~ Newberg Noon Rotary Club Newsletter ~
Rotary Club of Newberg, Zoom Meeting
Wednesday, December 8, 2021
~ Call to Order ~
President Joe Morelock welcomed Rotarians and Friends of Rotary to the Hybrid Live/Zoom meeting at 12:00 p.m. Wednesday, December 8, 2021 at the Chehalem Cultural Center.
~ Flag Salute ~
Curt lead participants in the Pledge of Allegiance.
~ 4 Way Test ~
Stan lead participants in the recital of the 4 Way Test:
Rotary’s Four Way Test of the things we think, say and do:
#1 – Is it the TRUTH?
#2 – Is it FAIR to all concerned?
#3 – Will it BUILD GOODWILL and BETTER FRIENDSHIPS?
#4 – Is it BENEFICIAL to all concerned?
~ Announcements ~
Upcoming meeting changes!
- December 23, is our THURSDAY (not Wednesday, no meeting on Wednesday the 22nd) is another joint meeting with the Newberg Kiwanis Club. Be there and get to know some more Kiwanis Club members!
- December 29, there is NO Wednesday Rotary MEETING this day.
Volunteering Opportunities! Next year (beginning July 2022) there are a few board positions that are going to have vacancies through turnover. We will be looking to get an incoming Vice President, Secretary, and Community Relations Chair. Please reach out to Brandy if you have interest in any of these positions.
Polio Plus Certificate: Joe announced that we have received recognition as a club for our contributions to the Polio Eradication. Joe pointed out that there have been 2 new cases recently in Afghanistan bringing us to 4 worldwide.
Social Media Challenge: Check out our latest article in the Newberg Advantage Magazine and go visit our Facebook Page to participate in”The Rotary Mural Challenge”. This is a fun opportunity to appreciate and celebrate our murals for a chance to win gift cards to local businesses. To submit entries for this, go to our facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/Newbergnoonrotary.
~ Guests ~
AJ Schwanz, Guest of Joe, School District volunteer
Dina Meyers, Guest of Brandy
Amanda Bayha, Guest
Korie Buerkle, Guest Speaker, Interim Director of Newberg Public Library
~ The Rotary Duck ~
Rick: Shared memories that back in the 80s the anniual polio cases totaled more than 300,000 people.
Walter: Shared that he and Julie brought some of their Christmas Decorations to share with the club as they were trying to cut back on how much they needed at home. Thanks Walter!
Paula: Reminded us that her late mother’s estate gifted her the privledge to give the money to charity. Yesterday, she and her sister had gone to Francis Center to donate nearly 6 figures to support immigrants, homeless, and vulnerable people. She also noted that her mother left some money to her hairdresser Robin, who she visited her every 10 day. Robin was so surprised that her friend of many years left her money. Robin said she used to think to herself “What would Margaret do…?”. Paula and her sister also took her out to breakfast at Elmers.
Scott: Shared that his oldest daughter is turning 17 tomorrow. She goes to a top Art School in Michigan doing ballet and Scott’s wife is on her way to Michigan now to visit and watch her perform in the Nutcracker.
Dan: Reminded everyone to go take selfies with the Murals and then to post on the Rotary Facebook Page. Also noted that if anyone at Greeters (hosted by Lewis Audio, one of our mural locations) convinces any participation, he would contribute money next meeting as a thank you.
Auggie: Shared that the Newberg Advantage this week was a 2 week spread done by Dan about the murals and is a great publication.
Julie: Pointed out that Walter was the one who brought the free ornaments. Also pointed out that she is having a birthday in 10 days.
Mike: Geoff Gilmore wanted us to let him know if anyone owns or knows of a good location for the next mural.
Brandy: Noted that her Cougars beat the Huskies 40 to 13 at the Apple Cup this past weekend.
Becky: Mentioned that she loves her Peacebuilder Club Sweatshirt.
Shannon K: Thanked Jim for picking up the Hot Chocolate containers she forgot to get out of CPRD storage. Also thanked Michelle, Daniel, Christy, and Scott for coming to the Christmas Tree Lighting event and helping out.
Joe: Invited us all to check out the article posted in the Newberg Advantage.
~ Today’s Program: Newberg Public Library with Korie Beurkle ~
Korie Buerkle is the Interim Director for the Newberg Public Linrary, but noted that the actual Director is still Will Worthey, who has on a temporary basis stepped up to be the Interim City Manager at the City of Newberg and although is doing a great job running the City, will return to the Library once they find a long term replacement. Korie shared that her favorite job at the Library is Children’s Services Manager. She then shared with us what the Library has been up to for the last couple of years. She noted that throughout Covid, they have closed and then reopened 3 different times. Here are some projects they have done through the last 2 years:
- Mask Force: during the original shutdown in spring of 2020, the Library kept busy by making hand-made masks for the community and City Staff. They made nearly 5,000 masks. They also bought chemical supplies to make hand sanitizer.
- Online Storytimes and Early Learning: additional efforts to keep the operations and offerings of the library going during covid was a new online effort to bring storytime into our homes via youtube. You can see all of these at their youtube channel here: Newberg Public Library Youtube
- Summer Reading Programs: partnered with Newberg Public Schools to keep kids reading throughout the summer. They do reading, lego builders, and others. Kids also get free books under this program, which are discounted by Scholastic Books. In 2020 they were able to do gift cards to local businesses and worked with Chapter’s to have kids pick out a book for 10 dollars and/or get hot chocolate. In 2021 they started doing in person events again but still kept the digital option for people not able to or not comfortable coming back to in person.
- Grab and Go STEAM kits: each kit has a different focus (Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, and Math). They did 1 kit a month and go through hundreds a month which has been great for families to be able to take something home. They had nearly 3,000 kits during the first year of covid.
- Curbside Pickup: Created by necessity during Covid Closure, this program allows people to call in to request their books and come pick up curbside. The Librarians would come out to the parking lot and hand off peoples requests or holds. They had over 3,000 curbside deliveries during the first year of covid.
- Increases in digital offerings: their digital library has for obvious reasons grown significantly during Covid.
Currently their reading programs are both in person and online. They have book clubs for adults, but in person have limited in person opportunities. They also are in the middle of their “Cozy Reading” Program. This is for all ages and you can participate and win booms and gift cards. They are also still providing online programming and story times as well as curbside pickup.
Challenges they have been facing include safety, mask mandates, and outreach to the LatinX community. They are currently in the process of hiring for a Bi-lingual Senior Librarian.
To learn more about current and upcoming events or programs, you can visit their website (which includes an opportunity to reach out and/or visit their social media pages): https://www.newbergoregon.gov/library.
~ Next Week’s Program: Newberg Public Library with Korie Beurkle ~
Check your e-mails for Mike Caruso’s Zoom meeting access information.
~ Joke of the Day ~
What happens when you get stuck in the chimney?
You get Santa Claus-trophobic
~ Happy Quotes! ~
“Real strength has to do with helping others.”
– Fred Rogers (Mr. Roger’s Neighborhood)
~ Published 12/12/2021: Dan Keuler, Newsletter Editor ~