Next week fellow Rotarian Keith Duncan will present on a subject of interest to us all: how to make tax-free donations. Join us at noon on Zoom! President Yturri will send an email with the link early next week.
Service above Self Opportunities!
Ready to stretch your legs and engage in service? Two opportunities present themselves next week:
Carey Gray has lined up our spring Highway Clean Up for this Wednesday, May 27. We'll meet at the KRTV parking lot at 5:30 p.m. and drive out to our mile marker, where we’ll start our clean up.
Plan to dress for the weather with boots for the mud and work gloves. For those of you who haven't done the clean-up in the past, it usually takes a little over an hour and does not involve heavy lifting. Afterwards, our tradition has been to relax at a local business with drinks and food. Next Wednesday, it will be the Montana Club. Please let Cari Yturri know if you can help.
High school graduation ceremonies will be taking place at the fairgrounds this weekend. In order to provide the appropriate distancing and cleaning protocols, United Way is coordinating and training volunteers. Although they currently have enough for CMR's graduation Friday evening, they're significantly short on Saturday. There are two shifts on Saturday, the first from 9-noon for the Paris Gibson ceremony and the second from noon-3 for Great Falls High. A one-hour training for the event will occur via Zoom on Thursday, May 28. If you can commit to a three-hour slot on Saturday, please reply to this bulletin/email and we'll get you in contact with United Way.
Last Week at Rotary
Last week, Dr. Curtis Settergreen of Billings delivered a fascinating presentation on the nomadic herders of the Darkhad region in Mongolia. He and his wife, Mia, were recruited by a friend and fellow member of Montana's Backcountry Horsemen to "test drive" a cultural tourism program being developed in the remote Darkhad Valley in northern Mongolia.
Mongolia is four times the size of Montana with a population roughly three times our size, so it's slightly less densely populated than Montana. The landscapes look remarkably familiar, although they have none of the yucca and sagebrush so common in Montana. The Settergreens landed in Ulaan Baatar, a city blending modern and ancient cultures, before heading out to the rustic life of nomadic herders in Darkhar. A large section of Ulaan Baatar is occupied by people living in yurts with no indoor plumbing.
Mongolia was liberated by the Russians from the Manchurians in 1919, so a blend of Soviet, Buddhist, and Manchurian impacts are evident in the traditions and the scenery. The vast pasturelands, for example, which comprise about 70% of Mongolia, legally belong to no one, but tradition dating back generations governs informal property rights. The herders raise goats, sheep, cattle, yak, and horses where their ancestors did, moving to other traditional pastures about four times a year. They live in yurts and often leave the framework for the yurts at their old location to used agin the following year. They have a patriarchal society in which the women do the work of the home and the men do the work outside it. As is true in family agriculture worldwide, younger generations are increasingly choosing to move to the cities, so the ranks of nomadic herders have thinned considerably.
The Settergreens found the people warm and engaging. A lamb was slaughtered on the day of their arrival and fed them in various dishes throughout their stay. Hot milk tea was a staple. On the night of their departure, there was a huge feast, with a bonfire, music and dancing till 1 a.m. Between the beautiful scenery, the fascinating history, and the hospitality of the herders, Curtis highly recommended the experience to Rotarians in Great Falls. Judging by the response to his presentation, some Rotarians might just take him up on that!
Update on Bylaws and Constitution
President Yturri recently asked the Bylaws Committee, as they review the bylaws, to review our club constitution as well. She was wise to do so. Our club constitution is not entirely aligned with the constitution of Rotary International, and it must be. The Bylaws Committee, consisting of Mary Moe, Bill Bronson and Mike Rausch, has now reviewed the club constitution, compared it to the more modern Rotary International template for club constitutions, and is recommending that the club adopt the RI model with a few modifications appropriate to our operations.
Amendments to our constitution must be approved not only by the club membership at large, but also by a legislative council of Rotary International. To facilitate that process, the Bylaws Committee is now seeking suggestions on its recommendations from your board. Once those are considered, the proposed new constitution will be presented to the membership for approval at our June 9 meeting. To comply with the advance notice requirements in our bylaws, you should receive the proposal no later than next Saturday.
Stay tuned!
Milestones
Happy birthday tomorrow, May 24, to Kimberley Stull and next Saturday, May 30, to Gregg Holt. What a gift both of you have been to Rotary Club of Great Falls ... and to Great Falls in general!
Weekly Wonder: A Picture Is Worth ...
The Kootenai River was roiling last week and Kalispell Rotarian Mick Sullivan captured the river aptly chosen as a setting for the film "The River Wild."
