~ Newberg Noon Rotary Club Newsletter ~
Rotary Club of Newberg, Zoom Meeting
Wednesday, June 22, 2022
~ Call to Order ~
President Elect Becky Ankeny welcomed Rotarians and Friends of Rotary to the Hybrid Live/Zoom meeting at 12:00 p.m. Wednesday, June 22, 2022 at the Chehalem Cultural Center.
~ Flag Salute ~
Denise lead participants in the Pledge of Allegiance.
~ 4 Way Test ~
Christy 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 ~
Community Announcement – The Willamette Valley Lavender Festival is at the Chehalem Cultural Center on July 9th and 10th.
Newberg Rotary Foundation Board Vacancy – The Club’s Foundation Board now has a vacancy and if you have interest in filling that open seat on the board, contact Auggie or Spike. There will also be 2 more seats that open and get voted on in the next month. They are three year terms where they meat bimonthly.
Voluteers needed for Interact Club Project – Need some Volunteer help for the next Interact Helping Paws Helping People project (two dates to be determined after confirming with the Grange). The Rotarian will be helping set up and tear down, which is important to meet the needs of the grant.
Congratulations Announcement of our Cub Awards:
- Rotarian of the Year: Becky Ankeny
- Service Above Self Award: Shannon Buckmaster
- Rookie of the Year: Karen Roberts
Announcement: Paul Harris Fellowships! Today we had the honor of recognizing three Paul Harris Fellows. This is in recognition of members who contributed at least $1,000 to the Rotary Foundation in the fiscal year. Today we celebrate Grant Austin, who was awarded his Paul Harris Fellow +7 (which means he has contributed over $8,000!) as well as Becky Ankeny and Dan Keuler who were each awarded PHF +2 (which means they each contributed over $3,000).
~ Guests ~
Jackie Lane, Guest
Jan Polendey, Guest
Kristine Jellum, Guest, Paul’s wife
Lydia Keuler, Guest, Dan’s Wife
Emily Bakhita Akoth, Guest Speaker, Rotary Club of Kenya
~ The Rotary Duck ~
Laura: Shared that a dear member of our Club, Marge O’Connell, passed away this last week. She was 93 years old and very active in our Club over the years. She gave a lot of time and money into the club and will be missed greatly.
Christy: Introduced her guest Jan, who is a local health coach and will be at the Wednesday Farmer’s Market and is an expert in plant based health.
Paul: Introduced his wife, noting that their 53rd Anniversary was yesterday.
Brandy: Bragged that Lydia is HER guest today, not Dan’s.
Wendy: Shared that her daughter made the State All-Girls Rugby Team. Congrats!
Denise: Finalized their second Vaccination Clinic, which has been very successful. It is set for August 6th and can still use volunteers.
Kim: Noted that she will be having a berry picking event at Red Berry Farm in Sherwood and anyone who wants to come is invited.
Laura: Updated us on the Tied With Love project: The grant is wrapping and the project generated 87 blankets. Special Thanks to Michael, Friendsview, and Rotary for participating.
Auggie: Gave Kudos to Wendy and all who helped put on an awesome Installation Banquet.
Larry: Noted that he got a preview of the new Rotary International Peace Brochure. The Peacepole in Downtown Lafayette is even featured in the Brochure.
Scott: Has been absent for a while as hes been very busy. Noted that the vaudville show they put on was awesome and thanked the community for embracing the idea.
Grant: Gave kudos to the Installation Banquet team as well for an awesome event. Also he and his wife noted that almost all of the officers this coming year were women, which reminded him of his 2011 International convention where he met the first Woman Rotarian. A lot of progress the organization has made over yea years.
Paula: Noted that she has been out of town visiting her niece was in a terrible accident and is hopefully having her final surgery.
Auggie: Announced that the Foundation Board has received notice from Grant Gerke on his interest in filling a vacant seat and the board accepted his application. They are also taking nominations for the next year vacancies and Dan R and Larry have to date verbally indicated interest and these will be voted on in July.
Geoff: Announced that there are still 9 tickets available for the dinner and lecture at GFU. It is $100 donation to the foundation per ticket and takes place on July 23rd. Please contact Geoff if you are interested. Please spread the word, this is not limited to Rotarians. The topic is “Building community in the midst of polarization”.
~ Today’s Program: Rise to Shine Educational Foundation with Emily Bakhita ~
Emily Bakhita, visiting us all the way from Kenya, is the Founder and Executive Director of the Rise to Shine Educational Foundation, which was the recipient of the funds raised by our Interact Club last year with the help of about a dozen different Rotary Clubs in the area. Emily spoke about how when she was a young girl in Kenya, she was given a rare gift by a missionary: the finances needed to get her Primary and then Secondary education, which eventually let to University. Not many Kenyans, especially girls, have the opportunity to attend high school or college. Girls are pushed towards early marriage and early pregnancy otherwise. When she returned from school, she met another young girl who told her she wanted an education and to be like Emily. She took her to school, then eventually took 10 girls to school, which led to beginning this organization. They have now helped 552 Kenyan children. Many of these children also attended University and their success will likely have a critical impact on their communities and their families. She also shared that the organization was so happy to be able to grant scholarships but also noted that they were really only able to give scholarships to X kids out of the over 6,000 who applied. She feels deep, emotional sorrow for all of the applicants who she cant help, and that is why it is critical to continue to fundraise and support these scholarships.
She gave big thanks to our Club for helping raise funds to send 62 students to school this past year, which costs approximately $600 per student for tuition, uniforms, books, and even shoes, which some students have never owned.
She gave an update on her future plans, which no longer includes Kenyan Government, but will continue to operate in the Non-profit sector to try to help underprivileged kids. She also plans on possibly getting another Masters Degree, next in non-profit management.
To learn more about the Rise to Shine Educational Foundation, or find ways to donate, visit their website at https://www.rtsef.org/.
Check your e-mails for Zoom meeting access information, special announcements, and newsletter release notifications.
~ Joke of the Day ~
I just found out that the company that produces Yard Sticks won’t be making them any longer.
~ Happy Quotes! ~
“Education is the Great Equilizer.”
– Emily Bakhita at todays meeting
~ Published 6/28/2022: Dan Keuler, Newsletter Editor ~
