January 11th, 2016 Newsletter

Posted by Alex Bonesteel on Jan 10, 2016

Meeting Date/Location: December 28, 2015 China City

President’s Comments

What a way to close the year! It was great to see everyone back at our regular meeting and celebrating the joys of a well done fundraising effort. I feel honored and humbled to be the President of such a dynamic club. I stand in amazement at the level of participation that our club members and volunteers devoted to the three week tree and wreath sales. With near 100% participation, we reached and exceeded our goals. I am especially excited about the outcome because it allows us to give more back to our community and international efforts. Congratulations to everyone.

I want to thank Richard and Jennifer Parrick of Main Street Christmas Trees who provided the foundation for this great fundraising endeavor. Through all of our efforts we were able to donate $2500.00 to the South Whidbey Girls’ Basketball team for much-needed equipment. The money raised will also allow us to fund some other worthy projects in the near future. Way to go Rotarians!

Happy thoughts

Happy thoughts included a long-awaited house sale, holiday family visits, a successful conclusion to our Christmas tree fundraiser, and a holiday spent in the sunny Dominican Republic.

Guests:

Chelsea Schultz, daughter of Tracy Schultz
Karen Renz, guest of Alicia Dietrich and fundraiser volunteer
Marion Carry, an exchange student from Brive, France hosted by Ray and Mary Green
Ray Green, guest of Mary Green
Richard Parrick, our partner in the Christmas tree fundraiser
Susan Torgin, guest of Sharon Edberg and fundraiser volunteer

Happy New Year!

Our new year got off to a great start as we celebrated the successful conclusion of our second annual Christmas tree fundraiser in partnership with Mainstreet Christmas trees. The profits enable us to help support projects and causes throughout the year, kicking off right here at home with a $2,500 donation to the South Whidbey High School Girls Basketball team. We were delighted to present the check at the January 5th game.

Members from the girls and boys basketball teams, their coach, the South Whidbey High School Interact Club, and parents, all pitched in to help.

We’re very grateful to multiple organizations and individuals for their support, including:

Drew's List (Drew Kampion)
Island Concierge (Billy Ducharme)
Mick Olsen Corporation (Leroy Olsen)
Sebo's (Frank and Nancy Parra)
Sound Business Center (Jacob Bloom)
South Whidbey Record
Whidbey Island Center for the Arts (WICA)
Whidbey Island Electric (Matt Armstrong)
Whidbey Telecom (George Henny)
Whidbey Weekly

We also offer a special thanks to our own Alex Bonesteel, who generously promoted our efforts on his Whidbey Island website.

Last but certainly not least, we owe our biggest thanks to our local community and all of the people who bought trees, wreaths, and helped spread the word. Thank you all!