IMPORTANT! The CLub Leadership Assembly that was cancelled due to the COVID-19 outbreak, has been set up as a ONE HOUR online training with our Governor Elect Berta Picket!
All members are welcome to attend. However, it is crucial that next year's officers, directors, and committee chairs register and tune in to this important opportunity. Please register by clicking on the following link:
https://district5190.org/events/calendar
This is our chance to hear from our incoming governor, and discuss ways to keep the club moving in spite of the difficulties we are facing with the Corona virus lock down.
As everyone knows our regular "in-person" meetings have been cancelled until further notice. However, that doesn't mean that the club has not been active. In response to the COVID-19 crisis, Portola Rotarians have been actively participating in the response. We have made hand sanitizer (10 gallons with more on the way), sewn face masks, assisted with a food drive, and awarded scholarships to the winners of our speech and music contests since the area and district contests were cancelled.
The Rotary Foundation supplied $1,500 to help purchase supplies and make hand sanitizer for the community.
Making hand sanitizer was our first project. With this critical product almost impossible to buy, we ordered bulk ingredients and made our own. So far Klytia and her family, Irene, Tiana, Kim, and Sam have been the primary "chefs". So far over 10 gallons have been produced, bottled and distributed to the community. Supplies have been set up at Rico's Mexican restaurant, Leonard's and Les Schwab in Portola, and Gumba's and the Graeagle store in Graeagle.
Kim fills some precious bottles of hand sanitizer carefully.
Tiana and Irene brew some sanitizer at the clubhouse.
Renee delivers some home brew sanitizer to our local first responders.
The club is also building face masks for our community. This project involves cutting fabric, elastic, pinning parts together, ironing and sewing the masks. Rotary cutters are Renee, Elizabeth, Teri and Van. Kim, Elizabeth Nelson, and Toni Carl have been sewing their fingers off. Each mask takes about 30 minutes to make. They are made of two layers of anti-bacterial hypo-allergenic fabric. Kristen is in charge of distributing the masks in the community. So far we've delivered to EPHC, passed them out to people dropping off food at the food drive, and provided them to Leonard's for people needing masks. To supplement the mask supply, the club purchased bandanas for folks needing a face covering in a pinch.
Olivia, Teri's granddaughter, cuts elastic for face mask production. Our target is just shy of 400 masks!
Toni puts the pedal to the metal and sews face masks at home.
Elizabeth shows off several freshly completed masks. Presumably Dave did some of the pinning??
Kim has been busy with sewing masks as well (Sam did quite a bit of pinning too!)
EPHC was appreciative of our work!
Leonard's is using our masks to keep people safe!
We provided some bandanas to supplement the masks for people who needed a face covering.
We will be needing more people to cook hand sanitizer as soon as our supplies are replenished (hopefully sometime next week). Please call Sam and let him know if you want to help out.
Finally, next week we will be trying an "online Rotary Meeting" using the Zoom application. Please keep an eye out for information via email on how to attend!
Before we get to the goings on in March, there were two significant events that took place after publishing last month's newsletter. First, the club celebrated its 82nd charter night on Thursday, March 27th with a Chili Cook-Off. And the next day a large contingent of members went to CRC to participate in "Read Across America" to promote literacy.
Our Charter Night Chili Cook-Off was a huge success. About 40 people showed up with nine different kinds of chili: all types, from elk chili to vegetarian chili. Plenty of guests augmented our merry band of Rotarians sipping on home brewed beer, wine and margaritas.
President Matt and Kenny are bookends to several guests, (including Kathy Smith!) Cheers!
Klytia Dutton found an article in the 1939 PHS Yearbook describing our original Charter Night on March 28th, 1938. It turns out that about 300 folks turned out to launch our club at the Veteran's Hall during a flood on February 16th in 1938. Read the article in the photo below!
Klytia found this article in a copy of the Portola High School Yearbook (The Pine Needle) from 1938.
Andy Ryback, our illustrious Assistant Governor, was at the party representing our sponsoring Rotary Club - The Rotary Club of Quincy. During the festivities, Andy awarded Elizabeth Cruse her Paul Harris plus 2 recognition for her generous support of our Rotary Foundation. And Andy recieved an award, also ... for traveling the farthest to join us at our lively Cook-Off!
Assistant Governor Andy pins Elizabeth with her Paul Harris plus 2 pin at the Chili Cook-off.
Every entrant was recognized for their outstanding culinary efforts. Wendy Larrieu won the People's Choice Award as the favorite chili of the evening. She also won the "Hot Stuff" award for bringing the spiciest dish to the party. CONGRATULATIONS, Wendy!!
MC Kenny Presents Wendy Larrieu with her "Hot Stuff" and "People's Choice" awards at the Charter Night Chili Cook-off on February 27th.
Friday the 28th, the day after the cook-off, was "Read Across America Day" (celebrating Dr. Seuss's birthday). Nine Rotarians managed to shake off the after effects of the chili and meet at CRC Elementary to read to our kindergartners. As part of our Literacy program, headed by Toni and Klytia, Rotarians read the Seuss classic "One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish" to the children, after which they presented each child with their own personal copy of this fun book.
Rotarians dressed up in PJs and Dr. Seuss regalia to read to kindergartners on February 28th
Kim and our newest member Terri teamed up to read in Mrs. Bowling's class of enthralled kindergartners.
The month of March got off to a great start with the club's speech and music contest on March 3rd. Klytia did a fabulous job of recruiting participation from the school. There were three contestants in each competition. The room was crowded as guests, contestants and members numbered near 30. A special thanks to all the judges and the time keeper for pulling together to make the contest a success. Speech contest participants were: Sophie Ward, Sophia Dutton, and Jordan Crews. Musicians were: Margaret Canseco, Emma Jones, and Micaela Coronado.
Sophie Ward and Margaret Canseco took first place in the speech and music contests respectively. Unfortunately, the Area contest, and the District Conference have been cancelled due to the current Corona Virus response, so our winners will be unable to continue with the competition.
Klytia and Kirk present the two contest winners, Margaret and Sophie, to the club.
Speech contestants, Sophie Ward, Jordan Crews, and Sophia Dutton.
Music contest contestants Micaela Coronado, Emma Jones, and Margaret Canseco
As everyone knows, the remainder of our club meetings and activities for March were cancelled in response to the outbreak of corona virus. As of Saturday, March 21, there have been no cases of the virus confirmed in Plumas county. Club leadership is discussing ways we might be able to help during these difficult times so stay tuned.
At our Tuesday February 4th breakfast meeting we met Ms. Zaya White, who is running for "Sweetheart of the Mountains" at this year's Plumas-Sierra County Fair. Zaya is a star basketball player for the Loyalton Lady Grizzlies. Fun Fact: Zaya's Grandmother won this honor in the 1940's!! We wish Zaya good luck
After a delightful presentation by Zaya, Kenny Smith introduced his "Surprise Guest", Scott Faas. Scott spoke about the outdoor music concert business and how this might help our area. Scott and Kenny are especially excited about the potential to keep this kind of activity going locally now that the very successful High Sierra Music Festival has been cancelled for this coming year. Scott provided some interesting and exciting info. on the possibilities for bringing this kind of event to the Sierra Valley. Since that time, the folks that put on "High Sierra" have managed to pay for their permits this year, but Scott and Kenny are still working hard to get something going locally.
On February 11th the Board met. The club's finances are in great shape. We have expended all of the grant monies received from the Rotary Foundation by purchasing all of the materials and supplies for the planter boxes and the three new picnic tables for the CRC playground.
The membership committee reported out that activities are ongoing. The committee is very active and meeting monthly. Their next meeting is scheduled for March 9th at 5:30 PM in the Clubhouse. Everyone is welcome to attend. (Remember: it's a great way to make up!)
On February 18th, we inducted our newest member! Terri Cooper is bringing lots of energy with her as she joins our Rotary Team. Terri is a native Californian who earned her Bachelor’s degree in Anthropology from San Diego State University in 1973. She moved here from Avila Beach in 2003 to be with her daughter and grandchildren. In Avila Beach Terri designed and built custom homes. She loves to hike and kayak here locally. She discovered our club at last year’s Fly-in Pancake Breakfast, where her grandson Owen won the scenic flight in our raffle. She’s been banging on the door ever since! Be sure to give Terri a big Portola Welcome when you meet her. We also met two candidates for District 1 Plumas County Supervisor at the meeting: Dwight Ceresola, and Bill Powers.
Terri Cooper, our newest member is flanked by President Matt and her sponsor Sam
Dwight Ceresola introduced himself at the February 18th meeting.
Bill Powers presents the club with some of the things he's been up to.
On February 20th the Executive Leadership Team (President and President's Elect) met at Matt and Elizabeth's house to discuss planning for next year including club committee goals. In addition considerable time was spent discussing how to manage smaller requests for funding support in a fair and timely manner. The group decided to develop a "mini grant" process that will be done quarterly. Applications for grants (up to $500) will be accepted, evaluated and awarded on a merit basis . Criteria for evaluating grants is currently being finalized. This program will be called the "Annual Mini-Assistance Grants" program and will be funded for a total of $4,000 next year.
On February 23rd a Team consisting of President Matt, Elizabeth, Danny, Kirk, Kim and Sam spent about two and a half hours setting up the 3 new picnic tables that were purchased with our Rotary Foundation District Grant at CRC. It was a lot of fun! Stay tuned for more opportunities to work together with your fellow members to make our community and our world a better place.
President Matt, Danny, Kim, Kirk and Sam unpack one of the picnic tables at CRC. (Photo Elizabeth Cruse)
Kim does some "home dentistry" on Danny during a break in the action at CRC. (Photo Elizabeth Cruse)
The happy crew celebrates finishing up the job at CRC. Everyone was ready to go inside and warm up! (Photo: Elizabeth)
On February 24th, the annual Area 2 Rotary Foundation Dinner was held. The Quincy Club hosted the event at the Mineral Building in the Fairgrounds, and the speaker was Bob Deering, Past District Governor 2012-13 from District 5180. Bob gave a moving presentation on a Foundation Global Grant that he has been working on to combat human trafficking in the Sacramento Area. It was very rewarding to see how our little corner of the world is being supported with finances from clubs from around the globe through our Rotary foundation. In addition, District Governor Randy VanTassell and Governor Elect Roberta Picket presented an award to our club for our outstanding support of the effort to eradicate polio. Last year we raised over $1,500 to go towards this effort!
There was a great turnout for the Area 2 Foundation Dinner. Be sure and come next year if you missed it!
On February 27th we will be celebrating eighty two years as a Rotary Club. We were chartered on February 16th, 1938. The Rotary Club of Quincy was our sponsoring club. The celebration will be a chili cook-off at the clubhouse at 5:30. There will be plenty of food and refreshments, with a $10.00 charge to cover costs. See you all there!
On February 28th CRC will be joining in the Dr. Seuss "Read Across America" day celebration. Our club will be reading and then handing out books to all the kindergartners. Call Toni Carl to sign up and participate in this fun and rewarding day of teaching our children to love reading.
Yes, The Rotary Club of Portola has been busy!! And there's more great stuff to come ... see you next month!
February is a special birthday month. Not only is February the month that Rotary was officially founded in 1905, it is also the Rotary Club of Portola's charter month. Our club was sponsored into Rotary on February 16th, 1938 by the Rotary Club of Quincy. Our club has an 82 year legacy here in the community and we are getting stronger every day! This month's social on February 27th will celebrate our charter with a fabulous chili cook-off. Team 2 is organizing this event, so if you want to show off your chili cooking skills contact Kim Wilbanks, Team 2 Captain.
On January 7th, Missy Leal came to the club to talk about our current District Service Grant to build raised gardens/flower beds and install picnic tables and benches at C Roy Carmichael School. The project will beautify the school, while at the same time providing an "outdoor laboratory" for students to grow their own plants. In addition, it will enhance safety on the playground by blocking child access to bulky air conditioning equipment. Also, the tables and benches will replace old and un-serviceable ones. This is an exciting project that is partially funded through a matching grant from The Rotary Foundation. President Matt has been the driver on this project - THANKS, MATT!! Lumber for the project has been purchased, and the boxes are being built at Portola High School by the wood shop class.
The monthly board meeting was held on January 14th. Our club is in great shape financially. In addition, the board approved a grant to the "Plumas to Pacific" program for up to a maximum of $1,000 if they still need assistance. Elizabeth will check with the school to determine what if any support is still needed.
Our lunch meeting for January was held at the PHS library since the City had plowed in our club house, blocking access. Jessica Nelson, with the Golden State Electric Cooperative, gave a fantastic presentation on the how coops work, and how they serve folks here in California.
The big news of the meeting was that we had a winner in the Marble game! Rachelle Ramelli was the lucky one! Jessica Nelson's son Enzo helped Rachelle out by pulling the white marble out of the bag. Rachelle generously donated all of her winnings (ove $100) the the PHS basketball teams.
Enzo and Rachelle celebrate the white marble at the January 21st meeting.
On January 28th, the club held a special breakfast meeting to go over our recent member satisfaction survey, and our Club Visioning exercise. Kim gave a succinct PowerPoint summarizing our member's satisfaction with the club. Good news: we got a very good "report card". In general folks are very satisfied with their club experience, however the survey did point out some areas where we can apply some effort and energy to make our club better, stronger, and more satisfying to its members. This info. has been passed on to the appropriate committees and work has already begun to make our great club ever GREATER!!
President Matt went through a PowerPoint of our Club Visioning exercise. This presented us with an exciting and attractive path to more "Fun through Service". The visioning will be presented to the board of directors on February 11th with the intent of establishing real tangible goals as we move ahead.
The holiday season is upon us, and the Rotary Club of Portola is making a difference. At the end of last month we purchased prepared and distributed Thanksgiving Dinner in a Box (or bag!) to about 100 families in need in the Portola area. Joleen Cline headed up this fantastic project, and did a great job of organizing it. The dinner included a turkey, (or a chicken) with all the fixin's and even a pumpkin pie! Thanks to all who helped package and hand out the dinners last November 25th.
On December 3rd we held our annual meeting to elect club officers and directors. Three directors were elected to serve on the board next year, along with the three currently serving the first of a two year term. Nora Shelton, Kirk Lambert, and Klytia Dutton were all elected to a two year term beginning July 1, 2020. Nora is also transitioning into the Membership Chair, Kirk is continuing as the Public Image Chair, and Klytia is moving into the Chair of Youth Services.
The big news was the election of Kim Wilbanks as President Elect Nominee! Kim will begin her term as President Elect on July 1st, and become Club President for the Rotary Year 2021-2022. To round out the plan of leadership succession, Elizabeth Cruise has volunteered to be the President Elect Nominee Designate. Elizabeth will be formally elected next December to serve as Club President in Rotary year 2022-2023. This was a huge accomplishment for our club. It gives our incoming presidents more time to learn and prepare to lead the club. This in turn makes the job easier, more fun and satisfying since incoming presidents will have two and a half years to get ready.
Dave Nelson gave a great summary of our Clubs Rotary Endowment. The fund belongs to us, is used for scholarships, and is currently over $200,000. Recently it has been providing funding for about eight scholarships each year! Half of all marble game proceeds go into the endowment, so buy those tickets, and help build our ability to assist folks here in our community.
President Matt got attached to the apron a little early!
The Christmas party was on December 5th at the Grizzly Grill. As usual, the White Elephant gift exchange was fabulously fun. One of the highlight gifts was a Santa apron that President Matt gleefully stole from Kim Wilbanks, the original opener. However, much to his disappointment, it ended up being stolen permanently by Dave Shelton. The President was shell shocked! The happy ending is that President Matt complained so much, and whined so loudly that a Secret Santa re-gifted him the apron at the meeting on the 17th, just in time for the Christmas Community Dinner.
Kristen and Travis enjoyed the party. Can you pick out the real travis??
Speaking of the community dinner, it went off well again this year. Van had plenty of help as most members were there to serve, and we had a seven person cooking crew the day before. Even with all the help he still managed to run himself ragged! Seven turkeys, three pans of mashed potatoes, two pans of yams, three pans of stuffing, four of green beans with plenty of delicious gravy (thanks, Matt!) did the trick! Teri Cooper, a prospective member came and helped out for the entire night, and Mr. and Mrs. Santa made an appearance to get Christmas wish lists from the kids. They were a huge hit as usual, and plenty of photos were taken documenting this. Thanks Matt and Elizabeth!
Dave and Van work their magic on mashed potatoes for the Christmas Community Dinner
We did not have any committee meetings to report on this month, however next month there are several scheduled so check the calendar of coming events!
The big news this month was our club visioning session on the 19th. President Matt urged all members to attend this exercise in determining our clubs future direction. As someone once said: "It's good to know where you are going, or you may end up somewhere else!" PDG Gail Ellingwood and her two able Rotarian assistants Robin Milam and Bill Boone came to Blairsden to assist our club in this endeavor. Basically, the members present gave thought to what our club would be doing, and how we would be perceived in the community in 2022. It was amazing the consistency of thought as to the direction we should go among all members present. We discussed what our membership would look like, what kind of projects we would be doing, our fundraising efforts, and just overall how satisfied our members would be. After the Holidays, on January 28th, we will hold an all hands club assembly to present, discuss, and make a plan for where we should go from here. So, put that date on your calendar and be sure to be there!
Tues. the 5th we had Brad & Karen Miller as our program. They gave us a very informative overhead presentation on Adult Education opportunities in our Community. There were over 20 folks present including Anna our Swedish Exchange student. The food was great and we all had a great time!
Tues the 12th the Board of Directors met. The minutes will be out soon. The club is in excellent financial shape having greatly exceeded last year's fundraising. Margaritaville made $10,061.55 and the Fly-In netted $9,587.41. As a result, our club has raised about $6,000 more to pump back into the community this year! Also, the Nominating Committee has been activated and is working hard to nominate someone for President Elect Designate who will serve as club president in 2021-2022. An election will be held at our annual meeting on December 3rd at the clubhouse.
Several members attended the Volleyball Playoffs at PHS. Everyone had a great time supporting our team!
At the lunch meeting on November 19th, we heard from Lauren Knox, the new City of Portola Manager. Lauren grew up here in Portola and graduated from Cal Poly SLO with a degree in City and Regional Planning. After a couple of different assignments in Reno, she had the opportunity to come back to our beautiful community of Portola. Lauren has her hands full with her new job, but she is rapidly coming up to speed.
Lauren Knox, our new City Manager, gave a wonderful program on her background and current issues in the City.
On Friday the 26th members performed the Apple Dumpling skit for CRC second graders and handed out books and fresh baked apple dumplings to the students. CRC principal Missy Leal said that the children look forward to this event each year. Toni Carl did an outstanding job of organizing this effective and popular literacy/youth service/vocational service project!
On Monday Nov. 25th Community Service chair Joleen Cline has coordinated our "Thanksgiving in a Box" project. Members will be packing and handing out complete Thanksgiving Dinners to those in need. Call Joleen to sign up for this great project. This year our goal is to support 100 local families to have a memorable Thanksgiving.
Finally, there will be no meeting on December 24th, and December 31.
We had a record setting Margaritaville in August and another amazing Fly-In Breakfast in September. Both events set club records for funds raised. We netted $7,010 selling the world's best Margaritas at the fair, and brought in $9,729 at the Fly-In. This concludes our major fundraising for the year for a total of over $20,000 to spend in our community to make life better for folks!
In October we started off with Todd Plimpton, the new hospital administrator at our breakfast meeting on the 2nd. He gave a great upbeat talk on how things are going at EPHC, and what the future holds.
President Matt and EPHC Administrator smile after a great meeting on October 2nd.
At our lunch meeting on October 15th, District Rotary Foundation Chair Wyn Spiller gave an amazingly inspirational program about our Rotary Foundation (TRF). Wyn's presentation included some educational aspects of TRF as well. President Matt informed the club that we will be matching donations to TRF with recognition points, and the District has a special program with matching points for those who choose to sign up for Rotary Direct contributions as well. These matching points enable contributors to reach the Paul Harris level, and receive their Paul Harris pin much more quickly ... don't miss out on this special opportunity!! Call Matt or Sam with questions.
The President and club members really appreciated Past District Governor Wyn Spiller's wonderful program on The Rotary Foundation on October 15th.
Our Vocational Program was combined with our social in October as we met for drinks, tapas and meals with Nathan Prince, the 22 year old owner of the "Twisted Vine" in Blairsden. It was a wonderful event and all of those present learned how Nathan worked his way up from dish washer to restaurateur. It really is a lovely place to relax and enjoy some fine wine and excellent food so be sure and pencil in a visit to support this local boy done good!
The membership committee has been reactivated and will soon be sending out a member satisfaction survey through the mail. Please watch out for this, and give it some serious thought.
Well, June concludes President Kristen's marathon double header as our club president. All of us owe her a debt of gratitude for her dedication and willingness to help lead this club through two consecutive years. As of this writing, her demotion is scheduled for tomorrow, June 26th at Kenny's Ranch. Team Clifton has done an incredible job in setting up an enjoyable and memorable event. Please get out there and eat, drink and be merry! But most importantly, give Kristen the CONGRATULATIONS she deserves, and welcome our new President, Matt, into the hot seat!
Speaking of incoming President Matt, he and Elizabeth held an all hands on board "Board Retreat" at their house. The Board enjoyed some pool, ping pong, cards, foosball, and fellowship. Also, of course, in the Rotary tradition they all had a great meal. Most importantly they sat down for their first Board meeting for the upcoming Rotary year. As our new DG Randy Van Tassell says: "Our Best Year Ever"!
It was a very productive retreat and it looks like there were some good ideas for improving club communication and member satisfaction. President Matt will hold a Club Assembly to discuss some of this on the 16th of July at our noon meeting. Make a special effort to be there to have your voice heard as we continue to make the Rotary Club of Portola better and better for our members, our community and the world!
Earlier this month Kim and Sam Wilbanks had the privilege of attending the Rotary International Convention in Hamburg (see cover photo). They both report that it was an exceptional experience and would love to volunteer for a program as soon as an opening is available. So if your team is looking for an interesting and informative presentation on their experience, please give them a call.
Also, just a reminder that your ClubRunner App has all the contact info. for all your fellow members in addition to all of the months coming events. This App is a great way to stay in contact, and keep abreast of scheduled events without having to keep it all in your head. If you experience any difficulty using the App, contact Sam and he will be happy to help you out.
The month of April got off to a good start with a visit from Dr. Kevin Trutma, President of Feather River College and also a member of the Rotary Club of Quincy. FRC is celebrating 50 years of operation. Dr. Trutna presented a very interesting program about the college from its formation through what is happening there today. Kevin is shown in the photo presenting club president Kristen with a certificate of appreciation for the club’s support of FRC. Through our Endowment, we present a $1,000 scholarship to a PHS graduate who will be attending FRC each year. Thanks to Rachelle for helping arrange this very enjoyable and educational program.
The club was awarded a certificate of appreciation from Feather River College for our support for local students to attend FRC.
The District Club Leadership Assembly was held April 6th at the Nugget Casino in Sparks. District Governor Elect Randy VanTassel from the Rotary Club of Bishop convened the session. The purpose was to help Presidents Elect prepare their teams for a successful year beginning July 1st. Unfortunately, it was a pretty small turn out for the club with only Sam and Elizabeth accompanying Matt. However, it was a very inspirational and enjoyable morning and afternoon, and the three brought back some good thoughts and ideas to help make our awesome club even stronger. Matt will be scheduling a club committee and board retreat soon. So keep your calendars open!
Our lunch meeting on April 16th was loaded with interesting and useful information. We were joined by Portola City officials: Mayor Tom Cooley, Councilman Bill Powers, and Acting City Manager Leslie Chrysler. Tom provided us with a complete picture of the complicated issues facing our city. This included budgetary sources and issues, state unfunded mandates, our emergency evacuation plan, road conditions, and code enforcement issues. The up-coming "Gravel Grinder" bike race' scheduled for the weekend of June 2nd, was also a central topic. The council is hopeful that this event will bring the city more business and exposure. The club will evaluate this event for potential participation next year.
We will be gathering at the Log Cabin for our monthly social on April 24th at 6:00.
The April board meeting was cancelled due to numerous conflicts.
We started the month of March out with a bang on the 5th with the Speech and Music contest. This competition had 6 contestants, with three each in the speech contest, and the music contest. This is one of the highlights of our year and Klytia Dutton did a great job of getting this organized.
It was a packed house for our March 5th meeting for the Speech and Music Contest.
The Speech winner was Sophia Dutton, and the Music winner was Jordan Herbert. Both of these kids went on to the Area contest on March 30th in Quincy.
Our contestants: from left to right are Natalie Dutton, Sophia Dutton, Sophie Ward (Speech), Jordan Herbert, Austin Griffin, and Margaret Canseco (Music).
On March 16th we made up or "Rotary Learning Event" that was cancelled due to bad weather in February. The RLI 1 session was a great success with 10 participants from Susanville, Greenville, Quincy and Portola. We also had instructors from Reno and Truckee who volunteered to conduct the session. Evaluations were excellent across the board, so don't miss your chance to attend one of these great sessions next time it comes to town.
Participants break up into small discussion groups during the RLI 1 course on March 16th
On the 19th of March for our Lunch meeting, Renee Herman shared her life with us. It was fascinating to gain a whole new perspective on one of our newer members. Thanks Renee!! During the eeting President Kristen also awarded Joleen Cline her blue badge. Great job Joleen!
In addition, Matt And Elizabeth Cruse returned from their International Service trip with "Smiles without Borders". They brought back a new Rotary Club banner from the R/C of San Felipe Mexico to add to our collection. Hopefully they will share more of their experiences with us in a future program.
President Kristen with our proud new Blue Badger, Joleen Cline!
Matt and Elizabeth brought back a banner from the Rotary Club of San Felipe Mexico.
On March 30th, the Area semifinal Speech and Music Contest was held in Quincy. Our two contestants did extremely well. Sophia Dutton WON the Speech competition, and Jordan Herbert placed third in the Music contest. This was our March Social, and members gathered at Gumba's for lunch afterwards. Sophia will be competing at our District Conference ("The Four Way Fest")on May 18th at the Peppermill Casino in Reno. Register now on the district web-page.
Well February is almost history and we are still shoveling out from under massive snowfall.
Our breakfast meeting on February 5th was cancelled due to a massive winter storm. It's too bad because we had a great program lined up with Andy Ryback of the Quincy Club, and President of Plumas Bank. Andy was scheduled to bring us all up to speed on what's been going on with Plumas Bank and our community. In addition, our club has recognized Plumas Bank with a vocational service award for all of the support they provide to the community. We thank both Andy AND our very own Rachelle Ramelli for everything they do. The Bank is a model for all local businesses to go beyond just making money, and to serve the entire community in so many ways. Unfortunately, presenting this recognition to Andy and Rachelle was not possible due to the meeting cancellation. President Kristen will be ensuring that Andy can make a reappearance soon to bring us up to speed, and receive the Bank's special recognition.
The Board met on February 13th to review all current financial transactions and heard a couple of committee reports. A request was made to have a budget round-up next month (March 13th) to see where we are with our current year's service spending. This will be helpful for PE Matt to identify projects and put together next year's budget. All members are welcome to attend and listen in on the budget discussions. Bill Tantau and Toni Carl indicated that the literacy program was going well, and that almost all spending had been completed. There was discussion on how to make progress with identifying potential host families in our quest to host an inbound student next year. President Kristen will contact Rachelle and offer the assistance of several board members who have offered to assist in this effort. Secretary Toni will have the minutes emailed out soon to all club members.
Lunch meeting on February 19th was led by PE Matt as a warm-up for this coming year. The meal was a fantastic Italian pasta dish put on by Toni Carl and Brian of Team 4...YUM! Joleen Cline was the program. She led a very important discussion on how the club might be able to increase magnitude and quality of its community service. She led us through a short comm unity needs assessment, and then a discussion of what kinds of projects we might want to take on. There was homework for everyone to give this more thought and get feedback to Joleen and Matt soon. There was a lot of energy and enthusiasm in the room!
Our February Social was scheduled for Saturday the 16th but was cancelled due to another major winter storm. It was a session of Rotary Leadership Institute Part 1. There were 14 registered participants; six from Quincy, two from Susanville and 6 from Portola. This session has been rescheduled for March 16th. We are hopeful that even more of our members can register and dedicate this Saturday to learning and fun! The session costs $12 (discounted down from $20) and includes continental breakfast, coffee, lunch and beverages, along with instructional materials. Don't miss it.
As of this writing, we don't yet have "the scoop" on next month's schedule (programs, meals, social, etc.) But stay tuned, Gang ... the newsletter will be updated as soon as "the scoop" is determined
January was an eventful month. We pushed all of our meetings back one week to avoid a conflict with New Years Day, and had our first meeting of 2019 on January 8th. New member, but long time contributor to our club, Nora Shelton was the program. We ask all new members to give a biography of themselves so that everyone can can get to know them better. Nora did a great job with her first PowerPoint presentation ever. Lots of fun pictures, and interesting parts of her life. Most interesting was the part that dance has played in her life. She did a fantastic job. Thanks Nora! Nice to meet you!
On January 15th the clubhouse was open for its first "Committee Coffee". There have been lots of questions about this. The Committee Coffee, conveniently held the second Tuesday of the month at 7:00, is an informal opportunity for any and all of the club committees (Public Image, Club Administration, Membership, Fly-In Pancake Breakfast, etc) to use the clubhouse as a venue for committee work meetings. Many of our club's committees have been pretty inactive, and the Club Administration committee thought that this idea would help to encourage folks to meet and start figuring out how to become more active. Even if you have not joined a committee, you are welcome join in, and enjoy some good coffee and tasty muffins. By attending a Committee Coffee you can learn something about what the various committees are up to and share your ideas with your Rotary Friends. What a great way to start the day ... And Perhaps you will be the spark the lights the fire!
Joleen was passionate about her ideas to enhance our club's service to the community at the first "Community Coffee." Stay tuned for more about this in February! Oh yeah...wake up Steve!
On January 16 the Board of Directors met. Meeting minutes will be made available by secretary Toni soon. The financial report indicated the following use of funds raised through our events:
4H Barn restoration at the fairgrounds: $4,500 (includes $2,500 from The Rotary Foundation)
Community Dinner: $350
Support for victims of the Camp Fire in Paradise: $1,000
Thanksgiving in a box for the lees fortunate: $2,100
Literacy: $1,285 for books plus many hours of hands on reading in the class rooms.
Camp RYLA $1,500 plus hands on Ice Cream Social
End Polio Now: $2,551 contributed by members AND 20% of all Bounce House receipts. A double match of this amount is being made by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation for a total of $7,653 to finish the job of eradicating Polio from the face of the Earth!
On January 22 at our noon meeting we welcomed Sarah Sheridan, Brian Sheridan, and Missy Leal into the club as Honorary Members. We got to know them a little at the induction. Missy has been in education for 16 years. She shared with us info. on one of the many exciting programs at CRC this year: Pop with a Cop, where our youngsters get to interact in a very positive way with local police officers. Sarah is a local from Loyalton. She has been in education for 14 years, and principle of PHS for 7. She is very proud of all of the programs and hardworking staff at he Jr/Sr high school. Brian is also from Loyalton. He is the VP and Athletic Director at PHS. He is working hard to eliminate "F"s (as in failing grades) He's making good progress on this. Brian has been in education for 13 years.
CRC and PHS are working jointly to bring a program called "Screenagers" to our youth. This program teaches our youth about the dangers of device screens and how to use them responsibly. It is scheduled for 5:30 - 8:00 PM on Tuesday, Feb. 29th at PHS. Rotarians are invited to drop by if you're interested in this important issue.
President Kristen did the induction, with Klytia Dutton as the sponsor for all three new Honorary Members: Missy Leal, Sarah Sheridan, and Brian Sheridan.
As Brian's sponsor, Klytia was honored to pin him with his new Rotary Pin.
Our January social is planned for January 28th. We will be attending the PHS basketball game as "Rotary Rooters". The Tigers are taking on the Chester Volcanoes. We meet at the clubhouse at 5:30 in the evening, and will head to the gym from there! Dinner is available at the concession stand.
Check out all of next month's events in the events calendar on the right of this newsletter, or on your ClubRunner app.
Well 2018 is done and a brand spanking new 2019 is here. However, the club really finished the old year with a bang in December.
Before we get to December, the new service project we completed in November was quite a success. We are calling this project "Thanksgiving in a Box" and hope to continue it next year with even more "hands-on participation within the club. This year we provided Thanksgiving dinners for about 70 families in Portola who otherwise would have gone with little. Working with the Plumas County, and in cooperation with Leonard's Market, the club financed Thanksgiving meal vouchers for needy families. We spent a little over $2,000 of funds that you all worked your tail off to earn this last summer to make the holidays brighter for those who needed a lift. We made a real difference.
On December 4th, the club had their monthly breakfast meeting at the clubhouse. Our illustrious PE, Matt Cruse gave a great program on getting the most out of our monthly newsletter. Since the newsletter events are linked to our ClubRunner website account through our App; Matt also covered how to utilize it to stay up to date on member information and club events. It takes some work to put the ECHO together, so we are looking for feedback on what people get out of it, how useful it is, and how we could make it better. Also, editorial help from some relatively tech savvy members would be great!
On December 6th we held our annual Christmas party, brought to us by Team 4 this year. Captain Matt made the arrangements at the Grizzly Grill in Blairsden and it was another wonderful club social event. Dinner was delicious as usual, and as in recent years, the White Elephant gift exchange was lots of fun! Members out did themselves this year with a mixture of worthless, comical and thoughtful gifts.
Travis Schiavone once again received the gift that seems to keep on giving, footie jammies. How he squeezes into these (or keeps receiving them) is a mystery. However, Rochelle unsuccessfully worked hard to steal them and we are not sure why. Wonder what they would look like on Greg?
Rochelle really worked Travis over to no avail.
Dave Shelton was the master of ceremonies and came away with some nice beer and wine!
Matt closed out with a creepy summertime Santa figure. This one is sure to be seen again!
Elizabeth made off with a dandy "White Elephant" tea set...really!
Renee and Chad enjoyed the occasion and came away with this cool mug set.
Our newest Member Irene came with Husband Ronnie and managed to hang on to this awesome fluffy ball decoration thingy!
Our Board had a successful meeting on December 12th, although no information was available at press time. Secretary Toni will be getting minutes out soon so standby.
On December 18th, the club held its annual meeting to elect club officers for the 2010-21 year. The nominating committee composed of Kristen (President), Matt (President Elect) and Toni (as Past President) recommended Sam Wilbanks as President Elect, and Dave Shelton, Dave Nelson, and Steve Clifton as the three incoming "Junior Directors" of the board. With more than one third of the members present (a quorum) the members approved the nominations. More help is needed however, as President Elect Matt is still looking for an assistant secretary, and assistant treasurer. These would be training and assisting Sam and Kristen in 2019-20, and serve a one year term in 2020-21.
After the meeting about 8 members stayed to cook and prepare for the community dinner to be held the next day. Kim, Sam, Nora, Toni, Dave Nelson, Van, Steve, and Irene's husband Ronnie. If I missed anyone my apologies, and a big thank you!! It was peeling and boiling potatoes, making stuffing, yams and green bean casserole. This lasted until about 3:00 when the group then delivered the prepared food to the Father Burns Parrish Hall to be ready for the 19th. A big thank you at all those who stayed and helped that day!
December 19th was our Community Dinner project. Things went very smoothly, and we served a good crowd. Lots of compliments from people and many thanks made this a worthwhile evening. Also, Santa (Kevin LaPlant) and two of his elves (Gloria and Toni) was there and had a great interaction with our local children!
Dave and Nora anchor the food line along with Stacy Estrada, Sally Tantau, Kim and Ronnie Wojek are putting on the finishing touches.
We served a good crowd of community members for our Holiday Dinner as you can see.
Kevin is a fabulous Santa. Here His assistant Toni looks on as he discusses Christmas with a young Portolian.
Some Rotarians never grow up!
December was a great month for our club. Let's all make a new year's resolution to work together and make 2019 an even better year for our club and our community.
October ended with a bang as our monthly social gathering was held at he club house on the 30th. It was a Halloween party extraordinaire! There was a great turnout with decorations by Kim and Sam, dinner provided by Chef Ptomaine (Kenny) and appetizers by Toni and Brian. The costumes were great and all present had a wonderful time!
Pirates, Neanderthals, Flappers, and scary golfers all came together! Chef Ptomaine put out an awesome Tri-Tip!
Kim brought brain jello, and Kitty Litter cake, and Tiana baked a ghostly chocolate cream pie,!
Dave and Liz have been doing some genealogy work and guess what hey found out?? Renee looked pretty swashbuckling as well!
November was "Foundation Month" and our first meeting featured a wonderful program on Our Rotary Foundation. Past District Governor and current Regional Rotary Foundation hair Steve Lewis (of the Carson City Club) made the presentation and did a great job.
Our lunch meeting on the 20th was dedicated to planning for our upcoming Community Supper on the 19th of December. President Kristen sent around a sign up sheet, and reminded us that this is an "all hands on deck" project. We are looking for members to donate a total of six 12 to 14 pound turkeys cooked, carved and put in an aluminum roasting pan. Also, we will be working together on December 18th (after our regular meeting) to finish preparation of mashed potatoes, stuffing, Gravy etc. Contact Van or Steve for more info.
Our November Social was held on November 15th. It was a progressive dinner hosted by "Team Delicious" (led by Captain Rachelle). It started out at Dave and Nora's home in Graeagle for cocktails and tapas. Nora's finger food spread was amazing, and Dave pours an awesome "Duck Fart". From there it was across the street to Liz and Dave Nelson's place for a delicious ham dinner. Then, we piled into the cars and ended the evening with desert at Klytia and Steve's house. There we were treated to amazing Tiramisu, and chocolate mousse. Klytia made some professional grade deserts, that's for sure! All in all it was a fantastic event, fun, friends, and fabulous food (excuse the alliteration)!
Dinner was ham and all the fixin's at Dave and Liz Nelson's beautiful home. Turns out Dave is also quite a painter, and we all admired several of his works hanging in the house.
Next Month "The Cruisers" led by Captain Matt have the duty. Check out the events section of the Echo for details as they emerge. For now, the Christmas Party on December 6th will be our monthly social. Grizzly Grill at 5:30. Be there with your white elephant gift in hand to share some happy holiday happenings!
The Morning meeting in June was a Club Assembly to discuss ways to improve the Fly-In Breakfast. Kim cooked up her world famous enchiladas for the Members to enjoy. President Kristen led the group in discussion and collected suggestions and will report back to the Fly In Committee.
June's Social was hosted by Sam & Kim Wilbanks. About 26 Members and guests attended the Reno Aces game. The Club and Rotarian Spouse Greg Ramelli made the JUMBO TRON welcoming us and wishing Happy Birthday. Nachos were passed around for everyone to enjoy and maybe a few "shots" were consumed by a couple of Members. No names mentioned. EC & RR
The Board held a retreat at the Wilbanks home to plan Club activities and focus for next year. A calendar was developed that should be available soon. Many of you should have received a follow up e-mail from Member Matt Cruse with a "Flight Planner" idea.
Also the month of June had us sending our RYE Student, Anael back to France. Anael prepared lunch for the Club Members and we all had a story or farewell wish to offer her along with a few little trinkets to remember us by. It was a very successful year for her and for us. In addition we had our RYLA student, Hunter Cabral attending the Camp at Grizzly Ranch. Our Club will be hosting the Ice Cream Social at RYLA on Monday July 9th. Great opportunity for all Members to get involved with Youth Services and especially New Members to see what RYLA is all about. In addition on Saturday July 14th they have a "Graduation Ceremony" that is moving.
Be sure to look at the "calendar of events" coming up. We have a full schedule and some very interesting Programs planned.
Well WINTER finally came to Plumas County. It started snowing March 1st and dumped 2-3 feet, depending how high you were, by March 4th. I wisely had booked a trip to Puerto Vallarta starting March 4th and said GOODBYE TO SNOWPLOWING! The only downfall was we missed the WONDERFUL breakfast meeting held March 6th at PHS. I understand that the breakfast was outstanding and the job that the students have done to the room (upgraded with funds from Rotary) was beautiful. We need to have our meetings there more often, like when I'm not out of the country! Much to my surprise it was snowing AGAIN March 15th upon our arrival back to Reno. I thought I had escaped it, but nope the snow had waited for me to come home. We certainly needed the snow pack and water and are glad to get it. Really, WINTER should be done by the middle of March! It’s SPRING TIME!
At our lunch meeting March 20th, we welcomed 2 new fabulous members, Jolene Cline and Klytia Dutton. Jolene owns Cline & Associates which is an accounting firm in Portola. She is also mother to 4 sons and is very active in our community. Klytia has been a school teacher, coach and is now owns her own business called DISHgrace party rentals. She does everything from coordinating to serving your special event! Her husband Steve is heading up the Interact program at PHS, along with her help I’m sure. Klytia is also very active in the community. These 2 wonderful new members will bring a fresh look to many things we do. We welcome them both with open arms and will enjoy their involvement in everything that we do. We also had the first 2 PHS seniors come and talk about themselves to us. Dave (Nora) served tasty sliders and Navy Bean soup, a lunch so tasty everyone was having seconds! THANKS DAVE (NORA)!
Dave Shelton also organized the celebration of our Charter Night. This fun-filled evening was held March 22 at the Clubhouse. Members and their families enjoyed many different dishes that the POT LUCK THEME turned up. There were mouth watering cakes that a few couldn’t wait for and had them for dinner. Elizabeth Cruse, proposed new member, is a former cake baker and made a 2-tier cake with fresh fruit all over it. We welcomed guest from Loyalton and Quincy to help us celebrate 80 YEARS of Rotary in Portola. It was definitely a memorable night.
Spring is here, and we have some much-missed sunshine. Our Breakfast meeting included fruit salad, pastries and a wonderful egg casserole, THANKS DAVE NELSON! Since March’s breakfast meeting was held at PHS and no FINES were handed out Dave was long winded and dished out fines to about everyone. We heard from 2 more seniors. I have to say that PHS is really turning out some smart and driven young people. Hearing what these young adults have done and are planning to do is very interesting.
April is a very busy month:
April 7th is Club Leadership Assembly held at the Nugget in Reno, NV., starting at 9am.
April 10th at 1pm we will have our Club Speech & Music contest with lunch served by yours truly. The winners of this competition will go on to compete at the AREA 2 competition and the winners of that will compete at the District 5190 conference held in May. GOOD LUCK to all the talented students that will be competing.
April 17th at out Lunch meeting, we will have a dress rehearsal of the Apple Dumpling Adventure which will be presented at CRC elementary school on April 25th. We also expect to induct 2 more new members, Renee Herman and Elizabeth Cruse. This will grow our current membership to 25 active and 3 honorary. If possible, we will also have Robert Meacher come talk to us about all the snow removal and how the City faired through the march storms.
April 26th we are planning a social evening at the new “Ricochet” restaurant in Clio. Details are still being worked out so watch closely for news on another fantastic evening with your fellow Rotarians and families.
FINALLY, April 28th is Rotary Work Day. Our project will be a joint effort with the City of Portola and hopefully the interact club. The work day will be cleaning up the Lake Davis Trail. Meet at the dam at 9:00 and divide up from there. The trail cleaning will consist of raking pine needles and any other debris on the trail between Grizzly Road and the start of the trail at the "Y". Volunteers should bring their own rakes. If you have Rotarian Work Day shirts, please wear them. This is a world-wide work day. Please plan on attending and helping clean our community.
The Month of February brought us our Morning Meeting on Feb 6th with Delicious "Egg McSmiths" for Breakfast hosted by Ken Smith. Our Program was a New Member Bio given by Matt Cruse.
Matt joined Alturas Rotary in 2010 then just recently transferred to Portola. We couldn't be more excited and blessed to have him among our membership. His dedication and passion for Rotary is immense and his enthusiasm is contagious. We were also privileged with honoring Matt his Paul Harris + 8 recognition.
Wow! February 20th was a Marti Gras Theme with a wonderful Spicy Gumbo lunch and King Cake for dessert. The program was Noreen Leary. She provided information regarding the Veteran Guest House in Reno. This is a tremendous organization really giving our Vets a helping hand. We were also honored to have our very own "Ralfe" come visit as well as several guests from the local chapter of Republican Women's and some potential members.
We will close out the month of February on the 28th by gathering for a fun Hawaiian themed social just to enjoy each other's company and entice new membership. It is a Pupu Party!!. Pupu is the Hawaiian word for appetizer, so come join the fun at the Rotary Clubhouse and bring along your favorite pupu (finger food). It does not have to be Hawaiian. Beer (Sam's "Island Ale" home brew), wine, tropical cocktails and kalua pork sliders will be provided. There will be a minimal $5 "uku" (Hawaiian for "fee") per person to defray the cost of wine and cocktails.
The dress code is beach casual, so break out your favorite island garb and dress for a warm evening among the swaying palms. Van promises to turn the heat up to the appropriate setting! Remember, shirts, beads, kukui necklaces and leis, even flip-flops are all encouraged.
March will be action packed as well. Portola High School Culinary Arts Class will be hosting our breakfast meeting on March 6th on the school Campus followed by a tour of upgrades that have been partly funded by Rotary.
The lunch meeting hosted by Dave Shelton on March 20th will be a great program, but as of press time it was still a surprise.
Lastly March 22nd we will be celebrating our Club's 80th Charter Night at the Clubhouse with guests from the Quincy & Loyalton Clubs. It should prove to be a memorable night! Don't miss any of it!! The Fellowship is sure to be worth it!
Our first month of the new year was great. In order to avoid going dark because of New Year's Day, the club decided to shift our meeting dates for January only from the first and third Tuesdays, to the second and fourth Tuesdays. We kicked the year off with a breakfast meeting on January 9th. The first meeting of each month is "inward looking" so Team 1 decided to take this opportunity to discuss the kinds of programs and activities we would like to see at these meetings in the future. Club assemblies are just one option. Anything that helps inform our membership about the exciting and interesting things our club does is what we are looking for. For example, how about a multi-media presentation on last year's matching grant project? How about a club assembly on Foundation giving, or a visit from our PHS book club students? How about a report out from the President after she returns from PETS? Another idea would be an update from our wonderful RYE Student, Anael. The fun and rewarding possibilities are truly endless. So Teams, give some thought to the kind of information that would inform all of us as members, and make us proud to be Rotarians.
In our new format, we decided that our lunch meetings (on the third Tuesday of each month) are intended for external program speakers. These exciting meetings aim to be informative and pertinent, and should not be a "pitch" to fund a project. Remember, requests for funding should be taken by the board first. Team 1 has planned a great program for their lunch meeting. On January 23rd Dr Paul Swanson the ER director at EPHC is scheduled to speak about the Opioid crisis, and how it is impacting our healthcare system. This is a timely and important topic, so make sure to attend, and bring a guest!
The monthly Board Meeting was held on the 17th. We are in good financial shape according to the Club Treasurer Sam Wilbanks. In addition, the club cut a check for $750 to support the CRC outdoor Education program "Sports Success". A presentation on how this project works, with pictures and stories, would be another good "inward looking" meeting program.
The First Monthly Club Social was held at the Eureka Peak Taproom next to the Chalet view. About 30 people showed up to visit, have a glass of wine or beer, and sample the Taproom's excellent Tapas. There were at least two prospective members who joined us, and got a good feel for how much fun this club is.
A training session for the new club newsletter is scheduled for 5:30 pm, January 25th at the Wilbanks house. All teams should send at least two folks since preparing the newsletter is now part of each team's monthly responsibilities. Tech-Nerd Sam promises that the session will show everyone how easy it is...at least before a glass or two of wine!
Save the Date! June 25, 2016 The Rotary Club of Portola Endowment will host the annual Jerry Todd Memorial ATV Poker Run. This will be the event of the season!
Not only was the Jerry Todd Memorial Poker Run a hit, so was Angela's Famous Watermelon Lemonade! Everyone has been raving about it and asking for the recipe. So we thought we'd share...
The Rotary Club of Portola is looking for local high school students, ages 14-18 to compete in our Annual Scholarship Music and Speech contest. Applications are due Tuesday, March 17!
The Rotary Club of Portola welcomed two new member's at the Tuesday morning meeting on March 10, 2015. District Governor Joe Zarachoff inducted Angela Haick and Mike Sanchez while the proud sponsors, Ken Smith and Kirk Lambert stood by. The club would like to welcome both Angela and Mike to our family and look forward to learning more about each of you and your families.
Thanks to our dedicated group of hard working Rotarian's, a new Pancake Fly-In Breakfast sign has been installed at Beckwourth Nervino Airport! Hope it catches your eye next time you drive Highway 70 past the airport. Save the date, the Fly-In will be held on September 13, 2015!
This year Rotary Club of Portola had the pleasure of hosting Walk Off the War hikers who journeyed throughout the Pacific Crest Trail. During their stay in Plumas County on Fourth of July weekend, our Club made new friends who touched our hearts.
Member, Bill Tantau, housed hiker Kevin Black at his home. Bill began following Kevin's Blog at: http://www.sobadadventures.com/?p=940, and shared a special post from September 22nd.
Kevin wrote on day 156:
Well, it’s been just over 5 months, 5+ million steps, and 2,660 miles through three states from the border of Mexico into Canada. There are so many people who were involved in making my dream a possibility.
My fellow hikers were a huge part of it. I learned so much from them. When I’d get to a new section, I could always count on getting good info from them. I received many tips on how to deal with difficult situations. And the camaraderie was always welcome. They are all truly unique and wonderful!
My friends and family. The encouragement I received played a huge part in making this dream a reality. From my good friend and former neighbor, Ben, who took the time to research the best hiker foods to fill the calorie void I found myself in early on to the many other suggestions and comments of encouragement I received.
There were many, many trail towns we visited where we were welcomed with open arms! The people we met and the kindness/generosity they showed us was more than I could have ever expected or hoped for!
The many blog readers gave me not only encouragement, but an even stronger desire to complete this journey. I can’t thank you enough!
Sean Gobin, the founder of Warrior Hike, and his staff who worked tirelessly to provide gear and points of contact at the various trail towns for resupply and a place to clean off and get some much-needed rest.
And finally, my wife, Kristi, who did everything she could to support and encourage me while sheltering me from the many situations she was dealing with on the home front so I could focus my full attention on the hike. Yet one of the hundreds of reasons why I love her so much and was smart enough to marry her!
I’ve been asked what was my favorite part of the hike. Ever since stepping foot in Yosemite Valley, it’s been the prettiest place I’ve ever been. But the trail doesn’t go through the Valley. It is just east of it. I’d never been in the High Sierras, and they certainly didn’t disappoint! I thought that was going to end up being the most beautiful section of the trail…until I got to the Northern Cascades. Although I can’t say I enjoyed them more than the High Sierras, I can’t say I enjoyed them less either. I was fortunate to have great weather while hiking through most of Washington which helped. But believe me when I say, every time a turn or a pass was coming up on the trail, I approached it with anticipation of what I’d see next! Rarely was I disappointed! Don’t get me wrong though, the entire trail had its grandeur and beauty. All in all, a phenomenal journey.
During the course of the hike, I’ve been asked by many people what I expected to get or was getting out of the hike. My answer normally revolved around the wonderful people I met on and off the trail and the beauty of nature. But it wasn’t until two days before reaching the Canadian border that the answer hit me. I was standing at a pass and looked down on the ground. Someone had taken the time to meticulously write something using small stones. “50 Miles to Canada! Eh!” When I looked at it, at first, I laughed. But then it hit me…only 50 miles left before I’d be at the end of this trip. I’d changed in ways I never could comprehend before I started. But to really understand how I’ve changed, I need to take you back to Operation Desert Shield/Desert Storm over two decades ago.
During our deployment to Kuwait, there were a lot of unknowns. We didn’t have the communication system like we do now. No contact with home for the first few months. No cell phones. No internet. When the war started, family and friends didn’t know whether we were dead or alive. We didn’t know what we were facing. When the U.S. started bombing units in Kuwait, we were subjected to numerous daily and nightly missile alerts. The sirens used to alert the entire region were right outside our hooch. So the four or five times they went off at night, they didn’t wake us up. They literally launched us out of the rack. We were under the assumption that the Iraqis would use gas. What kind we weren’t sure — nerve agents, mustard gas, etc. So each time the alert went off, we were getting in our protective gear with gas masks. There were other times when things happened that…well, let’s just say that it got my heart rate and adrenaline levels way up. I’ll leave it at that.
When you’re deployed in an environment like that, you’re always hyper-alert. When I returned from deployment, loud noises still made me jump and my heart race. But after awhile, things went back to normal to a great extent. But the one thing I noticed was emotionally, I felt like I was in a fishbowl. Things that I used to enjoy doing didn’t bring as much joy to me. It was that way for all my emotions. Feelings of happiness, joy, and love didn’t make it through the fishbowl very well. I remember thinking about it after I returned from deployment. But I figured it would get back to normal as well, eventually. And to an extent, it did, but it never got back to my predeployment days…until this hike.
The first time I realized something was going on during the hike was when I called Kristi after I had gotten through the High Sierras. Up to that point, it was the most difficult section…and the most beautiful. When I finally was able to call her and she picked up the phone, all the emotions came welling up to the point that I wasn’t able to say anything when she answered. I got all choked up. It took me a few seconds before I could even mumble a few words. I knew something was up. I’m not prone to emotional outbreaks like that. It happened a few other times on the trail as well. It wasn’t until I got to the point on the trail where I saw “50 Miles to Canada! Eh!” written in stone that I realized what had happened to me. At first I laughed when I saw it, but within moments, tears started streaming down my face. I realized that the fishbowl was gone. It was like a reset button for my emotions had been hit. Things that didn’t really impact me before were having an impact. I felt like I did when I was young. Earl Shaffer, the first person to thru-hike the Appalachian Trail, was asked why he did it. His response was that he did it to “walk off the war.” Now I understand what he meant!
So this bucket list item is one I can check off now. I think now you better understand why, when I say I can’t thank you all enough, what I mean and why.
John Muir couldn’t have said it better when he said: In every walk with nature, one receives far more than he seeks.
The only other thing I’d like to say is to my wonderful wife, Kristi.
The Rotary Club of Portola is Taking Action through two wonderful members.
Member Ann Taylor has taken action to end polio with her Kiss Polio Goodbye campaign! For every $5.00 donation to End Polio Now she gives a tube of homemade chap stick. Donate $10.00 and also receive homemade hand lotion. Great job Ann by Taking Action!
Club President, Toni Carl, is also taking action! Every guest who presents a program gets a donation made to Polio Plus! Look for Polio Pig at the Rotary Club of Portola meeting hall.
Two inspiring woman making a difference! We are This Close!
Visit http://www.endpolio.org/take-action to learn about how you can share your voice and take action.
The Object of Rotary
The Object of Rotary is to encourage and foster the ideal of service as a basis of worthy enterprise and, in particular, to encourage and foster:
FIRST. The development of acquaintance as an opportunity for service;
SECOND. High ethical standards in business and professions; the recognition of the worthiness of all useful occupations; and the dignifying of each Rotarian’s occupation as an opportunity to serve society;
THIRD. The application of the ideal of service in each Rotarian’s personal, business, and community life;
FOURTH. The advancement of international understanding, goodwill, and peace through a world fellowship of business and professional persons united in the ideal of service.
What is vocational service? If you are an active, engaged Rotarian, you probably view vocational service as a way of life, even if you find it difficult to articulate a clear definition. This handbook (located at: https://www.rotary.org/myrotary/en/guiding-principles) can help you gain a better understanding of vocational service and equip you with ideas to help you practice it through your club activities and in your career.
The concept of vocational service
The Object of Rotary is a philosophical statement of Rotary’s purpose and the responsibilities of Rotarians. The concept of vocational service is rooted in the Second Object, which calls on Rotarians to “encourage and foster”:
• High ethical standards in business and professions
• The recognition of the worthiness of all useful occupations
• The dignifying of each Rotarian’s occupation as an opportunity to serve society As a Rotarian, how can you put these ideals into action? Consider these suggestions:
• Talk about your vocation in your club, and take time to learn about fellow members’ vocations.
• Use your professional skills to serve a community.
• Practice your profession with integrity, and inspire others to behave ethically through your own words and actions.
• Help a young person achieve his or her career aspirations.
• Guide and encourage others in their professional development.
If you do any of these things, you are performing vocational service. And if vocational service motivates and energizes you, then you’re in the right place, because vocational service is the very essence of Rotary. It is what sets Rotary apart from other service organizations.
Posted by https://www.rotary.org/myrotary/en/celebrate-membership-month on Aug 03, 2014
Celebrate Membership Month
August is Membership Month, which means it’s time to celebrate your Rotary club, your members, and the good you do in your community and around the world.
There are many ways to join in the celebration, but here are a few activities to get you started:
Say it loud, say it proud! Let everyone in your social network know that you are a proud member by changing your Twitter and Facebook profile to the I’m a Proud Member, I’m a Proud Rotaractor, or I’m a Proud Interactor graphic. Copy and save the graphic as your profile picture for August.
Watch and share. Download RI President Gary C.K. Huang’s video on membership from Rotary’s Vimeo page. Watch it at your next meeting or club event to highlight the vital role membership plays in maintaining a strong and active club.
We Are Rotary. Using the hashtag #WeAreRotary, post photos to Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, or Vine of your club members at work in your community or abroad to show how Rotary makes a positive impact in the world.
It’s Now or Never. Join us on August 13 at 10:00 Chicago time (UTC-5) for our Membership: It’s Now or Never webinar. It will feature international membership expert Nikki Walker discussing innovative ways of thinking about membership.
Making a difference. Rotary clubs are known for the high-impact service projects they undertake locally and globally. Share stories about your service projects and how they improve lives on Rotary Showcase. Be sure to follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram to see what Rotary members around the world are doing to celebrate Membership Month.
What does Rotary mean to you? Rotary members have pushed polio to the brink of eradication, delivered clean water to those in need, improved their local communities, provided scholarships to the next generation of peacemakers, and continued to do good in the world.
The Rotary Club of Portola started this year with a BIG BANG with a combined community service and fundraising weekend. The 42nd Annual 4th of July Mohawk Independence Day Celebration was themed “Honoring Our Veterans”. The already action packed weekend in Graeagle, California provided a special and heartfelt opportunity for the Portola Rotary Club.
Ralph Taylor was named Rotarian of the Year for 2013-14. Ralph has been the club's Community Service Chair for several years and is involved with all the club's projects and events. Ralph was a tremendous help to Past President, Kirk Lambert. In addition to the long list of club work Ralph does he is also a District Assistant Governor. Ralph definitely lives the Rotary motto, "Service Above Self". Congratulations Ralph, you are a true inspiration to all Rotarians and continue to put Rotary first.
President Kirk Lambert ended his year with fellow Rotarian's, family and friends on June 25, 2014. All enjoyed an evening of fun and games along with a well prepared tri-tip dinner, special thanks to Kevin LaPlant, Brian Carl, Ken Smith and Ralph Taylor. District Governor Vicki Puliz and Past District Governor Sam "Woody" Willbanks also joined in on the fun. President Elect Toni Carl begins her year as president on July 1, 2014.
Rotary Club of Portola takes pride in its efforts to support local students through Rotary Endowment Fund scholarships. Committee members came together and interviewed many deserving and talented students from Portola High School. It is our pleasure to announce the 2014 scholarship recipients.
Academic Scholarship - Sandra Kibble - $1,000
Academic Scholarship - Callie Harvey - $1,000
Leadership Scholarship - Callie Harvey - $1,000
Service Above Self Scholarship - Clayton Sears- $1,000
Feather River College Scholarship - Brad Bundy -up to $1,000
Stephen O'Neill Memorial Scholarship, Sponsored by Graeagle Land & Water- Trevor Ohle - $500
Rotary would like to wish all 2014 graduates best of luck as they enter the next stage of their education journeys.
Posted by USDA Forest Service, Plumas National Forest on Jun 25, 2014
NEWS RELEASE
USDA Forest Service, Plumas National Forest For Immediate Release Contact: Lee Anne Schramel at (530) 283-7850 Web: http://www.fs.usda.gov/plumas
Warrior Hike “Walk Off The War” veterans visit Plumas County
Quincy, CA – June 26, 2014 - Four veterans hiking the 2,650 mile Pacific Crest National Scenic Trail (PCT) will be stopping in Plumas County, CA and joining the Mohawk Valley Independence Day festivities on July 5 & 6th. The “Warrior Hikers” are excited about the opportunity to speak with local veterans, other community members and visitors, after taking showers and doing some much-needed laundry following a week of hiking along the PCT!
The Rotary Club of Portola is getting ready for the 4th of July Mohawk Independence Day Celebration. The 42nd Annual events theme is "Honoring Our Veterans".
Such timing, Warrior Hikers will be coming through Portola and Graeagle via the Pacific Crest Trail on July 4, 2014. The Club will host the hikers for a BBQ social on one evening while they are in town at Red House Art. For information about the Warrior Hike Journey visit www.warriorhike.com or follow them on Facebook or Twitter.
On July 6th come down the Graeagle Park for the Old Fashioned Day In The Park. The Rotary Club will have our bounce house up and children can play all day for $5.00. Proceeds benefit the local community and our End Polio Now campaign. We look forward to seeing you there.
One ticket was all it took to win the Rotary Club of Portola's snowmobile raffle! Dave Shelton handed over the keys to the proud winner, Ora Heaston of Loyalton, CA!
April 1, 2014 - The Rotary Club of Portola held a special evening meeting to honor local fire departments with the Distinguished Service Citation Award! Thank you to our volunteer fire departments! This meeting also embraced a potluck dinner and a fun evening ending with a dessert bake off competition. Elizabeth Nelson won the best dessert, New Zealand Pavlova, she learned to make it 41 years ago.
Pictured left to right: Plumas-Eureka Fire Dept. Rich Machado, Graeagle Fire Protection Dist. Chief Ed Ward, Beckwourth Fire Dist., Greg McCaffery and Rotary President Kirk Lambert
The Rotary Club of Portola will hold a special evening meeting on Tuesday, April 1, 2014. Don’t forget to purchase your snowmobile tickets now! Odds are great, drawing will be held at this event filled evening. Need not be present to win.
A Quick update on the Rotary Snowmobile Poker run....No snow, no run! We are currently moving the date ahead from the 15th to the 22nd of Feb in hopes of catching some snow by then...we will see!
This Lake Davis Trail Project was a three entity effort between the Rotary Club of Portola, The City of Portola and the Forest Service. Susan Arterburn designed and engraved the rocks for the project. The Rotary Club came up with the idea and funded the engraving, the City of Portola provided the boulders and the Forest Service had the trail constructed and allowed us to do the project. Hopefully this trail is just the start to an extensive trail system.
The Rotary Club of Portola presents the PHS Softball team with a check for $300 for their hard work at the Fly-In Breakfast. Pictured from left: Coach Carl Popish, Dayna Cormany, Mariah Marsh, Club President Kirk Lambert and Coach Joe Moctezuma.
In an ongoing effort to build a dynamic and interactive www.RotaryClubOfPortola.com web page, you may notice some pages and links on our site are "under construction". Please check the page periodically for new content.
New pages coming soon! 'News and Project Updates', this section will include special news about our club, committee information and bounce house rental contact info. 'Community Events' We hope to include a section to highlight events around the community, the objective here is to encourage members of the community to access our page often to see our current info and then link to other events in the area.
What else would you like to see on our page? Email Shelly, shelly.yockey@yahoo.com or call (530) 249-1121 with your suggestions!
Representatives of the Rotary Club of Portola, the City of Portola and the Portola Area Historical Society planned a formal rededication program for the Portola City Pool.
Rotary Club of Portola volunteers joined forces on Sunday, July 21, 2013 to provide another excellent Pancake Breakfast for the Historic Johnsville Days!
ROTARIAN OF THE YEAR - AN AWARD THAT GOES TO A PERSON NOMINATED BY THE CLUBS FELLOW ROTARIAN'S, HERE ARE JUST A FEW COMMENTS RECEIVED WITH THIS YEARS NOMINATION:
Taking a short break from repairing picnic tables, stacking garbage cans, raking leaves, repairing gopher holes, sweeping barn walls for cobwebs, collecting litter. As always we had Fun! working together. Pictured left to right- Bob Conen, Rachelle Ramelli, Cameron, President Gloria LaPlant, Van Vanderveen & President-Elect Kirk Lambert
The Rotary Club of Portola celebrated their 75th Charter Anniversary. In attendance to celebrate 75 years of Community Service were Rotarians past and present, their families and joining us from the district were District Governor Sam "Woody" Wilbanks, District Governor-Elect Vicki Puliz and Past District Governor Alan Cain. A fabulous meal was prepared by Rotarians Ralph Taylor and Bob Conen.
(Pictured left to right: Alan Cain, Sam "Woody" Wilbanks, Rotary Club of Portola President Gloria LaPlant, Vicki Puliz and Rotary Club of Portola President-Elect Kirk Lambert)
The Rotary Club of Portola Welcomes! another new member LeAnn Chapman, she was inducted on March 12th. LeAnn is an RN in the community, she joins 29 other Rotarians who's motto is "Having Fun Through Service to Our Youth, Community & The World". (pictured left to right- President Gloria LaPlant, LeAnn, & Rotarian Martin Sanford).
The Rotary Club of Portola Welcomes 2 new members, Kristen Schiavone and Shelly Yockey, both from Plumas Sierra Rural Electric Cooperative. They were inducted by District Governor Sam "Woody" Wilbanks on February 26th. They join 27 other Rotarians who's motto is "Having Fun Through Service to Our Youth, Community & The World". (Pictured left to right- President Gloria LaPlant, Kristen, DG Wilbanks, Rachelle Ramelli, & Shelly).
In a time when bullying is on the top of everyone’s awareness; we believe that it is necessary to take the steps to promote an inclusive, respectful, safe and welcoming culture in our school.
Rochelle Whellams from Learning for Living, developed this program with the belief that unless students are empowered to take an active role in the changing culture, change will not be fully accomplished. The majority of the program was process-based and allowed the students to take part in activities geared towards increasing self-awareness, leadership by example, the importance of thinking beyond this moment, and encouraging students to consider the legacy of their actions. The program started with the foundation that all of us are leaders...often times, though we do not lead in a conscious manner. Everything in our lives is a choice, and when we accept this, we realize that we are in the drivers seat when it comes to our actions.
Recognition was given to the Rotary Eight Grade Leadership graduates, Chelsea, Brandon, Manny & Carter. These students are true leaders because they did not want Rotary EGL to just be a cool experience for just them. Instead, they chose to share it with all. Finally, a big theme for the day was “legacy”. Essentially the students were asked to examine how they have, and how they would like to show-up in their lives and what their legacy will be...will there be afterglow or aftermath from their involvement in relationships? This program is designed to help open up a dialogue between students for improving the school culture, because in the end... we aren't all that different.
Thank you to all the Rotarians who attended some part of the seminar. The students were grateful for the support and were a little surprised that we were willing to be so open with them. This is only the beginning! The Rotary Club of Portola is committed to mentoring our students so they can reach their full potential in a caring & inclusive environment.
There's our float in progress, notice the scaffolding and all the Rotarians from various clubs working on it. The people on the walkway above are not workers/volunteers, they are on a tour to see the floats up close and watch all the activity.
There they are hard at work, not me cuz I'm taking the picture. The AWESOME volunteers from the Rotary Club of Portola, on the left Van Vanderveen, Renata Vanderveen & Ann Taylor. On the right Ralph Taylor at the far end and my hubby Kevin LaPlant in the denim jacket.
And there is the finished product, made up of hundreds of small white carnation petals.
Here we are again, don't we look cute! Notice we are all bundled up, it's pretty cold in the building.... got to keep the flowers fresh.
Ralph & Ann putting the dark lavendar roses on the float.
Rotary International President Sakuji Tanaka & Rotary Club of Portola President Gloria LaPlant placing roses on the float. He was very pleased with the design of the float as it represented his theme "Peace through Service" with Rotary wheels, Peace cranes, cherry blossoms and the World (which rotated along with the wheels) at the center.
Our BEAUTIFUL!! Float with RI President Sakuji Tanaka seated on the front right side of the float with a baseball cap and 5190 District Governor Sam "Woody" Wilbanks at the right rear of the float looking cool in his sunglasses. Notice the Rotary International sign, we made that with lots & lots & lots of small white carnation petals.
DECORATING THE ROTARY INTERNATIONAL ROSE PARADE FLOAT
Watch the You Tube video of future Rotarians Nathan & Anderson playing in the Rotary Bounce House.
What a great night we had last night, we could not have done it with everyone that showed up to work and have Fun!- we had some pretty good laughs. For those of you who weren't there.... we missed you!
Thanks! to the Bar Crew- Jo, Steve Clifton, Martin, Bill Tiffany and Toni & Brian Carl.
Thanks! to the Bounce House Crew- Van, Ralph, Ann, Steve O'Neill & Kevin
The community turn out was low, much lower that had been expected. But, those who attended really enjoyed themselves and Rotary was a big part of providing the Service of Fun to the community. This was also an opportunity to raise awareness among the community about Polio. We had the "End Polio Now" sign at the entrance of the bounce stating that 20% of the proceeds go towards the Polio campaign so kids all around the world are able to play in bounce houses. We had people making donations and they didn't even have kids going through the bounce house.
The kids loved the Bounce House, they were WILD!! with excitement. We had over 80 kids go thru it over & over & over & over & over again. Personally I got a little dizzy watching them all zip by.... you know they all slept good & peacefully last night and so did their parents. PEACE through SERVICE.
Rotary Bounce House @ Fiesta Night in Portola City Park
Wow!! , we had quite a turnout, and I'm not just talking about the dedicated Rotarians who know this is a worthwhile project to help the Museum remain a resource and jewel for our community. We had Old Rotarians, Future Rotarians, 1st time Pancake Flipper Rotarians, Fun Rotarians, Quiet Rotarians (if you can believe that), Rotarian Spouses, but all in all we had HAPPY ROTARIANS. This is always a FUN!! event for all of us. It was our own Van's Birthday so you guessed it, we got to sing him our redition of Happy Birthday! A BIG THANK YOU!!! to all who came out to make this is a success- Steve O'Neill, Dave Shelton, Kirk, Martin, Jo, Ann, Ralph, Renata, Van, Steve Clifton, Bill Tiffany, Jerry, John, Bob Balzan, Bob Conen, Bill Tantau, Chad, Dave's crew- Frank, and our Rotarian spouses Nora Shelton & Kevin LaPlant.
The plan was to start the project on Rotarians at Work Day, however we had an intense rainstorm and the project was postponed. This is a big project and will take several work parties to complete. Van and Ralph have put in several hours preparing the deck for staining and organizing the work parties. All who showed up had Fun! Yeah, it was hot but we had so many laughs.
Ralph & Van want to thank all the "stainmasters" who helped with Phase 1 of the project, Ann, Steve Clifton, Steve O'Neill, Toni, Rachelle, Bob, Tom, Kevin & Gloria. Phase I, the ramp, is now completed. Next week Van and Ralph will take a look at the Phase II, the first portion of the deck and come up with a plan. A big thanks to Stan and Tom for all the support from the Hospital and Plumas Ace Hardware for helping with the supplies. We're getting er done and it's been fun!!
Rotary is an organization of business and professional people pledged to uphold the highest professional and ethical standards in their daily lives. As Rotarian's, we believe that worldwide fellowship and international peace can be achieved when business and professional people unite under the banner of "Service Above Self".
We come together once a week to have fun, to renew friendships, and to plan projects to make a difference in others lives. Each Rotarian has a different talent, a different passion, but all have a desire to provide service to others. Rotary offers fellowship, personal growth, prestige, business development & networking, cultural awareness, an opportunity to serve, and fun!
Please join us for breakfast and fun! Tuesday mornings. We'd love to get to know you.
The Rotary Club of Portola supports the Trails for Recreation and Community (TRAC) program and the work they are doing in conjunction with the Sierra Buttes Trail Stewardship (SBTS). Check out their master plan and letter of support template at http://www.chamberorganizer.com/easternplumaschamber/mem_TRAC.
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The only downfall was we missed the WONDERFUL breakfast meeting held March 6th at PHS. I understand that the breakfast was outstanding and the job that the students have done to the room (upgraded with funds from Rotary) was beautiful. We need to have our meetings there more often, like when I'm not out of the country! Much to my surprise it was snowing AGAIN March 15th upon our arrival back to Reno. I thought I had escaped it, but nope the snow had waited for me to come home. We certainly needed the snow pack and water and are glad to get it. Really, WINTER should be done by the middle of March! It’s SPRING TIME!
At our lunch meeting March 20th, we welcomed 2 new fabulous members, Jolene Cline and Klytia Dutton. Jolene owns Cline & Associates which is an accounting firm in Portola. She is also mother to 4 sons and is very active in our community. Klytia has been a school teacher, coach and is now owns her own business called DISHgrace party rentals. She does everything from coordinating to serving your special event! Her husband Steve is heading up the Interact program at PHS, along with her help I’m sure. Klytia is also very active in the community. These 2 wonderful new members will bring a fresh look to many things we do. We welcome them both with open arms and will enjoy their involvement in everything that we do. We also had the first 2 PHS seniors come and talk about themselves to us. Dave (Nora) served tasty sliders and Navy Bean soup, a lunch so tasty everyone was having seconds! THANKS DAVE (NORA)!
Dave Shelton also organized the celebration of our Charter Night. This fun-filled evening was held March 22 at the Clubhouse. Members and their families enjoyed many different dishes that the POT LUCK THEME turned up. There were mouth watering cakes that a few couldn’t wait for and had them for dinner. Elizabeth Cruse, proposed new member, is a former cake baker and made a 2-tier cake with fresh fruit all over it. We welcomed guest from Loyalton and Quincy to help us celebrate 80 YEARS of Rotary in Portola. It was definitely a memorable night.
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Look for Polio Pig at the Rotary Club of Portola meeting hall.
