Northwind March 9, 2017
Posted by Julie Johansen on Mar 13, 2017
Call to order: President-Elect Tim Villhauer led us in the pledge of allegiance and Jim Blaney led the Moment of Reflection. We had eleven members in attendance today.
Visiting Rotarians: Richard St. Denis –member of the Toluca Mexico Rotary Club- Richard was our program.
Guests of Rotarians: Eric Matthews, SIL of Jim Blaney.
Returning Rotarians: Pati and Tim returning from a trip to Hawaii to attend a Luau held for the first birthday of a client’s granddaughter and daughter..sounded like two children being celebrated; with two roasted pigs, lots of fruits and vegetables as is a traditional Luau, two to three hundred guests in attendance and Tim\Pati being fully involved in the preparations. Now that is a birthday party; Marlene, you are being out done!
Birthdays: Jill Iwasaki today. Happy Birthday Jill- we missed you.
Membership Anniversary: Jill Iwasaki two years in WCN RC on the 3/12. Congratulations Jill!
Announcements: Career fair (3/30/17) some presenters still need to be found. Greg Iwasaki has information if you need to check on this.
Rubber Ducky Derby sponsors still needed. We have stalled at $8,250 in sponsorship support and we must have a minimum of $12,000 (to cover prize money) and preferably $20,000, to hold the race. Derby to be held 8/26/17; mark your calendars and keep asking for sponsor support.
Ferndale Chamber of Commerce lunches are the third Wednesday of the month. Sharon Robinson and Rollo will attend on 3/15/17. Dale wants someone from the club to attend this luncheon every month; he will be attending the 4/19 event and needs company. Check your calendars and call him!
Youth Service Awards lunch is scheduled for May 18th at Northwood Hall. ICU is again the matching sponsor for the student awards. Thank you ICU! Greg Iwasaki is working on the logistics.
Fund Raising committee meeting held every Monday morning, 7:00 AM, at Little Cheerful. Ken and Tim would love to have greater club participation!
Happy Bucks: Tim was happy about his weekend training at PETS where he heard a number of motivational speakers. One of the local clubs PE’s ordered the DVD set of all the speakers so Tim hopes to use them for programs in the next few months Tim was also happy that Edward Jones is named #5 in the Best Company to Work for in the annual Fortune magazine contest. EJ has ranked in the top ten for several years. Tim was also happy about the Hawaii luau and his part in cooking pigs in a pit. Jim Sands was $5 stressed about the exceptionally warm temperature in the room today. Bill was just happy to be here. Ken paid a $3 match for something. Pati was happy about puppet making in a 5th grade classroom where she was “subbing” for the day. Greg was $5 happy for Jill’s birthday today and Jake was happy his 5 year old grandson is already reading (showing Jake up). Stan was $1 happy each for his renewed driver’s license and the six month pass from his cardiologist before a follow up appointment. He is in fine health and still driving! Jenny was happy about a visit to Dixon, CA to see her grandson for his first birthday (no luau planned). Eric Matthews (Jim Blaney SIL) was $2 happy about a Fly Fishing Expo for youth <18 that he participates with the Bainbridge Island Rotary Club.
Fine Master: Tim Villhauer dispatched the standard group fine; $1 each for not wearing a Rotary pin, plus $1 for not wearing your pin yesterday. $2 IOU if you were not here today. Jim Sands was fined for the current state of the local real estate market where the median price of homes for sale is sky rocketing. Bill Grace was fined $1 for something and Rollo and Ken were fined for holding the Monday FR committee meeting without Tim. Pati was fined for forgetting to be happy about her most wonderful weekend trip to Hawaii to attend the now infamous luau. Greg was fined $1 because Tim thought he should have been happier about Jill’s birthday. Julie was fined for showing Tim up by walking 3.5-4 miles daily. Remember Julie is retired now and Tim is not retired, so this fine makes no sense at all. Jake was fined an additional dollar for his grandson’s fine reading skills. Ken did not quite get the banner so another $1 was added to his tab and I think Rollo got the message “Remember the Alamo”; the Alamo fell to Mexican forces 181 years ago on March 6th.
Program: Patrick McAvoy and Richard St. Denis presented a program about the World Access Project (WAP). WAP is a non-profit organization that collects used wheelchairs, crutches, walkers & canes, refurbishes them, and donates them to impoverished people with disabilities in Mexico. They host sports camps to teach people how to use their new mobility, provide awareness to schools and governments about people with disabilities, and provide education to those who need remedial support. Their mission is to provide mobility and better quality of life to people with disabilities and neglected youth in Mexico. www.worldaccessproject.org
Patrick McAvoy met Richard while both were working in Mexico in 2005. Patrick, his wife and three children (ages 7, 5, and 2 years old) are moving back to Mexico later this year to help with WAP as volunteers. Patrick must raise the financial support for his family while they work in Mexico as program volunteers.
Richard estimated that 100,000 people need wheelchairs in Mexico and they do not have the finances to purchase them; consequently they crawl or simply stay home. The wheelchair that is needed for the rugged terrain in Mexico would cost $2,000 in the US. The WAP program takes throw away equipment refurbishes it and ships them to Mexico in containers. Each wheelchair costs $150 to refurbish and ship. Each container holds 200 chairs; $30,000 to ship a container of chairs. One Rotary club has pledged $15,000 annually towards a container of chairs. Richard was not here to ask for money but rather that we donate discarded wheelchairs or mobility equipment to his project. It is estimated that 50,000 wheelchairs are discarded in the US every year. There will be a drop off center at Elizabeth Station; 1400 W. Holly St. Patrick owns the market and his family will continue to own and operate it while he moves to Mexico. The McAvoy family will transfer equipment to Everett where it is added to other collection sites, then moving to another wheelchair outreach group- Joni and Friends where it will be refurbished.
Richard’s personal experience with a wheelchair began when he broke his back snow skiing (racing) at age 21. Since then he had a career in the air force and was an attorney for twenty years and placed third in the world in Para Alpine Skiing, after breaking his back. He said his motto is “never give up”. He found personal fulfillment when he founded the World Access Project. He quoted Mark Twain saying “there are two great days in a person’s life; the day we are born and the day we discover why”. Richard has discovered his “why” and is making a difference in many lives with his World Access Project. His wife also works with the program as an educator in a school they started for K-12 with 41 students in Toluca Mexico. The education and sports camps and training opportunities assist the Mexican people to move towards personal and financial independence.
Richard and Patrick fielded many questions but one that resonated for many of us regarded the Wheelchair Foundation organized by Ken Behring (former Seahawks owner) where WCN RC joined the other Whatcom County Rotary Clubs in sending a container of wheelchairs to Tierra Del Fuego, Argentina. Richard was not optimistic about the longevity of those chairs since they are not built for harsh terrain and repair parts are not available. This was an interesting program and inspiring to see what one person can do to improve the life experience of others who are less fortunate than we are; we had several members offer equipment and likely there will be more found if we look around.
Raffle: Jim Sands won the door prize (he also won last week) and Rollo drew the 50/50 raffle. Rollo did not pick the ace of spades; the pot grows. Winners take next week is $172.50