Northwind September 29, 2011
WHATCOM COUNTY NORTH ROTARY CLUB
NORTHWIND
MEETING TO ORDER: President Gary called the meeting to order and provided the Invocation, focusing on Rotary being an instrument of change. A little too lengthy, though. Tim the Younger led us in the recitation of the 4-Way Test of the things we think, say and do.
GUESTS: No one visiting today.
VISITING ROTARIANS: Jeff Price from Mr. Baker; Jeanne McGee from Melaque.
RETURNING ROTARIANS: Maureen had a good time kayaking and other things in Tofino, experiencing great weather.
BIRTHDAYS: Dick 10/1 and someone named Josh on the same date. Rick has his 60th on 9/30, but this went unannounced. In a poor showing of leadership, Gary blamed Sharon.
ROTARY ANNIVERSARIES: Mel, Jake, Shirley Metcalf – 38 years; Greg T. – 13 years.
ANNOUNCEMENTS: Mel has been in the hospital since Monday, but came home today.
Gary recommended that we take a look at the club’s Facebook site.
HAPPY BUCKS: Nick for winning the pot (sorry Norm – I misspoke, but I am NOT going to pay you; Tim C. for sobriety and a wedding anniversary; Derek for attending a winning Seahawks game; Dick for time spent with family; Maureen for September weather; Bill for his car club; Rome for his father’s 94th birthday; Chuck for the weather and the Huskies; Maureen for her trip; Stan for his daughter who avoided the gas explosions in Seattle by a half block; Tim V. for the Fundraising Committee which he says under Norm’s leadership is doing far better than the jerk who chaired last year; Norm for Brian’s birthday and not winning the pot; Paul for being happy, delivered in a morose tone of voice, and having been on jury duty with Jeff. Apparently neither of them was convicted; Dan for selling his house after 25 months.
FINEMASTER: Rick had the duty: Gary for weak bell ringing; his upset at not being recognized as having a birthday tomorrow; Marlene for not reminding him that the Lummi ferry was out of service as he and Debbie had intended to go over to the island for dinner in a restaurant that was closed anyway; those who had not attended last week’s meeting or read the Northwind; Tim C. for his faux pas on the pot winner; table by table contest to identify the license plate mottos of various states. Rick also had some state mottos that didn’t make the cut. Since those were derogatory in nature, they will not be repeated here (also because the scribe can’t write that fast – guess you had to be there); Chuck in shorts for his white legs accentuated by white socks. Rick had three envelopes and gave several finees the opportunity to pick from them in lieu of fines. Turns out they were birthday presents Rick coveted – new set of Ping woods and irons, a 1970 Chevelle with all the trimmings; and a third envelope that remains a mystery. Sensing a trick, no one took the opportunity to opt for the envelopes.
BANNERS: Arbor Day – trees, either depicted or as part of a club’s name. We learned that a saguaro cactus is a tree, I guess.
TESTING REDUX: The squib in last week’s Northwind, about whether members read it, was only stated once in the official version. It is suspected that the guy who sends it out added it another two times. Your scribe finds that an abuse of discretion, since no one appointed that guy as editor. He should stick to his job as a mere functionary. Practically speaking, what is disturbing is that by repeating the item it had a lesser chance of getting by the skimming reader. On the other hand, it was not intended to embarrass anyone, but merely to be a method of determining member interest in the Northwind and an opportunity to consider ideas to make the Northwind more interesting to recipients. So, your scribe chooses not the judge the behavior of the miscreant.
PROGRAM: Derek introduced Meredith Stamey, a college friend, who is the Director of Development for Childcare Worldwide, formerly Childcare International.
CW has been in existence for 30 years, having been formed by Max Lange, who remains the director. CW is active in eleven third world countries. Over 91% of the donations to CW go to programs, the balance being necessary for administration and fund-raising.
Its primary, and original, purpose was to provide educational opportunities to orphans and other disadvantaged children in the target countries. The organization accomplishes this goal through charitable donations by which the children are “adopted” and their school fees, uniforms and materials are paid for by a family that makes monthly contributions, usually for the term of the child’s specific educational program. In this way, the children have the opportunity to complete a trade or vocational school course. The goal is to break the cycle of poverty and provide a connection to someone who cares for them. Typical educational programs are carpentry, seamstressing and computers, but some of the more gifted students attend traditional college programs.
Childcare Worldwide also has four group homes for orphans in India, Thailand, Kenya and Uganda. Typically the orphans have lost their parents to AIDS or warfare.
The other aspect of CW outreach is a focus on survival. The usual situation is a child in a refugee camp who is not, as yet, amenable to educational sponsorship. An example of CW’s efforts are the provision of food, medical supplies, mosquito netting, and cooking utensils for a refugee camp in Uganda, housing people who have fled from Somalia. The camp was built for 90,000 people, but currently houses over 400,000 people with more than a thousand arriving each day. Those are the ones who survived the trek. This effort is coordinated by the United Nations, and is accomplished in concert with other charitable organizations.
Meredith provided materials for those who would like to participate in Childcare Worldwide’s programs.
DRAWING: Last week’s report was incorrect. It was Nick who won the pot, not Norm. So for those of you who need a loan, go to Nick, not Norm. This week, Stan’s ticket was drawn, resulting in the Nine of Hearts being deleted from the deck.
PERSONAL NOTE: This is the final edition of this member’s tenure as Northwind transcriber. I wish to thank Sharon, who was kind enough to switch months due to an unavailability issue for me. The alacrity of her response to my request of members of the committee to switch with me was just what I would have expected of her, given her commitment to Rotary and the club. I am sure that September having five Thursdays instead of four was not a factor for her.