Northwind, September 9, 2010

THIS WEEK'S THEME:  Past Presidents                                 
 
 
MEETING TO ORDER:  PDG Don Senter was fond of saying that all the best jobs in Rotary had the word "Past" in front of them.  With that in mind, and in the absence of Future Past President Marlene, Immediate Past President Chuck called the meeting to order.  PP and PDG Mel gave the invocation, Mel praised the camaraderie of Rotarians, and the privilege bestowed on Rotarians to help others.
 
 
GUESTS:  Kyler Randall visited us for the last time prior to his departure for Spain.  Nicole Harris was accompanied by a visiting Rotarian, her grandfather.
 
 
VISITING ROTARIANS:  George Tsukumis from Vancouver; WCNR PP Graham Harris was visiting from his club in New Zealand, Phouklhokeyzem (pronounced "Pokekohe" for those of you not familiar with Maori word structure); Mike Kirkland from B'ham Bay.
 
 
RETURNING ROTARIANS:  PP Chuck returned from Royal City and the Ellensburg Rodeo (held each year in Ellensburg).  Way to go Chuck - nonstop adventure for you, pal.
 
 
BIRTHDAYS:   Max celebrated on September 9^th.  FPP Marlene and Maureen both had birthdays on September 10^th.   Or maybe it was the other way around. 
 
 
ANNOUNCMENTS:  PP Ken gave the much anticipated sixty-day notice announcement for the upcoming Foundation Dinner, to be held on November 11^th; the Vancouver Club will be hosting PP, PDG, and current RI President Ray Klinginsmith of September 29^th; there will be a board meeting on September  15^th at 5:30, to be held at Sharon's Zervas Group offices.  Note to PP Jake- the meeting is not at the office of PP Julie; the Bucks for Banos Brunch is October 3^rd.  We should have all gotten a mailing about this and you are asked to RSVP if planning to attend; PP's are still being asked to bring a bottle of wine to a meeting to put together an auction item.  This writer (a PP) unbelievably remembered to do so. FPP Marlene is probably keeping a list and will mete out appropriate punishment for those PP's who fail.  Or perhaps I am just paranoid; we were told that Susie was not at the hall because she was with her father, who is suffering from pancreatic cancer.  Please extend your regards to Susie when next you see her.
 
 
HAPPY BUCKS:  PP Bill was happy about Graham being here, something about fishing, oh, and about being married to Kris for forty-three years (and the equivalent amount of bucks); Backsliding Leave of Absencer Randy was happy about the program, and abusing PP Jake's cabin with PP Brian; Graham was happy about the potential for a blood drive challenge between our club and his NZ club.  It is a vicious rumor, containing no truth, that PP's Mel and Stan, and FCPP Jim B. cannot give blood due to the discontinuance of their respective blood types.  Max is a wild and crazy guy, much in the mold of Chuck.  He gave $30 for a like number of years at Moss, Adams, his only accounting job, ever. [Personal and private to Max:  Kidding, kidding, kidding - you should have seen the caricature of you as a footballer at the USNA that was to be part of the Northwind last week.  For some reason the picture would not transfer to the Northwind transmission system]; Mike K. for the program and our club's donation to Hospice House, accepting its first patient September 16^th; Kyler about his blog; Sharon for Kyler's blog; Ray quit the club, or so it seemed, but it turned out he was just leaving to go to Las Vegas, and would return as soon as he could scrape up return fare; Julie is going to Nova Scotia (the Maritime Province, not the Latin Scotland); Rocky also going to Vegas. 
 
 
FINEMASTER:  Ken did the honors, or the disservices, as the case would be:  Ray $10 for being Ray; Jake for being Jake (or being early for next week's meeting; not wearing a tie; WWU for being happy about not having a football team to disappoint them(?); Kyler for taunting; Rocky for calling a committee meeting while on his way to Vegas; Graham - translation fee; Lex; Rick; Chuck; Randy and Brian for things that were announced while is was having an ADD moment.
 
 
BANNERS:   PP Stan is apparently not a morning person.  The banners all depicted clubs meeting in the morning.  Stan shared that he had never attended such a club, and could barely remember a time when he would have even contemplated doing so.
 
 
PROGRAM:  Randy introduced us to Matt Velguth, proprietor of The Bike Shop (558 Sterling Drive, across from the store of PP Jerry Chambers, thebikeshop1@gmail.com; www.thebikeshop1.org; 758-2035, fax 758-2035).
 
Matt works from a facility donated by Rolling Wheels Construction, LLC.  His program is under a 501(c)(3) umbrella sponsored by the Sterling Drive Church of Christ.  Matt works with young children, often from deprived, poor or dysfunctional families.  While the program is ostensibly about bikes, it is much, much more.  Matt hails from Wisconsin and has a degree in education. He has refined this program in Portland, ME and Labrador over the last eight years.  Matt, his wife and two children have been in the community for about a year and he is already serving some 100 kids.
 
Matt uses bicycles to emphasize appropriate values and creates expectations for the kids to meet.  The kids' relationship with Matt is usually their first with a business person.  Matt introduces the kids to the fabric of the community.  The bike is a bridge to connect the child with the larger community, without which he or she would be isolated within the small neighborhood, often dominated by people of the same cultural background, or limited by economic status, or
families lacking traditional structure.  A bike represents freedom to these children. 
 
Matt arranges for all the kids to get a bike.  Boys are more likely than girls to have a bike since that is a more usual gift for a boy.  But about twenty-five percent of his patrons are girls.  They must pay something so they have pride of ownership.  Matt's labor is free, but he insists the kids pay a nominal amount for parts and the kids must help with repairs.  Matt accepts used bikes.  The program also needs cash donations for expenses, including Matt's modest salary.
 
Not only can the kids get out of their communities on their own, but each week-end there is a group ride to different parts of town, such as the waterfront and Old Town.  Matt shared some anecdotes about the experiences that affected the kids - things amazing to them that we take for granted.  For this writer, it was a great program, about a great program.
 
 
DRAWING:  Somebody had the right number, but picked the wrong card.
 
 
FACTOID:  There are at least fourteen past presidents of WCNR who are still active members of the club (but that number includes at least one unauthorized Rule of 85er).
 
 
Scribe this week:  ["Editor" denotes someone who, for one thing, checks   factual accuracy.  I make no such pretence].  Tim Carpenter.