk “through his emotions” with him.
8:41 a.m. Two guys who “look homeless” were holding rifles outside of a school bus in an apartment complex parking lot were just packing up for a hunting trip.
9:37 p.m. A Dodge Ram hightailed out of the Glacier Wolfpack football game going 80 mph.
10:46 p.m. A guy who was eighty-sixed from the Warming Center said a staff member “has it out for him.”
8:04 a.m. Sophia jumped the fence.
11:28 a.m. A man accused of being high was just doing yoga.
11:43 a.m. A dog custody transfer was scheduled in the parking lot, but the canine never showed.
12:11 p.m. A tan Pomeranian barks at “anything and everything.”
9:47 a.m. A man threatened his breakfast companion with a butter knife, to which the companion retaliated with a “come at me, bro” motion.
11:18 a.m. A man’s car “smells very fishy” after his neighbor rubbed fish oil on it.
Type caption here
THE NUMBERS
Harvard’s report on its undergraduate college found that about 60% of grades were A’s during the 2024-25 school year, a jump from about 25% in 2005-06
42% of Americans have paid for subscriptions they no longer use-C+R Research
More than half of white-collar employees currently don’t have assigned desks, up from one-third before the pandemic- HqO
Research shows that as the size of the nation’s households shrinks, the number of spare bedrooms has surged to 32 million
Restaurant chains and operators this year are on track to declare the most bankruptcies in decades (outside of 2020, when the pandemic scrambled the industry)-BankruptcyData.com
One in six new-car buyers this year will take on payments of more than $1,000 a month-Edmunds.com
(Trivia answer-A)
ROTARIAN CODE OF CONDUCT
The following code of conduct has been adopted for the use of Rotarians:
As a Rotarian, I will
1-Act with integrity and high ethical standards in my personal and professional life
2-Deal fairly with others and treat them and their occupations with respect
3-Use my professional skills throughRotary to: mentor young people, help those with special needs, and improve people's quality of life in my community and in the world
4-Avoid behavior that reflects adversely on Rotary or other Rotarians
5-Help maintain a harassment-free environment in Rotary meetings, events, and activities
