~ Newberg Noon Rotary Club Newsletter ~
Rotary Club of Newberg, Zoom Meeting
Wednesday, August 18, 2021
~ Call to Order ~
Immediate Past President Shannon Buckmaster welcomed Rotarians and Friends of Rotary to the Hybrid Live/Zoom meeting at 12:00 p.m. Wednesday, August 18, 2021 at the Chehalem Cultural Center.
~ Flag Salute ~
Spike lead participants in the Pledge of Allegiance.
~ 4 Way Test ~
Larry 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 ~
Auction Committee – The Auction will take place on Friday, October 29th, 2021. If you would like to find more opportunities to help out or learn more about the coming auction, reach out to Shannon K and Amy. The Auction committee meets every 2nd Wednesday from 11am to 11:45am.
Welcome to the Club Kyla Sliger and Welcome back to Grant Gerke!
President Joe Morelock and the Club also officially welcomed and inducted the newest members of our club: Kyla Sliger and Grant Gerke. Grant, a previous member, is back to serve more and Kyla Sliger is new to the club and works for Guild Mortgage in Newberg. Welcome!
Fun Fact: Grant was President a few years back for the 75th year of our Club, and his father was the president during the Club’s 50th year.
~ Guests ~
Kyla Riddle, Guest, student at Newberg High School
~ The Rotary Duck ~
Mike: Reminded us that the fight to end Polio has come down to 2 cases worldwide.
Jim: Announced that Judy Robinson’s husband will be pressure washing the wall over at Lewis Audio to prepare the site for the Mural. Thanks also goes to the GFU students who will be painting the mural and to Reid Rental who donated the rental of the scaffolding. Make sure to express your thanks if you see them or do business with them.
Ralph: Donated in honor of his Uncle Ward who developed Polio back during the WWII era.
Paul: Noted that the honey harvest was over. His honey is going quickly so get some quickly before its gone. Shared that it takes 2 million flowers and the lives of 50,000 bees to make one pound of honey. A single honey bee produces 1/12 of a teaspoon of honey. Those are some hard working bees.
Om: Gave for Polio.
Larry: Exciting International Peace Pole Update: Coordination of installations in Russia are underway. Also heard back from Batswana, a group of 25 young African leaders from 21 different countries that Larry had the pleasure of meeting about 5 years back have have recently planted peace poles in their countries.
Auggie: Asked Mike if there is a Rotary opportunity to donate to support Haiti and Afghanistan following their massive earthquakes.
Kyla S: Noted that her office is doing a school supply drive. You can stop by their office (Guild Mortgage) and there will be a kick-off event on Tuesday the 31st which will be a brunch from 10am to 12pm. All are welcome to come support this cause and enjoy the brunch.
~ Today’s Program: Rotary Club of Newberg Project Showcase ~
Today Paul lead a presentation highlighting the activities supported by our Club and out Club’s Foundation. He reminded us all that our club is called the “Newberg Rotary Club” and some years back a Foundation was formed and has a SEPARATE board from the Club board. This is important to distinguish that the Foundation Board determines how the funds held by the Foundation are spent, rather than the Club Board. These are two separate legal entities. He also noted that our Foundation disperses something in the ball park of $60,000 to $70,000 per year which includes some one-time projects and some recurring type programs.
Mike spoke on the Mural Projects: A handful of years back, shortly before joining the club, Geoff Gilmore set out to create a mural on the wall of his business Climax in Newberg to aid in the ability for people to really notice the building and install some great art. After joining the Club, he decided to spearhead a project series whereby Rotary could add to the beautification of the town, promote togetherness and promote Rotary in the Community. The first Rotary Mural was painted downtown on the side of Steve’s Auto Body. The second mural was painted on the Library Annex across from the Newberg Public Library. The third mural was pained on El Tala Mini-market right new Hoover Park. The 4th Rotary Mural is currently underway and set to begin painting soon on the side of Lewis Audio. This effort involves a lot of municipal bureaucratic effort and has been a fantastic collaboration with GFU and the GFU art department.
Denise spoke about her work with the Interact Club, who often does projects funded by the Foundation. Denise reported that the Interact Club spent another year on Zoom but were very engaged in the community. Their big project this year was the Providence Community Garden and Tied With Love. They are interested in continuing international support by working with Emily from Rise to Shine Educational Foundation in Kenya. Kyla Riddle spoke about her Program Tied with Love, a program that handmade blankets for the homeless. The had 30 volunteers and made 70 blankets. These were donated to Helping Hands for distribution.
Kathie Byers works with the Resource Room project at the school district. The 9 resource rooms in our district serve hundreds of youth annually. Each room received about $555 from the Foundation to purchase items to support students whose family needs support. These supplies are purchased from local vendors when possible. The Club is hosting a supply drive whereby members of the community can gather items throughout September to kick off the new year of school.
Laura spoke about some global grants as well. This year our Club is Finalizing the Nepal EMS Dispatch and Response Grant which will be saving lives through the creation of a much needed EMS system in rural Nepal. The current system is basically non-existent and this project involves a lot of coordination with Rotary Clubs here and in Nepal as well as with the Nepal Government. Paula helped greatly with this project as well. They are working on another grant to prevent violence against women in Nepal. Our Club also raised money to help purchase Medical Equipment for the battle against COVID over in Nepal. We also work with other Clubs in Oregon on various other projects.
Many other projects in the community have been supported by the Foundation including work with the Newberg Emergency Shelter, food boxes for families in the school district, Dictionaries for 3rd graders, $50,000 of annual scholarships, youth international exchange programs, youth orchestras, scouts, Peace Village, and more.
Thank you to everyone who contributed financially or with your valuable time on any and all amazing Rotary projects.
~ Next Week’s Program: New Member Classification Talk by Karen Roberts ~
Check your e-mails for Mike Caruso’s Zoom meeting access information.
~ Joke of the Day ~
Does anyone remember the joke I posted about my sore spine?
It was about a weak back.
~ Happy Quotes! ~
“Go out. Be Good. Do Good.”
– Dan Keuler
~ Published 8/24/2021: Dan Keuler, Newsletter Editor ~
