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| Oct. 9, 2009 |
Editor: Sclair, Dave
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The Men in Pink took over the October 9
meeting of the Rotary Club of Lakewood and obviously the color got to
President Greg Horn's head because he was nearly five minutes late
hitting the bell to start the meeting.
"This is the first meeting of the second quarter of my year as
president," he reminded everyone as if none of us could recall such
important data.
This oration was followed by Clint Johnson presenting an eloquent
invocation and Dr. Jim Rooks leading us in the salute to our flag.
Others assisting with the meeting were: Bill Young, sergeant-at-arms,
Mick Johnson, Paul Harris desk; and Dave Sclair, bulletin writer.
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Visiting Rotarians
- None - Are area Rotarians aware of of our esteemed leader?
Guests of Rotarians
Jim Rooks introduced his wife Penny and Bob and Deb Saxon, parents of the speaker, Janette Saxon, also known as Ms Wheelchair Washington.
Dave Covey took the opportunity to introduce Eric Magnuson. Seems Eric's dad John Magnuson had slipped out of the room to join the "In the Pink" group.
President Horn introduced his guests, Karen Tryman and Kemper Lengel from West Yellowstone, Montana. They were late to the meeting because they took Mary Horn to the airport so Greg would be on time for the meeting.
Announcements:
Greg reported hearing from former exchange student Alberto Cavallin (2002-03) and expounded on his progress. (The letter below came from former member Gina Benesh who was running the exchange program before moving away. Gina is now Vice President of Development at the Santa Barbara Botanic Garden, phone #805-690-1697. She has had to deal with great damage from the recent fires down there.)
Right now I am in Lausanne, Switzerland. I have been accepted into the Doctoral Program at the Federal Polytechnic. The place is absolutely beautiful, my colleagues in the laboratory are very friendly and capable. Also my supervisor is one of the best in his field so I can truly say that I am very lucky to have been accepted here. The language spoken all around here is French, and I should better learn it quickly! Of course I can always try to speak English, but not everyone knows it.
Anyways it is thanks to my staying in Lakewood that I can communicate so well in English with the people around me. This is one more fruit that grew out the seeds planted thanks to you and others who have taken care of me in 2002-2003. I will keep you updated about the progresses here in Lausanne.
I am looking forward to beginning to do real science!
Yours sincerely,
Alberto Cavallin
The In the Pink Fall Raffle
President Greg (the First) Rediske and Past President John (Ole) Magnuson sarrived at the podium in brilliantly bright, gorgeous pink shirts (matching Dave Sclair, who provided these outstanding pink shirts from General Aviation News) to announce the start of our 2009 fall raffle. Tickets were also In the Pink, thus the royal pink attire. Raffle chair Ron Irwin showed up in pink and President Greg the Second donned his pink attire, too. Ward Fletcher, although not in on the dress coordination, also arrived at the meeting wearing pink. (Editor's note: It is a well known fact that it takes a real man to wear a bright pink shirt.)
At any rate, after deciphering the material imparted by the pink pair, ti turns out our raffle is now underway with the drawing to be held at the end of our Nov. 20 meeting. (Another note from the bulletin writer: Since Nov. 20 is the 51st wedding anniversary of Mary Lou & Dave it seems only fitting that they win the prize.) Raffle proceeds will benefit the IB program which we have promoted for Clover Park Schools.
Best of all is the prize for the winning ticket (See above editor's note):
$5,000 cash or a 12-night Eastern Mediterranean & Egypt cruise or 5 Krugerrands.
Sell 'em now!
Sunshine report:
Jan Luze reported Larry Faulk had undergone surgey and was doing OK. No further word about Larry was available.
Norm Tremaine has advised us that services for Ann will be October 21 at 2 pm at Little Church on the Prairie.
Blue Badge pickup
Denise Yokum finally earned her blue badge and came to the podium to pick it up. Instead of the expected $5 payment she offered $20 because Denise felt she had the record for holding a red badge longer than any other member. Nope, someone else holds that record!
Membership committee
Clint Johnson announced plans for a "new member tuneup meeting" on Oct 23 immediately following our regular meeting. This session will feature several secret experts on Rotary who will assist new members (and any older ones) who want to learn more about the club and Rotary in general.
He also noted that our mentor program was up and running, although additional mentors are always welcome. He reminded everyone of the program to bring guests as prospective members and each time you bring a guest your name goes on a list and once each quarter a name will be drawn from among those on the list for a $50 gift certificate. And, he then proceeded to do the drawing and the winner was membership committee chair Stephanie Walsh. Although absent that day, Steph will receive a $50 certificate to the Black Angus.
Not to be outdone, Foundation spokesman Mike McGowan urged new members to contact him for a free lunch and more in-depth information about the The Rotary Foundation.
Committee assignments
President Greg claimed the committee assignments are just about ready to be emailed to everyone but he wanted to make sure everyone had a chance to check the lists and add their name to committees they were interested in. You should be getting the list by email this week (and if you need a printed copy, let Greg know and he will bring you one Friday).
Fun and fines
Dr. Jim Rooks volunteered $96 for each year of his dad's life. Jim recently returned from his father's memorial service and they also visited Penny's family in Michigan where he did a Rotary Club makeup and brought a banner as proof.
Speaker of the day
Dr. Rooks introduced our speaker as Ms Wheelchair Washington, Janette Saxon, a lifelong resident of Lakewood. Stricken with cerebral palsy at birth, Ms Saxon recently was named runner-up in the national Ms Wheelchair America.
Currently, she works as a Specialist for the Mobilization and Deployment Program of Fort Lewis. She works with dual-military and single parent soldiers as they prepare for deployments. This year she wants to work with the Paralyzed Veterans of America and follow up with soldiers when they return from their deployment and visit soldiers who have been injured.
Jannette encourages people with disabilities to pursue a higher education. She believes her education has been an investment and lead to her independence. She is very proud of her Bachelor's degree in Journalism and Public Relations from Arizona State University, and her Master's degree in Counseling from the University of San Diego. In 2006, she ended up graduating with a 3.98 grade point average.
"I am grateful for the ability to directly impact soldiers and listen as they prepare for a life altering and potentially harmful mission, far from America's shores," she told us. She also has a strong passion to motivate young people with disabilities to strive to accomplish their dreams and feel inspired to achieve their life goals. Jannette knows first-hand that children with disabilities can often feel isolated, but with a positive self-image they can find an optimistic spirit through nurturing, inspiring, confidence and enrichment.
"The greatest gift a person can give others is not just words of encouragement, but the strength and consistency of their example," she added.
She noted that a real need in the community is for housing for people with disabilities. "Standard doors are 32 inches wide," she explained. "A wheelchair needs about 36 inches to clear." She also said there are needs on Fort Lewis for wounded warriors.
"Even with problems like these," she declared, "we still live in the best country in the world and it is better here than anywhere else."
This young woman is an inspiration to all of us with her upbeat demeanor and lack of concern for herself.
The drawing:
Dave Sclair held the lucky ticket but with chants of "white, white" in his ears, he draw a white chip and received $5. Next week's raffle should be over $800!
Important upcoming dates:
Tacoma South Indoor Golf at Harkness Furniture - Oct. 16
Lakewood Lions Night of giving - Oct. 17
Lakewood Rotary board meeting - Oct. 21
New member Tune-up - Oct. 23
Clover Prk Rotary CPRI - Oct. 30
Veteran's Day program (joint meeting with Clover Park) - Nov. 6
District Governor Alexander's visit - Nov. 13
South Hill Rotary Wine & Cheese Gala - Nov. 13
Puffin's roast of president - Dec. 18
Food basket delivery - Dec. 19
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