Rotarian of the Month

Carol presented the February Rotarian of the Month to Joan Wright.  Joan is a past president, and has been the leader in our Challenge Scholar program.  She was instrumental in our club's attaining the "Be the Change" grant, and participates in the century bike ride activities.  Way to go Joan.

Program - Classification Talk

Norm Sturm, one of our newer members, gave his classification talk.  Norm grew up in Puyallup, WA, and went to UW on a football scholarship.  His dream of becoming an architect did not materialize, so he spent time bouncing around various ventures and jobs.  He has a passion for serving people, which has led him to work with Serve Wenatchee Valley, the Chamber of Commerce, and Rotary.  He and his wife Janice moved to Wenatchee 3 years ago and love it here.  They have three grown sons.

Announcements

A Prosperity Summit will be held in Wenatchee on March 4th.  The focus will be on the alleviation of poverty in our area, with guest speaker Donna Beagle.  The club will reimburse the $25 registration fee for members who would like to attend.  This fits in well with the Be the Change grant our club received.  Contact Alan Walker fir details and registration information.

The Board will meet next Monday (9th) at 7:00 am - Wild Huckleberry.  Anyone is welcome.

Sign up now to work at the Spokane Bike Expo April 10-12, and the Wenatchee Expo on April 17 to promote our Century Bike Ride. We need several people to work the different shifts.  Contact Alan Walker to sign up.

Calling all mentors - here are the training dates:       RSVP to Joan Wright
Monday, March 9
Wed., March 11
Monday, March 16
Wed., March 18
The sessions will run from 6-9:00 and will be held a the Wenatchee Brethren Baptist Church on 535 Okanogan Ave, downstairs in eh fellowship room.

March 11 - we want to get a big turnout of Sunrise Rotarians to attend the Rotary North meeting at noon, where District Governor Bruce Falkins will present the "Service Above Self" Award to a local Rotarian. Our own Maggie Nelson received this prestigious award when she was a member of the Upper Kitittas Rotary Club.  Call Robb Tidd if you plan o go so they can have enough chairs and food.

From District Governor Bruce Falkins:

It is with great sadness that I advise you of the passing of Past District Governor Jim Adamson senior (DG 1976-1977).  Jim is survived by his wife Carol and son Past District Governor Jim Adamson jr. and Carol (DG 2005-2006) and several Grandchildren.  Jim was a member of the Rotary Club of Leavenworth Washington.  Jim touched countless lives within Rotary and without as a teacher, principal, coach, Rotarian and friend.  We will miss him.

Family of Rotary

March Birthdays - Wayne Massing, Joanne Rosenthal, Alan Walker, & Joan Wright

MarchAnniversaries - Erin Cass (Shane)

Jim Adamson's father passed away on Feb. 24.
Jim & Carol Adamson returned from 2 weeks in Mexico.
Jordan Carrell has officially resigned to move to Seattle area.
Gary Looney has packed up for the move to Arizona, thanks to the help of Alice Thompson, Craig Robertson, and Kevin Love.

Program - Life Choices

Irene Bazan of Life Choices talked about that agency and it's work in the valley.  Although this editor was not in attendance it was reported that the program was controversial and offensive to some of our members.  Although Rotary International is a non-religious, non-political, and non-governmental organization, and our club strives to have informative programs that reflect this policy, we can't always predict what the speakers will do or say.  There will be surprises sometimes, even though we (and the program committee) select and screen the programs for appropriate and informative topics. We also try to provide an opportunity for countering  view points when dealing with controversial or political topics.

The next few weeks should provide refreshing and entertaining programs that highlight fun and inspirational things going on in our valley.

Program - Operation Welcome Home

Jim A. introduced Kari Strain, Services to the Armed Forces Coordinator for the Red Cross in Eastern Washington.  She has experienced military deployment with her husband and two of her sons, so has a passion for veterans.
This part of the Red Cross assists service people and their families through call centers, classes for families coping and reconnecting, and help for families of newly deployed soldiers.  They coordinate the Mail for Heroes program, the Armed Forces Day programs on May 16, and the Vets History Project that interviews WWII veterans.
In Operation Welcome Home, the Red Cross organizes receptions and honors service men and women by welcome home events.  These could include motor escorts, dignitaries, presentations, etc. involving the families and entire communities.  Kari showed pictures of a couple Welcome Home events, and talked about how special they were for the soldiers and their families.

Challenge Scholar Mentoring Program

Thanks to those who came to the mentor meeting Monday morning.  Joan Wright laid out the draft of our mentor application and timeline for training.  We are looking for members willing to do two years with one of our future Challenge Scholars.  Those attending were Joan, Erin McCool, Jim & Carol Adamson, Norm Sturm, Milt Herman, Patty Rush, Rani Sampson, Jim Huffman, Diana Oltman, and Dan Moody (Leavenworth).  Training sessions will be held on the evenings of March 9, 11, 16, and 18.  If you would like to be involved in mentoring, and/or working on the Challenge Scholar committee, contact Joan Wright.

Program - Soaring Over Wenatchee

Jim introduced Greg Brizendine, an East Wenatchee Rotarian, who talked about his experience in the Cascade Soaring and Gliding Club.  Greg has been a airplane and glider pilot for years.  He discussed the joys and challenges of gliding, and the specifics of how gliding works.  He mentioned the tows, finding air currents, the smooth, quiet ride, and the landing.

New Member Inducted

We inducted Kevin Love into our membership today.  Kevin was a member of our club for 20 years before taking a new job in Chelan.  He served as our treasurer for many years.  Now that he has retired, he has decided to rejoin our group.  He was a bookkeeper/accountant for the fruit industry for his career.  Kevin is married to Lynn, and they have 2 grown daughters.  They both enjoying skiing and traveling.  We're glad to have Kevin back in Sunrise Rotary.