Next Week at Rotary

We're in for a real distinction next week. Joining us at our noon meeting will be CMSgt Eryn McElroy of Malmstrom Air Force Base and her husband Scott, who will tell us about the challenges of being a command chief and the life of a military spouse. Join us at noon at the country club.

There will be no evening Rotary next week. The next regularly scheduled evening meeting is Thursday, Feb. 28. Feel free to attend and meet our dynamic new members!

Last Week at Noon Rotary

When our scheduled speaker for last week fell ill at the last moment, District Court Judge John Parker kindly filled in. John has had a long career in elected public office. He served as a legislative leader in the late '90s and early '00s, culminating as House Minority Leader. For many years after that, he was our Cascade County Attorney. After 18 years as a prosecutor, he moved from the prosecutorial table to the judge's bench in 2017.

Judge Parker said that Youth in Need of Care cases are by far the biggest component of his caseload. The rate of child abuse and neglect in our county continues to grow, and children have a priority on the court's time. He spoke with great appreciation for the role that court-appointed special advocates (aka, CASAs) play in that process. CASAs are lay people who get to know the child, follow the child's progress, and speak for the child in court. Judge Parker praised Rotarian Mike Rausch for the many years he has spent on the CASA board and the hours and hours he has dedicated to training CASAs. He also praised Rotarians John Juras for his current CASA service and Owen Robinson for his past service as a CASA.

When asked if Cascade County needed an additional judge, which other communities have recently received to deal with the caseload, Judge Parker noted that adding a new judge is quite an expensive proposition. With proper case management, he felt that Cascade County could do what needs to be done within the existing framework.

As always, Judge Parker was affable, warm, and witty. We are fortunate to have such a dedicated public servant in our court system.

Rotary Social Well-Brewed!

Some twenty hardy Rotarians braved the cold this week to gather for our monthly social and take a tour at the Jeremiah Johnson Brewing Company.

Jeremiah is a former Rotarian and recently gave a presentation to the noon membership about the rigors and rewards of competing in the beer-brewing business. (Say THAT 5 times fast after you've had a few pale ales!) Members enjoyed the opportunity to "take a peek behind the curtain" and see the inner workings of such an operation. It was also a great opportunity to for evening and noon members to share some time together.

This week's bulletin bucks number is #77. Talk to Todd if you're the lucky winner.

A Rotary Reflection

The thing I like most about being a Rotarian is it gets you outside. I don’t mean outside of the indoors, although it often does. I don’t mean out in the community and the world, although it surely does that too. I mean it gets you outside of yourself.

Last night my husband and I went to the Class C Boys Basketball Tournament going on at CMR to watch the North Toole County Refiners play Heart Butte. My cousin’s son coaches the Sunburst team and the game promised to be a good one, with Sunburst beating Heart Butte by a hair and Heart Butte returning the favor in the regular season.

That was a promise unrealized. Heart Butte took control in the first quarter and never relinquished it. Nothing the Refiners put in the air seemed to go through a hoop. But it was a pleasant experience anyway because we had the good fortune to run into a fellow Rotarian in the stands and watched the game with him.

Art Taft grew up in Sunburst. I figure he and I are of about the same vintage, but I’ve never been that good in math. In personality and political perspective, I suppose we’re as different as night and day. But through our years together in Rotary, we’ve forged a bond that gets us outside ourselves.

Last night we sat in the stands watching a team we wanted to win lose but enjoying the heck out of the performance of one particular Refiner. Stanley was small, slight, bespectacled … as far from the stereotypical hoopster as you can imagine. But he came to play and play he did. He’d drive through a throng of boys twice his size, alley-oop a shot that didn’t have a prayer … swoosh. Heave a hail-Mary from 3-point land … swoosh. Finesse a little jump shot over a looming defender … swoosh.

A man too slight as a boy for basketball and a woman who couldn’t play because girls didn’t get to play basketball back then sat on a hard bleacher on a frigid winter night sharing the joy of living vicariously through the dream game of a boy neither of us had ever met. Our delight in Stanley's success was amplified by our realization that we both knew a little something about being an underdog. But for Rotary, we would have been two strangers in the night, thinking our private thoughts, going our separate ways. But we got outside ourselves.

That’s what I like about Rotary. And yes, dear readers, it's another slow news week.

Milestones

More birthdays to celebrate this week! Treasurer Megan Connors celebrates today, past president Brett Doney celebrates tomorrow, and Chelle Fried blows out the candles on Wednesday. Our best wishes to all three of you!

Weekly Wisdom from Our First President

Do not speak bad things about those who are absent, because it is dishonest.

Observe good faith and justice toward all nations. Cultivate peace and harmony with all.

Government is not reason; it is not eloquent; it is force. Like fire, it is a dangerous servant and a fearful master.

It is better to offer no excuse than a bad one.

Guard against the impostures of pretended patriotism.

To contract new debts is not the way to pay old ones.

Associate with men of good quality if you esteem your own reputation, for it is better to be alone than in bad company. Never laugh over serious things.