Turning Vision to Action

Tuesday morning was dedicated to a club assembly where we broke into five groups to create SMART goals for several of the focus points that came out of our visioning session in April.  The groups included membership, The Rotary Foundation, public image, projects, leadership development, and reintroducing the senior dinner.

Tuesday night, 10 of our members spent time with district facilitators taking each goal and creating an action plan, complete with tasks, people responsible, and timelines.  The next step is to actually implement the plans, and finish goals and tasks for a few focus points that are left.

Thanks to Jim Huffman, Matt McColm, Wayne Massing, Ron Griffith, Tom Hanson, Bill McDowell, Patty Rush, Jordan Carrell, and Jim & Carol Adamson for taking time Tuesday evening to work on this project.

Look for exciting things to come.  

Rotarian of the Month

President Carol named Jim Huffman as the Rotarian of the Month for September.  Jim, a charter member and past-president, is on three committees, including the chair of the program committee.
He acquires and schedules programs, and brings, sets up, and takes down the media equipment each week.  We thank Jim for his service and appreciate all he does for our club and community.

Program - TED Talks

Since our guest speaker was a no-show, Jim Huffman again came up with a couple TED Talks videos.  One was a humorous look at the use of eh word "awesome".
The other was a humorous, but serious look at mental illness in animals.  Yes, you read correctly. The speaker gave stories, and showed pictures, of animals with a variety of behaviors,

New Generations Month

September is Rotary International New Generations Month.  This is to emphasize our role in working with youth.  We promote the youth exchange program, Interact, Rotaract, Rotary Youth Leadership Awards, and help sponsor many youth-related activities and events in the schools.  It is our responsibility to set examples for our youth in our vocations and our personal lives.

Garden Update

Over 375 pounds of food has been delivered to the Bruce residents. The garden is pretty much done and the poles and irrigation lines have been removed and stored for the winter.  Thanks to Wayne for helping with this.  Thanks to all who have helped in some way on this project.  The residents at the Bruce have been so appreciative

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Rocky Reach Dam Tour

Several of our members attended the Wenatchee Club meeting Thursday night at Rocky Reach Dam. After a buffet dinner, General Manager Steve Wright gave some information on the PUD plans, followed by a "hard hat" tour of the inner workings of he dam.  Jim & Carol Adamson, Josh & Stephanie Meziere, Patty & Heath Rush, Alan & Kelly Walker, and Wayne Massing participated.

Yard Work at the Senior Center

Thanks to Alan Walker, Josh Meziere, and Jim & Carol Adamson for helping the Senior Center on Thursday to remove the river rock from the parking lot islands so dirt could be brought in for landscaping.

Program - Matt McColm's Classification

Matt McColm gave his classification talk last Tuesday, complete with PowerPoint slides tracing his personal and work history.  Matt grew up in Bothell, WA.  He served in the military and participated in Desert Storm.  He spent the next few years being a poet, turning out a poem a day for three years.  Matt then turned to marketing, and worked at a distribution center.   Two years ago he started a business with Farmers Insurance, and focuses on customer service.  He now works with RJ Martinez (Farmers) whose main office is in Quincy.  Matt is married to Suzie, and they have one son.  We're glad to have Matt in our club.

Program - GWATA

Jim H. introduced Amy Lewis, manager of Greater Wenatchee Area Technology Alliance (GWATA), who talked about the mission and events of the organization.  They put on events to promote technology for small businesses, host social media events, and the innovator awards luncheon.  The next social media event is next Tuesday at 8:30 at Pybus.  They will also put on the Business and Technical Summit October 24 with the Chamber of Commerce.

Lemonade for Life Girls

Middle school students Lulu, Alexis, Ava, and Ireland talked about the $1300 they raised for cancer research last year.  This year they are putting on the first annual Pink Ribbon Tea to raise money for cancer research.  The event will be at Pybus Market on October 4.  The $20 tickets can be purchased at the PAC.  The hat was passed, and $330 collected from our members for their cause.

Program - Off-Leash Dog Park

Jim H. introduced Dr. Carin Smith, doctor of veterinarian medicine, consultant,and speaker.  She was representing FIDO (Friends Improving Dog Opportunities).  Dr. Smith talked about the of-lease dog park that is being planned on half (2.5 acres) of the proposed Hale Park at the foot of the pedestrian bridge in Wenatchee.  The goal is to get several parks in the Weantchee area over the next few years, and to facilitate responsible dog ownership.  Forty percent of homes have dogs, and walking dogs is the only form of exercise for many people.  Together with the city, they want to raise $250,000 for the first phase of the off-leash park.  You can find more information at www.wenatcheefido.org.

New Members

Erin McCool inducted two new members today.  Richard Kitos, owner of Lulu's restaurant and Wild Ivy Catering, and Maggie Nelson, secretary at the Washington State Parks office, were inducted and given the traditional Rotary materials and greeting.  We are glad to have them join our membership, and look forward to serving with them.

August Rotarian of the Month

President Carol awarded the Rotarian of the Month (August) to Jordan Carrell.  In addition to being our treasurer for the past year, he serves actively on four committees,and is a Challenge Scholar mentor.  He has helped Carol and the Board with the budget, and with getting a clear handle on our different fund accounts.  He has also worked on the garden.