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Be The Inspiration
Service Above Self

We meet Fridays at 7:00 AM
Cottesmore Care Ctr.

2909 14th Ave NW
Mail to: PO Box 342
Gig Harbor, WA 98335
United States

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Last Friday (8/10/2018)

Posted by Alan Weaver

Opening Bell: Meeting opened by President Paul Alvestad by having past president of many moons ago Ron Roberts ring the bell from his seat. Pledge of Allegiance by John Duppenthaler; Song “God Bless America” by Hal Cline and our two British born members who added “God Save the Queen” at the end; Four Way Test by Bob Lutschg; Visiting Rotarians as introduced by “Coach” Jack Stonestreet (who tried to introduce last week’s visitors before being corrected) Mike Mitchel, Bob Anderson (GH North), Joyce Taylor (Shelton) and three invaders (from Tacoma 8) Don Hanson, Barry Benson and Fred Mathazi; Guests Dave Holsinger (of Sophie Perkins), Marc Silba, Gene Krebs and Guy Allen (all of Walker Allen) and Geoff Barcalow (Randy Barcalow’s son); and speaker Joe Piscatella. Greeters – none spotted.

President’s Comments:

Member Mel Wick is presently in the hospital recovering from a surgery and the Sunshine Committee of Allisha McVey and Dorothy Wimberly have been alerted.
President Paul displayed three screens which showed (a) the coming events for this week, (b) the list of brain storming ideas for club activities which are under consideration and (c) the future community events.
President Paul reported on the joint Rotary get-together at the Rainer’s baseball game which he enjoyed so much that he had to be reminded who won (Paul, it was the Dodgers).

Various Announcements:

Visitor Mike Mitchell pitched the second annual Rockin Rhythm and Blues Festival to be held on August 18^th at the Sportsman’s Club for the benefit of soldiers and veterans – PTSD Permission to Start Dreaming http://ptsdfoundation.org/ .
Marcia Harris reminded us of the three awards granted by our club which are Star’s Award in February to a non-Rotarian, the Rotarian of the Year to a Rotarian as selected by the club president and the Vocational Service Award given in September to a Rotarian for extraordinary service over and above that given for Rotary projects.
John Mitchell reported on the coming Courage bike ride later this month in which we have five members participating and the club is handling the lunch portion on Sunday at Mossyrock between 9:30 am and 1:30 pm for an expected sixty riders.
Hal Cline was before the group again to remind those who are participating in Dinners for Eight to be sure to show up for their anointed dinners.
Mystery woman Cindy Reed (who was adorned with a breathing mask because of dust particles) promoted a meeting after next Friday’s meeting for those interested in Early Act and Brent Tayet reported on the Early Act benches being installed at Artondale School.
The Raffle was handled ably by Larry Olson and Donna Lormor with someone winning the right to ten free tickets next week. And then Hal Cline made his third appearance before the club when he successfully drew the blue chip for $764 (with President Paul muttering in the background the names of several worthy club charitable projects).

Fines and Happy Bucks:

John Winslow ably insulted and fined a few, but not Hal Cline who to the surprise of many successfully named the three other couples coming to his Dinners for Eight that night. However, Todd Fletcher contributed a dollar because Cottesmore’s dishwasher had broken down so we had dined off paper plates and cups and plastic silverware. His protests of adding air conditioning to the meeting got him nowhere. Lastly, Annie Arbenz happily contributed to the pot by declaring that she had completed the Canadian Ironman in Whistler, BC two weeks ago which consisted of a 2.4 mile swim, 112 mile bike ride and 26.2 mile run in 14 hours 35 minutes. (Don’t think her 9:01 transition time from bike to run was spent in putting on her famous high heels.) Annie, at age 35, became the third active club Rotarian to finish an Ironman, joining Paul Willett, who finished in a slower time at age 53, and this scribe, who was also slower but age 61.

Speaker: Hal Hodgins introduced fellow Rosedale resident Joe Piscatella, a nationally known author on health and the heart. Joe spoke on lifestyle versus how we choose to live with special emphasis on diet, exercise, smoking, stress and attitude. Unfortunately, those in this country have not been doing a good job with the USA ranked 169^th country in health, just behind Croatia. While we have 6% of the world’s population, we have 33% of the world’s fat. Now, the average woman weighs 166 pounds and average man 195. He challenged us by inquiring whether we wanted to spend the last twenty years of life in a golf cart or wheel chair. Lastly, he described how he had changed his life style at age 32 to the better as a result of a 95% blockage in his heart.

Adjournment: Promptly at 8:30 am.

Scribe: Al Weaver

Friday (8/3/2018)

Posted by Chuck Cuzzetto

Opening Bell by President Paul Alvestad at 7:30 am, after an unsuccessful attempt to start at 7:10 am. Invocation by Past President Tom Borgen with words about life by Mother Teresa. Pledge of Allegiance (as it has been done since 1954) by Chuck Perry. Song “God Bless America,” by the two Hal’s, Cline and Hodgins, for the heck of it. Four Way Test by Stan Eastberg.

No greeters were observed.

Visiting Rotarians introduced by Coach (Jack Stonestreet), Don Hansen from Tacoma 8 and Bob Anderson from Gig Harbor North. Guests included past member Rick Tunnel and Chris Myers’ significantly better half, Jill.

Opening Comments: President Alvestad reviewed the busy week ahead on the calendar and urged Rotarians to visit the website at GigHarborRotary.org often. (Note from the WebMaster: GigHarborRotary.com is experiencing some problems, and if you have had difficulty accessing the website, that is why. Change your favorites/links to GigHarborRotary.ORG and you should be fine)

Announcements:

Courage Classic: Hal Hodgins indicated that we have five riders participating in this year’s, the 25^th ride. They are about $700 short, collectively, of their fundraising goal. Donations can be accepted until August 17, so try to bring your donations next Friday. John Mitchell is again leading the effort for our Rotary stop in Morton on Sunday, August 26. It’ll be the same program as last year and volunteer information will be sent soon.

Galloping Gertie: Bob Anderson from Gig Harbor North Rotary reported that their club has 20 members and is growing. They now meet (starting in September), the first and third Monday’s of the month, 5:00 pm at Herron’s Key. (The scribe was not sure if most of the members lived there). GH North’s big fundraiser of the year is the Galloping Gertie fun run/walk. http://www.galloping-gertie.com All the proceeds go to benefit children programs, especially on the Key Peninsula. They need runners, walkers, and volunteers. Their website is https://gigharbornorthrotary.org/

Picnic: President Alvestad very briefly mentioned there would be a three-club picnic on September 16, 4:00 pm, near Horseshoe Lake (later he mumbled, his house).

Rotary After Hours: John Eddy reported that the next After Hours would be August 8 at Ocean’s 5. We will have a private area and bowling will be $5.

Wine and Food Experience: President Alvestad reported for Camilla Brocker that the Wine and Food Experience was a success thanks in large part to the efforts of Lee Smith. Lee recruits and coordinates the volunteers for the weekend activities. He has been doing this for many years and would really like someone else to take over.

OysterFest: Late arriver and past president Joyce Taylor encouraged everyone to attend The Shelton Skookum Rotary Club’s OysterFest in Shelton on October 6 and 7. After some thought, she recalled that the oysters were provided by Taylor Shellfish. More information is available at http://www.oysterfest.org/

Birthdays: Walt Paulson led the group singing “Happy Birthday” to 22 (wow) Rotarians and at least three spouses. (Another Note from the WebMaster: please make sure your birthday, and other vital information, is up to date in ClubRunner. If you have difficulty logging in, call or text me at (253) 591-7088, or email at tim@tewilliamslaw.com)

Fines and Happy Bucks: Mr. Chris Myers was the Finemaster this week. He noted that since the crowd was so small, fines would be doubled. Singled out for fines were Rod Ladd, for not having his cell number in Mr. Myers’ Contact list; Walt Paulsen, for an undisclosed violation; Tom Borgen, for an effortless invocation; Cindy Reed, for wearing a mask, insinuating problems with her table; Mel Santos, for being President in the wrong year – this year the President won’t have to pay fines; John Eddy, for RAH; Gary Glein, for competitive bowling prices; and Jeff Harris, as a proxy for Marcia, for having a magic moment executive session Board Meeting. Happy Bucks from Gary Glein for his new Tesla and Cindy Reed to explain her mask and thank Marti Anderson for arranging her trip.

Drawing: Donna Lormor ran the raffle. Dick Vanberg won ten free tickets next week. Bob Ryan’s winning ticket earned him a chance to draw from two chips, with a 50-50 chance to win $614. Bob drew the …………. white chip for a generous consolation price of $15. Next week there will be just one chip (blue, we assume), so the odds are pretty good of drawing the blue chip.

Program: “Hot August Morning - Classic Car Display” and “Jim’s Classic Garage”

“Hot August Morning - Classic Car Display” – Walt Paulsen talked about the car display that would be available for members to peruse at the end of the meeting. He thanked the car owners for participating and then noted the cars on display:

Rick Tunnel’s 1959 Corvette

Peter Stanley’s 2007 Boss Mustang

Rod Ladd’s 1980 Porsche

Jim Rieck’s 2003 Corvette

Hal Hodgins’ 1952 MG

Walt Paulsen’s 1962 Impala SS

Gary Glein’s 2018 Tesla

Walt then shared the story how he remarried his ex. (how he bought his car back after he had sold it). Only in Montana!

“Jim’s Classic Garage” – Jim Sullivan, owner of Jim’s Classic Garage and Teaching Museum told his story of restoring classic cars. He also shared two videos recapping his business and involvement with 25 “at risk” youth, teaching the business and passion of Classic cars. He has been at his current 12,000 square foot location for six years. He currently has 10 employees and three days per week hosts 25 students as shadow mechanics. He ships cars around the world, with England and Holland the favorite destinations. When asked which cars were in demand he said, “old jeeps and broncos are hot, mustangs are not.” His favorite car is a 1958 Corvette. He also talked about working on a WW2 “EMW,” made by Eisenacher Motorenwerk. He’s is open weekdays 7:30 am to 4:00 pm and weekends and encouraged visitors. His website is http://www.jimsclassicgarage.com/

President Alvestad adjourned the meeting early at 8:19 am to allow Rotarians and guests to view the classic cars.

Notes by Chuck Cuzzetto

2018 Toronto Convention

Posted by Robert J Martin on Jul 08, 2018

2018 TORONTO RI CONVENTION--YOU SHOULD HAVE BEEN THERE!

The first slides will be about convention presentations and the following slides about the social benefits

Laura Bush gave an excellent talk about the Bush family and service. It was informative and entertaining because she used a lot of humor. Sorry about the light bar in her face, but this is what we saw.

This is the couple who sat next to us at the Opening Ceremonies. He is Buen Castillo and his wife. Buen is the President of the Paranaque Club (Fred's old Club) in Manila and we had met them in February when we visited there. Made the world seem a little smaller having them next to us.

This is how much the Annual Fund has raised this year. The goal was $360M, so great success indeed.

This is RI Director Julia Phelps presenting RI President Ian Risely with the honor as the first Non Profit to win the "Billion Acts of Kindness" award. Just another feather in Rotary's cap and a reason to support the Rotary Foundation.

RI President Ian with Canada's Prime Minister, Justin Trudeau. PM Trudeau's comments were very laudatory of Rotary's works and that the Canadian government has been very supportive financially in the Polio Eradication program. He was an excellent speaker and the Canadians were very proud of his presence.

This is incoming Ri President Barry Rasin from the Bahamas, with his theme, "Be the Inspiration". He was most enthusiastic.

This is President Barry's announcing that Rotary is committed to bringing clean water to all Haitians by 2020, which is a daunting task. Ask me about why this is happening; it is an interesting story.

NOW COMES THE SOCIAL STUFF

Here is Jan getting wet from the spray of Niagara Falls. The boat goes right into the mist. The next picture shows why the mist is there. I was surprised to learn that Niagara has a greater flow than Iguazu Falls in Brazil. Having seen both, Iguazu seems much greater. There must be a dry season in Brazil when the flow is much less.

You can see the water hitting the rocks below and creating the mist. The rocks are from the collapse of the rim of the falls and that rim is slowly moving back toward Lake Erie.

This is a sunset on Lake Ontario. Rotarians from our District and District 5170, Silicon Valley, chartered a dinner cruise on a three masted sail boat and it was great. Left at 6:30PM and got back about 11:00 PM so we saw the sun set and then the lights of Toronto. The temperature was perfect and the water was unbelievably calm. 74 Rotarians from our District.

This is the nighttime view of Toronto with the CN Tower dominating. The restaurant in the middle is just unter 1100 feet, almost twice the height of the Space Needle. Fantastic views!

Here are 9 GH Rotarians and spouses, along with Tacoma 8 President Barry Benson and his wife at the Trattoria Fieremosco Italian Restaurant. Had a fantastic meal and even better Fellowship. You had better mark June1-5, 2019 on your calendars so you can attend the RI Convention in Hamburg hand have this kind of experience.

This is the observation deck at the CN Tower. It is a floor below the restaurant. Our Hostel room is to the right of the trees just off Jan's left elbow. The trees are Clarence Park. Needless to say, we had a grand time in Toronto, as did all of the other Rotarians from Gig Harbor.

It is Smile Time

Posted by Robert J Martin on Jul 13, 2018

A FEW THOUGHTS TO BRING A SMILE TO YOUR FACE

With the temperature in the 90's, snow doesn't seem as bad!

Philippine Packing Party July 2018

Posted by Robert J Martin on Jul 13, 2018

PHILIPPINE PACKING PARTY--8 MORE BOXES

This was the first shift, Tom, Larry, Mike, and Jeff. They had most of the work done before the next shift.

Rod is the picture man, so I made it into this one. Tim is showing off some fo the books, while Jan gets more.

John, Larry, Tim, Jeff, hard at work and Rod hard at work on his phone. Lots of books and lots of clothes headed for the Philippines to be distributed in the Kayapa/Bayambong area under Father Vic's direction.

Jan and Tom show up in this one. We got there 15 minutes late and 5-6 boxes were already done.

John is kind of looking like he wants in the box, but everyone kept an eye on him. Great to see a "rising star" like Tim front and center. For those of you who want light work, these packing parties are about as light as it gets. Pay attention to when the next one is so you could help.

Things are winding down (except for John still trying to get in the box). Looks like Jeff has retired. Just in case you hadn't noticed, John managed to be in every picture except the last.

The boxes are all addressed and labeled, to be picked up 2 days later and on the ship within 4 days which is unusually fast. After the packing we has an abbreviated International Service Committee meeting while we enjoyed, wine, beer, and fresh made Lumpia, provided by Carina Pinch. Service, food, drink, and fellowship. Can't imagine why anyone would want to miss that!

2018 Installation Banquet

Posted by Robert J Martin on Jul 08, 2018

2018 INSTALLATION BANQUET AT HORSESHOE LAKE GOLF COURSE

Fashion maven Dick is adjusting Walker Sandlin's shirt as Walker Allen looks on. This may be my first double Walker picture!

My and her mother Camilla seem to be enjoying the festivities, and no drink in their hands. Dick seems to be hogging the camera.

Mike is working hard to get the golf scores organized, and with as many strokes as our team had, that was a lot of work! The golf tournament was a lot of fun! Be sure to sign up next year.

Had some First Tee equipment set up along with some of President Mel's advertising. BTW, has he been fined yet?

This is what I meant about President Mel liking BIG trophies. His team won the golf tournament and this was the reward. Do they each get the trophy for 3 months?

One of President Mel's Best Buddies, Fred Couples; so it is no surprise that he might win the trophy.

President Mel's HS graduation picture for the before, with his current picture. BTW, has he been fined yet? I think the sales talent was real obvious in his graduation picture, especially with the hair style. Great that President Mel's Mother could be there. None of my pictures of her turned out unfortunately.

I guess with an attorney taking the Presidency, Mel administered an oath of office to incoming President Paul. That is a first for our Club. Some clubs to an oath of office for all incoming officers; glad we don't do it routinely, but with two more attorneys coming maybe it will happen again.