Fellow Rotarians,

We have experienced great tragedy recently with the loss of many young lives.  As Rotarians, we generally band together to do whatever it takes to help out those in need.  In this case, the Newtown, Connecticut Rotary Club is assisting the community with comforting the families and providing assistance to those affected by this horrific day.

Please visit Newtown, CT Rotary where you can learn more about how you can help your fellow Rotarians in need.

Sincerely,

Bill McClintock

STUDENTS OF THE MONTH FOR NOVEMBER & DECEMBER

LAKOTA McCLEAN & MICHAEL WARREN - STUDENTS OF THE MONTH FOR NOVEMBER

HAILEY BEAZER & JACOB GRAY - STUDENTS OF THE MONTH FOR DECEMBER

L-R: Jacob Gray, Michael Warren, Hailey Beazer, Lakota McClean

Each student introduced themselves citing their parents influence on their accomplishments and their plans for higher education and career goals.  Their extensive high school, community, and external job experiences were also highlighted. 

 Lakota has plans to attend the University of Idaho and major in agriculture. Perhaps she will also find time to play golf as well, having participated in golf at BFHS.  Michael has extensive involvement in scouting and church activities. He's proud of his Eagle Scout award and the fact that he has had a job since he was 12.  Hailey has excelled in the sport of soccer and has been actively involved with the BFHS Honor Choir and Distinguished Young Women of Bonners Ferry.  Jacob has enjoyed his pursuits of discovering how things work and he plans to study mechanical engineering at the University of Idaho. 

The winning students have demonstrated the characteristics of Rotary's "4-Way Test":  (1) Is it the Truth?  (2) Is it Fair to all Concerned?  (3) Will it Build Goodwill and Better Friendships?  (4) Will it be Beneficial to all Concerned?

 CONGRATULATIONS TO THE FOUR ROTARY STUDENTS OF THE MONTH FOR NOVEMBER AND DECEMBER!!!

HAPPY NEW YEAR FROM PAUL HARRIS (IN 1916)

In 1916, Rotary founder Paul Harris shared his thoughts about the organization in an article entitled "The Future of Rotary," published in The Rotarian.

Addressing the Rotary world, Harris concluded the short piece with wishes for the New Year. As 2013 begins, consider his words:

That is to say, the Bonners Ferry Rotary Club wishes you a

Happy New Year!

 CHRISTMAS LUNCHEON 

The club celebrated its annual Christmas luncheon on December 11^th hosting a buffet luncheon for the nearly 40 Rotarians and their guests in attendance.  Jerri Anderson, Assistant District Governor (ADG) was present along with two other members from the Sandpoint Rotary Club, Mel Dick and Gail Swan.

ROTARY MOMENT:

Greg Johnson cited the touch football game fundraiser last June for a young boy with Cerebral Palsy coordinated by the BF Rotary Club. Not only did the game raise enough money to fund a special needs tricycle for Aiden Breneman, but a 12-year old fan, Pacen Pluid, returned his 50/50 winnings to the Breneman family that Pacen had earlier won at the game.

More information on the football game can be found on our website at: http://www.clubrunner.ca/Portal/story/StoryDetail.aspx?accountid=1799&sid=280398&stid=Club.  Pacen Pluid was invited to speak at the Rotary Club last summer. His presentation can be found at this site:  http://www.clubrunner.ca/Portal/story/StoryDetail.aspx?accountid=1799&sid=282817&stid=Club

Marc Gray provided the Rotary Moment for December 18th. He referenced the International Fellowship of Rotarian Scuba Divers founded in New Zealand in the early 1990s.  They held the concept of making a gift to the country where the fellowship of scuba divers visits, contributing over $100,000 in donations since 1991. More information is found at this website.

FINES & HAPPY BUCKS:  All fines were suspended because of the special luncheon, however, happy bucks were allowed.  In the spirit of the season and as a reminder, one of our newest members, Hank Willis (dentist), was warned by the Sergeant-At-Arms (Dave Walter) that even though Kevin Callos invited members and their guests to an afternoon of cake and cookies at his office (investments), a common approach from Kevin, commercialization was forbidden.  On December 18th, happiness abounded while fines were generously assessed all around.

Fines and happy bucks are always reserved for scholarships.  

CARE-N-SHARE:  On 12/11, Greg referred to the back table that contained toys and other gifts, thanking those who donated. At the conclusion of the luncheon, the gifts were transported to the courthouse by Walt Kirby where they were placed under the tree for the Care-N-Share donation program.  

 Glenda, Bill, Kirsten, Greg, Jenny at the Care-'N-Share Tree

NEW MEMBERS:  The President formally inducted Kay Burdick (Automotive Repair), Merle Ansley (Banking), and Hank Willis, DDS (Dentistry) as new Rotary members.  Merle has already given a presentation to the Club on institutional lending, Kay has donated financially and in-kind for the "Welcome" sign on the North Hill as well as other projects, and Hank is now involved as a committee member on the Playground project.  Member bios should be available in future website updates.

New Members: Kay Burdick, Merle Ansley, Hank Willis

MATCHING GRANT FOR BANGALORE, INDIA:  Jerri Anderson, ADG reported that funding for a Rotary literacy project for Bangalore, India should be in place shortly. Dictionaries will be provided to elementary children in Banglalore at a cost of less than 40 cents each.  A commitment of $500 from clubs throughout the District including Bonners Ferry could turn $4,000 into $18,000 with matching funds from The Rotary Foundation. The Board will review the request at its January meeting scheduled for Januaary 3.

2013 WACANID BIKE RIDE:    Mel Dick,  WaCanId Ride committee member from Sandpoint, reviewed the Bike Ride scheduled for September 16-September 21, 2013 noting the two routes starting from Sandpoint on 9/16, one going north through Bonners Ferry and Nelson and the other group traveling clockwise through Salmo and Nelson. Mel lauded Mark McInnes who was instrumental in getting the ride started and his commitment to the event.  He is asking that each participating Rotary Club designate at least 2 members to serve on one or more of the 7 Subcommittees. 

Here, Mel Dick is presenting President Greg Johnson and the Bonners Ferry Rotary Club with a check for $1,000 for its participation in the 2012 Ride.  Additional information about the 2013 Ride is available at the WaCanId website….2013 WaCanId Ride.

GIFT FOR BRENDA:  At the luncheon, Mugsy's cheerful waitperson was given a Christmas gift from the Rotary Club for her tireless service to Rotarians and their guests every Tuesday even though she does return to Seattle a couple of times a year to visit her daughter.

Later, Norm Braatz led the group in a Christmas sing-a-long.

RAFFLE CALENDARS:  A rousing ovation was given to Kirsten Madden's report that as of December 18th, there are only 24 calendars left to be sold for 2013.  This should be the best year yet! Congratulations to Kirsten and Pat Carson for this achievement.

SARA OWINYO was home for the holidays from her college pursuits at The Masters College in Southern California.  Sara won Rotary's Amy Farrell $1,000 Scholarship in 2011 and was the recipient of a second scholarship in 2012.  Her brother, Josiah, also was awarded a Rotary scholarship in 2012.  Sara was honored to have her mother here as well.

In her beautiful solo voice, Sara sang a Christmas favorite, 'O Holy Night, a beautiful close to the Rotary season. 

50/50 DRAWING:

Although Mike Miller and Linda Alt drew lucky tickets, they were not able to draw the 9 of Clubs and the more than $1,000 bank continues to grow. Nineteen cards remain in the deck.

NOTE:  THE CLUB WILL BE DARK OVER THE NEXT TWO WEEKS BECAUSE OF THE HOLIDAYS.

 ROTARY GRANTS APPROVED BY THE BOARD

Friends of the Arts - $500

Bonners Ferry Baseball Team – Players to Training Camp $250

Distinguished Young Women of Bonners Ferry - $100

Food Bank for Meat processing - $110

Idaho Reading Literacy Program (Debbie Pauls) - $500

DECEMBER CELEBRATIONS

BIRTHDAYS

Those born in December have great enterprise in business….but never find themselves confined to any one line of work….

Clarence Jones – December 19

Don Bartling – December 21

Ron Sukenik – December 31

WEDDING ANNIVERSARY

Tom Bushnell – December 19 (31 Years)

David McIntosh – December 23 (12 Years)

Dave Walter – December 28 (39 Years)

Brad Holifield – December 29 (34 Years)

Don Bartling – December 30 (18 Years)

ROTARY ANNIVERSARY

Jennifer Jensen – December 2 (4 Years)

JoJo Baker – December 4 (6 Years)

FROM THE ABC’S OF ROTARY

Every twelve hours of every day a new Rotary Club is chartered in one of 180 countries and geographic regions in which Rotary exists.  New Rotary Clubs may be established anywhere in the world where the fundamental principles of Rotary may be freely observed and wherever it can reasonably be expected that a successful club can be maintained.

REPORT FROM THE NOVEMBER & DECEMBER BOARD OF

DIRECTORS MEETINGS

The board continues to pursue non-profit status as a 501 (C) 3 organization, allowing donations and other contributions to the BF Rotary Cub to be tax deductible.

A payment portal will be available at Panhandle State Bank on the Rotary website to allow payment of dues, donations and purchases (e.g., raffle calendars) any checking or savings account.

The board is considering a proposal to provide a structure / renewable method for individuals or businesses, who do not wish to become members, to support the efforts and community work of the BF Rotary Club as BFRC sponsors on an annual basis at varying levels of financial support.  

BF Rotary Club is in development with the BC Parks & Rec board and other community groups for the development of a playground in Bonners Ferry.  With approximately $9,000 from Parks & Rec, the board approved funding of $10,000-$15,000 for the $65,000-$80,000 project (including $5,000 in grants), conditional on community fund raising support for the remainder of the $41,000 funds.  

Two of our annual fundraisers were discontinued effective 12/31/12: the Yard Sale and SWISH.  The Club realized a very small financial return on the enormous investment of time, staffing and organization.

Membership continues to grow. Four new members have joined: Merle Ansley (Banking), Kay Burdick (Automotive), Sam Carey (Real Estate), and Hank Willis (Dentistry). Member orientation is presently a focus of attention for new members as well as current members who would like to brush up on the Rotary world.  

CALENDAR RAFFLE

 ...submitted by Kirsten Madden

“Headed up by Pat Carson, Pat and Marciavee Cossette have done an outstanding job helping us reach our calendar sales goal! Thanks to them and each of you we are well over halfway there. Pat is no longer able to spearhead this event for the remainder of the year but he has issued us a challenge.  If we sell all of the remaining calendars for the year he will oversee the event again next year. This, my friends, is a deal not to be refused!

“We are trying to get this all wrapped up ASAP and it is time to check in with the members so we can get a feel for the work still ahead. If you have already turned in your calendars.  THANK YOU!

If not, please contact me ASAP with a status update. Let me know how your calendar sales are going. Do you need help?  If you have extra calendars please let me know so we can gather them up and get them sold.  If you are available to work a shift doing sales at one of the grocery stores please let me know so we can get it scheduled.

If you have extra calendars please drop them off with me at Shelman Realty or bring them to the next meeting.”

The Calendar Raffle is one of Rotary’s largest and easiest fundraisers! We experienced a NET profit of $6,500 in 2012, and we did not sell all 500 calendars. Click on our Facebook page for more information about the calendars.

DECEMBER IS FAMILY MONTH

Family Month celebrates the family of Rotary, which in addition to individual Rotarians includes all of those who are involved in Rotary’s work from Rotary Foundation program alumni to participants in Rotary Youth programs in thousands of communities around the world.

50/50 CARD DRAW

As of December 4^th, despite a double winning ticket from Brad Holifield two weeks in a row and $1,000 contained in the 50/50 bank, the 9 of Clubs remains hidden in the few cards left in the deck

QUOTES OF THE MONTH

When we cast our bread upon the waters,

We can presume that someone downstream-

Whose face we may never see,

Will benefit from our action.

...Maya Angelou

 ROTARY AROUND THE USA

Nearly 49 million Americans don’t have enough to eat—including 79 percent of students at Greene County High School in Georgia. The Rotary Club of Greene and Putnam Counties has launched Second Harvest to help neighbors who are strug-gling with grocery bills. In 2008 the program began collecting food that otherwise would have been thrown away from grocery stores, restaurants and hotels. The food is distributed through local pantries and monthly events at the high school.

(Source: The Rotarian, October 2012)

LOCAL NEWS FOR OCTOBER

VISITING ROTARIANS & GUESTS IN OCTOBER: In addition to our speakers, we welcomed The Honorable Steve Verby, Sandpoint Rotarian; Dr. Hank Willis; and Marcia Morman who made a brief presentation about breast cancer awareness (see below).

ROTARY GRANTS TO THE COMMUNITY: Grants were awarded to the following local non-profit organizations: (1) “A Night At The Museum” fundraiser for the local BC Museum; (2) the annual all-elementary school Spelling Bee.

NOVEMBER CELEBRATIONS AMONG ROTARIANS: 

BIRTHDAYS:  Dave Gray (November 10);

                     Kevin Callos (November 13)

WEDDING ANNIVERSARIES:  None

ROTARY ANNIVERSARIES:  Brad Holifield (November 4) – 4 Years

                                          Ray Olson (November 4) -- 4 Years

                                          Tim Wilson (November 7) -- 6 Years

FROM THE PODIUM:

 Greg Johnson summarized the reports and actions from the October Board of Directors as follows:

     The Community Breakfast & Auction generated a net of $2,400; proposal to move the breakfast to the Spring season because of the busy Fall schedule.

     The 2012 KRR generated about $3,200 net while the WaCanId Ride is still being calculated.  Board agreed to continue to sponsor the WaCanId ride as long as Rotarian Mark McInnes is involved.

      Club Admin reports speakers have been arranged for the month of October

      Membership reported that Corporate Memberships are being finalized with the first membership from Shelman Realty and an application from Mountain West Bank.

      The PR Committee is making the website work for us as the Facebook page is working. We are also are progressing on the capability of accepting donations, membership dues, selling raffle tickets, and more on the website. 

      The Foundation Committee is emphasizing the Every Rotary Every Year (EREY) goal of $50.00 per year per member.  Members who do not participate should be contacted to emphasize the importance of the Foundation. It was suggested that the quarterly dues statement would show both club dues together with the $12.50 Foundation donation, but to indicate that the $12.50 is optional.

     The Service Projects Committee is working on a playground in the community as a new Rotary project.

      The Board is completing work to obtain status as a 501 (C) 3 organization, making it financially advantageous for contributions of goods and services to our club.

      Rotary grants to the community were considered from the Museum and School District Spelling Bee.  Both were approved.

      President Greg will be appointing a new Chair for the “New Generations” Committee addressing youth and other related activities including student exchange, scholarships, and more.

      The President discussed alternative fundraising/member sponsor ideas including corporate membership, and individual as well as corporate sponsorships.  In addition, the future of Rotary’s role with SWISH will be discussed shortly as the 5-year renewal of backboard sponsorships is required beginning in 2013.  The relatively low rate of return on our annual investment of time and energy will weigh heavily on this consideration.  

      The Board agreed to pay expenses for anyone who would agree to attend the Rotary Leadership Institute in Sandpoint on 10/27 or in Coeur d’Alene on 12/8.

      Discussion was held on the logistics of making the Calendar Raffle work better. Ideas were shared regarding placing a link on the website for sales, computerized drawings, and more. 

                             The President will discuss the extended leaves of absence granted to 2 members.  

      Marcia Mormon, BCH Community Relations Coordinator addressed Rotarians regarding Breast Cancer Early Detection Day set for October 26.  From all indications including this excellent website http://www.newsbf.com/, a sizable crowd of pink clad individuals gathered at Georgia Mae Plaza to get their pictures taken, hear a proclamation from Mayor Dave Anderson and hear several tidbits from others about Breast Cancer that has touched the lives of many of us.  More than 300 community staffers from local businesses donned a pink Early Detection T-shirt and participated in the event. 

CALENDAR RAFFLE:

ü    Pat Carson reported on the 2013 Calendar Raffle project.  Each member has been provided with a packet of 13 calendars. The goal is for each member to sell (or buy) the 13 calendars by December 15^th. Each calendar costs $20.00.  A Calendar Sales Thermometer is available in the meeting room for a visual related to meeting our goal of selling 500 calendars. 

ü   This is one of Rotary’s largest and easiest fundraisers!  We experienced a net profit of $6,500 in 2012, and we did not sell all 500 calendars. Take a look at our Facebook page for more information about the calendars. 

HAPPY BUCKS & FINES:

Members were happy to learn that Bill G. has undergone successful heart surgery and that the citizenry has such a fine group of workers in the County Clerk’s office.  Happiness for evident for loved ones, for those who are back home from their travels visiting grandkids, congested cities, or attending meetings, although Jim was happy to be going…Atlanta, North Carolina, and more.  The move and success of the food bank, the high school students going to state, the community support of the calendar raffle, and being blessed to live in a part of the country that is devoid of what others on the East Coast may be feeling with electrical blackouts, shortages of food, gasoline, transportation, sanitation, housing, and more.

President Greg appointed Dave Walter permanent Sargent-At-Arms (or fine master).  New rules: cell phones will be turned off; no talking while someone else is speaking; no tardiness, and if you’re late, never admit you’re late; no empty chairs at the tables; no advertising your business. During the month, fines were levied for being late, not wearing name badges, wearing glasses, empty chairs. For your information, Dave W. has been absent the last 2 meetings.

100% of ‘Happy Bucks’ and ‘Fines’ are banked to fund scholarships.

9 OF CLUBS - 50/50 CARD DRAW

As of the October 30^th meeting, $785.00 was contained in the 50/50 bank. The 5 winning $1.00 ticket holders for October were unable to draw the 9 of Clubs.  

 The account continues to grow with VERY FEW cards left!

Four Bonners Ferry High School seniors were recognized as Students of the Month, two for September and two for October.  As is the custom, the students were selected from the high school faculty and administrative staff based on their contributions to the school and the community.  In addition, the students are all high academic achievers. 

Congratulations to Kody Rice and Bell Wages for being named Students of the Month for September and to Evan Moe and Kristen Gannon for their recognition as October Students of the Month.                                                                               

      Kody Rice & Bell Wages - September

Evan Moe & Kristen Gannon - October

FEATURED SPEAKER – October 2

Merle Ansley, Residential Lender

Mountain West Bank

Greg Johnson Presenting a Rotary Pen to Speaker Merle Ansley

On October 2, Merle Ansley, Residential Lender with Mountain West Bank, Bonners Ferry spoke to Rotary about one of his favorite subjects, residential lending.

Merle was born and raised in Bonners Ferry. His father is from the hot or cold and windy Texas Panhandle, his mother from California. He and his 3 brothers were raised on a farm and for the last 15 years, he has worked and owned a business in the area with his father and older brother.  Community involvement is important to Merle. His wife, Jenny, was also born and raised in Bonners Ferry and is a teacher at a local school. Merle and Jenny have three children, ages 11, 9, and 6. Both Merle and Jenny are committed to the area’s positive growth.

He addressed conventional and governmental loans for the purchase of property, home mortgages, cash outs, and customized portfolios. Conventional fixed 30 and 15-year loans are at their all-time lows. He cited rates, inclusive of a 1% origination fee, of 3.25% and 2.5% respectively and discussed loan fees determined by credit scores in gradients between 500-580 (borderline) and over 740 (the best).  He mentioned that appraisals are still depressed in our market.

For further information, you can access Merle’s website here.

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FEATURED SPEAKER – October 9

Chris Peterson, Recorder

Boundary County Clerk’s Office

Speaker Chris Peterson with Rotary President

Glenda Poston, Rotarian and Boundary County Clerk, introduced Chris Peterson, BC Recorder, an employee of the department for 11 years. Chris has served this community in many other capacities including that as an EMT (Emergency Medical Technician). She also serves on the Idaho State Voter System. 

Chris discussed a myriad of facts about the upcoming election on November 6^th and described a litany of dates and deadlines associated with the position that she holds. She offered assistance concerning information about the precincts in North Idaho and the statewide referendums regarding the schools and constitutional amendments.

Further information about registering and voting in Boundary County can be found at http://www.boundarycountyid.org/clerk/voting.htm

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FEATURED SPEAKER – October 16

Mond Warren, Regional Director

Ducks Unlimited

Mond Warren, Greg Johnson

Mond Warren is the Regional Director for Idaho Ducks Unlimited (DU) and is based in Nampa, Idaho.  His talk to Rotary included a slide presentation about the work of DU in Idaho and Boundary County. The 774,000-member national organization is headquartered in Memphis, Tennessee and is celebrating its 75^th anniversary this year.

DU is the world leader in wetlands conservation. And conservation is about habitat, water, and wildlife.  As of the end of 2011, the work of DU in Idaho has been extensive:

ü       $12,023,573 spent on Idaho projects

ü       $282,336 raised in Idaho in 2011

ü       27,557 total acres conserved in Idaho (1,300-2,850 acres in Boundary County)

ü       36 fundraising events in 2011

ü       6,027 members in Idaho

Since the defining moment that it defined its mission, “habitat conservation”, DU has abided by that single mission to become the world’s largest and most effective private waterfowl and wetlands conservation organization. Annually, DU allocates over 80% of its revenues to its conservation mission; 16% is devoted to fundraising, 3% to administration.

More information about Idaho Ducks Unlimited can be found here.   

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FEATURED SPEAKERS – Octrober 23

Adam McLain, CEO

Bruce Wilson, Administration

David Hampton, Academic Director

Northwest Academy, Boulder Creek Academy

President Greg Johnson, Adam McLain, Bruce Wilson, David Hampton

What most of us have known as Rocky Mountain Academy, Northwest Academy and Boulder Creek Academy are located about 7 miles east of Bonners Ferry.  Rocky Mountain Academy was sold to the Brown Schools in the 90’s and later declared Chapter 7 bankruptcy.  Universal Health Services, a private multi-billion health company located in Pennsylvania bought the schools in 2005.

Qualified students are admitted any time during the year. It strongly recommended that all applicants have completed ASCENT or another credible therapeutic wilderness program prior to enrollment. NWA feels that attending a wilderness program creates the emotional foundation the student will need to be successful at Northwest Academy.  NWA is programmed to admit 16-17 year olds who are generally socially savvy, while Boulder Creek admits 13-18 year olds who may have learning problems.  Total enrollment of approximately 50 kids, is supported by 150 staff members and an all-inclusive tuition of $6,500-$7,500 per month.

The essence of the school’s curriculum is the integrated application of both cognitive (thinking) and emotional (feeling) learning processes. 

Informaiotn about the school, its students and academic programs, please refer to their website at: http://nwacademy.net/index.html

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FEATURED SPEAKER – October 30

Stephanie Sims, Executive Director

The International Selkirk Loop

Stephanie Sims, PP Wilma DeVore

Stephanie Sims, the mother of 2 daughters and the wife of Rotarian, David Sims, assumed the position of Executive Director of the International Selkirk Loop on August 1, 2012 when Carol Graham announced her retirement from the position.  The office is based on Kootenai Street in Bonners Ferry.

Stephanie discussed the funding of the scenic roadway including gateway and partnership grants.  She also referenced extensive survey materials regarding aspects of the loop such as spending patterns, businesses visited, sidetrips, vacation days spent enroute and the availability of mobile apps. 

The 2013 WaCanId Bike Ride along the Selkirk Loop has been scheduled for September 16 through September 21. Changes from 2012 include a $100 increase in the registration fee to $495; exploration of a different avenue for digital registration; improvement in the day off for the riders while in Nelson, BC; consistency between stops allowing the participant to know what to expect at each stop; and map improvements.

For an updated preview of what to expect on this spectacular 350-mile trip, please go to their website. 

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Rotary-Club-of-Bonners-Ferry-Idaho/234805656573882?ref=hl