“Snowpocalypse 2017” caused the Jan. 11 meeting to be cancelled, so it was nice to get back to rain and a regular meeting last Wednesday. And there were plenty of items to catch up on.
Like plans for the annual auction, for instance. Denise Bacon led us in a table activity to come up with more ideas for items to auction. (Note: Please be sure the March 18 date is on your calendar, as the auction is a bit earlier this year.) There were lots of great suggestions. One of my favorites: A Portland beer tour by bike! This is our club’s largest fundraiser of the year, so any help you can give Denise and the organizing committee would be appreciated.
Chamber of Commerce President Sheryl Kelsh told us about the upcoming Community Awards banquet Feb. 17 at the Cultural Center. Shhhh…it’s kind of a secret, but this is an event you won’t want to miss– our own Spike Sumner will be receiving the Edward Stevens Distinguished Service Award. The theme this year is “Winter Wonderland,” and the Chamber is now accepting reservations.
Peacebuilder Committee Chair Mike Caruso updated us on a couple of things:
- The Newberg count for the District 5100 project to plant at least 100 Peace Poles around the Portland area for Earth Day in April is now at 35. Ten were ok’d by CPRD for locations at parks and facilities, 12 by the Newberg School District (one at each elementary and middle school, the high school, the alternative school and the District Office), five by the City Council–one at the library, the police station, city hall and both fire stations, and George Fox University will plant five. In addition, Newberg Urgent Care, PCC, and the United Methodist Church will participate. What great community engagement. Great work, Mike!
- The PeaceHub Tour kickoff scheduled for Sunday, Feb. 5 at the Aviation and Space Museum in McMinnville from noon to 3pm. The Rotarian Action Group for Peace, along with the Peace Literacy Project, will be gathering ideas from Rotarians in communities along the West Coast to better understand why peacebuilding matters. Come and give some input!
Prez Leah Griffith asked for volunteers to help students train for the upcoming “Oregon Battle of the Books.” Come help elementary students prepare for their official school and regional battles. Volunteers will need to attend a training at the Newberg Public Library on Jan. 27 from 6:30 to 7:30pm and attend the practice battles on Jan. 28 from 9 to 11am at Joan Austin Elementary School. To volunteer, please contact Korie Buerkle at [email protected] or 503-537-0304.
MEETING GUESTS: Leona Todd introduced Merissa Baller with Lone Star Lending, who is interested in Rotary and is new to our community. Leah Olsen introduced Dr. Dan Reed, who is also interested in learning about Rotary and may join our club. Dale Welcome‘s daughter Clara Welcome was there to support her dad with his Classification Talk, which was the main topic for our meeting.
Dale Welcome gives his Classification Talk.
And Dale’s talk was fascinating…he has led an interesting, colorful life. He has been to many places and done many things. He grew up in Massachusetts, but has lived all over, including Seattle, Salt Lake City, Shanghai and Bangalore. He particularly enjoys sailing, reading and photography.
He has been married to his wife Joy for 32 years. Their first date was on Sept. 28 one year and they were engaged by Thanksgiving the same year. He said that made his father-in-law Stan Kern really nervous!
Dale said his biggest cheerleader was his mom, who passed away two years ago from dementia. She loved football, and attended all his athletic events. She also loved Dunkin Donuts, and he showed a great photo of her chomping on one.
Dale has a background in athletics. In fact, he still holds the record for the longest field goal at his high school –something he says he still puts on his resume! He is a skier, and said it was awesome to live in Salt Lake where he could be on the mountain top at 6am. He was a volunteer at the Olympics when it was held there in 2002.
He has three children–two sons and daughter–and two grandchildren, ages three and one and a half.
Dale described his educational background as starting out in photography school, “floundering around there,” and then finding his way to the University of Washington. (We don’t hold the fact that he is a Husky against him.) He obtained an accounting degree, and said Spike Sumner was first CPA he ever met. (Stan introduced them.)
He said he has held a lot of jobs, including stints with Deloitte, Kaiser, and Intel.
He now works at World Vision, where work has taken him to over 40 countries. In fact, he is going to Zambia, Malawi and Shanghai later this year.
“This is by far the best gig I’ve ever had,” he said. “I have been able to take my career and marry it up with my faith.”
He showed us a video about the organization, which is over 60 years old and headquartered in London. World Vision primarily helps out the world’s poorest people, and has 43,000 employees in 100 countries.
Dale told us about “Our Promise 2030.” World Vision has aligned its strategy with the United Nations’ 17 Sustainability Development goals and will work to completely eradicate extreme poverty globally by 2030.
Photography is still a main passion in his life, and Dale closed his talk by showing a nice sampling of his photos. Beautiful work.
Now that his Classification Talk is done, welcome Dale Welcome! (Sorry, couldn’t resist.)
